Download The Overwhelming Power of God

A Sermon
by
The Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
West Acton Baptist Church
July 21, 2013
“The Overwhelming Power of God”
For I am convinced 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.
— Romans 8:38 & 39i
Satan didn’t get the memo. Let me explain.
Christian ethicists have developed a Just War Theory. Why? Well, there are two sides
within the Christian camp. One side believes that war is so morally reprehensible that it is
forbidden in all circumstances. It is so sinful, so opposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ that
they will seek other ways to pursue the cause of goodness even in the face of deadly force
directed at them or at others. The other camp believes that war is a tragic and sinful reality
which at times cannot be avoided. They often cite the protection of the innocent as a reason for
entering into armed conflict with an aggressor. History is replete with examples of just such
occurrences so I wont labor this point. Let me just say that while some Christians believe that
war is to be avoided at all costs, even the loss of innocent blood or their own, most of us think
that war, as reprehensible as it may be, is necessary if goodness is to prevail. But how is a
Christian to decide when war is justified? To answer that question, the Just War Theory was
devised. Here are its seven tenants.
1. A war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority. Even just causes cannot be
served by actions taken by individuals or groups who do not constitute an authority
sanctioned by whatever the society and outsiders to the society deem legitimate.
2. A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered. For example, self-defense
against an armed attack is always considered to be a just cause (although the justice of the
cause is not sufficient--see point #4). Further, a just war can only be fought with "right"
intentions: the only permissible objective of a just war is to redress the injury.
3. A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success. Deaths and
injury incurred in a hopeless cause are not morally justifiable.
4. The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace. More specifically, the peace
established after the war must be preferable to the peace that would have prevailed if the
war had not been fought.
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5. The violence used in the war must be proportional to the injury suffered. States are
prohibited from using force not necessary to attain the limited objective of addressing the
injury suffered.
6. The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants.
Civilians are never permissible targets of war, and every effort must be taken to avoid
killing civilians. The deaths of civilians are justified only if they are unavoidable victims
of a deliberate attack on a military target.
Clearly, Satan didn’t get the memo! Satan has never heard of the Just War Theory. He
didn’t read Romans 8 and while I don’t expect the prince of darkness to care about being fair, I
would expect him to care about winning. The fourth principle of the just war theory declares that
a war is only just if there is a reasonable chance of winning. My friends, Satan has no chance at
all. He simply cannot win. Why? Because I have become absolutely convinced that there is no
power in Heaven or in hell that can prevail against the good intentions of God. Nothing.
And I know you know this, too. In this room are people who have been dealt a
devastating blow in life. Look around you. There is a person whose home was invaded and who
had to hide under her bed lest the thieves kill her and her children. There are those who have lost
children to drugs, to unexplained death, to the coldness of alienation. There are people who
struggle with addiction, others who don’t know if there will be enough money to pay the
mortgage or rent, who deal with mental disease, who live with chronic illness. I wont do this. I
wont ask you to hold up your hand if you feel that any of these conditions have separated you
from the love of God. I wont because I don’t need to. You know there would not be a single
hand raised. Not because they are stronger than most but because the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord is. You know this not because it was born on some ethereal plan of moral reasoning,
but because despite the darkness, the preamble of John’s gospel got it right — the light shines in
the darkness and the darkness has not been able to put it out. Satan didn’t get the memo and you
know the overwhelming power of God’s love, not in theory, but in fact.
But our time this morning would not be true to the text if we did not note that Paul is not
writing to a person facing a difficult tomorrow, but to the church located at the heart of the
Roman Empire. The time is coming when the emperor will turn against the Church, when the
Apian Way will be illuminated at night by the burning corpses of Christians hanging from
crosses. Had I lived at the time, had my life been threatened, had my family been placed in
jeopardy, would I have held firm to my faith? Would I not have questioned the power of God’s
love to prevail against the evil of Emperor Domitian? Such cruelty had not happened when Paul
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wrote these words, but surely such hostility to the cause of Christ must have been evident — like
storm clouds warning of rain to come. So these words are addressed to the church and thus I ask
you now to hear them in all their power.
Neither you nor I know what the future holds. But we both carry with us this stunning
affirmation from the eighth chapter of Romans. It stands as a reminder that no matter what
befalls this church or its people, God’s love abides. Yet it says more than that. It speaks of
power and the subjugation of principalities. It is a message to Satan, to the forces of evil, to all
that would divide or seek to crush the human spirit. Battles may rage on, but the war is won.
Christ stands victorious at the entry to an empty tomb!
Our children’s neurologist is David Urion. One of his distant relatives is the Confederate
soldier, General Beauregard. He has a picture of Beauregard in his office and so we asked why.
Dr. Urion told us that Beauregard was a brilliant strategist and at the outbreak of the Civil War,
his counsel was highly valued by Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. Beauregard
fell out of favor, however, when Confederate forces had lost the battle of Vicksburg and General
Beauregard counseled Davis to sue for peace. The loss at Vicksburg effectively split the
Confederacy in two and Beauregard knew that victory was no longer possible. He adhered to the
fourth principle of the just war theory – there must be a reasonable chance of success.
Beauregard got the memo!
Satan hasn’t gotten the memo. But you and I have. Live in the freeing knowledge of the
overwhelming power of God and no matter what befalls us know that the war is won. Let us
pray…
i
Romans 8:31b-36; 38-39
31b If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of
us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It
is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at
the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will
hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … 38 For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
powers, 39 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.
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