How Great A Love | Romans 8:31–39
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How Great A Love | Romans 8:31–39
How Great A Love | Romans 8:31–39
Intro: Tonight is the last night we have The Walk for this semester. If you have been here, you may know that we have been going through the E100 this semester after spending three straight semesters going through the book of Matthew. I’ve enjoyed the change. If you have a Bible with you tonight, please turn to Romans 8:31-39. There’s certain things we know to be true, but we don’t really understand how true that is. For example, who was the first president of our nation? (George Washington). George Washington won all electoral votes in both elections he ran in. He is the only president to do this. He also was the only president to not be a part of a political party. Because he was the first, he was before so many things that define presidential politics now. Let’s try another one. Another is sleep. We know we need sleep, but we don’t truly understand how important it is in terms of our health and memory how important it is. We do this with God’s love. We all in here would probably say God loves us. It’s something we have all heard plenty. But we don’t think about that being true in our own lives. We don’t think about how incredible it is that God loves us or how being loved by God makes a difference in our lives. We just say God loves us. But it’s deeper than that. The main idea tonight is that no matter what life throws at us, God’s love will stay true in our lives. We see this with the force behind us, the advocate with us, teh trials of this world and the force against us. As we always do, would you please stand with me in the honor of reading God’s Word.
Verses 31-32
Exposition: The passage starts out with Paul asking a question. He writes Romans 8:31
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Exposition: When he asks this he is referring back to what he wrote in the previous passage. In Romans 8:18-30, Paul speaks about the future glory that believers in Jesus Christ will see. But while there is future glory we can look forward to. There is something else as well. There are trials that come in the life of a believer. So Paul, addressing that there are trials and future glory asks the question, What then shall we say to these things? What shall we say? It’s a fair question. What shall we say about the trials? Paul pulls the old philosopher thing and answers a question with a few questions. He asks, If God is for us, who can be against us? And seriously, if God is for us, who can be against us? We have the God on the universe who created everything for us, who can be against us?
Application: You all are at an age where sometimes maybe you feel like nobody is for you. Many of you struggle with a feeling of loneliness that makes you feel as if it is you against the world and that there is nobody for you but you, and when you’re lonely, that doesn’t feel like enough. Some of you deal with anxiety that feels as if the obstacles in your way are too much to overcome. You feel like you are paralyzed from fear and you feel like you can’t go forward. Maybe you struggle with depression and you feel like you can’t put one foot in front of another. Some of you have childhood traumas that cause you to struggle with anxiety and depression and think you can’t go forward. Maybe there’s sin in your life you think you can’t overcome. Whatever it is that makes you feel like the opposition is too great, Paul assures us here that it’s not. If God is for us who can be against us. We all know the answer to that is no one. There is no force in the universe as strong as the one who made it. And he is the one that is on our side.
Exposition: The book of Romans is known as one of the greatest examples of how to make and support an argument. In fact, I heard Pastor J.D. Greer say before that some law schools use to require first year law students to read Romans as an example of how to make an argument. Paul does this in verse 33. He doesn’t just tell his readers that God is for them, he actually makes the case in verse 33. he writes,
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?
Exposition: A natural question Paul is addressing is, “How do we know that God is for us.” And Paul is answering this in verse 33. He is telling the church in Rome that, this is the proof. God did not even spare his own son. His own Son wasn’t even held back for our good, what else is there to hold us back. If he gave us Christ on a cross, won’t he give us everything we need up until that point as well.
Illustration: Kent Hughes, the author of one of the commentaries I pulled from when writing this sermon, he had an illustration that I thought was really good. Imagine that one day on a whim you decide to go into a Rolls Royce dealership. You just want to see what it’s like. And they are having a drawing where you can put your name in a drawing for a new Rolls Royce Phantom, valued at $500,000 no strings attached. You do it because there’s no reason not to. And you win. But when you go to leave, they tell you that you only won the car, not the key. As ridiculous as this whole scenario is, that’s probably the worst part. If you win the car, you are going to win everything you need up unto the car. It’s the same thing with God. He freely sent his son to die on the cross for our sins. If he was willing to do that, do we really think he is going to let us face the trials of life alone? Does it make sense that he is going to take a hands off approach in our lives. Of course not. No, If he was involved enough and loved us enough to send Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, which he did, he is going to be there for us every step of the way. Young people, hear me right now. God is for you, even when you are tempted to think He is not.
Transition: We see that we have an unstoppable force behind us which is the favor of our God. But it’s not just that. We also have a protection from any accusation that can be thrown at us.
Verses 33-34
Exposition: In verses 33 and 34 Paul writes Romans 8:33-34
Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Exposition: Paul’s language here resembles language found in a court setting. The idea is that God is the judge. Paul is asking who can bring charges against those God has saved. And it’s a good question.
Illustration: Imagine a prosecuting attorney walking up to judge and trying to bring charges against somebody. As they do it, the judge stops them mid sentence. He tells the lawyer the charges can’t be brought because the punishment has already been applied for the crime and he was the one that ordered the punishment so he now deems the person not guilty of anything that has been or will be done. The attorney then says, well this person has already committed these crimes and everyone is talking about it. And God once agains stops the attorney mid-sentence. He then says that the attorney doesn’t understand. It wasn’t just any punishment. He had ordered His son to death for the crimes the attorney is alleging the person committed. Not only had the Son paid that price, He had risen again, and was now sitting in the judge’s chambers going over every case and interceding to the judge on the person’s behalf. Because the person has accepted this truth, there is nothing he can be found guilty for. The price has already been paid. That is what the situation is for anyone who is in Christ Jesus. Paul starts Romans 8 by saying that Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Illustration: Anyone who has repented of his or her sins and believed in who Jesus is has already had the punishment paid for his or her sins. There is no charge that can brought against you because the price has been paid and God has found you not guilty. Not only that, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes on your behalf. He is walking through life with you and advocating for you with the Father.
Application: Sin is something that we will struggle with until the day Jesus calls us home. And sometimes the enemy uses that against us. So often we allow our sin to draw us away from God. We become embarrassed and/ or ashamed of it. We don’t want anybody to know what we have fallen into. We suffer in silence. We feel like there’s a voice telling us about how people will judge us if we find out. They will think we are such a hypocrite. We begin to feel so guilty that we slowly begin to pull away from the things of God. We quit spending time in His word. We don’t come to church as much. We maybe even just lean into the sin and act like it doesn’t bother us. That’s what the enemy wants you to do. But that’s not what God wants. He is for us. He sent Jesus to die on the cross so you wouldn’t have to live with the burden of your sins. Not only that, He is advocating for you that the Father walk with you through all the temptations you have in life. Do not allow the guilt of sin to keep you from experiencing the blessing of grace. That sin has already been paid for. Allow that freedom to lead you into obedience and a deeper relationship with Jesus. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. There may be some of you who think it’s too far gone. That’s not true. God loves you just as you are and if you are in him you are not guilty. You can live in obedience now.
Transition: It’s not just like we have received some distant support or pardon. No, God’s care for us goes a lot further than that.
Verses 35-37
Exposition: Paul goes on and explains that God isn’t just impersonal and just kind of making things happen. No, God’s relationship with us involves love. And a deep love at that. Paul writes in verse 35 Romans 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Explanation: Sometimes when we hear things like this and we think that’s great, but that’s not real life. You don’t know what I’ve been through. How could God love me if I’ve gone through these things. As Kent Hughes points out in his commentary, Paul had actually been through these things. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul explained all he had experienced due to his following Christ. He writes in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26
Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;
in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
Exposition: Paul had been through everything that he describes here and God still loved Him. He was still walking in that. You see, Paul understood that the presence of trials did not mean there was an absence of God’s love. Paul is saying that even in those moments that God loves us. That even in the midst of the things this world throws at you, God loves you. In fact trials are nothing knew. Paul writes in verse 36 Romans 8:36
As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Exposition: Paul is quoting Psalm 44 which talks of the trials that the people were facing at that time. If you go all the way back to Old Testament days, God’s people were facing trials. But, it didn’t have to be what defined us. Why, because God has already won the war. Paul writes in verse 37 Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Explanation: That term more than conquerors is probably better translated, prevail completely. In all things, we prevail completely through him who loved us. You know why we prevail completely. Because Jesus has already won the war. When he rose from the grave, he defeated the power of sin and death. He defeated the brokenness of the world. Yes, we may face trials, yes we may face hardship that is trying and feels like it is going to break us. But when we know our eternity is secure, there is nothing for us to worry about.
Illustration: Hiroo Onoda was a solider for the Japanese army during World War Two. When the Japanese surrendered he was with a team in the jungles of the Philippines. He could not believe that the imperial army of Japan would ever surrender so he thought it couldn’t be true. So he kept on with the guerrilla warfare tactics for 30 years. Even when others on his team surrendered or were killed in altercations with police, he continued to try and fight the war. It was not until they found his old commanding officer, who was now a civilian, took him to the Philippines, and gave Onoda the orders to stand down that he stopped. But you know what, his actions and any successes he thought he had did not matter. The Japanese had already lost the war. The same is true with what satan does to us. He trips us up at times. He gets us down and discouraged. But it does not matter. For those that are in Christ, even when satan wins the battle. Even when life is hard, we are more than conquerors, we prevail completely through what Christ has done for us. We overcome all the world throws at us through Christ who loved us to the point of death on a cross.
Transition: So the natural things of this world cannot separate us from God’s love. But what about things that aren’t in our control. What about the spiritual dimension.
Verses 38-39
Exposition: Paul writes in verses 38-38 Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Exposition: Paul then goes onto explain that it’s not just the things we experience in the material world, but also the spiritual realm God’s love is permanent in. In death he still loves us, in our lives he still loves us. He loves us now and there’s nothing that will happen in the future that will keep Him from loving us. The angels can’t come between us and God, the rulers, or spiritual forces can’t come between us and God’s Love, nothing in all of creation. There is nothing. Young people hear me right now as I say this, there is nothing that can separate you from God’s love. No matter what you do or what happens with any other force that may be out there. You will always be loved by God.
Application: In those moments when you feel unlovable. In those moments where you wonder if you are loved. In those moments where you blame yourself for your situation, rightly or wrongly, and think that there is no way you can be loved with your past, no that God does indeed love you, and it is the greatest force of love there could ever me.
Conclusion: As we close tonight, I know some of your stories, but not all of you. I know what some of you have been through, but I don’t know every battle that people your age are going through. I know many of you struggle with anxiety and maybe even depression. I know some of you have dealt with the horrible feeling unlovable. I know that some of you are dealing with a multitude of things. But what you will never have to go through in this life, is a life without God’s Love. There’s a cross to prove it. There’s a God that has come near to his people despite the struggle sin causes in our lives. And there is a hope we have. Yes, God loves all of us. But we cannot truly experience the goodness of that love if we are not in relationship with Him. If we do not receive the gift of eternal life that was bought for us by Christ’s death and secured by his resurrection we cannot know the depths of God’s love. If you are somebody who has never allowed Jesus to be the savior of your life, I pray you allow tonight to be the night.
