On Being Bullet Proof
( Or: Living a Life That Evil Cannot Touch) Romans 8: 35-39
Sermon by Pastor Dennis R. Gleason -- July 24, 2005
35Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? 36(Even the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. 39Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the latest issue of Reader’s Digest in the Humor In Uniform section I found this: “WesternIraq is a dangerous place, so the arrival of my flak jacket was a welcome sight. What was less welcome was the sight of these words someone had written on the ceramic plates that make up the inside of the jacket: “Fragile! Handle With Care.”
Certainly that was not a confidence builder for this soldier caught up in modern warfare.
Paul, in coming to the end of his thoughts that have been deemed chapter 8, intends to offer us a confidence booster. He wants us to live a life that evil cannot touch. Think about that statement in light of what Paul includes in this few verses:
- trouble or tribulation
- calamity, or
- persecution, or
- hunger or
- cold or
- danger or
- being threatened with death
- life
- angels
- principalities
- powers
There is a lot of evil in the world we live in and we know that all kinds of evil will confront us personally. It has been in our lifetime that more true Christians have been martyred by sheer numbers than in the history of the church.
The first of the words Paul uses here is the word “trouble or tribulation” It comes from the Latin word for a “flail”. This was a piece of wood a little longer than a broom stick, that had attached to it a shorter piece of wood with a leather thong. A person harvesting grain would have swung the flail through the air to beat the grain. The grain would then be separated from the chaff. In the Greek of our text the word meant nothing more than pressure. The idea is that the time would come when the pressure would become so great that it would appear to be an intolerable burden. The world in which we live will try to pressure us to deny Christ. However, we have this assurance that this pressure cannot ever separate us from the love of Christ.
All of the other troubles are simply examples of that pressure.
In Hebrews 11 we find the honor roll of the early believers: people who lived their lives in such a way that evil could not touch them…and not what took place in their lives: they suffered greatly because they believed God and because of that the world pressured them. But it could no separate them from the love of God.
Paul has this to say in 2 Corinthians 4:8-11
8We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. 9We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. 10Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies.
Jesus warned his disciples and us as well, that in this world we would have trouble. But he told us that we should not be afraid because he had overcome the world. And because he did we can too with the strength we receive through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
We will have trouble. Count on it. Jesus told the disciples that the world hated him. And because we belong to him, the world will hate us too. (John 15:18, 19) “For your sake we are being killed all day long, as sheep for the slaughter.” Why do troubles come into our lives? Wouldn’t it be easier for us if ti were not true? Why does God allow it? 1 Peter 1:7 gives us an answer. And the answer is important for our consideration: “7These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
The testing of our life will prove that our faith is the real thing. And when Jesus Christ is revealed as He really is…He will receive glory, praise and honor because of our faith. Troubles will come.
But we can live a life that evil cannot touch. We can be bullet proof.
In our sales training with Ecoquest, one of the concepts presented is the idea of being bullet proof. That expression simply means that our knowledge of the truth about the products available cannot ever be undermined by what our detractors have to say about them. When you know the truth, falsehood or innuendos cannot affect you. So you are bullet proof.
How then can we truly believe that Paul thinks that we can live a life that evil can not touch.
Spiritually, we can be bullet proof. Some people choose not to be because they do not know the Word of God well and they are fuzzy on what it has to say about us and our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. But when you know the truth about Jesus Christ you cannot be influenced by the falsehood spread about by the devil. Our sins are forgiven when we come to Christ. We have eternal life. We are free from the pressure of the world. Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God.
It is declared in this passage that these sheep…destined for the slaughter…are more than conquerors. Victory is theirs.
It is not just that we conquer…no, we are more than conquerors. Our foe is more than our equal, being comprised of powerful spiritual forces. Remember “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, Paul says in Ephesians 6:12. Our foes are supernatural and our victory then is supernatural.
We are more than conquerors because of the length of the warfare which we have to wage. Earthly battles demand that soldiers fight for day and night for any number of days. Battles last until the forces facing each other are exhausted and there comes a time when they simply can’t take any more. The battle then ends.
It is not so with spiritual battles we face. With the spiritual battle there is no armistice, no truce, no interval. Because we are in the divine image, we are targets of the world, the flesh and the devil. There is never a moment’s reprieve. We need to be aware of that. The battle rages all the time. And because of this when we win the fight, we will be more than conquerors.
The result of the battle is eternal and because of that our victory is eternal. And because of that fact we are more than conquerors. Remember, the issues of eternity are decided in this life.
We are more than conquerors because we will receive rewards that far surpass anything that earthly conquerors have received. Worldly people fight for earthly glory, but we fight for a crown and an inheritance that will never fade away.
We are more than conquerors because we fight for the cause of Christ. The enemy is Satan and the object of our warfare is the claim by Satan to possess the throne of God. We are the soldiers of Christ in this world…and that is why he hates us and attacks us and seeks to overcome us. But we are more than conquerors and nothing will ever separate us from the love of God, in Christ Jesus.
Paul said, “I am persuaded that…[nothing] can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Notice what Paul is saying here:
Death cannot separate you from the love of God because Jesus Christ died for us. For those who have trusted Christ as their savior and lord of their lives…there is life after death that will be a blessing of perfection, and a restoration of all that man should have had but for sin. Where are the dead in Christ right now…Paul made it clear when he said, “to be absent from the body is to be with the Lord.” Physical death is primarily the separation of the soul and spirit from the physical body.
Life cannot separate us from the love of God because Jesus Christ lives for us. (Galatians 2:20)
Angels can’t separate us from the love of God…God made them and He is more powerful than they.
The point is that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
He loves us.
He will continue to love us.
He will finish what he has begun in us.
He will draw us to himself.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him might have everlasting life. Because of that fact…we can trust God and live a life that evil cannot touch.
Paul’s point is that there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.
(8:39) Our Lord tells us, “I love you.” And then he showed it to us by dying for us on the cross.
How then can I be bullet proof?
I can be bullet proof if I do what the early believers did:
Acts 2:42 tells us what they did: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
When we spend time in the Word of God to know it, to understand it, to make it part of our live, we will become bullet proof. It is the truth. When you know what is true…falsehood can never shake you. It can never deceive you.
When you spend time with God’s people in true fellowship and make that part of your life you will become bullet proof. That is where you will find true friendship and companionship…falsehood can never shake your relationships.
When you break bread together with other believers in true worship, remembering what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross and experiencing the oneness we have in Christ, you become bullet proof. No one can take away the assurance you have of forgiveness of sin and of the life you have in Christ.
When we pray as we should we are in the presence of Christ and that is as real for us as His presence was for the early disciples. When we spend time with Jesus we will be bullet proof. No one can take Him from you or keep you out of His presence.
That is how you and I can live a life that evil cannot touch. Oh, it may beat you up a bit and you might be worse for the wear, but it cannot ever really touch the life within you and the assurance you have in Christ. Praise God for that!
Sanctification
“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us … sanctification …” (1 Corinthians 1:30).
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once I enter by faith into the realization that He “became for [me] … sanctification … .” Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you …” (Colossians 1:27). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification—imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy—it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness—“… kept by the power of God …” (1 Peter 1:5).
--Dennis Gleason
Sermon by Pastor Dennis R. Gleason -- July 24, 2005
