sermon on Romans 8:26-39

I had the honor of speaking at church this morning while our pastor is out of town. Following is the written version of my message:

SERMON: Romans 8:26-39 July 24, 2011

I find it interesting how Scripture can take on very different meanings as we grow and change. I’ve been a big fan of the book of Romans since at least my freshman year of high school, when I spent ages writing a term paper on Martin Luther and the Reformation for my exacting global studies teacher. Mr. Stewart had a goatee, a lemon-yellow Maverick and a formidable reputation honed by knocking the elbows out from under sleeping teenagers during extremely long videos on architectural history. I adored him, which should no doubt have been an early indication of the direction my vocational path was likely to head. Anyway, Romans figures so prominently in Martin Luther’s awakening to the power of God’s grace that my über-type-A 14-year-old personality squirreled away at this particular book with fervor.

When I used to read this section of the book of Romans, the triumph of the passage was what stood out most clearly. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. The Jamaican-influenced dance music style called “ska” was in vogue during my college years, and there was this Christian ska band called the Orange County Supertones that had a song devoted almost entirely to repeating this verse over and over. I used to listen to it over and over, especially during the hard months of adjusting to being away from home my freshman year.

These are important components of Paul’s message. Recently, however, I’ve noticed that two very different elements spring to prominence for me. The central—wonderful—message remains the same. Paul is speaking of a gift we receive through Christ that cannot be taken away. He is relating a promise almost too fantastic for words: Christ himself intercedes for us. Through him we are “more than conquerors,” as the old tentmaker so aptly puts it. We are saved through God’s gift of his Son. Saved through grace alone. We are going to be okay.

BUT.

All those nasty things Paul mentions? The hardship? The distress? The angels and rulers and things present and things to come? Nowhere in Romans 8—or, indeed, in the Bible, unless I really missed something—is there any clause that says those things won’t happen.

God’s gift of salvation through Christ saves us from the most important thing: death and the consequences of our sin. It gives us the ironclad assurance—literally ironclad, in the case of those nails—that we will enjoy the gift of eternal life. This gift, however, is a promise to get us through life, not our get-out-of-jail-free card that removes us from life’s struggles.

We are fully in this world—just as Jesus was 2,000 years ago. There is suffering. People go without food to eat. Relationships strain and sometimes fracture. Oppression happens. War happens. Addictions take hold. Jobs are lost. Sheep, literal and otherwise, stray from the fold. Nice guys get cancer.

Beautiful young men die.

Does that temper the triumph? Well, it certainly complicates it. Paul is not talking about the neat-and-tidy vanquishing of all evil in this life. Ultimately, however, God does prevail. God has prevailed. God will prevail. And that is real triumph—the triumph that is tested by experience of pain and sorrow and still recognizes that in the end, God’s promise is secure.

The security of this promise allows us to experience the joys of life along with its sorrows. I read an interesting article in The Atlantic the other day about the perils of raising children who never feel failure or sadness, frustration or struggle. Put simply, without the lows, these kids become adults who can’t appreciate the highs in their lives. They lack the ability to deal with setbacks and cannot enjoy the pleasures of accomplishment. If you never feel the sorrow, how sweet can joy truly be?

Secure in God’s promise and struggling through the lows in life, we can also delight in God’s blessings. Lives serve as an example for others. Babies begin to walk and talk and show off during the children’s sermon. The sun comes out—occasionally. Trees grow and flowers bloom. Healing happens. Young people grow into joyful servants who make their parents, their community and their one-time youth leader tremendously proud.

Meanwhile: Paul shares his knowledge of one more gift. We must deal with what life brings, good and bad, but we are not left to face this on our own.

Romans 8:26: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” We do not muddle along under our own power; we have the gift of God’s Holy Spirit living within us.

We may not know what to do. We may not know what to say. We may not even be able to consciously articulate what it is that we need to pray. We might be hurting; we might be struggling; we might even be oblivious.

The Holy Spirit isn’t.

And that Spirit within us will guide our prayers. It’ll “intercede with sighs too deep for words.” It will help us connect to the love that sustains us. After all, the God who created the universe and everything in it certainly doesn’t need proper grammar and a well-turned phrase to understand our needs.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” No one! That is the promise. That is the triumph. Through the pain, through the loss, through the struggles and frustrations and limitations of earthly life, that promise remains.

Thanks be to God!