Love that Spares no Expense

Nicholas W. Philosopher in our time, has written a number of books but one particular book was called a Lament for a Son, His son dies in a rock climbing accident, our heavenly Father knows the pain because He to has lost a son and knows what it is to suffer loss and loose a son.

Romans 8:31–32 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Romans (Listen to the Story)

The heart of the argument set forth in Romans 8 is for assurance in the unshakable and sovereign love of God.

To this end Paul constructs a rhetorical question in 8:31–39 to recap the key tenets of his argument about assurance and to make an emotional appeal to his audience for their consent to the purpose of his speech.

The main idea of the closing questions in Romans 8 goes back to Romans 5:1-11 reminding us of the fact that God’s love is a love that comes to us in Christ and Triumphs over all adversity.

The Lord of the Ring Series (Tolken)

“The Covenant of Redemption”

The counsel of Elrond, the ring has been found and in Bilbo Bag-gins’ possession all along. Frodo has brought the ring all the way to the Council of Elrond in Rivendell. And the fellowship of the nine is about to begin, you remember, and the ring is sitting on a kind of pedestal, in, the center, where they are gathered.

And somebody say’s “who will go?” And there is an argument between the dwarves and the elves, and the men that are there. And then you remember that Frodo speaks up, quietly at first, and then yells at the top of his voice, “I will go, but I do not know they way.”

And Jesus is saying, “I will go. I will become the substitute. I will bear the wrath that is the just penalty for sin. I will take that upon myself.”

Paul Rounds out his argument in Romans 8:1-30 by asking “What, then shall we say in response to these things?”

Paul takes on what appears to be the interrogator role in several places in the letter to bring provocative questions to light as to where his case does or does not lead us.

In this case the rhetorical questions reinforces the notion of God’s answering favor for the believer. Therefore, in this case the rhetorical question reinforces the notion of God’s unswerving favor for the believer.

These things probably refers to all that has been written so far in this letter to the Romans. What, then, is the summary of that which Paul has been saying in the letter up to this point.

What Kind of Love Spares no Expense?

1. The Kind of Love that Bears Witness to These Things.

“What then shall we say about these things.”

What are these things Paul lists in Romans.

*The things that provide us a Right Standing Before God.

Paul makes it abundantly clear that such a right standing with God is not obtainable by human effort or merit. It is a free gift of God and the only way we can possess such a standing is by faith alone.

Romans 1:17 (ESV)

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Romans 3:24 ESV

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 3:28 ESV

28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Romans 4:1–2 ESV

1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

Romans 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 7:24 ESV

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Such a right standing before God has been earned for everyone, whether Jew or Gentile, who will, by God’s power and grace, will place their faith and trust in Hims als their Lord and Savior.

Romans 8:1 ESV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Note: Those who are in Christ, 2 Cor. 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ He is a new creation,” Ephesians 1-2 “repeated over and over, “we are chosen in Christ,” and “we are predestined in Christ.”

Steven Lawson

“To be in Christ, first of all, means that we have a saving relationship with Christ and are brought into union and communion with Him in such a way taht, as we are in Christ, what is true of Christ becomes true of us. His grace and His resources become our experience and possession.

It was so with the encounter with Stephen in which, as Saul of Tarsus was persecuting this Stephen figure, he heard a voice saying, “Why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4). When Saul laid a finger on Stephen, he was, in effect, laying a finger on Jesus Christ. Saul was so identified with Jesus and Jesus was so identified with Saul that I cannot imagine Paul ever went through a twenty-four-hour period in time without rememberering what he did to Stephen and to others.

Fundamentally a Christian is somebody who is in union and communion and fellowship with Jesus.

The Substitutionary Atonement of God

Why Did Jesus Die? (this answers the question)

The penal substitutionary view of the atonement holds that the most fundamental event of the atonement is that Jesus Christ took the full punishment that we deserved for our sins as a substitute in our place, and that all other benefits or results of the atonement find their anchor in this truth.

*The things that Provide for us a Substitute

All people are in need of a substitute since all are in the position of standing guilty of sinning against a Holy God.

All sin deserves punishment because all sin is personal rebellion against a Holy God.

Animal Sacrifices took on the guilt of sinful people in the OT. (these sacrifices were a temporary substitute and would not last)

What if we reject the idea of the Substitutionary Atonement?

*We would then reject the bloody Cross. (we went through a period of Church History that we took the bloody Cross out of our theology. We could not wrap our mind around a God who would murder His son.)

*We would then reject the exclusivity of Christ. (rejecting the penal substitionary atonement rejects the exclusivity of Christ alone)

*We would then downplay the Seriousness of our Sin. (It cost Jesus His life. You cannot proclaim the gospel with the judgement and cost for our sins)

Does sin bring its own consequences, absolutely, what does sin cost us, death. The wrath of God has been poured out for all unrighteousness. David says’ in Psalm 51:4 “Against you, and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight....”

We can never get to the following response in Romans 8:31 if we do not have a good, right, and healthy understanding of the subsitutionary atonement of God for our sins. This is also fleshed out in Romans 8:28 that for those who love God “all things work together for our good.”

Then and only then can we come to the idea that “God is for us.”

2. The Kind of Love that has a God who is For us.

The 2nd Rhetorical question is not raised by Paul “If God is for us who can be against us.”

“If God is for us?”

Note: Paul uses here as so often he uses in Romans 8 “if”. Who is God an advocate for, if we go back to verses 28-30, those who he has called, those who are born again, those who have received the saving benefits of Jesus Christ.

Romans (Love that Spares No Expense (8:31–32))

The conditional clause in v. 31b is a summary of the entire theme of the chapter about God’s saving righteousness revealed in Jesus Christ: “God is for us.” The meaning of this phrase is far more than the platitude that God is on our side. The underlying idea is that God has demonstrated his righteousness toward his people in such a way as to leave no doubt that their relationship to him is graced and privileged

Cultural Problem

If people are truly honest everyone deep down in side want an advocate. An advocate is someone who comes to our aid or pleads our case to a judge. Advocates offer support, strength, and counsel and intercede on our behalf.

The very first sin in Genesis was a lie woven into humanity by Satan that rejected the idea that God is for your good, that God is for your best. The lie was to weave the question of whether God truly does know what is best, whether God truly has your best interest at heart.

This lie has continued to be perpetuated into creation from the very beginning of sin.

In a human court of law, an advocate speaks for the rights of his or her client. We have all at one time or another asked for references from people to advocate for why we should be given a certain job. Those who advocate for us in a court of law are called lawyers because they have studied the intricacies of the law and can navigate through those often complicated statutes with accuracy and precision.

1 John 2:1–2 ESV

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

This is the picture John paints for us in the following text when it refers to Jesus as our “advocate with the Father.” God’s righteous law pronounces the guilty on all counts. The righteous law of God must be upheld. We have violated God’s standard, rejected His right to rule our lives, and continued to sin anyway even after coming to a knowledge of the truth.

Hebrews 10:26 ESV

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

Romans 1:21–23 ESV

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

*The God who is for us does not want us to Experience Hell.

And if you think that Hell is just something that the Church has made up to scare people into the kingdom of God, tell that to Jesus Christ who paid the penalty and punishment you deserve by laying down on a cross and allowing himself to go through one of the most brutal ways to die so that you would never have to experience such a fate.

Jesus Pleads our Case

If the blood of Christ has been applied to your life through faith and confession of Jesus as Lord, he pleads our case with righteous judgment.

We may imagine the conversation going something like this: “Father, I know this one has sinned and violated our commands. He is guilty as charged. However, you have said that my sacrifice is sufficient payment for the debt he owes. My righteousness was applied to his account when he trusted in me for salvation and forgiveness. I have paid the price, so he can be pronounced ‘Not guilty.’ There is no debt left for him to pay” (Romans 8:1; Colossians 2:14).

So, Jesus is our Advocate when God first accepts us into He family as His children.... John 1:12 “But to all who did receive Him, who did believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

And He also remains our Advocate forever… 1 John 1:9 “if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleans us from it.” As His followers we will still sin, but we know that God is for us, we have an advocate so that when we confess our sin to God. Confession is an agreement with God about how bad our sin is as an offense to His Holiness, and we agree that, because we are “in Christ,” there is no futher punishment required. Jesus has already made sufficient payment to redeem us.

“Who can be Against us?”

Perhaps this question should sound like this: “Who would dare to stand against God’s chosen?”

Any opposition at any level is futile, a point that Paul will emphasize again in verses 38-39.

Paul is not an armchair Theologian

such words are spoken not for an audience safely elevated in their ivory towers from the ordeals of life. Paul has experienced great opposition in his ministry from fellow Jews, Jewish Christians, Roman authorities, and even his own churches, and he expects a lot more when he gets to Jerusalem.

So, the Christians in Rome may well have had their own share of hardships over whether it be over the Torah Law, living out the economic and social costs of following the Messiah’s gospel over and against Caesar’s gospel. However, Paul believes that all of the opposition will prove to be futile in the end as God’s love in Christ triumphs over everything.

The Hulk and Loki (The Avengers Series)

I love the scene when the Hulk smashes Loki who views himself as a God. The iconic scene ends with the Hulk expressing his views of Loki’s puny little God.

This is Paul’s sentiment of anything or anyone that would stand against God and His plan for us.

Sometimes our hearts respond to verses like this with consternation: “I’ll tell you who can be against me! The IRS, my in-laws, terrorists, corrupt politicians—” and the list goes on. Our real-life enemies seem to overshadow the ideas conveyed in Romans 8. Despite spiritual promises, we still have to endure physical, mental, and emotional struggles—so much so that we may wonder if God is truly for us

When Paul writes, “if God is for us, who can be against us,” he is comparing earthly opposition to the eternal power and presence of the Almighty God - and he declares the winner. No context, no one can overcome God’s love for us.

Paul had learned that the secret to contentment in this life as stated in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Note: Jesus further highlights this same thought in Luke 12:4-5 where He said, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who can kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you the one you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has the authority to throw you into hell, yes, I tell you, fear him.” Jesus whole point as was Paul’s, is that , no matter what may happen to us here on this earth, there is a higher reality. There is a bigger war that the one we think we face, and God is the ultimate winner (Ephesians 6:12) if we are on His side, then we will be on the winning side of eternity.

3. The Kind of Love that did not Spare His own Son

Now Paul gives us the Evidence that God is for us in the fact that God handed Jesus over to be flogged, beaten, spit on, and eventually executed in one of the most painful and inhumane way’s possible.

What is Paul had merely asked, “Will not God graciously give us all things?”

We all would propose that we need many things, some of which are difficult and demanding. How then can we possibly be sure that God will supply all of our needs?

However, the way that Paul phrases this question leaves no room for doubt. Because he points us to the cross.

Because the question whether or not He will give us all things is the God who has already given us His son.

“For He did not Spare His own son.”

This brings us back to Abraham’s difficult journey to sacrifice his own son. The response to his willing sacrifice was, “Now I know that you have withheld nothing from me, even your own son.”

On the other hand and positively “God gave him up for us all. The same verb is used in the gospels when it refers to Judas, the priests, and Pilate who handed Jesus over to death.

“Who handed Jesus over to die, not Judas for money, or Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy, but the Father for Love.”

The Argument from the Greater to the Lesser

Since God has given us the supreme and costly gift of his own Son, ‘how can he fail to lavish every other gift upon us?’ In giving us His son he gave everything. The cross is the guarantee and the continuing, unfailing generosity of God.

Romans (Love that Spares No Expense (8:31–32))

Importantly, the atonement is the guarantee for divine blessing.

Just like Romans 5:8–10, Paul employs a from-harder-to-easier style of argument. We should probably assume too a conditional clause in the framing of the verse to the effect: “If God has, indeed, given his Son for us, then how can anyone doubt that he will not also freely give us all things along with him?”

To put it differently, if God is willing to hand over his beloved Son for us (a hard thing), he must surely be willing to give us all things (an easy thing). Paul does not explicitly state the scope of the “all things” that are graciously bestowed on believers. However, the “with him [i.e., Christ]” clues us into thinking that he has in mind the inheritance and glory that believers share with Christ (see Rom 8:17).

*Real Love Cannot be Measured

REAL LOVE CANNOT BE MEASURED

God’s love for us is quantifiable. You cannot put a measuring stick to His love for us it is beyond measure. When God promised to bless Abraham with countless children, he used the stars in the sky and the sand on the sea shore as a metaphor. These are things that people simply cannot count.

Paul describes the love of Christ as surpassing knowledge.

Ephesians 3:19 ESV

19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

or look what the Psalmist writes in Psalm 36:5

Psalm 36:5 ESV

5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

God’s love for us even surpasses time itself, into the deep recesses of eternity past. It stretches all the way from forever, forward to the cross, and will continue into eternity future.

Ephesians 1:4–5 ESV

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

HIS IS A KIND OF LOVE THAT DOES NOT HOLD BACK

His love gives everything and more, to the point of sacrificing his very own Son. At the cross, the perfect eternal love of the triune God was shown most vividly as the Son bore all our sins for us. This is an unquantifiable love, an immeasurable love.

His Love does not Change

Unlike the human relationship experience, we cannot add to God’s love for us. WE cannot do anything make him “unfriend” us. His love for us is perfect and complete. His love is not based on what we can do for Him or what we have to offer.

It cannot be that way simply because he has no needs that we could ever meet. His love originates in himself. It is part of His very character. God is love. This unconditional love is the same love that He set on Israel and it is the same love he has for us. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you that He set His affection on you. (Deut. 7:7-8)

Our Love for Others

In our own human flesh, our love for others would always be conditional and dependent on whether others treat us right. But because God has poured out his immeasurable love on us through Christ, we have been changed.

Our hearts of stone have been transformed into a flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). We have been given a spirit that lives inside of us and causes us to cry out Abba Father.

We must not forget that there is an order to His love.

God’s love begins and originates with Himself. He is the beginning and source to our love.

1 John 4:19 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us.

You would never truly experience or understand what love truly is if it were not for the grace of God.

CONCLUSION

The love that He has given us reads in bold print.....

PAID IN FULL

The world we live in today is plagued by more debt than any other society in history. We are all indebted to someone for something. Think about how great a feeling it is when you pay something off for the first time and owe nothing. I remember the first vehicle I paid off, I almost did not know what to do after I received the final statement that read...

“Paid in Full.” There would be no creditors come knocking on my door asking for more money to cover the debt. It had been paid and reconciled to the one I owed money.

This is similar to the way things are with God once you know Jesus Christ and have received the debt clearing mercy of God. Your account has been cleared, there is no need feel fear or trepidation that somehow there is more left to be paid. When Jesus uttered the words “Tetelestai’” it is finished literally what Jesus was signaling to the Jewish world:

that there was no more need for sacrifices or temples because that his work brought ultimate fulfillment to what their sacrificial system foreshadowed.

When Jesus said it is finished He was essentially saying that it is finished in the past, it is till finished in the present, and it will remain finished in the future.