Romans 8:31-39, Notes

“The Security of the Believer”

By Pastor Rich Paradis

Romans 8:31-39

 

Romans 8 is without question one of the great chapters of the Bible. We have taken our time in looking at it, and I suspect we have still missed so much of the depth of its truths. In this final section of the chapter, Paul seems to take an inventory of all that has been considered in the chapter as 7 questions are asked and answered in these final few verses. The answers to these questions should and will offer those that follow Christ a great sense of comfort and motivation moving forward. Let’s see what the final few verses of this great chapter say…

I.                   God is for us!    Romans 8:31-34

a.       The emphasis of this last section of Romans 8 is the security of the believer. Coming out of the incredible truths of Vs. 28-30, we will now see that God is ultimately and completely able to beat and has beaten the most difficult things that can occur in our lives.

b.      Verse 31 starts off with a question (#1) that reminds us of our previous lesson. That question is, “What then shall we say to these things?” What things? The things that directly precede the question. The truth of the entire Triune Godhead watching over us; the Holy Spirit as He intercedes for us in prayer according to the Father’s will and the Father as He not only has been involved in our salvation from eternity past until eternity but also provides the perfect example to follow in Jesus Christ.

c.       With those truths in mind, the verse continues with another question. That question is, “If God is for us, who is against us?” (#2) This question sets up the remainder of the chapter. But let’s not get away from that phrase so fast. Sometimes, we as Christians have the feeling that everything is against us. And without question, there is something against us: the enemy Satan and the world around us. But this question gives us the answer to, “Can the enemy or the world finally win the battle over me?” The answer is NO! Because of passages like Romans 5:1that remind us that by faith we are “at peace” with God, we can know that He is not against us…He is for us!

d.      Verse 32 wastes no time in answering that question in some detail with another question. The answer is that  if God gave His own Son over as the sacrifice for  sin, how would He not give us all things that we need? (#3) The answer to the “all things” that work together for good, even though they themselves may have even been meant for our discouragement and destruction by the enemy, is the “all things” that God freely gives us as we have need.

e.       Verses 33-34 ask another couple of questions. Those questions are, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?” (#4) and “who is the one who condemns?” (#5) The court of law is in mind here. No charge can be brought against the Christian because God has already pronounced a verdict of “not guilty”. And in Vs. 34, we have three reasons why no one can condemn God’s elect:

                                                              i.      Christ died for us.

                                                            ii.      He is alive and seated at the right hand of God, the position of power.

                                                          iii.      He is interceding for us. It is interesting to note that the Holy Spirit intercedes before the Father on our behalf when it comes to prayer and Jesus Christ intercedes for us before the Father when someone tries to condemn us or convict us.

 

II.                Nothing Can Separate Us!    Romans 8:35-39

a.       If in Romans 8:31-34, it was proved that God cannot fail us, than the thought of these verses is can we fail Him? What if some incredible trial or temptation comes our way and we fail? Then what? Paul will deal with that problem in this last section of the chapter. He will explain that nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. Suffering does not separate believers from Christ but actually carries them along toward their ultimate goal.

b.      Verse 35 begins with another question. That question is, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” (#6) The list given here goes from lesser to greater in severity and ends with another question mark. (#7)

                                                              i.      Tribulation – Hardships of life

                                                            ii.      Distress

                                                          iii.      Persecution

                                                          iv.      Famine

                                                            v.      Nakedness

                                                          vi.      Peril

                                                        vii.      Sword – Death

 

c.       The question wonders out loud if there can be a stoppage of Christ’s love for believers and His allowing suffering to overtake them and remove them from their position “in Him”. Should a believer ever wonder if His love grows cold? The stoppage of His love for the believer under trial is no more thinkable than if the Father had ceased to love His Son when He allowed Him to endure the agonies of the Cross, apparently forsaken.

d.      Christ predicted trouble for His people who are left in the world (John 16:33) In fact, Verse 36 is a quotation from Psalm 44:22. That the one who is following Christ will go through trouble is no new news. Suffering has always been a part of the experience of God’s people since the Fall of man.

e.       I really like Verse 37. It says that in all of the things listed above, as tough as they are, we are conquerors. In fact, we are “super-conquerors”. How is this possible? The verse gives us the answer: “through Him who loved us”. This “loved” is not some past tense type of statement. It is a statement of how He loved us: with His death at the Cross. This statement is especially meaningful in that this conquering is not contingent on something that we do; it is based on something that was already done! The believer can know that nothing can separate us from His love! Believe it and rejoice!!

f.       Paul now wraps up this glorious section with a strong statement. He says in Verses 38-39 that “I am convinced that none of the things that I will list can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord”. Why is he convinced? Based on all that has preceded this statement! He begins a list of 10 that starts where the last list ended up in Vs.35:

                                                              i.      Death – Our death doesn’t separate us from the love of God

                                                            ii.      Life – All the things that life throws at us can’t separate us from the love of God

                                                          iii.      Angels – The angels wouldn’t separate us from the love of God

                                                          iv.      Demons (Principalities) – The demons, as much as they would like to, can’t separate us from the love of God

                                                            v.      The Present – All things that surround us today can’t separate us from the love of God

                                                          vi.      The Future – Nothing that will happen to us in the future will separate us from the love of God

                                                        vii.      Powers – Neither Satan and his demons nor any human government can separate us from the love of God

                                                      viii.      Height – Nothing overhead can separate us from the love of God

                                                          ix.      Depth – Nothing beneath us can separate us from the love of God

                                                            x.      Any Created Thing – Nothing in the entire created order can separate us from the love of God

g.      What an incredible way to affirm the certainty of the believer’s salvation! Even if there were other possibilities, Paul is sure that any of them would be equally as impotent to separate the love of the Savior from His people.

 

III.             An Application For All Of Us

a.       God is for us…so who or what could possibly separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus, our Lord? Nothing!!!!