March 22, 2020

Romans 8:28-39

Sunday Sermons

Borrowing from Bible commentator and teacher John Stott, Pastor Jim explains how Romans 8 teaches us that the Christian gospel includes 5 unshakeable convictions, 5 undeniable affirmations, and 5 unanswerable questions. Together, these offer reassurance and hope for all believers living in tumultuous times when pain and suffering seem to have shaken everything we thought we could count on. Here we find our sure and steady anchor, Christ our hope, in life and in death.

Speaker

Jim Thomas

Series

Christ Our Hope in Life and Death

Go to Series

Scripture

Romans 8:28-39

Topics
Big Questions Suffering

Sermon Notes

Frodo: “I wish it need not have happened in my time.”
Gandalf: “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring

Romans 8 both opens and closes with two bold declarations:

  • Open: There is therefore now, NO CONDEMNATION for those who are IN CHRIST JESUS.
  • Close: There is NOTHING that can SEPARATE us from the LOVE OF GOD which is IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD!

“Both failure with sin and pressures from suffering unsettle us deeply, and the only remedy is to know with equal depth the unbreakable love of God for us in Jesus.”
Christopher Ash

5 Unshakeable Convictions v. 28

  1. God is at work.
  2. God is at work FOR THE GOOD
  3. God is at work for the good IN ALL THINGS
  4. God is at work for the good in all things FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM
  5. God is at work for the good in all things for those who love Him and are CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSES

5 Undeniable Affirmations v. 29-30

  1. God has set His affections on us.
  2. We were predestined to be like Christ.
  3. God has called us personally and by name.
  4. God has set things right between us.
  5. God intends to restore us to the fullness of His original design for us.

5 Unanswerable Questions: “If God is for us…” v. 31-39

  1. Who can be against us?
  2. What good would God withhold from us?
  3. Who can rightly accuse us?
  4. Who can rightly condemn us?
  5. What can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord?

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

“Christianity’s unsurpassed offers: a meaning that suffering cannot remove, satisfaction not based on circumstances, a freedom that does not hurt but rather enhances love, an identity that does not crush you or exclude others, a moral compass that does not turn you into an oppressor, and a hope they can face anything, even death.”
Tim Keller, Making Sense of God

“Our confidence is not in our love for him, which is frail, fickle and faltering, but in his love for us, which is steadfast, faithful and persevering.”
John Stott, The Message of Romans

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”
Isaiah 26:3-4