Pylant preaches ‘resounding’ Gospel answer to soul-ravaging question

There is a “resounding” Gospel answer to a question that ravages troubled souls preached Todd Pylant, pastor of First Baptist Church of Benbrook, Texas, during his Oct. 31 chapel message at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College.

Pylant, a member of the Southwestern Board of Reference, preached from Romans 8:31-39.

“The question we see in verse 35 that is played out in the real experience in verse 36 is not a theoretical question,” he explained. “If you and I have any hope of being a faithful follower of Christ to the end of our life, it is imperative that we know with our heart and with our soul, how it is that Paul arrives at the resounding Gospel answer of verse 37.”

Pylant brought to the attention of the audience the psalm quoted in verse 36 of the passage of Scripture. The quote comes from Psalm 44:22.

“I’ve always been bothered by this quote,” Pylant admitted. “It seems so out of place. There’s a bunch of better psalms to quote. Why does [Paul] quote this verse? I think it’s for this reason. So that the question of verse 35 doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Pylant said Psalm 44 is a lament psalm but that changes in verse 9.

“You hear the essence of Psalm 44,” he questioned. “We’ve heard all of these great stories about how God’s done all these great things, but that’s not how it feels like for us. I feel like I am just a sheep that is assigned to be slaughtered and no one cares, not even You, he said, paraphrasing the psalmist’s sentiment.

Pylant stated that many of the lament psalms end with a statement of faith, but Psalm 44 does not.

Referencing Romans 8:35, Pylant said, “The question of who shall separate us from the love of God is the question that in our real-world experience is where it feels like God has forgotten us, forsaken us, and we don’t see evidence of His love. If God loves me, He’s all-powerful and cares for me, then why am I going through this?”

Pylant said he felt Paul was bold in verse 37 of the Scripture passage.

“In verse 37, Paul is looking in the eyes of the person who is praying Psalm 44 and every believer who has asked those questions and saying ‘no,’” he stated. “‘In all these things we are more than overcomers.’”

Pylant challenged the assembly to consider how Paul could give “a resounding ‘no’ to a question that each one of us has either asked or will ask.” He pointed to truths from Romans 8 as the foundation for Paul’s categorical Gospel answer to the question of verse 35 and the experience of verse 36.

“The question of God’s love for me and for you was settled on the Cross,” he asserted. “So, no, you are not separated from His love. The Cross proves that He loves you.”

Pylant stated that Romans 8 reminds followers of Christ that God has not left them in the midst of pain.

“The way that God’s love is expressed in us with the indwelling Holy Spirit within you is God’s abiding love in your life,” he declared. “The Spirit is interceding for us according to the will of God. The Spirit comforts us as only the God of all comfort can really comfort us in our hearts. God sheds His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. This is how we experience God’s love through us is through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.”

Another example of the truths from Romans 8, according to Pylant, is an eternal timeline.

“Our life is not limited to just this present world,” he said. “Suffering, groaning, hoping, and waiting only make sense if you remember that you were reborn for eternity and not just this world. When Paul says, ‘We are more than conquerors,’ he has the end in sight, and that end is not limited to your lifespan on this earth.”

Pylant said Romans 8 also reveals in powerful language the divine eternal plan of God.

“‘Creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay,’” he read. “The beautiful thing about Romans 8 is not only does God have this divine eternal plan, but He has adopted you and me into that plan. We are adopted to be children of God. We are fellow heirs with Christ. God promises to glorify us.”

In closing, Pylant proclaimed with this evidence, that the resounding Gospel answer is nothing can separate His children from His divine eternal plan.

“I want to encourage you for your situation, your Psalm 44, that makes you want to feel like you are nothing more than a lamb sent to the slaughter: can you give your resounding ‘no’ to that?” he asked. “‘No’ in all these things because ‘we are more than conquerors.’ God has demonstrated His love for me. He continues to prove His love for me through His abiding Spirit. I have the confidence to know that I will overwhelmingly conquer because God has adopted me into His divine, eternal plan.”

Since October 2004, Pylant has served as a pastor at FBC Benbrook. He has served on church staffs in San Angelo and Waco, Texas, as well as Augusta, Georgia. In 1993, he earned a Master of Divinity with biblical languages from Southwestern.

Pylant’s entire message can be viewed here.

Chapel is held every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10 a.m. (CT) in MacGorman Chapel on the campus of Southwestern Seminary and TBC. Chapel may be viewed live at swbts.live.