The Most Unstoppable Force in the World

Caleb Eissler

Romans 8 • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Love

Miracle

Awe

The Love of the Lord Is Praised

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As we talk about the most unstoppable force in the Universe, the love of God. We can see that nothing can separate us from this love.

Notes

Transcript

Pray

Introduction

Group Question 1:

What people, things or forces seem to be unstoppable? Examples could be Superman, Muhammed Ali in his prime, the need for Crossfitters to tell people they do Crossfit, grandmas asking if you’ve eaten yet, Jason Bourne, and a number of other things. Talk about what you think are some of the most unstoppable forces in all of the universe at your tables and then we’ll dive in.

Tonight, we’re going to talk about the truly greatest and most unstoppable force in all of the universe: the love of God. We’ve spent the past few weeks looking at Paul’s explanation of the love of God found in Romans 8, and tonight we finally get to see the summary and payoff of his famous explanation. Really, we get to see Paul’s victory cry after he’s shown us how incredible God’s love really is. I can’t think of a better way to finish out the semester.

Romans 8:31-39

With that being said, if you have your Bible with you, turn or tap with me to Roman 8 starting in verse 31. Roman 8:31.

While you’re turning there, let me give you a summary of what we’ve seen in Romans 8 leading up to this point.

Summary

Paul began Romans 8 by declaring to us the glorious truth that “there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Paul then explains what it means to live life in the Spirit versus living life in the flesh.

He follows this by talking about how if we are with Christ, we children of God and cry out to Him.

Next, Paul talks about the great longing of the world. Humanity and creation are longing for the redemption of the world. Jesus and Jesus alone is the fulfillment of the great longing of the world. All of the pain experienced in this life will be worth it for the glory we will experience in Heaven.

After this, Paul speaks about how God turns all things for the good of those who love Him.

The whole discussion is closed as Paul lays out the great journey of salvation, ending with Jesus and all of the saints in glory.

And that leads us to this our passage tonight, where Paul is going to bring together everything he’s said in chapter 8 leading up to this point.

Let’s dive in.

Romans 8:31-39

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure 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.

In many ways, verse 31 sets the tone and thesis for the rest of the passage:

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

Two main questions:

Can’t you hear Paul’s victory cry there? In order for us to make sense of the whole passage tonight, from verse 31 to verse 39, we’re going to answer two questions based on verse 31:

What does it mean that God is for us?

What can we face since God is for us?

God Is For Us

Let’s begin with the first question: what does it mean that God is for us?

Paul’s Sense of Wonder

In order for us to feel the force and sense the wonder of the answer to our first question, we need to sense Paul’s wonder and awe at the very same topic of our passage.

Paul is in awe at all that God has done in all that he has described in Romans 8.

Can’t you hear it in his words as they almost jump off the page in excitement?

Paul is in awe of God. Are we?

As I prepared for this message, I read through the comments of a Puritan preacher named Matthew Henry, and he got me thinking about this concept of awe and wonder at God.

Bored with man and in awe of God

We have whole portions of the media devoted to them, whether in paparazzi, day-time sports panels, or political journalists.

We exalt celebrities in our culture to unprecedented heights of fame.

And yet when we see one fall from glory, ether through failure or an immoral misstep, we are shocked. Even when we meet them and get to know more about them, their luster begins to fade. Why? Because they’re suddenly humanized. They’re not so different from us.

The more we get to know people, the less in awe of them we typically become.

Ironically, it’s the exact opposite with God. Maybe people know a little bit about God and they’re thoroughly unimpressed. They’re bored by Him and treat Him like a vague philosophical concept or their very own divine butler.

But when we get to know Him more intimately, when we gaze ever deeper into His glory, we are shocked. Why? Because rather than being humanized, we realize that God is infinitely greater than us. He will never sin, never leave us wanting more, never leave us unsatisfied, never leave us without joy, never cease to surprise us or amaze us, and never cease to blow our minds and warm our hearts.

Our boredom with God says more about us than it does Him. If we will take the time to seek Him out in prayer and His Word, we will be wonderstruck and will never be the same.

Paul has no trouble gushing with excitement about God and all God has done. Do we have that kind of excitement? I know there are things that excite us that much, but is it God? I have no problem telling people about the wonder of Celine Dion’s music, or the glories of Oklahoma Joes, or how any number of other things. I get excited about those things because I know them well. I’ve experienced them in person and have spent lots of time with them. Can I say the same thing about God?

Group Question 2:

This is what I want us to discuss at our tables. Talk about what it is you have no problem talking about. What is it that excites you? What is it that you could describe on the drop of a hat? Whether it’s Popeye’s superiority to Chick-Fil-a, your best friend, your favorite movie, or whatever, talk about that at your tables.

Follow up:

Now talk about what it is about God that most excites you. What about God puts you most at awe? Talk about that for a couple minutes and then we’ll continue on.

Unless we are in awe of God, the answer to our question at hand, namely what does it mean that God is for us, won’t mean much.

What Does it Mean that God is For Us?

What does it mean that God is for us? A lot of this depends on what your view of God is and how big you truly believe God is in your heart of hearts.

If your God is essentially a divine butler who comes to your every beck and call to answer your requests, it won’t be that assuring that he’s for you, especially if he doesn’t answer your request in the way you expect.

If your view of God’s faithfulness and power only corresponds to the degree that He gives you exactly what you pray for, you may not be given much more assurance that God is for you.

If your God is only relevant in Christmas and Easter or Sunday, but not the other days of the year, then it won’t be very assuring that he is for you.

If your God never surprises you and is essentially contained within the bounds of your imagination then it would give you much more confidence that God is for you.

But let me tell you about the real God that is for you.

This God is like nothing else we’ve ever seen.

He is far bigger than you and I and His joy isn’t contingent on our present moment because He has eternity and our eternal good in mind.

(Piper nothing changed example) This God‘s existence and joy is not centered around you and your wishes. No, He’s so much bigger than that.

He created the universe, all of the billions and billions of light years of it, with mere words.

He sees all of time and reality in a single gaze.

He overcame all of human sin and rebellion and has made a way for us to be with Him.

He took the worst crime ever committed and turned it into the greatest good the universe has ever seen.

He is the sum total of all goodness, glory, beauty, holiness, justice, and wisdom in one being.

The limits of your imagination doesn’t serve as a boundary for all of who He is and all that He can do.

He is so beautiful that the angels and prophets can;t even look at Him lest they be overwhelmed by His wonder.

This same God sent His very own Son to take on flesh, live a life we couldn’t live and die the death we deserved to die so that we could be in communion and joy with Him forever.

That’s the God that’s for us.

And he is for us with His whole heart and soul. Jeremiah 32:38-41 says:

“And they shall be my people, and I will be their God...I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good...with all my heart and all my soul.”- Jeremiah‬ ‭32:38-41‬

God rejoices in doing good to His people with all of His heart and soul. *All of His heart and soul.*. We can’t even begin to imagine all of the infinite beauty, love, mercy, grace, compassion, justice, faithfulness, steadfastness, tenderness, and glory that is bound up in the boundless depths of the heart and soul of God. God, all of Him, is committed to doing good to His people. God gives all of Himself to do good to His people. No place displays this as clearly as the cross; where God gave all of Himself in His Son for the good of His people. Bask in the beauty of that today and savor the goodness of God to you. God gave up His whole heart, His greatest love, for you and for me, so our hearts might be rescued and turned to Him.

The primary way that God is for us is through the sending of His Son to die on our behalf so that we could be with Him.

This leads us to Paul’s words in the next few verses.

Who Can Bring Any Charge Against the Elect?

First let’s look at what Paul says in verses 33-34

“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

Romans 3 tells us that God is but the just and justifier. This means that God both brings justice to our sin and justifies us sinners.

He does this through Jesus. At the cross, Jesus takes our sin and the punishment we deserve for that sin and pays the price with his own life.

His infinite power, holiness, and love meant that our finite sin never stood a chance. In return He gives us his very righteousness.

At the cross he shatters our slate of sin so that we could never be counted as sinners ever again.

When we sin, yes we sin against others, but ultimately God is the most offended party

David/Psalm 51 (God, against you only have I sinned).

When we sin against others, we sin against image bearers of God, and therefore sin against God Himself.

As the judge of all and the ultimate victim of our sins, God is the only one who could ever bring a charge against us.

And yet instead of bringing a charge against us, He pays our punishment for us once and for all.

That means no one could ever bring a charge against us. Not even Satan, no matter how many times he tries to accuse us.

If you’re a Christian, when Satan tries to accuse you of your sins, point Him back to the cross. Satan has no claim on you anymore!

So we can see that God is for us by sending His Son to save us.

But how else is God for us? Let’s look at verse 32.

God Gave His Son For Us

Romans 8:32

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

Another way that we can see that God is for us is because God gave His Son up for us.

Now hang on, isn’t that just repeating what we already said? Yes, but we’re going to look at it from a different angle.

When God gave up his own son he gave us all things.

Now, I get that we all may hear that and believe it intellectually, but do we believe it in our hearts? I doubt we fully do.

Be honest, there are things you deeply desire in this life. And that’s ok, but do you desire them more than God? Or do you not trust that He can provide you what

Do you think God is stingy? You might say, but I don’t have this thing or that, I don’t have the job I want, the spouse I want, the money I want, the status I want, or whatever.

But in Jesus, God HAS given us all things.

Jesus is the creator of all things, the sustainer of all things, the Redeemer of all things, the ruler of all things, the judge of all things, and the one in whom in all things we can find joy and contentment. If you had Jesus and nothing else you would still have everything.

Again, you might say, what about the pleasures and pursuits that I want and desire here on earth?

Do you want to be loved? No one can, does, or has loved you more than Jesus who both created you, and despite your rebellion against him, redeemed you and offers you perfect joy and love with Him forever.

Do you want to be known? No one knows you like Jesus does; not even you. Jesus has a gaze that pierces flesh and soul. He knows you perfectly, including all of the secrets you haven’t told anyone, the secret sins you haven’t told anyone. And yet he still freely gave his life up for you and welcomes you with open arms. You can’t be more known than you already are by Jesus.

Want authority? In Christ, you will rule and reign with him at his right hand forever, even over the angels.

Want security? You cannot be more secure than you are in Jesus. Jesus will defeat every enemy to his throne and by the blood he shed for you on the cross, if you put your trust in Him, no one can stand against you because Jesus is on your side. He fights your battles and makes all of your joy and inheritance indestructible.

Speaking of inheritances and riches, do you want those? No one offers an inheritance like Jesus. When you become one with Jesus by faith, you share in his inheritance. His inheritance is all things. That’s right, all things. Jesus has the monopoly on creation and joy. And it is all your’s when you enter into relationship with him.

Want peace? The Bible tells us in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 that peace is not a circumstance or anything else you could have here on earth. Peace is a person and His name is Jesus.

Are you self conscious about your body? Because of Jesus’ redemption, if you are a Christian you are guaranteed a resurrection body of unspeakable beauty that in impervious to age, sickness, injury, or decay.

Do you desire a spouse to love you and live with you happily ever after? In a Jesus you have a perfect love and a perfect spouse. We as the church are his bride and will life with him happily ever after forever. He will meet our every need and satisfy our every longing. The greatest joys, intimacies, and comforts of an earthly marriage will look infinitely full compared to the glorious love and intimacy of our relationship with Jesus in glory.

Want to change the world? In Jesus we are given the infinite privilege of serving alongside Him to tell the whole world of the great salvation and joy we have in Jesus.

Want a world without death or pain? We are promised that in glory with Jesus. In him and by him our pain, death, and sorrow with cease. The Bible tells us that there will be a day where there will be no more pain, no more death, and no more tears forever.

Want joy? In Jesus, you can have joy like you’ve ever known. Your joy will be indestructible and so great that if you were to experience even a glimmer of it even now your heart would burst and overflow with the perfect and full joy of a Christ that awaits you. It’s a joy that can never be taken away. I could go on and on.

There is no earthly thing you desire that you couldn’t could have in greater measure in Jesus. Whatever you desire here pales in comparison to Jesus.

In Jesus, God gives us all things and shows us that He is for us.

What Can We Face If God is For Us?

So now we move to our last question: what can we face if God is for us.

Paul’s short answer is one one: ALL THINGS.

Notice what he says in verse 35.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”

That’s Paul’s way of saying that we can face all things because God is for us.

God is not only for us in sending His son and giving all things in His son, He also gives us His Son to intercede for us according to verse 34.

Reflecting on this, Robert Murray McCheyene once said:

“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room I wouldn’t fear a million things. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me even now.”

We can face anything with Jesus and nothing can separate us from Him which we we can never be truly conquered.

More Than Conquerers

Paul goes so far as to say that we can be more than conquerers in Christ Jesus.

That’s exactly what Paul says in verse 37

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

It isn’t just that we can face all things if God is for us, but that we can more conquer all things through Christ Jesus.

But wait, what does it mean that we can be more than conquerers? How is that we can be more than conquerors when we face, pain, and hardship, and hunger, and thirst, and anxiety, and anguish, and rejection, and even death?

Jesus showed us how because he faced all of things on his way to the cross. And yet, he rose three days later as more than a conqueror. In him, we can do the same no matter what comes.

We see an incredible picture of this in the life of the Apostle Paul Himself.

Matt Chandler points this out pretty humorously. He talks about how Paul would have been impossible to deal with.

People arrest him for his faith and Paul says, “Ok, I’m going to convert your guards.”

Ok, then we’ll torture you. To which Paul says, “I don’t consider the sufferings of this present age to compare to the glory that is to come.”

Ok, then will let you live, “To live is Christ” ok then we’ll kill you, “To die is gain because I get to be with Christ

Nothing can keep Paul down. He is a conquerer in all things through Christ.

Miss Mary Story

I saw an incredible picture of what it means to be more than a conquerer in Christ Jesus in my neighbor, Miss Mary.

She is in her 80s now and lives right across the street from my parents.

She’s become like a grandma to us (picture in wallet)

Christian

Poverty, widowed, death of Son, stroke, incredibly painful and hard life.

Every time we get together tells life story

Daughter in law died quickly (she didn’t even get to see her)

Saw Miss Mary’s strength and God’s provision in it all

Miss Mary is more than a conquerer in Christ Jesus

She knows that God is for her and because it she’s unstoppable.

She has to be Satan’s worst enemy. There’s nothing that you couldn’t throw her that she couldn’t handle. All pain leads her closer to God and to a deeper sense of His love.

Group Question 3:

What about God’s love is the hardest to accept or believe? Maybe it’s the pain and hurt in your life right now that makes it hard to believe God loves you. For some of you, it may be that God could still love you after a sin you committed in your past. For others, it may feel like there’s no way God could truly love you like he says because you don’t seem to receiving affection from significant figures in your life (whether it’s parents, friends, or a significant other you long for but don’t have). For some of you, it may be that you can’t see how God could still love you after you’ve continually fallen into a habitual sin you’ve tried to fight. For others, it may just be that the offer sounds too good. Surely there’s no way the offer could be real. Whatever seems hardest to believe about God’s love for you, talk about that at your tables and then we’ll get some answers.

Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of Christ

Despite our doubts, despite how unspeakably great God’s love to us may seem, despite what may come in life, if we have placed our faith in Jesus, nothing can separate us from His love. Jesus is for us and will make us more than conquerers in all things. We can face all things because Jesus is with us.

That’s the glorious truth that Paul tells us in verses 38 and 39

“For I am sure 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.”

Absolutely nothing can separate you from the love of Christ.

Let that beautiful truth wash over you.

Nothing can separate us from Jesus’ love.

Even when Paul lists out many of the greatest enemies we will face, Paul still says that nothing will separate us from Jesus’ love.

Not death, because God has defeated death in Jesus by raising from the dead on the 3rd day and securing for us, his people, resurrection on the last day.

Not life, because no matter what comes we can endure it and we have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling with us meaning we’re never alone or separated from God.

Not angels. The greatest of angels, Satan, who ultimately fell from Heaven after rebelling against God was utterly defeated to oblivion by Jesus Christ at the cross. He has been chained and will be thrown into the Lake of Fire of Hell to be defeated forever.

Not even the good angels could defeat God if they wanted to. Isaiah 6 tells us that they won’t even look God in the face, they cover their eyes with their wings, because God’s holiness, goodness, power, and nature are too infinitely great for them to comprehend and fathom.

Not rulers. The book of Daniel tells us that it is God who sets us kings and takes down Kong’s according to His sovereignty and good pleasure. God consistently defeated the greatest kings of the greatest nations of the word for the advancement and good of his people. No matter how much power a king, or ruler, or president has in this life, Philippians 2 tells us that in the end they will now before Jesus Christ to the glory of the Father.

Not things present or things to come. We saw last week that God turns all things for the good of those who love him so that all of history, every moment, every event, every millisecond is working for the good of Christians. Every trial and tribulation we might be facing now or will facing in the coming days will not compare to the future glory we will have with God in Heaven.

No power could get in the way of God because God and God alone has all power in the universe and it is he and He alone that gives power to anyone here. No one can defeat Him.

Neither height nor depth can separate us from the love of God. Psalm 139 tells us that whether we go up to the heavens, or we’re here on earth, or we go down to the depths of Sheol, we cannot escape God’s Spirit or His love.

And finally, nothing in all of creation can separate us from God’s love. The Psalms tell us that all of creation worships God and longs, just as we do, for the redemption of the world.

There is nothing that could possibly separate us from God’s love,

not singleness, not estrangement from family, not a break up, not depression, not failure, not a broken past, not a broken present, not despair, not an eating disorder, not the death of a family member, not a cancer diagnosis, not a bad grade on a test, not anxiety beyond belief, nothing! Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus!

Because God is for us by sending His Son to save us, provide for us in all things, and to make us more than conquerers, we can face anything. Nothing can separate us.

Bishop Story (No Name!). I saw all of this up close and personally today. This morning, I had one of the heaviest and hardest phone calls I’ve had in a long time.

Tears

Repentance

Already began taking the necessary next steps to heal and bring healing and reconcile with what he had done.

Forgiveness

Sin was strong but Jesus is stronger

Not even our deepest and darkest sins can keep us from Christ when we bring them to Him in faith and repentance.

Christmas tie in. Closing Word

Pray as a group if time allows