No Separation 120722

Romans 8:31-39, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 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? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

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.

This wonderful chapter begins with "no condemnation"and ends with "no separation"! Today's reading begins with a reference back with the words, "What then shall we say to these things?" This calls to mind the fact that “those whom he predestined he also called, those whom he called he also justified, those whom he justified he also glorified.” Folks, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" What evidence do we have that God is for us? How can we assume that he will meet our needs? How do we know there is no separation? This passage of Scripture answers those questions without a doubt!

There is a false teaching that begins with earning your salvation by good works and ends with keeping your salvation by good works. Both these premises are wrong! None of us have any good works that can contribute to our salvation. We are saved by grace through faith and that is not by our works. Remember, faith is living like God tells the truth. Man-centered religion focuses on good works and usually incorporates some serious legalism. None of us have ever done anything to deserve salvation or ever will do anything to deserve salvation. There are some things we need to know that should give us confidence that there is "No Separation", for us, once we are in Christ Jesus. You see…

God is for us.

His word promises he is. The psalmist recognized this relationship. Read with me, Psalm 118:5-9, Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

He cried to the Lord and was delivered. He could not free himself — the Lord freed him. He knew that once the Lord was on his side he did not have to fear. With the support of the Lord he could do anything. A concept that was reflected by the apostle Paul when he wrote the Philippians and said, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Remember, Jesus said he would always be with us, that he would never leave us or forsake us.

In the Old Testament we find an example, and there are many.

Turn with me to, 2 Kings 6:15-19, When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.

Imagine with me, two men living in a small city. They wake up in the morning and find their city surrounded by an army of enemies. One of the men, who is the servant, is very disturbed. The master of the house, the prophet Elisha, is totally undisturbed. He could see things the servant could not see. Elisha prays a simple prayer that we need to repeat often, "Lord, open his eyes that he may see." And with spiritual eyes opened the servant could see something that was there all the time. The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha! God's angels were there to protect his faithful servant. The second simple prayer defeated the enemy completely. We might expect him to have prayed for the Lord to destroy these men. Instead he simply asked and God made them blind. God has always been a God of grace and he blinded the men rather than take their lives. And they were led away to be presented to the King of Israel. Then they were released and sent home. This resulted in peace for Israel rather than war.

Again and again, throughout history God has shown himself to be on the side of his people. I remember two stories, out of many, that came from the great revivals in China during the 1930s. At that time the entire country was caught up in rebellion and war. Miss Bertha Smith was a Baptist missionary who lived through many horrifying situations. I remember hearing her say that one day a large number of missionaries were together in a particular walled compound. Fighting was going on in the street and shells for exploding all over the area. She said she was standing in a hall with a large set of French doors in front of her. Suddenly, an artillery shell went off in the yard right in front of those French doors. Shattered glass and shrapnel ripped through the area where she stood. She didn’t have time to pray but she had already done plenty of that in advance! Miss Bertha said that when she stepped away from the wall there is not a scratch on her, not even dust, but in the wall all around where she stood was filled with glass and shrapnel. The spot where she stood was clear of any damage. If God be for us who can be against us!

The second account involves a Norwegian missionary by the name of Marie Monson. She was in a similar situation as Miss Bertha had been except it was nighttime and she was in bed. She said that, literally, bullets were going through the room she was in. She was very afraid and was praying for protection. In her fright she sat up in bed and suddenly all around her bed was a wall of fire. Arrows were flying towards her and melting in the fire. She said she began to weep and said, “Lord, it is really like that, isn’t it?” She knew that the Bible said that God will be to her a wall of fire all around.

The greatest evidence we have of God being on our side is that…

He gave his only son. From the beginning of time, God had a plan to solve the sin problem for the human race. He taught by example of blood sacrifices that sin is very damaging. He showed them that their sin always resulted in harm and apart from the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. At the same time, the blood of bulls and goats was nothing but a symbol of the only blood that counts— that of the Lord Jesus Christ. He proves to us that God is on our side, God is for us! He loved the world so much that he gave his only son. Jesus, the son of the living God, came into the world to pay the price for our sins. No one took his life from him, he laid it down of his own accord. He said to his disciples that he would lay his life down and he would take it up again. He did that for us, proving that God is for us. Without God's favor we would have no hope in this life and only fear of eternal suffering in the life to come. God is not only "for us" he is able to meet our needs…

He can meet our needs. We have an abundance of needs. We need to be delivered from our sins and set free from spiritual bondage. In order for that to happen we have to have a champion who stronger than our enemy. Trust me…

He is stronger than our enemy. Read what John that say, 1 John 4:4, Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

John says that we "have overcome them". But notice he does not say "because we're able" instead he says, "he who is in you is greater than the he who is in the world." It may be that Satan believed he had the power to destroy Jesus. It may be that Satan believed that he could win the cosmic battle. What he did not know, or at least appears not to have known, is that his strategy was always a part of the Father's plan. Jesus was the lamb killed, in the mind of God, before the world was created. If Satan believed he was going to win at the end of Jesus' life he was one surprised evil Angel when, after having posted a guard on the tomb it was found to be empty on the third day. Actually, the surprise occurred earlier than that. He must have sensed some inkling of what was about to happen when he heard Jesus say to the thief on the cross, "Today, you will be with me in paradise". You see the greatest evidence of God's ability to take care of his people is seen in the cross and the resurrection. If Satan and his minions had understood what the cross was all about as Paul told the Corinthians, "… they would not have crucified the Lord of glory". (1 Corinthians 2:8)

He intercedes for us. Read with me 1 John 2:1, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

We have an advocate! An advocate might be compared to an attorney. But this attorney is also the judge, and the son of the supreme judge. What a sweet deal! Our advocate took our sins, the payoff of which is death, and paid the price for us. Since he did this — as the writer of Hebrews tells us…

Hebrews 7:25, Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him because he lives forever to make intercession for them. At other places in Scripture we find him seated at the right hand of God. We find him standing to receive his martyr, Stephen. We find him entering into the holy place in heaven with his own blood to pay the price for our sins. He is able to intercede on our behalf because he paid the price for our sin. He is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. And he is strong. In the Old Testament there is a verse that says, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. (2 Chronicles 16:9) God is seeking people that he can give strong support to! Meet him in prayer, make your heart right with his and, rely on it, he will give strong support to you. He has the strength to do whatever needs to be done. And we are kept by that strength.

He keeps us by his strength not ours. Praise God that that is true.

We are strong in him. And only in him, Ephesians 6:10, tells us, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Earlier, Paul, had prayed for the Ephesians… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:17-23)

We are strong in the Lord not in ourselves. Paul reminds us, in Romans chapter 4, that Abraham, the father of the faithful, was made strong in his faith and gave glory to God because he was convinced that God could do what he promised. The result of that faith encounter was the birth of Isaac to a father and mother long past the prime of life. We are to be strong in the Lord and trust in him without wavering even when what we face seems impossible.

Satan, our enemy, roams the Earth like a roaring lion looking for those he can devour. At the same time the eyes of the Lord are roaming the earth looking for those whose hearts are his so he can show himself strong on their behalf.

Never have any doubt that he who is in us is stronger than he who is in the world.

He has defeated our enemies. Every enemy will be defeated in his time and in his way. Read, 1 Corinthians 15:25-26, For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Every enemy! The last of these is death itself. Alfred Ackerley got it right when he penned these words, "We serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today; I know that he is living what ever man may say. I see his hand of mercy, I hear his voice of cheer, and just the time I need him, He's always near, He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how does he lives? He lives within my heart." Jesus' resurrection proves his power over every enemy including death. He will reign until even death is destroyed.

We can't be taken from his hand. John 10:27-30, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Jesus gives us a great picture of his relationship to his people. He is the Good Shepherd, we are his sheep. When he speaks, whether to call us to salvation, are to give us a specific call to ministry, we recognize his voice.

This is a picture of an Eastern Shepherd. They do not use dogs to push their animals. Instead, they use their voice. When the traditional Eastern Shepherd brings his sheep to the common fold they are placed with several other flocks. When it's time to move on the gate is opened and the Shepherd uses his voice to call his sheep and they follow him.

In exactly the same way, Jesus calls his sheep. He make specific promises to them: "I give them eternal life" not, "I offer them eternal life" or, "They can earn eternal life." Jesus GIVES eternal life. Then he says, “... they will never perish”. What part of “never” do people have trouble with? Next, “... no one will snatch them out of my hands.” “No one” includes yourself. Once you have placed your faith in the crucified, risen, Lord, Jesus Christ you cannot be taken away from him. If you can be taken away from him you were never his. You see, his sheep are a gift from the Father. The Father is all-powerful — no one can snatch them from the Father's hands, Jesus and the Father are one therefore no one can take Jesus' sheep from him.

What a magnificent thought! "… And in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." The enemy uses all kinds of events and experiences against us. Paul personalizes them by using "who" can separate us, rather than "what", can separate us. These experiences have intelligence and obey their master, Satan. The power of sin moves in to plant thoughts in our mind to make us feel separate from God. We have the promise of Scripture, perhaps the greatest promise apart from salvation, that sin will have no dominion over us. He came to set us free and though events along the way may be difficult, and sometimes even seem impossible, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. He is faithful and he will do whatever is needed to bring us through to final glorification in eternity. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory!

All Scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.