string(7) "m-66998" Burnt Hickory Baptist Church

Sermons

← back to list

Nov 21, 2021

If God is for Us, Who Can Be Against Us?

If God is for Us, Who Can Be Against Us?

Passage: Romans 8:31-39

Speaker: Matt Petty

Series: Stand Alone Message

Category: Sunday Sermons

Keywords: peace, christian living, freedom from sin, eternal life, bible study, god is for us, worship god, jesus love, how to be saved, burnt hickory baptist church, burnt hickory worship, how to be forgiven, how to have joy in life, romans 8 meaning, don’t be discouraged, how to have peace

We read in Romans chapter 8 that if God is for us, who can be against us, but what implications does that mean for us as Christians? When we can full grasp that God is actually for us, then our life will look very different because of our confidence in Him. It leads us to worship, lifts us up from discouragement, and emboldens us for the mission that He has set for us. God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him us for us all. His great gift shows His graciousness in giving. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins has paid all our debts, and He is the only one that can condemn us because He is the one who gave us freedom and sustains our freedom. No one or thing can separate us from the love of Jesus. The freedom from condemnation should be the foundation for our joy and thankfulness as Christians. Do you want freedom from sin and condemnation? Do you have confidence in Jesus as your savior? God loves you, and He wants you to experience peace and an abundant and eternal life. We are not able to bridge the gap between us and God through our good behavior, and luckily God has provided the way through Jesus. If you’ve got questions, please reach out, we’d love to answer any questions and pray with you further – www.burnthickory.com/next

Well, good morning, church, and happy Thanksgiving week to all of you guys, I hope you've got your stretchy pants ready for the week this week. You know, they say once you go stretchy pants, you never go back. That's what they say. If you got a copy of scripture this morning, love for you to be in Romans Chapter eight Romans Chapter eight with me so fire the app up or find that tab in the Bible this morning, and we're going to look at what many theologians, many scholars would call one of the greatest chapters in the whole Bible of Romans Chapter eight. Along with that, the greatest chapter, we're going to look at one of the greatest promises of the whole New Testament. And it all revolves around this idea of God's love for us and our Thanksgiving.

In response, I got to thinking this week about Thanksgiving. You know, it's that time of the year where we're leading into and in thinking about Thanksgiving and thankfulness and all of these things. It hit me that the reality is, is that Christians, you and me, those of us who have trusted Christ, we should be the most thankful people on the planet. We really should be. I mean, if you think about it, we have more to be thankful for. We have our past that has been taken care of. We have our future that has been secured and we should be a people that live out of the thankfulness, out of the joy and out of the hope of that. But here's the deal. A lot of us aren't. And here's the thing, and I know this is not the case in this church, but in a lot of places, Christians are some of the most miserable people you'll ever meet. They really are the people that should be the most joyous. That should be the most thankful. Become the most condescending. Become the most judgy. Become the biggest grumblers and quite frankly, some of the most hateful people on the planet.

Now, that's not how it is here. All right. I know it's not how it is here. It's how it is other places. And this is crazy. It's crazy when those two worldviews collide in our minds because we should live out of this incredible joy of what Christ has done for us. So, so with the spirit of that and with this looking into Thanksgiving and what Christ has done for us. And I just want to encourage you this morning with a message of hope, with a message of joy and a message of what the Apostle Paul would say. Here is what is offered to you. Just live and end. So, this morning, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to read these nine verses starting in verse 31. I'm going to give us the general overview of what the Apostle Paul would have us to grab hold of. And then I'm going to give you what he would say or four supporting questions that when we don't trust, the first three will lie, will lead us into a life of thankfulness and joy to God. Romans eight verse 31. Here we go. Let's read it together. What then, shall we say in response to these things? You ask? Well, what things? We're going to get there in just a minute. Just think all of the book of Romans before this. Watch this. If God is for us, you may want to circle that and you may want to write the word since somewhere in the margin, because it's appropriate to say, since God is for us, that's the language that it's carrying.

That's the main idea that God is for us. And then what would happen if we would grasp this idea? I mean, really, what would happen if this seared into our soul and if it affected every decision, if it affected every conversation, if it affected every road that we jump on in our life? This idea that God is for us, catch this if God is for us, it gets even better. Who can be against us? He is God who did not spare his own son, that's Jesus, but gave himself up for us all. How will he not also along with him graciously give us all things? Verse 33, who will bring any charge against those who God has chosen somehow whose God chosen, that's all of us that have given our lives to Christ, to all believers. It is God who justifies verse 34, who then is the one who condemns no one. Christ Jesus who died more than that was raised to live. Is it the right hand of God and is also interceding for us who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ shall trouble or hardship, persecution or famine, nakedness or danger or sword as it is written for your sake, we face death all day long? We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Verse 37, no, in all these things, watch this. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am convinced, Paul says, and I hope that we are too, that neither death nor life nor angels nor demons. Neither the present or the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth or anything at all creation that pretty much covers it. All right. We'll be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our lord. Lord Jesus today. God, through whatever fumbling of words that I have got seared this into our soul. That you're for us that you're with us, that you have not only redeemed us and set us free from our past, but you are walking with us into the future. Lord Jesus have that affect everything about us. It's in your name, we pray amen and amen. If the Apostle Paul were with us today, he would probably suggest while looking at these nine verses that we really and truly dive through the four questions that Paul gives us here to really kind of saturate his point. And the good news is we're going to do that. But before we do that, I want us to see what the overarching principles or the overarching effects are to knowing that Christ is for us.

But when we approach a text like this, there's a there's a little bit of a warning that needs to be said before we jump into the text. When we approach a text that begins to speak, promises over us begins to speak prosperity over us. We have to approach it with this idea of a humble, wretched person being delivered by a holy king. Let me flesh that out a little bit, because here's what happens to us a lot, especially as Americans, when we approach text to talk about how much God loves us or how much God has done for us, or how God has delivered us, it is very easy for us to slip into this mindset of looking at God and saying that we deserved what God did for us. We're empowered a little bit, right? We're entitled a little bit. We live out of this idea of a feast of most of our lives. And when we read the Bible, Satan wants us to approach the Bible with this idea of, yeah, God did that. You deserved it. But let me warn you with this, there is nothing that you ever have done.

There's nothing that you can do, and there's nothing that you can step into that Christ did not already allow you to do. It is Christ Power, and it is Christ's love. And there's nothing about the love of God that is in response to anything that you have ever done. Does that make sense? We are not entitled to his love. We are not actually really and truly the one who begins this love. It is all from God because of God and a gift from God. I want us to remember that there's nothing that you can offer God that hasn't already come from God. That's what I mean. So, when you read through the book of Romans, you begin to see this. We talked a minute ago about these things that that this whole text is written over. Well, these things like I said, covers the idea of Romans chapter one all the way to the end of Romans Chapter eight.

You see Romans Chapter one through three. What Paul does through the Holy Spirit is it presents to us a case that we are all sinners. We're all sinners in need of a savior. We're sinners in need of grace and we're sinners that are eternally separated from God. In other words, we have not come even close to living out the perfection that God set before us. Not even you. But then we get the Romans Chapter four and five Romans, Chapter four and five says, yes, we are sinners, but Christ loved us. In fact, he loved us enough to come to this planet to live the life that we couldn't live, to die the death that we should have died and to raise to give us the life that we never could have had. That's Romans Chapter four and five, where God looks at you, and he looks at me and he looks at Jesus. And he says, because of Jesus, you can be justified. You can be made right. You can be proclaimed as righteous by faith alone in Christ alone by the grace of our heavenly father. That's Romans four and five. Romans six and seven is an encouragement to us. It says that because that has happened in your life and because Christ has stepped in when you needed him the most. And when you were the farthest away from him, now let's live the new life. Let's set our trajectory into our new nature with a new power with a new son and daughter of a king mindset in our lives. But listen to this even what verse eight would or Chapter eight would say, even in the middle of this times of confusion, even in the middle of times of internal conflict or struggle. And it's at that point church that we get to verse 31. You see, verse 31 is looking back that we were separated, but God justify God justified to the newness of life. Newness of life says that no matter what you're going through right now. Verse 38 or 31, one of the greatest reminders of the greatest verses and the greatest promises in the whole Bible. Let me read it to you again, just in case you didn't get it. What then what? Then look back at all those chapters.

What then, shall we say in response to these things? Catch this. If God is for us, who can be against us? Church Listen. Gods for you. He's for you, and I know some of you were like, Matt. Don't say that too much. It'll cause people to live in another way. Let's keep them under bondage. No, you got it all wrong, people. When God is for us, it launches us into a trajectory for our life that brings us more glory, more joy and more richness than anything else on this planet can ever offer us. That's what Paul is saying here. In fact, when we realize that God is for us, the three major applications when you read through this idea in Romans is this number one. When we realize this, it leads us to worship.

It leads us to worship. Why? Because really, our behavior changes when our affections change. Does it not? When we truly fall in love with something, when we truly realize something is worth it out there. It is at that point that we give our worship to that something less than we says it all the time. We don't have a worship problem. We have a lordship problem. And when the lordship changes in our lives, the worship changes in our lives. I was thinking all week, how can I explain this point? And it hit me 20 plus years in student Ministry taught me one thing, and here it is. Middle school boys stink. Profound, I know. They stink. There is no other way to put it other than they stink. And I'm not even sure they know they stink. They might know it. I'm not sure. I don't remember that far back, but they're gross. They're nasty. They could. They don't care about any civilized society like norms, right? In fact, one time at middle school camp, our commode and our condo overflowed, and they thought it was the best way to handle the situation. By using every piece of clothing, I had to dam up an area around the commode so that it wouldn't get on to the carpets. Middle school boys stink. They don't care what their mama says. They don't care what their father says.

But when Susie steps in the middle school boy's life, something changes in that boy. Something changes that boy, that's thinketh now decides to take a shower. Not only does he decide to take a shower, but he also decides to use an ungodly amount of deodorant and ax body spray. You know what I'm talking about? You have lived this life. If you have had one, you know something is up and there live at this point, right? Why their affection changed. You see where this is going, right? When our affections change, our worship changes, when what we're pointing our live to changes, when we finally realize church, listen to this when we finally realize that God is not out there to smash you and God is not out there to smote you when you realized, finally, that God is for you. It begins to move in your heart and point your affection towards him like nothing else on this planet.

Our love for him changes our worship change, and it's redirected to worship, the father said. To be human is to be a lover. The question is, what do we love? That's what Romans eight is showing us all the way through this text. As we read it, it rekindles the idea that our affection can go to him. It leads us to worship number one, but number two, it lifts us from despair. It lifts us from despair or discouragement. You say when you think about it, to be a discouraged Christian is not that abnormal of a thing, is it not? Man, I meet a lot of Christians that are in a room, a lot of dark, dark, dark places. Can I tell you why? It's a massive tool of Satan. It's a massive tool. What does he do? He draws us away from the things that are godly enough. He draws us enough away from the things of the world, and we feel like we are living in this no man's land of society where we don't fit in holiness, but we don't fit with the worldview, and we're being pulled by each direction.

I say it like this every now and then. When you stand in the middle of the road, you will get hit by both sides. That's why so many Christians are so miserable because they're just discouraged. But Romans eight, it gives us some examples of discouragement doesn't not. I mean, at first when it gives us this discouragement of sin says that when sin hits our lives, we begin to be drawn into this discouragement. But what did the Romans tell us that God has justified us? It says that not only that, but suffering hits our life and when suffering hits our lives, what do we do? We get discouraged. But why did Romans eight tell us that? Not even in suffering that is temporary? It isn't. It is in short supply that compared to where God is going to do in our lives. And it tells us that death is one of the major discouragements of our life. Some of you are dreading these next days because of this right here. It's the first one that you've had without that person. But what is the Apostle Paul tells? He said that even in death, it doesn't separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ, Jesus, our Lord.

He said when we realize that our discouragement can be flat line from the love of Christ, whether it's sin or suffering or death. And we realize that Christ is in control. I would suggest you go back to Romans Chapter eight. It can lift you from despair.

In fact, Martin Luther, one of the reformers not many people know this, but he suffered from an incredible, incredible amount of depression like manic depression. A lot of biographers don't write about it because they hold him to high esteem, which is OK. But in one biography, it was talking about how he had this incredible, incredible, incredible, depressed season of his life. And finally, his wife, Katie just got sick of it, and she wanted to speak into his life. She wanted to help him move into the next direction. So, one day she knew that Luther was coming home. And so, Katie, his wife, the loving wife that she was, decided to dress in all black funeral clothes to put a veil over her face and to hang a black sheet on the front of their home, which is evidently culturally what they did if somebody died in that day. And when Luther arrived home, she looked at him and Martin said to Katie Kenny, who died. And she looked at him dead in the face and said, Martin, God did. And Martin Luther said, don't say that that's blasphemous. Katie looked at him the way of life can only look at a husband and said this well then, Martin quit living like it. If he is king, then live like it, if he's Lord, then live like it. The biographer said that Martin didn't even have a word for the situation, so he went back to his study. He opened his Bible to Romans Chapter eight, and he wrote down one phrase from it. He lives. He lives church when we realize that God is for us, and it begins to lift us from despair. He begins to give us a newfound freedom and I know when life is heavy, one of the most basic truths is that he lives in. He's for you. He lives and he's for you. Number three, not only does it lead us to worship and lift us from discouragement.

Number three is that it emboldens us for the mission. It emboldens us for the mission, the whole of Romans eight, when it says that God is for us. This should give us an incredible amount of confidence is a promise that should give us so much encouragement. We've talked about it over the last couple of weeks. What does the mission of the believer look like? What is it that we are called to? I'm not going to expound on a whole lot, but I just want you to know that when God is in it and when God is for us, there is no reason not to take the next step. He's already there. So that's the application of the text, right? That's the intro. All right. That's the intro to the text. That's a general application. But here's what we know in this. When we read something like this, we ask ourselves at this moment, OK, well, how?


How do I know that? What does that really mean for me and flesh out the details of? Give me some examples of how I can know that God is with me, even when I don't recognize it. I'm glad you asked that, because that's exactly what the Apostle Paul does, and he does it through four different questions. four different things that should cause us to be incredibly thankful in our lives. And I think these four questions have the chance to really set you free from some incredibly big junk in your life. Let me give you the four questions. The first one starts out of Romans 8:31 architects, right? Watch what he said again. What then, shall we say in response to these things? Here's the first questions coming up. If God is for us, watch this question right there. Who can be against us? Who no one question who can be against me? Think about it. Don't you love it when somebody is truly for you? Listen, some of you, you lived your whole life just wishing somebody was behind you.

Somebody was with you. Somebody was for you on unconditionally on your team. What is Paul do right here? Paul settles it. He says, look, you may feel alone. You may look around and think you're alone. You may look around and think that this whole world is against you. The whole culture is against you, but your whole workforce or your whole school or your whole family. But when you are in Christ, catch this God is with you. He's with you. And here's what that means. That means every other person that comes against you has to come through him first. That's what he means. Look, Satan doesn't want you to believe this. Satan wants you to feel isolated. He wants you to feel alone. He wants you to feel like you are in a sense of depressed isolation. But listen, nobody can really be against you. Why? Because the maker of the universe has already given your life. He's already given you hope. He's already told you how the end of the story goes. If we can grasp this, it is hard to imagine anything else on this Earth is better.

But how do we know? Look at verse 32 gives us the evidence of how we know that he's really for us. He, that's God, who did not spare his own son, Jesus, watch this, but gave himself up for us. How will he also not along with Jesus, graciously give us all things? Christian, do you want to know that God is for you, look to the cross? Just look to the cross. But Christ's work on the cross ensures us that God loves us and that God is with us and follow the reason here.

All right, Paul, the reason if God has already done the big thing, why is it that the rest of the little things behind him seems like a bit like a big deal in our lives? Do you realize everything else we bring to God is secondary to the fact that he has already offered his one and only son on our behalf? And how will he not graciously do the rest? He's promised us all things. Matt, all things? Well. Not all things are like, hey, guy, give me $1,000,000. But like all things, in order to live out the purpose for our life, right, that's what Romans 8:28 says, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. That's what that means. So, here's the here's the reality. Who can be against us? Really, nobody can. They're really against Christ. If we're living in Christ and walking in cries, all things.

So, what's the application of knowing that nobody can come against us? What do we do? We are led to worship, were lifted from despair and we're empowered to the mission. That's the first question who can be against us? Nobody, because crisis for us. Here's the second question gets even better. Who can even bring a charge against us? Who can bring charge against us? You can say it like this. Who can accuse you? Who can impeach you? Who can bring a valid accuse, a valid accusation against us? Watch verse 33. I'm not making up the questions. Paul says who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? Watch this. It is God who justifies. It's God. Please hear this. When the maker of the universe, the savior and the sustainer of the world looks at you and looks at me when we give our hearts to Jesus, when he looks at you and me and says these words, you are not guilty anymore.

Catch this, you're not guilty, you're not guilty. How can we dare let some other little bitty created things supersede what Christ has already spoken over us? That's the point. But we let it happen all the time, do we not? We let people, we let circumstances, we let family stuff. We let job stuff and school stop and worry stuff all the time drag us down. When God says you're justified, people listen to me. You've been made right. You've been made right and there is no higher court that that thing can be taken to because the gavel of God has already fallen and you're his. You're his all over Romans, Chapter eight says that God has closed the deal. And listen to this. You've been confirmed. You've been confirmed. You may remember the days of traveling standby. Remember those days? Anybody had those friends that worked for the airline and gifted you with the standby ticket that really never got you anywhere? You remember these days? Think about this. You're in the airport, you're watching all the other glorious people that are calm at this moment. You've already worked the ticket agent to try to get in her graces, right, to hopefully be the one you're sitting there watching all of the Zone one and Zone two people enjoy their coffee, love their snacks. And what are you doing? You're just wishing one of them gets sick and doesn't get to go right because you want to get on the plane. You start hearing them announce Zone one board, zone two board medallions, board, general, people board all of this, and you and those two other losers are still sitting there that are flying standby. And what are you doing? You're just hoping you get on the plane; you're hoping you get on the plane. They call that one guy that is somewhere in the other terminal that's not there. And you're just like, just leave him. Why? Because you want on the plane, you want to be confirmed. Listen to me, church, he's confirmed you, you're on the plane at the moment of salvation, you are eternally confirmed. Therefore, who can bring charge against you?

Nobody can question number three. Who can condemn you? Who can condemn you? It's kind of the same question, but this is pressing a little bit harder for a conviction. Paul comes at it a little bit of a different way. Look, who can condemn you. Look at the question verse 34 who then is the one who condemns no one. What's this? Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life? Is that the right hand of God and is interceding for us? So, Ben cuts this. Not only has the righteous God judge, has he justified us? Look at the text Jesus the son. He was punished on my behalf. He rose for my sins. He has set me free. And now what is he doing? I know that he said he was finished, but he was only finished dying for my sins. What is he doing in heaven right now? He is interceding on my behalf at this very moment. Catch this church. Jesus is speaking on your behalf.

Who can condemn you? Nobody can. The maker of the universe is speaking to the father on your behalf. So, so why look at this Romans Chapter eight verse one. Why does Paul start this whole chapter like this? Check it out! Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That's the Christ Jesus the Lord. The spirit who gives life has set you free from the law's sin and death. So, catch this. Here's the principle I want you to write it down, so I gave it to you. Here it is. Jesus, the only one that can condemn us. Is the very one that has given us freedom, but don't stop there and keeps giving us freedom, so, so Jesus didn't just give us freedom. He continually over and over and over speaks freedom and to your life.

He speaks the fact that he is for us, that he is with us, that God the father sees us through the lens of who Jesus is from the cross forever and ever and ever church. You have been liberated. You've been set free. You no longer face future judgment. You're his. You're in his arms. You're in his grip. And there is nothing that can take that from you. Listen, because we have been liberated, that's why we sing the songs that we sing. Is it not that? Oh, come to the altar? Our freedom song are no longer slaves or who you say I am? Or how about this one? Blessed assurance Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of a spirit washed in his blood. This is my story, and this is my song praising my savior all day long. Do you know why Christians can sing that? We can sing that because we don't operate out of a place of slavery or out of needing justification, we're already there, we're already his and we are not begging to be received.

We have been received. Man, and what do you do when you live in that life, you live out of a life of thankfulness? So, what's the response? We're led to worship were lifted from despair and were emboldened for the mission, and I love this. I'm not sure you caught it, but. But Christ is praying for you. He's praying for, you know, this one thing, man, church, listen, I love. I love it when you walk up to myself or most are one of the pastors here, says, Man, we're praying for you. Man, that is incredibly encouraging. Love it. But listen, when God tells us that Jesus is praying for us. Man, nothing should supersede that, in fact. Romans eight 26 tells us that the spirit right intercedes for us, we do not know the things that we ought to pray, but the spirit intercedes for us. Romans 8:34 tells us that Jesus who died more than that who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God. And what is he doing? He is also interceding for us. Do you realize the horsepower that’s behind that?

Do you hear that the spirit is speaking on your behalf, that Jesus speaking on your behalf? The Righteous Judge has already said that you have been made clean, but yet we're going to let our neighbor drag us down. Really? That's the point. That's where the thankfulness comes. I love this, McCain says, I like this guy. He says if I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear 1,000,000 enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He's praying for me. You remember when Jesus looked at the Apostle Peter and he said, Peter Satan has asked you to ask to sift you as wheat. Do you remember the next words that he said right after that? But I'm praying for you, Peter.

Listen, guys. That's exactly what's happening for us. Let's just put it as plainly as we can. Jesus is more committed to you than you will ever be committed to him. So, let's live in it. Let's live in it. Let's enjoy it. He's got you. Philippians 16. And he began a good work, and you will be faithful to the end. So, who can be against us? Nobody, while Christ is standing with us. Who can bring a charge against us? Nobody. The righteous judge has made us clean. Who can condemn us? Nobody. Why Christ has been condemned on our behalf. And number four, here it is. Who can separate us from the love of God in Christ, who can separate us from the love of Christ? Now, notice what Paul does here. Paul spends double the amount of time answering this last question, to which as a pastor, I would say I should spend double the amount of time expounding on this. But I'm not all right. But I'm convinced Paul had a point in this. I think Paul wanted to impress on his readers and impress on us exactly how much Christ really loved them. How much he loves us. Because I'm not sure that we fully operate out of that. You see, it is possible for you to know everything about the love of Christ, but not operate in the love of Christ. There's a difference in it. Romans 8:35, look at what it says, it says, who shall separate us?

There's the question, right? From the love of Christ. Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? What are all those things? They all have one thing in common. They're all distressed moments. And church, I'm going to tell you there are going to be all manner of distress moments of your life where you're not going to feel love. Where you're not going to feel justified. Where you're not going to feel confirm or you're not going to feel like you have a seat on the plane where you're going to feel like relationally and spiritually and physically past and present that you are a mess, but never forget. Nothing can separate you. No matter what comes at you. He's for you. And listen, your grip on him is not the determiner, it's his grip on you. If it was your grip on him, that was the determiner, we'd be in a really bad spot because I know a lot of you and I know myself. But it's the grip of grace that God has given us to justify us and make us his that launches us to know that we are his, but not only are we his, look at verse 37. We're super conquerors. We should get a cape, where's Aaron? We should dress up as the super conquers. We're super conquerors. Look at what he says in verse 37. No. He's telling all you that are out in this, no. And all these things we're more than conquerors. Through him, who loves us. Does this mean we love troubles? No, that's crazy, people. No. It means we love the one who gets us through them. It means we love the one that is already on the other side of them.

It means we love the one who took them for me. We're more than conquerors church, there's nothing more that we need to realize this week leading into thankfulness than this verse 31 that God has for us. In verse 37 or 39, there's nothing that can separate us. So, as you come to your tables this week, as you go to your workplaces this week. As you mindlessly play all the video games you want to this week. Know this, if God is for us who can be against us. What should I do in our lives? They should tell us that nobody can stand against us. That should tell us that really nobody can bring a charge against us. That should tell me that nobody can condemn me and that nothing can separate me, and it should also lead me to worship, lift me from despair and embolden me for the mission that God has put in front of me. Why? Because of me? No, no, no. Because of the one who lived for me and died for me. In Christ.

Would you pray with me? Lord Jesus, God, I fully realize that one day we are going to as your sons and daughters stand before you and the truths of Romans eight are going to become extremely clear to us. And the things that we feel like condemn us and the things we feel like drag us and the things that shaped our worldview, we're going to laugh at them. But God today, through your Holy Spirit, would you just already now point our lives in that direction? God, just to realize that you are for us. And everything is filtered through that. He who did not spare his own son for us. He who promises us that we will never be separated from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. It's for us. God, I know that in a group this size, there's a lot of different people and a lot of different places in life. There are people here that are literally one step away from giving in to the condemnation that people and Satan have attacked them from. God lift them today. There are people here that are really dreading this next week. Encourage them today that you’re for them. There are people here that if pressed you into a dark spot in their life and. God, you haven't been in the forefront in a long time. God, show them that you are present. And that God, they can repent of where they are and walk back into your full power and grace. But also, I realize there's people here that. That I've never surrendered their heart to you. And given their life to you. And never, ever become a child and daughter of the king. God today through her Holy Spirit. Show them the richness of Romans eight. You have offered them life. And that you're for them. Thank you, Jesus. For the ability to be thankful in you. Thank you, Lord, got what you've done for us.

As we stand and sing this morning. I'm just going to ask you to be true before the Lord, let that wall come down just for a minute. You said, Lord, here I am. What is it in my heart? She needs to present a day. If you need to give your life to Christ, say, look, I'm going to be standing right over to the side. In classic service, there'll be somebody standing right there. All you got to do is just look at us. Go hey, I need Jesus. And we'll talk you through the rest, maybe today you just you just need somebody to pray over you today. And we've got people over here on the side and they would be honored to step into your life in that way. Maybe today you just need to sit or stand or kneel wherever it is in your space, and you say, Thank you, Lord.

Thank you for that, you're for me or move in this moment. It's in your name.

Amen.

Let's stand and sing.

Follow Along with the Message

If God Is for Us, Who Can Be Against Us?

November 21, 2021

Romans 8:31–39
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered 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, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 Life Responses When We Grasp that God Is for Us

1. Leads us to .

2. Lifts us from .

3. Emboldens us for the .

4 Life-changing Questions
Romans 8:31
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1. Who can against us?

Romans 8:32
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

2. Who brings a against us?

Romans 8:33
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

3. Who can us?

Romans 8:34
Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Romans 8:1–2
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

PRINCIPLE: Jesus, the only one that can us, is the very one that has given us and keeps giving us freedom.

“The freedom of liberation and condemnation truth is the foundation for all Christian Joy and Thankfulness.”
— N. T. Wright

Romans 8:26
…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us…
Romans 8:34
…Christ Jesus who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

“It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life; that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers; and that He prays for our protection against the dangers of which we are not even conscious, and against the enemies which threaten us, though we do not notice it. He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end.”
— Louis Berkhoff

“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the room next door, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.”
— Robert M’Cheyne

4. Who can us from the love of Christ?

Romans 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:39
…neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Additional Notes

 

Email (To Send Copy of Notes)