(Romans 8:33-34) The Lie of the Believers Sin!

There is no higher pursuit than the worship of God. In fact we become like the God we adore and serve for good or ill. All depends upon the nature of the God or gods we follow. If we follow the living God of biblical revelation then we will image him. If we follow idols we will image them.

But the importance of our believes isn’t simply scholarly observation.

Or a counseling observation.

It is Biblical.

Cole quotes - Ps 115:8 to

demonstrate that his observation are not just his opinion,

but something taught by God’s Word.

Psalm 115:4–8 ESV

4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

The Psalmist is saying

- those who believe and trust in Idols become just empty as the gods they worship.

Not a wonder we live in an age where people feel empty,

we live in a world who has rejected the reality of God.

Now consider

- How do the lies we believe about suffering effect us?

We have been considering the teachings of Paul in Romans 8:31-39 -

And he gives us a series of questions.

And as we consider those questions -

we realize his questions are meant to reveal the lies we believe about God >>>>

- when we are suffering.

- And when we are hurting.

- And when are in despair.

Often the answers to these questions do not reveal what is true about God,

but the lies that we believe about God.

Pau is giving us questions>>>>

- that point us to the eternal security a Christian has in God.

In other words

- he is teaching us that the Christian can never loose

God’s blessings,

justification

or love.

We have already looked at one of those lies

The Lie of Destruction in in Romans 8:31-32

Now we will look at another lie in Romans 8:33-34 -

Romans 8:31–35 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? 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. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

What lie are we dealing with this morning?

Romans 8:33 – 34 teaches us – It is a lie that our sin can separate us from God.

And

From this text,

We Must Reject the Lies of Despair and Trust in the Grace Found in Christ.

So what lie do we believe when we sin?

The Lie: A believer’s sin can separate us from the love of God: Because our justification is secure in Christ. (Romans 8:33-34)

We as Christians, who are waiting for the return of Christ, live in a paradox.

- The Word teaches us that we are to be holy as God is holy. (1 Peter 1:16)

- The Holy Spirit bears witness to our conscience of right or wrong. (Jn 16:8)

- We are called the ambassadors of Christ, the bride of Christ, a chosen people.

We understand with those titles come the obligation to honor Christ with our lives.

- When we reflect on the cross, we realize that because he died for us to live for him. (2 Corinthians 5:15)

But the paradox is we don't have the full capacity to live perfectly holy as Christ is holy.

The paradox is:

we live dead to the power of sin, but still with the presence of sin.

You and me, everyday, have to fight sin.

1 John 1:10 ESV

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Now consider,

one of the hardships and challenges of living in a now, but not yet world - is we often live with guilt.

- Some of that guilt - is unrealistic expectations. We need to remember we are human, not God. It is ok not to be perfect.

- But some of that guilt - is because we know we have sinned before God. (Rom 6:12-13)

Think about it -

Remember the lists of sins Paul began with.

Romans 1:28–32 ESV

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

You might say - I am free from some of those sins.

But even as Christians - we have to admit we have some of those sins.

And our conscience feels the guilt of it.

And because of that guilt,

we might question whether God still loves us.

We Realize were not worthy of God's love,

and so we assume our sin separates us from the love of God.

ILLUSTRATION:

I Remember talking with a young boy.

And he was completely broken after a service.

He is sobbing, in front of me,

because he realized he had sinned before God.

Best as I can tell, he was already a believer in Christ.

He believed that God had saved him from his sins.

But he was horrified that he had dishonored his savior by sinning.

He might be a boy,

But every one of us wears a certain amount of that pain and shame.

I think of Psalm 38:3-4 - where David confessed his own guilt.

Psalm 38:3–4 ESV

3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

That is exactly what Paul wants to address here.

So he asks the question -

Romans 8:33-34 (ESV)

1) The Lie that our sin can separate us from the love of God

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.

- I'm not standing here saying everything is fine when we sin.

- I'm not standing here and saying that sin is not a big deal.

After all – Paul tells us that a single man sin had the capacity

to send every person to hell, apart from Christ

to cause every person to experience death,

to cast the entire world into suffering.

That is what Paul taught us in Romans 5:12-21.

I'm not saying sin is no big deal… I'm saying the gospel of Jesus Christ is a bigger deal.

Why?

To begin with -

Because through the gospel –

1) Our accuser justifies us.

Who is the one who has the right to accuse us?

Only our creator.

Our creator is our judge, because he created us good and pure.

Genesis 1:31 ESV

31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

God made us good,

and thus >>>

Only God has a right judge us.

And yet, - the one who could accuse us is the one who saves us.

Wow!

Romans 3:22–25 ESV

22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

It is a Lie that our sin can separate us from the love of God

- because is both our accuser and the one who justifies us.

But Paul gives us another question in this passage.

One just as compelling as the first one.

Romans 8:33-34 (ESV)

1) The Lie that our sin can separate us from the love of God

Who is the person who has the right to condemn me?

- Perhaps it was the person that I wronged.

The neighbor, family member… Who I sinned against.

They may have fault with you.

The law may even give you a punishment.

But none of these are your ultimate judge.

Be comforted in that!

- Perhaps it is Satan.

ILLUSTRATION:

I often tell my kids – who is the accuser?

>>>>> Which they've learned answer – Satan.

Revelation 12:10 ESV

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

And so I always tell them, don't be like Satan – be like Jesus.

Don't be an accuser.

Though Satan accuses us – don't make the mistake to think that he is the one who condemns us.

Jesus Christ is the one that God the father has given the right to condemn the world for its sin.

It is Jesus Christ who is our condemner.

Peter taught -

Acts 10:42 ESV

42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

In that sense,

Christ is the condemner of everyone of us.

But who is the condemner - to those who have been saved in Christ?

2) Our condemner is our savior.

Romans 8:33-34 (ESV)

1) The Lie that our sin can separate us from the love of God

What is the significance of Paul pointing us to the death and resurrection of Christ?

Because he's already taught us in Romans 3:25 that it is his blood that pays for our sins.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Colossians 2:13-15 -

Colossians 2:13–15 ESV

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Jesus dying on the cross made him the Savior of anyone who would say

>>> I'm not good enough to get to heaven

– but I trust in Christ to pay for my sins.

But think of what Paul is teaching us.

Who is our condemner? The one who saved us on the cross.

The one who has the right to actually accuse us

is the one who actually paid the debt we owe for our sin.

It's not that God overlooks sin.

It is that Christ paid the price of our sin.

How do we know that our sin cannot separate us from the love of God?

Because the one who would condemn us

is the one who saved us.

How about that for assurance.

Our sin separates us from the love of God is a lie.

And the text doesn't end there.

Not only does it say that our condemner is our Savior, but >>>>

3) Our condemner is at the right hand of God, interceding for us.

For some of us,

we already have enough to convince us that we are securing Christ.

The fact that the God who judges us is the God who justifies us.

The fact that the Christ who condemns us is the one who saves us.

I need no other argument

- from the famous hymn, I found my resting place.

I am convinced I am saved in Christ.

But For many of us

– we know we are saved by Christ,

- but how do I know that I'm still saved when I sin?

We all would agree that our salvation should not be our insurance policy.

But our guilt leads us to question whether God still loves me when I sin.

I know when I got saved it was by the blood,

but do I stay saved when I sin.

Many of us struggle with whether we need good works to keep our salvation

or not.

Paul makes it very clear we do not

– we have an advocate whose standing at the right hand of the father saying … “it's under the blood”.

Romans 8:33-34 (ESV)

1) The Lie that our sin can separate us from the love of God

What is the significance of being at the right hand?

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Right, Right Hand

To be at the right hand of God is to occupy a place of the choicest blessings (Ps 16:11); it is the place where the Lord Jesus Christ now reigns in glory and intercedes for those he has redeemed (Rom 8:34).

Jesus Christ being at the right hand of the father means –

he has full access to God

he's in position to receive the greatest blessings from God

Being at the right hand of the father,

is to have the father's ear and blessings.

But he is not just at the right hand.

He is there interceding for us.

{{{{In other words our Savior,

is sitting in the place of God's blessing,

and asking God to intervene on our behalf for our good.}}}}

Now lets back this up a bit,

Our condemner is

the one who could accuse us

is the one sitting at the right hand of the father,

in the seat of God's blessings,

and asking God to intervene in our case.

Do we really think our sin can separate us from the love of God?

Just like what 1 John 2:1 says -

1 John 2:1 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.

Ladies and gentlemen,

don't think for a minute that your sin can ever separate you from the love of God.

I'm not saying

go and sin because it doesn't matter.

Romans 6:1–2 ESV

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

But I am saying,

when you do sin,

don't think that you lost your salvation.

don’t think God love you any less.

Because you didn't earn your salvation,

and neither do you keep your salvation.

It is all by Grace through faith in Christ alone.

CONCLUSION:

As I begin today,

A.W. Tozer said in the Knowledge of the Holy -

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” (A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy)

If you believe that God is up in heaven looking for reason to make you lose your salvation.

If you believe that God is up up in heaven looking for reason to come down and smash you with a hammer.

Then you're going to struggle with guilt and fear.

Guilt for all the sin you commit.

Fear that God won’t love you anymore.

You are going to feel like David –

Psalm 38:3–4 ESV

But

- If you believe that the God who could accuse you – sent his son to save you.

- If you believe that Christ to could condemn you – gave his life for you.

- If you believe the Christ to could condemn you – is sitting next to the father pleading your case.

Then you will not live in guilt and fear,

but the joy and peace found only in Christ.

Don't carry a burden God never intended you to carry.

Don’t puff yourself up into somebody you're not - you are a sinner waiting for Jesus.

A believer who thinks that his sin separates them from the love of God,

Is believing a lie.

The believer has two choices -

- They can either choose to live in fear and guilt, that is already paid for by Christ.

- or they can live the new life found in Christ, and the peace and joy found in Christ.

But I submit to you

– you must choose which you will believe.

We Must Reject the Lies of Despair and Trust in the Grace Found in Christ.

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