Well, we've been working through, in the night, through the book of Romans, and tonight we come to the end of chapter 8. It's the end of really the first, well, if you look at the sections of Romans patterning the Heidelberg, as the Heidelberg patterned it off the book of Romans, you had the guilt section, the grace section, the gratitude section. But if you were looking at it here, you'll notice we come to a major end in Romans chapter eight before we address next time a shift in the book that looks at the teaching on election and predestination and Israel and Jacob and Esau and the great beauty of God choosing His people for salvation.
Tonight we come to the end here of Romans eight that is sort of a climax and celebration here of all that we've studied so far in the book of Romans. So we're going to be looking at verses 31 through 39, found on page 1123, and I'll read those verses. Let's give our attention to God's wonderful and holy word to us.
Verse 31 of Romans chapter 8: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? you 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? Who shall bring any charge against God's let 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. 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 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 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."
And there, in the reading of God's word well tonight as we continue in our study in the book of Romans, Paul provides us here, under the inspiration of the Spirit, a beautiful conclusion to everything that we have been looking at so far in this marvelous presentation of the gospel of God as he said in chapter one And here, as we looked at these first eight chapters, there's so much we come to a great climax and celebration of the great truths in application of what has been said to us. So it's a beautiful section tonight.
And you start with the question: Has God presented a gospel to us that has left anything in question? What is lacking in the Christian gospel? What more could be said to us that would help us and encourage us? That's something to think about in light of what we just read in Romans chapter 8. What kind of gospel would that be that could say more? He has said everything he needs to say to us so that he might cheer our hearts and we might have confidence before him. Confidence. God has presented to us the powerful gospel that has delivered us. And tonight he concludes by saying this gospel is so sure to you, beloved Christians. This gospel is so yes and amen to you.
You have to understand this great truth, this single great truth: there is absolutely nothing in this life that can separate us from the love of God. Nothing. Now, maybe this is one of those passages we've read so much that we've never really stopped and let it sink in for a little bit. That's what we're trying to do tonight. Imagine first hearing that. Imagine the first time you've ever heard something like that.
Whatever you're facing since this is a section that has come to us describing suffering and hardship and affliction whatever you're facing, he said it is all designed for you not to make you question his love but as a testimony that you belong to Him in body and soul, in life and in death. We say that in our Heidelberg that you would have assurance. Oh, yeah, yeah. The intention of the Christian faith, the intention of the scriptures, is that you would have assurance. We've been looking at that. I'm not sure you make much progress in the Christian life apart from some amount of certainty that God loves you. And a lot of people struggle with that. A lot of people wonder that. I think the love of God is presented cheaply today. I mean, we put it on bumper stickers. But he's not presenting it that way. He wants us to to consider somewhat of the depths of this love height and width and depth of the love of Christ which surpasses understanding. We'll we'll get to it as much as we can, but this is absolutely remarkable things that are said here at the end of Romans 8.
So in in verse 31, you'll notice that the apostle picks up and begins, as we look at this section bringing it to a close, he begins with a series of questions that are designed to make us think, to make us reflect on really what's been said to us in the book of Romans. "If you really understand," says Paul, "everything that I've been i've been saying in this book if you've really been understanding the last eight chapters of all that we have mined and all that we have spent time with and all the careful pastoral reflection that I've given you on the gospel of Jesus Christ, I want you to then to apply it. Oh, this is an application section. I want you to apply this to you. I want you to take this home. Think of what the truth really matters, then, why it matters for you, what it means for you of what we've been saying."
And if you've missed those sermons, you can go to the website. We're probably in, like, sermon 100 now, so you'd have a long way to catch up. But maybe not 100. There's a lot of wonderful things that Paul's been saying to us by the inspiration of the Spirit.
So notice the first question of verse 31: "What then shall we say to these things?" What things? What things? What things? are Paul is paul thinking about what is he thinking about when he says that? Well, if you were to ask what has been the heart of the whole book of Romans, I think you would get an answer to that particular question.
We can go right back to the very sort of thesis of the book: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." This is the power. This is why I wanted to preach it, says Paul. It's what we looked at this morning. That's why church is so important. You have to come to the source where the gospel is preached. There is the power of God to save people. And that's what he's been unpacking for us. "For in it," he says in the gospel, "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith of faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith
And then, of course, he he labored to unpack that great truth of the sort of central thesis of the book. And you know, in the course of the book, we went through the first painful chapters of Romans to hear about sin and to hear how wicked the human heart is, how depraved humans are, inheriting a sin nature from Adam, all those things that were said about the wrath of God and the just judgment of God that sinners deserve because they have departed from Him. And you don't have to look very far out into the world to see it. You don't have to look very far past your own hearts. And he gave a grand conclusion to that: "There is none righteous, no, not one. All of our righteousness is as a filthy garment. Nobody will get into heaven thinking that their own works are good enough. Everyone thinks that the bar of getting into heaven is just below them, isn't that the truth?"
Well, after he sort of really showed us the human heart, the poison of ass was on their lips there. there he went through a whole list there You could read at the end of Romans 3 he broke into, "But now the righteousness of God is revealed," and he explained this righteousness that is made available to us, the righteousness of Christ that is received by faith. That's why the article in 60 is so important in the heidelberg that We receive a righteousness. that is not our own we are covered in the garments of christ's righteousness They're imputed to us. They're reckoned to us so that as we receive that by faith, we're covered, we're forgiven, we're favored.
And then he said, "You want, you want to know how great this is? All the saints throughout history believe this. Abraham believed this. What a mess Father Abraham was. And David believed this, the guy who was an adulterer, the guy who was a murderer, the king. He had the righteousness of Christ credited to his account. It was all received by faith."
While you were dead in trespasses and sins, He loved you and gave His Son for you. Romans 5 explained how we were brought out of the first Adam in union with the first Adam, and brought into union with the last Adam, Christ Romans 5. In Romans 6, 7, and 8, then he explained that since Christ has fulfilled it and we are united to him, having been justified by faith, the old man has been crucified. He explained the relationship of the Christian to sin in this life. The old man has been crucified. You are no longer a slave to sin. You've been set free. You're no longer under its dominion. And I've done something wonderful. I've sent my Holy Spirit to dwell in your hearts.
And from that beginning of Romans 8, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ." He explained, using the Holy Spirit, explaining the Holy Spirit's great power in the Christian life, naming him 20-some times in Romans 8. Well, then he moved, as we've been doing the last few weeks, to explain suffering because that's what's hard for us. Why, if God has done all this for us, does he permit suffering in the Christian life? And Paul said, "Everything's happening for a purpose. He said, for whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. And whom He notice that predestined, He called. And whom He called, He justified. And whom He justified, He glorified. All those are aorist tenses, meaning it's done. I called you, I predestined you, I called you, I justified you, and I glorified you, as if it's already done. I've given you grace the whole way through."
Now that's just a really fast recap of this book. You see the question now. "What shall we say to these things?" See what a question that is. It's really kind of inexpressible in our words to try to put that into words what to say to the Lord. But Paul wants to draw big conclusions for you here. Paul wants to help you with that. What do we say in response to reframe our minds of God's love? You believe it? You believe the gospel?
Three categories of questions here that he asks that you could put them in. Number one: "Who could be against us?" Number two: "Who could bring a charge?" And number three: "Who can separate us?" So he wants us to think about that. He wants us to wrestle with that.
"If God is for us, who can be against us?" The first conclusion is: look, it's not a question as if He may not be for us. He is saying God he's been saying the whole book By faith God is for you. by faith alone god is for you and if that's being so the conclusion is there is nothing to fear in life. What what would you have to fear? Who would you have to fear? Who could ever be against us? There is certain victory because there is no one greater than the one who is for us. That's what he's saying.
What a statement! The God who made heaven and earth. the god who made heaven and earth whom you know the one enthroned at the flood the one who exists eternally the one who does not change the one who has no beginning or end the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the God who delivered Israel the God who loved David the God who's always been a help to His people this God is your God. And if He's for you, who in the world could be against you? That's the effect of this. Really, doesn't matter if they are, but it's important to contemplate, isn't it?
And notice, he in verse 32 that he takes it and explains why this is so: "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 everything?" Everything! Well, there's the heart of the gospel that's the note he's ending on at the end of this section. Paul has wanted you to grasp for eight chapters, beloved, and I want this for you. I just want you to know this. is this gives this is exhilarating for a pastor to preach because because this pastor loves you and wants you to live in the joy of this comfort I look at you as real people made in God's image whom
God loves and wants you to understand this. God didn't love you when think about this God decided to love you when while you were still sinners. But He didn't just overlook that. While we were still sinners, what did Christ do? Die for you. You weren't even born. You didn't even exist at that point. And He satisfied His justice. He took care of it. This is what the cross is all about. That's the heart of assurance. That's the heart of our confidence before Him by faith.
He decided to love you because He did not spare His own Son. And the Father loved the Son. And by the way, the Father wasn't angry in the heavens at you. The Father loved you. Because He loved you, He gave His Son. I know how He loves His Son. If He put His Son through that, He was willing to put His Son through that, the eternal Son of God. And His Son suffered such agony in body and soul to tone for sin, to actually pay for sin. How could God be against you? You see? How is it possible, is what he's saying?
Probably in this regard, Paul has on his mind the Abraham and Isaac incident when the Lord tested the faith of Abraham and He said, "Listen, I want you to put your son on the altar. I want you to slay him." Look, we'd do anything for our children, right? Except that. And remember what happened? Abraham's probably bawling, lifts up the knife, and he's ready to slay his son, and the angel of the Lord rings out, "Stop! There's a ram. Take your son off the altar because you have not withheld now listen to the language your son your only son from me." The ram was put on the altar.
This is what God did for you. If God did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not give you everything? He says freely. It's a free gift. That's that's too good to be true. Well, it sure sounds too good to be true. And that's how good He is.
Look at the people in this life who pine away their life trying to get rich, live their whole life acquiring. Did you hear what was just said to you? True wealth in this life are those who have this. They have the true wealth, and everything is yours. All things that are christ belong to us. If God is for us, who can be against us?
Paul moves to the next category of question. of any lesser charge paul says who then can bring a charge against god's elect it's god Who justifies who is he "Who condemns so paul poses the question who could raise then some sort of charge against you?" Now that's that's a really important question, isn't it? That's a that's a very deep and profound and important question for the Christian. I have seen in the ministry a lot of guilt of people. I have seen i mean, just imagine the guilt. After David did what he did, killing Uriah and living in adultery, the guilt he carried or the damage that was done in Israel. Think of the think of the guilt. What guilt do you carry? What burden? Think of the question. If God has acquitted you, if God has justified you by faith, said that you are forgiven, Son, who then could ever bring a charge against you before Him? It's God Himself who declares the sinner righteous. God does. The King.
Now we're hard on each other. I mean, we go after each other all the time. It's a good thing we're not in charge. God's not like that. Not the Lord. His Son paid it.
You wonder if this was on the mind of Paul. "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. Is that your righteous servant? Are you kidding? That guy? I mean, Satan might point at you and do that, right? You, you, him? You know what he does? You can't justify him. And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you. satan the lord who has chosen jerusalem rebuke you Is this not a brand, a pluck from the fire? Have I not pulled him out of the fire? Have I not justified him And that's what He does.
"Now joshua joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before him saying, take away the garments take away the filthy garments from him. To him He said, "See, I've removed your iniquity." Satan, I removed his iniquity, and I clothe you with rich robes and I said let them put a clean turban on his head So they put a clean turban on his head and they put clothes on him, and the angel of the Lord stood by."
No one's bringing a charge not even Satan. not even satan christ paul says not only that He has died, He's risen, and He's always living to make intercession for us. He didn't just acquit you and leave you alone. Christ is risen, and His work continues for you. You know what He's doing for you? He's defending you. He remains as our Heidelberg says in heaven for us, defending and preserving us from all enemies. No attack of the evil one, no charge can be brought against that. There's nobody who can stand in the way of this great truth.
I suppose maybe the greatest ones that stand in the way of this truth are who us believing it. Do you try to stand in the way? You can't even stand in the way. Paul provides one more question here: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Is there anything in life, then? Let's go to life. Is there anything in life that could separate us from the love of Christ? Is there? Not even you can get in the way of that. What could it be? He gives seven circumstances. What are you worried about? That's where you'll find it.
Seven circumstances where we would think it might indicate that God is absent from us and left us and fallen out of His favor, or that maybe He doesn't love us because we hear this all the time when people go through hardship and affliction.
Number one: "Shall tribulation?" Kind of tribulation in life. "Shall distress?" You know, distresses come quickly. "Shall any kind of outward tribulation?" One and two, outward distress, a tribulation or distress that causes inward turmoil, that throws everything off, that causes absolute worry and fret. "Shall anything like that in life separate you from the love of Christ?"
"Shall persecution?" Number three. I mean, John the Baptist, we just studied, he had his head put on a platter. What if you had to face that? "Shall physical persecution for living as a Christian separate you from the love of Christ?" Was not the Lord with Daniel and his friends in the fire?
"Shall famine?" What are we all worried about? You know, futures. It literally means hunger. I mean, what if, what if, what if the egg prices nobody could afford? You're not going to eat eggs. That's what we worry about, this stuff. If you had no food on the shelf, if you're hungry, would that say that God's absent and doesn't love you? Can that separate you?
"Nakedness?" Literally, number five, in need of clothes. The very things, by the way, Jesus said, "I'm gonna I'm going to feed you and clothe you." Right? But if would that mean that if you had no clothes and you had nothing in life and you are poor to the dirt, that mean you're not loved by Christ? Could that separate you?
"That peril" means danger. I mean, he's kind of compassing everything people worry about. "This is Paul: three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and day in the been in the deep. And journeys often in perils of waters and perils of robbers and waters and perils of my own countrymen and perils of Gentiles and perils in the sea and perils in the wilderness in perils among false brethren. In weariness and toil and sleeplessness often and hunger and thirst and fastings often in cold and nakedness. Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for the churches. Who's weak and I'm not weak,
"Shall peril separate us from the love of Christ?" Consort, separation, those things that feel like separate us from Him.
Paul is emphatic here. There's nothing. There's nothing. That's how deep his love is for you.
He quotes Psalm 44: "Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." What does that mean? It means this: You are prone to think that all these things are indicative of God's hand of love being absent. You see what he's saying? The sufferings that we face in this life are for His sake. The life of Jesus might be manifested in our bodies. That's conformity. the more and more we learn to be like Christ and rejoice in sufferings.
So notice how he concludes here. He concludes with, I'm sure, one of your favorite verses. Yet, verse 37: "No, he says, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 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.
In all these sufferings and hardships and all these things, none of them separate you. Nothing, nothing, nothing.
Notice what he says. You're actually, I want to reframe your thinking in this. I want you to understand something else. It's not just that we're separated We're not separated from His love. That love is sure to us. But you need to understand a different perspective in it. You're actually more than conquerors in them.
Let me reframe how you think. I'm convinced, where does he start to conclude this? "I'm convinced that neither, wouldn't you think he'd say life first? I'm convinced that neither death?" That's the first thing, you're a conqueror in. You are a conqueror in death because of Christ. The thing we're all trying to avoid, and I understand it, but you need to understand that's planned out. You are a conquer in death.
"I'm convinced that neither death nor life." In the closing hour of death, which can come for any of us at any time, this is so comforting. What I hate about death, what I despise about death, is not only it's a terrible enemy that Christ has defeated, but when I think of the death of a loved one, I think of someone who goes, who dies. It's the sense of abandonment. It's the sense that they're gone. That's a hard thought for me. Gone. They're not gone. They're with Him. They're with Him. They've been purchased. Christ's sheep are bought. They are in a much better place. I'm a conqueror. Your loved ones in Christ are conquerors in death.
"Neither death nor life." All the experiences and trials of the present. You're a conqueror in Christ. In Christ. Not yourself, in Christ.
"Nor angels, nor principalities." You have no idea the stuff going on right now. You have no idea the warfare going on. There's a whole dark realm. You don't know how violent that realm is. Attacking and wanting your souls. You've conquered. You're a conqueror.
"Nor are things present. Nor things to come." Whatever it is now. Whatever He has in the future. He's already said you're a conqueror.
"Nor height. Nor depth." Nothing above you. Nothing below you. The raging of hell. No, not any other created thing in all the world, he says. Nothing of the created order. There's nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That is the benefit of having been justified by faith alone and brought in union with Christ. A love manifested when Jesus stood in your place and satisfied the wrath of God, taking on the penalty and the just judgment. A love by which He forever declared you righteous, never to take that back. A love that continues with you, that is kind and merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. A love that, if you could quote 1 Corinthians 13, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. A love that never fails. And you are blessed in the Lord Jesus Christ that He is constantly interceding for you and that He cares for you. And He'll never let go.
Now, does that give you any kind of assurance? What else could be said, right? I don't know what else I could say tonight from the scriptures. If you're trusting in Christ and you believed in him and turned to him in repentance and faith, believing the gospel, this is true of you.
What more can he say than he has said? It's like Corrie Ten Boom said, "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within you, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest."
May this revelation tonight of God's great love in the gospel of Christ cause you to have joy, inexpressible and full of joy, that all His promises are yes and amen. Just don't stand in the way of them. Believe it. Believe it.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for such news to us. Thank you for your favor. Thank you for your steadfast love. Thank you for reassuring your sheep. Bless them tonight. And may, oh Lord, we find rest in Christ. What a blessing on this day of worship to come and receive these words that strengthen our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.