What is God doing in Us?

What’s Going On???

Government - Romans 13 - God is Accomplishing His Sovereign Plan

World - Romans 11 - God is bring Glory to Himself

Today… What is God in Us - Romans 8

While accomplishing His Plan in the world,

God is keeping His Children SECURE in His Love

so that they can have the joy of Joining with Him.

Next Week… What is God doing to You - Romans 8

Illustration: Child and Interstate Travel

Complete trust

Security

Unaware of the potential

If a thought of worry comes to mind, your father says, No need to worry, Daddy’s got it under control

We need that kind of understanding.

So God goes to the extreme in Romans 8

“From the greater to the lesser” argument -

a fortiori - with even stronger reason

a form of argumentation that draws upon existing confidence in a proposition to argue in favor of a second proposition that is held to be implicit in, and even more certain than, the first.

If Cain is to young to use the riding lawn mower, then his younger brother is certainly to young to use it

God’s greatest Concern: Keeping His Children Secure in His Love.

If you can trust His plan there, you can trust him in every detail of your life

What is your greatest concern.

Eternal destiny of your soul and others?

Wealth, Possessions, Family

Right to _____, Your country, Your Politician

The toppling of Soul Concern is a function of wealth and ease

Romans 8:31-38

Vs. 31-32: God’s Love for His Children is Secure.

God’s Greatest Proposition:

Vs. 31 If God is for us, who can be against us?

The Gospel

The Bible contains both bad news & good news.

The bad news is something about YOU.

The good news is something about GOD.

Bad News 1 - We are all sinners

Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Throw a Rock to Walmart Contest - neither of us would hit it

All fall short of God’s standard in thoughts, words, and deeds

But the Bad News gets worse

Bad News 2 - The penalty for sin is death

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death...”

Worked for me and I paid you $50, your wage is the $50. Its what you earned

Bad News: Deserve to Die and be separated from God forever

Good News 1 - Christ Died for You

Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Suppose a person was in hospital dying of Covid. “Lets take the covid virus out of you and put it into me.” What would happen to me? What would happen to you?

The Good News gets better

Good News 2 - You can be saved through faith in Christ.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Faith means to trust. You must depend on Christ alone to forgive you and give you eternal life

Just as you sat in that chair and believed it would hold you, we must believe that Christ will save you through no effort of your own

Is there anything keeping you from Trusting Jesus Christ Right Now

Vs. 33-35: No One can separate the Father from His Children

Four Doctrinal Truths in These 2 1/2 verses

Election, Justification, Atonement, Eternal Priesthood of Jesus

“God’s Elect” - God Chose Them Before

God’s Elect

God chose you before you could ever do anything worth choosing - “before the foundations of the world” (Eph 1:4)

If there was anything that made you Elect-Worthy, it was your foolish, weak, and low station - “God chose what is foolish.. weak in the world… what is low and despised” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

“Justifies” - God Credits Them as His

Justification - Instantaneous and Complete act of God in which he thinks of our sins as forgiven and that Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us. It is not the presence of righteousness; it is the credit of righteousness.

Romans 5:1 - “justified by faith”

“Died and Rose” - Jesus Died & Rose For Them

Substitutionary Atonement - Jesus stood in our place and represented us… as our representative, he took the penalty (death) that we deserve

1 peter 3:18 - “Christ also suffered once for sin, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.

“Is interceding for us” - Jesus Continues Interceding For Them

Our High Priest - Hebrews 3:1

Salvation is Secure - “always lives to make intercession for His Children” - Hebrews 7:25

What About Me?

Can I separate myself from God?

No One Can Snatch You Out Of His Hand - John 10:2

Father does to His Child - Heb 12:6-7 - God disicplines the one he loves… God is treating you as sons.

Vs. 35-36: No Thing can separate the Father from His Children

Notice, it does not say nothing can separate you from loving Christ.

No, nothing can separate you from the love of Christ.... not for Christ… of Christ.

Challenges Can Not - Verse 35

Tribulation - affliction - outward affliction

Distress - difficulty - inward distress

Persecution - Oppression brought because of Jesus Christ

Famine - Hunger

Nakedness - physical needs are not being met… clothing, shelter, etc

Danger - physical danger; peril

Sword - death

How Will I make It??? You can’t. It’s pride and ignorance that tells yourself that you could

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) — 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

But here’s what you will know… It cannot separate you from God’s Love

Persecution Will Not - Verse 36

Quote from Psalm 44:22

Nothing New… Its’ always been this way with God’s people

“Blessed those persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you whenever people heap insults upon you and persecute you, and, while telling falsehoods, say all kinds of evil against you for my sake. Rejoice, yes, be filled with unrestrained gladness, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way did they persecute the prophets who lived before your time” (Matt. 5:10–12).

Vs. 37-39: Conclusion: God’s Love, in Christ Jesus, is Secure.

The Spirit of God changes the script here… from no negative thing can separate you, to we are promised ultimate victory

More than conquerors - Not just conquerors, but super conquerors

What is more than a conqueror?

Four Pairs… From one extreme to the other

Death / Life - Living or dying

Angels / Rulers - Angels or Demons

Present / To come - Now or Future

Height / Depth - Vertical Limits

Two Singles

Powers - those who rule; authorities

Any Created Thing - All that earth can offer

None of these can separate us from God’s Love.

Do you wrestle with Security or Assurance

Security comes from Understanding the Gospel

Assurance comes from Experiencing the Gospel

Security - all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives

Ultimate Supporting Text: Romans 8:31-39

Assurance - The internal sense we may have based upon certain evidences in our lives that we are truly born again and will persevere as Children of God to the end of their lives

Supporting Text: Romans 8:16 - The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

By producing fruit: Galatians 5:22–23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Are you prepared to explain the Gospel?

Bad News / Good News

· Bad News: Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23

· Good News: Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:8-9