Title: WHAT SHALL SEPARATE US?
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Blog Entry: Rev. Steven S. Billings Pentecost 11 Sermon 7-27-2008 Romans 8:35-39 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Well – no one, of course! Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord! That's where the Apostle Paul leads us in today's epistle. "I am persuaded," he says, "that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Of course, this question presumes that we are already connected to the love of Christ. In fact, this entire section of Paul's letter to the Romans is prefaced by verses that give us the assurance of the love of God, reminding us that, as His baptized children, we are joined to His love that overcomes all the powers and troubles of this world. For instance, Paul wrestles in chapter 7 with the fear that his own sinfulness would separate him from God’s love. You may recall where he says, "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing" (Rom. 7:19 NIV). Apparently, he wrestled day and night with this internal contradiction until finally he cried out: "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Rom. 7:24) Chapter 8 then begins with these wonderfully assuring words: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). You see? Because he was joined to Christ in faith, Paul knew that he was permanently connected to the love of God. And then in verse 30 we see the results of God's love for us in Christ: "Those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified" (Rom. 8:30). Paul was a child of God by faith, just like you are, because God chose him, like He chose you, even before the foundation of the world. And then He called you by the Gospel to a living faith; He justified you by taking what is yours and giving to you what is His, preparing you for the glory of heaven. Ultimately, Paul is confronted with this question: "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:31-32). My friends, the assurance of God's love flows so abundantly from the pages of His word, that when the Apostle asks: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" the implication is that we are already joined to that love - through Holy Baptism, and through the continued receiving of Him in His Word and His Holy Supper. It seems so obvious, but we mustn't take it lightly. Though the love of Christ is offered to everyone - because Jesus died for everyone - and though He wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, the fact is, some people reject Him. And you might be surprised to find out how many people think that the words of this text and the assurance of God's love apply even to those who reject Him! You might recall that after 9-11 a number of politicians quoted this text, trying to offer hope in the midst of chaos and tragedy. The trouble is, they only quoted the part that doesn't specifically mention Christ: "I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God…" The real question is: "Who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord?" But even when we get the question right, we often find ourselves stumbling over the answer. What would separate you from the love of God in Christ? Are there sins you can't seem to get a handle on? Is there someone you can't forgive? Would things like that separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus? Is your faith weak? Are there daily concerns that might separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus? Are there things you should be doing but for some reason aren't? Might there be some other behavior or attitude that right now you can't even imagine that could in some way separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus? What is it that scares you the most when you think that you might somehow be disconnected from God and His love? Listen: Jesus said, "this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day" (John 6:39). And again He says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone 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 My Father's hand" (John 10:27-29). And then here He says through the Apostle Paul: "neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Faith sometimes seems so tenuous and fragile, as if the slightest thing can shake it and destroy it. And it's true that someone can walk away from his faith in Christ if he really wants to. But what will not fail, beloved, what will never be shaken or destroyed, is the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! Never will He leave you, never will He forsake you (Heb. 13:5), never will He reject you or disown you. Jesus says: "The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37b). God's intention with this text is to carry your faith to heights you've never known by showing you the Triumphant Lord who reigns in love over everything that could possibly come into your life - even those things that would try to destroy you. "Who shall separate you from the love of Christ?" Neither death nor life will. Jesus conquered death when He overcame the grave, victoriously vacating the tomb and promising you everlasting life. But you know, some people are more afraid of living than they are of dying. But even life itself can't separate you from God's love in Christ. "I have come," Jesus said, "that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10b). Angels and principalities and powers can't separate you from God's love either. Nor can the present or the future. Now, it's interesting that Paul doesn't mention the past here. But of course, the past can't separate you from God's love because the past has been swallowed up in Jesus' death on the Cross and the great gift of forgiveness He earned for us there. And what has been forgiven no longer exists in the eyes of God, for He says: "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Heb. 8:12 NIV). The present and the future are consumed in Christ's death as well. No matter what Satan devises against you, God checkmates it all with His own power and might. He turns the very fire the devil would use to scorch you into one that purifies and strengthens you. So, dear Christian, there is not one thing can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Whatever that list was of the things you fear most, know here and now: should any of them ever occur in your life, the love of God in Christ Jesus will carry you through, for NOTHING whatsoever, is greater than God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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