"Stand up You Conquerors In Christ"

March 15, 2009

Vicar Paul Fritz

Romans 8:31-39 ³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered 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 convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I have always held soldiers in high regard. So much so I’ve almost enlisted more than a few times. Right out of high school part of me wanted to be a Navy S.E.A.L. As my abilities to make water do what I want left me, the lure of the military turned to the Marines. I even had a deal with a roommate that if one of us got fed up with school we would join together.

            For me the glamour didn’t come from the heroic deeds or the getting paid to stay in the best shape possible. Instead, the closeness of the soldiers drew me. Soldiers hold blind trust for each other. They will do nothing to let another soldier down. They will not leave someone behind or get separated. To do this, they follow the orders of their leaders to exactly because they know the officers know what they are doing. They have been there they have done that. They will do anything to see the mission accomplished. They pick individual soldiers under their command for individual tasks.

            To us, that leader is Christ. Jesus had his tour of duty. We hear about Jesus’ life. The devil tempted Jesus for forty days in the wilderness yet never once did Jesus slip up. Instead, he followed the orders of the Father in heaven to be prefect.

            Jesus preformed his duty flawlessly to save the souls of countless people. He receives every honor and reward heralded by his followers. Paul tells us in Romans that Jesus doesn’t stop with winning. Instead, he leads us. He tells us, stand up you conquerors in Christ. I selected you. You are protected by me.

(I) Paul talks about what Jesus did for us by asking questions. He makes it clear that God has done everything needed to save souls. God did the great thing and sent his Son to save the world, he will also graciously give us all things.

Listen to the question Paul asked, If God is for us who can be against us? This isn’t iffy at all. With God on our side, there is no one who could possibly be successful against us. It is illustrated and displayed in Christ. He wrote the answer to this question by calling his only Son to put on flesh for 33 years. They he subjected that Son to a lifetime of laws which he had created. After that. He took his own Son and put him on a cross. God allows Jesus to be mangled and beaten and sent him to hell. God made Jesus go through all suffering so we wouldn’t have to. He didn’t want his creatures to be constantly subject to pain and sorrow because of their sins.

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. The devil wants to condemn us. The devil seeks to make us look bad. He focuses on where we fail. He places questions I our heads. How could God sacrifice his only Son? What kind of God is that? Do you want a God who loves you enough to wink at sin and says “hey, that’s okay we all sin” or would you rather have a God that does something about it to drive back the accusations of the devil?

We have a defense attorney who is constantly pleading for our case at the Father’s throne—Jesus Christ. God graciously gives us salvation. Our salvation is based on his grace and the life and death of Christ. The devil bringing up our sins does nothing. Jesus, our defense attorney, shows the evidence against us is inadmissible. It would be like trying to sue a millionaire for giving his money away and being generous to bring our sins before God. The lawsuit would be thrown out of court.

So can any of us say that God isn’t for us? Sadly we do say it and think it quite often. A terrible accusation to make—that God isn’t on our side. If anything God could easily make that accusation of us. What have you sacrificed for me? What have you given me? What have you done to make me any better?

Yet in spite of these possible accusations God loves us. Jesus took your sins and nailed them to the cross, making you holy in God’s sight through faith in Christ. God selected you for his love. God selected you to reap the benefits won by Christ. On top of that, Paul says that he has graciously given us all things. God held nothing back; he gave it all to us.

(II) Do you believe it? If you fully believed it, you would never complain. If you fully believed it, you would never worry. You would never get jealous over what others have. You would never be upset when things didn’t go your way. You would be the most amicable and calm person in the world. But you are not!

Paul believed and look at what he said. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Paul knew about hardships and struggles but still he trusted God would bring him through. He was whipped, stones, shipwrecked, imprisoned and left for dead.

Paul says he is a sheep. God, I’m not indispensable to you. I’m just another piece of meat in your field—you can shave my hair or slaughter me any time. If you want to use my meat to feed others—that’s fine with me.

That’s the trust we have protected by God. Confident of God’s unconditional love, we know in the end we will be more than victorious in heaven. No worries about what God wants to do with us. Take away our clothes, food or life and we are still fine.

We always can be sure of two things protected by Christ. We will end up in heaven. Everything will work out for our good.

That’s harder for us to admit than we would like. Once you know you are protected from being separated from God your outlook on life changes. A newborn son of Dr. Siegbert Becker died at about six months, Christmas Day. But Dr. Becker always said, “I would rather have a dead son than an unbelieving son.” Only a convinced believer in God’s protection can understand what that means.

When you trust God, you won’t fear going for the heights—like being happy and enjoying life. When you trust God, you gladly follow your leader to the depths even if it means sadness and pain. God protects you so don’t be afraid of the future. Take a chance for Christ. So what if you fail or don’t get what you want? Jesus still died for you and God will still love you through faith in Christ. God will still be with you no matter what happens to you. Everything that exists is for you—happens for the good of the kingdom.

God’s not going to let anything break his relationship with you. He’ll be there for better or worse, richer or poor, strong or weak in faith, in sickness or in health. He’s always in forth of us to follow him. He leads us so that we won’t lose our life. He knows exactly where we should be and places us there.

Paul sums up the poise we have in Christ well. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not any powers, neither height nor depth, not anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.