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Ephesians 2:8-10 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Romans 8:26-39 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What Can Separate Us From God? NOTHING!
How many of you hope you win the lottery? I know I hope it would happen; I think it would be really nice not to ever worry about money again. I hope I win the lottery but I know the odds are very low. I suppose the odds would go up if I actually bought a lottery ticket. I have a hope but my hope is completely groundless.
Christian hope has a solid foundation. Our hope is built on the confidence we have in the future that God will bring to be. This isn’t closing our eyes to reality and wishing it was different. This hope comes from the knowledge that because we are held in God’s hands, we can trust that all things will finally resolve into good. This doesn’t mean that every circumstance in our individual lives will turn out good but that our ultimate future, our salvation, is assured. No matter what happens to us, we can rest assured that nothing can separate us from God.
Our scripture lesson today is one of the most well-known and eloquent passages of Christian comfort and assurance. It is from the end of the eighth chapter of Romans and it follows the section that promises that God will restore all of creation to its original goodness. Because of that promise we have hope. This hope is not just wishful thinking, it is more than human effort to convince ourselves that life will get better, this hope is founded on what has already happened. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to us and the Spirit has begun the work of restoration, the Holy Spirit is our line of communication with God. Paul tells us the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with God. The Spirit is our translator, if you will.
This very rich passage could yield many sermons but today we’re going to look at one statement and two questions from it. All things work together for good. If God is for us, who is against us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ?
First, let’s unpack the statement, “All things work together for good.” Now the good here is not our individual good but generalized and universal good, we are talking about salvation and the coming kingdom of God here. Paul sees a clear path from predestined to called to justified to glorified. We are being conformed to the image of Jesus so we can be part of God’s family, God’s own sons and daughters. No longer slaves to sin but free children of God. For Paul, the idea that God holds our future in God’s hands brings confidence and joy. God can and will redeem not just individuals but all of creation. Paul trusts in God to bring about the full restoration of everything.
Having established that God is working for good Paul now asks, If God is for us who can be against us?” If God is on our side, who could possibly prevail against us? We, who are being made into the likeness of God’s own son, we, who enjoy the amazing privileges of belonging to Jesus Christ, who can prevail against us? The answer, of course, is no one and nothing. If God is on our side, and God is, than it doesn’t matter who is against us, they will lose, we will win, God will triumph!
God is for us. What an amazing concept. The God of the universe is for us. In several of his letters, Paul compares the Christian life to running a race. Think of it as having God as your coach. God wants us to win, God wants to say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Not only is God for us but just in case that isn’t enough, God will give us all things, all things that are necessary for our salvation. God has sent Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice, so we could be made right with God. We have the Holy Spirit, living within us, interceding with God for us. All that is necessary for salvation has been provided.
From who can be against us Paul turns to who will bring any charge against God’s elect? Who is to condemn? God who did not withhold his own son, justifies us, Christ who died and rose, intercedes for us. The only ones who can condemn us-God or Jesus-are the very ones who protect us from condemnation. Paul is giving us a different perspective from which to look at our lives. From the prospective of God’s great gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. If God was willing to give his own son, how much more is God willing to stand by us, strengthen us and support us in life. If we look at life from the perspective of our problems, they are un-climbable mountains. If we instead look at life from the perspective of the cross then and only then will our problems come into proper perspective and they shrink down to hills that we can deal with.
We come to the final verses of the eighth chapter of Romans. I think because I grew up with television when I read I sometimes think of what the background music would be for the book. It should be similar to the background music in a tv show or movie. This section of Paul’s letter to the Romans would have stirring music building toward a crescendo with drums and cymbals crashing at the end. Paul builds his argument to its conclusion in these verses, contending that nothing can separate us from God. God is the ultimate power, God reigns supreme and all will work according to God’s purposes and pleasure. This does not mean that God causes every bad thing that happens, this is a fallen world, full of sin, people have free will and often use that free will to harm others, the fallen state of our world also leads to diseases, famine, natural disasters; all of these cause harm to millions. In previous verses in this chapter, Paul has said that all of creation groans waiting to be set free from decay. Now we come to the best part of our scripture today. These verses could be titled the good news of the Good News! Nothing can separate us from God.
Paul writes, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul knows that many people and powers can oppose Christians. He had been one who persecuted Christians and he knew churches were facing persecution and some Christians even faced death. Paul is looking at ultimate outcomes. Yes, the battle is going on but God will win.
Who will separate us? Not trials. The omnipotent, effective, protecting love of God does not spare us from calamities in this life, but brings us safe to everlasting joy with God. Tragedy does not mean God doesn’t love us or has deserted us. Not that we have comfortable lives, not that we live a life wrapped in bubble wrap protected from all harm but that no matter what is thrown at us, no matter what calamity might befall us, nothing, nothing will ever be able to separate us from God.
One of our greatest fears for many is death and one of the worst aspects of death is its finality, the idea that we will never again see the person who has died. One of the greatest promises of Christianity is that death is no longer final, Christ has won, death has been defeated and the separation is only temporary. We are conquerors through Christ, not in our power but in His.
There was a wonderful couple at my home church, Bing and Shirley. They were so kind and friendly to everyone. One joke they kept telling me was, getting old isn’t for the faint-hearted. Every time I saw them, they would smile and tell me this. It takes real courage to face aging. Shirley gradually slipped away from us because of Alzheimer’s. She died a few years ago, Bing goes on alone. One of the worst aspects of aging is the gradual loss of our own abilities and the loss of loved ones. The longer we live, the more loss we face. Our grandparents and our parents die. All our connections to the past are severed. Our children grow and move away. Change. Nothing in this world is permanent. We will someday be separated from all of it. Either it will end first or we will die. In either case, we will be separated. God alone can and does stand by us, promising never to leave us or forsake us.
I love the poem, Footprints in the Sand. In it the author sees her life as footprints in the sand, one set hers and a matching set God’s except during the most trying times in her life when there was only one set of footprints in the sand. She asks God, “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.” God replies , “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you. Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.” Nothing, not even death, can separate us from God.
One of my favorite Christian artists, Paul Baloche wrote a song. Two lines in one of the songs kept coming back to me as I studied this passage in Romans. The first line is, “We’ll be tested by the fire, persecuted and reviled maybe, either way there will be trials, we will hold on.” In Romans the Apostle Paul talks about the trials that can try to separate us from God. Paul lived in a very different world than we do; he lived a life of hardship and trials. We may not experience the same trials as Paul but we often have trials of our own. Illness, injury, just getting old is a trial. The song tells us to hold on. Hold on to God, hold on to Jesus, He will carry you through.
The second line of the song says something I never thought about before I heard it., “We’ll be tested by the blessing, with all the comforts of the world surrounding, we will not forget the savior, we will hold on.” Tested by the blessings? How could that happen? Have you ever known someone whose life seems perfect? They have never had any real trouble. They have good health, a good family, strong marriage, are wealthy, they have never experienced any real loss, everything seems to be going wonderfully for them. Today many in America have so many physical possessions and wealth that they can think they don’t need a savior. The blessings can keep them from God even more than trials. If we are living a blessed life, and if we live in America and have enough food to eat and a house to live in we are better off than the vast majority of the world, we need to be careful to look past the blessing to the One who blesses us.
Our scripture today has shown us that, no matter the circumstances, whether they are trials or blessings, nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This is a hope many in our world do not have. Is this a hope we can pass on? Yes! This is the good news we have to share. There is hope. There is a foundation on which to stand. The actions of God–past, present, and future–on our behalf testify to a fierce, compassionate love from which nothing in all creation can separate us.
A final illustration. Back when I was a child, back when there was no air conditioning, we played outside on summer nights. One of our favorite after-dark games was hide and seek. It was so much easier to hide in the dark; it was also rather mysterious and exciting to be out after dark. One person would count while everyone else hid. You had to stay still and remain quiet so you wouldn’t be found. It was a little lonely and scary to wait in the dark, hoping to win the game. What you were waiting for was the call, olly, olly, oxen free. When you heard this, you were free to come home. Paul is telling us, God is telling us, the game has been won, we are free to come home, the time of waiting is over, come home. This is the hope we have in Jesus Christ. We are welcomed into the family of God and invited to come home.