Worship VII Day 2 Be Still My Soul: Digging Deeper
October 27, 2020
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Romans 8:31-39
36 As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.
37 No, 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 rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Original Intent
1) How has God justified us, as believers, so no one can condemn us? (verses 33-34)
Paul wrote to the persecuted Christians in Rome so they could confidently know that no one could condemn them because they were justified by God. (Romans 8:33) The Greek word for justification, dikaioo, “describes the act by which a man is brought into a right state of relationship to God.
Dikaioo is a legal term connected with the law and the courtroom, where it represented the legally binding verdict of the judge.” Paul wanted his readers to be confident that God, the highest authority and Judge, justified them through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. No one else had the power to say differently. God freed those who trusted in Jesus from all condemnation that Satan, or any person, could charge against them. As author Stephen Cole puts it, “No one can go above God’s head to change His decision to justify the sinner who has faith in Jesus. If God has justified you, you’re justified! He’s the Supreme Court of all Supreme Courts!”
When Paul asked who can accuse or condemn (Romans 8:34), he didn’t mean no one would attempt to condemn Christians. Satan would still lie and accuse, and enemies of Christ would still hurl accusations and persecute believers. Paul emboldens his readers by teaching them that none of those condemning words matters to our standing with God.
Every sin is covered by the blood of Christ, and no guilt or shame can attach itself to anyone covered by the blood of Jesus.
The Everyday Application
1) How has God justified us, as believers, so no one can condemn us? (verses 33-34)
Nothing has sent me searching the Scriptures for wisdom, praying and proclaiming the promises I find in the Bible more than being a parent of teenagers. My teens haven’t even been particularly troublesome or rebellious! They just live in a world that wants to hurt them and tear them down while I am working to build them up and help them heal.
In the midst of the fight, I find myself vulnerable to the lies of the enemy when it comes to my parenting. Any hurt or struggle my kids face is an opportunity for Satan to highlight my failures and shortcomings. “You had one job…to protect them! And you couldn’t even do that,” I hear ringing in my ears. I constantly second guess our parenting choices. Are we too strict? Maybe too permissive? Do we not listen enough, or do we hover too much?
It’s easy to lose sight of what Paul tells us in Romans 8:33, “Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies.” Even though Satan hurls accusations at me, the finality of God’s word says my sins are washed away and I am forgiven, saved by Jesus. (Titus 3:5) He loved me and sacrificed His life for me before I ever knew Him or loved Him. (Romans 5:8) He knew when He redeemed me that I would still make mistakes and sin (1 John 1:8-10), but His voice never condemns me. (Romans 8:33) He gives me grace and helps me recover from the natural consequences of my sin. (Hebrews 4:16)
Amazingly, He uses all my failures to mature me and shape me more like Him, working everything together for my good and His glory! (Romans 8:28) He gently reminds me He is continuously doing all these things for my kids, too. They are also saved by His grace, not their works, or mine! He is for them, and nothing the enemy tries can separate them from God’s love. (Romans 8:39)
The Original Intent
2) What does it mean that Jesus is sitting at God’s right hand interceding for us? (verse 34)
Paul makes this bold statement about Jesus interceding for us; author David Guzik helps us understand this by noting, “The right hand was the place of status and favor. This is because in the thinking of ancient cultures, most people being right handed, the right hand was the hand of power, skill, and strength. To be at someone’s right hand was more prestigious than being at the left hand.” Jesus is seated at this place of honor at God’s right hand in Heaven, but He isn’t there to rest. He is actively praying for us!
Not only did Jesus save us by dying on the cross to cover our sins when He came to earth, but He prays for each of us now while in the position of the Father’s right hand in Heaven. Hebrews 7:25 also tells us Jesus always lives to intercede for us. The Holy Spirit, co-equal with God the Father and God the Son, also intercedes for us according to Romans 8:26. This is such an affirmation of the love of God! Not only did He secure our salvation by His sacrifice on the cross, but He helps us and cares for us by praying for, and on behalf of, us.
Author Gavin Ortlund asserts, “The intercessory work of Christ is invaluable to every Christian, for it makes clear that our ongoing acceptance before God is finally grounded in the utter sufficiency of the cross.” It is almost too much to believe that the Savior who paid the price for our sin also sits in Heaven interceding for us. He didn’t stop at rescuing our souls. He lives to intercede for us, showing us His love in yet another incredible act of service.
The Everyday Application
2) What does it mean that Jesus is sitting at God’s right hand interceding for us? (verse 34)
I believe in the power of prayer. I believe prayer works because I have seen answered prayers in my own life and in the lives of others, not because prayer is “magical”, but because the God who answers prayer lives and moves and loves for our good and His glory!
The Bible tells us in James 5:16 that the effective, fervent prayers of righteous people really do make a difference! If the prayers of the saints can be effective, then what must the prayers of Jesus do?! It is almost unfathomable that my Savior is in Heaven praying for me, yet this is the reality Paul describes in Romans 8:34.
I almost can’t wrap my head around the concept of Christ interceding in Heaven for me. What an amazing act of love and care. Author John Murray suggests, “Nothing serves to verify the intimacy and constancy of the Redeemer’s preoccupation with the security of his people, nothing assures us of His unchanging love more than the tenderness which His heavenly priesthood bespeaks and particularly as it comes to expression in intercession for us.”
His intercession is such a sweet outpouring of His deep love for us. I wonder how different I would feel and behave if I remembered at least once each day that Jesus was praying for me. Surely, I would feel safer and happier knowing He was pleading to God on my behalf!
I invite you to join me each day in pondering the truth of Scripture’s declaration, Jesus intercedes for us! Holding to this truth will make us less fearful and more secure in His boundless love than ever before!
The Original Intent
3) How can we be more than conquerors despite the troubles we face? (verses 35-39)
In verses 35-37, Paul connects with his persecuted brothers and sisters by querying, “Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
As Paul describes the various troubles Christians walk through, he quotes from Psalm 44:22, which would have been quite familiar to his original audience. This passage is a complaint by the nation of Israel that God seemed to have forgotten them. The Psalm ends with an outcry for God to redeem them on account of His faithful love. (Psalm 44:26) This is also Paul’s message to the Roman Christians.
God’s love is so strong that nothing can separate us from His love. Paul is even so bold as to say that in every scenario he mentioned, we are more than conquerors through Jesus. He asserts that believers go beyond just conquering! Author Ray Stedman suggests one who is more than a conqueror “actually takes the very things that are designed to destroy him, and they become stepping stones instead of stumbling blocks.”
How does God take these dire circumstances and make us more than conquerors? Author David Guzik notes how one “overcomes with a greater power, the power of Jesus. He overcomes with a greater motive, the glory of Jesus. He overcomes with a greater victory, losing nothing even in the battle. He overcomes with a greater love, conquering enemies with love and converting persecutors with patience.”
It is the power and love of Jesus in us giving us victory over every affliction and helping us come out victorious. Jesus loved us so much He died on the cross for us, and that love not only saved us, but makes us more than conquerors in every trial we face.
The Everyday Application
3) How can we be more than conquerors despite the troubles we face? (verses 35-39)
It should greatly encourage every Christian when the apostle Paul says “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37), especially since he was referencing some major difficulties like persecution, famine and other dangers. (Romans 8:35-37)
To read that God declares me as more than a conqueror over struggle is awesome! However, there are many days when I feel like a loser, far from a conqueror, and my only foe was an unruly toddler or a snarky lady at the post office. When I lose sight of God’s love and power and try to do things in my own strength, I lose the battle pretty quickly. The good news is I am never separated from the love of God and the help He gives. Paul tells us he is convinced there is not one single thing able to keep us away from the love of Jesus. (verses 38-39)
Paul is not just being a flowery writer or exaggerating to make a point in these verses. He has first-hand experience of many of the afflictions he describes, yet he has overcome them all through the power of God. None of the hardships Paul faced have caused him to turn away from God. God’s love was with him in every circumstance, and he knew God is faithful to keep loving us and helping us no matter what.
I purpose in the days ahead to see myself as more than a conqueror, strengthened and protected by the love of Christ in me. I may not be able to avoid afflictions, but I can overcome them with God’s help.
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