Romans 14:7–8

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Q: What is our only hope in life and death?
A: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ[1].

Romans 14:7-8 exemplifies this truth. As Paul explains in the preceding verse (14:6), we are to observe, eat, and indeed do all things as unto the Lord (1 Cor. 10:31). For none of us lives to himself: we are God's. No Christians are exempt from the requirements of belonging to God, and no Christians are excluded from the benefits of belonging to God. John Calvin emphasizes this point when he writes that "We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him.[2]"

We do not live to ourselves, nor do we live of ourselves. For without God's creating and sustaining work, none of us would even exist. Truly, in Him we live and breath and have our being (Acts 17:24-32). This fact alone is worthy of the eternal praise, gratitude, and devotion of the entire human race. Paul, however, is speaking specifically to us, the redeemed. For, while unbelievers do still live under the just requirements of God (and are judged by them), and while unbelievers do still receive His common grace (Matt. 5:45), they do not live under the redemptive grace of Christ’s sacrifice. Praise God that he saw fit to save us from our sins, by grace alone and not of our own doing, lest any should boast (Eph. 2:9).

We are not our own, but were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20). Therefore, our own motives, desires, passions, ends, wants, needs, breath, heartbeat, thoughts, everything, must be directed to God as our end and as our aim. Matthew Henry states that "Christ is the gain we aim at, living and dying. We live to glorify him in all the actions and affairs of life; we die, whether a natural or a violent death, to glorify him, and to go to be glorified with him. Christ is the centre, in which all the lines of life and death do meet.[3]" Belonging to God gives us an ultimate purpose for our life and death: to glorify and enjoy Him. Belonging to God also gives us an ultimate hope in our life and death: the assurance that God is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28), and the promise that we will be with God in eternity.

If, then, we live (we do), and if, then, we will die (we will), we are the Lord's. Hear this truth: no matter the circumstances in our lives, and no matter the details of our death, we are the Lord's. This truth carries with it a responsibility, and an assurance. We have the responsibility of dying to ourselves and living to the Lord. We have the assurance that, in both life and death, we are under the grace and care of God.

It is for this reason that Christ died for us. Paul continues in Romans 14:9: "For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living." This is the redemptive act of God which grounds the preceding truths - that Jesus Christ, the only son of God, suffered once for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. Lost in our sin, it would be just for God to destroy us and to cast us out into utter darkness. However, Christ satisfied the justice of God on the cross, that we might be brought into a right relationship with Him.

God is pure. God’s care for us is pure, his love for us is pure, and his requirements on us are pure. We cannot stand before a pure and just God as sinful human beings. Praise God that he did not see fit to leave us in this pitiable estate, but has called to Himself a people washed with the blood of Christ. Because we are God’s and because of Christ’s work, we are washed from our sins and rest secure in God’s love. This is good news indeed.

In closing, I would like to offer one final word of encouragement. As we are servants of God, it is our duty and our privilege to serve God, to imitate God, and to have an intimate relationship with God. What a great gift it is, to know personally the creator and sustainer of the universe! Further, God not only enables us to find joy in serving Him, but also, through His grace, enables us to serve him in the first place. Romans 14:4 asks "who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand." So yes, because of our sin, we will fall in our service to God. But rest assured that you serve a God who is able to make you stand.

So, then, this is our hope: that we are not our own. We are God's. God is able to make us stand, both in this life, and in His presence in the life after death. For this reason Christ died for us.