The Lutheran Hour
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"God’s Inseparable Love"
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Text: Romans 8:31-39
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God of all time and space, the universe which You have made is indeed vast. In comparison to its infinite expanse, we feel so very small. We are amazed that You could know us by name and single us out as the object of Your love. Keep us close to You at all times, regardless of the many threats in this world. Assure us that You are with us always and in every place. Quiet us with Your inseparable love which is ours through Jesus Christ our Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Christmas is a time to celebrate peace. The angels announced to the shepherds in the fields, “Peace on earth,” and this declaration has been echoed in an infinite number of Christmas songs and greetings for over 2,000 years. On this first Sunday after Christmas we continue to celebrate the birth of the One whom the prophet Isaiah called “the Prince of Peace,” who grew up to say, “blessed are the peacemakers,” and who told His followers to “turn the other cheek.”
Certainly a love for peace should characterize our relationships and our interaction with other people within the family, the church, and society. But the Bible also tells us that there is an arena in which a Christ follower is called to arms. There is a spiritual warfare that Christians must wage that the apostle Saint Paul calls a “struggle not against flesh and blood,” that is to say not against fellow human beings, but against what he calls the “the spiritual forces of wickedness” that cannot be seen with the human eye, but are nevertheless a very real adversary (see Ephesians 6).
Given the real power of our spiritual enemies, we need more than our mortal flesh can come up with to defeat these foes. We need God to intervene and to fight for us. And that is why it is such an incredible Christmas gift to the world when, as Saint Paul puts it in Romans 8, God “did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all.” It is truly remarkable that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, walked into our warfare, and stepped on to the same spiritual battlefield with us. Shortly after Jesus’ baptism, and just before He began His earthly ministry, the Spirit of God led Jesus into the desert where He was bombarded by the devil’s fiery arrows of temptation. But Jesus’ tangling with temptation did not stop there. The Bible says that Jesus has been tempted in every way that we are, yet without giving in to temptation and committing sin (see Hebrews 4:15). After Jesus’ victory over the devil in the desert, the Bible says that Satan left Jesus only to return at a more opportune time, perhaps in the garden of Gethsemane. Seeing what was in store for Him, Jesus was no doubt tempted to skip the cross and to do what was in His own best interest. But thankfully for us, with selfless love, Jesus chose the abuse and abandonment, even from His heavenly Father, as He cried out in agony from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
The church of Jesus Christ has always taken comfort in the Bible’s assurance to us that Jesus did indeed become one like us, even to the point of suffering all that we do, yet without ever allowing it to defeat Him. Though it may not have always appeared so on the outside, Jesus successfully withstood all attack, and finally defeated death, sin, and Satan with His own death on the cross and His victorious resurrection on the third day. He did all this in order to win victory over all that tries to defeat us. He successfully fought our battles for us, and then amazingly and wonderfully, Jesus shares His victory with all who trust in Him. Now we can rejoice knowing, as Saint Paul declares at the end of our reading, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Yes, we are “more than conquerors” in Christ!
As the old year passes and you and I begin anew, we can’t help but reflect upon where we have been, and look ahead at what tomorrow might bring. We naturally do this with a certain amount of guilt over our past failures, but also with New Year’s resolve to win victory in the future. But no amount of resolve alone would be enough. Our only hope for victory is in Christ’s victory. In Him we can face boldly the things that Saint Paul lists in Romans 8 that threaten to separate us from God’s love. They are all potentially serious contenders, but because of Christ they are mere pretenders.
The first one is the worst one, namely: damnation. All throughout the Bible God threatens us with damnation or condemnation because of our failure to measure up to His expectations. It is a legal term that brings to mind a courtroom in which we are on trial and have countless charges against us, all of which carry the death penalty. If we take into consideration the spirit of the law, and not just the letter of it, then we begin to see that God has every right to “throw the book at us.” For example, God forbids not just first-degree murder, but wishing someone were dead, or hating a person in our heart. Likewise, God condemns not only extramarital affairs, but lusting after someone in our minds, either in person or in pornography.
Yet in spite of all the sin that earns us damnation, Saint Paul asks the rhetorical question, “Who is He that condemns?” The obvious answer seems to be God. After all, He is the one who would and should condemn us because of our sin, and yet instead Paul says something wonderfully surprising. He says, “It is God who justifies” you, not condemns you. Why is this? Because it is “Christ Jesus, who died, more than that, who was raised to life, (who) is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Jesus shed His innocent blood in the place of our guilty blood. Jesus was separated from His Father’s love for a time, so that we need not be separated from God’s love for eternity. He intercedes before the Father on our behalf and applies His victory to our sin and His righteousness to our account so as to justify us. Yes, now because of His Son, the Father sees us as justified, or as someone once put it, “just-as-if-I’d” never sinned.
The second group of things Saint Paul lists in Romans 8 that we might think would separate us from God’s love, we could call: difficulty. The New International Version of the Bible has the words, “trouble” and “hardship.” The word translated, “trouble,” is common in the New Testament and is sometimes rendered as, “tribulation.” It literally means “to press” or “squash,” causing us to think of the many pressures of life.
The word that is translated as, “hardship,” literally means, “narrowness,” or “crowded.” You might think of it as the many “tight spots” in which we sometimes find ourselves in life, such as financial shortfalls in which there is too much month at the end of the money. When it seems like there is no way out, Jesus comes to our rescue and says, “Follow Me, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” His Word guides us as a “light to our path,” and His forgiving grace covers us, even when in this fallen world we have to resort to choosing the lesser of two evils. He applies His righteousness to our account and sets our feet on the narrow road that leads to life eternal.
The third apparent threat against God’s love that Saint Paul mentions, we might call: derision. Derision is that contemptuous jeering and ridicule that Christians endure because we swim upstream against our culture. As Christians, we often face social stigma and rejection by friends, and even sometimes by family, who do not understand or appreciate our values and biblical worldview.
This can be particularly demoralizing and devastating until we remember that we are in very good company as we suffer in this way. For one thing, countless saints and martyrs who have gone before us have endured unjust treatment, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to join with Jesus in suffering shame for His name. But most comforting is the fact that we are never more Christ-like than when we are on the receiving end of merciless mocking and yet do not retaliate. Saint Peter tells us that “Christ suffered for us leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps.” We do not return evil for evil but instead we entrust ourselves to our Heavenly Father who judges justly (see I Peter 2:21).
Next, Saint Paul lists a couple would-be threats against God’s love getting through to us that we could call depravation; namely famine and nakedness. Now the Bible says that if we have food and clothing we should be content, and of course many of us in America have far more than that. Yet there are many in this country who do not know where their next meal is coming from, to say nothing of the millions who are starving every day around the world, especially in under developed countries. Indeed as you hear this message you may have gone to bed hungry. But even if you had enough food to eat, just based on statistics it is likely that you are dealing with significant debt. The average American household has about $19,000 worth of debt, not counting the home mortgage. Routinely the average American family spends about 40 percent more than it earns, financing the difference on credit cards. Add to this the alarmingly high chances of job loss and it is no surprise that every year over a million and half people file for bankruptcy. Many people are left with only the clothes on their back, and even then they might be at risk of losing their shirt.
Can Jesus handle these threats upon our most basic needs for survival? Ironically Jesus has defeated them with His own poverty. Paul says in another place, “you know the grace of our Lord Jesus that though He was rich yet for our sakes He became poor so that in Him we might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Of course the riches that we are promised are not merely material but the spiritual riches of knowing that God loves us and is on our side, and the confidence that He knows our needs and will provide for us.
The old saying is that there are two inescapable things in life: death and taxes. This being so, Saint Paul speaks not only of financial problems but also of that which is truly deadly; namely, danger and sword. He says that we face death all day long. Sadly threats upon our life are a reality in this fallen world in which we live. The most recent one, of course, is terrorism.
Do dangerous and deadly things separate us from God’s love? Here we must remember that when God first created people He intended that we would live forever. It was only after we disobeyed God and sinned that we brought sin’s death penalty upon ourselves. In Romans 5, Saint Paul says, “Sin entered the world through one man (namely Adam), and then death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all have sinned.” This is finally why we have death in the world. Contrary to the theory of evolution, death is not a natural process of life. It is not God’s creative design and intention for His creatures. It is the result of sin and the fall of creation that there is entropy and that everything is gradually deteriorating, including our bodies. As we celebrate the beginning of a brand new year (as we are doing tonight), it gives us a welcome sense of having a fresh start. And that is why we often symbolize the New Year with a picture of a newborn baby. But in reality, a new year means we are another year older and closer to the grave.
Is there any hope for us mortals? As Saint Paul put it in another place, “Who can rescue me from the body of death?” (Romans 7:24). His answer here and there is Jesus Christ. “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (I Corinthians 15:57). “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Jesus defeated sin and death for us with His own sinless life, and with His own innocent suffering and death on the cross in our place. And then on the third day in the tomb Jesus rose from the dead, once and for all defeating what Saint Paul calls the last enemy (I Corinthians 15:26), defeating even death.
Unfortunately there is no shortage of challenges in this world that might appear to separate us from God’s love, and therefore Saint Paul concludes his list at the end of Romans 8 with some catch-all categories like height and depth, and so forth. But on this New Year’s Eve, I especially want to highlight one final would-be threat that Paul mentions and that is: time. He assures us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that we need not fear things present nor things to come. You see, all of time is in the Lord’s hands. He holds the future, so that we who trust in our victorious Lord Jesus can face the days ahead with the utmost confidence, knowing that from everlasting to everlasting God is God (see Psalm 90:2). Jesus Christ is “the same, yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
With this promise from our Lord Jesus, dear friend, you too can be “convinced that. . . neither the present nor the future. . . will be able to separate (you) from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” May this sure promise from God Himself enable you to venture into this New Year with irrepressible joy. May you be fully persuaded that nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, can keep God from loving you as you personally trust in His Son who died for you and rose again. And may God’s inseparable love, which is ours in Jesus Christ, give you confidence to face each and every new day in this life, and yes, even in the life to come. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for December 31, 2006
TOPIC: Is Repentance Just Saying You’re Sorry?ANNOUNCER: Is repentance just saying you’re sorry? That’s today’s question for Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Do we have a question which will take us into the new year?
ANNOUNCER: As a matter of fact, we do. A listener writes: “I’ve got a family member who gets really mean when he gets angry. Afterwards, he always says he’s sorry, and he expects us to just forgive him as though nothing had ever happened. Is repentance just saying you’re sorry, or is there more to it than that?”
KLAUS: Sort of a New Year’s resolution question.
ANNOUNCER: Could be. Now, granted, all of us are sinners. As Christians, we know we are forgiven sinners. But without the ability to see into another person’s heart, how do you know if a person who repents is really sincere about it?
KLAUS: Mark, I think you ought to make a resolution not to ask such hard questions when we’ve only got four minutes to answer them.
ANNOUNCER: Well, that’s a resolution we’d break right away.
KLAUS: Probably. How can we know if a person is sincere when they repent? That’s an easy one. We can’t. A person may be lying like crazy when they say, “I’m sorry.” They may be totally, and terribly sincere. We just can’t tell. All we can do is take their words at face value, and forgive.
ANNOUNCER: But suppose that sin is repeated again and again and again?
KLAUS: Then we forgive again and again and again.
ANNOUNCER: Isn’t there a limit?
KLAUS: None that I know of.
ANNOUNCER: But, is there anything else that should be added to your answer?
KLAUS: There is; because you forgive, that doesn’t mean God expects you to go right back into the same situation all over again.
ANNOUNCER: So, for example, if I were to borrow five dollars from you and then refuse to pay you back, you should forgive me, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to loan me another five dollars?
KLAUS: Yes. Good luck on getting the first five. That’s right. Just for the record, Mark… when I was in the parish I occasionally ran into the situation where a spouse was physically and verbally abusive. I mean big time abusive. While the Lord would expect the spouse who was the recipient of the abuse to forgive, He doesn’t necessarily say, “Now get back in there right now and forget about everything which has just happened to you.” Before that relationship could be reestablished, it was usually right to have a protracted period of counseling, as well as some pretty solid proof that things had changed. That is for the sake of protecting the innocent parties.
ANNOUNCER: So, going back to our original question: Is repentance merely saying you’re sorry?
KLAUS: A little more complicated. Let me ask you, Mark… are you making any New Year’s resolutions?
ANNOUNCER: Personally, not really, but I’m sure quite a few people are.
KLAUS: Do you think that these folks are going to keep their resolutions?
ANNOUNCER: Well, we would hope so, but there are no guarantees.
KLAUS: How can you tell if they are going to keep them?
ANNOUNCER: Once again, I can’t.
KLAUS: So what would you have to do in such a case?
ANNOUNCER: I think you can always support them, encourage them, and certainly pray for them.
KLAUS: That’s great. But would you trust them?
ANNOUNCER: Well, I don’t know how I could answer that.
KLAUS: Good. Now, having heard your answer, let me share mine. Repentance is more than mouthing some words. Repentance should be an action of the heart.
ANNOUNCER: And, really it’s something that the Holy Spirit works in that person’s heart.
KLAUS: Right. Repentance takes place when the Lord convicts a person of sin. He leads them to that point where they want to turn away from what they were saying, or doing, or thinking, and then, by faith, cling to God’s promise of forgiveness through Christ. Then, forgiven, they resolve, by the Spirit’s power, to go a different direction.
ANNOUNCER: But still, we can’t tell what’s really going on in someone else’s heart.
KLAUS: No, you can’t. Indeed, a person might sincerely repent and sincerely try to avoid a sin, and find themselves slipping back into that sin. That might happen again and again. Even so, we take their words at face value and forgive.
ANNOUNCER: Why do we do that?
KLAUS: Because repentance is a matter which concerns the person who is repenting. The sincerity and longevity of their repentance rests upon them. Forgiveness is the work of the person who has been sinned against. I can’t control what the sinner will do; I can only obey the Lord and do what He asks, which is to forgive.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Who Shall Separate Us” by Heinrich Schuetz. From Heritage, vol. 1-European by the National Lutheran Choir (© 1993 National Lutheran Choir)
“In dir ist Freude” by J.S. Bach. From Orgelbüchlein & More Works by J.S. Bach by Robert Clark and John David Peterson (© 1997 Calcante Recordings, Ltd.)
“Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation” arranged by Timothy Moke and Georg Masanz. From Magnificent Christian Hymns, vol. 3 by Timothy Moke (© 2006 T. Moke Recordings) Used by permission