The undefeated

MANY people consider the eighth chapter of Romans as the pinnacle of the Bible. John Stott calls it ‘the best-known, best-loved chapter in the Bible’. (If you read only one Bible commentary, make it John Stott’s on Romans. Romans is Paul’s Mona Lisa, or Fifth Symphony or the drop kick that won the Rugby World Cup.)

As we conclude this series about being ‘chosen’, what can be written about Romans 8:31–37? Read these verses and be encouraged. Does the Bible ever exaggerate God’s goodness to us? No, it doesn’t!

Did you notice the verse about being chosen? ‘Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?’ (v33, all quotations from New International Version).

This is something the Roman Christians needed to hear, just as we do. We should not picture the Roman Church as it is now, but as Romans 16 suggests: a gathering of a few households coming together in worship. As a group of God’s chosen people, they were at the end of their tether. They were being squeezed on all sides. So Paul verbalised the questions that must have been on their minds: ‘How do we respond? Who is the enemy? Where is God in this? What will the outcome be? Is there anything we can do?’

These questions find their answer in four words in verse 37 – ‘in all these things’. Regarding condemnation, it is safe to be dogmatic on this point; there is no condemnation, no separation from Jesus. We don’t have to live a life under condemnation. There is a cross, there is a saviour and there is salvation.

Condemnation is the stuff that burns itself onto the ‘hard drive’ of our minds. We condemn ourselves too easily. It is the volume of voices, reminding us of past failures and mistakes, trying to convince us that nothing we do will be good enough. However, whatever we confess, God will cover. Don’t take on yourself the condemnation that God has already put on Jesus. God corrects, but he does not condemn.

The danger of these verses is that we can be tempted to take them out of context. There are people who love to use this ‘no condemnation’ clause to excuse lifestyle behaviour: ‘There is “no condemnation”, so I can do what I like!’

No, we can’t! No charges can be brought against us if we are living according to the plan of God. The only way to escape punishment is to be ‘in Christ’.

There’s a lot of groaning in this chapter. You can almost hear it as you read the text. Creation groans (v22), humankind groans as we wait for what is to come (v23), the Holy Spirit groans on our behalf (v26). We hardly need reminding that we live in a fallen, broken world.

I am not trying to be oversimplistic or dismissive of individual circumstances, but I do believe God uses everything in our lives to bring about his purpose and victory. Without doubt, some of us are in the middle of big situations. And if we are not now, we have been or will be. The list is endless – the pain of relationships that have gone wrong; emotions that continually steal our peace; bitterness, worry, anxiety, which in themselves can be powerful enemies.

I don’t know what you are going through or how much it hurts, but the remedy is always praise because God inhabits the praises of his people. It’s time, then, to loosen your vocal chords and sing out the songs that will encourage you until victory comes. How about this one for starters? ‘In Christ alone my hope is found…’

We are not just conquerors; we are more than conquerors (v37). God does not promise that suffering won’t come, but that it won’t defeat us. This is not a ‘photo finish’ or victory from an offside goal, but a victory that is overwhelming. God does not call us to partial victory, because full victory will always be ours in Christ. In him there can be only decisive victories in your life and circumstances. We are more than conquerors! Christ plus one is always a majority. Do you believe this?

For the chosen of God, it is time to receive the victory that is ours in Christ. We will be undefeated, because ‘in all things’ God will have the last word.

• Major Herbert is Territorial Candidates Director