“BECAUSE HE LIVES” Romans 8:28-39
INTRO – “In the cellar of your heart lurk the ghosts of yesterday’s sins. Sins you’ve confessed; errors of which you’ve repented; damage you’ve done your best to repair…Do yourself a favor. Purge the cellar. Exorcise your basement. Take the Romans nails of Calvary and board up the door. And remember…He forgot.” (Max Lucado, God Came Near, p. 50-51)
Today, I want to give you the opportunity to do that by reminding all of us of some wonderful foundational truths that apply to those who are Christians. I want us to close out the year 2001 and start the new year by nailing down some things that WE KNOW. The Christian life is a wonderful life b/c WE KNOW that what we believe, what we stake our lives on is the truth, the only truth, and nothing but the truth. We’re not trying to be smart alecks about it. Not trying to be smug about it. Not trying to be narrow-minded or naïve. Not spouting off trite spiritual clichés with a slaphappy attitude. We simply KNOW that what we believe and Whom we believe in is the Way – & b/c Jesus is the Way, He shows us the way to live our lives, the way to conduct our business, the way to build our marriages, the way to rear our children, the way to cultivate our friendships, the way to be a church. He shows us the way to out of hell, the way to heaven, the way to peace, the way to contentment, the way to fulfillment, the way to the abundant life.
Someone might say, “Well, how do you know? How can you be so sure?” 3 ways:
1. The witness of the Holy Spirit – When we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and confirms to us that what we believe, that Jesus is the only Way, is the absolute truth. John 14:26 – “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
2. The work of God around us – As Christians, we have a different perspective. We view things through the lens of our relationship to God and His work in the world around us. We can see His hand at work when we see an awe-inspiring sunset, or hear a moving piece of music. We can see His hand at work when we see a baby in a manger or a baby born in a hospital. We can even see His hand at work in events like 9/11, Wedgwood BC in Ft. Worth, or the death of a loved one.
3. The Word of God – This wonderful book – the owner’s manual for our lives – God’s love letter to us – our guidebook for life – the ONLY Word of God – It teaches us the truth about the Christian life. We believe that it is not a stagnant, stale, literary document, but is the living Word of God. Heb. 4:12 – “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” We believe that it is a powerful Book that gives us the directions for living a successful, prosperous, meaningful life. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
All of these things hinge on the most important foundational truth of all – Jesus is alive! The poet said:
“He lives triumphant from the grave,
He lives eternally to save,
He lives all glorious in the sky,
He lives exalted there on high,
He lives my hungry soul to feed,
He lives to help in time of need!” (Samuel Medley)
And because He lives, there are some wonderful truths that we know. I want you to be encouraged, to be built up, to be comforted, and to be blessed as we nail these truths down today.
BECAUSE HE LIVES:
I. WE KNOW THAT GOD IS AT WORK FOR OUR GOOD – v. 28
A. Aside from John 3:16, this may be the most powerful and most comforting verse in Scripture for the Christian.
a. “For Christians, this verse contains perhaps the most glorious promise in Scripture. It is breathtaking in its magnitude, encompassing absolutely everything that pertains to a believer’s life.” (John MacArthur, Romans, p. 471)
B. What could be more assuring than to know that for the child of God, He will work everything, “all things,” out for our good.
a. “work together” – Gk. sunergei – means to create and eliminate, to place and replace, to connect and group, interrelate and intermingle, shape and forge, press and stretch, move and operate, control and guide, arrange and influence. These words are also present action meaning that all things are continually working together for good. God is in control of the believer’s life. Daily, moment by moment, God is arranging and re-arranging all things for the believer’s good.
b. “good” – Gk. agathon – means for the ultimate good. We cannot see the future; we cannot take a single event and see all the lines and ramifications that run from it. We cannot see all the things that result from one single event, much less see the results of every event. But God does; therefore, He takes all the events of our lives and works them out for our ultimate good.
C. How awesome it is to know this truth! Nothing, absolutely nothing, comes into our lives as Christians that God does not take and use to work for our ultimate good. Even the tragic events of life must be seen through this lens.
D. But it is not just the bad things, but in everything. In all things, God is at work in our lives for our good.
a. “The ways of the Lord are right. Right to all. Right to each. Right to one as much as to any other. Right on to the end. The ways of the Lord are often dark and mysterious, but they are right. They are concealed, or revealed in part; but right. They are very various – not outwardly the same to any 2 individuals of the human race; but right. They are changeful to the same individual; but always right. They are sometimes full of trial and temptation, seeming to press men on and down to evil; but that is only in seeming, for still they are right. The ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them.” – Dr. Alexander Raleigh
II. WE KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE – v. 31, 37
A. Do you know how it feels when someone takes up for you? That person may be stronger, or smarter, or better equipped to handle whatever circumstance in which you find yourself. Or they may not be stronger, smarter, or better equipped. But they take up for you, they are on your side, b/c they love you.
B. This verse actually reads, “BECAUSE God is for us.” There is no uncertainty about God being for us, His children.
a. He loves us.
b. He has saved us.
c. He has sealed us.
d. He provides for us.
e. He protects us.
C. B/c He is on our side, our salvation is secure in Him. “If anyone were able to rob us of our salvation they would have to be greater than God Himself b/c He is both the giver and the sustainer of salvation.” (MacArthur, p. 502)
a. No person, no group, no church can rob us of our salvation.
i. Some churches teach that salvation can be lost by committing mortal sins. They also claim to have the power to grant and revoke grace. No Scriptural basis for this.
b. We cannot lose our salvation.
i. Some churches teach that we can put ourselves out of G’s grace by committing some heinous sin that nullifies the divine work of redemption that binds us to G. But since we were not able to save ourselves – to free ourselves from sin, to bring ourselves to God, and to make ourselves His children – we are not able either to nullify God’s work in our lives.
D. “The sovereign power of God’s love can protect and preserve God’s people to the uttermost. God has shown the strength and depth of His love by sacrificing even His own Son for us. Nothing can break the bond of love established between believers and God through Jesus Christ. That bond of love is maintained as Jesus prays for us. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all involved intimately with the believer.” (Note on Rom. 8:31-29, Disciple’s Study Bible, p. 1431)
E. Isn’t it great to know that God is on our side?
III. WE KNOW THAT GOD HAS MADE US SAFE & SECURE – v. 38-39
A. There is nothing in all creation that can separate the child of God from his heavenly Father.
a. Paul was “convinced” of this b/c the nature of salvation, which God had revealed to him by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was also convinced of this b/c of his personal testimony. He had experienced most of the things that are mentioned here and they did not separate him from the love of God.
B. Look at this list:
a. “death” – Even that supreme enemy cannot separate us from the Lord b/c He has changed death’s sting from defeat to victory.
i. Donald Grey Barnhouse wife’s death – On the home from funeral, a large truck passed a briefly cast a shadow over car. “Would you rather be run over by a truck or the shadow of a truck?”
b. “life” – all that life can throw at us.
i. “There are some things worse than death.”
c. “angels” – a supposed or hypothetical situation. Used “angel” in Gal. 1:8.
d. “demons”
e. “neither the present nor the future” – everything we are experiencing and will yet experience
f. “powers”
g. “height nor depth”
h. “anything else in all creation” – our security is all-encompassing
CONCLUSION – Ray Boltz – “The Anchor Holds” –
“The anchor holds though the ship’s been battered
The anchor holds though the sails are torn
I have fallen on my knees as I face life’s raging seas
The anchor holds in spite of the storm.”
When your anchor is secure in the truths that God is at work for our good, that God is on our side, and that God has made us safe and secure, we will be able to weather any storm that my come our way this next year.
