If God Be For Us
The Romans Road • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsLife is filled with moments that cause believers to question their security. Suffering makes us wonder if God has forgotten us. Weakness makes us question our usefulness. Failure invites condemnation. The uncertainty of tomorrow can leave us anxious. Yet Romans 8 answers every one of those fears—not by explaining every mystery of God’s sovereignty, but by revealing the heart of God toward His children. In this remarkable chapter, Paul does not ask us to trust in our ability to hold on to God. Instead, he points us to a God who has already taken hold of us. He gives hope in suffering, help in weakness, purpose in every circumstance, and assurance that nothing can separate us from His love. Our confidence rests not in our grip on Him, but in His unbreakable grip on us.
Notes
Transcript
Series: The Romans Road
Scripture: Romans 8:18–39
Title: If God Be For Us
Subtitle: My hope is not in my grip on God, but in His grip on me.
Phrase of the Day:
“My hope is not in my grip on God, but in His grip on me.”
Introduction
Imagine a father walking through a crowded parking lot with his four-year-old son. As they step off the curb, the little boy reaches up and wraps his tiny hand around his father’s finger. If you were to ask that little boy, “Who’s holding whom?” he would probably smile and say, “I’m holding my daddy.” But every parent knows that’s not really what’s happening. The child’s security isn’t found in the strength of his grip, but in the strength of his father’s hand. If the child stumbles, the father doesn’t let go. If he gets distracted and starts looking at something else, the father instinctively tightens his grip. If danger suddenly appears, the father doesn’t trust the child to hold on tighter—he scoops him up into his arms. The child may think he’s holding on to his father, but the truth is, his father has been holding on to him the entire time. Church, that’s the picture Paul paints in Romans 8. Our assurance isn’t found in how tightly we can hold on to God. It is found in the unchanging reality that God is holding on to us. My hope is not in my grip on God, but in His grip on me.
That is why Romans 8 is one of the most hope-filled chapters in all of Scripture.
Notice what Paul does not do.
He does not explain every mystery surrounding God’s eternal purposes.
He does not answer every philosophical question about divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
He reveals the character of God.
Every paragraph pulls back another curtain and shows us another reason we can trust Him.
When you step back and look at this chapter as a whole, it becomes clear that Paul is answering one enormous question:
Can God’s children rest securely in Him?
Yes. Because God is for His people.
Everything Paul says builds toward the triumphant declaration in verse 31.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Today I want us to discover what kind of God stands behind those words.
Because when we understand His heart toward His children, our fears begin to lose their grip.
And we discover a greater truth.
“My hope is not in my grip on God, but in His grip on me.”
Road Map
Today we’re going to discover four assurances every believer has because God is for us.
God's Grip Gives Hope
God's Grip Gives Help
God's Grip Gives an Advocate
God's Grip Never Lets Go
I. God’s Grip Gives Hope (Rom 8:18–25)
I. God’s Grip Gives Hope (Rom 8:18–25)
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Paul begins with something every believer understands.
Suffering Is Real
Suffering Is Real
Notice that Paul doesn’t try to explain away suffering, nor does he pretend that followers of Jesus are exempt from it. He doesn’t offer clichés or empty optimism. Instead, he acknowledges that suffering is part of life in a fallen world.
Promised by Jesus
Promised by Jesus
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Present Pain Is Temporary
Present Pain Is Temporary
Two realities on opposite sides of the scale.
Two realities on opposite sides of the scale.
The sufferings of this present time.
The sufferings of this present time.
One of Satan’s favorite lies during suffering is this: “This is all there is.”
One of Satan’s favorite lies during suffering is this: “This is all there is.”
When you’re grieving…
when you’re battling illness…
when the marriage is struggling…
when the diagnosis comes…
when the future seems uncertain…
it becomes easy to believe that today’s pain defines tomorrow.
The glory that is to be revealed.
The glory that is to be revealed.
This present age is not the final chapter. There is another day coming.
This present age is not the final chapter. There is another day coming.
Believer, your future is brighter than your present darkness.
Believer, your future is brighter than your present darkness.
That is Christian hope.
Not wishful thinking.
Certain expectation based on God’s promises.
All of Creation Is Groaning and Waiting
All of Creation Is Groaning and Waiting
19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
The whole word was cursed with sin.
The whole word was cursed with sin.
The ground was cursed.
Death entered creation.
Decay became normal.
None of these belong to God’s original design.
None of these belong to God’s original design.
There is coming a day when everything broken will be made new.
Creation isn’t waiting for destruction. It is waiting for restoration.
God is not merely rescuing souls. He is redeeming His creation.
God is not merely rescuing souls. He is redeeming His creation.
Our Hope is in the Lord
Our Hope is in the Lord
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
The world groans in despair.
The world groans in despair.
Believers groan in expectation.
Believers groan in expectation.
We know this world is not our home.
We know death doesn’t win.
We know sickness doesn’t have the final word.
We know brokenness won’t last forever.
We know Jesus is coming again.
Our groaning is the sound of anticipation.
Hope changes how we wait.
Hope changes how we wait.
24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Illustration — Labor Pains
Jesus used the imagery of childbirth to describe suffering (John 16:21), and Paul echoes that picture here.
21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
The pain is real.
The tears are real.
But they are not pointless.
Every groan reminds us that something better is coming.
Application
Maybe today your suffering feels overwhelming.
Perhaps you’ve quietly wondered if God has forgotten you.
Romans 8 reminds us that suffering is not evidence that God has abandoned you.
Our suffering may be temporary, but God’s promises are eternal.
So if you’re carrying a burden today, don’t judge God’s love by today’s pain. Judge today’s pain by God’s promises. The God who has promised glory has never broken a promise.
And because of that…My hope is not in my grip on God…but in His grip on me.
II. God’s Grip Gives Help
II. God’s Grip Gives Help
Have you ever found yourself week because of the suffering your going through?
You bow your head to pray and your so overwhelmed you don’t know where to start.
Our prayers get really short.
God, help me
God, Save me.
God, deliver me.
God, your will be done.
Paul doesn’t rebuke our weakness. He comforts it.
The Spirit Helps Us
The Spirit Helps Us
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
We Don’t Always Know What to Pray because we can’t see the big picture.
We Don’t Always Know What to Pray because we can’t see the big picture.
I’ve prayed for things that later I thanked God He didn’t answer.
I’ve wanted God to remove difficulties that He later used to shape my faith.
Sometimes our greatest limitation isn’t our vocabulary. It’s our scope.
We simply cannot see what God sees.
Our confidence isn’t in the words that we say but in the one we are praying to.
Our confidence isn’t in the words that we say but in the one we are praying to.
The Spirit Prays When We Cannot
The Spirit Prays When We Cannot
The Holy Spirit doesn’t stand beside us criticizing our weak prayers. He comes alongside us.
The Holy Spirit doesn’t stand beside us criticizing our weak prayers. He comes alongside us.
The purpose of prayer isn’t to bring the Spirit into alignment with our will. It’s to bring our hearts into alignment with His.
The purpose of prayer isn’t to bring the Spirit into alignment with our will. It’s to bring our hearts into alignment with His.
The more you mature in prayer, the less you talk God into your plans and the more He transforms your heart into His.
The more you mature in prayer, the less you talk God into your plans and the more He transforms your heart into His.
Let the Spirit take over your prayer and you will hear more that you speak.
Let the Spirit take over your prayer and you will hear more that you speak.
Illustration — A Skilled Counselor
Have you ever sat with an experienced counselor after walking through a season of deep pain?
You begin trying to explain what’s going on inside you. The words come out broken. Your thoughts seem scattered. You struggle to put your emotions into sentences because what you’re feeling is deeper than your vocabulary.
But a seasoned counselor doesn’t just listen to the words coming out of your mouth. Through years of training and experience, they listen for what’s underneath the words. They hear the fear behind the anger. They recognize the grief behind the silence. They notice the shame hidden beneath the excuses. Before long, they gently say something like, “I think what you’re really feeling is…” And suddenly, they put words to something you couldn’t express yourself.
Why? Because they have the experience to hear beyond your words.
That is a faint picture of what the Holy Spirit does for every believer.
The difference is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t need years of training or careful observation. He knows us completely. He searches our hearts. He understands every fear, every burden, every tear, and every emotion that we cannot put into words. When our prayers are incomplete, confused, or reduced to nothing more than groans, the Spirit perfectly expresses what is in our hearts before the Father. He doesn’t merely hear what we say—He knows what we mean. And because He intercedes according to the will of God, we can rest knowing that even when we don’t know what to pray, heaven never misunderstands our hearts.
We know God Is Always Working
We know God Is Always Working
We might not know what to pray, but we do know God is always working it out.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
This may be one of the most quoted verses in the Bible. Unfortunately…it is also one of the most misunderstood.
Paul does not say everything is good.
Paul does not say everything is good.
Cancer isn’t good.
Divorce isn’t good.
Death isn’t good.
Sin isn’t good.
Loss isn’t good.
Paul isn’t denying reality. He’s declaring God’s sovereignty over reality.
Paul isn’t denying reality. He’s declaring God’s sovereignty over reality.
God works all things together for good.
God works all things together for good.
The emphasis is on the Worker not the circumstances.
The emphasis is on the Worker not the circumstances.
God doesn’t call everything good. He promises to use everything for good.
God doesn’t call everything good. He promises to use everything for good.
God’s Purpose Is Greater Than Our Comfort
God’s Purpose Is Greater Than Our Comfort
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
The good is that God is making us more like Jesus.
The good is that God is making us more like Jesus.
Sometimes the greatest work God does in our lives comes through the very circumstances we would have chosen to avoid.
God is more committed to your Christlikeness than your comfort.
God is more committed to your Christlikeness than your comfort.
God finishes what He starts.
God finishes what He starts.
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Throughout church history, these verses have generated countless theological debates. But don’t miss Paul’s pastoral purpose. Paul isn’t inviting discouraged believers into a classroom. He’s inviting them into confidence.
God foreknew.
God predestined.
God called.
God justified.
God glorified.
Paul’s emphasis is not on unraveling every mystery of God’s eternal counsel.
Paul’s emphasis is not on unraveling every mystery of God’s eternal counsel.
His emphasis is this: The God who began your salvation is the God who will complete your salvation.
His emphasis is this: The God who began your salvation is the God who will complete your salvation.
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Application
Your salvation has never depended on your ability to hold everything together.
The Spirit is praying.
The Father is working.
The Son has redeemed you.
You are not holding your life together. God is.
Church…My hope is not in my grip on God…but in His grip on me.
III. God’s Grip Gives an Advocate
III. God’s Grip Gives an Advocate
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
This is the conclusion of everything he has been building since the beginning of chapter eight.
Think about everything we've learned.
God has promised future glory.
The Spirit helps us in our weakness.
God works all things together for good.
God is shaping us into the image of His Son.
God finishes what He starts.
The Cross is the supreme proof that God is for us.
The Cross is the supreme proof that God is for 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?
The crucifixion of Christ happened in the mind of God before the world began
The crucifixion of Christ happened in the mind of God before the world began
Jesus laid down his life for us as the ultimate plan of redemption.
Jesus laid down his life for us as the ultimate plan of redemption.
Christ is our intercessor in the courtroom of heaven.
Christ is our intercessor in the courtroom of heaven.
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 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.
Illustration: The Courtroom of Heaven
God the Father: The Judge
Perfectly holy.
Perfectly just.
The One who renders the final verdict.
Satan: The Accuser
"The accuser of the brethren." (Revelation 12:10)
Brings every charge against us.
Points to our sin, guilt, and failure.
We are The Defendants
Guilty.
No defense.
No righteousness of my own.
Unable to pay my debt.
Jesus Christ: The Advocate
Presents His finished work on the cross.
"I paid for that."
Continually intercedes on our behalf.
Our righteousness before the Father.
The Evidence
Our sin is real.
Christ's sacrifice is greater.
The empty tomb proves the payment was accepted.
The Verdict
"Justified."
Not because we were innocent.
Because Christ satisfied the penalty.
The Result
No condemnation.
No appeal.
No double jeopardy.
The case is permanently closed.
No matter what the accuser (Satan) brings up, the answer is the same, “Jesus covered it all.”
No matter what the accuser (Satan) brings up, the answer is the same, “Jesus covered it all.”
You are justified in Christ.
You are justified in Christ.
IV. God’s Grip Never Lets Go
IV. God’s Grip Never Lets Go
We are more than Conquerors.
We are more than Conquerors.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Most people define victory like this:
Most people define victory like this:
The cancer goes away.
The marriage is restored.
The temptation disappears.
The persecution ends.
Paul says something radically different.
Because we are more than conquerors, He doesn't merely bring us through suffering, He uses the suffering to accomplish His purposes. (Joseph)
Because we are more than conquerors, He doesn't merely bring us through suffering, He uses the suffering to accomplish His purposes. (Joseph)
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Nothing can separate us.
Nothing can separate us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 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.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Church, Romans 8 reminds us that every fear we carry has already been answered by the character of God.
When I suffer... God gives me hope.
When I am weak... God gives me help.
When I am confused... God gives me wisdom.
When I am accused... God gives me an Advocate.
When I am afraid... God gives me assurance.
When I am uncertain... God gives me His promises.
When I am tempted to let go... God reminds me He never will.
Invitation
Invitation
Maybe today you've never placed your faith in Jesus Christ. The God who gave His own Son for you is inviting you to come to Him today.
Or maybe you're a believer who has been living in fear instead of assurance.
Today, stop looking at the strength of your grip.
Start looking at the strength of His.
If God is for us... who can be against us?
