Have You Been Persuaded? The Importance of the Assurance of Our Salvation
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Illustration: 2023 European Disc Golf Championship, one the final round of the tournament, tied for 2nd place, Jakub Semerad shot an 11 on a par four. He went +7 one one hole after a weekend of good play. After a hole like that, if you have ever played golf or Frisbee golf, you know the feeling. I’m done. I am through. I quit.
Friends, sometimes as Christians, we can get to this same point in our lives. We can have one of those days, weeks, months and at some point we reach our limit and we say those same words, “That’s it. I’m done. I’m out. I’ve had enough. I quit.”
Have you ever been there? Are you there right now? This text is for you.
This text is for those:
who are battling that besetting sin and you lost again.
for those struggling with relationships- husbands and wives, family, friends.
for those facing persecution or trials
Right understanding of the preservation of the saints propels right living of the perseverance of the saints.
Preservation propels perseverance.
Paul wanted these Roman believers to be persuaded that nothing could separate them from the love of Christ in order to propel their obedience.
Genuine trust in the reality that you cannot be separated from the love of Christ is essential for godly living, determined endurance, and eager obedience.
Why must we be persuaded?
I. Trusting in the inseparable love of Christ produces an attitude of victory (vv. 35-37)
I. Trusting in the inseparable love of Christ produces an attitude of victory (vv. 35-37)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Who shall separate us? Is there any conceivable opponent, material or immaterial, that is able to separate us from the love of Christ?
Then Paul lists some potential opponents that might separate us: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword.
All of these things Paul personally faced in his lifetime.
23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.
24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;
26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;
27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
At the time of writing this letter Paul had faced all of the dangers listed in Romans 8:35 except perhaps the last one.
Romans 8:35 (ESV)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Be he would, in not that much longer of a period of time, face even the sword unto death. And still, since He can still speak to us today through these words, he says, “not even the sword, not even death has the power to separate you from the love of Christ!”
And as Christians we may be called on by God to face any or all of these things. That’s Paul’s point in the next verse.
36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Here Paul quotes from Psalm 44.
This is an intriguing psalm. We are not sure exactly what the historical situation is, but apparently the armies of Israel had gone out for battle and lost- badly.
In response to this defeat the Psalmist pens these words.
He begins in vv. 1-8 remembering all of the wonderful deeds that God did for their fathers, for previous generations.
1 O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:
God did amazing things for their ancestors of old. He drove out the nations before them. He afflicted their enemies. And he did it without the sword, nor was it by the strength of human armies. God by his own right hand and strong arm saved his people.
In response to this the Psalmist tells us where his trust lies.
6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
And yet, for no sin that the Psalmist can think of, God allowed them to be defeated.
9 But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations.
Again the Psalmist insists on their innocence in the matter.
17 All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way;
19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
This is the verse and the context that Paul quotes in Romans 8:35-36. Why?
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
There are times when God allows his people to be defeated. He allows his people to suffer. He even allows his people to face death. And this is nothing new, God has been working as a free and sovereign God all along. Even the Apostle Paul, before too much longer, would face execution at the hands of the Romans.
And yet because of Paul’s unflinching trust in the inseparable love of Christ he does not quit, he does not stop, he does not loose heart. Because his faith is rooted in the assurance of his salvation look what He can say!
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
37ἀλλʼ ἐν τούτοις πᾶσιν ὑπερνικῶμεν[1]
No! In all these things we are winning a most glorious victory
διὰ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς.
through Him who loved us.
More than conquerors- Present, Active, Indic- To defeat surpassingly, to utterly defeat beyond the norm, to prevail completely, to be completely and overwhelmingly victorious.
Not in and of our selves! Through HIM who loved us- that is why we are victorious. It has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Christ.
“When a man fights against his sin only with arguments from the issue or the punishment due unto it, this is a sign that sin has taken great possession of the will, and that in the heart there is a superfluity of naughtiness. Such a man as opposes nothing to the seduction of sin and lust in his heart but fear of shame among men or hell from God, is sufficiently resolved to do the sin if there were no punishment attending it; which, what it differs from living in the practice of sin, I know not.”
“Those who are Christ's, and are acted in their obedience upon gospel principles, have the death of Christ, the love of God, the detestable nature of sin, the preciousness of communion with God, a deep-grounded abhorrency of sin as sin, to oppose to any seduction of sin, to all the workings, strivings, fightings of lust in their hearts.”
“So did Joseph. "How shall I do this great evil," saith he, "and sin against the Lord?" my good and gracious God. [13] And Paul, "The love of Christ constrains us;" [14] and, "Having received these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and spirit," 2 Cor. vii. 1.
But now if a man be so under the power of his lust that he has nothing but law to oppose it withal, if he cannot fight against it with gospel weapons, but deals with it altogether with hell and judgment, which are the proper arms of the law, it is most evident that sin has possessed itself of his will and affections to a very great prevalency and conquest.”
John Paton pg. 200
He didn’t quit- he went back and kept going. Why?
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Is this your attitude? Do you have an attitude of victory?
Trusting in the inseparable love of Christ produces an attitude of victory.
Application: What area of your life do you need to apply this to today? Sin, relationships, witnessing, work, school?
Implementation: How will you put your application into practice?
- Spend some time reviewing just how wonderful God’s love has been in your life. Remember you salvation story, remember times of God’s providence, protection, provision. Rehearse these in your mind. Spend time in prayer wondering over the love of Christ. Spend time in song, “the love of God.” How will you implement this into your life?
Why must we be persuaded?
II. Trusting in the inseparable love of Christ produces an attitude of confidence (vv. 38-39)
II. Trusting in the inseparable love of Christ produces an attitude of confidence (vv. 38-39)
Romans 8:38 (ESV)
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
38πέπεισμαι γὰρ
For I have been persuaded[1]
[1]Perfect, passive, Indicative
Could be an intensive perfect
Death / life- refers to these in the most general way to two possible states of existence.
angels / rulers- rulers is most likely a reference to evil spiritual powers.
temporal issues- present / future- we need have no fear that neither present or future events or circumstances will ever call into question our relationship with God in Christ.
powers- Paul does use this word elsewhere in reference to miracles. Maybe the powers of Satan? Or it could spiritual forces in general. Unknown why it is not in a pair like the rest.
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
height / depth- encompass the entire universe. From heaven (height) to hell (depth) and everything in between.
And suspecting one of those “what if” questions from an opponent Paul adds- nor anything else in all creation!
Will be able to separate us from the love of God (different from above), yet still in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What’s Paul’s main point? He says “I am sure” and the implication is are you? Are you absolutely sure? Are you convinced? Are you persuaded? That absolutely nothing can separate you from the love of Christ? From the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord?
How do you know?
One of those Roman 8:16 moments this week-
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
I know this was written for Israel. I know that the church is not Israel. But the church is a people of God just like Israel. So we share certain similarities in our relationship to God- and I think this is one of them.
The Spirit bears witness with our spirit- through the Word (always) that we are children of God.
It was like the Spirit of God superimposed my name over this verse!
“Fear not Jon, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Nothing shall separate you from my love.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
God didn’t give Egypt as my ransom- he gave something much better!
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Why would you do that for me God?
4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.
Friend- no matter what you are going through right now, know this- you are precious in the eyes of God. You are honored in the eyes of God. He loves you! He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he no also with him graciously give us all things?
Be persuaded that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Friends do you have this kind of confidence?
Illustration: Paton, 207
Illustration: Tim:
This is Aygerim on the left. She came to Christ at our camp in Kyrgyzstan when she was 12. She was the only believer in her village and region. The day after camp, she was beaten severely by her parents for leaving Islam. Later that same day confronted the village elders with Jesus the Way Truth and Life, and was beaten by them. They demanded her Bible, she his it and was beaten for not giving it up. First Sunday she got on a bus to travel an hour to the nearest church. She told the Sunday school teacher about her beatings, asked for prayer that through her God would start a church in her region. Upon her return it was discovered she was at church, beat again Now she is 18, through her steadfast testimony and suffering we have a group of believers meeting in her village. A modern day hero of the faith. God uses Children and teens.
How can someone do something like that? Be persuaded! Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
That is the heart of what Paul is saying here in Romans!
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Application: How will you apply this? Friend you must go out from this room with absolute confidence of your salvation. What if I don’t?
Find someone to disciple you!
This is absolutely critical. You will have no success in your Christian life until you nail this down.
But, if you know this and if you are sure, if you are convinced then what? On the basis of this conviction attempt something great for God this week! Use this sustaining grace of God in your life to be more like Christ in your action. Have the boldness to share the gospel with your neighbor. Have the confidence to kill sin in your life. Have the conviction to go through the messy process of forgiveness and reconciliation with those who have wronged you.
You must be sure! And when you are and you act out of that love out of that grace, then God can really begin to use you for His glory.
Implementation: You must plan to do this. You must implement a plan for your application. Take one step of obedience this week. Plan to invite your unsaved fried for a meal. Plan to the meeting where you will seek forgiveness and reconciliation. Plan to do something. How will you implement God’s Word into your life this week?
Genuine trust in the reality that you cannot be separated from the love of Christ is essential for godly living, determined endurance, and eager obedience.
Why must we be persuaded?
Because trusting in the inseparable love of Christ produces an attitude of victory. “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Because trusting in the inseparable love of Christ produces an attitude of confidence. “I am sure, that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Go forth today, beloved of God, knowing the surety of your salvation. Be motivated by the grace and love of God to be marvelously used for the glory of the one who loves you, both now and forever. Amen.