God's Protected Community (Romans 8:15, 28–39; LD 21)
Introduction
Last week we considered God's promise to Abram that the Lord is our shield. Lord’s Day 21 expands that promise from individuals to the community. It expands to his holy assembly. While our culture prizes independence, Scripture reminds us that Christianity is never simply "my Bible and me." Christ gathers a people for himself, and it is within his church that he nurtures, strengthens, and preserves his saints.
The One Triune God Gathers his People
When we confess belief in the "holy catholic church," we are confessing faith in the universal church, not the Roman Catholic Church. The Apostles’ Creed uses this language to communicate that from the beginning, God has always intended to gather a people who would fellowship with him. In fact, throughout covenant history God has always worked in the context of a community. Man was not created to be alone. (Genesis 2:18). Man was created to spread out across the earth, to produce, and to multiply in God’s perfect creation.
Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world. The Lord promised to divide the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). The champion seed, Christ, will rise from the seed of the woman and defeat the serpent. One thing we cannot miss is that the Lord will divide the human race.
Now, in a fallen world, we see that Christ gathers his people through his word and Spirit. The ordinary means God uses to call sinners is the preaching of the gospel. That is why the church itself is evangelistic. We invite people into the place where Christ speaks through his Word. We are not invited or called to live on our own apart from Christ’s community.
Conversion ultimately belongs to God's sovereign work. Some are converted dramatically, others gradually, and covenant children often cannot remember a day they did not believe. Whatever the manner, it is Christ who gathers his elect throughout history into one covenant family. No, the church is not perfect, and in this life there will be hypocrites mixed into the church. (I Corinthians 5; Belgic Confession Article 29)
Christ Unites his People in himself
The church is not some club or just some organization where we pay our dues. No, the church is Christ’s body.
Romans 8 reminds us repeatedly that we are heirs together with Christ. Salvation is not merely individual but corporate. Every believer shares equally in Christ's inheritance through adoption as we take hold of Christ by faith.
Because we belong to one body, every member has gifts to use for the good of the whole. Rather than asking, "What can this church do for me?" we ought to ask, "How can I serve Christ by serving his people?" (Romans 12). Paul reminds us that we have not received a spirit of slavery but of adoption. We are not terrified of God like he is some unstable king. No, we approach God as Abba, Father, sharing the same family privilege Christ has secured for us. Our identity is no longer found in proving ourselves worthy but in belonging to God's family through grace alone by faith alone.
Christ Guards his Church
Romans 8 offers one of Scripture's greatest assurances. Yes, we will suffer. Paul does not deny suffering. Christians grieve. Christ himself wept at Lazarus' tomb and over Jerusalem. We taste Christ’s blessing by faith and the Spirit, but we have not arrived at the full glory.
Romans 8:28 is not a command to suppress grief but a promise that God will redeem even our darkest seasons and most trying times for our eternal good. We don’t just carelessly say this to people who are grieving, as this is not going to be necessarily helpful. However, as we reflect back on life, we can see that God has shaped us and moulded us through those trying times. We say that he did not cause it, but he allowed it for reasons he has not revealed to us. We need to remember that in the fall we wanted chaos, disorder, and abuse.
We can get discouraged in this life. So, Paul shows that God’s intention is to finish the work that he started. God has chosen us, and God will bring us to full glorification. In fact, as Paul lists 10 and 7 things that can come against us, ultimately we ponder these triumphant questions:
Who can bring a charge against God's elect?
Who can condemn?
Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
His answer is emphatic: No one. Christ’s work is so sure that there is no power, there is no army, there is no authority that will destroy us. In fact, when Paul cites Psalm 44:22, we read in the Psalm that David is waiting for an answer. Paul gives the answer: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)
The Good Shepherd loses none of those whom the Father has given him.
Conclusion
The communion of saints is not merely a comforting doctrine; it is the reality that our life is held together in Christ.
Because Christ has gathered us, united us, and promised never to forsake us, we are free to encourage one another through every season of life. The emphasis is encouragement. Sometimes we sit quietly with a friend. This is probably the most effective time Job’s counselors interacted with him. The reality is that sometimes we have nothing to say, and we just sit with someone so they are not alone. Sometimes we rehearse the promises of Scripture. Discerning what is pleasing to the Lord is not always easy.
Ultimately, we want to avoid shallow answers to suffering; we remind one another that our faithful Savior is still working, still defending, and still leading his people home. He may seem silent, but he is actively working in our lives to shepherd us to glory.
As we serve Christ by serving his church, we press on together with this confidence: Nothing can separate God's people from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let that be our hope.
Further Study
You can find a series of Articles on Romans 8 on Ligonier’s website if you want to study this topic more. I appreciate this quick devotional on Romans 8:33-34 that reminds us about the significance of justification. I put together this video defending church membership. Here is a link to some sermons and sermon shorts on the Heidelberg Catechism.