Well, it’s July 7, the year is half over, and today we reach the end of the first part of the letter to the Romans. So I thought it might be good to stop and think about where we’ve come over the past five months.
We began with the realisation that all of us, no matter what our background, have a problem when it comes to standing before God on the last day. The problem we have is that no matter who we are, we’re unable to consistently do what’s right, what God requires of us. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. But fortunately for us, God is able to do something about it. In fact God has done something about it. He solved our predicament by sending Jesus Christ to live as one of us and to die a death, that he didn’t deserve, on our behalf. So that now, by God’s grace and mercy, we can be justified, counted righteous before God.
Even when we fail again and again to do what pleases God, he continues to forgive us. But he does even more than that. He gives us his own Spirit to live within us, to change us, to shape us to his will. He assures us of his presence within us by His Spirit speaking to our spirit. And he assures us when things go bad that even though we don’t yet see the glory that he’s promised for those who love him, that glory will be revealed on the last day when Jesus returns to take us to be with the Father forever.
In the meantime we have this assurance: in the end all things will work together for good for those who love God.
So we come to the point of today’s passage: Christian assurance. I think this issue is one of the greatest bugbears for lots of Christians. We’re happy assenting to the theological statements; we’re happy learning about how to live the Christian life, how to be better disciples, how to love one another better; we’re happy to come and worship in whatever tradition we’re used to. But when it comes to whether we’re totally convinced about our salvation, about where we’re going when we die, lots of Christians aren’t quite sure. Oh, we think we know where we’re going. We hope we’re going to heaven. But there’s still that niggling fear that maybe we’ve got it wrong. Maybe we’re not good enough after all.
Well, what does Paul conclude from all that we’ve discovered in these first 8 chapters of Romans? His conclusion, as we saw last week, is that "all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." God is in control. God is bringing an end to all things, shaping outcomes to his purpose. And what is his purpose for us? That we would be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. God chose us before the beginning of the world to form his family, That’s what it means by that word predestined and by its predecessor in the passage, "foreknew". He chose us long before we even imagined that he existed. He knew us long before we knew him. So there’s nothing in his choosing of us that depends on our righteousness. There’s nothing in our coming to a knowledge of him that makes us in any way worthy. He’s done everything necessary to make us his children. Of course when God first made human beings, he made them in his own image. And now, by his Holy Spirit dwelling within us, he’s remaking us in the image of his son, who in turn is the "very image of the invisible God. (Col 1:15)"
And look at what God has done about this plan of his? He’s called us, he’s justified us and he’s also glorified us, or at least he’s doing so as we become more and more conformed to the image of his Son.
So can you see how that leaves us as far as our assurance is concerned? If God has done all that for us already, if God is for us to that extent, what do we have to worry about? Who could possibly stand against us if that’s who we have standing on our side. You may remember a kids’ movie some years ago, called "My Bodyguard." It was about a little boy who kept on getting bashed up by the bigger kids, until one day he befriended another boy who was about 6 foot tall and weighed about 12 stone. And the result was that the little kid didn’t get bullied any more. The big kid became like a bodyguard. Well, I think we can all relate to that sort of image can’t we? It’d be great to have someone bigger and stronger looking after us whenever we’re in danger, whenever we’re threatened by someone more powerful than us.
Well, that’s the picture that Paul gives here. If we have God watching over us, protecting us, what other force can possibly threaten us? In fact he tells us 5 things to reassure us: 5 statements or questions to consider. Let’s look at them:
1 God gave up his son for us (8:32)
If you want a measure of God’s commitment to our salvation, then this is it. He was so committed to bringing us back to himself that he gave up his own Son to death on our behalf. "So," he says, "He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" What greater treasure is there than God’s own son? What is it that you wish God would give you? Just ask yourself whether that thing is worth more than God’s only Son. You might also need to ask whether God would think it’s something that you need to have right now, but it’s unlikely that you’ll ever think of something that’s worth more than what he’s already given us. So when we ask him for things we can ask with confidence, knowing that he’s already given us more than we can imagine.
And certainly if we’re thinking about our salvation, about Jesus’ promise to take us to be with him forever, why would he go to all this trouble and then forget the last bit?
2 God has justified us (8:33)
Secondly, we’re reminded of what we’ve discovered as we’ve thought about the gospel. That is, that God has already justified us. He’s already passed judgement, and his judgement is that our wrongs have been paid for. Justice has been satisfied.
Now remember that Paul’s using a legal analogy here. In the legal system, if you’re guilty of a crime, you’re sentenced and you serve a penalty of some sort, say a prison term. Now when that prison term is over, as far as the law is concerned you can no longer be found guilty of that crime. Your offence has been taken away by your time in prison. That doesn’t mean you won’t still remember what you did. Your victims may well still be suffering from whatever you did to them. But as far as the law is concerned you’re now free. No one can accuse you of that crime again. The police can’t come and arrest you for it. A judge can’t try you again.
Well, that’s the idea that Paul has in mind here in v33: if God has already declared us righteous, justified us through Jesus death and resurrection, then who can bring any charge against us?
You see, sometimes the reason people feel unsure about their salvation is because Satan comes and accuses them of their failure, of falling into sin again. Let’s face it, he doesn’t have to try too hard with most of us does he? Even Paul found that time and time again he did the very things he was trying to avoid. And so Satan has plenty of opportunity to throw accusations in our face. To tell us we’re sinners who don’t deserve such a great salvation!
And what should we do at that point? Turn to Satan and say "Jesus died for me. Jesus death has wiped away ALL my sin. Now, when God looks at me he sees the righteousness that Jesus gives."
3. Jesus is interceding for us right now (8:34)
What’s more, not only did Jesus die and rise again to bring me cleansing from sin, but right at this very moment he’s seated at God’s right hand interceding for me.
Are you worried about some sin you’ve committed lately? (or sins?) Then confess them and ask for forgiveness. And know that even as you confess them Jesus is passing them on to God with a sticky note attached saying, "Already paid for. Covered by my previous payment."
Isn’t that a liberating thought? That no matter what Satan might accuse us of, Jesus has covered it already. And remember that as much as Satan might accuse us, it’s Jesus who in the end will judge the world, not Satan. So if Jesus has already justified us and Jesus is already pleading our case before God, he’s hardly going to condemn us on the last day is he?
4. How strong is Christ’s love? (8:35)
But then, some people wonder whether Jesus really loves them and even if he does then is his love enough? So Paul poses this question, "Just how strong is the love of Christ?" Is there something that might separate us from his love perhaps? So let’s think about it. What are the sorts of things that separate people from each other. They say the greatest strain on marriages, the factor which most contributes to our high divorce rate, is worry over money, financial hardship. Hardship may well separate a husband from a wife, or a wife from a husband, but could there be any hardship great enough to separate us from God? What about distress, suffering? Again, human relationships may be damaged by the strain felt by people who are undergoing great distress or suffering, some great loss or tragedy in their life, but the love of God is often felt more strongly in those times as we lean on him more for support. And the same with the rest of that list: persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword? They’re all things that might separate us physically from human loved ones, but God’s love transcends those sorts of physical barriers. His plan for us runs through to eternity, to the realm of the spiritual, so no physical separation will harm it. All death does in that respect is to bring the fulfilment closer. Finally:
5. What do we depend on for our victory over sin? (8:37)
What is it that helps us conquer sin and death? Well we’ve seen over and over and over again as we’ve gone through this letter that it isn’t our own efforts that bring victory. No, it’s God who gives the victory. God has done everything necessary to make us right with him. He’s brought us through to the point where nothing can overcome us. Christ has won the victory and then handed the prize over to us.
I always enjoy watching events at the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games like the team pursuit in the cycling. I don’t know how familiar with the team pursuit you are, but the way it works is that there are 2 teams who each ride in concert. They take turns at the head where the going is toughest and then move to the back of the pack to catch their breath. And every now and then one of them decides he can’t keep up the pace, so he drops out altogether. But the fact that he’s dropped out doesn’t stop the team from going on. What matters is that the team finishes. And even if one of the riders from the team has dropped out, if the lead rider crosses first, they all get the gold medal. Well, I think that’s a bit like what he’s talking about in v37: "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." How are we conquerors? We’re conquerors through Jesus Christ. He’s won the victory and we’re brought along in his wake to share the glory with him. In fact, he says, we’re more than just conquerors. It’s as though the word isn’t enough to express all that Christ has won for us. His victory means more than we can ever imagine. His love is so great that nothing can ever separate us from it. Again, we have this list of forces that some people might imagine coming between us and Christ’s love: death, life, angels, rulers, things present, things to come, powers, 39height, depth. No, there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from God’s love.
Of course the point that he leaves unsaid in all that, is that all those things are part of the creation. All those things are there because God brought them to be in the first place. All of them are under his control. That’s why none of them can undo or counteract his plans for those he loves.
How do we know our salvation is assured? How do we know we’re going to be with God when our time in this world is over? We know because our salvation is God’s work from start to finish. We know because God has poured out his love on us in Jesus Christ. We know because he’s filled us with his Spirit as the sign and seal of the salvation to come. We know because it’s God who’s begun this great work in us and who promises to bring it to completion on the last day. We know because God has already shown us the measure of his love for us by giving up his own Son to bring us salvation.
When next we’re tempted to doubt our salvation, to wonder whether we’re good enough, or whether it might all be too good to be true, let’s remember that it’s God who justifies, God who saves, God whose love we’re depending on. And then let’s join with Paul in saying that we too are "convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor 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."
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