Romans: Our Power | Freedom from Fear, Romans 8:31-39 October 25
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Romans: Our Power | Freedom from Fear, Romans 8:31-39 October 25, 2020 | Matthew McNutt Part way through today’s passage, the Apostle Paul asks the question every single one of us has wondered: Romans 8:35a (NLT) Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Maybe you haven’t asked the question in those exact words. Instead, maybe you have doubted your salvation, wondered if you have done something too horrible, worried you don’t pray or study your Bible enough, or found yourself struggling with any of the other thousand fears that whisper in the background of our lives. You want to know you’re loved. You want freedom from fear. In 2001, Elton John released an incredible music video for his song, “I want love.” In a surprising move, Robert Downey Jr. was cast to lip sync the song in the music video. Surprising? Iron Man came out in 2008, seven years LATER; since then he has become one of the most popular actors on the planet, but that was NOT the case in 2001. He was just coming off a string of years in which he was arrested multiple times for cocaine, heroin, and marijuana use. His life was out of control. He ended up serving time. He was the picture of a man who had lost everything, who had gone from being the popular one to the one no one wanted to be associated with. In the music video, he walked through an empty house, lip syncing Elton John’s lyrics: I want love, but it's impossible A man like me, so irresponsible A man like me is dead in places I can't love, shot full of holes Don't feel nothing, I just feel cold Don't feel nothing, just old scars Toughening up around my heart But I want love, just a different kind I want love, won't break me down Won't brick me up, won't fence me in I want a love, that don't mean a thing That's the love I want, I want love The timing of the video was powerful, Downey’s performance was perfect – you could feel the longing watching him mouthing these words as he walked through an empty house. The symbolism was hard to miss. And the song blew up. Why? Because the desire for love resonated with people. We all have that hunger, that need. When God designed us, when He created us, God wired us for perfect love – His love. 1 The problem is, we live in a broken, imperfect world. Every one of us can point to examples of broken love, hurtful love, love betrayed, love neglected, in our lives. Because we’re surrounded by brokenness, it’s easy of us to expect the same thing of God that Robert Downey Jr. experienced from the world around him; rejection and isolation. We may not articulate it that way, or even be fully aware of it. But maybe you have found yourself wondering if you messed up one time too many – is it too much for God? Was that the straw that broke the camel’s back? If God knows everything about me, every action, every thought, how could God possibly have love for me? But that’s how an imperfect, fallen, broken world handles love: imperfectly, inconsistently, with all of the wrong motivations. It’s what the culture we have grown up in has trained us to expect. When we read these verses, we need to intentionally remind ourselves that these verses are not describing some sort of idealistic vision that isn’t actually attainable. Not only is God the only one that can actually deliver on what we’re reading, He DOES deliver on it. Romans 8:31-39 (NLT) 31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul’s question – OUR question – can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Can we lose His love? Can we lose our salvation? NO. Nothing. In perhaps one of the most beautiful passages in scripture, God rules out any room for debate, for confusion, for concern. What can we say? 2 Part of me feels like the message could be just reading this passage over and over. What can we possibly add to it? What can we do that won’t distract from it’s beauty? In these verses, Paul makes five arguments1 as proof that there can be no separation between us and God, between YOU and God. 1. God is for us (v.31) Romans 8:31b (NLT) If God is for us, who can ever be against us? He has proven it over and over; most significantly by giving His Son for us. Stop and think about that for a moment. I would like to think I might be willing to sacrifice myself for someone else. I know I can’t think of a situation where I would sacrifice one of my sons. Is this too blunt? If the ship is sinking, if the house is burning, and I have to choose between you and one of my kids, even on their most disobedient, rebellious, mouthing off day, there wouldn’t even be a hesitation. How often have we spoken of God giving His Son for us as though that is something light, like we have gotten so used to the idea that we’ve forgotten how incredible it is? God is for us. Jesus is for us; Romans 8:34 speaks of how He gave His life for us. The Holy Spirit is for us; Romans 8:26 speaks of how He prays on our behalf. If God is for us, who can ever be against us? God’s love for YOU is so powerful that He gave His son; after that is there anything too costly for Him to be for you? He did that, knowing your past, knowing your present, knowing your future - and thought YOU were worth it. Is there anything we need to fear when God is for us? We will still suffer, we will still experience hardship, but we will go through it knowing God is for us. 2. God has justified us (v.33) What does being justified mean? I looked it up! It means being declared right, to have been marked good for a legitimate reason. When it comes to faith, it means that the price has been paid for what we’ve done wrong and we are clean in God’s eyes. Paul was building on the previous point when he wrote: Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Romans 8:33 (NLT) Why can we have confidence? God Himself has declared us righteous. When God looks at you, He sees a being created in His image, holy and righteous because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. So where do accusations come from? If it’s a spiritual source, it’s not God, so that leaves Satan’s team - there’s no need to listen to them. That’s just sore losers trying to ruin our win. Maybe it’s other people; but here’s the thing, if God tells me 1 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2004), 104-106. 3 something – that I am justified – and you take a differing stance, as convincing as you may be, God is the one who is right! Maybe the accuser is you. My biggest critic has been myself. That voice in the background bringing up my past mistakes, my failures, all of the reasons why I’m not good enough, why I’m too messed up, too broken, too hopeless. And the thing is, those are all reasons why people write each other off. We’re seeing this play out on a national scale at the moment, aren’t we? Each political party is focusing so much of their energy on tearing down the other rather than making the case for themselves.