Scripture Sandwich
I’m always glad when my daily Bible reading brings me to Romans 8. I wrote about it two years ago in Good News Monday. I’ve probably been through it three or four times since. Today I had a new thought while reading. Isn’t it great that God’s word never gets stale? You’ve heard of “feeding on the word” and “bread of life.” I know, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” But John 1 tells us that Jesus is the word [of life]. It’s not a stretch to equate word and bread.
Today I discovered a “sandwich” in Romans 8
One “slice of bread” is the first verse, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The other slice is the last three verses of the chapter, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
What are “all these things” referred to in v37? Between “no condemnation” and “overwhelmingly conquer” is a list of what Paul tells us we conquer. I’m just going to skim it because my purpose today is to try to get you excited about God’s word in general…and do something about it.
There’s a section about flesh vs. spirit
and the war in that arena. Sufferings are prevalent throughout our life. You’ve heard the saying, “life is tough and then you die.” There’s more than a little truth in that. We are told that the sufferings of “this present time” v.18, “are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Though written 2,000 years ago, we too in this present time are suffering as a society when nothing enacted by Congress resembles “Nation Under God.” We are reminded that we “groan” waiting for heaven. But then the good stuff starts. “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (v28).” We are reminded, “If God is for us who is against us? (v31)” And the best, Jesus himself is praying for us (v34).
Then (drum roll) Paul says, “but,” which implies that whatever the struggles and suffering we’ve gone through or are going through now (listed above in 2nd para.), is nothing that has any lasting affect on our love relationship with God, our father. It would be like Pop Warner trying to take on the NFL.
Let’s focus on the good stuff.
Verse 28 doesn’t say all things work together for good. It says God causes all things to work together for good. When we know God through Jesus Christ, He orchestrates all events for our good and His glory. This is one of many verses we should have in our arsenal to combat the lies of the devil. There’s more. We “overwhelmingly” conquer. We don’t just squeak by and sneak into heaven. It’s a full-on victory celebration, not for us, but for Christ who won the battle on our behalf. We are part of the glorious feast because we have a personal invitation from Jesus, “…the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out (Jn. 6:37).” Once we’re “in the family”, verses 37-39 should give us comfort, confidence, and conviction to share the good news.
Whether you like a meat sandwich or PB&J, there’s plenty in the Bible to choose from. Read Psalm 19:7-11 for a Bible-101 tutorial as to what Scripture has to offer. Just to highlight the key words from these verses: perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, more desirable than gold, warnings, great reward. I’ll add one more from another Psalm (119:160): everlasting.
The world offers anything but
perfect, pure, clean, true, or everlasting. And its packaging is enticing. If we’re not read up in our time in the Bible, we’ll likely fall prey to our flesh’s desires and before we know it, things of God are a speck in our rear-view mirror. Fellow believers, time is short. Persevere in your walk. Another verse from Psalm 119 is the key. Verse 11 says, “Your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against You.” Are you treasuring God’s word today? Do you look forward to your time in it? Are you obeying what you read? Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away (Matt. 24:35).” I encourage you to let go of anything that won’t survive with you in your transition into the afterlife. If you’re not sure you’re ready to meet Jesus, I suggest you spend a few minutes on our “Steps To Salvation” page and settle the most important question you’ll ever be asked: “What did you do with my Son Jesus?”