2026 07 26 - Then Why Are Things So Bad? - Popp

And all his way.

How many of you believe and trust God's word? Really?

For sure. No question, no doubt, 100%. What are we doing here?

Praising God.

You heard the second lesson that was read from Romans chapter. My question is, are there any questions?

Pretty clear, isn't it? Pretty straightforward.

It's about God, his eternal love for all people, and about bringing that love not just to those whom he chose long ago and the people of Israel, but to everyone. Especially to those who listen and hear and respond to his call and come into that promise of love that he gives to us. And it is in that love that absolutely everything is overcome. Isn't it God's love that overcomes all our text is from the second lesson. Not quite all of it.

I deliberately did not choose the first few verses because I didn't want to get into the whole predestination thing.

I'll leave that to other people.

I haven't studied it, but we begin at verse 31. And again I use a different translation here. So if you want to follow along living translation. What shall we say about such wonderful things as Jesus? If God is for us, who can have any of His?

Since he did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen? For example? No one. For God Himself has given us right standing with Himself.

Who then will condemn us? No one. For Christ Jesus died for us and was raised alive for us. And he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us?

Does it mean he no longer loves us? If we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted or hungry or destitute or in danger or threatened with death? As the Scriptures say, for mercy we are being killed every day we are being slaughtered like sheep. Oh, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours to Christ, who loved us. And I'm convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love.

Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today, nor our worries about tomorrow. Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below. Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus, our Lord. That's our pet.

Let us pray.

Loving Father, you promised to love us with faithful service from the beginning of time. You have brought us through every obstacle of faith to assure us without them that nothing can ever separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord, by your Holy Spirit, help us to believe and to trust in the word of love. I don't think Paul mentions any words. When he kind of brings everything that he has said in these first eight chapters of Romans, he makes it very evident. Yet because of what God has done in and through His Son Jesus Christ, and the love that he has shown and the sacrifice that he has made, that he conquers all and that he loves all.

And it is that love that brings us back to Him. Now, I know you know that, but look at how we put it out there.

Here's the question you read. If God is for us, who can ever convince us?

You know, really, Actually, I could stop right here. That's the gospel, isn't it? God loved us, but it goes on and actually gives us the gospel a little bit later. This one says, who then will condemn us? No one.

Why? For Christ. Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us, do we deserve that? No. Can we ever learn that?

Can we be perfect to earn that? We can. It's not possible. But God in His infinite and eternal love has done it for us. So here's a question I have.

He doesn't have it here, but who else, what other religion, what other faith in all of human history has decided to leave their own sanctuary, if you will, and come and dear like us and live in our world and walk among us and suffer and die and rise? Who?

No but God. And in that moment that we realize that God's love prevails. And in that moment that we realize that God then draws us into Himself because of this great desire that he has to not just be God, but the love. That's who and what he is. So as we think about that, we think also this.

For God Himself chose us.

And he called each one of us as we have faith. But even outside of that, he calls us to be his. And he chooses us. God adopts us. God makes us his own.

In our baptism. And in that baptism, God reminds us that we are washed, that we are cleansed, that our sin is gone, that we are that sin is eradicated and we are left pure and free.

That's what he does for us. And that's who he is. And that's why you can ask the question, if God's for us, who can ever be against us? And then he goes on, he says, can the instinct ever separate us from God's brother. Is it possible?

Can anything separate, can anything stop God's love? And he gives us a list there. Did you ever look at that list? Very carefully? It says, does it mean he no longer loves us?

If we have trouble or heavenly, or are persecuted or hungry or destitute, or in danger or threatened with death, as the scriptures say, for your sake, we are killed every day. We are being slaughtered by sheep like sheep.

How many of us have gone through that? How many of us have lived that? I think what Paul is telling us here is what he experienced in saying, hey, if you really trust God, then no matter what happens in the name of God, I will be there. This is what he says. Chapter six.

It's kind of interesting. It gives a long list of the covenants, some of the hardships that Paul endured. But in chapter six, we begin at verse four. It says, in everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. Be patiently in your troubles and the hardships and calamities of every kind.

We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, gone without food. Reprove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.

Now why is God saying all this? He's reminding us that as we proclaim the gospel, as we live out God's love daily in our lives, no matter what takes place, no matter how it responds, God will see us through.

Doesn't matter about him enough. It matters how God's love shines forth. That's what matters. And that's what works in and through us. And so you can put your own list together.

I'm sure many of us have done that. But in those lists, in every situation at the end, who has been there? God. God's love in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. So then he concludes with this.

Know despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours. To Christ, who loved us, is that victory ours because of who we are and what we have done hard? And victory is ours as we sit as correct through Christ, who loves us, who loves us, who will always love us. It goes on. He says, I'm convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love.

And he has another list here. Did you notice? It only has a different kind of list. Listen to it again. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today, nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.

No power in the sky above or in the earth below. Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, what's different about this list is it goes beyond just things to us in the sense of the battle that we fight day in and day out, in living out and proclaiming the love of God is not just a battle here on earth, but it is a battle with the spirits of hell itself. It is a battle that Satan uses to draw us away from God, to tempt us away. Satan's not interested in conversion necessarily.

Satan's just interested in death.

Because if he can get us to doubt, he can get us to question God. Isn't that all the end if God made me say.

So? Paul's convinced. He says there's not anything here, not just angels and demons or life or death, but our fear, our fear for today, our worry about tomorrow. By the way, Jesus has a lot to say about that in Matthew chapter six. That worrying doesn't get us any further.

In fact, my understanding is that medical research indicates that the more you worry, probably the shorter your life will be. Interesting thought.

Even hell, even the Satan, no power anywhere in the universe can separate us from God's love. Nothing can do that. So why are we still afraid? Why are we still. Do we really trust this word that God gives us?

Do we really believe what God says here?

I'm convinced that there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God.

The peace of our God that is beyond our understanding keep us and guard us.

Let us rise and confess our faith in the words of the nice sleep, Maker of heaven and earth, in all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only.