Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Is There Anything You Can’t Trust God With? | My Favorite Verses | Romans 8:32

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Tim Minna Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. My name is Patrick Miller. And I'm Keith Simon. We are currently exploring some of our favorite Bible verses and how they've changed our lives. Also, if you want to connect with us, follow us on Twitter at TMBT podcast. You can also check out our hashtag, hashtag, Ask TMBT, where you can ask us anything, and we'd love to connect with you. Everyone who's been a Christian for a few years has a favorite Bible verse or two or 10. I'm pretty sure there's no exceptions to that.

Starting point is 00:00:42 Now, there are over 31,000 verses in the Bible. All 31,000 are inspired by God, meaning all 31,000 are true. All 31,000 are helpful. So what makes some verses into favorites? Well, there's no independent universal criteria for answering that question. You can have a favorite verse for whatever reason you want. No one is going to tell you that you're wrong. When I say I have favorite Bible verses, what I mean is that these are verses that have taught

Starting point is 00:01:13 me important truths, and they've usually come at an important time in my life. These are verses God has used in my life to teach me truths that I come back to over and over and over. And maybe that's the reason these Bible verses are shaping me into the person. that I'm still in the process of becoming. At the top of my list of favorite all-time life-shaping verses is Romans 832. Here's what it says, and this is the Apostle Paul who wrote this verse. He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things. If I had to say what one verse in the Bible has shaped my life more than any other,

Starting point is 00:02:04 that's the verse. I remember first encountering it back when I became a Christian during my freshman year at the University of Missouri. When I became a Christian, the core direction of my life changed quickly. I don't mean to say that it changed completely, just that I had a new set of interests and friends. About a year later, I was invited to go on a mission trip behind the Iron Curtain into the communist country of Hungary. Now, this was 1988. Everything about this trip was done secretly. We couldn't tell people where we were going. Now, in hindsight, I don't know if we were really in all that much danger, but at the time, I was told that if the Hungarian government found out we were talking to people about Jesus, at a minimum, they'd throw us out of the country.

Starting point is 00:02:55 And things could be significantly worse for the Hungarian nationals we were talking to. Were the authorities listening into our conversation? Well, nobody knew for sure. Before I even got to Hungary, I had to raise over $3,000 in donations to pay for the mission trip. You know, things like plane ticket, housing, training, all that kind of stuff. Now, to put it mildly, and I mean mildly, my parents weren't excited about me going. They weren't excited at all. They didn't want me to ask anyone they knew for financial support. At that time, I didn't really get it.

Starting point is 00:03:31 But now that I'm older and have kids of my own, I understand their perspective a lot better than I did back then. I hadn't been involved in a church before becoming a Christian. And so while I wanted to go on this mission trip, I had no idea. zero idea how I was going to raise that much money. In addition, I had a girl problem. What 19-year-old boy doesn't? I couldn't decide if I wanted to keep dating this girl I'd known for a while or not. It seemed like it should be an easy question to answer, but somehow it wasn't. Sometimes I think my spiritual gift is making things more difficult than they need to be. It was a confusing time in my life, A time in which I was trying to raise money, which seemed about as likely as Lazarus being raised from the dead,

Starting point is 00:04:17 a time I was trying to share the gospel with Hungarians who spoke a different language and didn't know much about Jesus at all, all the while trying to avoid communist authorities. And it was also a time in which I was trying to figure out what to do with a relationship. Into all that uncertainty, enter Romans 832. Let me read it again. He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously, give us all things? This verse makes a powerful, logical argument. Let's see if we can follow it. It starts with the truth that God didn't spare his own son. God didn't have to send his son Jesus to redeem us or pay for our sins.

Starting point is 00:05:07 Yeah, it's true that we were sinners. It's true that he was the only one who could make atonement for our sin, but our need didn't put God under any kind of obligation. He could have said, look, you had your chance to follow me. You refused it. It sucks to be you. But God didn't say that. Motivated by love, the father sent his son, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son. He who did not spare his own son, he, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. What does it mean that God gave Jesus up? Well, it means that he gave him up to death on a cross. He didn't send Jesus to conquer, but to die. He gave him up means that he knew that his only son, the son he dearly loved, would be crucified and bear sin in his flesh on the cross. Who did he send his son for? well all who will believe. So it's accurate. It's biblical to say that he gave his son to suffer and die for you. Paul affirms that in Galatians 220. He ends that verse by saying that God loved me and gave himself up for me. God's love isn't just for humanity in general, but it's for you in particular. Just to make sure we're on the same page.

Starting point is 00:06:34 So far, Romans 832 has told us that if you're a Christian, God willingly sent his son to die for you. Now comes the application. The verse continues by asking, How will God not also, along with Jesus, graciously give us all things? If God gave us his son to suffer and die for our sin, then why would God hold back

Starting point is 00:07:01 anything from us. It's not that God promises to give us everything we want. It's saying that we can trust God to give us everything he knows that will be good for us. When I was trying to raise money to go on this mission's trip, when I was hoping to talk to people about Jesus and see them respond in faith like I had, when I was trying to figure out what my future looked like, I kept coming back to Romans 832. He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? God's love for me was rooted in the cross. He could be trusted with my life. What about you? Who do you look to? Who do you trust with your life? When things aren't going the way you want, when life is uncertain, maybe you've lost your job or your health, or maybe

Starting point is 00:08:00 you and your spouse are having a really difficult time right now. Maybe you're in chronic pain. Maybe you're not married, but you desperately want to be. When life isn't turning out how you want, where do you turn? Who do you trust? Romans 832 tells us to turn to God. Trust in him. He gave up his son for you.

Starting point is 00:08:24 He will take care of you. He will give you everything that's good for you. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. Texting an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Is There Anything You Can’t Trust God With? | My Favorite Verses | Romans 8:32

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