JOY "Certainty" January 18

January 18, 2012

Certainty

Romans 8:17-39

I        Future Glory and 

       the Spirit's Intercession   8: 17-27

II      God's Sovereignty        8: 28-30

III      God's Love                   8: 31-39

John Chrysostom, the archbishop of Constantinople, lived in the 3rd and 4th centuries. He's been canonized to sainthood, by the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox churches. He was known for being a brilliant preacher, as well as, a well-quoted theologian, during his lifetime. From descriptions written about him, he was considered to be a very eloquent speaker, who defied the abuse of authority and the lavishly, excessive lifestyles, which were embraced, by both the spiritual and the political leaders, of the day. 

This made him a target for the Roman authorities, and when, he was brought up in front of the  emperor, for trial, he was threatened with exile, if he continued to speak out against them---they even tried to coerce him, into denying that he was a Christian. Chrysostom's reply to the emperor, reflects the insight of a person, who truly understands, that real security, in life, comes, when we have deep trust in, and submission to, the Holy Spirit and when we can rest, in the absolute certainty, of God's love for us. 

His bold conversation with the emperor went like this:

C: "Thou canst not banish me, for this world is my father's house."

E: "But I will slay thee."

C: "Nay, thou canst not, for my life is hid with Christ, in God."

E: "I will take away thy treasures."

C: "Nay, but thou canst not, for my treasure is in heaven and my heart is there."

E: "But I will drive thee away from man, and thou shalt have no friend left."

C: "Nay, thou canst not, for I have a friend in heaven, from who thou canst not separate me. 

I defy thee; for there is nothing, that thou canst do to hurt me." 

Chrysostom understood, and claimed, what Paul wanted the believers in Rome to understand and to claim------and it's a truth, that's more than important, for us to understand and embrace too------ and it is, that once we've been liberated, from the condemnation of sin and death---we are truly and surely, free, for all eternity. And this means that there is nothing else, in this world that matters, in comparison----not geography, not possessions, not human relationships, not power, not position and not life and death. 

The wonderful reality is, that when judgment and condemnation, are lifted from our shoulders, and we begin to believe, with our hearts and our minds, that they have been, -----then---- we can start dwelling, in the mental, emotional and spiritual freedom, that God created us, to live in, in the beginning----and this plants in us, a calm assurance and an absolute certainty in our hearts, that begins to lead us, into a life of peace and victory, right now, in whatever circumstances, we find ourselves in------but this can only be experienced by people, who've come to know Jesus, as their personal Savior.

We need to believe and walk in the truth, that, in the Lord Jesus, there is no more shame and no more guilty conscience, about the things, that we know, that the scripture tells us we've been forgiven for.

We need to believe and walk in the truth, that, in the Lord Jesus, the practice of our faith, can match the position of righteousness, He's given us, as God's beloved, children.

We need to believe and walk in the truth, that, in the Lord Jesus, all areas of our lives, can be led and governed by the Holy Spirit. 

We need to believe and walk in the truth that, in the Lord Jesus, we are God's adopted children, with all the rights and privileges of a natural born child.

We need to believe and walk in the truth that, in the Lord Jesus, we don't have to be frustrated that we live in a cursed world, because we know that heaven, with all its glory, is just a breath away.

We need to believe and walk in the truth that, in the Lord Jesus, there is nothing in heaven or earth that we ever have to fear again----- we can have a clear conscience, at the end of the day, and we can have a fresh, exciting expectation, every morning.

"The 19th century British pastor, Billy Bray, had been converted, from a life of drunken debauchery, while he was reading John Bunyan's book, Visions of Heaven and Hell. It's been said, that he was so continuously, overjoyed, by God's grace and goodness, that he confessed to his congregation, "I can't help praising the Lord. As I go along the street, I lift up one foot, and it seems to say "Glory"! and I lift up the other one and it seems to say "amen"--and they keep on like that, all the time I'm walking."

When we're compelled, by love for God; feel deep hatred for sin; reject the world; long for Jesus's return; love other Christians, even when they aren't lovely; recognize answered prayer;  discern between truth and error, and long for, and move toward, being Christ-like-------then, we can be confident, that we're walking in the right direction with the Spirit------even if we stumble and fall, sometimes---we can rest assured, that He will be right there, to pick us up, and make sure, that we take the next step forward. We're God's children and we're blessed beyond measure--------and in spite of our circumstances and because of them-----we need to live like it!

I Future Glory and the Spirit's Intercession    8: 17-27

The ancient Jews believed, that they were the only ones, who would inherit the Promised Land, but Paul is very careful, in all his writings, especially in Romans, to make it clear, that God's promise of inheritance, includes anyone, who's accepted Jesus, as their Savior, whether they are Jew or Gentile, Greek or Barbarian. 

As believers, we are co-heirs with Jesus and we will inherit a land (heaven), that is far more wonderful, than the small strip of property, that the Jews thought, was their precious promise.

We are God's heirs, because Jesus went to the Cross and suffered and died for the whole world. But instead of loving Him for it, the world, has hated Him and His followers, for His selfless and perfect sacrifice. And the result has been, some degree, of spiritual, emotional or physical suffering, for anybody, who has ever had a relationship with Him. In John 15:20, Jesus told His disciples, "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecute me, they will persecute you also". And History, has proven, that hatred for Jesus, has resulted, many times, in terrible persecution for Believers, a lot of it, resulting in martyrdom. The early Christians who died in the arena, shared, in the Lord's suffering, and their deaths, were often the seeds of faith, that bloomed in another person heart. 

And, in many parts of the world today, there are Christians who face pressures, just as severe, as the ones, if not worse, than the first-century believers did------ and even in countries, like ours, where Christianity is tolerated and even encouraged, we have to pay a price for following Him too. 

We can't become complacent! -------Striving to live like Jesus did-------serving other people, giving up our rights, resisting the pressure to conform to the world, having an attitude of love and kindness, instead an attitude of entitlement, keeping our eyes on eternity, rather than on what we can achieve right now-----takes it's toll and it exacts a price. But nothing, that we suffer, can compare, to the great price, that Jesus paid, to save us. So, we need to count it, as a gift and an honor, to share in His suffering, if someday, we're going to share, in His glory. 

It's hard for us, to rationalize the concept, of glory and suffering, being linked so closely together. The idea of linking hurts and hallelujahs, makes no sense to the human mind. 

To me, it's a little like pouring ketchup, on ice cream; or adding maple syrup to sushi (yuk). But last week, I took my nephews, to Chic fill A, and Oliver, ate his chicken nuggets, dipped in ketchup with a cone of vanilla ice cream, at the same time; and he didn't even bat an eye. 

We need to get to the place, where we're as comfortable with the fact, that suffering and the-glory-that's-coming, are as eternally linked, as a part of God's plan, as Ollie was comfortable, with his ice cream and ketchup. 

The scripture continually presents, both the sufferings, that we endure; and the glory that we're going to be given, as privileges. Paul tells us in Philippians 1:29, "For it has been granted to you, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him." That doesn't mean that we can earn God's glory, by our sufferings-----the bible doesn't teach us, that the person who suffers the most, will earn the greatest glory------it teaches us, that it's a privilege, that's granted to us, by God's grace, as part of our inheritance, to be able, to share in the sufferings, that Jesus endured for us, because they change us, so that we become more and more like Him.

The wonderful truth is: the sufferings that we have to experience, for a little while, are nothing compared to the glory that's waiting for us, when we get to heaven-----it's a glory that is beyond description and far greater than anything that we can imagine. I told y'all about the funeral that I went to last week, that was such a joyful worship service-----well as we were leaving, Beverly said, "That just made me homesick!"--------and it should have made us all homesick for heaven-------on this earth, we can only experience a taste, of the glory that's waiting for us when we see Jesus ------and sometimes, the joy we feel here, is almost more than we can handle; can you just imagine, what heaven is going to be. 

Throughout the Old and the New Testaments, runs a thread of hope, that points to the glory that's coming. This hope, speaks of a day, when all the pain, heartache and injustice of this world, will be laid to rest, and we won't ever again, experience anything, but blessing upon blessing upon blessing, for all eternity. This hope was just a whisper in the OT, but got stronger when Jesus was born and intensified even more, after His death and resurrection--------but it became a shout, as Paul began to explain, with every word that he wrote, that our present sufferings, aren't even worth mentioning, compared to the glory that's coming! And the fact, that Paul, could proclaim this, proves to us, that it's true, because he endured so much suffering in his short lifetime. He was beaten with fists and leather whips and rocks and he was shipwrecked and chained and imprisoned, and he was left---- starving, naked and cold, to die alone, more than one time, and he was still able to say, in Romans 8:18 …"Our present sufferings are not worth comparing, with the glory that will be revealed in us." 

But, we can't make light of our human sufferings. We've all seen people go through physical illness and injury and emotional distress, that is unimaginably painful. I would never presume to minimize or to trivialize or to judge, another person's suffering, because suffering and trouble, just like sin, is all level at the cross. Paul's words aren't doing that either; because what he's saying to us, in his message; is that the glory that's coming, will be so utterly beyond our comprehension, that some day, our earthly sufferings will be insignificant, in comparison! 

Meanwhile, any kind of suffering, for the Lord Jesus, hurts. And it may not always feel like the privilege that it is---- but we need to remember, that we can rest in the fact, that we don't have to suffer alone, because the Lord has promised, that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that He'll give us a peace, that surpasses all understanding, as we walk through, whatever valley, we have to, on our way to heaven. We have an eternal hope that takes our focus off of our circumstances and puts that focus where it belongs, on the Lord Jesus, and then, that focus on Jesus, gives us a renewed hope. It's a hope that reminds us of who we belong to and who we are in Him. It's a hope that cleanses us and purifies us and gives us the strength and energy to keep pressing on, about our Father's business, in spite of and because of, our sufferings.

Paul says that there are 3 types of groaning going on, that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, confirm our hope of glory.  

Creation; Believers; and the Holy Spirit, are all groaning, for God's future glory, to come. 

We, along with nature, are waiting and groaning with eager anticipation for God to reveal His sons. We're like little children who are waiting excitedly for their birthday party to start------looking out the window------driving their mother crazy, as they complain, about how long its taking for people to come, craning their necks to see, who will be the first to arrive. Or a mother, as she groans in the pangs of labor, craning her neck, as she pushes, to get the first glimpse of her baby's head. 

Creation fell, along with Adam and Eve, when they were disciplined, for their disobedience, in the Garden. So, it wasn't, just, the human race that became subject to sin and death, but the entire physical universe, began to die at the same time. It was sin, that put thorns on roses and that put hostility between different species of animals, including man against animals and man against man and animals against animals; and it was sin, that turned plant-eating creatures, into carnivorous predators, and that caused the ocean to surge with tidal waves and sunamis, and the rivers to leave their banks in floods, and the wind to whip itself into a frenzy of hurricaines and tornadoes, and it is sin, that has allowed disease and age and deformaties, to ravage human bodies . The universe has been subjected to the same frustration, bondage and decay that human beings have been, as a result of the Fall. The law of physics, states, a very accurate description, of the fact, that everything is decaying-----the universe is running down and it's order is becoming disarranged and disordered and we are contributing to it, as we abuse, our air and rivers, with pollution, and our minds and bodies with drugs and other harmful activities. 

Creation longs for the day when everything will be made right and when God's sons and daughters will be revealed. Creation was created by God, for man and was given to him to control. But, when Adam sinned, God flipflopped reality, and nature became the master over mankind. Nature groans to be released from the curse, so that it can fulfill it's purpose. And one day, when humanity is finally delivered from decay, nature will be delivered too. The universe will burst into bloom with a beauty that we can't even imagine. The desert will blossom, like the most lush river valley, and the lions will lie down with the lambs, and rivers and lakes and oceans, will run with water, as clear and sweet, as they were, when God first created them. 

Believers groan to be delivered from the curse too. (We have a video of me in labor with Lizzie, its hilarious, because when I first got to the hospital, I refused to take an epidural, cause I hadn't taken one with the other 2 children-------but, I'd been in labor for so long, by that point in time, that my doctor tried to convince me to take the epidural, by saying, "that with Mary Kathryn, I didn't know any better; that with Griff, I was trying to be heroic; and with Lizzie, I was just plain stupid, if I didn't take it." So, he convinced me and they gave me the epidural. On the video, behind the pitiful picture of me, you can hear Dale say, "this is Debra, before the epidural" and then you can hear him say, behind a picture of me, smiling and bright eyed and bushy tailed, "and this is Debra, after, the epidural.") 

The contrast is night and day------That's the way we are, as we groan to be delivered from the curse of sin--------right now, we are groaning in agony------but we know, that someday, we will shout with joy, because we'll have been, once and for all, delivered from all pain and suffering. 

We are also, groaning for our adoption, as God's children, to be completed. God loves us and He loves the world, so He sent Jesus to rightously regain, what we lost through sin. When we accept Him as our personal Savior, we become God's children, but we won't be ready for eternity, until He changes our hearts to be like His, as He allows us to walk though the valleys and mountaintops, that we face in this life and until our bodies are redeemed and resurrected, never to be subject to disease or death, again. He will change us, in the twinkling of an eye, and everything that God has promised, will be true in an instant. How can we not groan for that?????

And, we're groaning, because of the misery, of having to live in these fallen bodies, in this fallen world-------Ray Stedman, a 20th century preacher and theologian writes, "Our lives consist of groans. We groan because of the ravages that sin makes in our lives, and in the lives of those we love. We groan over lost opportunities. We groan because we see gifted people waste their lives. Even Jesus groaned. It's recorded, that as He drew near to the tomb of Lazarus, He groaned in his Spirit, because of His grief over the loss of his friend. Even though He knew that He would soon raise him from the dead; He was saddened by what sin had done, to a believing family. We groan in our Spirits, in disappointment and bereavenment and sorrow. And, we groan physically, in our pain and limitation. Life consists of a great deal of groaning."

Our sufferings can and should work for us----When a woman is in labor, if she fights against the pain, the misery, will be almost unendurable and seemingly unending, but if she welcomes the pain and rides with it, knowing that each contraction, is bringing her, one step closer to the promise of joy, she can handle the ordeal, with grace and strength. 

In this world, we need to embrace every groan, as a reminder of the promise of glory-----and every pain, as an assurance, that we are one step closer, to our future joy.

As Believers, we are saved in hope-------and in faith, we live by that hope. Hope is the earnest, confident, expectation, of something unseen. Our waiting for God, to bring His plan to completion, is made bearable by the fact, that we already have the "firstfruits" of the Spirit.  

Farmers understand the concept of "firstfruits". They fight against weeds and drought and pests and the extremes in weather conditions, to grow a crop. They drop their seeds into the ground or tend their trees or their vines, with no guarantees. So, the first sign of a productive yield, is cause for celebration and hope. Jesus, is the 1st fruit, of God's greater harvest, that is yet to come and so are we; and the Holy Spirit, living in our hearts, is a guarantee, that there is so much more to come----- as He gives us joy, in the middle of heartache, and peace, in the middle of turbulant, painful circumstances and, as He, miraculously, grows the fruit of His Spirit, in us.

The Holy Spirit groans, as He intercedes for us. He groans to the Father, with words that we can't express. This pasage helps us to understand prayer---it teaches us, that, not only, does the Holy Spirit speak to us but he speaks for us, too. We don't know, what we need to pray for. We can't see the future. We don't know, what's in our best interests or what's in the best interests of the people that we love. We have no clue what's good for us; and we rarely recognize what's bad for us. We lack the wisdom to pray for the right thing. But God still wants us to pray, and He wants us to pray without ceasing, so, when we need to thank Him or when we can sense that something is wrong, and we don't know what to say-----we need to lift our souls and our hands to the Lord, expressing our weakness and our bewilderment and our inadequacy, to express ourselves, and we need to ask the Holy Spirit, to pray the prayer request, or to sing the praises for us.

 Chad said, Sunday morning, when he preached from this exact same passage, "….that we are children, spiritually, and that we need the Father, to give us, what is good for us. He said that the Holy Spirit, is always moving us into the perfect will of God, and that it would be foolish for us to quench or thwart the Spirit of God------so why to we try to. We need to trust Him enough to let Him work. We trust Him with our salvation, so why in the world can't we trust Him with our day to day living."

When we don't understand the heartache that we sometimes have to face and when we're tempted to think, "Why me Lord?" It helps us, to remember that the Holy Spirit groans for us. When we see a mother sobbing over the loss of a child, or when we see a wife struggling to make sense of a husband leaving her, or when we see a husband frantically trying to keep his family from financial ruin, or when we know parents, who are distraught over a child's descent into a lifestyle, of drugs and alcohol, or when we are privy to a friend's battle with depression------we can know that the Holy Spirit is suffering anquish and the desperate ache of sadness, right along with us. He is, the Spirit, of the Creator, who made our bodies and our minds, to reflect His glory, not to suffer from disease and disaster and decay. He loves us so much more than we can love ourselves or each other----so He groans with us--- This should be our greatest comfort.

And, fortunately, the Holy Spirit possesses power that we don't. In our own strength, all we can do is groan, we can't do anything else. But the Spirit groans with a purpose, and with a wisdom, that we don't have, making requests for us, that we are too shortsighted to even imagine.The Holy Spirit's goal, is to help us grow deeper and closer to the Lord; He wants our minds and hearts and God's heart and mind, to be united----- so, His prayers are always answered, because He always prays in agreement, with the Father's will.  

II God's Sovereignty  8:28-30

"Years ago, there was an episode of the Twilight Zone, where a kindly anitque dealer happened to release a genie from an otherwise, worthless bottle. In keeping with tradition, the man was granted wishes, and for some reason, he was given 4, instead of the usual 3, but it was a good thing, cause he needed all of them. The genie warned him to choose wisely, after he wasted his first wish, on something insignficant. So, after he consulted with his wife, he used his second wish to ask for a million dollars, which the genie granted immediately. After giving away nearly 60,000 of it, to their needy friends, they found out that they owed the IRS the rest of it, except for $5.00. The man realized that he should have wished for a million, tax-free dollars. He didn't think about the consequences of his wish, so it bombed.

Next, he wished for power-----he wanted to be the leader of a modern, powerful country, where he couldn't be voted out of office. The genie immediately granted that request too-------and the man found himself in a WWII bunker, surrounded by Nazi attendants and sporting a style of mustache that, hopefully, this world will never see again. Bless his heart, he should have been a little more specific.

The poor man had no choice, but to use his final wish to restore life as it was, before he found the genie in the bottle. The only thing that he gained from the experience, was the wisdom to know, that the power to wish for something, without complete foreknowledge, could have disastrous results, and, that if he'd found a genie that genuinely cared about him, things might have been different.  

We are the same, when we pray----- because we really don't know what's good for us. We can do our very best, to pray in harmony with the Lord's will, but way too often, we pray for the exact opposite of what's good for us. Thankfully, we have a loving God, who only wants good for us, never bad. If I had a dollar for every time, I've been able to thank Him, for not granting my misguided, shortsighted requests, I'd be rich. 

We don't know, and we can't see, how we're supposed to pray, but there is one thing that we can count on, for sure and that is, that Romans 8:28 does not begin with "we think", or "we hope" or "we wish"------it begins with, "We know"……Paul tells us that when the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, "we can know, that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who called according to His purpose." This verse is often taken out of context by well-meaning Believers------but it's important, for us to understand it, in the context, that it was written in. Paul says, that what the Spirit prays for, is what happens. The Holy Spirit prays according to the mind of God, and the Father answers His prayer, by bringing into our lives the experiences that we need, to make us more like Him.

This means that even the trials and the tragedies that occur in our lives are the Father's answers, to the prayer of the Spirit. Everything that happens to us, the pleasant and the painful and the stressful and the easy, happen according to God's plan. It's hard for us to understand and we won't fully know, why many things happen the way they do, until we get to heaven-----but we can know, that God always knows what's best. And that He allows things to come into our lives, because, either we, or someone close to us, needs, what He wants to teach us, through them. 

God weaves events and situations and people, into His perfect plan, so that good, will come out of, even the worst, suffering and heartache. We're being prepared for something that's beyond our comprehension. One day, we will step out of time, into the incredible eternity, that Jesus knew, before the beginning of the world, and we'll share it with Him. 

As we face our sufferings, we can be comforted and blessed, by the privilege, of being considered worthy, to suffer for the name of Jesus, so that we can share in His glory. Sharing in His suffering points us toward sharing in His glory-----we can know that we're His, when we suffer, becasue satan, would leave us alone, otherwise------he doesn't care about sinners-------he just cares about trying to trip believers up and robbing them of their joy-----he cannot stand it, when believers are cheerfully, being about their Father's business, in spite of their circumstances. 

To accomplish His purpose, God called the entire universe of time and space, into existence. He spun the world into it's orbit. He populated it with human beings and gave them a free-will, so that they could choose to obey Him or reject Him. When they fell into sin, He sent His own Son to fix what they'd done wrong---and He did it all, "so that He could work together, all things, for the good of those, who love Him and are called according to His purpose." 

That's what our lives are all about. Thats the meaning, of all that is-------God's purpose is to have a people, who are His own children; a people, who will love Him 1st, and who, then, 

will love each other. God isn't working to make us happy; He's working, to make us holy. 

There is a 5 step process, that God has used in the lives, of every single believer, who has had, who does have and who will have, a personal relationship with Him, down through the ages and for all eternity. 

1. He foreknew….

2. He predestined…

3. He called….

4. He justified….

5. He glorified….

In these verses, Paul is not talking about why some people believe and why some don't; he's just describing the process, that God uses, to bring people to a place, where they can become believers. "William Barclay says, that its almost a lyrical expression of the road to salvation, for every Christian." It's all God, the whole process-----we have nothing to do with it, except to accept it or reject it. 

1. God foreknew us-------God knew us intimately before He even created the world. And, because He isn't bound by time and space, He can see the past, the present and the future, at the same time, and He's always known, that there could only be one path, to salvation, and He's always known, that that path would be a narrow one, and He's always known, who, will accept His offer, to be saved. 

When the Bible talks about a person knowing someone, it means that he knows them so well, that he has a purpose and a plan and a task for them. God knew the children of Israel and He had a plan for them-------but He had given them free-will, and so, there came the day, that, except for the Remnant, they refused the plan, that God had for them. But that didn't change God's plan, because He had predetermined, what it would be, before He ever even created mankind.  

2. God predestined us-----God did not line up humanity and say, "numbers 1, 3 and 5 are going to heaven and numbers 2,4 and 6 are going to hell…" That is not what the Bible says about predestination. (Although there are many theologians, who believe that it does; it just is not, in keeping, with God's character; plus, it totally negates John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever would believe in Him, would not perish, but would have everlasting life." 

Predestination has nothing to do with who's going to hell-------it's only concerned, with who's going to heaven. Predestination tells us that God made the decision, before time, what His purpose for believers would be, and how He would execute His plan, to conform us, to the character of Jesus, so that we will be fit for heaven, to live with the Lord, as His children and to walk and talk with Him, in the cool of the day. Predestination is all about His plan, and His execution it. 

3. God called us-----God draws us to Himself, through the wooing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 6:65, "No one can come to me, unless the father has enabled him." We think that we choose God, but the reality is, we are only responding to His calling us. This doesn't mean that we have no choice, in the matter----- we can choose to yield to His wooing or we can choose to reject it. That's where our free-will comes into play, in the matter of salvation------ and even though the Lord does know, which one we will choose-----He doesn't make us choose Him. 

But, before we do choose Him, He does more, than we can even imagine, to draw us to Him. He will use hundreds, even thousands, of seemingly insignificant events, to get our attention. You can see this, in the different ways, that Jesus called each one of His disciples, personally and individually. 

4. God justified us-------Justification is God's gift of rightousness and worth. It means that we are valuable to Him and that we have been forgiven, cleansed, loved and accepted, by Him. It means He sees us the way we were created to be. Justification is something that we could never have accomplished ourselves. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, was the only thing that could accomplish our justification. God demanded the price, for the penalty of our sin, and then He turned around and satisfied the price, with Himself. 

5. God glorified us-----Paul writes this in the past tense, as if our glorification has already taken place. And the truth is, it has already begun-------this whole lesson, has taught us, that all of creation, is anticipating and groaning for the moment, when God will suddenly pull back the curtain, on what he has been doing, in the hearts of Believers. Glorification is going on right now, in the spiritual world, as we speak------ and on a day, that God has already appointed, the process will be complete, and the children of God, will step out, in glory, and the whole world will recognize them.

Sanctification is another name for the process of glorification. This is the process that the Holy Spirit uses, to change our attitudes, our habits, our speech and our conduct. This process of sanctification, being set apart, to be examples of God's glory, as we conform more and more into the image of Jesus, is inevitable, in the life of a believer. You aren't a believer, if the Spirit is not woking in you and you aren't being changed. God has begun the process and He will see it through to completion.

And no one, is ever lost, in the 5 step process, because God, alone, is responsible for it--------and God doesn't make mistakes. "Those whom God foreknew, before the foundation of the world, He also predestined, to be changed into the likeness and character of His son. Those He predestined, He called; those He called, He justified; those He justified, He glorified and sanctified. For you and me, this process will involve pain and healing, sorrow and joy, stumbling and surefootedness, sin and forgiveness and maybe, even death---------but the ultimate outcome, will be incredible glory!

III God's Love  8:31-39

In the last passage of this chapter, Paul asks 3 rhetorical questions. Each one is directed at satan and his minions-----"Who is against us? Who will bring a charge against God's elect; who is he who condemns? and, Who will separate us from the love of Christ?" Each of the questions, has the same exact answer, "no one!" because, clearly, evil has no power, before Almighty God. These questions, demand a response, of love, from us, because that's really the only thing that God wants from His children. He wants to know, that no matter what heartaches and problems we go through, we won't stop loving Him---- and---- we won't stop, letting Him love us. 

"If God is for me, who can be against me?" When we truly understand God's love for us, all our fear is blown away. We may have sorrows to walk through and problems to solve and enemies to face, but if God is fo us, there is no sorrow that can destroy us and there is no problem that can defeat us and there is no enemy that can conquer us. God didn't spare His own son, but gave up His life, for ours. He gives us everything that we need, and He will do whatever it takes, to protect us and to provide for us, and to make sure that we get safely home. No fear, is the first sign that God loves us and that we love Him. 

"Who will bring a charge against God's elect; who is he who condemns?" The second sign that we love God and that He loves us, is that we can and do, stand secure, in God's completed work of salvation. We are saved once and for all-------we can never lose our salvation. God has justified us, which means there is no one, who can condemn us. No matter what doubts and temptations, satan tries to throw at us, they won't stick-------because Jesus has already borne our guilt and we can never be accused again and God is our judge and He's already said that He's satisfied.. 

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ?"  The 3rd sign, that reveals how much we love God and how much He loves us, is manifested, when we realize, that there is nothing that can separate us from His love. Once we come to the Lord, and commit our lives to Him, nothing can remove us from His hand. Paul considered the worst events that life can throw at us----the most gruesome tragedies that we could possibly face; natural disasters, persecution, war, disease, injury, abuse, murder, mutilation, and death----- and even in the face, of such fightening events-------the answer is, that nothing can separate us, because in all these things, God's great love, makes us more than conquerors, over them. 

Even in the middle of the worst, that this world can do to us, it can't separate us from God's love. In fact, instead of dividing us from the Lord, these things actually move us closer to Him; they make us even more dependent on Him. And the closer we cling to Him, the more we get to know Him and the more we get to know Him, the more we love Him and the more we love Him, the more successful we will be, to walk in step with the Spirit.

Verses 38 and 39 are my favorite verses, in the whole Bible, because they represent the joy of being a believer to me-----------joy, is sunshine and laughter and it's heartbreak and sorrow and "it's being convinced, that no matter what, that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height (of heaven) nor depth (of hell), nor anything else, in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God, that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

"The Christian poet and author, Ruth Harms Calkin has expressed the grateful, loving heart of  a Believer who has truly grasped the truth, of the whole, of Romans, chapter 8-------she writes, "Nothing can separate me from your measureless love, pain can't, disappointment can't, anguish can't, yesterday, today, tomorrow, can't, the loss of my dearest love can't, death can't, life can't, riots, war, insanity, insecurity, hunger, neurosis, disease-----none of these things, nor all of them, heaped together, can budge the fact that I am dearly loved, completely forgiven, and forever free, through Jesus Christ, your beloved son." 

I hope we've all, claimed the truth, of what we've studied this week, and are standing awestruck, before the Lord God, with grateful hearts, that are full of joy, amazed by the love that He has for you and me, and the absolute certainty, that we have in Him.