Romans 8:28-39
Across the river in Albertville, France (where I have gone to study French) there is an old chateau that was one of the places pilgrims would stay on their medieval pilgrimages. On Bastille Day, July 14, they have a big fireworks display that shoots up in the sky from this medieval chateau.
We would take a blanket and lie on the bank of the river and look up the hill to the chateau and wait. As it got darker and darker, anticipation would build and then there would be a bang as the first rocket was fired, shooting up into the sky and then exploding in a burst of color. A giant flower of white or red or green or blue. This would be followed by more and more rockets. Some sizzled, some had loud bursts of sound at the end, some had little wiggling displays. Sometimes there would be two or three or even four bursts at the same time.
There would be a pause and someone might say, âIs it over?â But those with experience knew it was not yet over. At the end the sky was filled with rockets bursting and loud booms. The sky was alive with color and sound and it went on and on and on and then there was silence. That was the end of the display and people along the river clapped and began to gather their blankets and chairs and head back home.
Fireworks displays are meant to impress and people are meant to ooh and aah and clap as the fireworks explode. It takes away from the experience to analyze each firework as it shoots up in the sky and explodes.
Imagine sitting next to two people at such a display and listening to them analyze what you are seeing.
That was a 5 second fuse using black powder and chlorates.
No, I think it was nitrates. The explosion wasnât big enough to be chlorates.
Well, we choose to disagree. But then that was a great strontium/copper combination with two second multi-stage barium flakes.
It is wonderful that they know so much but they are missing the point. The point is not to dissect every chemical reaction taking place. The point is to ooh and aah and clap and cheer.
The end of chapter 8 of Paulâs letter to Rome is like the grand finale of a fireworks display and it is possible to focus on each word and argue over the theological nuances, but to do that is to completely miss the point. We are meant to ooh and aah at the wonder of it all.
For eight chapters Paul has been discussing humanly insolvable problems and then shooting up a firework rocket to proclaim the good news that God has done what we could not do. For eight chapters Paul has been shooting off these rockets of good news and now as he comes to the end of his discussion, he is caught up in a celebration of all God has done and shoots off multiple rockets, one after the other so that we are overwhelmed by the wonder of it all.
Today will be the last in our series of sermons on Romans until next January when we will pick up with chapter 9. Romans 9-11 deals with salvation for the Jews and then 12-16 deals with practical issues.
So in this last sermon on Romans this year, I want to approach the text with a discussion of the text that will, hopefully, prepare us for a celebration of the text next week. This morning we will look at the chemical composition of the firework rockets and then next week come to ooh and aah at the wonder of it all.
Next Sunday there will be no sermon. We will let the text speak for itself. We may have short exhortations, but the focus will be on celebrating what God has done and giving him the praise that he deserves.
Letâs start breaking down this passage.
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. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
We looked at verse 28 last week.
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.
All things work for the good of those who love God and have been called according to his purpose. All things work for good, not because of our efforts, but because of what God does for us with his creativity, power and love. All things God works for the good but what is the most good, the best of all the good God has worked? Of all the good things God has done, what stands at the top of the list?
Paul begins this fireworks bonanza with a one verse summary of all he has written thus far.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
People get lost in the theology of this verse and there is a lot of debate about foreknowledge and predestination. Do we choose to follow God with our free will or are we given grace to make a decision we are unable to make with our sinful, human nature? Are some people chosen and others rejected even before they are born?
I do not want to get stuck in this swamp. Salvation is a huge mystery, one of the many mysteries in Christian faith. My personal view is that because it is such a mystery we will never understand it and every theological attempt to understand it will fail at one point or another. There are conflicting truths, all of which are true. God is sovereign and not surprised by any of the events of life. We are predestined to follow God. We have a free will and can exercise that will to choose to follow God or to reject his offer of salvation. Our minds are limited and we cannot understand how all these things can be true, but the truth is more complex than our limited minds so we have to be content with mystery.
In order to enjoy the fireworks, I encourage you to let go of whatever theological system you were taught and simply marvel at the work of God in our lives.
David wrote in Psalm 139:16
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my motherâs womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
If you examine this text, there are things that are not physiologically true. But David was not writing a medical text, he was expressing glorious truths. It is in this sense we need to read Paulâs celebratory climax to his theology in Romans.
God chose us! Thatâs the glorious point!
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30
God chose us to become like Jesus. Firstborn does not mean Jesus was the first child of God, as Mormons believe. Jesus was with the Holy Spirit and the Father before creation.
Jesus as the firstborn means that Jesus was the first to break the power of death and blaze the trail that leads us to intimacy with God. We are the brothers and sisters of Jesus in the sense that he set the way for us.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
We were predestined. In a great mystery, before we exercised our free will, God chose us. Now you can get hung up on the theology of this, but as I have said, you miss the point. God chose us. God who preexisted creation, God who has all power, who holds the universe together in his hand, who created the forces of nature that astonish us with their precision and power, who created all the varieties of flowers and insects and birds and fish we see… Think of God in any way you can that somewhat approaches the majesty and wonder of who God is and it is this God who chose us. That is the point Paul is making. The God of supernovas, black holes, roses and spider webs chose us.
And then when we were predestined, we were called. We received from God the grace to open our mind and heart to him. When we moved toward God, he made us acceptable. God gave to us the righteousness that was the righteousness of Jesus. We became whole in his eyes, as I described it last week. And then finally Paul says those he justified, he also glorified.
In the timelessness of God, we move from the first thought God had about us all the way to our living with him in the intimacy of heaven.
This is what Paul says God has worked for good in our lives. And ten rockets shoot up in the sky in celebration of the marvelous work of God.
Are the fireworks over? Not yet. Paul sends up a rocket that asks:
What, then, shall we say in response to this?
Such a wonderful work of God demands a response. But Paul is not thinking of our saying thank you because he is not yet finished. This firework rocket continues with five more bursts, five questions.
If God is for us, who can be against us?
If God is for us. Remember who God is. It is the preexisting God Paul is referring to and if the preexisting God is for you and you are fearful of anything, it is clear that you do not really know who God is or do not believe he really is for you.
If you step into a pickup basketball game at RAS, how comforting would it be to know that one of the players on your team played professional basketball? If you are walking down a city street at night, how comforting would it be to have a nine black belt Taekwondo expert walking next to you? When the biggest, strongest, most talented person is on your side, who can stand against you?
So if God is for us, who can be against us? Created beings cannot stand up against their creator who has power to send them back to the nothingness from which he created them. There is no one who can rival Godâs power. The devil has already been defeated. The end is not in question. It is only because of free will that the devil is able to continue to create so much trouble. If God is for us, who can be against us?
The rocket explodes with a second question:
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us allâhow will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Imagine that you walk into a jewelry store to buy a ring for the woman you want to marry. You donât have much money and even the cheapest diamond rings are too expensive. But just as you are about to walk out the store, the owner comes over and tells you he just received a beautiful diamond worth 1,000,000 Euros and he wants you to have it to give to your fiancee. No conditions, just a free gift. He picks the diamond out of the safe and hands it to you.
You hold the diamond in your hand and then think of giving it to your fiancee. And so you ask, with great humility, if he has one of those cardboard boxes jewelry is put into. If he has given you this million euro diamond, do you think he would give you this one euro box? And if you asked if it could be gift wrapped, donât you think he would give this to you? And if you asked for a small plastic sack to carry the diamond in, wouldnât he give you this as well?
If he has given you such a valuable diamond, why would he not give you all the lesser, things that come with it?
God, 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?
God gave us Jesus to die for us and now all of Godâs resources are at our disposal. The Holy Spirit lives in us, guaranteeing our salvation and working to transform us into holy beings. God provides for us what we need. God has promised never to leave us or forsake us. God graciously gives us all things.
The rocket explodes with a third question:
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?
It is not that there is a lack of those wanting to bring charges against the chosen of God. The devil leads the way making accusations about our unfitness to be Christian, our inadequacy as Christians, our failures as Christians. Our conscience accuses us. There may be others who would stand and bring charges against us.
The point is that no one bringing charges against us has a chance because
It is God who justifies.
Yes, I am a sinner. Yes, I do not deserve to be saved. Yes, I fail as a Christian to live as I ought. This is all true but it is God who justifies. It is God who has made me right in his eyes. And because God has made me right in his eyes, there is no charge that can stand against me.
Question number four bursts out.
Who is he that condemns?
This is like the last question except that it carries the future tense in the Greek. Who will condemn us? Who will pass judgement against us. Like the last question, it presupposes being in a court of law and once again there is great news. We stand in front of God, our judge, with the devil as the prosecuting attorney but we have Jesus as our defense attorney.
Christ Jesus, who diedâmore than that, who was raised to lifeâis at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
We enter into court with Jesus as our advocate. Jesus is the one who pleads our case. Here in Morocco it is helpful to enter into court with a friend who has power and influence. In our case, Jesus who pleads our case for us sits at the right hand of God.
Paul wrote at the beginning of this chapter
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
The rocket explodes with its final burst, question number five:
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:
âFor your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.â
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Jesus was not dragged to the cross as sheep are dragged each Eid al Kabir to be slaughtered. Jesus went voluntarily to the cross because of his love for us. They nailed his hands and feet to the cross but I love this line from Michael Cardâs song Why.
And why did they nail His feet and hands?
When his love would have held Him there.
It is the love of Christ that took Jesus from heaven to earth to be born as a human. It is the love of Christ that led him to give up his heavenly privileges to suffer as we suffer. It is the love of Christ that led him to die in our place.
So what can separate us from a love this powerful?
Trouble or hardship or persecution? These are the things that a hostile and ungodly world sends our way. Is there anything they can do that will separate us from the love of Christ? We may suffer but this does not remove the love of Christ from us.
Famine or nakedness? No matter how poor we are, how little we have to eat, how little we have to provide for lifeâs basic necessities, can any of these separate us from the love of Christ?
Danger or sword? If I am robbed on the road or killed as a martyr for Jesus, can this separate us from the love of Christ?
In This Holy Seed, a history of Christianity in North Africa in the early centuries of the church, there is this quote from Augustine, a Berber from what is today Algeria.
A Christian need never fear persecution. Even if the persecutor is sharpening his razor, Augustine remarks with some humor, he can only shave off your superfluous hair: âSo whatever an angry man in power can take from you, count only among your superfluities.â âLet him take your worldly goods, your flocks, your lands! Yes even this life itself, to those whose thoughts are of another life, this present life, I say, may be reckoned among the things superfluous … This powerful enemy, what has he taken away? What great thing has he taken away? That which a thief or a housebreaker can take! In his utmost rage he can but take what a robber would take. Even if he should have license given to him of the slaying of the body, what does he take away but what the robber can take? I did him too much honor when I said âa robberâ. For whoever or whatever the robber may be, he is at least a man. He takes from you what a fever, or an adder, or a poisonous mushroom can take. Here lies the whole power of the rage of men, to do what a mushroom can!â
The world has no power over us to do us harm. All the world can do to us is what a robber or a fever or snake or mushroom can do. Nothing in this world can separate us from the love of Christ. There is no hardship, no difficulty that can separate us from the love of Christ.
In all these things: poverty, danger, persecution, hunger, death, we are undefeated. From the worldâs perspective we may have lost, but from the kingdom of Godâs perspective, we have not lost anything we would not lose eventually anyway. Someone may kill me when I am 35 years old but I was going to die anyway. Someone may take my possessions, but I was going to leave them behind anyway when I died my physical death.
We are more than conquerors because nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. What most matters can not be taken.
And now Paul comes to his climax. The fireworks have been spectacular. It is difficult to imagine anything better can come but now Paul shoots off all his rockets and the air is full of the wonder and glory of what he has to say.
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.
Paul was beheaded with a sword. Peter was crucified hanging upside down. All the disciples except for John were martyred for their faith in Jesus and where are they today? Are they separated from God? Are they regretting anything they left behind? Hebrews 12 says we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who died their physical death and are now in heaven.
Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Words fail me. I have struggled in this sermon to try to express the wonder of this finale to Paulâs theology in Romans.
What I would like for us is to come next week ready to ooh and aah at this passage. In the bulletin are some highlights from Paulâs teaching in Romans. If you can read the whole eight chapters this week, that would be great. If not, just read and meditate on these passages printed in the bulletin, including todayâs text.
Take time each day to read through Romans. Read through the verses in the bulletin. Listen to music that celebrates the themes of Romans. Prepare for a service of worship that will be an offering to God.
Come ready next week to celebrate, to offer to God our gratitude and thanksgiving for his love for us.
