Romans 8:38-39 “No Separation” - 1/24/2019

[Music] all right guys we're ready ready to start we've had we've had the coin toss we've we're gonna defer to the second half so I need to kick off team on the 50-yard line helmets on chin straps buttoned we're going to start this by showing just a very short 60-second video of a guy from Lebanon who watches us on our Bible studies he's probably watching us right now his name's Felipe so let's go ahead and show it and and you can look we want to encourage people to send in their videos so [Music] hello dear brethren I am very proud and twenty-two years I am from Lebanon from the Middle East what I loved the most about your podcast dr. Lawson is the great emphasis on the gospel and the expanding of the verses that we sometimes overlook the solid doctrines which are Beach and the most what I love about it is the stalwart question which always produces a kind of responsibility in my heart to do some work and produce fruit with the doctrines that I have just learned and I pray that God may use these teachings in my life to profit my community and my church and you are always in my place thank you all right so all the way from Lebanon that's pretty cool so why don't we begin a word of Prayer and just dive right into this this passage father thank you for what we just heard and knowing that there are men and women from all around the world who watch with us we ask your blessing to be strongly upon them and I pray for us as we gather here in Dallas Texas at herbes house that you would meet with us that your Holy Spirit would guide and direct us into all the truth I pray that your word would address us and teach us very specifically and directly today give us clarity of understanding and may your spirit motivate us to live out the truth we pray this in Christ's name Amen all right well as we get started you'll note that Kent has been demoted to to actually serving biscuits so no he's at a funeral but I want you to know he's still with me right right right here and so in some ways this may be a little better Kent or you can say something Kent okay so we still have Kent with us in in many ways so this may be a distraction to you so I think I'll put up a lay down to bed right there so all right Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 the last two verses and I just hate to let Romans 8 go because this has been arguably the greatest chapter in the entire Bible but just to let you know this and we'll be meeting next week we have Romans 9 teed up and coming and it's gonna be big boy football okay so you're gonna want to wear your shoulder pads as you come next week so I wanted to start by reading the two verses last two verses of Romans 8 we're gonna look at verses 38 and so here they are four I'm convinced that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities there are things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord those two verses have to be among the greatest verses in the entire Bible and they really form the capstone to Romans chapter 8 I mean this is the pinnacle this is the height of Mount Everest and this chapter began with a declaration of no condemnation in verse 1 and it now concludes with a declaration of no separation in verses 38 and 39 so these two pronouncements are really the book ends around Romans chapter 8 no condemnation and no separation and these fit together in that all those whom God declares no condemnation it will never be reversed it will never be revoked there will never be a no separation from no condemnation so it is the eternal security of the believer which means that we are a certain for heaven this moment as if we've already been there because we are declared no condemnation in Christ Jesus now these last two verses are arguably among the most beautiful pieces of literature ever to be written and so it's not just what they say but how they say it is so appealing to us it's one sentence and there are 10 designations that are all that all begin with the negative either neither or the word nor and Paul uses the negative so that it has a certain sharp edge about it he could have put it in the positive but he puts it in the negative so that it has a strong impact as it hits us now these 10 designations no debt nor neither death life angels principalities etc they they they lay out this way there are four pairs of two four pairs of two and then there are two single items that are standalone items so eight of these match up in pairs of two four pairs of two and then there are two single items and when they match up in twos they are intentionally what we would call contrasting pairs they're on the opposite ends of the spectrum I mean it's almost like saying the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast and it's just the opposite ends of the continent of North America so he goes death life I mean those are opposite extremes height depth opposite extremes things present things to come and what he is communicating here is that these are all-inclusive all-encompassing statements that that he is making there's nothing outside of them so this covers the span of anything and everything that could possibly remove us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus and it is a powerful argument and I think we'll understand the the the thrust of the argument and how irrefutable it is as Paul makes his case but just be looking for these opposite extremes that are at juxtaposition so let's begin I've got three main headings I want to set before you I want to break out these two verses and the first thing that I want you to notice the strong conviction the strong conviction and that's at the beginning of verse 38 Paul begins for I am convinced the word for indicates to us it's a continuation of thought from the previous verses and it's really he's now giving us an extended explanation that we are eternally secure in Christ so when he says I am convinced the very strong Greek word the verb therein and it is translated in the ESV I am sure it's translated in the King James I am persuaded and the idea is that I am absolutely convinced of this Paul has deep roots of conviction about this and this is very important for us just to see this because you need to be able to say the very same thing that I am convinced strong Christians have strong convictions weak Christians have weak convictions and we do live in a day and time in which convictions are very rare as it relates to the Bible and if we are to be strong believers with a strong walk and to have a strong witness and to give a strong testimony then we're going to have to have strong convictions and as I've said before we're not just dogmatic about this we're bul dogmatic about this okay so where Paul is convinced you and I must be convinced so it's in it's in a verb tense that may not mean anything to you but I'm going to tell it to you anyway it's what we call the perfect tense and the idea is Paul is saying I have become convinced and I remain convey so the the ideas this isn't just a a mere passing emotion of the moment that this isn't just a temporal feeling that he has about this no Paul is saying I have been anchored to this I remain anchored to this and I'm not moving from this now you'll note at the beginning of verse 28 he expresses really similar type conviction he goes and we know and he uses we to include all the rest of us so this isn't just that Paul has this each and every one of us must have this strong conviction regarding these truths and they're not hard to understand they may be hard for some to swallow but but they're not hard to understand these are very clear and it all deals with a strong conviction that there that there will be no separation from the love of God toward me now that I am in Christ so this is where this begins the strong conviction may God give you strong convictions in the truth may you have concrete pour it into your backbone spiritually and may you know what it is to stand strong in the truth all right second I want you to see the specific details and I want to begin to now to walk through this and peel this back a layer at a time there's going to be six layers here and there are 10 designations 10 details but they fall out in six layers and we're just going to peel these back one at a time so the first pair is in the middle of verse 38 for I am convinced that and here's the first pair that knee their death nor life neither death nor life shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus now just understand this is an all-inclusive statement there's nothing outside of life or death for you okay that that covers your present your future that covers time that covers eternity that covers everything in your life there's nothing outside of life and death now Paul begins with with death because he's just been talking about death and you'll noted verse 36 he says for your sake we are being put to death all day long we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered and the reference there is martyrdom the reference there is paying the ultimate price for your testimony and for the confession of your faith in Christ Jesus and just to remind us all the church in Rome was not in the buckle of the Bible Belt okay this isn't Atlanta or Charlotte or something like that they are in Rome that's where Caesar is that's where the marching armies of Rome are that that's where the Roman Senate is that that's where they will be throwing Christians to the Lions in the in the Roman Coliseum that's where they will be taking Christians and and literally shish kebob being them and using them as human torches to light the Emperor's gardens as he has his evening parties so this isn't something hypothetical and in the face of such persecution and tribulation and Paul begins with with with death and rightly so and at the end of verse 35 he were at the beginning of verse 35 who will separate us from the love of Christ and at the end of verse 35 he says sword questionmark and it's a rhetorical question the answer of which is no not even the sword can sever us from the love of Christ or from the love of god which is in christ now that's that's the worst case scenario that could ever happen to you is for you to have your head severed by a sword because of your testimony of faith in Jesus Christ even that will not separate the love of God from you in fact it will usher you into the very presence of God in his love for you now just think about this death separates us from a lot of things loves death separates us from family right death separates us from our body our bodies put into the grave but our soul and spirit is separated from the body but by death love excuse me death separates us from locations here on the earth love I keep saying love excuse me I've got that in my head death separates us from from business it separates us from earthly pleasures so death separates us from just about everything except the love of God which is in Christ Jesus and that's a synonymous expression for our salvation the love of God which is in Christ Jesus is synonymous with the saving grace of God that is poured out upon us motivated by the love of God so let me just give you some cross references just to drive this nail into the board a little bit deeper Psalm 23 verse 4 yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the day of my life and then I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever so even death is not going to circumvent the love of God towards us even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death it will only lead into a fuller realization of the love of God let me give you another one psalm 116 verse 15 precious in the sight of the lord is the death of one of his godly ones and it's precious because the death of one of his godly ones brings that godly one into the very presence of God and his loving arms Luke 23 verse 42 not you Luke but in the Bible Luke Luke 23 42 thief on the cross what did you know he's thief said remember me when you come into your kingdom and what did Jesus say today you will be with me in paradise there where there was no separation from the love of God in Christ for that thief upon the cross and he put his foot into the ocean of God's grace at the last second and there was no separation whatsoever for him 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 8 there's another cross-reference we need to be reminded of to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord I mean the moment you die you graduate to glory the moment you die you close your eyes and death you open them in the very presence of God coram do face to face with God and the beatific vision you will see God and then Philippians 1:21 Paul writes for me to live is Christ and to die is what it's gain so even death cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ here's a question for our Roman Catholic friends they teach that suicide by a Christian sins to purgatory or to hell not according to the Bible even if a believer takes his own life which is a gross sin against God but there have been believers who have taken their own life succumbing to depression even suicide by a Christian cannot separate that one from the eternal love of God which is in Christ Jesus so death cannot separate us from the love of God neither can life he goes nor life that's the other part of this tandem and life discovers everything else I mean every life experience on this side of of death so from this we can easily surmise no sin that we could ever commit would ever separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord no denial of Christ in a weak moment like Peter he said I don't know the man no immorality like committed by David no murder active murder like committed by David at least the plot of it would separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus not even trying to run away from the will of God like Jonah could separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus I mean it is an irrevocable unbreakable bond that we have with God as he has set his love upon us and we'll talk about it at the end of this study that is exclusively in Christ Jesus our Lord now if you think about it life does separate us from a lot of things life separates us from parents by their death life can separate us in marriage relationships business health wealth that there are a lot of separations that occur within life but one thing one separation that will never occur within your life no matter what you do or how you live is the love that God has for those who are in Christ Jesus we need to understand it is an unconditional love that is not caused by anything in us it is not forfeited by anything in us so that's the first pair we can stop the study right there Paul could have stopped the verse right there I mean what else is there life or death but he's the master teacher right and so he's gonna stack up further convincing arguments so the second pair the second pair he now says nor angels nor principalities now this covers the entire invisible world of spirit beings small s it covers good angels that would be the designation angels those are elect angels good angels but it also covers principalities now principalities refer to the third of the angels that fell with Lucifer when he sinned and became demon spirits disembodied spirits that are our demons who are opposed to believers who persecute the church who try to thwart every advancement of the gospel nothing that a demon can do can separate the love of God in Christ from us so no deception that a demon can create no temptation that a demon can incite or sin no false doctrine no persecution no pressure that a demon can can bring to bear upon our life can ever drive a wedge between the love of God and us now just think about let me give you the classic example job job chapter one and two there was a day when the sons of men referring to angels job 1 verse 6 came before the throne of God and there came Satan and you may ask me how is it that Satan has access to the throne of God and the answer is I don't know you don't know no one knows but there it is in the Bible and God initiates the conversation have you considered my servant job there's no one like him he is fearless and upright turning away from evil blameless it's God that throws job's name into the ring and the devil who is so shrewd answers back in in essence says in so many words well no wonder he worships you you've been so good to him you've bought it you've bought his worship if you pulled back your goodness to him he will not worship you so God says all right have adding and and you know the story how in one day God took away all of his possessions God took away his house God took away her Satan I say God God ultimately but it's Satan given the the the permission to do this takes away all seven sons and all three daughters in a moment just wipes out his family and the only thing that he leaves as a wife who nags him at this why don't you just curse God and and and you can vamoose as well and job says the Lord gives the Lord takes away blessed be the name of the Lord in all do that in all of this job 123 job did not sin well guess what Satan comes back before the throne of God and says if you would just let me touch him and cast greater affliction upon him he'll turn his back on you and God says you may do that and God removed the hedge of protection around Jobe and the devil was able to inflict boils and all kinds of painful inflictions upon job and Jobe refused to curse God in all of that God continued to focus his love upon Jobe Jobe will not turn his back on God but God will not turn his back on job no matter what and so that's the classic example and we to find ourselves in boxing in this same arena Ephesians 6 verse 12 where we wrestle not with flesh and blood but against principalities very word here in powers and spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus and so the point that Paul is making here is not even good angels hypothetically Galatians 1:8 or non elect angels that are fallen angels that are demon spirits can cause us to be severed from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus so he comes now to the third pair and what is next at the end of verse 38 he says nor things present nor things to come you see how those match up together that those those form a pair which are opposite extremes things present nor things to come what he is saying is nothing in this life and nothing in the life to come nothing today nothing tomorrow nothing forever nothing that is in this nothing in time and nothing in eternity I mean that that covers the whole gambit and the reason he doesn't mention the past is because obviously nothing in the past has separate us from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus the mere fact that we as believers presently are in the love of God so he just begins with the present but extends it into things to come there's no end to that that that goes next week next month next year all the way down to the time of your death but that doesn't even stop it it goes through death into eternity future that that there's nothing on the radar screen that will ever be able to separate the love of God from us no difficulty no danger no loss no traumatic experience no adversity no tragedy no trial no tribulation zero can ever separate the love of God from us that is in Christ Jesus if that were not enough Paul just keeps adding layers to the argument such that there is so much weight being brought to bear upon this you would almost have to pity someone whoever thinks you could lose your salvation because obviously their eyes are not working brain cells are not touching they're not able to comprehend the clear the clear teaching of Scripture itself so the next layer which is the fourth layer is a a single detail or a single word he adds nor powers you know there's some discussion as to what powers refers to and I'll admit it's it's it's difficult to be absolutely certain some feel that it points back to angels and principalities I think not I think it would have been clustered there but it breaks even the the rhythm to have a triad I think this is a standalone and I think the powers here refer to earthly powers and specifically to government authorities government powers that are hostile towards a believers faith in Jesus Christ let's remember to whom Paul is writing and where they live they are in Rome literally under the thumb and under the shadow of Caesar himself who can give a thumbs up or a thumbs down to anyone he wants and can throw anyone into the Roman Colosseum and have their life taken I think the powers here refer to Caesar with all of the tyrannical powers that he possessed and and exercised and what Paul is saying is no matter how heated the persecution that will come against you and it is surely coming it hasn't totally hit the fan yet but but but it's on the way the tsunami is on the way no matter how intense the persecution even that will not be able to weaken the grip that God has upon you and no matter how traumatized you will be and no matter how weak you may become it will not loosen the grip of God's love upon your life and even when the world rejects you God stands with you and when even when the world rises up to take your life God holds your life and God will preserve you in his love this leads now to to the next layer which is the fourth pair which is really the fifth layer of this and in verse 39 the sentence continues you'll note and and Paul's like on a run here and and he just continues to to add another layer and he says nor height nor depth and again these are polar opposites and it could be argued that this is a literary device called inclusio sometimes called inclusion which are like bookends and it implies not only these extremes but everything in between it would be like for us to say from New York to Los Angeles well that implies Topeka Kansas and Wichita and every st. Louis and everything in between that's the the thrust here with this literary device so when he says Heights he's referring to heaven and when he says depth he's referring to hell well when he says Heights he that's where God number one that's where God is number two that's where elect Angels base number three that's where believers now glorified our and four that's where Satan is allowed to bring his accusation against us as the accuser of the Brethren but nothing in heaven with God elect angels glorified believers or even Satan can separate us from the love of God well then Paul wants us to get in the elevator and go all the way down to the basement and there we are in the depths of hell and there are already some demons that are consigned to hell already the rest are loose here upon the earth they're already damned souls in Hell hell being tormented nothing down there can separate us from the love of God nothing in the heights of heaven or in the depths of hell and nothing in between on the earth so nothing above the earth nothing on the earth nothing under the earth can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus and this is almost like saying north south east or west no matter which way you look and no matter what the the terrain or the territory there's nothing going on that could intervene to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus if that were not enough Paul now comes to the last thing that he will say which is the final single it's the sixth level and it's a standalone it's not matched up with another with another pair and he just adds nor any created thing that's kind of like a catch-all for anything else that would come into your mind and it's also inclusive of you because I know how some people think and they think well God would never remove his love from us but you could remove yourself from the love of God you could remove yourself from the grip that God has on your life of course we know that's impossible that's silly talk but let's just play with that for a moment could you remove yourself from the love of pull yourself out of the circle of God's love let's just think about this the only uncreated being in the universe is God himself everything else is created right so this covers everything this covers the universe the discovers Heaven Hell Earth planets people animals weather circumstances anything and everything which would include you last time I looked that that would include you in the universe as a created being and this says that no created thing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus the the fallacy of that argument implodes in its in its own logic as Paul even adds this so when you put a bow around all ten of these designations there is nothing that can enter intervene to put up a barrier a firewall between the love of God and us as those who are believers in Jesus Christ now we could meet from now until the Lord comes back going Genesis through revelation on why you can never lose your salvation okay it would take us it would it would be a long study and especially with me doing it do I hear that laugh it there's so many verses it would be easier to to prove this than some of the major doctrines in the Bible we have so many verses at our disposal but having said that just these two verses alone is all we need that this is a slam-dunk case for once saved always saved it is a slam-dunk case for the eternal security of the believer so this leads us now to the end of verse 39 I don't want to get this all out on the table so we've we've looked at the strong conviction and we've looked at the specific details right and now third I want you to see the steadfast love because as we come to the end of verse 39 there's still some more meat on the bone here notice how he concludes I'm gonna read it and then we'll go through it phrase by phrase or word by word we'll be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord so I looked up this verb will be able I just thought I wonder how strong this disability is I wonder how strong that this word is and I was surprised when I when I when I saw it it's it comes into the English language as the word dynamite and a powerful explosion and the idea all of these things put together that we just looked at yeah there was a lot of TNT in that but none of those will be is a strong enough force to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus now this word separate means to divide to sever it's used in the Bible to refer to divorce the breaking of a relationship it literally means to place room between two things so that there's now a chasm or a gap between two things that's what that's what this word separate means and it's he's saying all the things that he just discussed will not create a milla whatever in the gap create a gap between God and us I mean we are bound with it that we are there is Union between us and God and his love and nothing can separate the love of God toward us and again that's synonymous with our salvation now the next word is us that's a big word very important word please note it doesn't say everybody it says us so the million dollar question once again is who is the US because you're gonna want to be one of the US well the US this stream began to flow I mean it goes I mean we can go all the way back to Romans 1 verse 1 I guess in a sense but it's in verse 29 it's those whom he foreknew and those whom he predestined and in verse 30 the us is those whom he called and those whom he justified and those who are already as good as glorified the us in verse 31 is those whom God is for the us in verse 32 is those for whom Christ died it's those for whom God gave the son to die in his place the the us in verse 32 are those to whom God gives everything that is needed in the will of God the us in verse 28 is those for whom all things are working together for good the us in verse 28 are those who love God and those who are called according to his purpose the us in verse 33 is those whom God justifies and the us in verse 33 are those who are God's elect the the us in verse 34 are those for whom Christ is presently interceding at the right hand of God the Father and in praying for the us in verse 35 is those whom Christ loves who will separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus I think you're getting the point the US and verse 37 are those whom he loved pointing back to the cross we know exactly who the the US is its those who are believers in Jesus Christ and the reason they are believers in Jesus Christ is because God chose them and for love them before time began and predestined them and they will be with the father glorified in heaven one day at the universe thirty these are the ones who will never be be separated from the love of God in fact God loved them in eternity past seasons 1 verse 4 he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love now verse 5 he predestined us according to adoption as sons did the adoption of sons according to the kind intention of his will this refers to you and me as believers and this is not a love that God has for the world there is a general love that God has for the world but there is only a saving love that will never be breached and will never be extinguished that God has for his own elect who are in Christ Jesus so that's that's a major point for us to make in that little two letter word in English us so nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God and when he says the love of God here he's not I want to make crystal clear we understand this this is not the general common love that God has for everybody causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust he allows even unbelievers to enjoy marriage to have children to be intellectually stimulated when they go to college he allows even unbelievers as an expression of his general love to appreciate music and architecture and a hunting and fishing and and this is all that God is good to all but this love is a far more specific narrow love that is exclusively for those for whom he predestined to be adopted into his family and really it's covered in the word for new in verse 29 which just simply means those whom he previously loved now I've got to make this I've got to finish this notice how this verse continues which the which refers to the love of God it's not whom it's which it's an important distinction which is in Christ Jesus our Lord the entirety of God's special saving love toward us is in Christ Jesus our Lord in other words there is not one drop of saving love for us outside of the Lord Jesus Christ outside of his sinless life substitutionary death bodily resurrection present enthronement there is no saving love outside of the Lord Jesus Christ so if you are to know and experience this love of God you must come to Christ and you must believe in Christ and you must step into Christ and you must be found in Christ in order to experience this saving love that God has because the the totality of it is exclusively this text says in Christ G our Lord so if you're not a believer in Christ Jesus you are under the wrath of God and God is angry with the wicked every day and God is full of vengeance for you and in a sense even the elect before they're regenerated are under the wrath of God Ephesians two two and three we must be in Christ experientially in order to be the object of God's saving love experientially now let me just comment on the order of these three designations for Christ Christ Jesus the Lord I always say Jesus Christ Paul goes Christ Jesus most often and then our Lord each of these three names means something he begins with Christ because Christ means The Anointed One which is synonymous in Hebrew with the Messiah the Messiah the long-promised one who will come and deliver his people from their sins so Christ really has an Old Testament field prophet the prophesied one who will come from God and be the Redeemer of Israel be the deliverer of his people so that's why he begins with Christ and Jesus when he was baptized in the River Jordan not just with water but with the Holy Spirit that was the fulfillment of this long-awaited promise Isaiah 61 verse 1 the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me for the Lord has anointed me to preach that was the fulfillment that he would be endued with power from on high to carry out his saving Enterprise here upon the earth then Jesus really it means Jehovah saves and the idea is that he is a divine Savior He is God in human flesh come to save us from our sins and that speaks of his sinless life in his substitutionary death so Christ speaks of the fact that he's a powerful Redeemer a promised Redeemer Jesus he's a divine Savior and then Lord he is sovereign ruler kurios that that means he is the supreme one with all authority he is the sovereign one of heaven and earth now in order to believe in Jesus Christ to be a believer and enter into the fullness of this I mean you you must believe that he is God in human flesh come to save but you must also submit to his lordship in your life that he now is the ruler who has all authority over every dimension in every area of your life so that there's a certain finality to the chapter and a summation to the chapter by even giving all three names it just brings this to a climactic conclusion Christ Jesus our Lord now even that word hour is important because it matches up with us everyone who is a believer in Jesus has him as their Lord and sometimes you'll hear some some very bad teaching that says well you can have Jesus as Savior but then five years later ten years later you need to recognize him as Lord that is bogus teaching if Jesus is your Savior he must be your Lord it's a package deal if I came and knocked at your door and you said who's there and I said Steve Lawson and you said Steve come in Lawson you stay out well I I can't come in it's a it's all of me or none of me hopefully it's the same with Jesus you receive him as Christ Jesus our Lord or you do not receive him it's all of him are none of him and the word hour designates that everyone who has Christ as Jesus also has him as Lord so please don't miss even that little detail in this text so when let me restate that when you come to Christ true saving faith has in it submission to the sovereignty of Christ over your life and there is an element of surrender of your life to Christ and I would refer you to Luke 14 32 32 to document that so you remember when we started this we saw the the the video of Felipe over in Lebanon and he said he likes the soap what at the end okay so Felipe this is for you okay all the way across the Atlantic I want to give you three so what's so so how should this affect your life number one live in humility that such a holy God would love such unholy creatures as you and me that ought to drive out every drop of arrogance and pride within us though they're still remaining taints of it no doubt just think about this that the infinite infinitely perfect holy God has set his love upon such filthy rotten sinners like you and me that one so great would love one so dirty what humility when we get up and walk out of here not a one of us should leave strutting I mean we should all be overwhelmed that that God would love one so unlovely as me and you so humility is is the first so what to this and and there's a sense we could just stop right there because humility has a way of taking care of everything else humility is the leading virtue of the true believer in Jesus Christ I would put it a humble love for God no one struts through the narrow gate when they enter the kingdom of heaven we well we all come with a lowly humility into the kingdom of heaven so number one humility second is certainty we should live a certainty because this passage gives us assurance of our eternal acceptance with God forever and ever and I I grew up in a church that did not teach this and I can remember being in high school and just thinking you know I know that I'm a believer right now and I know a lot of my classmates are not I just hope on the last day this thing isn't reversed I mean I would want them to be a believer but I don't want on the last day then to find myself on the outside and now they're on the inside and it wasn't in a sense of selfishness towards them it was in a sense of despair about me and then as I began to read my Bible in college I came to see this certainty that as I'm a believer in Jesus Christ now nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus and it like unplugged all the pressure from me that I've got to live so perfect now for the rest of my life just to keep myself in the love of God when I realized that I'm sailing on the good ship grace and this ship's never going down so I'm enjoying the cruise a whole lot better it didn't like being up all night just wondering like when are we hitting the iceberg and going down that that I'm good for heaven this very moment so wait what's what's certainty this passage brings to us and it ought to just take bricks off your shoulder of worry about being accepted with God on the last day you will be accepted by God on the last day if you were accepted by God this this very moment and then the third thing that I would say is victory this should put a triumphant note in our and our witnessing and in our testimony with others that there should be a a confident victorious spirit within us as we live our Christian lives and no wonder he said in verse 37 just to remind you of this that we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us and then verse 38 starts with four that's just an explanation of what that we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us and so there's this inseparable connection between verse 37 and verses 38 and 39 so it's it's it's victory so no matter what happens in your life no matter what you're thrown into verse 28 he's causing all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose and then the rest of this chapter nothing will ever separate the love of God in Christ from you that's pretty victorious to me that that's that that's awesome and it's not because of us it's because of him it's not because we're holding on to him because he's holding on to us and he will never let go and he is orchestrating everything for his glory and for our good so guys herein lies Romans 8 on this phenomenal chapter and in these last two verses 38 39 I hope that you just savor these two verses this has your name written on it that this is for you and me who are in Christ Jesus this is as good as it gets your your bottom line has been taken care of so enjoy the rest of the year no matter how the sales go your bottom line is already taken care of your bottom line to get into heaven so just enjoy the cruise enjoy the Christian life because this ship is glory bound and you're on it and it's not going down and you're not falling overboard and God holds you in the palm of his hand well I see the clock and I need to to stop and we need to just talk among ourselves we don't have time at this moment I'm going to close in prayer anyone who wants to stay Kent will be answering some some QA questions can't so let's just close in a word of Prayer father thank you for these verses we do not deserve this we are unworthy of this yet you have made us accepted in Christ thank you that you would open the vault open the treasure vault and make known these riches to us that you that you would pull this out of the vault and set them before us that our eyes would be dazzled by this and that we now have a foretaste of glory in what lies ahead of us thank you for the certainty of our salvation in Christ forever and our home in heaven throughout all the ages to come bless these men may they leave here with humility and certainty and victory in Christ's name Amen amen guys great study and we'll be here next Thursday to start the climb up romans 9 and it's going to be a phenomenal study it's going to be a no-holds-barred there'll be no boxing gloves on okay it's going to be bare bear down knuckles yeah that says just a fun fact we started Romans 8 on June 7th of last year well that speaks to the fact that that I was gone during the summer but I'm like the poor you have me with you always so that's good well we'll we've got a lot to look forward to trust me so we're still going up the incline yeah anything else there Ford how could there be with such clear teaching such clear teaching precision it's the purpose QT of Scripture all right well guys I guess that's anyone anyone else any anybody have anything to share here among us Dewey you got me this is a rare opportunity that we've got you in the house yeah if timing is he in Romans oh okay okay okay yeah and and he's not gone on vacation okay yeah after can I pick up the loose ends and yeah yeah now he's a great teacher okay [Music]

Channel: OnePassionMinistries

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Length: 69min 23sec (4163 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 24 2019