When we cry out to God to save us from everything going wrong. Paul says: Remember!
Romans 8 is probably one of the New Testament passages with the most quotable quotes!
8:1 There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus
8:8 Those who live by the flesh cannot please God…
8:26 The Spirit Intercedes on our behalf
8:28 All things work for Good…
8:31 If God is for us, who can be against us?
8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of God?
8:37 We are more than conquerors…
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:38-39 NIV)
All of these look really great on a coffee cup! Or a bookmark or screensaver….
BUT…
The chapter as a whole, tells such an amazing story, that not one single verse in it can really capture the depth of the revelation that Paul is about to expose…
Let’s start with some context:
In the previous chapters, Paul has been explaining that we are all sinners, then why the law exists, then how we fumble under the law, and is saved by Grace and Grace alone. But now Paul is going into high gear and explaining how to stop sinning and more importantly, why trusting in God is actually not so complicated.
Let me draw you a picture!
Verse 1 starts with:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”
(Romans 8:1 NIV)
So regardless of what we have done, and in the future inadvertently do, Jesus has paid the price for our transgressions and subsequent consequences or punishment. That means, there is absolutely nothing that interferes with your choice. It doesn’t depend on your wealth, station or ability… So now we truly have a free choice:
Accept that payment or don’t.
Accepting the payment, however, has a requirement… we have to choose:
One the one hand
We can choose the worldly life
We can choose the FLESH
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires;”
(Romans 8:5 NIV)
We choose a path and a specific lifestyle. We make the choices according to our own needs, and our own wants and our own emotions… Unfortunately:
”Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”
(Romans 8:8 NIV)
OR
We can choose Christ’s Redemption.
We can choose God and be adopted as sons and daughters of the King of Kings, Creator of the Universe.
Your choices and decisions are directed by your new place and your new Identity – so we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us.
”For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”
(Romans 8:14 NIV)
Now, I can really expand for days on what this salvation means, for us, and our actions and decision-making. The Authority we gained and the change in our identity, but I want to get to the next really important point, so for the sake of expediency, I am going to assume that you, the reader, has decided to give your life to Christ… and we go from there.
I think we can readily accept that we do live in a broken world. Some of it is spiritual influence, some of it is the choices of the inhabitants of this big blue ball, but in some form or another, at some point or another, we will face hardship, struggles and challenges.
When asked “how are you?” – None of us has not at some point said: “This week was challenging” 😉 (or worse!)
So now we come, after a very long introduction, to the key of this passage:
When we hit trouble. When we get stuck in a calamity. When we cannot see a way out or a way through, Paul says, we need to remember what we said Yes to! When we cry out to God to save us from everything going wrong. Paul says: Remember!
“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
(Romans 8:24-25 NIV)
We chose to, and now live in Faith, we live in Hope
Paul explains: You don’t have hope when you can see the end…
“I hope we will eat today” is not at all challenging if you can see the food being made.
So that is where the beautiful passage of scripture comes in about the Spirit interceding for us during our “hopeless” times.
WHEN WE CANNOT SEE THE FUTURE!
WHEN WE CANNOT SEE WHAT IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS CHUNK OF TROUBLE
But the Holy Spirit can, so He jumps in and Prays God’s ACTUAL Will when we have no idea what God’s will is during this rough patch
“…because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people *in accordance with the will of God.*”
(Romans 8:27 NIV)
God Flips the Script!!
This present suffering (v18)
Becomes the creation of something great… a Birth waiting to happen! (V22)
Our Hope and our Faith changes the perspective!
Simon Sinek says that he realised what sets all great athletes apart. He interviewed tons of them, and they all said the same thing. The average competitors… when asked about the beginning of an event or race, spoke about their fears… about things that could go wrong.
The top athletes, however, when asked about the event or race coming up, said “I am excited!”
It’s the same brain condition, the same neural responses for FLIGHT and FIGHT… The top athletes just interpret the “fear” response as excitement!!
And this is what Paul is referring to in that very well-known and overquoted verse in v28:
“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.”
(Romans 8:28 NIV)
What we are going through IS NOT a calamity, or something BAD, but a preparation, a growth… something good… no, something GREAT! It is a birth, something to look forward to, something that has a glorious end. Something to have a building excitement for and a built-in preparation response! Yet… we still don’t know…
And we don’t know what it is, but because we have FAITH, and because we have HOPE, the Holy Spirit (who already knows God’s will for this time) then jumps in and prays with us, BUT already according to God’s Will…!
God Flips the Script!!
I used to quote something to my students and my kids: we either WIN or we LEARN. I learnt something from my daughter. When she was smaller, she couldn’t open a bottle. It was the end of the world, it meant no cooldrink, and she had no ability to open it. However, she learnt that If she can’t open it, she can bring it to me, and I will open it. The I started just loosening it enough so that she still has to put in the effort to get it open, and now, she can do it by herself… A bottle is not a stumbling block anymore, its just a task on the road.
She didn’t fail because she couldn’t open a bottle. She simply didn’t have the skill and ability. A bottle will never be a stumbling block anymore.
But more importantly… she assimilated a different skill. In the past I would ask her to do something and she would respond I can’t – however, this weekend I asked her to cook something for us. Her response wasn’t “I can’t” but rather “I haven’t done it before, I am not sure how… could you teach me?”
A complete mindshift on challenges… I didn’t fail, I simply haven’t mastered this skill yet! We go again tomorrow!
Imagine if we can walk into every challenge, every day, and look for what God is busy creating, instead of stressing, instead of anxiety, instead of fearing the situation?!
Paul continues to confirm that he is absolutely right in this. Why are you afraid? Why are you worried?
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
(Romans 8:31 NIV)
God IS NOT testing us… He is teaching us!
But then we rebel. We want to say, “poor me” The world has turned against me!…
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” (V36)
So Paul reminds us again:
“We are more than Conquerors”
(Romans 8:37)
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:38-39 NIV)
WHO ARE WE?
– Son of a King
– Through an Adoption made possible by great sacrifice
– Nothing can break the power of that action of sacrifice, and;
– No-one can take us away from God.
Why then, when we know all of this is true, DO CHALLENGES TRIP US UP THEN?
It’s a birth, a new season, new skills, new, things! It is NOT a punishment!
Let’s walk into the next situation like Pro Athletes. Excited to test our strength, eager to learn more skills, giving our best to represent our God!
(Which, by the way, also answers the frequent question “did this happen because God is punishing me? NO… we are learning, we are being prepared)
