Sermons

Text: Romans 8:31-39
Theme: God is for us!

In the Name of Jesus, Dear Fellow Redeemed

How do you know that someone is for you? How do you know that someone is really on your side?
Well, sometimes you have to go by what the person says. A young man might say to his girl very emphatically, "I love you." Your coach might say, "Son, you mean a lot to the team! Keep up the hard work at practice!" Your boss might say all kinds of nice things about your work ethic and how valuable you are to the company. These kinds of things are all nice things to hear, but how do you know for sure that your coach or your boss is really pulling for you? How do you really know if they are on your side?

Well, there is an old saying, "Actions speak louder than words."
And sometimes that's true. When that young man comes around with an engagement ring, you know he's for you. When the coach starts to give you minutes or innings in the game, you know that he's on your side. When your boss announces that he is giving you a raise or a promotion, that's when you know that he was serious about the compliments. Sometimes actions not only speak louder than words, sometimes they say it all.

In our text for today Paul asks a question: "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
The wonderful answer is that no one can be against us, at least not successfully. Paul not only says that God is for us, but he points us to the proving actions of our God. GOD IS FOR US! Paul gives us three actions that prove why we can trust in that statement: 1) He gave us his Son! 2) He declared us not guilty, 3) He loves us to eternity.

1. He gave us his Son!
In the verses just preceding our text God gives some wonderful promises
not only to the Roman Christians but to every believer in Jesus. The first promise has to do with our suffering? Do you suffer? Do you have any hardships in your life? Are you asking God more often than not, "Why does my life have so many bumps and bruises?" The Apostle Paul had his own fair share of bumps and bruises and more. He knew what it was like to be tired and hungry, cold and naked, shipwrecked, beaten with rods many times and left for dead. And yet the promises of God led Paul to write: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." What God told the Romans and what God promises each of us is this, "If you think that your life is hard and that you are suffering a lot, just wait until you get to heaven's glory. As bad as your sufferings are now they wont begin to compare to just how great heaven's glorious will be." You have God's Word on it. The second promises that God makes to the Romans Christians and every believer is this, "In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." God promises that no matter what is going on in your life he is using that for your spiritual and eternal good. You have God's Word on it.

But sometimes those who are skeptical about the Word of God and his promises might ask,
"Sure, all those promises sound good, but how can I be certain that God is on my side. How do I know that he is really for me?" So who are these skeptics? Who is it that calls God's Word into question? Your sinful nature and mine are the biggest skeptics around. Our sinful nature forever questions God's promises? Our Old Adam is from Missouri and says over and over again, "Show Me!" Our doubting sinful nature calls for more proof, more evidence than just GodŐs Word that he's on our side.

In the words of our text God responds to the skeptics, to the doubting hearts, to the sinful natures by taking actions.
Paul writes: IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? HE WHO DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON, BUT GAVE HIM UP FOR US ALL HOW WILL HE NOT ALSO GRACIOUSLY GIVE US ALL THINGS.

The clearest illustration of God's loving action on behalf of every sinner is what the season of Lent is all about.
God didn't spare his own Son. He sent him to live, suffer, die and rise again for us. Jesus took our place, and died our death. He stepped in to bear the weight of his Father's wrath against the sins of the whole world. He removed the sin that separated us from God, and made us one with him. And so if God was willing to go to those extremes for us, Paul wants us to know that God will also take care of all our other spiritual and physical needs. God truly is "for us." We have God's own Word on it and the actions of his Son back up those words.

What a tremendous gift! What a glorious truth!
This, my dear friends, is what Lent is all about. God is for us, and when your doubts tempt you to question God's love, look at what he was willing to do! He was willing to sacrifice his one and only Son to make you his very own. That's how much our God loves us! The Father willingly sacrificed his Son, and that Son willingly took our place for us. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The answer is no one.

2. He declared us not guilty
What God has done for us in almost inconceivable. His grace is truly amazing. God has declared us not guilt of sin. That's what the Apostle means when he writes: WHO WILL BRING ANY CHARGE AGAINST THOSE WHOM GOD HAS CHOSEN? IT IS GOD WHO JUSTIFIES. Paul's words in effect take us right to God's judgment seat, his eternal courtroom. The courtroom picture is this: We stand before God the perfectly just Judge. The devil is our accuser, who points to the evidence of the sins he has tempted us to commit. There is other evidence, however. Our defense attorney, Jesus Christ, presents the evidence of the wounds in his hands, feet, and side. He reminds the Judge that those sins have already been punished and paid for in full. The Judge brings the gavel down, and declares us "not guilty."

And so Paul can rightfully ask this question:
WHO WILL BRING ANY CHARGE AGAINST THOSE WHOM GOD HAS CHOSEN? The answer to Paul's questions once again is no one. No one can bring charges against us, because God himself justifies us, declares us not guilty. No one can condemn us, because Jesus died and rose again. His resurrection is the guarantee that the Father accepted his work for us.

What an important truth this is to know because the devil doesn't stop tempting or accusing.
What is even worse is that our sinful nature encourages us to think more about our sin and the punishment we deserve, rather than God's grace, his forgiveness and heaven's glory. We know our sins all to well, and they can weigh on us terribly. We see the same sin in our lives today, for which we sought his forgiveness yesterday. When we finally get things under control in one area, we fail in another. But what a comfort it is to know that in GodŐs courtroom we have been declared not guilty of every sin of the past, present and future. He promised and sent his Son to be our Savior, just so that he could remove our sins as far as the east is from the west. What comfort then to know that the case is stacked in our favor, and that the Judge has loved us from all eternity and for all eternity.

3. He loves us to eternity
Eternity is a long time. It's forever. Many different things can happen to us in the time span of eternity. The Roman Christians to whom Paul was speaking would be facing certain persecution in the near future. Throughout the history of the Christian Church persecution, hardship and false teachers have attacked God's Word and his people. Satan is never content just to leave the people of God alone and let them worship in peaceful joy. He's always on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Acknowledging the persistent nature of the devil, Paul asks this question: WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST? SHALL TROUBLE OR HARDSHIP OR PERSECTUION OR FAMINE OR NAKEDNESS OR DANGER OR SWORD? AS IT IS WRITTEN, FOR YOUR SAKE WE FACE DANGER ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.

But even in the face of ongoing hardship and persecution the words of promise from our God stand strong and firm.
God's love will endure forever, for eternity. Simple humble Christian faith gives believers the confidence of which the Apostle Paul spoke when wrote in our text: FOR I AM CONVINCED THAT NEITHER DEATH NOR LIFE, NEITHER ANGELS NOR DEMONS, NEITHER THE PRESENT NOR THE FUTURE, NOR ANY POWERS, NEITHER HEIGHT NOR DEPTH, NOR ANYTHING ELSE IN ALL CREATION, WILL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD

The loving actions of God say it all! On the first Christmas God sent us his Son.
On the first Good Friday he died in our place. On that first Easter God gave the proof of his declaration of innocence by raising his Son from the dead. Because of those things we can speak with God-given confidence as Paul did; nothing can separate us from the love of God. God is for us for all eternity.

When such "challenges" come our way, they aren't signs God hates us or has abandoned.
The reality is that he loves us and he's proven it with his actions. Sometimes God uses hardship to remind us that this life is not the be all and end all of our existence, but that in fact he wants us to look longingly toward eternity. And the wonderful comfort is that his love for us is so strong, that it has the power to accomplish his desire, and bring us to eternal glory. He sent his Son, and declared us innocent to assure us that he loves us to eternity.

It has been said that actions speak louder than words.
Our text assures us that God speaks loudly both ways. The words of the Apostle Paul remind us so comfortingly that God is, in fact, for us. He made it clear that he is on our side when he gave us his Son. He reinforced it when he declared us not guilty of sin. And he gives us the ongoing assurance in his Word that he loves us to eternity. God is on our side. We have his Word and actions to prove it. Amen