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.
For I am convinced…
· This week, I sat for a brief time with a man who was dying. He was
highly medicated for his pain and could only say a little. At times like this,
I’ve felt quite helpless.
· This week I spoke to a man who couldn’t speak and so couldn’t tell
me how he felt or what was wrong. I asked him how he was and he gave me a
double “thumbs-down” gesture and the tears began to flow. There was nothing I
could say to him.
· These are hard moments and privileged moments. It’s hard because
it’s difficult to watch a person suffer and such suffering can even remind me
that I will someday be in the same situation, a reality I don’t like to face,
even though I’m well aware of the reality of my own death. On the other hand, it’s
privileged because it is a hard time and a private time and pastors
often receive the privilege of being with people in such a deeply personal and
troubling time… even if we don’t know what to say.
· In the face of such suffering and even death, I wonder about the
love and mercy of God. When I do, Paul’s words from his letter to the Romans
come to mind. They don’t always help, but they are always there.
· Paul tells the Roman Christians, those he intended to visit, that I
am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, 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.
· The key this statement is the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s almost too easy to get hung up on the things that Paul says cannot
separate us from God’s love.
· We might spend time checking them off like a grocery list. Paul
also mentions persecution, distress and hardship, famine and nakedness, and
even the sword, which of course is a way of saying death because of the faith.
These are all things that the Christians of Paul’s time and after experienced
and understood. Paul also adds some cosmic ideas to that list of very earthly
problems – angels, rulers (as in one of the ranks of angels), the past, the
present, the future, height and depth (as in the dimensions of the world and
the universe), and even death and life. That is a very wide-ranging list.
· We could add things to it, things that would make sense to us
today. What about poverty? What about failure, whether in business or personal
relationships? How about long illness, the type that makes us wonder about the
mercy of God? What about dependence on medications or on another person for any
number of things? How about loss and longing due to a person lost to us by
distance, time, or death? Addiction? Exile? Disappointment?
· What about guilt? Guilt can be a result of actual faults and sins.
It can also be a result of things that have happened to others which we feel
should have happened to us as well. And there are times when we just feel
guilty. We might as well say “sin” as part of our extended list.
· Do any of these things remove us from the love of God that Paul
speaks about? The answer is simple and powerful.
· No.
· Just that… No.
· Paul doesn’t pull his punches. He
does not say that everything will be wonderful and nothing will go wrong. He
tells the Romans to hold on and believe despite all that could go wrong and has
gone wrong. Nothing that has happened can separate them from God’s love.
· We like to think we’re special and somehow that answer doesn’t
apply to us. That we’re such a great sinner that God can’t forgive us. Maybe
“won’t”, maybe “can’t.” Well, the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord is still
with us, even at those times and especially at those times. That’s what the
cross is all about. That’s why the cross is a terrifying thing… an amazing
thing… an annoying thing. That’s why what Paul says sounds too good to be true.
The rule of thumb that we all know is this: If something sounds too good to be
true, it probably is just that, too good to be true.
· Our rules don’t apply here. God’s rule takes precedence. If
God is for us, who is against us? 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?
Here is a truth to build your life on and a truth to tell others about,
especially if all might seem lost.
For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, 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.
- I usually end my sermons with 'Amen', but in this case, I must say "Thanks be to God!"
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