As David said, our sermon today
is going to come from Romans chapter 8. And it's going to be dealing
with verses 28 through 39, mainly with verse 35, 36. The title of my message is No
Separation from Christ. And before we get into the message,
I want to ask a question to everybody sitting here and those that are
maybe listening and watching on live stream. Is there any
possibility that a child of God could ever be separated from
Christ? Now, we know the answer is no. See, if you are a child of God,
you didn't have anything to do with that, with your being a
child of God and being placed in Christ to begin with. The
Bible tells us that God the Father, in the everlasting covenant of
grace, he chose a people called his elect. his sheep, his adopted
children. He did not choose them separate
or apart from Christ. He chose them in Christ, in Christ,
in the beloved. The meaning is all of their responsibilities,
all of the elect's responsibilities rested not on them, but on God
the Son, their surety. and their representative, Christ. Ephesians 1, beginning at verse
3, said, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ, according as he had chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love, having predestinated us into the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. Our message this morning will
go over some of the reasons and evidences why none of God's children
will ever be able to be separated from the love of God that's in
Christ. Let's begin this morning by going back a few verses here
in Romans 8, to get a good picture of what leads up to verse 36,
which is where our message will begin. In Romans 8, 35, we have
a rhetorical question, which is not asking for information,
but is posed to make a point. The question is, who shall separate
us from the love of Christ? Verses 38 and 39 of Romans 8
answers that question, by stating that nothing can separate us
from his love. God's elect can never be separated
from God's love. He will never stop loving us.
He will never let us go. Look at John 10, beginning verse
14. I am, this is Christ speaking,
I am the good shepherd and know my sheep. and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father. And I lay down my life for the
sheep. Also look at John 10, beginning
verse 27. My sheep hear my voice. That
is, when they come to a place where they come under the sound
of this gospel, God regenerates, converts them by the Holy Spirit,
They hear. They hear Christ's voice. And
I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me
in that everlasting covenant, is greater than all, and no man
is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father
are one. The apostle begins here in Romans
8.35 to list all of the things that in their very nature, if
possible, would separate us from the love of God. But thank God,
because of his great love, these things cannot separate us from
our God. Verse 35 then lists a number
of these things. He says, tribulation. which is every kind of trouble
or loss that we experience, distress or anguish. This is the feeling
of despair and loss we have during all these tribulations. Persecution
is affliction we suffer for Christ's sake. When we stand with him
and his truth against this world, Then it closes out with famine,
nakedness, peril, or sword, which are things that have been experienced
by believers throughout our history. We must lean on God's promise
that no matter how horrible these things are that might affect
God's elect, we know that nothing can ultimately separate us from
the love of God. which is in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, beginning here, Romans 8,
verse 36, Paul says, as it is written, for thy sake we are
killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the
slaughter. Paul quotes here from Psalm 44,
verse 22. That's where he says, as it is
written. to show that God's elect, all
who identify with Christ and His grace and love and truth,
all who stand in opposition to the world and its false gospels,
false ways, and false refuges, all have been accused, persecuted,
and even put to death continually all the day long. Paul wrote
to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3.12, Yea, and all that will live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Well, what is it
to live godly in Christ Jesus? Well, it's to live according
to the will of God revealed in his word, his gospel. It's believing God and his promise
to save sinners based entirely on Christ and on him alone. To live godly is to see God's
glory in the salvation of sinners. To live godly is looking to Christ
as the author and finisher of our salvation. To live godly
is to not have any confidence in our flesh or anything done
by us or in us that might cause God to save us or give us eternal
life. Paul wrote that our suffering
for Christ's sake, for righteousness' sake, or looking to Christ for
all our righteousness before God, is an evidence of our salvation. Romans 8, beginning verse 16,
says the Spirit itself bear witness with our spirit that we are the
children of God, and if children, then heirs of God, and join heirs
with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him. that we may
be also glorified together. Now, our Lord said that our suffering
for righteousness sake was evidence of us being blessed of God. Matthew 5, beginning verse 10,
blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake. for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall
revile you and persecute you, shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad,
for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you. This persecution comes over our
testimony of the truth. that exposes the sinfulness,
the impotence, the unrighteousness and hopelessness of all men who
are without Christ. John 3 beginning verse 19 says,
and this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world.
And men love darkness rather than light because their deeds
are evil. For everyone that doeth it hath the light, neither cometh
to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." When we
tell men that God will not save you based on your best efforts
for keeping the law, and not only will he not save
you, he'll damn you based on your works and deeds of law,
men will hate you. That's what happened to Christ.
He was talking to the Pharisees, and he told them that. And they
hate him. They put him to death. They didn't
want to turn loose of their religion, their self-righteousness. Men
will hate you for this testimony, and they'd even cause you harm
if they thought they'd get away with it. Our testimony of the
true Christ keeps us from religious fellowship with the world. And
it brings out the world's hatred toward us. Look at John 15, verse
18. Christ says, if the world hates
you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. Also John
16, one through four. These things have I spoken to
you that you should not be offended. They shall put you out of the
synagogues, the churches, Yea, the time cometh that whosoever
killeth you will think that he doeth God's service. And these
things will they do unto you, because they've not known the
Father, nor me. But these things have I told
you, that when the time shall come, you may remember that I
told you of them." Now, you might think about these things, about
being put out of the churches and so forth, and say, I don't
know of anybody being put out of the churches because we go
tell them the truth of the gospel, of how God saves a sinner based
on Christ's righteousness alone, not based on your works of law. You say, well, I don't know.
But we have men here that have experienced that, men that have
heard the gospel outside of their congregation, in fact, from this
pastor here. And then when they started, they
were so happy about it. They were glad they heard this
gospel. And they thought everybody else
would be glad, too. So he got up and he started teaching it.
Didn't last long. They said, whoa here. Called
him before the deacons. Says, you can't preach this anymore. You can't teach this sort of
stuff. So he said, why? We're saying Christ alone is
the only basis for our salvation, not based on our works. This
is what he was teaching. No, you can't do this no more. So they pretty much said, you
got to go. I had it happen to me after I
heard the gospel. Didn't hear it from somewhere
in that congregation I belong to. Heard it from old men of
old, 1670, 1800s, preaching the gospel, old writers. But it does happen. And you go
into a congregation and try to tell them the gospel. Now, God's
got his elect out there. And even though, just like the
apostle Paul, he hated Christians, but God stopped him, opened his
eyes and ears, And he was out to kill a Christian. And God
changed his heart. And that's what he'll do with
anybody that he bring to believe this gospel by his spirit. Now,
Romans 8, 36b, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. This
is much the same as Paul wrote in Galatians 6, 14. But God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. When Paul was
converted, he counted all his past efforts in religion. He was a Pharisee. He counted
them dumb or worthless. Philippians 3 beginning at verse
7 says, Paul said, but what things were gained to me? All these
things in religion, all these works in religion, these I count
at loss for Christ. Yet doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but done. That I may win Christ and be
found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness,
which is of God by faith. As brother David says, God requires
perfection. He's holy and he won't accept
anything less. So how do you get it? How do
you get this perfection? You can't work it out. You're
going to come short. The only way you can is through
Christ and His righteousness being imputed and counted and
charged to your account. Oh, blessed imputation. Philippians
3, verse 7, that Paul talks about all this right here. Then he
says, how do you suppose Paul's former friends in religion, all
those other Pharisees and scribes, how do you think they felt when
he made these statements that I just got through reading? Those
friends who still applauded and gloried in those things concerning
their law keeping, these things that the Apostle Paul used to
glory in, and thought that they recommended him unto God. They
now hated Paul because of his love for Christ and his glory
only in the cross, the finished work of Christ, for all his salvation. Just as they looked at sheep
that were raised to be slaughtered, they looked at Paul and all true
believers in the same way. They look on us as they did the
Apostle Paul, as fit for nothing else but to be slaughtered. This
is a hard saying, but God says that it's so. Romans 8, 37. Nay, in all these things, we
are more than conquerors through him that loved us. These are
comforting words for a true child of God. Even in spite of all
these terrible things we suffer because of our identification
with and a testimony of Christ and his truth. In all these things,
we're more than conquerors to him that loved us. Again, we're
reminded that it's not our own loyalty or resolution. But it
is through him, through Christ that loved us, that we have ultimate
victory in all these things. How can it be said that we have
victory in all these things? These things that in themselves
are pretty terrible. It is the nature of all these
things to ruin us, to cause us to hate God and take sides with
Satan in this religious world. If all these things could accomplish
this goal, then they would be the conquerors. But Christ has
overcome the world, Satan and the world. Daniel 9, 24 says,
70 weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy
city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, and to
make reconciliation for iniquity. and to bring in everlasting righteousness,
and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to make and to
anoint the most holy. Also over in 1 John 4, beginning
at verse 1. Beloved, believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false
prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby I know you the
Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not
of God. And this is that spirit of antichrist whereof you have
heard that it should come and even now already is. it in the
world. You are of God, little children,
and have overcome the world, because greater is he that's
in you than he that's in the world. Then look at 1 John 5,
beginning verse 4. For whosoever is born of God
overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh
the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Christ changes the purpose of all things to work for His glory
and for our eternal good. His glorious goal is accomplished,
and we're victorious through Him. God's love is engaged on
our behalf, and nothing can conquer his love that's in Christ. Romans 8, 38 and 39, Paul says,
I'm 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 creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul
concludes this section with a glorious statement of faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. I'm going to take the different things that
Apostle Paul's persuaded of here in verse 38 and 39. And I'm going
to say a few things about each one of them. Paul says, I'm persuaded. He's convinced salvation is not
a decision. men come to on their own free
will. It is a persuasion unto which
God, the Holy Spirit, brings God elect to in the new birth. It is the Holy Spirit's convicted
work to show us our sin and drive us to Christ for righteousness
and eternal life. John 16, beginning at verse 8,
says, and when he has come, speaking of the Holy Spirit, He will reprove
the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, of sin because
they believe not on me, of righteousness because I go to my father and
you see me no more, of judgment because the prince of this world
is judged. All decisions we make concerning
salvation are founded upon and they come from this persuasion.
2 Timothy 1 verse 12 says, for the which cause I also suffer
these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed
for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he's able
to keep that which I have committed to him against that day. Well, what was committed to Timothy
and what's committed to us? All of our salvation is committed
to Christ. All our hope is based entirely
on Christ and what he accomplished on our behalf on the cross of
Calvary. So I've committed everything
to it, all things. This is the true nature of God-given
faith as it is founded upon the word of God and the sure promises
of God in Christ. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 20 says,
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen,
unto the glory of God by us. Do you see how many times we
see in him, in Christ, in beloved? It's all in Christ. Every bit
of it. All in Christ. Faith is not a
blind leap in the dark and emotional high that wavers up and down.
Our faith can only be measured by our total reliance upon Christ,
crucified and risen again, and our having no confidence in the
flesh. Philippians 3.3, once again, for we are the circumcision
which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. Paul then says that neither death
because we who believe are eternally justified by Christ, by grace
through faith, and have Christ's righteousness imputed to us,
because we have life by the Holy Spirit from God as an earnest
of our expectation. We need never fear the separation
from God, which Adam first experienced in the Garden of Eden. Christ
himself as our substitute, our surety, he suffered for us according
to 1 Corinthians 15, beginning at verse 55. O death, where is
thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law,
but thanks be to God. which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord. And in Hebrews 2, begin at verse
14. Forasmuch then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he Christ also himself likewise
took part in the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angel, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore
in all things it behooved and indebted him to be made like
unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people. Now, because Christ's death and
resurrection Because of Christ's death and
resurrection, our death is our glorious entrance into his very
presence. Then he says, nor life. These
are things that cannot separate you from the love of God. Paul
does not refer here to our life now in Christ or our glorious
life to come. but to our present life here
on this earth where we're still plagued with the remaining influence
of the indwelling sin, and where we face many trials, afflictions,
and difficulties. This is according to what we
see in Romans 8.35, who shall separate us from the love of
Christ, shall tribulation, and it names all these things. It
is this life that cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ
because God sovereignly works all things for his glory and
for our eternal good. Then he says, nor angels. It
seems appropriate here that Paul is referring to fallen angels. Good angels would never say,
try to separate us from God's love in Christ. Either way, no
angel is powerful enough to frustrate or stop God's love for us in
Christ. No principalities, no powers,
no created being who is in power of any kind, whether civil authorities
or the powers of darkness, can separate us from God's love. Nor are things present, nor things
to come. Time itself cannot separate us from the love of God. God
chose us before the foundation of the world, according to Ephesians
1, beginning at verse 3, which I won't read. We've already had
it up there. We stand right now justified
in Christ and all based on Christ's righteousness
alone. Christ who has redeemed us and
secured us for eternal glory. Look at Romans 8.1. There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after spirit. Our future
is secure in him, according to Romans 8.18. Paul says, for I
reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Then the last part of verse 39
says, nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able
to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. No dimensions of any kind have
the ability and the power, according to Romans 8, last part of verse
39, to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Paul makes clear the only reason
we cannot be separated from God's love is that God's elect, all
that God chose in old eternity, are in the Lord Jesus Christ. He put us there. It is all of
Him, it's by Him, it's in Him. If we have Christ as our only
hope for salvation, if we have that righteousness that God imputes,
accounts to us, we have everything. And nothing can separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus. Amen.