The Greatest Chapter - Romans 8:31-39

This is ERC Sundays, the messages at Emmaus Rd.

Church in DeWitt, Iowa. ERC is a Church of people

striving to grow in Jesus and make him known to others through

our faith, words and actions. Find out more about our church

at emmausrdonline.org. Here's this week's message.

Well, this week what we are going to be doing is we are

going to be finishing up a 10 week series in the book of

Romans, specifically chapter 8. Now I'll tell you that if you

haven't been with us, you're like, wait, I came at the end of

the series. I thought you were supposed to

start something on on Easter. Well, you wouldn't be wrong.

That would be typical. But there is nothing typical

about this church or me, if you've noticed.

So anyway, man, I'm going to do everything I can to, to drag you

forward into the conclusion of this.

And so I will do my very best to to keep you up on what's going

on. I have some confidence that will

happen because you are smart people.

Nobody nodded. Nobody's like, yes, I am.

This is going great. I love this.

Well, anyway, for those of you who have been with us for the

last 9 weeks, going into this week, my my hope and my goal for

you is that what you would see is you'd see that everything

that Paul has been building up to this resurrection logic that

he's been building, I hope you will see the fulfillment of that

in the resurrection in Jesus Christ.

And so yes, let's find the logical implications of this.

And that sounds very scholarly and teachery, I understand.

But there are logical implications and reasons why the

resurrection should affect everything we do every single

day. Because here's the thing, I

there are, there are a lot of people who would freely tell you

that they're Christians. Great.

And there are other people who if you press them a little bit,

because it's very private to them, OK, if you press them a

little bit, they'll say, yeah, I'm, I'm a Christian.

But I have met so many Christians who fail to live with

resurrection logic dictating their lives.

What I mean by that? Well, if the resurrection of

Jesus Christ is true, it means that I I do not need to fear the

future, nor do I need to regret the past.

I don't have to do either of those things.

And if the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, I don't have to

base my identity on how I perform or, or, or the things

that I do because Jesus has already done all the important

performing and achieving for me. And if Jesus Christ and the

resurrection is true, it means that I am free from uncertainty

and I am free from shame because He has guaranteed life beyond

this and He has covered all of my sins.

Therefore, I get to live a little bit differently.

Or at least I should. Here's the thing, friends, I am

quite sure that, well, let's put it this way, I walk around the

world as if Jesus Christ is alive.

I do, and I suspect that's part of the reason why I am the way I

am. I'm a little weird because I

believe a dead man is alive. That makes me weird amongst the

general population. But here's the thing, friends.

There are too many Christians who don't live with that kind of

freedom. They don't live with the freedom

of man. My Savior isn't dead.

He is very much alive, and it's provable.

He's alive. We don't live like that.

And and the problem is when we don't live with resurrection

logic, what happens is our identities, they become very

fragile, very fragile indeed. You ever criticize somebody and

they just blow up? I mean, you're like, well, that

wasn't the best lasagna I've ever had.

And they just lose their mind. You want to know why?

It's because their identity was clearly found in something other

than the resurrected Jesus Christ, right?

Resurrection logic tells me that that when people don't live that

out, there's a lot of fear of the future.

There's a lot of fear of the unknown.

And so you meet these people. Some of you are those people, no

offense, but you meet these people and they try to like,

control and micromanage everything because they think

that's the only way they can be safe.

That's not resurrection logic. That's not it at all.

And you meet these people, Lord help them.

And I mean that, man, they walk around with all this hidden

guilt and they walk around with all this hidden shame and it

just eats them up. But no, no, it's a powerful

word, No, And I like using it, especially with all the littles

I hang out with all the time. But it's a powerful word.

And then God's word says no to all of that.

No, you are called to live differently.

You are called to live with resurrection logic, not just in

your head, but in your heart. And when you do that, man, life

changes. And I can say that for sure

because it is absolutely changed my entire existence.

So with that in mind, we're going to figure out what

resurrection logic looks like at the end of Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

And this is kind of how that's going to go.

First and foremost, the resurrection is the love that

conquers all. Second, the resurrection is our

unshakable security. And 3rd, the resurrection is the

ultimate proof that God is absolutely for us.

So we are going to read that and we're going to figure that out

in Romans 8, verses 31 through 39.

Romans 8:31–39

You can check that out on the screen or if you have a Bible or

your phone app or however that works.

That's great. Sorry, I'm sniffling.

That last song really got me. So sorry.

My bad. I'll try not to.

Usually that's Matt's thing. He's the 10.

He's catching strays. Oh, man, you can tell it's

second service. I'm off the rails.

All right? It's fine.

It's fine. We're going to get back on.

We're going to be good. All right, so Romans 8, 31

through 39, and we read this in Jesus name.

What then shall we say of 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, 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.

It is Jesus Christ 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 slaughtered as sheep to are we as regarded as sheep to

be slaughtered? No, in all of 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 of creation, will be

able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our

Lord. Amen, man, Paul's on fire.

May that word be blessed and praised forever.

So yeah, that's fine. Nope.

Nope, not fine. It's been said by somebody much

smarter than me, but I don't know who, That divine love has

triumphed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I love that divine love has triumphed in the resurrection of

Jesus Christ. Now I find something's

problematic, though. I'm just going to use you guys

as my complaint window, and here's what it sounds like.

I find it deeply troubling when people talk about the

resurrection, they talk about the love of God, and they always

put it out somewhere else as if I should not be able to benefit

and grab that for myself. Today we talked about it as this

future thing. Like, yeah, I know it's really

hard today, but someday you'll be in heaven.

OK, great. That's true, but what does that

do for me right now? Because right now I got real

problems. Right now I've got real stress.

Right now I've got real pain. What is that doing for me today?

See, The thing is, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is

not just proof of life after death and some future benefit.

And please don't hear your pastor blasphemy.

All of that is lovely. And I believe that that's great.

But I'll go out on a limb and say this, that if the conquering

love of the resurrection of Jesus Christ doesn't change how

you interact with this world, man, you are missing it.

You are just missing it. You are falling short because

what is in your head? Sure, I can intellectually

accept that Jesus died for my sins and he is alive.

Man, that's got to move down into our hearts and it's got to

move into our soul, into our guts.

So that way when trouble comes, when all this stuff comes, man,

I have got somebody who I know loves me and is on my side right

now. I need that right now.

I don't, I don't need that when I'm dead and alive in heaven.

I need that right now. And I bet you do too.

And so when people talk about God's love that way, it's just

not enough. And I think they're misspeaking

because I've read my Bible and it says that God loves me and

he's for me right now and he's working right now.

Man, can you feel that? Here's the thing, if if that's

you, if you are not taking this gospel logic and applying it in

your head and going through your heart and out of your mouth,

you're missing it. And I would encourage you dig

deeper, pray, join a group. I mean, do something.

Dig deeper into your faith. He's right there.

And here's the thing. I I could tell you all that and

I could say, well, good luck with that.

And I'll leave and we all get out of here early.

Or I could try and help you, which is what I'm going to do

because otherwise bad pastor. Yeah.

OK. So let me help you this way.

I'm going to give you a quote from somebody who's way smarter

than anybody in this room. No offense, I just think it's

probably true. If I'm wrong, you can come talk

to me afterwards and blow my mind.

But Agustin, he read Romans chapter 8 and and he understood

Romans 8 · chapter mention

the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He understood that in his soul. And so this is what he says

about the end of Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

He says love is the weight that carries the soul upward.

Man, if I could write like that I would have so many books.

But he said love is the weight that carries the soul upward.

Now it seems obvious to me, but I feel like I need to say it

anyway. It is God's love for us that is

doing all the heavy lifting, not our love for Him.

OK, let me just get that out of the way.

It is His love bringing up us up into His grace and His mercy,

that conquering love, when it is received, it has the perfect

ability to not just guarantee something later, but to change

us right now. And it should, It really should.

And so I'm going to give you a visual because I'm a visual

learner. That's kind of how I work.

I'm going to give you a visual of like what this probably looks

like based on Augustine's understanding of Romans chapter

Romans 8 · chapter mention

8. So what we have is we have the

cornerstone, we have the cornerstone that we can trust

and we can build our entire lives on that cornerstone and we

will always be level. We will always stand tall when

we build our life on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ.

So we have Jesus Christ life and death and resurrection.

And what is that doing? It is a heavyweight.

It is an infinite weight of love that presses down onto the

world. And what does it do for the

believer? It brings up, it brings us up it

it brings us above all of these things that Satan and this

broken world and even we ourselves do to our do to

ourselves. It brings us above those things.

Now I'm not going to read that whole list, but let me just give

you the categories of everything.

Then that says it's death. That's that's a good one kind of

need to be above that. I would like to be above ground.

In fact, that's a joke. Spiritual forces and battles.

I mean, not everybody is super sensitive to that, but like,

man, you get some Holy Spirit work done in you and you're,

you're feeling some of those things.

Time. It's typically working against

us. Space, physical and emotional

suffering, violence, social injustices, My goodness,

friends, these things, the reality of these things, it's

they're real and they're and they're hard, they're difficult.

But for the believer in Jesus Christ, all of those things by

his Holy Spirit will fall below our lives.

Now I should say, and we've said it from the stage a couple times

over the last couple weeks, does that mean, dear Christian, that

you're never going to have any problems in your life?

No, no, that's not what that means at all.

I would be, I mean, if you believe that I got a bridge to

sell you, I do. But but no, we experience

trouble and we experience hardship and, and I understand

that and so does Jesus. In fact, he said the student is

not greater than the master. Therefore, we ought to expect

that we will endure some suffering, however, from God's

resurrection. Love does mean that all the

worse that this world can do to us.

You know what it's doing. It's just drawing us upward.

And you say, but Pastor Chris, when the worst things happen to

me, I don't feel like I'm being drawn upward.

I feel like I'm being pounded into the ground.

I understand, I do. But I had a pastor tell me once,

and I've never forgotten and I never will, that God has a

really unique way of weaning us off of this world.

Now, the Bible often talks about rejoicing your suffering.

Really. Because when if I got a speeding

ticker, I wake up and my knees hurt because I'm old or all this

kind of stuff, I don't go sweet, thank you, Lord, that's awesome.

Come on, be realistic. But what does he mean rejoice?

And suffering means that as we experience the hardship of this

world, what's going to happen is God is going to continuously

lift us closer and closer to resurrection reality.

Because that's the end game for God is resurrection reality, not

just for his Son, Jesus Christ, but for every single person who

believes in him. And when you get that into your

head and into your heart, it creates an unshakable

confidence, an unshakable security, because the blood of

the lamb has been spilled on your behalf.

And he has proven that he's for you because he's alive.

Yeah. Now that brings us into our

second resurrection logic idea. And we need to get this.

So I'll do my best. At the end of Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

what Paul does is he asks this list of rhetorical questions,

meaning that when he asked the question, you ought to already

know the answer because, well, it seems obvious enough if

you're trusting in Jesus Christ. But it was pointed out to me at

our Food for Thought Bible study on Thursday mornings, which by

the way, if you have free time at 10 AM on a Thursday, you

should totally go. It's great.

It's at Fieldstone and we do lunch afterwards, which is

awesome. So anyway, it was pointed out to

me at that Bible study by Sharon Rush.

And she looked at these verses and she said, huh, I never

noticed that before. Well, say more, Sharon.

OK. And she's like, do you realize

that these rhetorical questions that Paul is asking are the same

questions that Satan asks us? Let me work that out for you.

The gospel says if God is for us, who could be against us?

And Satan comes in and he says you think God is for you, He

wouldn't be for Someone Like You.

How many times have you failed over and over again?

You sure he's for you? And the gospel says, how will he

not also with him graciously give us all things?

Why do you lack so much of what you want?

Why do bad things still happen to you if he's going to give you

all things? Seems like you're not getting

much of anything out of this relationship.

The gospel says, who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

Who is to condemn charges? Condemnation, of course.

Look at your life. Why wouldn't God charge you?

You have failed over and over again, and I've heard your

prayers just like He has. And guess what?

You've promised to avoid that sin.

You promised to get better and you haven't.

Of course God's going to charge you for that.

You broke your promise. And then the last rhetorical

question, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Don't you feel separated from God already?

Remember when you were a new Christian and you had all the

feels and you would cry during songs and you would read your

Bible all the time? Seems like you lost the feels.

Seems pretty separate from you. He must have moved away.

Enough, enough of that nonsense. I have lived and fought those

questions over and over again. Enough done with that, done with

Satan twisting the gospel, trying to make me feel like I am

less than something that God has already said.

You are this, done with it. I hope you are too.

Because guess what? When you do, when you finally

get done with that junk man, you'll be free.

You'll be free and it's a good life.

It's a really good life. So despite the lies, there

stands just an insurmountable amount of evidence that God's

love is for us. It never fails, it never

falters, it doesn't quit. It is always in the highest

gear. And so the resurrection is the

public evidence and it is the vindication that Jesus Christ,

there is a final and a legal guarantee to your salvation.

It is very done. And the resurrection tells us

that Jesus Christ has spilled his blood for all of us, and as

we believe in him, we are free, we are forgiven, we are sons and

daughters of the God on the Most High.

And as Jonathan Edwards once said, the resurrection is

evidence that God is holy for us.

Amazing, isn't it? Therefore, the security that

every believer has in Christ is perfectly aligned and it's

perfectly placed because the fact that Jesus is alive is the

fact that we need to be able to move forward in this life and

power and enjoy despite our circumstances.

Doesn't mean we rejoice necessarily when we're in pain,

but man, it does mean that we have a deep seated joy because

of what Christ has done for us and what He's doing for us

today. That I can move through this

world. I can move through those

temptations and those troubles and I can do it with power.

You bet, you bet. And that is not just for a

pastor. The same Holy Spirit that dwelt

inside the apostles is the same Holy Spirit that dwells inside

you today, Christian. So therefore you have this

imbued power inside of you. Are you accessing it with

resurrection logic from your head to your heart?

Is it moving through you? And I hope it does.

I hope it does. It is very possible.

I'm just a guy. The resurrection of Jesus

Christ. It is the cosmic reversal of

everything that Romans 8 lists as potential pitfalls for us and

potential hardship. It is the cosmic reversal of all

those things. And because Jesus Christ has

spilled his blood and he is alive, we too live, not just

later, but we live right now. Now, I've got one more thing for

you. We're on to our kind of final

resurrection logic. But I kind of thought like, man,

I know me, I've probably been shouting at these guys for 20

minutes. Sorry, I'm a weirdo, but I

thought maybe I would kind of get this, this last resurrection

logic, the ultimate proof that got us for us.

I thought maybe I would maybe calm down a little bit and just

give you an illustration. I'll try.

So imagine with me for a moment. You are out shopping.

OK, so you're out shopping and you pick up a couple items.

You don't need the cart, you don't need the the basket.

It's things that you can fit in your hand.

And so you're kind of walking around and what you do is you

find the lane with an actual human being to check you out.

And you're like sweet love that for me.

I kind of like humans a little bit, enough to interact with

them still. So you do the right thing, you

do the right thing and you go to the checkout with the human

dude. I, I laid a joke on that one in

the first service and everybody just like do that nothing.

Anyway, So you go to the check out with the person and you put

your little items on the on the belt and person looks at the

belt, looks at you down at the belt, and then they look at you

and they say, you know what? I've got that.

Excuse me, what did you say? I've got that.

And the cashier pulls money out of his pocket, sticks it in the

till done. And you're like, why would you

pay for me? And he just smiles at you

kindly. You're like, OK, sweet, thanks.

Love that. I, I need to go to more cashiers

because this is a great system. Well, so you're feeling really

good. You're like, I got my items.

I don't even need a bag. I can lightly walk away around

right now. I don't even have to carry

anything. I feel great.

This guy paid for my stuff. This is awesome.

But there becomes a problem when you get to the door and of

course, of course they are there and they're like, excuse me,

where's your bag? Where's your receipt?

Oh, I didn't get a receipt. And they're like, you're going

to have to come with Easter. And you're like, no, and you're

pleading your case. You're working hard to like, no,

the cashier paid for my stuff. I promise.

All this kind of stuff. And eventually security walks up

because now there's a scene and they like, they walk you because

that's how they walk. I don't know, that's how they

walk, I guess. So they walk you to the little

room with like weird glass window.

And I know that because I've been in one.

Don't ask me why, that's a different story.

Sorry. So they walk you into that

little room and man, as you're walking there, what happens is

you are frantically looking at the checkouts and you're like,

where's the cashier? Where is the cashier?

I, they can prove I'm innocent. Where are they?

Poof, gone. Cashier is nowhere to be found.

Lucky you. Great.

Now I have nothing to prove my innocence.

I have no way to prove that this all has been paid for me.

I have no proof. Well, they really give you the

business and they're like, we're pressing charges and three days

later, three days later, you're standing before a judge still

with no proof, no way to prove that you were paid for, no way

to prove your innocence. And out of nowhere, out of

nowhere, the cashier walks in and the cashier walks up to the

judge. And it's like, hey, judge, Nope,

hold on. Wait.

I am standing right in front of you and I am proof that that was

paid for. I am proof that this person is

innocent. Do you see it?

Do you see that the cashier is Jesus?

Do you see that the payment was the cross?

And do you see that his presence standing in front of the judge

is the resurrection for you? Do you see it because when Jesus

walks into the room and you've been accused, he walks in alive.

He walks in alive and well and he is standing before the judge

and he is interceding for you. You have no reason to fear.

You have no reason to have guilt.

You have no reason to have shame the the the risen Son of God,

the resurrection of Jesus Christ tells you and it tells me that

we are free. Love that idea of Jesus walking

him to the judge for me because I need it, man.

I need him to represent me. I need him to tell the judge of

my innocence and he does and he can because he's alive.

So what are we going to do with that?

Is it just here or by the Holy Spirit?

Is it moving down into here? Can the truth of the

resurrection move all the way down from your head into your

heart? By the power of the Holy Spirit

will pray for it. And you don't know it yet, but

I'm going to tell you, hopefully you don't think it's weird.

I have been praying for you all all week.

And I don't say that just because I'm a pastor.

No, I've been praying for all of you all week.

And here's what I'm praying. I'm praying that Jesus's

resurrection love, that it goes all the way with you.

I've been praying that Jesus's resurrection security holds you

tight so that you walk out of here held by him, but also free.

And I am praying, and I will continue to pray that Jesus is

resurrection proof. It puts the love of God so

squarely in your head and your heart that you can't help but

move out of here in absolute freedom and joy.

That is my prayer for you. May God do it.

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