If you turn on any Christian radio station or Christian television channel or browse online for Christian books, it won’t take you long to find someone who promises that if you follow Jesus you can have a problem free life. That message is known as the “Health and Wealth Gospel.” If you follow Jesus you can have health and wealth. Time magazine recently profiled this in an article entitled “Does God Want You to Be Rich?”[i] The article opened with the story of George. George lost his job in Ohio. So, he moved to Houston, TX because he knew of a large church there and a preacher there who promised that he could not only get a new job but live the carefree life he’d always wanted. George took a job selling Fords and in four days sold a Ford F-150. He exclaimed: “It’s a new day God has given me! I’m on my way to a six-figure income!” He’s already got his dream house picked out: “Twenty-five acres,” he says. “And three bedrooms. We’re going to have a schoolhouse (his children are home schooled). We want horses and ponies for the boys, so a horse barn. And a pond. And maybe some cattle…Why would an awesome and mighty God want anything less for his children?” Health and wealth.
This problem-free Gospel is spreading across the world.[ii] About 315 million sub-Saharan Africans live on less than a dollar a day. And as Africans have watched American television, they’ve learned this “Health and Wealth Gospel.” One recent report followed a renowned preacher in Africa. He summarized his message in this way: “[M]any are ignorant of the fact that God has already made provision for his children to be wealthy here on earth. When I say wealthy, I mean very, very rich.” The report noted that many Christian’s in Africa have a bumper sticker on their car which says “With Jesus I will always win.”
I doubt you really buy into this-at least not all the way. But isn’t there a part of us that figures that “If I follow Jesus, my life is going to be better”? I mean, what good is it to follow Jesus if it’s not going to have a practical return in this life?
That issue makes this morning’s text difficult. It’s Rom. 8:31-39. And in this text Paul quotes from Ps. 44: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. If we turned in our Bibles to Ps. 44 we’d find that the people making this comment are people of faith. According to the Psalm, its authors always remember God, they keep his commandments, and their feet have not strayed from his path. In today’s language we’d call them salt-of-the-earth, church-going, Bible-believing, God-fearing people. In spite of this, they are suffering. The author pictures him and his friends as innocent sheep being slaughtered. And back in Rom. 8:31-39 Paul quotes that Psalm to say, “Nothing’s changed.” There are still salt-of-the-earth, church-going, Bible-believing, God-fearing people who suffer and who have problems in this life. Paul goes on in this text to name the kinds of things that even devout people can expect: charges, condemnation, trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, death, life, angels, demons, present, future, powers, height, depth, and “anything else.” Paul argues there is no such thing as “health and wealth.” If you follow God you will not be immune from problems. You may feel like a sheep being led to the slaughter. It will be hard to believe “With Jesus I will always win.”
Well, we say to ourselves, at least there’s Easter. Author Will Willimon says you can summarize the thinking of most of us regarding Easter in this way: “Jesus is raised…and now we too shall get to go to heaven.”[iii] Yes, the good news of Easter: Jesus was raised, and now we too shall get to go to heaven. There may be problems in this life, even for the devout. But at least there is the afterlife. We may feel like lambs led to slaughter but one day we’ll fly like angels. One day, in heaven, we will truly win.
And that is part of the Easter message which Paul shares in this text: 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? 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 then can condemn? 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. 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. (Rom. 8:31-39 TNIV) Paul mentions that Jesus “was raised to life” and that not even death can separate us from the love of God. In this passage Paul gives a nod toward that Easter message which says “Jesus is raised…and now we too shall get to go to heaven.” There are problems in life, but one day we’ll be in a place where there are no problems. One day, in heaven, we’ll all win.
But is that the only Christian message? Is Christianity just a faith that says, “Life is tough, and there’s nothing you can do about it. So, sit tight. Because eventually, when you die from all the tough things in life, you’ll get to spend eternity in heaven”? Barbara Brown Taylor tells of a student in her Religion 101 class. The student was comparing Christianity to other religions: “I love studying other religions,” she said, “because they have so much in them about how to live. This is different from Christianity, which is about going to heaven when you die.“[iv] Does Easter, does Christianity, have anything to say about living? Or is it only about what happens after we die? Is the only victory the final victory we get in heaven?
That question seems to be the very one Paul answers in this text. Notice how Paul describes followers of Jesus in vs. 37. He calls them “more than conquerors.” We could translate the word as “super conquerors” or “super victors.”[v] On Sunday mornings we’ve been exploring five images the Bible uses to tell what happened on the cross. We’ve explored the word “propitiation” and how it describes the way the cross dealt with the wrath of God. We’ve explored the word “redemption” and how it describes the way Jesus rescued us through the cross. Last Sunday Josh Ray talked about “reconciliation” and the way in which the cross has united us with God and with each other. This Easter morning our focus shifts to this word “super victors.”
Notice that Paul says we are “super victors” in all these things.” We are not “super victors” over all these things.” Paul doesn’t promise that if you follow Jesus you’ll become a “super victor” in that you’ll never have to deal with this tough stuff. No. At times, you may feel like a “super victim” following Jesus. But even in times that make you feel like a “super victim” Paul says you are actually a “super victor.” What does he mean?
The kind of victory Paul means is the one wrapped up in the first two verses of this text: 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? 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? Scholars believe that these lines are the conclusion to the argument Paul’s been making in Rom. 5-8 [vi] and perhaps they are the conclusion to everything written in Rom. 1-8.[vii] Some believe this line is a summary of the entire Christian Gospel. The Gospel can be summarized in these words: God is for us.[viii] Say that with me: “God is for us. God is for us.” Now, personalize it: “God is for me. God is for me.” That is fundamental message of Easter and of the cross: God is for us. God is for me.
Some of you are just barely here this morning. You had to drag yourself here. You are in the midst of one of the messes mentioned in this text: charges, condemnation, trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, death, life, angels, demons, present, future, powers, height, depth, and “anything else.” And now you are asking yourself one of the most foundational questions that can be asked: “Is God for me or not? Is God on my side or not?” Some of you are as far from that mess as you can get. Your grades couldn’t be higher, your friendships couldn’t be richer, your boyfriend couldn’t be more sensitive, your marriage couldn’t be more fulfilling, your kids couldn’t be more obedient. But there will come a time Paul says, when the sun won’t be so bright. You’ll feel like a lamb led to the slaughter. And you will wrestle with this question: “Is God for me or not? Is God on my side or not?”
And Paul’s answer to that question is “Yes.” God is for you. God is for us. Even when we feel like lambs led to the slaughter, God is for us. Even when we have to tear off that bumper sticker that says “With Jesus I Will Always Win” God is for you.
But how do we know? It sounds like something easy for the preacher to say on Sunday but hard to prove on Monday. Here is Paul’s answer: 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? Paul points to the cross. In the ancient world a cross was a symbol of defeat. You would not wear a cross around your neck like I do. You would not put a cross in the middle of your worship service, like we have. A cross was a symbol of death and defeat. Yet Paul says that this ancient symbol of defeat is the source of our “super victory.” How can that be?
Paul actually says two things here tied to the cross. First, Paul says God did not spare his own Son. When it came to backing us, when it came to being by our side, when it came to doing whatever it took to get us through the toughest stuff of life, God did not spare his own son. I have a handful of people who are my closest friends. And if one of them were to call me at 3 AM and tell me “I need help” I wouldn’t hesitate. If one of them asked for money, I’d do everything I could do. If one of them needed a place to stay, even for weeks, I’m sure we’d welcome them into our home. But what if one of them called me at 3 AM and said, “These guys I got caught up with have taken my wife. They say they’ll give her back, in exchange for a young boy. Can I have your son Jacob to get my wife back?” Would I give up Jacob up for my closest friend? No. But God did not spare his own Son. As we’ve seen in this series, God gave his son as a propitiation, as a redemption, and as a means of reconciliation. He did not spare his own son. That’s how much he is for us. That’s why we can know that God is for us. The cross proves that God is for us.
Second, Paul does not simply say that God did not spare his own Son. He says he gave him up “for us all.” There’s a lot of people included in that “all.” It’d be one thing for my closest friend to call and ask for my son. But what if a coworker who got me unfairly fired called at 3 AM and said, “Is this Chris? Listen, I know I’ve been terrible to you. But I’m in trouble. Can I have your son Jacob?” Would I give up Jacob for my enemy? I wouldn’t consider it for a second. But with God, it is not like that. God gave up Jesus for the insensitive comment you made to your parents but also for the man who killed those people on Lester Street. God gave Jesus up for the kind and loving father who is addicted to pornography and the uncaring junkie addicted to drugs. God gave Jesus up for us all. And that’s how we can know that God is really for us. He’s for every one of us.
Then, Paul argues from greater to lesser. God has already shown he is for us, every one of us, by giving up Jesus for us all. That’s the greater. Here’s the lesser: how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? God has already shown in the most definitive way possible that he’s for us. He provided what we absolutely needed-a propitiation, a redemption, a reconciliation. He gave up his son for us. Therefore, we can know without any doubt that God will continue to provide whatever is necessary to see us through the problems listed in this text. That’s not to say he’s going to keep trouble from coming. But when it does come, he’s going to provide whatever is needed to see you through it.
Even when I feel like a lamb being led to the slaughter, I can look at the cross and know two things. First, I can know that God is for me. Nothing that happens in my life can erase the statement God made at that cross. God is for me. I may not understand what he’s doing right now, or where he is right now, or why he’s allowed bad things to happen, but I can know that God is for me. The cross is his proof of that.
And second, I can know that he will provide everything I need to make it through this difficult time. I may not understand how. I may not be able to point to what he’s providing. But I can know he is. The cross is proof of his willingness to do whatever it takes to see me through the tough times. And that’s what makes me, that’s what makes us all, “super victors.”
In his book, Searching for God Knows What, Donald Miller shares a story a friend battling alcoholism: His marriage was falling apart because of his inability to stop drinking. This man is a kind and brilliant human being, touched with many gifts from God, but addicted to alcohol, and being taken down in the fight. He was suicidal, we thought, and the kids had been sent away. We sat together on his back deck and talked for hours, deep into the night. I didn’t think he was going to make it. I worried about him as I boarded my flight back to Portland, and he checked himself into rehab. Two months later he picked me up from the same airport, having gone several weeks without a drink. As he told me the story of the beginnings of his painful recovery process, he said a single incident was giving him the strength to continue. His father had flown in to attend a recovery meeting with him, and in the meeting my friend had to confess all his issues and weaknesses. When he finished, his father stood up to address the group of addicts. He looked at his son and said, “I have never loved my son as much as I do at this moment. I love him. I want all of you to know I love him.” My friend said at that moment, for the first time in his life, he was able to believe God loved him, too. He believed if God, his father, and his wife all loved him, he could fight the addiction, and he believed he might make it.[ix] You can make it through anything if you know someone is for you. That’s just what God did at the cross. When we were at our worst and our lowest, he said to us “I have never loved you as much as I do at this moment. I love you. I want all the world to know I love you.” And to prove it, he planted a cross in the earth. God is on your side. That’s the victory of the cross.
[i] David Van Viema & Jeff Chu, “Does God Want You To Be Rich?” Time September, 2006.
[ii] Isaac Phiri and Joe Maxwell, “Gospel Riches: Africa’s rapid embrace of prosperity Pentecostalism provokes concern–and hope.” Christianity Today (July, 2007), http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/12.22.html.
[iii] Will Willimon, “Preaching Easter in Alabama,” Journal for Preachers (31:3 Easter 2008), 3.
[iv] Barbara Brown Taylor, “Easter Sunday 2006,” Journal for Preachers (31:3 Easter, 2008), 10.
[v]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (“An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire ‘BE’ series”–Jkt.;Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Ro 8:31.
[vi] C. E. B. Cranfield Romans: A Shorter Commentary (Eerdmans, 1992), 207.
[vii] Thomas R. Schreiner Romans Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Baker, 1998), 458.
[viii] C. E. B. Cranfield Romans: A Shorter Commentary (Eerdmans, 1992), 207.
[ix] Donald Miller, Searching for God Knows What (Thomas Nelson, 2004), 130-131.
