Is God holding out on us?
Mar 19, 2010
Case for Grace - Part twenty-five of a study of the book of Romans
Mike Gaudet
God can do whatever He wants.
We certainly don’t get whatever we want.
Is He holding out on us?
“What, then, shall we say in response to this? 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 is he that condemns? 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.” Romans 8:31-39
If someone is willing to let you use their car, it’s logical to assume that they’ll let you use their bicycle.
If God is willing to send His Son to earth for us, it is logical to assume that He will “along with him, graciously give us all things.”
The argument is from the greater to the lesser. If God was willing to give the greatest thing, He will certainly be willing to give the lesser things. If God was willing to give His Son, He will certainly be willing to give us anything else that would be good for us.
Bulletproof logic.
God provided us with indisputable evidence of His love and commitment to us. When God sent His Son to the earth, He demonstrated His willingness to give us what is good.
Being connected to God means being connected to good.
You-------------------------God--------------------------Good
God does not comply with all of our desires or demands in this life. We can be confident though that this lack of compliance does not stem from resistance on His part to give us what is good.
God’s love is relentless. When we enter into His love through faith in His Son, nothing can sever the connection of love and good that He forges.
“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.”
Being connected to God means being connected to good . . . eternally!
If we believed this . . .
. . . we could be honest about the struggles we face.
Paul was refreshingly honest about his struggles. “As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” He was able to be transparent because he was sure of his connection with God.
When we believe that we are securely connected to God, we don’t need to convince others that our lives are more “blessed” than they actually are.
When we believe that we are securely connected to God, we can be honest about our imperfections. We don’t need to appear to be more “spiritual” than we actually are.
It’s hard to be honest about struggles when we are not secure in our connection with God. We assume that suffering is the result of our sinfulness or defectiveness.
When we suffer, it is easy to doubt God’s goodness. It is easy believe that we have been disconnected from God and from Good.
The next time doubts arise, ask yourself this question . . .
“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?”