Let me read the passage and then we're going to jump into the text this morning. Romans chapter 8, 36 through 39. As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors.

Through him who loved us, for I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Let's pray.

Gracious and loving Father, we thank you so much for this day. We know that it is only by your grace that we are attracted to you, that we long to hear from you, that we desire to worship and honor you. We pray, Father God, that the Holy Spirit that you've made to dwell in us, that as it continues to intercede, as he continues to pray on our behalf, help us, Lord God, to join him in our hearts and in our lives.

Help us to have open ears, sensitive hearts, and willing life, Lord God, to obey all that you have. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As you guys know, as we've been studying through the book of Romans, we're at the conclusion of one major section in the book of Romans.

Chapter 9 through chapter 11, he's going to be expounding about his faithfulness and the illustration of how the promise that he made to the nation of Israel, God's not going to renege on that and he's going to continue to be faithful. And so that's the subject matter in chapter 9 through 11, his faithfulness.

But as we've been talking about, Paul has been arguing this point of our assurance of salvation. Why we can have absolute confidence and assurance, not because of what we've done, not because of being clever or any kind of training, but because God had intended from the very beginning that he who began a good work, that he will carry us into completion until the day of Christ.

So naturally, the argument that he's been building up to is the reason why we have assurance is because God loves us. Verse 35, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will it be tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, or danger, or sore?" So the natural question when we hear this is, if God loved us and that he's going to protect us from all of these things, then why is there suffering in the world?

Maybe you have thought that, maybe there's something going on in your life and you're questioning God. If God loved me so much that nothing can separate us from his love, then why is this particular thing happening in my life? Why is there illness? Why is there suffering? Why is there famine?

More particularly in your life? Paul knows that that's probably the natural question that's going to come up when we talk about sovereignty. If God is sovereign, I mean, is he really sovereign? If he's really sovereign and he's loving, I don't understand what is happening right now in my life and in the world.

See, Paul already knows that and he's going to conclude the assurance of salvation at the end of chapter 8 to basically bring home the point that this is why suffering happens. So the text that we're looking at starting from verse 36 through 39, there's three points that I want you guys to see in this text when Paul's argument is, how do we view suffering through the lens of God's sovereign eyes?

The first thing that we want to see that's mentioned in verse 36 and on is, God's love changes the way that we view suffering. Again, let me qualify this before I even get to this. If all that we're talking about, his love, is just simple theology to you, everything that I'm going to say, everything that Paul's going to say is just going to fall on deaf ears.

I know it. Because it's just theory. It's just theory. But in order for anything and everything that God is saying about this, about his love, that if you truly believed it, that a sovereign God genuinely loves you, a sovereign God who is in absolute control over history, control over you, control over the future, that that God who is all powerful, all knowing, and he's all loving toward you, and you actually believe that, that is not theoretical, it is not a doctrinal statement that you sign, but you believe that, then it completely changes everything.

First thing that he says is that God's love changes our perspective on suffering. In verse 36, in response, the rhetorical question of, well, what's going to separate us from the love of Christ? None of these things can separate us. And then he goes in verse 36, he says, "As it is written," quoting Psalm 44, verse 22, "As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long.

We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." Now, you have to understand verse 36 in the Psalm that he's quoting in the context of what he's quoting, or else you're going to misunderstand what Paul is saying. On the surface, it may seem like Paul is saying, "I'm suffering for you." That the reason why I'm suffering for you is because God loves you.

I mean, that's what it seems like he's saying, it seems to fit the context, at least here. But when you look at Psalm 44, you don't need to turn your Bible there, I'm just going to give you a quick summary. Psalm 44 is someone who is in anguish, crying out to God, "Why are these things happening to me?" He's basically complaining to God, "I've been faithful to you, I've kept my covenant to you, I've been righteous, and yet these things are happening in my life." And he's asking God.

So it's a lot like the book of Job, where Job was targeted because of his righteousness, not despite. It wasn't despite the fact that he was righteous, God allowed this to happen. He was targeted because he was righteous. He said, "Have you considered my servant, who is upright?" And he was targeted as a result of his righteousness.

Well, that's what it's saying, and I'm going to read Psalm 44, 17-22. After laying his complaint before God, "Why is suffering happening in my life? All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you." And this is his plea before God. "And we have not been false to your covenant, our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way.

Yet you have broken us in the place of jackals, and covered us with the shadows of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a foreign God, would not God discover this? For he knows the secret of the heart." In other words, he's complaining to God, "If I did anything wrong, you would know it, and I know that I can't hide any of this from you.

But you know, God, that my complaint is genuine. You know that I've been living righteously." And then in wrap-up, he says in verse 22, "Yet, for your sake, we are killed all day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." He's not saying, "Despite the fact that I've done all of this, why haven't you protected me?" God actually is saying, "It's because you've been faithful.

Because." Now this thought is very unsettling to Christianity, in our generation. That because you love Christ, suffering comes into your life. Because you decided to follow Jesus, and because you decided to accept this love of God, that suffering began to come into your life. That's exactly what he's saying.

You and I, we reject the health and wealth gospel. We have a knee-jerk reaction. If it's health and wealth, you know, the prosperity gospel, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you're going to be healthy, wealthy. We don't believe in that. At least, I don't think we do. We don't preach that.

You know, if we were to ask you to survey, I don't think you would be at this church. But there's a knee-jerk reaction in our lives when something good happens, we automatically say, "That must be from God." Get a good job, make money, maybe win the lottery. Maybe we're able to get the house that you wanted.

God really blessed my life. And then when something difficult happens, you feel under pressure, you didn't get the job you wanted. You went to the hospital and found out that you were sick. Your relationships are falling apart. Somebody betrayed you. We automatically, there's a knee-jerk reaction, "Did I do something wrong?

Why has God forsaken me?" Even though we don't accept the health and wealth gospel, the health and wealth, the prosperity gospel is so deeply embedded in the psyche of every human being that it clouds the way that we see life in everything that we do. And that's the complaint of this psalmist.

I've done everything good. So in other words, what he's saying is, "I expected only good things to happen. I expected that you would answer my prayers and I would get the job and my family would come together and everything would turn out well. But what happened?" See, he says, "For your sake, because we've been faithful to you, we are being poured out like sheep.

We are like sheep to be slaughtered." See, the idea of sheep being slaughtered at this period of time, I mean, immediately you had an image of sacrifice because the most common animal that was sacrificed at the temple was the lamb. A sheep being slaughtered automatically was equated with sacrifice, with atonement, with worship at the temple.

So in other words, the psalmist is saying, "We're being poured out as an offering to you. Why is this happening? Why are we suffering?" Yet the scripture describes Jesus himself in the exact same way. In Isaiah 53, 7, he says, "He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearer's assignment, so he opened not his mouth." It shouldn't surprise any of us because Jesus made it absolutely crystal clear.

If you want to be my disciple, take up your cross and follow me. Jesus went to the cross, was offered as a sacrifice as a lamb. So it shouldn't surprise us that our lives are also a sacrifice like the lamb. It is not despite the fact that we follow Christ that suffering comes.

It is because. Because we have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the glorious kingdom of his son. We no longer belong in this world. We are aliens and strangers in enemy territory. And the fact that suffering comes because we are followers of Christ is only assurance that we are following Christ.

In fact, doesn't Jesus warn us, "Be careful when every man says good things of you. They did not receive me and they will not receive you." So the fact that everybody is saying good things of you, the righteous and the unrighteous, may be evidence that you are not following me.

It completely changes our perspective on suffering. In fact, in Acts chapter 5, 40-41, you have these same apostles. It's just a few chapters before when Jesus was going to the cross, were cowarding, were afraid. Just when their master was going to the cross, I mean, his disciples, his apostles are hiding because they're afraid of suffering.

They're afraid of their punishment. They're afraid of pain. So even Peter, the leader among the disciples, would deny Jesus to his face three times. And yet, just a few chapters later, just about a month or so later, we see them after being caught in front of the same people who crucified Jesus.

They beat them and forbid them to continue to talk about Jesus. And their response, verse 41, "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." What changed? What made these men who were so afraid just a month before, stand up with such courage and willing to die?

In fact, they considered it a privilege, an honor to suffer for the name of Christ. What happened during that time? Now, you and I know what that is. Jesus died and then he was resurrected. That even in death, Jesus was sovereign. Even in death. And the Holy Spirit comes upon them and all of a sudden, these men absolutely change.

Their perspective of suffering and pain change, absolutely change because of the resurrection. In 2 Corinthians 12, 10, it says, "For the sake of Christ, and I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities." It's not because Paul enjoyed being weak. It's not because Paul somehow was one of those special men who enjoyed being insulted and experiencing hardships.

In fact, before Paul met Christ, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was raised as a Roman citizen. He was wealthy. His father purchased an opportunity for him to be discipled by the greatest scholar of that time, Gamaliel. This guy was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

And yet, because he met Christ, he experienced the suffering, hardship, insults, persecution. And he says, "I rejoice for all these things because for when I am weak, then I am strong." It is not because he innately loved these things. Nobody turns the other cheek because that's just who they are.

You get slapped on the cheek and like, "Hit me on this side." Right? It's just, that's just who I am. Nobody is like that. Our natural desire, we run away from danger. We want to live. If we have a choice between safety and hardship, of course we're going to chase after safety.

What Paul is saying though, is that God brings these things in our lives to deliberately make us weak. We, our natural nature is to become strong. We want to be intelligent. We want to be educated. We want to have more money so that we can have more influence. Our natural inclination is to be strong.

But God's inclination toward us is to make us weak. So that we could be recognized as weak. Because Paul says it isn't until we are weak that He is strong. If you are confident in your finances, that's the area where you probably stumble the most. That's the area that you probably have the hardest time trusting God the most.

Because you're good at it. Maybe you're more intelligent. Maybe you're better at taking tests. Maybe you went to the upper echelon of schools. And it's the very things, those very things are the things that are causing you to stumble. Because when you are strong, you are weak. God deliberately brings suffering in our lives to make us weak.

Because that's when He is strong. Isn't that what sanctification is? Isn't sanctification a process of making Christ bigger in our lives? Isn't sanctification ultimately to have the aroma of Christ stronger in all that we are? So God's purpose in our life is exactly the opposite of what we naturally pursue in this physical life.

So He allows suffering, hardship, persecution to make us weak. Because it is in our weakness that He is strong. Philippians 1 29 30, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him, but also suffer for Him." It's been granted.

Suffering for a Christian is never meaningless. Is never meaningless. Suffering without meaning, when pain comes into your life and you don't know why, that's what makes it hard. But you know when the pain is good. Because you're following Christ and there's purpose and meaning behind it that causes us to long for Him.

When Christ becomes strong because of our suffering, it completely changes the way that we view and interact with suffering in our lives. Hardship was not experienced by Apostle Paul despite the fact that God is sovereign and loving. It is because God is sovereign and loving, He was suffering. Secondly, not only does it change our perspective, not only because of the love that we experience suffering, He says we are more than conquerors because of His love, through His love.

In verse 37, "In all these things, in all these trials, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." In the ESV it just says more than conquerors. NASB, it makes sure that we understand that Paul in essence is taking us to the superlative. He's not just saying, "Oh you're going to conquer." He said we're above and beyond that.

So in the NASB it says, "In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loves us." Overwhelmingly. And that's the idea in the Greek. That in contrast to what the world thinks, that in the midst of suffering, it's like, "Wow, you're being targeted. Your life must be hard.

You know, what's going on? How come your God doesn't love you?" And they may be accusing these things of Christians, yet what he's saying is they do not know. Not only are we not beaten, not only are we not in despair, he says, "No, we are more than conquerors." We are more than conquerors.

In 2 Corinthians 4, 7-12 it says, "But we have these treasures in jars of clay." Treasures in jars of clay. Jars of clay basically is a way of saying that on the surface it looks worthless. A jar of clay is something that the world would pick up and have no value.

They wouldn't put it in the vault. They wouldn't put anything valuable in this jar. It's just made out of clay. But he says our treasures are in jars of clay. It may not look like anything. It may look like trash and useless to the world, but they're his treasure.

To show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. It is not the packaging, but the gift itself. Right? And I think I mentioned this before. When you're kind of embarrassed about the gift, you do a great job packaging. Right? But when you have this fantastic gift, you almost kind of want them to be disappointed.

Right? You put it in a plastic bag and you tape it up and it looks like you just kind of scrunched it together. And what is in there? They open it and diamond ring. Right? So, a lot of guys when they propose, they put it in food or bun cake or something and it's like, "What is this?" And then they're like, "Oh." Right?

He said, "Our treasures are in jars of clay." Even though on the surface it may look like affliction and hardship and difficulty, it's because they do not see the Christ, our sovereign God, who loves us behind all of that. We are afflicted. And the word afflicted basically means to be under pressure.

Right? We're constantly under pressure. Under pressure from the world. Under pressure from relationships. Under pressure because of uncertainty. He says, "We are afflicted but not crushed." You're under pressure but you will never be crushed. God will not allow it. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are capable.

Because He's in control. Perplexed but not driven to despair. The word perplexed means confused or even literally to doubt. You know, in the Christian world, we're not allowed to doubt. Right? We're not allowed to doubt. So we can talk about struggling and difficulty and all this stuff but we're not saying, "Oh, I don't know.

You know, sometimes I doubt." So, "Ooooh!" You said that. You said the doubt. But the reality is, whether it is allowed or not allowed, isn't that the experience of every Christian? There are periods in your life where there is serious doubt. There are periods in your life where you question, "Why is God doing this?

I don't understand." And when it gets bad enough, you question His love. I mean, isn't that the reality? You know, what I love about the Bible is the Bible doesn't dress any of this up. The Bible just presents it as it is. If you've ever read through the book of Psalms, a big chunk of the book of Psalms is crying out to God like, "Where are you?

Why do you let the wicked prosper? And the righteous suffer? I don't get you. What are you doing?" The whole book of Job is trying to figure out, "What is God doing?" But Jesus said, "Even if you have faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains." And it's not because it's the power of faith.

It's that even that tiny connection to the super powerful God, even that tiny connection, that faith that connects us to this living God is enough to move mountains. And sometimes you and I have to be honest and confess that that's what's holding us up. That's what's connecting us to God.

There are periods in our life where we don't understand what's going on, why God is allowing these things to happen in your life, and it is that small faith that God planted in you that you're holding on to. And that's why we, she says, we are perplexed. We don't understand.

And at times we doubt, but we are never led to despair. Because that tiny little faith still gives us hope. We are persecuted, targeted for harm, but never forsaken. Never forsaken. We are struck down, but not destroyed. I don't know about you, when you think about struck down, what images come into your mind, right?

If you watch MMA, you might be thinking, "Wow, that guy got struck down." You know what I mean? Beaten hard. You get hit so hard, you get put to the ground. When I think of struck down, I think about the ultimate striking down is death. And I think that that's what Paul is talking about.

That even in death, you are never completely destroyed. The worst possible scenario in the secular world, the greatest fear in the world, before we met Christ, is, "What if this happens and we die?" That's the greatest fear. That's the greatest tragedy. But he says, "Even in death, we are not destroyed." It completely changes.

We are not only, is it purposeful, but we conquer. 2 Corinthians 4, 16-18, "So we do not lose heart, though our outer nature is wasted away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Think that in the context of Paul and his ministry.

Slight momentary affliction. He's not talking about stubbing his toe. He's not talking about a paper cut. This is a man who was stoned, thought to be dead, dragged out into the city, and came back in, preached the gospel. He was whipped to the point of death. Several times. He was shipwrecked.

Bitten by scorpions. Going hungry. He was a countryman, preaching the gospel just to make it hard for him. Even this very church that he's writing this letter to, that he poured his life out, he was burned out coming into this city. But by the encouragement of Jesus, he said, "Go continue to preach.

I have many people in this city." And despite that, he continued to preach, and he plants this church. And this very church, this very church that he spent the second most amount of time in, the first being Ephesus, second in Corinth, starts to question, like, "Is that guy an apostle?" Think about the heartache and brokenness in him, having to convince these very people that he risked his life to get the gospel to him, questioning his apostleship.

I mean, we're not talking about physically, emotionally, spiritually. In every way, here's a man who should have quit. And no one would be able to question him, because no one suffered like this man. And yet, he says, "Slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen, for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." Even in the midst of suffering, he said, "We are conquerors, because our Almighty loving God is with us." Paul's suffering was directly linked to following Christ.

Directly linked to it. That's why Paul says in 2 Timothy 2.10, "Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." You know, you probably know this passage really well, 1 Corinthians 15.58, where Paul says to the Corinthians, "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." Do you know why Paul writes that letter?

Do you know why Paul writes that particular passage? He's not just thinking about, well, what do Christians need to hear? He's writing this letter to a particular church, a group of people who are divided, fighting against each other. A church falling apart. And he's writing this encouragement because there's temptation to quit.

He says, "Be steadfast," because some of them are being tempted not to be steadfast. They're tired and they're burned out. "Be immovable," because some of them are being tempted to move. I've had enough of this. Maybe I'll move to Philippi. "Be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." He says this because there's people probably in the church ready to quit, like many others actually have, knowing that your labor is never in vain.

That no matter what suffering, no matter what hardship comes into your life, our sovereign God is in control. "Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." See, suffering as a Christian, when you know that a sovereign God is behind all of this, it completely changes the way we see suffering, the way we relate to suffering.

But finally, third and the most powerful statement of all the statements is found in the last part in verse 37 and 38, it says, "Nothing can separate us from the love of God." Nothing. He started this passage, or at least this section, this idea, in Romans 8.28, it said, "For we know that all things work together for good, those who have been called according to His purpose." We know this.

And now he concludes in saying, "Not only do we know, I am convinced of this." So if you remember, he begins by saying, "The Holy Spirit has been given to us so that in the things that we do not know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit comes and He intercedes on our behalf." Because there's things that you don't know.

But one thing that I do know, that my sovereign God is in control of all things. That all of these things are going to work together for good for those who have been called according to His purpose. And then the crescendo, the final punch is, "I am now convinced, convicted, I am assured that the love of Christ will never be separated from me." Even the most timid of ladies, when they have a child, become fierce.

Everybody, this is just natural observation, right? Even the meekest of creatures, even the tenderest of women, do not mess with their kids. They'll kill you. This is just a known fact. Whether it is a puppy or a chicken or a dove or a snake, whatever it is, you don't mess with their pup.

We all know this. God uses this as an illustration to remind us of His love. In Isaiah 49, 15, it says, "Can a woman forget her nursing child?" Now obviously that's a rhetorical question. Of course not. You know that you cannot. That she should have no compassion in the sun of her womb?

Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Even though there's every intent to watch our children, to care for them, that every mother instinctively will give their life for the safety of their child. But even if that fails, He says, "I will not." Nothing will separate us from the love of God.

You know what's amazing about that verse in Isaiah 49, verse 16? He concludes it by saying, "Behold, here's evidence that my love will not fail you. Behold, I have engraved you in the palm of my hands." Now if you read the commentators, they have different ideas of what this means.

The consensus though is that in the ancient Near East culture, that in order to not to forget something, that they sometimes would make marks on their palms. It's kind of like a long time ago when you wanted to not forget something, you would write it on their palms. I don't think people do that today.

You just take a picture. Right? If you don't want to forget the number or something, you just take a picture and you go home and you bring it back up. But before all of that, we would just write it on our hands. Right? Here's my number. Boom. You write it.

Or there's a test coming up. Or here's an important date. Or even if you forgot, you would just kind of, you know, if you put it on the back of your head, you wouldn't see it, but it's on your hand, so you're going to see it. And that's what he's saying.

This culture where he says, "I will not forget you because I have engraved you on my hands." Now, I don't like to milk passages and say, "Oh, here's Jesus." You know? But I can't help but to imagine, and I think you're probably thinking the same thing, when Jesus, when God says, "I will not forget you.

I have engraved you in my hands." What image does that automatically conjure up in your head? Scars of Christ. When Jesus was resurrected and Thomas wanted to be assured, Jesus showed him his scars. Jesus' glorified body is a permanent body that he has for eternity. And that glorified body had scars.

So which means today, Jesus has those scars on his hands. Even if the greatest love that we know in this world, the love of a mother toward their child, even if that fails, "My love will not fail you because I have engraved you in my hands." What is that scar reminding him of constantly?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son." I know we recite that verse probably a thousand times, a hundred thousand times. But if you really believe that, it's not just a theological statement of the church. It is not just the core of the gospel.

But it's the God of the universe who's willing to give his only begotten son. Think of your sins. Think of the darkness in your heart. Think of how often you doubt him. Think of the hatred that you harbor in your heart toward people. Think of the lust that you compromise every single week.

And yet, he chose to pursue us. He chose to love us. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Not death, not life, not angels, not rulers, not present, not things to come, not powers, not height, not depth, nothing. Despite our sins, how can we not be changed?

This is why we have confidence. This is why we have confidence. Consider how fickle our hearts are. The weather changes, our mood changes. Somebody says something to you and ruins our day. How many times have we determined to honor God and have failed the very next day? If our security was based upon you, just like our New Year's resolution, we would be done by February.

And then we are lost in March. No, our salvation is not based on your will or your good. God had mercy on us. And he demonstrates his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's why we will never be separated from his love.

And with that confidence, live up to the calling that you have received. Let's pray.