The story is told of a monastery in Portugal, perched high on a 3,000-foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men, perspiring under the strain of the fully loaded basket. One American tourist who visited the site got nervous when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relive his fear, he asked, “How often do you change the rope?” The monk in charge replied, “Whenever it breaks!”
The monk’s message didn’t convey a deep sense of security, did it?
Another story is told about a group of scientists who went on an expedition into a hard-to-reach location in the Alps, searching for new varieties of flowers. One day as a botanist looked through his binoculars, he saw a beautiful, rare species growing at the bottom of a deep ravine. To reach it, someone would have to be lowered into that gorge. Noticing a local youngster standing nearby, the man asked him if he would help them get the flower. The boy was told that a rope would be tied around his waist and the men would then lower him to the floor of the canyon. Excited yet apprehensive about the adventure, the youngster peered thoughtfully into the chasm. “Wait,” he said, “I’ll be back,” and off he dashed.
When he returned, he was accompanied by an older man. Approaching the head botanist, the boy said, “I’ll go over the cliff now and get the flower for you, but this man must hold onto the rope. He’s my dad!”
For this boy, the person holding his rope made all the difference! The fact that his dad was the one who gripped the other end gave him the security he needed to accomplish the task before him.
This is the type of security our society is desperately searching for today! For we are living in times of increasing insecurity! Strained diplomatic relations in Asia and the Middle East and the on-going “war on terror” have highjacked our confidence in national security. (Just this past Monday I overheard a group of school children discussing the fear they felt when the Vermont Air Guard flew two F-16 fighter jets over our Franklin Memorial Day parade—they thought we were about to be bombed by North Korea.)
The constant conflict between Republicans and Democrats and partisan in-fighting have caused an enormous breach in our political security. The recent rise of school shootings coupled with the escalating opioid crisis has eroded our sense of personal security. Turbulence in the global economy, drastic swings in the national stock market, and extreme fluctuations in local commodities markets have caused many to fear for their financial security. Broken marriages at home, bullying at school, and pervasive popularity contests on social media have given our children a serious lack relational security. The ever-present threat of cancer and the rise of health care costs have left many of us worried about our physical security.
With so many uncertainties in life, where can we find security? Perhaps some of us sitting here this morning feel like we are swaying in a basket over a 3,000-foot cliff or dangling from a rope over a deep ravine. It is times like this when we must remember who is holding the other end of our rope!
If what the Apostle Paul has said in Romans 8 is true (that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us when Jesus returns and that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose), then it is possible to have security in this life. As Paul brings Romans 8 to a climactic conclusion in verses 31-39, he pinpoints where we can find security for our fearful souls. He reminds us that security is not found in the things of this world; our ultimate security can only be found in God’s redeeming work and love through his Son Jesus Christ!
1.) Our security is found in God’s redeeming work through Christ. (31-34)
As he has done so often in Romans, Paul begins a new section with a question: “What shall we say in response to these things?” This refers back to everything he has written in Romans 5-8 but especially what he just highlighted in 8:18-30. All of those statements can be summarized in a single line: God is for us! Who, then, Paul rightly asks can be “against us?” Of course, Paul recognizes that many people and things still oppose us: people hate Christians, the trials of life, and Satan himself. But Paul’s point is that with God on our side, none of that really matters!
The fact that God is for us is seen in his redeeming work through his Son Jesus Christ. Paul begins with the work that was accomplished in the past—that God did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Jesus’ death on the cross gives us everything we need for security in this life and the life to come because his redeeming work nullifies any charge that can be brought against us on Judgment Day. This takes us back to verse 1—there is no fear of condemnation for those whom God has chosen to receive justification. The only one who has authority to condemn us is the one who died in our place. But more than that, he was also raised to knew life and is presently seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven and is interceding for us. With such an adequate defense attorney at our side, Satan, that old prosecutor of our souls has no chance to win the case! (Moo 282)
What security Christians should feel to know that none of our sins, mistakes, or failures will be counted against us! What security we should feel to know that, even though Satan may meddle with us, he cannot defeat us! What security we should feel to know that the God who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us has delivered us from an eternity in hell. You see, for those of us who have committed our lives to Christ, our souls are secure! And if our eternal souls are secure, we really have nothing to worry about in this life!
The Chinese church leader, Watchman Nee, tells about a new convert who came in deep distress to see him. “No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I’m losing my salvation.”
Nee said, “Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess, he throws his food, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog; my son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ’s heir because it is for you that He died.” We are Christ’s heirs, not through our perfection but by means of His grace.
2.) Our security is found in God’s redeeming love through Christ. (35-39)
Paul makes it perfectly clear that our security is found in God’s redeeming work through Christ, but in verses 35-39 he reveals a second and interrelated reason for the Christian’s security: God’s redeeming love through Christ. He not only defends us as a good attorney; he loves us and enters into a personal relationship with us, and nothing can ever separate us from that love. This is the purpose of the rhetorical question: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” The expected answer is: No one!
To make sure we get the point, Paul specifies some fears at the end of verse 35—“Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword?” These threats were all very real for Paul’s recipients in Ancient Rome and he experience with most of them. He quotes Psalm 44:22 to remind us that suffering has always been a natural and expected part of the Christian life. None of these threats or circumstances can separate us from Christ’s love! (Moo 283)
In verse 37, Paul launches into one of the greatest passages in the whole New Testament. He declares that in all the varied difficulties of life, we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us.” He is suggesting that we more than triumph over adversity, because when God is holding the other end of our rope, it even leads to our good in this life.
Then Paul personally testifies to the fact that he was convinced that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. With ingenious rhetorical flare, he references five realms that fail to separate us from God’s love. “Neither life nor death” represents the physical realm, “neither angels nor demons” highlights the spiritual realm, “neither the present nor the future” represents the realm of time, “nor any powers” points to the realm of government, “neither height nor depth” signifies the spatial realm. No, none of these things can separate us from God’s redeeming love through his Son Jesus Christ. As the chapter began with “no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1), so it ends with the bookends of “no separation.”
We find our only true security in God’s redeeming work and love through Christ. As we understand what these verses mean, I hope you will realize that if you are in Christ, you have absolutely nothing to fear!
Therefore, let me ask: Should we be nervous about a nuclear North Korea? Should we be terrified by the threat of terrorism? Should we be anxious about our political situation? Should we be fearful about our financial circumstances? Should we be worried about a medical diagnosis? Should we be afraid for our or our children’s future? Should you be apprehensive about anything at all?
No, no, no! None of these things can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus! No matter what happens to you in this life, know that you are deeply loved and forever forgiven! Embrace your refuge! Celebrate your security in Christ!
If you turn to the hymn “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go,” you will notice that it was written by George Matheson. That name may not mean a lot to you, but there is an incredible story behind his hymn. He wrote it on the evening of his sister’s marriage, when he was 40 years-old. Twenty years before, he had been engaged, until his fiancée learned that he was going blind. She told him that she could not go through life with a blind man and she broke off the engagement.
Although he was completely blind by the age of twenty, his blindness did not deter him from studying for the ministry. He graduated from the University of Glasgow and Edinburgh with degrees in the classics, logic, and philosophy. He went on to become one of Scotland’s most powerful preachers.
Now at the age of 40, still blind and unmarried, his sister’s marriage brought a fresh reminder of his own heartbreak. It was in the midst of this sad situation that the Lord gave Matheson this great hymn text, which he said was written in five minutes. Particularly poignant is the following stanza:
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not in vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
Not even the loss of human love could separate Matheson from God’s love in Christ. And nothing can separate us from God’s love either. We have nothing to fear! Let us celebrate our security in Christ!