Nothing Shall Separate Us

Shall we pray? Lord, thank you for your word and for this wonderful book of Romans that we've been walking our way through over these past few weeks.

! And as we come to this passage that Deb's just read for us, a real mountain top. Help us to grasp the implications of what you have written for us.

That we might walk out of here as we've already been singing and praying today, knowing that nothing can separate us from your love.

Help us to know what that love is and help us to put that in the context of all that's going on in our lives. And may that give us hope.

So Holy Spirit, we continue to speak to us, we pray. Amen.

Amen.

I wonder if you are going through anything tough at the moment.

It's probably a silly question because I know that at many different levels there are difficulties in life.

And those difficulties can make us feel like God has abandoned us. He's forgotten us.

Or perhaps even we might start concluding, well, is there some way in which he's punishing us for these things that are going on in my life?

Now, as we've walked our way through Romans, we heard that the Apostle Paul, who writes this letter to the Christians in Rome,

he, if you remember right at the beginning, and if you weren't here, don't worry,

he attributes much of our suffering to this power that's at work in the world, the power of sin.

And if you remember, and if you don't, don't worry, he paints this picture of a sort of downward spiral that's created by godlessness and wickedness.

And that downward spiral, a bit like a tornado, sweeps everything into its grasp.

And so we both become victims to it, and we also start contributing to some of the damage, death, and destruction that it causes.

And as Liz amazingly prayed already today, we experience these as wolves on a global scale,

whether it's war, whether it's the climate crisis, whether it's the effects of greed and poverty,

or perhaps more personally, we experience something of it in illnesses, broken relationships,

perhaps even the death of a loved one.

God, where are you?

Why should you allow such things to happen?

Now, I'm not going to pretend that in 20 minutes' time you're going to come up with,

I'm going to give you all the answers that seal and make such complex and difficult questions,

mysterious questions in many ways, all straightforward and simple, you know, sealed up.

You're going to walk away, no problem.

However, I do believe that with the help of this passage in Romans 8,

it will help us all experience, frame the way that those experiences are interpreted.

Because what it does is it talks about our suffering in the light of biblical hope.

And I think that will lead us to leave here all feeling more hopeful.

So let's talk about this word hope.

Now, we often use this word hope in sort of common English in the same way that we might use the word luck, don't we?

Oh, I hope I hope I win the lottery or I hope the weather gets cooler or something like that.

There's this strong element of sort of probability or chance in the way that we use the word hope.

But in the Bible, the word hope is much more solid.

It is what is promised by God, even if we can't see it yet.

In fact, in the middle of the passage that we just heard read, Paul says that if we can see it,

then actually we're not talking about hope anymore.

But hope is waiting for something that is coming, yet we don't have fully yet.

So what is it that Christians hope for?

What is it that God promises that we are waiting for?

Something that is going to happen, but we don't yet see fully.

Now, I'm about to say something that might feel quite controversial to many of you.

So I'm warning you here.

Because for generations, particularly in the Christian West,

we've bought into a narrative about future hope

that actually does not do full justice to what the Bible says more fully about what God has in store for us.

Okay, I'll summarise it.

You can take a gasp breath when I say that's not the hope.

Okay, and then I'll explore it.

Okay, so for many, the hope of a Christian is that my soul will be taken to heaven when I die.

Now, I'm saying that is not a very good description of Christian hope.

A few shock faces.

At best, that is a half-truth.

At worst, that is a serious distortion of the hope that God actually gives us.

And so unless we realign ourselves or are prepared to realign ourselves

to relearn what we're actually hoping for,

passages like Romans actually don't make any sense.

And it very much limits our sense on what our life on earth is actually about,

including our sufferings.

So, let me try and explain what true biblical hope is.

And as we have that hope in our lives,

if that's the thing we're looking forward to,

we are much more likely to experience peace

and to be able to persevere in this life,

to suffer well, if you like.

So, let me have a go at summarising what I think biblical hope is.

The hope of a Christian is that God is coming in his full glory

to dwell with us in a restored, in a redeemed creation.

Christian hope is heaven coming to earth.

It's the hope of a renewed earth

where there will be no more pain,

no more sin,

no more death.

Now, do you notice straight away how that is different

from this idea that after death,

we're looking forward to this sort of disembodied existence

on a cloud with our hearts?

Now, I'm being very pejorative,

but that's what is often sketched out,

that actually that's the hope we've got,

that we're somehow going to be

this sort of ephemeral beings

who are away from the earth

and away from our bodies.

But God,

actually the hope is that God

will come to be with us.

Our bodies will be resurrected

along, as it were,

with the whole of creation,

with the whole earth.

And that the whole of creation

will experience the glory of God

in its fullness

and be able to live in perfect harmony.

Now, it's a picture of the Bible,

actually, if you read through it with that in mind,

actually paints all the way through.

So, for example,

in the prophecies of many of the prophets

in the Old Testament,

particularly thinking of Isaiah,

it gives this prophecy of a day

when the wolf will live with the lamb,

when the infant will lie with the cobra,

and, quote,

the earth will be filled

with the knowledge of the glory of God

as the waters cover the sea.

So that's what the prophet Isaiah

is kind of looking forward to.

And, you know,

he doesn't yet know

how it will be fulfilled in any sense.

And then right through,

if you care to read it

with that future hope in mind,

you get to the book of Revelation,

of course,

where famously,

right at the end,

there's this picture

of the new Jerusalem,

the home of the temple.

If you remember,

the temple is the dwelling place of God,

coming down

to re-establish

God's throne on earth.

His bride,

the bridegroom,

coming to be with the bride on earth.

New heaven,

new earth.

That is the picture of,

the final picture of hope

that the final pages of the Bible

present with us.

Now, I'm not going to pretend

that I know, you know,

I know exactly how that's all

going to work out.

It's very much a sort of,

you get this sort of picture,

a sketch of what might,

how it might work out.

But you've got to see

that that is completely different

to this idea

that our disembodied souls

will be with God

to live with him forever,

somewhere.

Now, if that is surprising to you,

and that's just blown your mind,

well, I won't apologize,

but I recognize that is a big thing.

I'm not going to answer

all your questions about that now.

Now, I've been reading this book,

which summarizes it beautifully,

by Tom Wright.

It's called God's Homecoming.

And his kind of thesis in this

is that actually many of us,

including himself,

has been sort of,

has the wrong picture

of God's hope.

And actually what we're

looking forward to

is God's Homecoming.

So, Tom Wright,

God's Homecoming,

I'm sure you can Google it

and get it from

an ethically sourced bookstore

and to read that for you.

But I will answer one question

because I know,

sort of partially,

there's a big question for me

that comes out of this.

Vicar,

if going to heaven isn't the goal,

what does happen when we die?

That's a pretty key question.

Well, again,

the Bible is clear

that when we do die

and we are in the Lord,

we go to be with Jesus.

That is true.

And somehow that our spirit

is united to be with his,

to be with him.

But that is actually

only a temporary state.

That's the difference here.

That is a temporary state

because one day

we know that Jesus will return

and complete the task

of bringing resurrection

not only to our bodies,

but to the whole of creation.

We pray the prayer,

don't we?

Your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as in heaven.

It's that kind of hope

that we're praying towards.

If that's not quite clear,

the best analogy I've heard

is actually one using

a very sort of modern

computer technology analogy.

When we die,

somehow our software

is somehow uploaded

into the server.

The server of God,

I should say.

But our future hope

is for that software,

with viruses removed,

I should add,

is downloaded

into new,

renewed hardware

here on earth

when all of creation

is rebooted.

That is the end

of my technical knowledge

of computing,

but I hope that makes sense.

And that might reframe

for you

this idea

of what we're hoping for.

Now, as I say,

you've got loads of questions,

I'm sure,

but I think if you have

that in mind

about what our future hope is

and you read

this chapter of Romans,

God's coming home,

he's coming home,

he's coming,

God is coming home.

It's all about glory,

isn't it?

God's homecoming.

We sing about it

because we're hoping

for glory.

God's glorious homecoming.

And that is going to make

a lot more sense

of our experience

and also our purpose

in our lives now.

Okay, so I've given you

the framework.

Let's get into it now.

Because first of all,

it changes how we consider

our sufferings.

Let me read again

chapter 8,

verses 18 to 19.

I consider that

our present sufferings

are not worth comparing

with the glory

that will be revealed in us.

For the creation waits

in eager expectation

for the children of God

to be revealed.

What does he mean by that?

Well, the children of God

to be revealed,

that is for those

who have the Holy Spirit

to become fully

the people God

has destined us to be

in resurrection life.

Currently, we are frustrated

along with all of creation

because we're in this kind

of bondage,

as I say, this spiral,

this bondage to decay.

But the hope is

that one day

we will be liberated

from that bondage,

from that decay,

and brought into freedom

and into the full glory

of God.

not to escape the earth,

to go to heaven,

but with earth,

our hope is to be released

from all these pains

and let the glory of God

be fully revealed

in us

and around us.

Now, that's our future hope.

And in fact,

Paul gives us

the ultimate picture,

a much better one

than some computer analogy,

about what his suffering

is like in this world

with this future hope

in mind.

It's childbirth.

So, verse 22,

we know that

the whole creation

has been groaning

as in the pains

of childbirth

right up to

the present time.

Now, it's always good

as a man

to speak about childbirth.

I understand it can be

a little uncomfortable.

But the pains,

sometimes even excruciating,

are leading to something.

they're leading

to new birth.

And each of us

experience part

of being

the whole creation

that is in these

birth pangs.

Not only so,

but we ourselves,

who have the first fruits

of the Spirit,

this is verse 23,

by the way,

grown inwardly

as we await

eagerly

for our adoption

to sonship,

the redemption

of our bodies.

So, you might remember

from last week,

when we were looking

at the beginning

of this chapter,

that the central role

of the Spirit of God

is to unite us

with God

in such a way

that we are free

from the slavery of sin

and are made

children of God.

The Spirit of God

makes us into

the family of God.

And we are,

as Paul said last week,

we are adopted

into sonship.

Now, if you remember

from last week,

that's a technical term

that Romans would have

been very familiar with,

and it describes

a process of

rich Romans

adopting a male heir

in order to,

if they didn't have

their own children,

a male heir

to inherit

all their stuff

and their power,

their whole estate.

And Paul uses that here

because that adoption,

which you were given,

as it were,

the first deposit of,

is going to come full

as we inherit

the kingdom of God

in the future

homecoming of God.

So whether we are

male or female,

young or old,

Jew or Gentile,

this adoption to sonship

is ours

if we believe in Jesus.

And that full inheritance

will come fully

when Jesus returns

and the whole of creation

is renewed.

And until then,

we have received,

we've only received

a sort of down payment,

a deposit,

if you like,

enough that it connects us

to that future hope

and to know

that the rest is coming.

So as we experience

suffering

and that temptation

to think,

oh my goodness,

has God just abandoned me?

Our spirit,

united with God's spirit

in us,

groans

in longing

for the future

and the freedom

that has been promised

to us

for all of God's creation.

For in this hope

we were saved.

God has brought us

into this hope

to be saved.

So Christianity

isn't just the saving

of individual souls

to take us

from this nasty earth

or even from our nasty bodies,

if we want to call it that.

No,

the hope

in which we are saved

by Jesus

encompasses

the whole of creation.

and it means

that we

and the environment

in which we live

is somehow

caught up

in this process

of redemption.

And yes,

of course,

we can enjoy

some really beautiful

bits of it now,

but it is blighted

and it is also,

it is nothing

compared

to the glory

that is to be revealed.

So if you enjoy

the beautiful views

around Clevedon

and they give you

that sense of,

ah,

well just imagine

how much more

we will experience

God's glory

and beauty

in the future.

And if we're experiencing

really bad stuff

and we're thinking,

oh,

this is like hell on earth,

well that will be

eliminated

from our experience

in the future.

And just a little aside,

but quite an important one

because if that is

what God's salvation

is about,

if it's about

the redemption

of the whole of creation,

actually the care

of God's creation

needs to be part

of our mission

as God's children.

And there's a whole

sermon series

and,

you know,

strategy to think about

as a church,

but the care of creation

is part

of what God is doing.

It's not a side hustle,

it's not unimportant,

but it actually

expresses our future hope.

But also,

as well as our mission,

this idea

of the hope

that we have,

it also gives us

a very powerful way

of understanding

what prayer is

and is about.

I wonder how many of you

have been in those situations

when you're calling out

to God in prayer

and it feels like

you are calling out

to the ether,

you know,

to a distant God

somewhere up there

far away

looking down from us

and that's our

experience of prayer.

I know that has been

mined from time to time

and that's okay.

But this passage

shows us

that we're far more

connected

than that.

When we come

to believe and trust

in the Lord Jesus

as our Saviour

and King,

as we've already said,

we are given

something of His Spirit.

and His Spirit

comes to live,

comes to dwell

in us

in a mysterious way

that I don't think

many people are able

to explain.

His Spirit

joins with our Spirit.

And not only

does that,

as it were,

the two spirits

talking to one another,

you know,

God's Spirit

testifies to our Spirit

that we are

children of God.

You are part

of the family now.

You can call out

Abba Father.

You are

a child of God.

Not only

does God's Spirit

testify to us

about that,

but listen to this

in verse 26.

In the same way,

the Spirit,

God's Spirit,

helps us in our weakness.

We do not know

what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit

Himself

intercedes for us

through wordless groans.

And He who searches

our hearts

knows the mind

of the Spirit

because the Spirit

intercedes for God's people

in accordance

with the will of God.

Let me try and unpack

that dense

couple of sentences.

As the whole of creation

groans for that

future freedom,

so does God's Spirit

within us

call to our spirit

to go forward

with that hope.

And even if we can't

put words to it,

even if it's incredibly

dark for us

and pain-numbing,

we are able to pray

because God

is interceding

for us

and with us

in our spirits.

We are connected.

God is intimately involved

in it all, folks.

He's not out there

beckoning us up

to some distant heaven.

No, He is already

dwelling with us

and calling from us

this longing,

this hope,

that we know

it's not always

going to be like this.

He's so close.

And He is reminding us

that even though

it's dark now

or can be

a dark valley

where we walk in,

there is a future ahead

which is pain-free,

where there is

no more tears,

no more death,

no more pain.

And He wants to

reassure us

that it will not

always be

those things

in our lives,

won't always be

experienced.

And because

He's intimately involved

with our lives

and He's also

amazingly

wrapped up

in every aspect

of creation,

all of history

is somehow

being used

for His purposes.

He is sovereign

is what the Bible

calls that.

He promises,

that gives us

an assurance

that He's using

all things

to lead us

towards that

future glory.

And these

amazing verses,

which I hope

are even more

highlighted by

what we've just

been thinking about,

just take these

words to heart.

And we know,

this is verse 28,

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.

For those

God foreknew,

He also predestined

to be conformed

to the image

of His Son,

that He might be

the firstborn

among many

brothers and

sisters.

And those He

predestined,

He also called,

and those He

called,

He also justified.

And those He

justified,

He also glorified.

So that glorified

is that sense

of knowing

the glory of God

in our lives now,

but one day

knowing the full

glory of God

around us

and in us.

And that means,

brothers and

sisters,

that whether it's

the good,

the bad,

or the ugly,

for those in

Christ Jesus,

every aspect,

everything,

is being used

by God

for good

in this process

that is moving

the whole creation

towards its salvation,

the glorification

of all things,

as it were.

So when we suffer

now,

brothers and

sisters,

as so many

of you are,

it isn't God's

rejection of us.

It is somehow,

and in only a way

that God can

understand,

being used

for His purposes,

even for your

good.

Now that's sometimes

a difficult thing

to believe,

and it's for

your good

because of what,

in light of what

is to come.

And even death,

therefore,

becomes a gateway

into eternity,

waiting

for that

full freedom.

That is something

of the impact

that having that

future hope

can have for us.

promise.

How can we be

sure of that?

Because I'm sure

if you're going

through stuff

right now,

this kind of

promise doesn't

necessarily make it

feel okay,

and I grant that.

Okay,

this isn't supposed

to be,

oh,

it's all okay

kind of thinking,

but it does frame

it in a very rich

and a very true

and a very real

hope that I think

does change things.

But how can we

trust that?

Because this is

about faith in the

end.

We have to believe

what God is telling

us.

Because experience

may tell us

otherwise.

The way the world,

the media,

frames the suffering

that is going on

does not tell

the story.

It's not about

human progress

leading towards

some sort of

utopia.

It's neither is it

a depressing spiral

where this is all

just going to lead

into hell.

No,

God has taken,

he has chosen

to come,

and this is where

we find our

anchor.

We must think

of Jesus.

Think of Jesus'

own suffering

and death.

Because as he

suffered,

even through

the personal

betrayal

and relational

pains that he

faced through

that,

as he lie

on the cross

as a victim

of injustice,

he was facing

as it were

all the forces

of evil

you can imagine.

The most

ferocious wolves

as Liz

illustrated.

He's becoming

forsaken by God

and it's the worst

kind of death

you could die

physically,

emotionally,

spiritually.

Now,

if something

that horrendous,

Jesus' death,

if that

can lead

to something

far more glorious

as we know

it did,

to his

resurrection,

to his

ascension,

and to his

reign in

heaven,

if that

can happen

with Jesus,

can't God

also use

our sufferings

for something

amazing?

Or to

quote Paul,

verse 31,

what then

shall we say

in response

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,

along with

him,

that is

Jesus,

graciously

give us

all things?

If we

live our

lives

through the

lens of

Jesus,

i.e.

if we

understand

our lives

by what

Jesus has

done and

does for

us,

if we

are in

him,

if we

are attached

to his

life,

death,

resurrection,

then there's

ultimately

nothing

that can

defeat us.

Can

anyone

charge us

or pick

us up

for our

track record?

No.

Jesus

has justified

us.

Beginning

of Romans

8.

Can

anyone

accuse

us

or

condemn

us?

No.

Jesus

died and

rose again

and so

now he

intercedes

for us.

He

whispers in

the

father's

ear,

that one

there,

she's

ours,

I died

for her,

I love

her.

He's

doing that

all the

time.

Nothing

can

change

God's

love

for us.

He

won't

love

you

any

less,

or in

fact,

any

more,

because of

anything you

do or

don't do

or have

done or

won't

do.

His

love is

for you

because

he's

shown that

in

Jesus.

And so

as I

come into

land,

let me

just read

these final

verses.

And you

can feel

Paul just

kind of

feeling the

impact of

all this

theology

that he's

written.

and feel

the impact

and the

assurance

it gives

him and

those he

writes to.

Who shall

separate us

from the

love of

Christ?

Shall

trouble

or hardship

or persecution

or famine

or nakedness

or danger

or sword

as it's

written,

for your

sake we

face death

all day

long.

we are

considered

as sheep

to be

slaughtered.

So Paul

is experiencing

serious

suffering.

No,

verse 37,

in all

these things

we are

more than

conquerors

through

him who

loved us.

For I

am convinced

that neither

death nor

life,

neither angels

nor demons,

neither the

present nor

the future,

nor any

powers,

nor the

height or

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.

So far

from suffering

making us

failures in

the kingdom

of God,

because our

spirit is

linked to

the spirit

of Christ,

just as

his sufferings

created

something

glorious,

created

salvation,

created this

future hope,

meant that

he was the

sort of

firstborn,

the first

sample of

what is to

come.

We attach

ourselves to

him,

folks,

nothing can

separate us

from what

is ahead,

because nothing

can separate

us from

the love

of God.

Thank you,

Father God,

that nothing

can separate

us from

your love,

that you

have defeated

those most

ferocious

of wolves,

and you've

given us

the armour

of your

spirit,

love,

righteousness,

peace,

that will

allow us

to step

in to

this week

ahead with

renewed

hope,

hope of a

future that

you will

and you

are bringing

about,

again,

through your

son Jesus.

thank you,

Holy Spirit,

that you

will go

with us

into this

week.

Would you

keep reminding

us of the

hope that

you've given

us and the

love that is

ours because

we are your

children.

Amen.