New Life
Heidelberg Catechism • Sermon • Submitted
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For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 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 among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
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.
Scripture: Romans 8:18-39
Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 33b Q&A 88-91
Sermon Title: New Life
A few weeks back we looked at the first part of what is involved in genuine repentance or conversion, which was the “dying-away of the old self.” We recalled the circumstances that led to David’s confession of sin in Psalm 51, and what are some major components of confession. Today we want to look at the concept of spiritual rebirth and the believer’s journey forward. We will do so alongside this second half of Romans chapter eight.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I wonder if “the coming-to-life” that the catechism speaks of is a normal or regular part of our lives today? If I had to guess, most of us here this afternoon probably do not have grand conversion stories with a major change in how we lived before and after. What has been common throughout the CRC and the RCA too, I believe, is that most of our members have been raised by their parents with biblical devotions, they have worshiped regularly together with God’s people, and they attended whatever educational programs there were. When we felt conviction about Jesus dying for us, and felt like we had a good amount of knowledge of what salvation is all about, then we came forward and publicly professed our faith. After which, regular involvement and participation has been expected.
But maybe for some of you or in the lives of people you know, conversion was something much more drastic. If you have had opportunities to go to prisons, you probably have heard about some of the changes in peoples’ lives when they met Jesus. A couple weeks ago the area Gideons hosted their annual pastors’ appreciation meal, and that evening they showed a video of a man giving his testimony. He had been in prison for committing a number of crimes, and his wife had been assassinated. God, by his grace, saved him through the ministry of Scripture while he was in jail, and he was convicted to travel and preach once he got out. But he told the account of how he still struggled with forgiving the man who had taken his spouse from him. A day came when he could meet him face-to-face, and understandably that was difficult. He was not sure how he would react. But when the time came, all he could do was forgive him.
We think about conversion stories like that alongside the parable that Jesus told of the prodigal son. The apostle Paul was someone else who had a story like that. A man brought up in piety, devotion, and religion, but without Jesus; he was a persecutor of Christians. Major changes happened though, and look how he ended up. It is easy to think, if I had that kind of story, I would have no problem sharing it with others. That really shows what God can do!
As Christians we like to play those comparison games with one another. The extraordinary, the miraculous, those are the kinds of things that should be shared. Yet every heart that is drawn to Christ has been drawn through a work of God. As we looked at many months ago now, not one person in all of humanity chooses God on their own. All of us needed conversion, all of us had an old self whether we remember it or not. It is because of what God has done in each of our lives that there is a coming-to-life of the new self! It is not first and foremost us finding and turning to God, no, he is the one responsible for every change.
If this is the case, then should the joy referred to in answer 90 have a more vital and remembered role in our lives? We are willing, and rightly so, to make confession of sin a normal practice—we see wrongs we get entangled in, we hate them, and we turn from them. We are intentional about that. If that is true though, then shouldn’t we make joy as great a priority as that. Doing good should not simply be a hoped for expectation, but it should be a pattern that we yearn for. For many Christians in traditions like those that we represent, that you are a new person can easily get left behind in our childhood, or in the days and weeks around when we were baptized or made profession of faith.
In order for us to be people of joy and delighting in God, we have to have hope. Paul writes in that first section we read of how creation is groaning and we as believers groan too. We groan because we want the redeemed world; we want the new and perfect heavens and earth to be a reality as soon as possible, but right now we are in sin and brokenness still waiting for that day. And yet, as he writes in verse 28, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him.” That is to say, look for what he is doing. He has not left you alone. He has not given up, and told us to suck it up or tough it out until he returns. No, we know that God is doing good for us, so be hopeful as you watch for what he does. This is what the Catechism refers to as “a wholehearted joy in God through Christ and a delight to do every kind of good as God wants us.”
That answer makes me think of the favorite Sunday School song, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, down in my heart to stay, and I’m so happy I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.” This kind of joy and happiness is an all-of-the-time expectation for believers. If we have wholehearted joy and are seeking to do good, then there should be no room for our hearts to be disturbed by sin. There should be little to no opportunity for our lives to be distracted from worshipping God alone.
It is easy as we sit in this worship setting to be filled with these words, but do constant joy and constant good come with us out the doors, out to our homes, our places of work, and our places of relaxation? As we have been finding in Revelation, the letters to the churches left little room for believers to be lukewarm about the joy their faith involved. This is why it is so important for us to remember that all of this is set in the context of having a holy helper. Paul tells us that the Spirit helps us in our weakness. New life is a permanently supported life, not just when it feels good for us to do these things, not just a pick or choose when it is convenient. True conversion, confessing sin and being born to new life should excite in us a new willingness to live for him no matter what we are facing, but in our brokenness, this only comes if we look to the Holy Spirit.
If we can take these promises and assurances to heart, recognizing new life should not just be a great and exciting one-time thing in our pasts, but something that should stick around all lifelong, then answer 91 describes the path forward—this is what good works with the Spirit look like. First of all, if we are to do any type of good, faith is a necessity. Where is our faith? It must be in God; we must trust that he will accomplish his purposes through that which we perceive him to be calling us to do. Doing good as believers is not the same as doing what the world calls “good.”
There is no doubt that when we look at our world, we see trouble. How things are is not how they should be. How people treat each other, what takes priority, the kind of gossip and backbiting that gets spread on talk shows and through the internet, acts of violence that shatter the peacefulness that we want to blanket society. A phrase we might often hear is people describing that they “have lost their faith in humanity.” We want people to do good and be good, that is the premise of this question and answer. Yet as Christians the only one who we can place any faith in seriously is Christ. When we see good happening around us, what is believed to have prompted it? For believers, it must be a heart changed by God.
Second, good works also conform to God’s law—anything that does not evidence a love for God or for our neighbor cannot be a good work. But also, in order to conform to God’s Law, we must be in his Word and in prayer so that we can know and discern what God’s will for our lives is. We must not assume to already know, lest we fall into living simply on established human tradition.
As we find our delight in God alone, we will find that there is nothing, no matter how helpful it seems, that can be described as good and yet be contrary to God’s Law. God gave his law to benefit his people, to protect them and his relationship to them. The commandments provide a guide for us to live as God intended for all things that nothing will get in the way of the life he calls us to lead if we follow these rules. We should not look for ways to push the boundaries of his Law, push to see what might be viewed as right and wrong based on conscience. Rather we delight in him through the simplicity that he has given to us.
Third, doing good deeds, fulfilling the obligation we have as children of God, means doing things for his glory. A way to look at answer 91 is to see these as marks of a true reborn believer. Each of these provide a way that is so opposite of sin; these are fully to the praise of God. This third one calls us to see that only God deserves glory—only he deserves recognition and praise and true worship.
We see people today get their names on academic honor rolls, distinguished alumni awards, school and hospital wings. It is not inherently wrong to be recognized for excellence or for a gift. What is wrong is the pursuit to get on these types of lists and roles so that we would be praised. When being the most popular or highest ranked is an end to itself, we have lost track that the excellence in our work is only possible by God’s sustenance, not ours.
To go back to where we started, we can do none of this without the help of God and without finding joy in serving him. He is at work both when we do great things as well as when we struggle. This is why it is so important to have the end of Romans 8 in our thinking about this subject of new life. The commitment that we make to God, in response to him, does not guarantee us an easy road or freedom from obstacles and disabilities, and let us note, all of us have things that limit us. Yet Paul reminds us of how faithful God is—he foreknew us, he predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, he called and justified and also glorified us; from start to finish, from even before we were conceived to when we will live with him in eternal life. God provides for each son and daughter that he has ever adopted!
Our sure hope must be: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Christ is interceding for us, even at the right hand of God. “Shall [anything stop us, be it,] trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” and Paul keeps going, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,” nothing that we can possibly experience shall separate us from Christ’s love. We are more than conquerors! Certainly not based on what we can do or handle, but because everything is bound in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Spirit of God never leaves us. Brothers and sisters, may we live being continually reminded that we have been called out of death and into life—and may we live in full assurance of the work of the Spirit in us and through us, that we may give our lives in joyful and thankful obligation to the works God has called us to. Amen.