God Is For You

Understanding theology is quite important. And that’s true because it’s just another way of saying, ‘Understanding reality is quite important’. Theology is simply an explanation of reality. Consider these theological topics: the Bible as revelation from God, faithful Christian living or the nature of sin. Understanding these theological topics is simply understanding reality.

I think that I can say that there is one theological doctrine that has a priority above all the others: the Bible’s teaching about God. I say that because the key to understanding reality is understanding God.

So, asking and answering this question makes sense.

What is God?

God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

All of that is true, and it is quite important that you know it. A careful examination of those words will be very helpful in understanding reality.

And yet, I also need to say that knowing theology isn’t enough. Knowing the Bible’s doctrine about God is quite important, but it is quite worthless - or worse! - without also experiencing God. You need to experience what you know about God. You need to feel what it means that God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. What needs to happen is that all this good theology about God needs to touch your life.

Today, we’re going to look at one particular aspect of who God is. And to do that we’re going to use something that Paul taught. Listen.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8.31

God is for you. It’s when you embrace that doctrine, that truth, that expression of reality - that’s when life works. It’s when you feel that God is for you that Immanuel, God with us, makes sense and makes a difference.

So, where do we start so that we can been convinced that

If God is for us, who can be against us?

We’re going to need to start by being honest. It’s just a fact that there are many things that are against us. Paul has a couple of lists of such things. In this very chapter Paul refers to tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword. (See Romans 8.35.)

And those things weren’t just theoretical possibilities for Paul. Listen to another of his lists.

To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. 1 Corinthians 4:11-13

And then, there’s this.

but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger… 2 Corinthians 6:4-5

Put those all together and Paul had quite a list of things that were against him.

You may never experience any of these things that Paul did. There may be no riot in your future, no beatings or imprisonments or being viewed as the scum of the earth. You may never experience having these things against you. But there are things that you know are against you. And you can tell exactly what they are by examining your heart using this question. What am I afraid of? Remember, we need to be honest.

With all of this in mind, I think that we can have a better sense of Paul’s statement,

If God is for, us who can be against us?

Let’s take some time to consider these words. Paul could have written his thought in several ways. He could have written, ‘If you are confronted by some evil, don’t worry. God will deal with it’, or something like that. But that is not the same as writing,

If God is for us…

Do you feel the difference?

You have asked people to help you deal with some problem. Think about contacting the customer service desk of some retailer. You have a problem. The sweater you bought turns out to be the wrong size. So, the customer service rep informs you that you can return it for a refund. You had a problem, and now you don’t. The service rep was quite helpful. Good. But that’s not the same as being for you. As soon as he is done with you, that rep is on to the next customer. And you are forgotten.

Your God, however, is always right there with you not just to take care of the problems but to take care of you. He is for you.

Here’s a verse that has become one of my go-to bits of Scripture. I have found it so very helpful and so very encouraging and so very comforting. It fits here.

cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5.7

Your God is for you because He cares.

I had a very good mother. She had some great qualities as a mother. For one thing, it was obvious to me that she was for me, very much for me. And she was for me because she wanted to see me flourish. She cared. And that has made a huge difference in my life.

Now, as good as it was having a mother like I did, how can that compare with having a God like I do? God cares for me. He is just like my mother was, except incredibly more. And He is that for you. God is for you.

What Paul does next is so very powerful. He doesn’t just make some assertion, God is for you, and then move on to a new topic. No. He wants to convince his readers that this is clearly true, that this is something that they can count on. So, he provides proof. Listen to what he wrote next.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8.32

There are some people, maybe you’ve met some of them, who are all talk and no action. They will make bold promises, but when push comes to shove they are not to be found. But your God not only promises to be for you, He has also proven it. He has proven how far He will go to be for you, to care for you. He gave up His own Son - for you.

Again, consider the words. What is this ‘gave Him up’? What’s that all about? It includes all that happened starting with the torment of the Garden of Gethsemane and going on through to a Friday afternoon burial. All of that is included in Paul’s words, ‘gave Him up’. You parents, would you give one of your children to somebody so that he could do some horrible things to the kid? Well, isn’t that what this Father did with His child? Why did He do that?

If God is for us…

This is a part of the doctrine of God, the reality about God, that you need to know. He is for you because He cares about you.

But again, this can just be a doctrine that is known but only in the sense that it is some data lodged away in your head. And what good is that? It needs to be more. It needs to touch your life. But how?

If you believe in a religion of grace, then you don’t answer that question by asking this one, ‘What do I have to do to make this happen, to make this doctrine touch my life?’ That question is based on a religion of works that says, ‘It’s up to me to make things happen.’ No, instead you say, ‘My God will do something here so that this will touch my life. He will do something’.

And He does. He sends you things that are against you. It may not be riots and beatings, but He brings some problems into your life.

Now, that will sound weird to so many. ‘Why would He do that?’ But think about it. He’s giving you the opportunity for this truth that you know to touch your life. He is giving you the opportunity to believe this part of the Gospel not just in theory but also in the midst of life. You see, when He sends those things against you, you then have a choice. Will you believe that He is for you in that situation? Or will this be another doctrine that you know all about but don’t really believe?

And this is how it will show that you do believe this part of the Gospel. When you are confronted by that problem, when you feel the threat that it holds, first, you remind yourself, ‘My God is for me’. And what you do next is so important. It isn’t that, bolstered by that fact, you work hard to defeat whatever it is that is against you. What is that? It’s saving yourself. There’s no grace there. No, what you do next is pray. ‘Father, You made me a promise. You said that You are for me, that You will take care of me. I need You to be for me now. I need You to take care of me now. Help me.’ And what is this? It’s faith in action. It’s believing the promise. It’s depending on the Father to save you in that situation. And you know what? He will.

He sent you the problem so that you could entrust yourself to Him and discover that all that theology about Him, all that stuff about Him being for you, is actually true. He sent you the problem so that a doctrine you know about could touch your life.

Now, I need to tweak what I just told you. If you really understand your weakness and your need of grace, you will be praying before anything that is against you shows up. ‘Father, I know that there will be things coming my way, things that are against me, things that will want to undo me in some way or other. When that happens, please remind me that I can count on You because You are for me. Father, I want my first thought in that situation to be You. I want to trust You then. Please, make that happen’. That’s acknowledging your own weakness and depending on grace. On our own, we can’t even remember a promise when we need it.

Now, be careful. Does this mean that a Christian who remembers this promise and responds to life’s problems based on it will have a smooth, carefree life? All you have to do is believe the promises. Right? Wrong! Our goal for this life is not for us to be happy and comfortable. That’s the goal of all the pagans around us. Our goal is to spread the rule of Jesus by spreading the Gospel. And that will be hard. Life will have lots of issues confronting you. It’s going to hurt. But it is as you work at this that your happiness will be profound in the age to come.

Now, what have I done? Some people think of sermons as a way to explain the Bible. Is that what I have done, explained some theology? No. What I have done is confronted you. I have confronted you with the Gospel, with the part of the Gospel where God says, ‘I am for you’. Now, the ball is in your court. Will you believe Him?

The answer to that question will come the next time you are faced with something that is against you. And that could be almost anything: an unexpected, extra-large bill, some health problem, a crisis moment in the life of one of your kids, problems on the job. God uses all sorts of things to give you the opportunity to believe Him. That will be the time to see if you will. Prepare for it now by praying for grace.

Now, what if you respond as so many do: a little panic, some frantic thoughts about what you need to do, a frenzied prayer that is based less on faith and more on desperation, growing fears and other stuff? What is a response like that saying? Well, for one thing you’ve just insulted your God. By your actions you called Him a liar. ‘No, You aren’t for me. You don’t care for me.’ Really? And by your actions you have decided to depend on yourself, to save yourself from the problem. Is that living according to reality? Is that what it means to love God?

But what if you respond well. What if you do remember, ‘My God is for me’. What if you pray something like, ‘Father, You made me a promise. You said that You are for me, that You will take care of me. I need You to be for me now. I need You to take care of me now. Help me.’

If you respond in this way, instead of panicking and all the rest, you will be blessed with the peace of the Holy Spirit. Now, I don’t mean merely a truce, where there are no bad feelings. No, I mean peace, a sense of well-being. This is a gift of grace in response to your expression of faith. And then, you will see your God deal with the problem. All this theology stuff will touch your life. You will experience God. Immanuel will become more than something mentioned at Christmas. And as you learn to believe the Gospel instead of giving in to your fears, confidence in your God will grow. And He will make sure to use you to do important things when it comes to the spread of the Gospel and the spread of the rule of Jesus that always follows.

So, what do I want you to do? What I want you to do is simple. I want you to believe the Gospel, all of it, including the part we’ve looked at this morning. God is for you. For that to happen you will need to pray. Pray something like this.

‘Father, I know that there will be things coming my way, things that are against me, things that will want to undo me in some way or other. When that happens, please remind me that I can count on You because You are for me. Father, I want my first thought in that situation to be You. I want to trust You. Please, make that happen’.

You don’t have to use those words, but I do think that this sort of thing needs to be a regular part of your prayers. And as you do pray, and as a result, believe this part of the Gospel, you will become more and more useful in the spread of the rule of Jesus.