ROMANS 9:6-13 “CAN THE WORD OF GOD FAIL?”

 

The Bible answers the 3 most fundamental questions that every human being asks: “Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?” Once we understand that we are God- created beings we will also begin to ask this question: “What is the nature of the God who has created us?”  We will also ask this question: “What is wrong with this world?”  Paul in this letter has told us what is wrong: “All are under sin!” (Rom.3:9-12). This also begs the question: “How will I stand before my Creator”?  Romans  Chapters 1 - 8   deal with the doctrine of salvation and the nature of the gospel, answering the question, How will I stand before my Creator? In the gospel  God’s way of justifying sinners is revealed

In Romans Chapters 9 -11 Paul pauses to consider the plight of his own people - the Jews.  The Jews, by and large refused to believe the gospel. The gospel is not simply a message. It is a person. They refused to hear the Christ (the Messiah) when He came among them. In so doing they refused God’s gift of salvation. Although they were a religious people, and although they considered themselves as children of Abraham, the love for the God whom they claimed to worship was absent. They were merely religious. Although in possession of the  holy Scriptures they twisted the Scriptures given them by Moses and the prophets to make it conform to their human standards[1]. Their hearts have grown dull. Their ears can barely hear. They have closed their eyes (Matt. 13:15à Isa 6:9,10). And very often in their history, they left the God sanctioned worship and worshipped the gods of the surrounding nations.   When, in the fullness of time, God came in the flesh (Gal.4:4,5), they hated His teaching. They rejected Him and conspired to kill Him[2]. Then they hated   His disciples.

Paul, before his conversion, was one of them. He became a persecutor of those that loved Jesus.  But when Jesus sovereignly met him on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9), he became one of Jesus’ most eloquent and outspoken disciples. Wherever he went, he preached to the Jew first, and only then to the gentiles (Rom.1:16).  That was his pattern everywhere he went in Asia Minor[3] – wherever the Jews had been scattered among the nations. When they refused to listen, he went to the gentiles.  

In Rom. 9: 1-5 we see how the hardness of the hearts of his Jewish compatriots grieved Paul. He tells us of his desperate desire for his own people to be saved from the wrath of God. Paul’s heart is genuinely broken by the general lack of response of the Jews to the gospel.

The time has now come for him to talk about the theological perspective behind this rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Jews.

OUTLINE

1.       9:6a - Assurance: The Word of God has not failed

2.       9:6b-7a - An astonishing assertion:  Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.

3.       9:7b-13-Amazing grace rather than ethnic heritage: Two Old Testament illustrations

(i)          9:7b-9 - Isaac vs. Ishmael: Both were physical sons of Abraham. Isaac (and not firstborn Ishmael) was chosen by God as the child of the covenant promise.

(ii)            9:10-13 - Jacob vs. Esau: Paul narrows the argument by using the example of twins born to Isaac and Rebekah. Before the twins were even born, or had done anything good or bad, God declared, "The older will serve the younger"- “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”. God’s choice is not based on human merit, but entirely of God’s grace and calling.

1.  9:6a ASSURANCE - God’s word has not failed! 

The people of whom everything in 9:4-5 is true are those who have by and large rejected the gospel about Jesus.  Humanly speaking this causes Paul unceasing anguish- so much that he wished that he could take their curse upon himself. The Lord God has endowed them with so many privileges – and look at the meagre returns! So, if most Jews reject God’s Messiah and God’s salvation, does it not mean that God’s word has failed?  Paul answers: No! It is not as though the word of God has failed, and then he makes this astonishing remark: 

2. 9:6b “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel”. This is an astonishing statement. What is he saying here?  Simply this: The true definition of an Israelite is not linked to those belonging to a certain race group or to a certain religious group. To be sure, there is such an entity as political Israel, BUT within that realm there is a true Israel - a spiritual Israel.  

·       This is not the first time that Paul has said this - see Rom. 2:28-29 ! 

·       This distinction is also made by Jesus when He deals with the Jews of his time – see John 8:31-47. We will return to this shortly.

·       Historically, following the great divide under Rehoboam’s reign, the apostate part- the northern 10 tribes were called Israel. They had become an apostate nation worshipping at false altars.

This may be an appropriate moment to draw a parallel to the NT church. There are those who belong to the church and for them it is simply a tribal affiliation. They are cultural Christians because they are not Hindu or Moslem. And then there are those who truly love God and trust in God. They abide in His word (Jn 8:31). This is the true church.  

What makes them to be the true church?

3. Two Old Testament illustrations

(i) 9:7-9  “… not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but through Isaac shall your offspring be named…”

Abraham’s first physical offspring was Ishmael. He was conceived by Sarah’s servant, Hagar.   And then he had another son, Isaac, born according to promise and in a miraculous way to his covenant wife, Sarah, who had been barren.  Not all the children of Abraham would be godly offspring. 

Now remember the text in John 8:31-47. The Jews prided themselves in being sons of Abraham. They saw themselves favoured by God on this ground. But Jesus told them in 8:44 whose seed they were: You are of your father the devil...  He is saying in effect, “You may be physical descendants of Abraham, but you are not   his spiritual offspring- if you were his offspring, you would be doing the works Abraham did… (8:39) . You are not trusting God. You are not trusting me; you are the devil’s offspring!  You have no grace in the soul !

9:8 “This means that it is not the children of the flesh (i.e. physical descendants) who are the   children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring”. The Kingdom of God is not inherited by virtue of physical decent.  Growing up in a Christian culture, having Christian family attachments, church membership, baptism does not make you a member of God’s kingdom.  You must be born again from above – flesh gives birth to flesh – the Spirit gives birth to the spirit. You must be born again (John 3:1-8)!  

So, have the promises of God failed in regard to the Jews as a whole? No, because God had never planned to include every Jew in His saving purposes. This becomes even more apparent in the next (second) illustration, regarding the offspring of Isaac and Rebekah.

(ii)9: 10- 13:  Here we find that  not all are children of God, even if they come out of the same womb, even twins  (the example  of  Esau and Jacob)-   “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

God chose Jacob in order that God’s purpose and election might stand. Even before birth God predestines (cf. 8:29,30) those who will receive His saving grace. Jacob was chosen. Esau was not. Therefore ultimately, because of God’s choice, His Word cannot fail. That is the logic of Paul’s argument.

Now for many this is a hard teaching.  But this is the plain teaching of Scripture.  This is Jesus’ teaching in John 10 (the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep) and in John 17 where He prays for all those whom the Father has given to Him out of the world. This is also the pattern of the Old Testament. There is a clear doctrine of election that runs like a golden thread through the Bible.  

If you must disagree with the doctrine of election, you must argue with God’s Word. I remember that I did argue with Him, and God won! My heart was settled in this doctrine in 1987, in my second year at Seminary. I am fully convinced that my depravity is so deep that if God had not chosen me to believe, I would never have believed myself. NEVER! I can now truly sing of amazing grace that saved a wretch like me

Paul knows that this is hard doctrine for you and so he gives you proof from Scripture that the subjects whom he saves  are  weak.  Abraham was not a great man of faith to begin with. He was a pagan moon worshipper from Mesopotamia. By grace God called him, and He was given grace to believe. Isaac  was chosen against all   odds. Jacob and Esau had the same mother. Yet before they were born, before they had either done good or evil, God chose Jacob. Period!

Paul’s meaning is unmistakable.  God’s election is not based on anything in the elect themselves, but on the free mercy of God.  You may think this is unfair, and  Paul anticipates objections in 9:14 and 9:19 and so I must ask you to be patient and humble as we pursue this biblical doctrine in greater   detail next time.

The principle is this:  Salvation is by Grace, and not by Race: Membership in God's family is never an automatic inheritance through bloodlines. It is a gift of free grace. 

This  grace extended to undeserving sinners is the finished work of Jesus. This is  what we celebrate now as we come to the Lord’s table!

 

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[1]  Matt 15:1-9;16:11-12; Matt 23 Jesus called them evil : Matt. 12:34,39,45 ; 16:4

[2] Matt 12:14

[3] E.g. Acts 13:46

ROMANS 9:1-5 "Spiritual Privileges Do Not Guarantee Salvation"

 

REVIEW 

Having shown that the whole world is guilty before God (1:18 – 3:20), Paul proceeds to show how people in general are made right (justified) with God. He shows us that all are saved in one way only: through faith in God’s way of salvation – believing in the Lord Jesus Christ (3:21ff).

But what about OT believers? Paul uses an example in Romans 4: How was Abraham saved (justified)? Answer: “Abraham believed God (i.e. all that God is and does) and it was counted to Him as righteousness “[1] (Rom.4:3 à Gen 15:6). Abraham’s faith in God is key! Faith in God, according to Romans 5 produces peace with God through faith in the Lord Jesus.  Through our union with Christ, we experience freedom from sin (Romans 6), whilst Romans 7 points to the reality of our internal struggle between the desire to do good and the persistent pull of sin. But Jesus is a real Saviour from sin (7:25) and therefore a Christian should expect real help in their struggles against sin. This is followed by  Romans 8 the great chapter on Christian assurance. The climax is found in 8:31-39: nothing in all creation  will be able  to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

ROMANS  9

9:1-5: Paul in Soul Agony - the plight of his countrymen – the Jews.

Paul declares as if under oath: “I am speaking the truth in Christ – I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit – that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites…”

Paul has spent a lot of time explaining why we need the gospel. He could move on from there to the practical application (i.e. How then shall we live?) which we shall find in Romans 12 and following. But he doesn’t go there yet!  

He must first unburden his heart concerning an important matter: His own people – the Jews.   

A brief reminder of who Paul was

Paul (Saul see  Acts 13:9) described himself as "of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin" (Phil. 3:5).  Benjamin was the only son of Jacob born in the Promised Land. The tribe of Benjamin produced Israel’s first king (Saul). So Paul came from a distinguished line.  He was born and raised in the Diaspora in Tarsus in the Roman province of Cilicia (modern Turkey) and thus he was also a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25-29). Raised in a foreign culture he never forgot that he was a Jew. He was also raised in the theological framework of the Pharisees. In fact, he was trained by the respected  Gamaliel, a Pharisaic doctor of the  Jewish law  (Acts 22:3). He became a convert to Christ in Acts 9. He became the great apostle  to the gentile people, but he never forgot  that he was a Jew and  he never forgot his own people. 

This brings us to the point.  Paul was concerned about an issue which had confused many people in Paul’s day – namely the rejection of Israel by God, and the salvation of the gentiles.  

• How was it possible that God could forsake His covenant people? 
• Did God not make definite promises to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation? 
• Had God not favoured Israel above all the other nations (Deut. 14:1,2)?  
• Had He not given them that which is listed here in 9:4 - the law, the covenants, the promises, the patriarchs, the temple … and above all, did He not send the Christ (promised Messiah), the Son of God to be born of Jewish descent?  
• In the light of such an awesome heritage what could be the explanation for God’s rejection of Israel at this time? 
• Why would He include and favour the gentiles at this time? 

It is this matter that Paul addresses in   Romans 9-11

A brief Outline of Romans 9-11 

(i)                      9:1-29: Paul shows that the rejection of the Jews was not a failure of God’s promise to save His people. The problem lies in the interpretation of what constitutes Abraham’s offspring and who the true Israel is. The key verses in this regard in 9:26-28 

(ii)                    9:30-10:21: Here Paul shows the reason why most of national Israel has rejected her God, and why many of the gentiles have received Christ the Jewish Messiah.  Christ became a stumbling block for the Jews, whilst many gentiles believed in Him and were saved.  The Jews, though zealous, were using the law as a standard of righteousness which did not match the righteousness that God requires for salvation. They were looking to the law and not to the gospel (Christ) for salvation. Now remember also that Paul has previously reminded us in Rom.2:28,29 that there is no actual advantage in being a Jew although he admits that the Jews do have an advantage, because this was the nation that God first revealed Himself to (3:2).  But apart from that fact, Jews are no better off than all the rest of the sinners of this world (3:9,10).  “There is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”  (3:22,23). Spiritual privileges do not guarantee salvation or favour.  This is all very important background to our understanding of Ch’s 9-11. 

(iii)                 11:1-36   Here Paul explains that Israel’s rejection is not total. Some Jews were being saved. Thank God that Jews in our own day are still coming to their Messiah- not in great numbers, but they are coming. We thank God for the work of the  Grace and Truth congregation in Israel[2], a vibrant Reformed Baptist congregation.  We have every reason to hope, expect, pray and labour to the end that many Jews will yet come to Christ before His coming.   

Back to 9:1-5

With that in mind we see Paul displaying his heart for his own people. And we want to learn from him.  Here is a man   who deeply loves his own people. He sees their plight. He understand their privileges and he desperately longs for their salvation. And so he wrestles in his heart before God, and he will help us to work through some profound theological issues in the process.

As we begin to work through Romans 9 we will have to deal with a range of significant questions.  

• We will learn something about developing a real heart for lost people (9:1-5).  
• We will work through issues such as, "Can God’s covenant promises fail?” (9:6-8). 
• A major matter we need to settle in our minds is this:  “Is God unfair by choosing some and by bypassing others in salvation?” (9:9ff).   

These are all matters dealt with in Romans 9. 

Paul asserts that God is utterly able to keep His people. 

• But what about Israel, the Jews as a whole?  
• Howcome the nation to which   God has shown so much favour has gone so horribly astray? 
• Why have they, by and large, not embraced Jesus the Jewish Messiah?

In fact, hasn’t this been a longstanding problem regarding national Israel?   The OT prophets had a similar problem in this regard. God promised Abraham to be the God of his descendants forever! However, many of Abraham’s offspring became faithless. What offspring is he referring to?  God promised Abraham that He would settle his descendants in a promised land – Canaan, forever, but the truth is that Israel could never really keep their country’s boundaries due to compromise.

And what about David? God promised David that he would never fail to have one of His offspring reign on His throne forever (e.g. Psalm 132:11,12.)  But then came the big split between Northern and Southern kingdom following Solomon’s death, and then the eventual collapse and exile of  both kingdom.   

Have God’s promises failed? 

You hear prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and some of the minor prophets like Habakkuk complaining, "How can God punish us by using our enemies?” 

Have God’s promises failed?  

The answer is this: “No, God’s promises have not failed. They are all answered in Jesus Christ the Messiah; and the question of the promised  land is all settled  in looking for that  better country and city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”(Hebr.11:10). This is the  ultimate homeland  for every true believer. 

That being said,  this doesn’t lessen Paul’s agony as He thinks of His own people. May this burden be multiplied to us. Paul says, 

“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. (9:1-3)

O the love Paul has for his people. He is so much for them, that he somehow wished that he could take their place as the accursed of God - for this is what they are without Christ – ACCURSED!  He wished that they might occupy his place in Christ and he theirs!

Paul of course knows that this is hypothetical.  He knows that this cannot happen. He cannot take their place, but it does show the intensity of his love for His own people – a people with unsurpassed favour from God. Again, I refer you to  a list of  eight remarkable privileges the Israelites were granted  in 9:4-5:

• Adoption: Chosen as God's special children.
• Glory: Experiencing the visible presence of God (the Shekinah).
• The covenants: The binding promises God made to their ancestors.
• The Law: Receiving God's righteous standard at Sinai.
• The Worship: The sacrificial system designed to approach God.
• The Promises: Prophecies pointing to the Messiah.
• The Patriarchs: Descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• The Messiah: Jesus Christ, who came from their physical lineage.

…but  they  are lost because they have failed to embrace the Messiah whom God has sent as the ONLY means of salvation. And because  of  THAT Paul's heart is in agony. 

Oh, for a heart like Paul. How did he get that heart?  

He certainly had received apostolic giftings  and  privileges, along with much suffering. But in all this Paul has experienced so much love and grace and mercy from God, that it has become a part of his being.  That is the wonderful thing about growing in grace. And the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ overflows in him, in particular for his people. And so he loves them, and he prays for them, so much that we find him repeating this desire  in Romans 10:1 “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.”

Where do we begin to have such a heart? 

• We must go to God and ask Him to increase and deepen our desire for the salvation of our countrymen.  
• We must deepen that desire as we learn this from the Bible, as we learn from Jesus Himself, and as we learn from the apostle Paul, who himself followed Christ.

APPLICATION

• Pray  for South Africa; pray for your own people groups. 
• South Africa has had a strong Christian heritage, but one is afraid  that we have lost  our first love. We pride ourselves in Christian things  and culture, but our love for  God Himself is dim.
• We need to  develop a heart for those thousands and thousands of  professing Christians who warm the benches of our churches, but who have no living and real attachment to Christ; they are convinced but not converted. Don’t lose your heart for the nominal Christian. I have often thought that the church must get saved first! The central warning of this passage is that spiritual privilege does not guarantee salvation. A life can be filled with every religious, cultural, and moral advantage, but if it lacks personal faith in Jesus Christ, it ultimately misses the mark. The tragedy of Israel serves as an enduring reminder that heritage and outward participation cannot replace the inward reality of knowing the Messiah.

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] See also Gal 3:6; The nature of Abraham’s faith is discussed in Hebr. 11:8-10;17-19.

 

[2] https://graceandtruth.org.il/en/

ROMANS 8:33 -39 “WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF JESUS”?

 

Romans 8:31 is one of the most comforting verses in the Bible: “If God is for us who can be against us”?   It is a powerful statement on Christian assurance.

Why do we need assurance? 

We need assurance when we are unsure or insecure. Insecurity is a huge human problem. A massive industry has been spawned to help our insecurity or lack of assurance. 

Why?

The Bible says that our identity is derived from God, who has created us in His image (Genesis 1&2). Furthermore, the Bible says that the fall of man into sin (Genesis 3) has severed mankind from their Creator. Like Cain  we have become restless wanderers (Genesis 4). We have become unsure of ourselves, because our true identity, our true purpose, our  true origin is obscured.  We are no longer sure who we are.  Our soul (which is a God-shaped vacuum) cries out, Who am I? What am I here for? Where am I going?  

Our fallenness generally causes us to look for answers in the wrong areas, and while we may find temporary relief in that guru’s teaching, or in various wellness strategies, and in various therapies, the ultimate questions won’t leave us alone. Augustine (AD 354-430)   the North African Church father correctly  concluded , “Oh Lord our hearts are restless until they are found in you[1].”

Ultimate assurance can only come from God, the One who  has made you and I. 

Following Paul’s great exposition on the nature of the fall and the effects of sin upon us (that which produces disconnectedness and ultimately lack of assurance / lack of hope/ purpose), he provides us with the remedy - the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel restores assurance, by restoring us to a God centered view of life.  This is a process called sanctification.  

One great reason (there are others) why many Christians lack assurance is that they do not take the Bible, and the gospel in particular,  to heart. Their  hearts may be saved, but the mind is not engaged, and the  soul is not fed on the richest of foods. They do not meditate on  the  precepts of Scripture. They have not learned to preach the gospel to themselves. The gospel takes us into the arms of  Jesus, and once you are with Jesus, you are safe!  His presence and  His Word is  a balm to our soul.  

If you want to learn about Christian assurance get to terms with Romans 8.  Romans  8:31-39 in particular   is  very affirming.   In summary we learn: 

i.                         8:31 Who can be against  God’s people?  ANSWER: No conceivable power can stand against God

ii.                       8:32 If God gave us His very best – Christ (Is that enough?)  ANSWER: will He not give us all things?  

iii.                    8:33,34 Who can bring any charge against, or condemn God’s people: ANSWER – If you are justified by God no one can bring any charge against you. 

iv.                    8:35-39 Who can separate a believer from the love of Christ? ANSWER: “nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”. (repeated in 8:39)

By means of these 4 questions and affirmations Paul summarizes the main teachings of his letter and in so doing he is dealing with the doctrine of assurance of salvation.  

If  Romans 8 is that great majestic mountain, called Assurance, then 8:31-40 is the mountain peak.

THE 4TH QUESTION CONSIDERED: WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST?

It is useful to consider the times in which this letter was written. The letter was written in AD 57.  Very soon, in AD 64 (7 years later) these Roman Christians were going to face a severe persecution under the Roman emperor Nero.  

In AD 64 Rome suffered a terrible fire that burned for six days and seven nights, destroying  almost three quarters of the city.  Rome then was densely populated and not prepared to effectively deal with large scale disasters, including fires. Such an event was inevitable. Rumour also had it that Nero may have set fire to the city, because he wanted to rebuild the city.    According to Tacitus[2], a Roman historian, Nero then blamed the Christian community for the fire. This began the first large scale persecution of the Roman state against Christians.  Many Christians were  put to death in the most horrific manner, and even for the amusement of the citizens of Rome.  Their dead bodies were covered in pitch and used as human torches.

You will appreciate that people who suffer such trials need strong assurance that God indeed loves them!

3  ASSURANCES  ABOUT THE LOVE OF GOD IN TIMES OF TRIAL

1.       8:35 No tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword will separate us from the love of Christ.

The emphasis here (and in the rest of the text) is on Christ’s love (which is synonymous with God’s love – cf.  8:31,32) for His people.   Truly, if our assurance, or our faith depended on our love to Christ, I should very much doubt whether I could withstand any of those circumstances described here. I remind you that Peter did not manage to withstand the temptation to disown Christ, while He was interrogated by the Sanhedrin (Jn 18:15ff).To his credit, it grieved him bitterly (Matt 26:75; Lk. 22:62; Mk 14:72), and Jesus spend good time with Peter in John 21 to reassure  Peter of His love for him. 

In fact, none of the disciples stood up for Jesus when He was on trial. They all had deserted Him Christ in His hour of trial (Matt. 26:56). But Jesus loved them to the end. 

Paul experienced desertion – see 2 Timothy 4:16. In response to strong opposition to the gospel, probably in Ephesus, Paul says, “At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me… but the Lord stood by me and strengthened me…”.  At that time  Paul received an inner assurance that His Lord was with him in this forsaken moment.

The point is this. We are being kept by virtue of His love for us, and on the basis of this fact we continue; it is on the basis of Christ’s love for us that we are secure.  Nothing   can separate Christ’s sheep from His love (see John 10:27-30 & 17:12). His keeping power is real.     

Paul reminds us here of seven difficult situations in which Christ's love is sufficient to keep us:  tribulation (outward pressures), distress or inner turmoil (inward pressures); persecution; famine, nakedness, danger, sword. Paul himself knew about all these experiences. For a catalogue of his sufferings see 2 Corinthians 11:23ff. 

According to early Christian tradition and historical records, Paul was killed by beheading in Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero around AD 64.  It is this same Paul that says that none of these things can separate us from the love of God. Even death, our worst enemy cannot do that.  Death will usher the believer into God’s presence. Christ – His love - is ours in life and death. That is the first thing that Paul wants us to understand.

2.           8:36 -37 Christians are more than conquerors in all these things

We begin with 8:36 : “for His sake we are being put to death all day long. Like sheep we are being led to the slaughter."  This is a quotation from Psalm 44:22. This Psalm reminds us that God’s people always have suffered much in every generation.  When Paul wrote in AD 57 this would soon (i.e.  within 7 years) be true of himself and many Christians he was writing to.

I remind you that persecution with death as a consequence is not a past thing for most Christians in our world. According to Open Doors[3], a Christian monitor of current persecution, 1 in 7 Christians experience persecution in the world.1 in 5 Christians in Africa experience persecution!  North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan and Eritrea are the top 5 persecutors of Christians. Nigeria is #7. Five of 10 persecuting nations are on African soil!  Remember your brothers and sisters who are currently sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings.

Back to Paul. He had been involved in the persecution of Christians. When the ascended Lord Jesus had met him on the road to Damascus, He did not say, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute my Christian people? “He said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"  The persecution of believers was ultimately a persecution of Christ. Believers are in Christ and therefore they are united to Him. Their sufferings are His sufferings, and His sufferings are our sufferings. Suffering persecution is a result of our union with Christ. Even in countries like ours where we are not physically killed, we suffer when we stand for the truth as it is in Jesus. In my calling as a pastor I  have experienced that, and have suffered in my soul on account of  numerous hard-hearted men and women. 

Be that as it may.  Paul wants us  to know that  in our resisting of sin and temptation and of many adversaries  we are conquerors, in fact,  MORE than conquerors. 

We are not simply survivors.  We are more than conquerors.

Polycarp (69 – 155 AD) the  bishop of Smyrna (now Izmir in Turkey), had been a disciple of the apostle John. In the reign of the Roman Caesar Marcus Aurelius he was arrested for being a Christian.  He was 86 years old. The Roman officials urged him to save his life by denying Christ and confessing Caesar as god. He famously replied, "Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" He was sentenced to be burned. His death and the surrounding circumstances were a remarkable testimony. His was the death of more than a conqueror.  Like the martyr Stephen in Acts 7 he exhibited the glory of God in death.  It is not  his remarkable courage  in the face of death;  he was  a man in God’s hand and the grace of God worked in His trial. Nothing separated him from the love of Jesus. In death he conquered the grave. He is with Jesus. 

It is true that not every person responds like this.  We know people who have gone through terrible trials, and these trials have made them bitter, angry and cynical.  Trials do not always make us better people. But here is the assurance - for those who rest in Christ, and who keep His word – those He will also keep from (or in)  the hour of trial (Revelation 3:10 – Philadelphia).  He makes them more than conquerors.

3.        8:37-39: Not death nor life, not angels nor rulers etc. can separate us from God’s love. 

No time bound event (death/life), no heavenly powers (angels/rulers/things present/ things to come/ powers) no distance (height/depth), nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God, which is ours in Jesus Christ.  He repeats what he has said before,  in 8:35. Paul expresses here a strong, unshakable confidence in Christ’s love. He says, “I am sure of it”!  

Dear Christian, 

The Word of God teaches us that there is more to life than meets the eye. 

Looking at life at face value can be intimidating, but it is not reality. Looking at life through the lens of Scripture is reality.  The book of Job confirms that. The book of Daniel and Ezekiel and the book of Revelation confirm that. Jesus confirms that in the gospels.   

How do you evaluate reality - your life events?  A pastor once he talked to a man, and he wanted to see if he had any spiritual realities. They were sitting in a church building.  He asked him:  "What you see in this room?" The man said, "I see hymnals, pews, a communion table, a pulpit." 

"What else do you see?" "I see an organ, windows, a balcony." The pastor asked, "Is that all you see?" And the man said "Yes!".  The pastor said, said, "I’ll tell you what I see. I see powers and principalities and forces in high places at work.  And I see a man  not at peace with his realities..."  In so doing he was reminding the man that there are greater realities at work – and they are as real as the chair you’re sitting on! Many things we do not see do in fact exist.    God's love exists. And this love is able to keep you in all situations, even worst case scenarios, such as Polycarp experienced.  Of that you may be sure.

Dear believer, may God with the help of His Word and the Holy Spirit give you new  eyes to see true reality. That will provide you with a new level of assurance, which you shall need as you face your unique trials in the world. May your confidence be rooted in the love of Christ for you. May you be helped by the Holy Spirit Himself as you look to Jesus. 

Rest in Him.  

Let Him be your ultimate assurance. Amen

 

---

[1] Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, 1,1.5

[2] Publius Cornelius Tacitus,( c. AD 56 – c. 120) was a Roman historian and politician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. SOURCE – Wikipedia

[3] https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/

Romans 8:31,32: “IF GOD IS FOR US , WHO CAN BE AGAINST US ?”

 

We now approach the end of Paul’s great exposition on the nature of the doctrine of our salvation, which he began in Romans 1:16.  

In  Romans 9-11  Paul will  address the matter  of the position of the Jews  in the light of this  doctrine, and in Romans 12-16  Paul will  make some  practical applications in the light  of this doctrine i.e.  How then shall we live?

Paul wrote this letter with a very practical and pastoral purpose in mind. He wanted to help the Christians in Rome to understand the profound nature of their salvation.  

A QUICK REVISION OF WHAT WE HAVE COVERED SO FAR IN ROMANS 

• He begins with a thesis statement in 1:16,17 - a statement of confidence in the saving power of the gospel – the good news that God takes care of our  sin through  His Son Jesus Christ.  
• From there he explains why God’s wrath is towards mankind in 1:18- 3:20 is so profound. He shows that the whole world (Jew and Gentile) is guilty of sin. 
• He then makes known the answer to that dilemma: Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God (Rom.3:21-31).  Christ alone can justify us- make us righteous-  in the eyes of a holy God!  To achieve that, God Himself must take the initiative to justify us. We cannot do that.   
• Paul illustrates this by using the example of Abraham (Rom 4) who is the father of the Jews. How did Abraham become a righteous man in the eyes of God?  How was he justified?  It began when Abraham was sovereignly  called by God in Genesis 12. He believed God and the promises of God that foreshadowed Christ, so that Jesus could say in John 8:56, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad" .  
• Believing in God and His promises in Christ produces the peace with God which comes through faith alone in Christ alone (5:1-12). 
• Then in Rom. 5:12-21 Paul explains the nature and pervasiveness of sin which came through Adam and the grace which comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. 
• In Romans 6   Paul addresses some false conclusions that people come to concerning sin and grace. We cannot sin to make grace look better.  
• In 7: 1-6 the purpose of the law is explained. The law defines sin, but law-keeping itself can and will not save us. We MUST appeal to Christ. The struggle with sin is real, and only by looking to Jesus Christ can we deal with the pervasive problem of sin.  
• In Romans 8 Paul then deals with the great theme of Christian assurance: How do I know that I am truly saved? The chapter begins with this assertion: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” How do we know this? The Holy Spirit (mentioned 20 times in this chapter) helps us.  Paul says that the Holy Spirit confirms this in our spirits, giving us an inner assurance that we are the adopted children of God (8:2-16).
• In 8:18 Paul addresses the problem of suffering. Suffering is one of the greatest temptations to our faith. It easily robs us of our assurance.   How can we stay focused in the midst of suffering?  Paul says, (i) Through considering our heavenly future (8:18-25) (ii) Through the help of the Holy Spirit (8:26,27) and (iii) by understanding that our salvation is rooted in God’s doing. God is the one who saves from first to last - past, present and future (8:28-30). He predestines, calls, justifies and glorifies. Our salvation is all of God!

ROMANS 8:31-39

In 8:31-39 we come to the conclusion of the matter - a summary to the whole letter so far. The summary is provided in the form of 5 questions leading to one affirmation: 

If God is for us who can be against us?  

The  5 questions  are introduced by this leading question: "What shall we say to these things"?  

• Firstly, “If God is for us, who can be against us”? 
• Secondly, “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?” 
• Thirdly, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” 
• Fourthly, “Who is to condemn?”  
• Fifthly, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ…?”

Following these 5 questions, Paul,  in the last three verses (8:37-39) asserts this glorious truth:  

All true believers will ultimately persevere ! 

“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 summary we learn:  

• 8:31 No conceivable power can stand against God
• 8:32 If God gave us His very best - Christ, will He not give us all things?   
• 8:33,34 No one can bring any charge   against or condemn God’s people. 
• 8:35 Nothing at all can separate a believer from the love of Christ. This glorious assertion is repeated in 8:39 :  “nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

This is one great and powerful statement on Christian assurance –  This is how we may know that we have a right standing with God. 

If  Romans  8 is that great majestic mountain, called Assurance, then 8:31-40 is the mountain peak. 

This we  shall consider now  and  we will only deal with 8:31,32

ROMANS  8:31,32

1.       8:31 No conceivable power can stand against God!

When Paul asks, "If God is for us, who can be against us?", he is not saying that we have no troubles, no opposition and no enemies. In fact, Romans 8 has had a lot to say about Christian suffering.  The list in 8:35-36 leaves us in no doubt about that.

The question is this: Can our salvation hold up under these things? 

• Is there someone or something out there that  can  make us loose our salvation? 
• Is there someone or something out there that can undo the work of Christ on the cross for His people? 

Paul says, NO! No enemy can be against us when God is for us.  And since God is for us, to use the words of  8:28, then it stands to reason that all things work together for our ultimate good, even those things which our enemies  and Satan intend for our harm.

The God who foreknows, predestines, calls, justifies, and glorifies His people, He is for His people.   

And therefore, in ALL THINGS He is the Sovereign God who rules and overrules all things for the sake of His people. He is   their faithful God. He is the God whose love is steadfast.  “Righteousness and justice are the FOUNDATION of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.” (Psalm 89:14). “With Him there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17).

• He is the God who said to Isaiah in 46:10,11b, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
• He is the God who holds the hearts of all the kings of the earth in His hands: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever He will (Prov. 21:1).  He does this ultimately for the sake of His people. He does it for the suffering church in Iran and in the Ukraine and in China and in North Korea and in northern Nigeria and in the entire African Sahel region.  The Ayatollahs, Kim Jong Un of North Korea, Boko Haram of Nigeria are on a long leash, while the sovereign God is purifying His church and making the church ready for His presence.
• He  is the God who in Daniel 4:34-35 turned the heart   of that wicked Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar  to  worship him : “I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honoured him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”.  
• He is the God who hardened the heart of the Egyptian Pharaoh (Ex. 4:21;7:3,13,14 etc.). 
• He is the God who hands people over when they persist in their rebellious ways (Rom.1:24,26,28)
• He is the God of whom David said in 1 Chronicles 29:11-12: “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.    
• He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, weak and fallible in themselves, but mighty in His hand. He is the God of Daniel and of all the prophets. He is the God who called fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James and John and a tax collector called Levi (Matthew) and sceptics like Nathanael and doubters like Thomas    to become His apostles. Last of all He also called a violent persecutor named Saul to become His apostolic servant to the gentile nations (Acts 9).
• He is the God that opened the eyes of 3000 on the day of Pentecost (2:41). 
• He is the God that enabled a lame beggar to leap and praise God (Acts 3:8); 
• He is the God that made Samaritans turn in great numbers to Him (Acts 8:25). 
• An Ethiopian is converted  as God directs Philip to him (Acts 8:26-40);  
• A Roman centurion  called Cornelius heard the call of God (Acts10); 
• the  heart of Lydia was opened by God  (Acts 16:14,15) and  also that of  the Philippian jailer and his entire family (Acts 16:30-34); 
• Thousands were converted by the power of God  in the various apostolic journeys  undertaken by Peter and Paul and Barnabas  and  their many associates. Churches were planted everywhere. God was in it all, even in the midst of ridicule, rejection, hostility, being disliked, and being killed. 
• Stephen, being stoned by a mob saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55,56). Many early witnesses, including most of the apostles died in His service, they were ultimately not lost to death. They were immediately delivered into the hands of their Saviour, for to depart is to be with Christ, (which) is far better” (Phil.1:23).   
• Christians  must  be helped to think like  Hezekiah in 2 Chron. 32:7ff  when  he encouraged his people  with these words in the face of an overwhelming enemy :  "Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there is one greater with us than with them . . . with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles". 

No conceivable power can stand against God! If God is for us, who can be against us?

2.       8:32 If God gave us His very best -  Jesus Christ, will He not give us all things?  

"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?”  The second point is powerful. God gave us His very best – His beloved Son (John 3:16). 

How on earth will He then deny you lesser things?   

If God loves you so much that He did not spare to give you His own Son for your sin,  then  how can you doubt that God’s love and providential care may be taken away from you in lesser matters?

·    Are you getting the picture?  What shall we say then? If God is so much for you, who can be against you?  You know the answer! Doesn’t this strengthen your faith with great assurance dear believer? And if you are not  a believer yet- I call you NOW to stop doubting and believe the gospel.

We will end here for now, and pick up  Romans 8: 33ff,  God-willing  on the next Lord’s day.