Title: “Five Comforting Questions” Scripture: Rom. 8:31-39
Type: Expos/series Where: GNBC 6-14-21
Intro: Dr. Bob Deffingbaugh shared the following story: “About the only time I play golf is when we visit my family each year in Washington State. I always try to play a round with Dad. On one occasion, we were walking to the club house just before tee off. Knowing I had not played for some time, my father offered me a word of advice: “Bobby, until you build up your confidence, why don’t you drive with an iron at first?” “Pop,” I responded, “I have all the confidence in the world. What I lack is ability.” Confidence can be a very good thing. It can also be a mill stone around one’s neck. Being confident simply is not enough. The crucial issue is in whom, or in what, is our confidence. Ill-founded confidence is deadly. Well-founded confidence is proper and good. Some Christians have no confidence at all, believing that with one slip, one sin, they are out of the faith. These Christians desperately need the confidence of which Paul speaks in Romans 8:31-39.” (Comforting Questions, a study of Rom. 8:31-39))
Prop: In Rom. 8:31-39 Paul states 5 comforting questions underscoring the Christian’s assurance.
BG: 1. One of most lyrical passages Paul ever wrote. Paul uses familiar formula has already introduced in 6:1,15; 7:7. “What then shall we say…” 2. v.28 – 5 convictions, vv.29-30 5 Affirmations. Response to this is to ask these 5 questions. 3. 5 questions are unanswerable. Purpose is to give the Christian confidence/assurance.
Prop: Exam. Rom 8:31-39, Paul asks 5 comforting questions underscoring Christian assurance.
I. 1st Q: “If God is for Us, Who Can be Against Us?” v. 31a
A. Paul begins his Unanswerable Questions with Arguably the Best.
1. Notice how the Apostle does NOT start. Paul does not start: “Who is against us?” That would be a significantly longer response now, wouldn’t it?! In our world today, many are against Christ’s Kingdom. Islam, atheism, secularism, humanism, communism, feminism, cults, liberal Christianity, many in academia, many in the SJ movement, etc. hate the Gospel, the Church, and stand violently opposed against us.
2. The first part of the question is therefore the premise. The second part of the question is the conclusion. “God is for us,” cannot be interpreted or applied apart from His purpose (8:28). God is not “for us” in some nebulous, undefined way. We do not have the promise that God will deal with us in any way that we ask or desire.
B. Notice the Question the Apostle Does ask.
1. The essence of the question is contained in the word “If”.
a. “If/since” – “Since God is for us, who can be against us?” In the OT it was a horrible thing to have God stand against you. Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Tyre, Sidon, Edom, all felt the sting of God’s wrath. In the NT Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), and King Herod (Acts 12) both felt the deadly hand of God.
b. Illust: If God is for you, the Apostle is saying it doesn’t matter who or what is against you. Year was 1916, a Kansas boy was recovering from a horrendous fire that had killed his older brother and so severely burned his legs and feet that the doctors were recommending amputation. The determined 8 year old said: “No!” He began to quote his favorite Bible verse, Is. 40:31, and believed God would do what the doctors said was impossible. It would be months before the boy was able to feel his feet again. Nearly a year before took first step. By 12 years, wasn’t a boy in any of the area HS’s that could beat him running. By the early 1930’s, Christian, Glenn Cunningham, held the world record for the mile (4:06.8).
2. Paul’s question was purposeful in pointing Christians to the Glory of God.
a. Up to this point in Romans Paul has already said that God has foreknown, predestined, justified, sanctified, and glorified us. How could we possibly not trust that He is for us?! Yet sometimes our surrounding make us question that truth.
b. Illust: Remember II Ki.6? The prophet Elisha is at Dothan, armies of the Aramean King are coming to arrest the prophet. The city is surrounded at night. The prophet’s assistant arises early. With fear he reports back to Elisha: “Alas my master! What shall we do?” Prophet answers: “Do not fear, for those with us are more than those with them.” The prophet prayed and God opened the servant’s eyes to see a mountain full of horses and chariots of fire.”
C. Applic: Christian, remember that when the whole world seems to be against you, GOD IS STILL FOR YOU! You might be in the minority, but you + God makes a MAJORITY in any situation.
II. 2nd Q: “How will He Not Also, along with Him, Graciously Give Us All Things?” v.32
A. Notice Again How Paul Does Not ask this question.
1. Paul doesn’t say: “Will God not graciously give us all things.” To such a question we may have attempted to qualify our answer. In this world we need many things and often they are difficult to attain and demanding to possess. We all have needs, even right now. If I were poll the congregation, we all would have something or another we felt that we needed.
2. The way Paul asks this question banishes all doubts.
a. The God Whom we are questioning as to whether or not He will provide for our needs is the very God Who has already lavished upon us the greatest gift of all, the Lord Jesus.
b. God always does what is good for us. If you believe that he gave his own Son for you, this is what you believe. And all of the Christian life is simply the fruit of that faith. Look to Christ. Look to the love God. Live in love. And fear no more.
B. The Answer to their Question is Found in the Cross.
1. The God Whom we question about giving to us has already given us His Son!
a. In the negative, God DID NOT spare His own Son…on the other hand, positively, God gave Him for us all. Illust: Who delivered Christ over to death? Was it Judas for the filthy lucre of a few silver shekels? Was it Pilate for fear of Jewish rebellion? Was it the Jewish leadership due to their jealousy? No! Ultimately, it was the Father, due to His love for you!
b. Here, like in Rom. 5:8-10, Paul argues from the greater to the lesser. Essentially, what he is saying is: “Since God has already given you the best (Jesus), you can trust Him to give you the rest! Since God lavished on us the most precious and costliest gift of all, The Lord Jesus, how can he possibly fail to graciously bestow all other gifts on us? When God gave Christ, He gave His all!
2. The Cross is the Guarantee of the Continuing, Unfailing, Generosity of God.
a. By nature, God is a giving God. Not only are we aware that God has been and is generous, but we also know that we can count on him to continue to be this way. God’s name is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9), and his promises are always kept.
His faithfulness is not dependent on anything we do or fail to do (2 Timothy 2:13). And it is the reason we can trust his promises are true, that his intentions toward us are perfect, that Jesus will return for us. If God hadn’t already proven himself faithful, it would be very difficult to wait when the most joyful of his generous gifts – the return of Christ as King forever – is still yet to come.
b. Illust: 1921 a young Italian immigrant shouted “There she is!” as he saw The Statue of Liberty, marking the shores of the great land of opportunity and equality. The penniless immigrant began to work hard. On a bit of a whim, the nominal Catholic, went to a Methodist Church where he was befriended by a young couple who had gone to Columbia Bible College. They led the young man to Christ. Ever the entrepreneur, Anthony Rossi then prayed, “Lord, if you give me an idea for a business, I promise I will be faithful to give to you.” “Freshly squeezed orange juice was the reply!” Relocated to FL where he began to change American breakfast culture. By 1947, Rossi’s Tropicana Orange Juice company was shipping a 1,000 gallon of OJ a week to NY’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel! When finally died in 1993, Rossi was giving away 50% of personal income, $millions to missions, and weekly truckloads of OJ to Christian Colleges all over the US. What made A. Rossi such a generous man? The cross of Christ!
C. Applic: You can trust God to give what we need because He has already given us the most precious gift of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. 3rd Q: “Who Will Bring any Charge Against those Whom God has Chosen?” v.33
A. Paul Ushers the Reader into an Imaginary Court room.
1. Paul argues that no Prosecution can succeed since God has already justified us.
a. God is our Judge. What God has ruled no prosecution can overturn. Illust: Just a little over a week ago, the famed defense lawyer, F. Lee Bailey, died at the age of 87 yrs. Bailey defended high profile people who were charged with crimes. Some of his most notable were OJ Simpson, Patti Hearst, and Albert DeSalvo (Boston Strangler). Even if the great F. Lee Bailey was hired by the devil himself, to question your and my salvation, could never overturn your justification before the Father given in the blood of Christ.
b. Some argue that since God has forgiven all our sins and removed our guilt at the cross, we should never feel guilty (even if we’ve sinned) or confess our sins or ask God for forgiveness. It’s a done deal, so we should just shrug it off and move on. I believe that such teaching is out of balance. While it’s true that our eternal standing before God is secure through the blood of Christ, at the same time, if we love the Savior who gave Himself for us on the cross, when we grieve Him by sinning, we should feel grief that prompts us to confess our sin, ask His forgiveness, and turn from the sin.
2. Satan lives to Condemn Christians.
a. The Bible tells us that Satan is “the accuser of the brethren” (Rev. 12:10). His name, “devil” diabolos in the Greek, means, “Slanderer”. Miriam-Webster: “Slander: The utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation.”
b. That is exactly what Satan does. The devil never ceases to press charges against us, that’s what he lives for! Ever notice you have two types of people who have failed miserably? One group, those who want to help people never make the same mistakes they made. Others who want to see everyone fail just as much or more and only happy when make everyone else’s life miserable! Satan is like a yappy little dog barking at your heels constantly. (What does that dog need? A good kicking! So does Satan! “Get thee behind me, Satan!”
B. God will not Bring Charges Against Those Whom He has Chosen.
1. Paul makes it very clear that we are no longer accused. Illust: Some years ago, a cartoon pictured a psychologist talking to a patient. “Mr. Figby,” he said, “I think I can explain your feelings of guilt.” The patient waited for the learned answer. “You’re guilty!” While we may chuckle at the cartoon, it hits a nerve. Before God, we’re all guilty of violating His two great commandments, which sum up all of His commandments. We all have failed to love God with our entire being. And because we’re selfish, we have failed to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. And so we all have true moral guilt before the holy God of the universe.” (Steven Cole, Lesson 55)
2. How do you deal with your guilt? Many suppress or deny it. Others try to excuse their guilt by thinking, “I have my faults, but I’m a basically good person. I’ve never deliberately hurt anyone.” However we attempt to get rid of our guilty feelings, there is still the stubborn fact that we stand truly guilty of sin before God, who knows every wrong thought, word, and deed that we’ve done. If we have trusted in Christ for our salvation, we are no longer under that condemning guilt, because Christ has taken it from us.
C. Applic: Guilty Christians are not joyous Christians. They cannot enjoy close fellowship with the Savior. They cannot be bold in witness. They cannot confidently disciple others. They usually end up living as hypocrites, putting up a front in fear that the truth about their sin will be exposed.
IV. 4th Question: “Who is He Who Condemns?” v.34
A. Certainly there are Many Who Want to Condemn us, but only One has the Right to Condemn us.
1. Many are our detractors who want to condemn us! We all have critics. We all have detractors. We all have people who dislike us, who have seen us at our worst and want to tell others about us. The devil and his demon minions sit in this camp. As, does often, our self. Our own heart often condemns us. All of the condemnation of our enemies will ultimately fail.
2. Only One has the Legitimate Right to Condemn Us.
a. Christ is the Judge. He is the Only One to ever live God’s righteous standard. He suffered in our place. He was unjustly killed. He is the Only Person in all of history Who had the right to condemn us! However, He didn’t condemn us, but rather, He redeemed us from the curse of condemnation of the law by becoming a curse for us. (Gal. 3:13)
b. Had Christ simply died, His death in some ways would have been our ultimate condemnation. The Holy One of God died for us. No hope no recourse. However, Paul tells us that He not only died, but gloriously, He has been raised from the dead! He is Victor over hell and death and all the accusation of the enemy and HE LIVES FOR A PURPOSE!
B. Paul Informs us: INSTEAD of Condemning us, Jesus, is Now INTERCEDING for us!
1. Amazing is the News: The One Who can condemn us is Interceding for us!
a. Illust: I think Jesus is up there in heaven, right now, “Father, did you see …. Did you see how he is trying so hard… Father, did you see your daughter…she is struggling right now, Father, will you help her by…” There isn’t a hint of condemnation in the intercession of Christ on our behalf!
b. Jesus Christ is both our Heavenly Advocate Who argues and appeals on our behalf, and He is the believer’s Great High Priest (Heb. 7:23). Friend, it is an abomination to call any Christian worker a “priest” since Jesus Christ alone has made full and final atonement for our sins.
2. The Crucified Christ is now seated at the place of Supreme honor, exercising on our behalf His authority to save. His seated at the right hand of the Father is the evidence of His completed atonement.
C. Applic: Christian Christ has justified you. He will therefore never condemn you!
V. 5th Q: “Who Shall Separate Us from the Love of Christ?” v. 35a
A. Paul comes to the Conclusion of his message.
1. At v. 35 the Apostle hits the climax of his unanswerable questions.
a. Illust: Illust: Mt. Katahdin with boys and nephews. Started very early. Took several hours. Made it to the summit. Stunning. I like to think of these five questions of Paul’s as something like climbing a mountain. With every step you gain a greater and greater view of God’s love for the Christian. With every step you gain a fuller appreciation for the security you have in Christ. Romans 8 we have reached the summit and the view you see is amazing.
b. In this question it is as though Paul is thinking what the reader has been thinking all along and asks who will separate us from the love of Christ? He then stops to look around himself! He comes up with a sample list of 7 adversities that some might think could come between us and Christ.
2. What are these 7 potential adversities and can they separate us from Christ?
a. 1. Troubles -thilipsis -, 2. Hardship- stenochoria, 3.Persecution – diogmos These three suggest the pressure and hardships Christians have by living in an ungodly and hostile world.
b. 4. Famine , 5. Nakedness – Illust: Did not Jesus Himself promise us in Mt. 6:25ff that His follower would be fed and clothed? If early believers were experiencing the opposite of this, was it reason to believe they had been separated from the love of Christ?
c. Danger or sword – 1st century was a very dangerous world. Bandits and thieves. Limitations to the rule of law. Christians were persecuted. Certainly martyrdom can at times be the final test for a Christian. – The sword was often used as the means of execution in the 1st century Roman empire.
B. The Apostle Concludes his argument.
1. Paul points the reality of the believer’s condition.
a. Paul quotes David’s Ps. 44. The Christian is seen this way in the world’s eyes.
b. V.37 – Rather than being losers who have experienced failure, the Apostle says that we are super conquerors in Christ! Paul had already experienced each of the previous 7 potential adversaries, and worse! He knew he could trust Christ.
2. Finally Paul closes with a list of 10 items some would suppose could separate the Christian from his/her Savior’s love.
a. Notice how he begins this list: “For I am convinced…” The verb is in the perfect tense. i.e. – “I have become and I remain convinced”. Paul had a deep seated conviction that was rational, settled and unalterable. God is the Creator. He is also the sovereign ruler over all creation. Nothing happens but that which He has ordained to bring about His purpose. Nothing in all creation falls outside of His control, and thus we can be assured that His purposes will be achieved. We can have absolute confidence that we will be more than conquerors regardless of what may come our way. This confidence is the possession of every Christian, of every one who is the object of God’s love. And this love of God is manifested only in and through Jesus Christ.
b. What did Paul say could not separate us? Death, life, angels, principalities (all cosmic superhuman agencies), things present or things to come, neither height nor depth nor any created thing! Christ has triumphed over them all and they are all in submission to Christ!
C. Applic: Have any of you seen the movie: “The Bear”? The final scenes a little grizzly cub being attacked by a mountain lion. The life of the little cub seems to be in great danger as the mountain lion moves in for the kill. Suddenly, the baby bear rears up on its hind legs letting out the fiercest growl it can muster. Amazingly, the mountain lion shrinks back! The camera then slowly draws back to reveal just behind the cub a massive grizzly, reared on his hind legs, delivering a fierce warning to the mountain lion. The cub’s enemy was great. But in the protective shadow of the great grizzly, that mountain lion was nothing. With the giant grizzly as its protection, who was this mere mountain lion? With God on our side, who could possibly be an opponent who would cause us to shrink back in fear? The sovereignty of a God who is “for us” provides a new perspective on anyone or anything which threatens to oppose or destroy us. (From Deffinbaugh - Romans 8:31-39)
