Lesson 5 - Romans 8, What Difference Will It Make?

From the first lesson, if you recall, the Key Verse I used was from none other than Romans 7!

Romans 7:24-25  24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Then in the next lesson we saw GROANING WITH CREATION – Romans 8:22-23  22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

And now, this third and final lesson in this study of Romans 8, I asked you to reflect and meditate on verse 32 – He who did not spare …

Like last time, I want to simply show the whole passage of 9 verses at the end of Romans 8 and then we will comment a bit on each -

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

 
      “ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
       We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let’s begin with verse 31

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

What are “these things” to which he refers? Does this two part question really need an answer?

Well, when you go back and read it in context, it seems clear. After all these things he has written up to this point in Romans 8, he asks "what then shall we say?" Obviously people can be physically, emotionally, even spiritually against us, so what does he mean?  Simply, based on all he has written, and all he knows, that NO ONE can be against us; no one WHO MATTERS anyway!

Interesting?  Do we believe that?  If God is for us, NO ONE WHO MATTERS can be against us in any MEANINGFUL way.

 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

He gave up His Son for us – does anything else even come close?  And so why would He withhold anything else that is good for us?  He would not and does not - period. We who believe already absolutely know this truth to be so. Those of you who do not yet believe, even you can count on this truth.

 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

THE GOSPEL, summed up in just a couple of verses.  Sinners, elected by God, justified by God, forgiven by God, without condemnation because Christ died, rose and reigns at the Father's right hand. 

And as if dying for us, and rising again, was not enough - get this point - Jesus INTERCEDES FOR US! That's right, Jesus, Savior, King, Lord of all Creation, very God of very God, the Son, is interceding for you and for me, even now. It almost takes my breath away to consider this.

By the way, in our last lesson we also saw that the other Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, intercedes for us with words, groanings, which cannot be uttered, in perfect conformity with the will of God the Father. 

Jesus AND the Holy Spirit interceding for us - truly who can stand against us?

 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

      “ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
       We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Tribulation – ups and downs of life.  Distress – major events that hit us.  Persecution – for the sake of Jesus.  Famine – periods of drought.  Nakedness – periods of little or nothing.  Peril – real danger.  Sword – even injury or death.

Can any of this at all every separate us from the love of Christ? In one of the most glorious statements of God’s assurance that once we are His, there is NOTHING to ever separate us from His love, Paul concludes this chapter 8 -

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You see, he wants to be clear and make this point. If you are rescued from eternal damnation by Jesus Christ there is NOTHING anymore that can separate you. You were saved, you are being saved and you will be saved forever. He is yours and you are His. None of this "life on earth" stuff can get in the way and any that does just DOES NOT matter.

Don't miss this - this truth is why people, soldiers of the faith, like the Apostles or Luther or Calvin or Spurgeon or Bonhoeffer or Carey or Jim Elliott or countless others have given themselves over to Him completely, and been willing to die for the cause of His Glory and the Gospel. It is why we an let ourselves go completely turned over to Him as well.

And so, my question for all of us is this - What difference will it make?

500 or so years before Jesus lived, there was a prophet who beheld the Lord’s Glory and in him it made a real difference. In Isaiah 6 when the Lord asked “who will go for us” his answer was “Here am I, send me”.

Is the Lord asking you, after hearing and seeing His truth, His glory, through prompting and intercession by His Spirit and His Son, is the Lord asking you – “who will go for us?”  What is your answer?

Right now, as we study here, throughout the community of faith all around the world during the week there are brothers and sisters giving up themselves for Jesus because they know that nothing will every separate them, and He is worthy of our service. They are meeting, growing, sharing, encouraging, equipping and serving in the name of Jesus.

I know of one couple who was lukewarm.  They attended church, went to Sunday school and even once in awhile volunteered for something, but there was no passion.  Then the Lord got hold of them.  They realized there was more to it, and that it wasn’t about their comfort or convenience or even their growth – it is about God.  Powered by the Spirit they started soaring and the Lord was pleased.  He began to grow their talents and bless with abundance.

You see, that is what happens.  And God gives us stern warnings for leaving our talents unused. Remember the servant in Matthew who, instead of employing the talents given, put them in the ground to protect them. He was called out by His Master and the talents were taken away.

CAUTION – we need to use what the Lord have given us.

Further, Matthew 10 tells us the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Pray to the Lord for more workers.

You see, it is not about the work, but it is about the workers, and about our hearts. It is not about clenching to things that do not matter, but instead clinging to Him who matters most. As Jim Elliott told us "he is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose".

I’ll close with one more story – this one about a young man I know and for him these glorious truths have made and are making an eternal difference.

PB was in a Christian high school, rolling along, living a sheltered life and having a pretty good time. He was a believer, but not very engaged. But that started changing. He was regularly attending church and Sunday school, and over time the real, deep, convicting, life changing truths of scripture starting penetrating his heart.

Convinced that God had more for him than sports and friends, he asked to transfer to a school with more diversity. In this place, most any belief existed, and people said so openly! He prayed fervently, saying to God "here I am, use me". And our God heard his prayer.

In a matter of weeks, PB saw a ministry opportunity open up. He started making connections with faculty and arranging for space. Then he simply started inviting students to come by, after classes, to share time together. During that time they laughed, played games and also shared real truth from the Bible.

Over the next two years, hundreds of students attended these meetings, By the grace of God some even came to believe! Further, PB was so encouraged and empowered by the amazing power of God displayed in such an unlikely place, that he launched into his college career with momentum that still carries him in ministry to this very day.

You see, PB understood, that once he had been touched by God through Jesus Christ, and then powered by His Spirit, that nothing could stop him from being fruitful for the Lord.

And so, my closing question to you is the same one we started with some time ago – now that we have studied together – in this case Romans 8 – and seen that there is no condemnation, that we can live by the Spirit, that we are God’s children and heirs with Christ, that the sufferings of today are nothing compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, that we have not yet seen our final HOPE, that the Spirit and Jesus are interceding for us, that God has chosen us, justified us and glorified us, and will glorify us fully in heaven, that He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all will freely give us all other things, and that NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now that we have seen these glorious truths –

What difference will it make IN YOU?

Lesson 4 - Romans 8, Groaning with Anticipation

Book of Romans – written between 54 and 57AD, 25-30 years after Christ, by Apostle Paul while he lived in Corinth.

It is said to be one of the fullest, most glorious statements of the Gospel and it is filled, among other things, with meaty truth on grace, sovereignty, sanctification, election, overcoming sin, salvation and the life of a believer in the Spirit.

Great people of the faith down through the ages have come to know and love this book, even pointing to it as the way God brought them to salvation through Christ at the appointed time.

Romans 8 is right in the middle of the whole book, and today we are going to spend time in the middle of Romans 8, covering verses 18 – 30.

If we get nothing else from our look at the 8^th chapter over these 3 Lessons, I want us to get this – we have done wrong things, sinful things, and will continue to do so to some degree until the Lord takes us home or He returns.  Nonetheless, Jesus Christ paid the full price for our redemption and salvation and that is a truth worth living for every day!

Key Verses

From last Lesson, if you recall, the first Key verse I used for beginning Chapter 8 was FROM ROMANS 7!!!!

Romans 7:24-25

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Next time, our Key verse will be Romans 8:32

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

But in this Lesson, among the other great verses we will cover, I want us to keep in mind these two

GROANING WITH CREATION – Romans 8:22-23

22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

So, without further delay, let’s take a look at what Paul writes and what we can learn from it -

If you recall from last time, Paul was writing in verse 13 about putting to death the deeds of the body BY THE SPIRIT and as many as are led by the Spirit, these are called sons of God, then, if sons, heirs, heirs with Christ, if we share in His sufferings, and will share in His Glory.

But then Paul continues

Romans 8:18-30

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

What sufferings of this present time is he talking about?

It seems to have two applications for us as Believers - 1) He means all of the "sufferings" that we bear IN Christ and FOR Christ and BECAUSE of our faith in Him. These are sufferings like apathy as we evangelize, mocking or ridicule as we pursue holiness in obedience, confrontation as we proclaim, even real persecution, danger or death. And 2) He means things we surely encounter in this world because of the ravages of our sin. These are sufferings like aging bodies, sinful desires that plague us day after day, sicknesses in people we care about and untimely deaths of loved ones, things like divorce, problems raising children, job loss and financial struggle - all of the things that may happen against us in this world.

And Paul is writing to us, not without firsthand knowledge, but from real experience -

"Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure". (2 Corinthians 11:24–28)

Even creation overall is subjected to sufferings, it groans as we do and eagerly waits for the revealing of all who will believe so that all will be made right by Him who subjects it, and us, to these sufferings. This is all part of His grand plan for mankind, and as we understand this it gives us a blessed HOPE -

19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

Creation itself, God’s creation, will be delivered from this corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God and then the groaning, the waiting, the suffering and agony and ache and hurt will finally END, and the fulfillment of the adoption, the redemption of our bodies will fully take place.

And we were saved in this CERTAIN hope! -

 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

This is the certain hope, hope unseen, hope that there is more, much more, and much better, which is to come. And so we wait for it, not impatiently as if we had NO hope, but, instead, amazingly and against all intuition we hope for what we do not see with perseverance. A hope that is yet unseen but yet absolutely certain because of Him who gives us such hope. Who can figure out this incredible God of ours?

But, as Paul tells us, we have not received it yet – for we are not yet home. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 continues this Biblical principle that Paul wants us to really understand as we live our lives out in this world through sufferings, and as God's power is displayed, not ours -

"7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."

Romans 8 now continues with two very revealing passages. In this first one, Paul begins with the word "likewise". Why does he choose this word?

It seems to me to point way back to verse 18. Paul tells us that the sufferings which are nothing compared to what will be HELP US IN OUR WEAKNESSES. And here, likewise, or in the same way, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Have you ever tried to pray but just could not? You knew you should, and maybe even wanted to, but somehow you could not form any words. Well, Believer, take heart for God knew even that would happen to all of us. Precisely when we are weak, perhaps through distraction or maybe our sinfulness, when we are unable to voice the words that we ache to say, the Spirit intercedes for us. And these intercessions are perfect, just what is needed, just what should be asked, because His Spirit is in perfect harmony with the will of God. It is a blessings, a privilege, a gift from Him who knows us better than we know ourselves.

And then finally in this Lesson we look at verses 28-30 -

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Much has surely been written and preached about these marvelous words. Verse 28 is often quoted by Believers everywhere, especially when things are tough or just don't seem to make any sense.

These verses touch on a difficult topic in the Bible - one of election, or predestination, or calling. I won't take much space here to expound on this Biblical truth, but suffice it to say for now that God is Sovereign over all things. Scripture is clear that even before the creation of anything, God had a plan, and His plan is working in our lives and the lives of those before and after us JUST AS HE INTENDS. Further, that those intentions are exactly what is needed and the very best for all of those to whom He has given the right to be called children of God.

Next time we will cover the last part of Romans 8, verses 31 through 39 with the key verse again being Verse 32.

But for now, let’s again finish with a reminder of the verse we started with here, that sums up for us our eager anticipation and expectation of things to come

22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.