The power of love
This week's verses are on Romans 8:31-39:
These verses are a powerful description of God's grace on our lives. Sin is poised to destroy us, and yet through God's love and self-sacrifice, it is rendered inert. The bomb explodes but its force is redirected. It cannot touch us, not because of us, but because of Him. He is invincible and indestructible, and fully on our side.
Sin and unforgiveness rage through mankind. Look at the wars that have taken place throughout history, not because of religion, as liars love to claim, but for lack of it. Someone has something that provokes another's envy. Someone offends or injures or kills another. It's man against man, and then family against family, and then village against village, and before you know it it's nation against nation. Lives are ruined because of mistakes and grudges. Families are separated from children, spouses divorce, best friends become enemies, and so on.
Sin gains power every time it picks up another soul. It's like a boulder tumbling off of a mountain, where it knocks others loose and before you know it, it's a landslide threatening to kill and maim everyone in its path. Who is strong enough to stop something like that? Jesus.
Instead of joining the landslide, Jesus threw himself in its path. He absorbed its power even though it would crush him. His power was more than the power of sin. And through forgiveness, we have his power too. Instead of joining the horde of people crying for blood, we can pay the bill ourselves, quietly, and possibly save a life.
Paul nails it with these verses though. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Whatever charges are against us, who would dare to bring them before God, who has already decided in our favor? Is there a greater judge? Is there a court he doesn't preside over? Who would press the issue against God? Best case they'd lose, worst case they'd lose and be destroyed!
Nobody can condemn if God acquits. We are released into his care, time served by Jesus on our behalf. It is hard to imagine the power behind the ability to stop any sin, and overcome any opposition. Is there any lawyer who could show up in any random courtroom on earth, and say "my client is not guilty, he's walking out of here today, and none of you can stop me from making it happen?"
It's not weakness to forgive a sin, it's the power of a mighty warrior, who takes a crushing blow and still stands unscathed. The real question is why he'd take the blow that's meant for us. It's not his job. He doesn't belong to us. We're his property, if ownership is a thing. Why accept humiliation and get nailed to a cross over a person? Love.
God's love is deep and pure. We didn't buy it with cheap breast implants, an exotic perfume, killer shoes, or some weekend crash course on how to get God to do whatever we want. We are powerless to move a will that big. God's love is a mystery, but we know it comes from him. If we didn't win it ourselves, how are we going to lose it?
Just like nothing anywhere in creation can overrule God and condemn us, nothing anywhere can convince him not to love us. Who is going to outsmart him? Who is going to blackmail and extort him? Who is going to defeat him in battle, one on one, or even all at once? He stands unscathed even after being murdered! It's pointless to try it.
He doesn't even forget about us when we die. His life doesn't go on without us. He doesn't make new friends to replace us. Our circumstances don't make us inconvenient to relate to. God overcomes. All of those things, death included, are nothing to him. Even time itself bends to his will.
"We are more than conquerors through him who loved us." More than conquerors! Think of famous generals and warlords throughout history. Caesar. Genghis Khan. Napoleon. Alexander the Great. People who left a trail of fire and destruction and made their enemies submit to their will. We are greater than them! Because of God's love we have more power than them. Everything that has been thrown at us, or which will be thrown, will amount to nothing. There is no defeat for us, and no end to our lives in eternity, because of what Christ's love has done for us.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 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? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. 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. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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.
These verses are a powerful description of God's grace on our lives. Sin is poised to destroy us, and yet through God's love and self-sacrifice, it is rendered inert. The bomb explodes but its force is redirected. It cannot touch us, not because of us, but because of Him. He is invincible and indestructible, and fully on our side.
Sin and unforgiveness rage through mankind. Look at the wars that have taken place throughout history, not because of religion, as liars love to claim, but for lack of it. Someone has something that provokes another's envy. Someone offends or injures or kills another. It's man against man, and then family against family, and then village against village, and before you know it it's nation against nation. Lives are ruined because of mistakes and grudges. Families are separated from children, spouses divorce, best friends become enemies, and so on.
Sin gains power every time it picks up another soul. It's like a boulder tumbling off of a mountain, where it knocks others loose and before you know it, it's a landslide threatening to kill and maim everyone in its path. Who is strong enough to stop something like that? Jesus.
Instead of joining the landslide, Jesus threw himself in its path. He absorbed its power even though it would crush him. His power was more than the power of sin. And through forgiveness, we have his power too. Instead of joining the horde of people crying for blood, we can pay the bill ourselves, quietly, and possibly save a life.
Paul nails it with these verses though. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Whatever charges are against us, who would dare to bring them before God, who has already decided in our favor? Is there a greater judge? Is there a court he doesn't preside over? Who would press the issue against God? Best case they'd lose, worst case they'd lose and be destroyed!
Nobody can condemn if God acquits. We are released into his care, time served by Jesus on our behalf. It is hard to imagine the power behind the ability to stop any sin, and overcome any opposition. Is there any lawyer who could show up in any random courtroom on earth, and say "my client is not guilty, he's walking out of here today, and none of you can stop me from making it happen?"
It's not weakness to forgive a sin, it's the power of a mighty warrior, who takes a crushing blow and still stands unscathed. The real question is why he'd take the blow that's meant for us. It's not his job. He doesn't belong to us. We're his property, if ownership is a thing. Why accept humiliation and get nailed to a cross over a person? Love.
God's love is deep and pure. We didn't buy it with cheap breast implants, an exotic perfume, killer shoes, or some weekend crash course on how to get God to do whatever we want. We are powerless to move a will that big. God's love is a mystery, but we know it comes from him. If we didn't win it ourselves, how are we going to lose it?
Just like nothing anywhere in creation can overrule God and condemn us, nothing anywhere can convince him not to love us. Who is going to outsmart him? Who is going to blackmail and extort him? Who is going to defeat him in battle, one on one, or even all at once? He stands unscathed even after being murdered! It's pointless to try it.
He doesn't even forget about us when we die. His life doesn't go on without us. He doesn't make new friends to replace us. Our circumstances don't make us inconvenient to relate to. God overcomes. All of those things, death included, are nothing to him. Even time itself bends to his will.
"We are more than conquerors through him who loved us." More than conquerors! Think of famous generals and warlords throughout history. Caesar. Genghis Khan. Napoleon. Alexander the Great. People who left a trail of fire and destruction and made their enemies submit to their will. We are greater than them! Because of God's love we have more power than them. Everything that has been thrown at us, or which will be thrown, will amount to nothing. There is no defeat for us, and no end to our lives in eternity, because of what Christ's love has done for us.
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