Complete Victory in Love
Notes
Transcript
Good morning Valley Church Clinton!
Thanks so much for being here this morning.
Today, I’m excited to be wrapping up our sermon series all about Romans 8, and I’ve honestly loved every second of it.
I mean this truly, this for me has been a transformative study, and I hope you’ve gleaned some spiritual insights out of it.
Lets pray before we get into the word.
Okay, so, I’m not a huge sports person, although I love watching and attending games with friends and family,
I don’t feel like the Lord has given me enough insight to remember all the players and positions and different strategies and to keep up with rule changes…
That’s just not how my brain is wired, I know some of you out there love to keep up with all that, and that’s great,
I’m just too dumb, okay?
But one thing I love, even in the last few years Indiana teams have experienced this,
Is an underdog story, and a battle all the way up until the last second.
I think the IU championship was like that, we saw the Pacers do this, we saw arguably the best March Madness moment ever with Uconn and Duke.
Heck, we even saw the Indianapolis Colts do better than expected last year.
But here’s something that often doesn’t get talked about for very long, and we kind of don’t see it as exciting:
It’s the complete dominations in sport. The blowouts that are just so embarrassing to watch, you get actually embarrassed sitting at home even watching the game.
I remember a moment like this very well when I purchased UFC 239.
If you’re unfamiliar with the UFC, it’s the Ultimate Fighting Championship where individuals practicing mixed martial arts come in and fight, and the fight ends either by a knockout, a choke out, or by judges decision if neither of those things happen.
Well, I paid 60 or 70 bucks for this particular fight, we had a few friends over, all excited about it, two guys names Ben Askren and Jorge Masvidal were in the bout.
So, the bell rings, both men step forward, Jorge performs something called a flying knee, and 5 seconds later Ben is unconscious on the floor.
5 seconds. That is what I call complete domination.
The same feeling happens from time to time in most major sporting leagues:
Teams will have a perfect record, and going into the championship, everyone knows they’ll win.
This happened first in my memory when the Indianapolis Colts were on a hot streak with Payton Manning from 2005 to around 2009, they only lost a handful of games and won the 2006 season Superbowl.
It happened in 1940 when the Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73 to 0.
It happened in 2000 when Tiger Woods won the U.S. open by 15 strokes,
It happened when Courtney Dauwalter won the Moab 240, a 240 mile ultra marathon, by 10 hours.
There are just some wins that are so clear and uncontested, complete domination.
They’re almost boring to us because there’s no tension, or lead up,
It’s the team that was supposed to win, coming in to do the thing that they do - win.
Looking at our passage today, this is what Paul has been building this entire section to:
God wins.
And there is something about the level of power that God brings to the table that should be expected: complete domination.
Total blowout.
A perfect God that has a perfect record, he’s coming into the championship never having lost,
And guess what? It’s a blowout.
But here’s the crazy thing about this overwhelming win - the winner is you.
It’s us.
All the theology, all the doctrine, all the law, all the plans that God put in place to win,
All the evil he’s defeated, the prohets he’s sent,
The people he’s put in our path,
The church, the Bible, Jesus Christ, the Spirit,
All of it has been for the sole purpose to make us the winners.
To make us more than conquerers.
And for no other reason than love.
So, Paul starts us out here by writing this:
35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
And of course, this is something we call today a rhetorical question, and Paul expects us to have a specific answer, but this question marks the setup for the obvious answer here in a few lines.
But it’s the natural start of our own understanding of Christ as well, and it’s a question we need to wrestle with ourselves:
Can Anyone Separate Us From Christ?
Can Anyone Separate Us From Christ?
And of course, we almost get offended that this question is even asked.
Because of course the answer is no!
No one, no thing, can stand up against Jesus Christ, I think nearly every Christian denomination and tradition can agree that’s the answer,
There’s no true Christian can can say something or someone can actually separate us from the love of Christ…
But the reason Paul writes this is not for an intellectual reason, it’s for a practical reason.
Because often, this is how we live our lives. We struggle with the fact that we do indeed suffer in this life, and with suffering and coming up against opposition, we live out our faith with…
Anxiety. Fear. Hopelessness. Feeling abandoned.
We live out the Christian life not as people with a Good Shepherd who we trust,
But a people who doubt, and try to make ourselves little gods, and try to figure out our own problems.
This is what Paul is implying. He knows the Roman church understands that God wins, they know that in their minds.
But do they believe it in their souls? In their heart of hearts, do they really believe that Jesus Christ is for them?
And this is why Paul goes on to list these various trials:
Affliction, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, the sword.
See, in Greco-Roman literature, especially with the stoics, the main character of a story or the person of the biography would have all of their trials and tests listed, so as to show how wise the person was to pass all these things and tell the tale.
Well, in this scenario, Paul is saying: look, these things, this suffering, it will happen to you in the future. It may be happening to you right now.
But, instead of the character being regarded as the hero, it’s Jesus.
Jesus is the one who passed the trials, so even in these trials, we can emerge victorious.
And this list, it isn’t random. These are very real scenarios that the Roman Christian could absolutely endure.
I look at this list, and I can’t imagine worse things to go through. Affliction, distress, and persecution - those affect everyone and everything.
They are ongoing, and very personal. They are both internal and external…
Then you get to famine. So no one in the land can eat or drink. And after famine, you get to nakedness. Literally not being able to afford the clothes on your back.
Then you get to danger - your life is being threatened.
Then finally, the sword.
And whether or not this was intentional on Paul’s part, this death by the sword part was only a few years away for this audience as Emperor Nero would take over and use Christians as scapegoats, systematically chasing them down and putting them to death.
Point being, these are the hardships that Paul is saying could, and likely will, happen to us in our Christian life, and he’s building up this climax of what you already know the answer is and will be before Paul even tells us the answer…
But before he does that, he takes a little detour in verse 36, let’s read it:
36 As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.
Now, to us, this seems a little weird, it’s kind of like a break in the stream of things.
But, this is an Old Testament reference, a quote from Psalm 44, verse 22.
And in this Psalm, the author is essentially complaining to God, which I’ve always found fascinating.
But they’re complaining to God because in their own estimation, they’ve kept God’s covenant, they’ve done what he’ said, they worshipped Him completley, they haven’t forgotten Him, for once in their history.
17 All this has happened to us, but we have not forgotten you or betrayed your covenant. 18 Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from your path.
They were getting slaughtered by their enemies left and right even though their hearts were in the right place.
There’s nowhere yet that I’ve found in the Bible that promises a works-based righteousness.
That promises God will shield us from any and all trials and affliction and suffering.
Because I bet you’ve felt this lament before.
God, I’m doing all I can here, but I feel like I’m getting beat up here constantly.
I feel like I can’t catch a break.
God, I’m trying to be a person after you’re heart, but I’m failing and I’m suffering down here.
I’m being led to the slaughter it feels like every day.
Where are you???
Well, this is why we keep reading, because the story never ends in suffering, it ends in victory.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
There’s our answer. This is what we’ve been waiting on.
Paul answers the rhetorical question with a resounding no!
And not only no, its more than that,
We Are More Than Conquerors
We Are More Than Conquerors
Not only are we recipients of divine love, not only can no one separate us from that love, not only can no type of suffering even touch the love Christ has given us,
But we are more than conquerors.
Do you know what that means?
I think we all know God wins, He’s able to finalize everything with a complete domination and victory,
But now Paul is saying we are not only victorious, but completley victorious.
That word, conquerors, to put the Greek another way, it means “completley prevail”,
But it’s modified in this sentence with a “more than”, which actually heightens the meaning in the Greek.
It’s total, and complete, victory.
It’s conquering a land, with nothing left, totally winning.
If we are in Christ, that means that the answer to “Who can separate us from the love of Christ” is a resounding NO!
So, that is the thing we cling to. Through affliction, suffering, trials of all kinds,
We cling to the love of Jesus Christ,
Because it is the only constant in this world.
And love is the only thing that can indeed get us through our suffering here on earth.
Usually, we assume suffering happens because God had abandoned us. Because he’s changed his mind about us, and decided we weren’t worth it anymore.
But that can’t be further from the truth.
I think Derek Kinder puts it really well in his commentary on the Psalms, specifically commenting on Psalm 44 that’s quoted in our Romans passage this morning:
…it implies the revolutionary thought that suffering may be a battle-scar rather than a punishment; the price of loyalty in a world which is at war with God. If this is so, a reverse as well as a victory may be a sign of fellowship with him, not of alienation.
-Derek Kinder
I think this is an amazing way to look at our various ways of affliction in this life…
Because it isn’t pointless, and God will use it for good, even if it’s not good.
Enduring suffering is like standing up to the evils of this world and saying “no, this isn’t going to take me down, because I have the creator of the universe on my side”.
If you live this life as a true follower of Christ, you don’t get to go to heaven with a shiny suit of armor, not having seen battle…
You get to go in a tattered, scuffed, worn out suit because you were on the front lines.
12 Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Friends, we have to endure.
Because God promises that we are not just going to survive, but we are more than conquerers.
And the reason Paul can write this with such certainty, such conviction, even though he himself has sat in a prison, has endured affliction of all kinds, and will eventually be put to death by the sword…
He can write these things because of this:
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I love the language he uses here to start that sentence, because it confirms on thing that is fundamentally lacking in our day:
Fully Convinced
Fully Convinced
Paul, along with the other apostles, are fully convinced that Jesus is Lord.
That is what the word “persuaded” means here, it’s more than simply bought in, or taking a liking to, or “this will work for now until I find something better”
The Greek here implies absolute certainty.
And in our time, here in the west, this is rare.
We need ample evidence, and testing, and our entire society rests on skepticism.
I say that as a very flawed individual myself, as a skeptic and a guy who needs the data to make an informed decision,
And the Greeks we’re so much different.
They were an advanced society, fiercely intelligent, Greek is still regarded as the most beautiful language ever…
So Paul, saying he is fully convinced, is a big deal.
And he’s not just fully convinced that Jesus existed, it’s so much more than that…
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That is a pretty comprehensive list.
Death or life is comprehensive enough honestly, but that covers our view of the world.
But he goes on - angels or rulers. That covers the divine spectrum of entities that could come against us.
Things present or to come - that covers all of time.
Powers, height, depth - Anything from the stars above in heaven to the depths of hell itself…
Nor any other created thing - just in case he missed anything…
Will be able to separate us from the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Paul has been fully convinced, totally persuaded, of these things.
This is the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, this is the power of the gospel.
It alone can transform your mind and soul and heart, it alone is what this rotting world needs to be saved from itself.
It alone is what convicts and draws people in….
It is the only thing people need, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is nothing that can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ.
We need to be fully convinced of that church.
Why?
Because….
Love Is The Thing
Love Is The Thing
You may be wondering what I mean by that.
There’s a reason Paul concludes this section of thought, again starting all the way back in Romans chapter 5 as man counts it….
There’s a reason he focuses so much on this concept of love.
It’s because love is the thing.
It’s the whole reason God created us, came to us, put us to work, and saved us.
It’s the only reason God puts up with our shenanigans.
It is the summation of all the law and the prophets,
Listen, if I can convince you of two things this morning it’s this:
Accept the gospel of Jesus Christ,
And that love should be our sole priority in life.
When questioned about the most important commands, this is what Jesus says:
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
All of the law and the prophets, the thing that the Jews gave themselves for,
It’s culminates to this: Love.
The point is knowing how to love God first, and love people second.
That’s it.
Because let me tell you, we don’t know how to do it ourselves.
We aren’t capable of true love, like God loves us,
God has to show us how, and even when he gives us explicit instruction, we still screw it up,
So he had to send his Spirit to dwell inside us to even give the capacity to properly love.
And listen, I know the word love has been completley spoiled by our culture,
And when we hear it, usually we think “be nice” or “love is love” or “rom-com, feel good movies”…
But I think it’s time to take it back.
I think it’s time for the church to take the love of God and show the world what it’s like.
Because it is the thing that people crave, and they do’t even know it.
Self-sacrificial love, laying aside oneself for the sake of other, even for people who hate you - that is completely lost in our culture,
And I hate to say it,
But it’s starting to become completley lost in the church.
Even within the walls of our congregations, we hate each other.
We divide over carpet color. We get jealous when, God-forbid, something good happens to someone else.
We sit by, hoping our brother stumbles so we can gossip about them later.
This is the opposite of what Christ wants.
34 “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
This is how we should be known - by our love for one another.
This is how we are holy, set apart. Because of our intense love for one another.
And this is the type of love we are to show, it’s not mushy gushy, feel good love where we all walk away happy:
13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.
This is true love.
And there’s something about this love, that honestly I don’t even understand and probably will never, that is eternal.
It’s a love that we show right now, that does work, that reaps eternal rewards.
Now, if you’ve ever been to a wedding, you’ve heard this verse, and I hate that it’s so wrapped up in the wedding culture, but that’s a battle for another day,
8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known. 13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.
What we can see out in the world right now will come to an end.
All the prophecies, all the laws, even the pages of Scripture we adhere so closely to,
Tongues, even knowledge. All of it will come to an end, because it is partial. Incomplete, imperfect.
But do you notice what doesn’t end? What was there from the beginning, and will never be used up?
Do you see the continuum of heaven to earth, of past to present to future, the one thing that is eternal other than God?
It’s love.
I often don’t have the words to say what I want to say, but my favorite New Testament scholar N.T. Wright puts it so well. Bear with me, this is a long quote, but it’s so worth it:
“What you do in the Lord is not in vain. You are not oiling the wheels of a machine that's about to roll over a cliff. You are not restoring a great painting that's shortly going to be thrown on the fire. You are not planting rosed in a garden that's about to be dug up for a building site. You are -- strange though it may seem, almost as hard to believe as the resurrection itself -- accomplishing something that will become in due course part of God's new world.
Every act of love, gratitude, and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teaching a severely handicapped child to read or walk; every act of care and nurture, of comfort and support, for one's fellow human beings and for that matter one's fellow nonhuman creatures;
and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed that spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and make the name of Jesus honored in the world -- all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation that God will one day make.”
-N.T. Wright, Surprised By Hope
Friends, the love you show right now is literally eternal. You are not wasting your life by showing sacrificial love, you are gaining your life.
Your eternity doesn’t start later. It’s already started. You are working on new creation, because God wants you to.
Look, God showed His love to you by putting his son on the cross.
God has been with humanity all along. I know this because of how horribly inefficient his plan is to rescue us.
To God, it’s so slow, and painful, he could have snapped his fingers and either forced us to be his robots and to do his bidding,
Or he could have simply wiped us from creation, and everything else, and started over.
But he didn’t. He created everything, and put us in creation to tend it.
He showed extreme patience, and grace, all throughout,
For no other reason than love.
And from that love, no one can separate you.
It is eternal.
And in response, we need to show that love to everyone around us.
No matter who it is, we need to look at people the same way God looks at us:
Yes, as flawed. And screw ups, and unworthy.
But also as image bearers of God, the imago dei, as temples of God, filled with the spirit.
We need to start looking at God’s creation like he looks at us, who he gave his only son up for.
Are you fully convinced of this?
Are you willing to walk through affliction?
Are you willing to get some scuffs on your armor, to wear battle scars in the name of Jesus Christ?
Are you willing to pay the price of loyalty?
these are questions you need to wrestle with, because if the answer is yes, then they all end in love.
Because love is the thing.
20 But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.
5 May the Lord direct your hearts to God’s love and Christ’s endurance.
