Romans 8:31-39Pastor Lori Broschat

Isaiah 50:4-11October 16, 2016

Romans 8:31-39Pastor Lori Broschat

FIVE MINUTES LONGER

At the end of World War II, Winston Churchill was attending a dinner when a man stood up and said, “At the Battle of the Bulge we had evidence that the British soldiers were braver than the Nazi soldiers. The Battle of the Bulge proved that.” When Churchill got up to speak he said, “That’s not true. The Nazi soldiers were just as brave as the British soldiers. But the British soldiers were brave for five minutes longer.”

What might you gain, what might you learn if you were brave for just five minutes longer? Some of you are very brave at this point in your lives, having survived many difficult times already. Some of you are at the place where five minutes can be used for rest or to catch your breath in a busy day. You don’t worry so much about bravery, you’re trying to practice good time management!

We are all alike in that we have fears from time to time, depending on our circumstances, of course. What frightens me may not frighten you, although some fears or concerns are probably universal. If we have fear in regard to our relationship with God, those fears should be quickly addressed and resolved or we lose time we could be spending with Him in peace and confidence.

Even of believers it is true that “conscience does make cowards of us all,” in the sense that we are made fearful and despondent and ashamed as we remember our failures and faults and sins; but if God has declared that we belong to Him, and if He has pronounced us just, what accusation need be feared?[1]

And yet, Paul felt compelled to address the idea that the world might still try to condemn us. “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect people? It is God who acquits them. Who is going to convict them? It is Christ Jesus who died, even more, who was raised, and who also is at God’s right side. It is Christ Jesus who also pleads our case for us.” There are two ways to interpret these verses.

The first is to look at the statement that God is the one who justifies or acquits us. If God has declared us not guilty, then no power in the world can bring any charge against us. Legally, yes, we can still face accusation, but not even conviction for a crime can change our status with God. Likewise, it is Christ who has risen from the dead and intercedes for us, so we do not have to provide our own defense against accusations.

The other way to look at it is that since God has acquitted us, who can condemn us? The answer is Jesus, who died and was raised and sits at God’s right hand to intercede for us. In other words, Christ has the right to condemn, the only one with the right to do so, and yet because of what He endured for our sake, He will not condemn us, for to do so would render His death in vain. Truly, on the basis of Christ’s death we have been cleared of all charges. The symbol of love is not a heart, but a cross.

What shall we say? What can we say? “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The confidence expressed by Paul is as rational as it is bold. We’ve already heard from Paul that we are under no condemnation from God because of our belief in Christ. When you really think about it, what do we ever have to fear when we have God on our side? Why do we even begin to doubt when trouble comes, and why do we allow fear to creep in and become our master? We are God’s people.

These promise are ancient beliefs. They were thousands of years ago, hundreds of years before Christ, and yet they still apply to us. Because of our obedience we are covered by God’s love and protection. No one can oppose us, no one can accuse us, and no one can condemn us. Isaiah wrote, “He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty?”

Such certainty can only come from experience, from having seen the demonstration of God’s goodness and help in the past. But what if that experience never happens? What if in your past there has been no sign of God in times of crisis? Or what about those times when it seems that those who disobey God have a better outcome than those who are faithful?

I experienced a night of sheer panic on a trip to Michigan with my daughter when she was about 16. I must first tell you that I am not a great navigator and this was pre-GPS. It was raining profusely, making my limited vision even worse, and we were lost. Not lost like we had left the state or anything, but lost within a few miles of where we wanted to be, which made it all the more frustrating.

I had foolishly driven onto a ferry which was more like a large raft, going across the lake to look for a restaurant, but as it turned out the little town we found had only residences and no amenities. From there we tried to go back to our hotel, but every exit I tried only took me farther away, and everywhere we stopped no one seemed to have any idea where I was trying to go.

I was frightened and exhausted and frustrated with myself and the whole situation. I prayed earnestly in the car, out loud, asking God to please get us to our destination. We did make it back to the hotel about five in the morning and fell into bed. I was separated from where I should have been by only a few miles, but I drove for nearly five hours trying to get there.

We need never have that reaction where God is concerned. He is always where we need Him to be, but that doesn’t stop us from relying on our own knowledge or strengths. One author from years ago said “I feel sorry for the Christian who doesn’t have something in the circumstances of his life that he wishes were not there.”

Commenting on Paul’s list of potential causes of our separation from God’s love, this author describes tribulation as “never a grand, highly welcomed event, but whatever it may be, whether exhausting, irritating, or simply causing some weakness, it is not able to ‘separate us from the love of Christ.’ Never allow tribulations or the ‘cares of this world’ to separate you from remembering that God loves you.”[2]

It could be that we are looking at this question from the wrong perspective. What if we accept the responsibility for the disconnection from God’s love? After all, God is not going to let go of the relationship. It’s possible, however, that we would let something so detrimental, so consequential to our lives can let us remove ourselves from God. That’s worth thinking about.

According to Paul, our current suffering cannot compare to our future glory. Suffering cannot do anything to us that would sever our relationship with God. Nothing can reduce our eternal life or lessen the power of the resurrection. No force of nature, element of disease, or power of human invention can take God away from us. Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.

We’ve all been separated from those we love by distance, by death, maybe even by silent anger or rejection. But nothing can separate us permanently from God. Sinfulness can’t do it. We may retain that sinful nature of the flesh, as Paul called it, even though we are meant to belong to the Spirit. We are in fact obligated to the Spirit of God. We owe it to God to put away sinfulness forever, for we have been given the freedom of life over death, salvation over sin.

What is it that causes you to fear or panic? I’ve shared how being lost affects me. Life is always ready to hand us opportunities to overcome fear. Maybe the latest creepy clown sightings are enough for you. It could be the rise of terrorism or violence. Maybe economic downturn is your weakness. For some it may be illness or loneliness or unresolved conflict or guilt.

On the radio this week I heard about a high risk sex offender who lives near a school, and just one block down from this church. I don’t have a school-age child but things like that strike fear into my heart. There are lots of things in life like that, but as Paul stated earlier in this same chapter of Romans we have not been given a spirit of fear.

The Bible does not promise to make “copers” of us, but conquerors. It is not enough to muddle through life merely enduring our adversity. God does not promise to take us out of our afflictions, but He does promise that we will emerge from them victorious. We will be victorious in the sense that we will grow in our faith, hope and love. We will conquer in that we will become more like Christ due to our sufferings. We will conquer in that God’s purposes will be achieved through us and others will see the grace of God at work in our lives.[3]

Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let’s apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against; tribulation, suffering and persecution, are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. “We are more than conquerors through Him” “in all these things;” not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it.[4]

God is the Creator. He is also the sovereign ruler over all creation. Nothing happens but that which He has ordained to bring about His purpose. Nothing in all creation falls outside of His control, and thus we can be assured that His purposes will be achieved. We can have absolute confidence that we will be more than conquerors regardless of what might come our way. This confidence is the possession of every Christian, of everyone who is the object of God’s love.[5]

We are blessed by promises, but we are still to be active participants in our own lives, good or bad. We are to make choices, we are to make mistakes, we are to ask forgiveness, ask direction, and give thanks when the moments we suffer are ended and God reveals what strength we gained as a result. God requires persistence, perseverance, and patience in all that we do.

Which begs the question, what is the significance of our loyalty to God? By way of explanation let me say that whenever you see the White House portrayed in film or on television, the members of the administration say they serve at the pleasure of the president. They don’t have to agree with what he does or says and they don’t have to like it, but they serve because they have pledged to do so.

What pledge do we make to love God? Under what oath do we serve? In Scripture Jesus preached that we should not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else, but that we are to let our yes be yes and our no be no. Honesty is God’s pledge of obedience. Love is our declaration of loyalty to Him. Living out our faith in full view of the world is the test of our fidelity.

In all of that we remain recipients of the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. It’s not if God is for us but since He is, because He is that we have confidence in whatever comes. Five minutes of bravery is little to ask in return for the companionship and protection of the one who created all things.

1

[1]Erdman, Charles R., The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, pg. 95

[2]Chambers, Oswald, My Utmost for His Highest, May 19 entry

[3]

[4]Chambers, Oswald, My Utmost for His Highest, March 7 entry

[5]