This morning we’ve come to the end of this great chapter. As I’ve said before,
Paul’s grand purpose as he writes to the church in Rome is to expound the glorious truth of the gospel in such a clear and convincing way that his readers will be filled with all with all joy and peace in believing (Rom 15:13). This letter is intended to help God’s people be thoroughly convinced that God is for us, that God loves us in Christ with an eternal, saving love, and that nothing can separate us from that love.

When Paul thinks about the great need of the world, the theme of condemnation is
always prominent in his mind. The objective, existential problem with the world is that this world exists under the condemnation of the law and the wrath of God. But this is also the subjective, experiential problem with each of us, as individuals. We are born, as children of Adam, under the judicial sentence of death and condemnation. We live our lives with the nagging realization that we fall short of the glory of God. We are not whole, not sufficient, not worthy, not enough. Mankind has been burdened with condemnation ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. It makes us anxious in life and afraid of death.

But Paul sees the gospel as God’s great resolution of our condemnation. Chapter 8
begins with that great gospel declaration – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And Paul comes right back to that theme here in verses 31ff and pounds it home with this magnificent challenge: “Who shall lay any charge against God’s elect. It is God who justifies – who is he that condemns?”

Another story of a sinner saved from eternal death by God’s infinite mercy and sovereign grace. That’s the story for all of us, isn’t it? God has accomplished
something incredibly glorious in Christ Jesus for sinners facing death. And Paul invites us to exalt in it as he concludes this portion of his letter. Romans 8:31-39 is one of the most God-exalting, soul-satisfying paragraphs in all of Scripture. The triumph of the gospel is manifested in five doubt-destroying and death-defying questions.

Our text this morning is filled with big, theological words but its message is fairly simple – the primary agent in our Christian life is God, not us. God is the painter; we are the canvas. Or, as Paul will say in chapter 9, God is the potter - we are the clay. Consequently, the foundational story of our Christian life isn’t about what we believe or what we accomplish – but what God has purposed and accomplished for us. We need to learn to see ourselves from this Divine perspective. To see ourselves primarily as a gracious work of God’s hand.

This morning we have come to some of the most precious words in the Bible. The
truth revealed here meant to be an unshakeable rock upon which all Christian peace and assurance rests. As we live in this fallen, broken world, with all the pain and tears and groaning that entails - Gods’ children have foundational reasons for a peace that passes understanding. We have a reason to face the trails of life with a hopeful assurance.

This morning we are going to see one key reason why some people who die "make it home" and why we can have great assurance that we shall make it as well. And it all has to do with the Holy Spirit as our Helper. Paul has been talking about the Holy Spirit a great deal in this chapter already. He mentions the Spirit 20 times in the first 27 verses! That’s because this a chapter on assurance – and the Holy Spirit is a key part of that story. If you remember, chapter 8 begins with that majestic declaration, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” How can Paul be so sure?? Paul’s answer to that question is saturated with talk about the Holy Spirit.

Our text this morning is the perfect companion to the sermon on bitterness. It
acknowledges the reality and the pain of the brokenness around us. In that sense, it
validates our pain. But it places that pain in the panorama of the grand story of
redemption and in that great story of God making all things new – we find our pain giving way to hope and our bitterness transformed into anticipation. The genius of the gospel story is that God, in Christ, gives us a brand-new way of looking at the world around us, and a brand-new perspective of our own life. It gives us a birds-eye view of our life in this world so that we aren’t lost or disoriented by the pain of our immediate context.

Our text this morning promises the most astonishing, over-whelming things to those who belong to Christ. We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus. By grace through faith, by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and by the immutable promise of the gospel - the fields of heaven are our true home. The gleaming ramparts and towers of the celestial city are just over the horizon – and the purpose of our life here will be realized when we are welcomed there.

The doctrine of adoption is, to our great detriment, an often a neglected doctrine. If I
asked you, “What is the first thought that comes to mind when I say the word, ‘Christian', how many of you would say, ‘Child of God’?" Last week we noted that the definition of a Christian is a person who has been filled with the Spirit of Christ. This morning we see that that Spirit is a Spirit of adoption. To be a Christian is to be a beloved child of the Heavenly Father. And it’s critical that we understand this.

Paul is seeking to get us to define a Christian as something God has done and is doing. He wants our self-identity as a Christian to be rooted in the objective facts of God’s grace and love in Jesus.