Romans | Chapter 8 – Scripture Supply

Romans 8:1-11

“Change of Address”

Vs. 1-4 Freedom from judgment

Vs. 5-11 What do you want from life?

Intro

Romans 8 begins with no condemnation; it ends with no separation, and in between there is no defeat. If you have ever struggled with anxiety, then this chapter ought to bring you some much needed relief. It is amazing to notice the repeated words in the Bible. Last week I told you how Paul in Romans 7:14-25 used the first-person pronoun in the present tense, “I” over 40 times. But here in chapter 8 Paul uses the word “Spirit” 19 times. Hmm, it seems to me you won’t battle the “I” as much if you spend more time with the Spirit.

You see we are always anxious in one of three areas all addressed in Romans 8:

We are anxious about something in the past: But Romans 8:1says “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

We are anxious about something in the present: But Romans 8:28 says that “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

We are anxious about something in the future: But Romans 8:38-39 says, “We are Persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In the original Greek, the final two verses of chapter 7 and the first two verses of chapter 8 are all one sentence and when read that way bring a greater clarity to the passage as it summarizes all Paul had been saying in chapter 7. And the first word in chapter 8 ought to be a word that ties it together like “but”. Paul is making it clear that just because we have been saved through the finished work of Jesus Christ doesn’t mean the battle is over. In fact we will be entered into the battle between our old flesh and our new nature which are going to battle not for your soul but for control. Think of this battle as being tied to a person in a “three legged obstacle race” and you get the general idea as it is a battle of control and direction.

There are three things every Christian should know about their new life in Christ:

There is a very real internal battle we entered into the moment we got saved.
This battle is not between God and us as it is without condemnation from Him.
That provision has already been made for our victory over ourselves in the Spirit filled life in Christ

Vs. 1-4 Freedom from judgment:

Vs. 1 The phrase, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,” is even more powerful when examined in the original language. The word “therefore” implies a changed circumstance which involves a change of time. The time is “Now” which is the present and the word NO is emphatic which implies no sort of condemnation. The phrase, “Who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” is not found in the earliest ancient manuscripts of the Book of Romans and they do not agree with Paul’s context. They were probably added by a copyist who either made a mistake or thought he could “help” Paul by bringing in these words from Rom. 8:4. The unbeliever has judgment day before him but the believer has judgment day behind him and because of this there is NOW NO CONDEMNATION in Christ Jesus! The basis of this incredible declaration is to be found in the words In Christ Jesus!

The verse doesn’t say:

There will now be “no mistakes or failures in Christ Jesus”. There are now “no consequences for mistakes and failures in Christ Jesus”. What is says is that when we make mistakes and failures, we will not be condemned by God because we are in Christ.

Saints, you aren’t fighting God on this, He isn’t pointing an angry finger at you and shaking His head in disgust, in fact He isn’t surprised at your battle or your failure. He isn’t rejecting you and kicking you out of His family and He isn’t mad and shunning fellowship with you. Joined to Jesus, we hear the verdict: “no condemnation”, not “less condemnation.” Our standing hasn’t improved, it’s been completely transformed.

The reason for this is threefold:

Vs. 2 The law cannot claim you: We have been made free from the law of sin and death as we have a life in the Spirit and as such the law no longer has any jurisdiction over us. The “Law of sin and death” is made up of three powerful forces that operate in conjunction with each other: The flesh, the world system which offers up things that entrap my flesh and satan who energizes the whole mess with his lies and deception. If just one of those three things is inactive I will have victory but together I’m defeated. Ah in comes the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that has made us free from the effects of the deadly three.

Vs. 3 The law cannot condemn you: The reason for this is because Jesus has already paid for our suffering and condemnation on the cross. There is a human law that mimics this truth it’s called “double jeopardy” and states that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime so since Jesus was tried and paid for our crime we can’t be retried for it. There are three reasons why we are FREE from God condemning us based upon what we read in chapter seven.

7:18-22 There is nothing in my flesh that is good and nothing in my new heart that doesn’t want to do good. Because of that truth God will not and doesn’t condemn us.

7:11 & 15-19 We can’t handle the flesh, it is two powerful and we are two powerless in our strength to deal with it. Because of this God will not and does not condemn us.

7:24 God has already made provision in Christ for our past present and future failure. Those very real failures are driving me to him and if He condemned me, they would drive me from Him.

Vs. 4 The law cannot control you: To break the cycle of guilt and failure God sent His own Son. He did not send an angel, prophet or holy man. And Paul is very careful to describe this incarnation as being in the “likeness of sinful flesh,” not the likeness of “flesh” which would make Him a phantom or a mirage but in the likeness of sinful flesh which means that He came in the flesh but without sin.

Based upon these truths Paul asks in Romans 8:34 , “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” We will be just like Paul, disgusted by our behavior, and even say the same thing about ourselves as Paul does about himself, “Oh what a jerk I am!” But even though we are disgusted about our failure we must not start believing that God feels the same way about us as we do.

Vs. 5-11 What do you want from life?

Verse 5-11 explains that just being a Christian doesn’t mean that you will automatically look and act like Jesus. The question Paul anticipates is “Hey Paul if I’m free from the condemnation of my past, present and future sins, why not just continue to practice these sins?”

His answer is twofold:

Vs. 5 To do so would be an indication that you are not born again, “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.”

Vs. 6a To do so would only destroy you and rip you off whereas the things of the Spirit bring you “life and peace”. The way we can determine our direction in walking is to take note of what we are thinking about all day long. What’s important to us, how we view this circumstance or that situation.

Vs. 6b We could translate this, “The thinking of the flesh is death, but the thinking of the Spirit is life and peace.” On January 6th,1941 then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed Congress on the state of the war in Europe. He closed his speech by saying that he looked forward “to a world founded upon four essential freedoms: The freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear.” Paul in Romans makes a declaration of four spiritual freedoms away from death.

Death in our present experience always consists of four things:

Fear: Anxiety, dread, timidity
Guilt: Shame, self-hatred, perfectionism
Hostility: Resentment, bitterness, revenge
Emptiness: Loneliness, depression, discouragement

These are all forms of “death” which come upon us when we set our thinking on the things of the flesh. If you summarize the entire Bible, you will discover that Life is also made up of four things that are the opposite of death:

Trust: Hope, confidence
Acceptance: Security, assurance
Love: Friendliness, kindness
Fulfillment: Excitement, vitality

Vs. 7-8 The Soul is the center of our emotions, intellect and will, and it will come thousands of times a day as a fork in the road where we will need to choose between two paths: the spirit or the flesh. Paul very plainly tells us that when we are at the fork in the road not to be persuaded by the lure of the “flesh path”, because it is at war against God and it cannot please God. Can a Christian choose to go down that road of the flesh? Yes, but they will do so apart from enjoying fellowship with God. There is no such thing as a happy carnal Christian.

Vs. 9 The word for “dwells”, is a word that means to make ones home with. So Paul says that we have not merely changed locations which have been transformed into a dwelling place whereby the Holy Spirit takes up His permanent residence. Can you imagine the Holy Spirit taking up His home in your heart and your life, putting His feet up on the easy chair of your heart and saying, “Man, Dale I feel so at home in your life, I’m so glad that I came to live here with you. I love what you watch, why you like the same things I like.” You see if you are a Christian then that is the situation going on in your heart every moment of the day as the Holy Spirit dwells in you and if He doesn’t dwell in you then you are not a Christian.

Vs. 10-11 The phrase, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His”, means that every believer has the Holy Spirit. As such we cannot divide Christians among the “Spirit-filled” and “not-Spirit-filled.” If a person is not filled with the Holy Spirit, they are not a Christian at all. What we can say is that there are some who miss out on living the Christian life in the constant power of the Spirit because they are not constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit. The question as believers isn’t whether we have the Holy Spirit, it is whether He has us?

Romans 8:12-17

“Who we are” verses “The way we were”

Vs. 12-17 Sons of God

Intro

In the 8th chapter Paul started out by letting all believers know that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. And a collective sigh of relief ought to have been heard from all believers as Jesus’ work on the cross has:

Paid for the penalty of my sin
Broken the power of my sin
Removed the guilt of my sin

But what is the practicable implication of those facts? Paul divides this into two sections the first (verses 12-17) Paul reveals that this has allowed us to enjoy being a child of God. The 2nd section (verses 18-30) he speaks on the seeming contradiction of our standing with our oft experience of suffering.

Vs. 12-17 Sons of God

Vs. 12-13 Our debt is to the Lord, not to the flesh, we don’t owe it any pampering and if we give in to its demands it will only rob us of the things of life. Paul is specific in writing these words as he says, “if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” In the news sometime back was this article: “A South Korean man said to have fanatical religious views was found dead on a crucifix with his hands and feet nailed to it after an apparent attempt to emulate the death of Jesus Christ, the Korea Herald reports. When they found him on the cross he had a stab wound to the right waist and several whip marks. An autopsy showed that he used an electric drill to make holes in his palms. A hammer, a hand drill and a knife were found nearby the body. Police are investigating whether the man killed himself or had help in his crucifixion.” Friends I’m no C.S.I. but I think I can tell you with some certainty that “he had help”. Even if he used a drill. There would be no way to do this by yourself. Dear ones that is true not only physically but spiritually as well as there is only one way to “put to death the deeds of the body” and that is by the Spirit. Too many believers are trying to fight their old ways in their own strength, it’s one thing to drill a hole in your hand, whip yourself and it’s another thing to stay on the cross and the only successful way of doing that is by the Spirit.

Vs. 14-15 There are so many wanting direction from the Lord and here we have yet another benefit of the Spirit filled life. The Spirit of God will give you guidance in your life. Augustine, one of the most influential theologians from the fourth century wrote, “Love God and do as you please.” Some see his words as irresponsible; “Do whatever you want? Are you kidding?” But Augustine had solid ground to stand on as thousands of years earlier, another theologian in Israel named David said in Ps. 37:4, “Delight Yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart”. The reason for this truth is if you Love God He will change your desires to His desires! Our being led by the Holy Spirit is not a pre-condition to being a child of God; Paul didn’t say, “As many as go to church, these are the sons of God.” He didn’t say, “As many as read their Bibles, these are the sons of God.” Spurgeon noted that, “As many as are driven by the Spirit of God. The devil is a driver, and when he enters either into men or into hogs he drives them furiously. Whenever you see a man fanatical and wild, whatever spirit is in him it is not the Spirit of Christ.”

This is the first time Paul has used the phrase “sons of God” and though this seems sexist it is actually a generic term that includes both men and women, “all believers who have received the gift of right standing and worth by trusting in Jesus alone”. We need to understand biblically that not every person is a child of God relationally. The world tends to mix this concept up with being God’s creation but being our creator is vastly different than Him being our Father. That was Jesus point to Nicodemus that you “must be born again”. We are all God’s creatures but we aren’t all God’s children, part of His family by way of adoption through new birth! We are adopted because God wants us to realize that we weren’t naturally a part of the family of God, adoption is an action, a legal process as we were taken out of a family and adopted into another family.

Once adopted we are now considered born into the family of God. He now not only makes us legally His, He makes us relationally His so that we will share not only the benefits of His kindness legally but the benefits of His nature relationally. We, like naturally born offspring, will take on the characteristics, attitudes and actions of our Father and older brother Jesus. That is what Jesus told Philip in John 14:9 “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”. It was why those in the world began calling us Christians or “Christ-like,” as we took on the attitudes and actions of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Or as Peter put it in 2 Peter 1:4 speaking of the “exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature”. We can’t tell outwardly looking at someone if they are God’s child or not, no special glow or holiness, but you know inwardly, relationally, and Paul is going to help us with three practical ways we can know if we are God’s children.

Vs. 14b “Led by the Spirit of God”: This speaks of control and here we see that the One in control leading our life is no longer our fleshly passions but rather the Spirit of God. The Bible says if we are being led by the Spirit then when things come into our lives we will react differently than we did prior to being led by the Spirit. Take for instance the Bible when we read it or listen to the teaching of the Word we will recognize what Jesus said in John 10:27 when He said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Prior to being believers the Bible at best was only a collection of antiquated boring stories that had no relevance in our lives. Now, we not only recognize the fact that God is speaking to us, we also want to put our lives in line with what He is telling us. Another way we can see we are being “Led by the Spirit”, is in our communication with Him and the sense that we aren’t just throwing out a shopping list but talking directly to our Dad who loves us. Then there is also a desire to hang around our brothers and sisters in Christ, as those who are outside of the family of God we would most likely have nothing in common with. Then we see the fruit Paul spoke about in Galatians 5:22-23 Love, described in 8 characteristics: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Vs. 15b “We cry out, Abba Father”: “Abba, Father”, is most suggestive as “Abba” is Aramaic, and “Father” is Greek. This suggests that God is not the Father of one people but all people in Christ. Of further interest is that Abba is a word for a baby’s lips and Father is for the more mature which tell us that young and old can approach God by the Spirit. This speaks of an emotional loving response, one of security and devotion. One of the things that is hard for people to understand when looking at Christians is our responses are not religious, they are relational because we feel love and we respond in love. We have our Father’s love surrounding us, His concern protecting us, His wisdom directing us. In Exodus 17:15 after Moses built an altar of devotion to the Lord he called it the “Lord is my Banner”. In Song of Solomon, Solomon waxed poetic saying that God’s “banner over him was love.” As a person who lost my earthly father when I wasn’t yet 5 I can tell you that these last 30 years of being a believer I’ve experienced a real powerful emotional sense that I have a Dad who loves me. One of the first Bible verses I ever learned was Psalm 68:5 where we are told that God is “A father of the fatherless”.

Vs. 16 “The Spirit bears witness with our spirit”: The testimony of the Spirit is not to our spirit but with our spirit. Beyond the outward observations and the inward emotional experiences is a deep conviction and awareness that we are Children of God. In Romans 5:5 Paul explained it this way saying that, “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Paul says that those who are God’s children, born again by the Spirit of God, know their status because the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that this is so. We don’t have to wonder if we are really Christians or not. God’s children know who they are.

Vs. 17 We started out in Adam, now by faith in Christ we are children of God, led by the Spirit and heirs of God as all that He has is committed to us in Christ. Dear ones because we are in Christ, we have the privilege of relating to the Father as Jesus does – therefore, we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Remember this truth, “One who has been adopted into a family must also be adapted for that family.” In Luk. 18:18 the rich young ruler asked Jesus, what must I do to inherit? But he missed the point because inheritance is not a matter of doing it is a matter of being. Such a blessing defies our ability to grasp it, all that our Dad has in store for those whose only worthiness is to be found in our reception of His love.

The point of Paul in telling the Romans and us this is that we will begin to identify more with who we are than the way we were! Friends it will become much easier to say no to our former flesh life when we see that pursuing it rips us off from something far greater. But Paul also reminds them that just because we are in Christ, doesn’t mean we are immune from suffering. In fact, our sharing in present suffering is a condition of our future glorification. In 1 Cor. 2:9 Paul wrote, “The eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But the 2nd part of this verse seems to contradict this truth as we read: “if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Is Paul linking groaning with glory, hallelujah with hurts? How can those two opposite things go together? In 2 Cor. 4:17 Paul would further elaborate on this saying, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”. Suffering is a part of our inheritance as much as glory.

Romans 8:18-30

“The Biography of Me”

Vs. 18-22 The hills are alive with the sound of groans

Vs. 23-25a from groans to glory

Vs. 25b-30 Groans for our good and God’s glory

Intro

In John 16:13 Jesus told His disciples, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” Therefore we know as the third person of the trinity the Holy Spirit will guide us in the same direction as does the Father and the son:

Into repentance
Into think little of self and much of Jesus
Into truth
Into love
Into holiness
Into usefulness

Most importantly the Spirit will continually bring us to an intimate, joyful relationship with God, whereby our response to Him is by speaking to Him calling Him (Abba, Father) translated Daddy! But what about suffering?

Vs. 18-22 The hills are alive with the sound of groans

Vs. 18 This verse is the theme for the next 9 verses (through verse 26) that the glory that awaits is greater than anything we will ever experience here on this earth. Paul’s observation is that, the intensity of our suffering is nothing when compared to the intensity of our coming glory. The glory that Paul speaks of is not a glory that is going to be revealed to us but rather one that will be revealed IN US! This glory is not a spectator sport, we are going to experience it personally.

This section on suffering is best understood by the three groans of:

Creation
Believers
The Holy Spirit

Vs. 18-22 Creation Groans: When God finished His creation in Genesis 1:31 He said it was good, but today we are told creation itself is groaning for the good old days when things were good. Paul uses the phrase “earnest expectation”, and in the Greek that word describes someone stretching out in expectation, standing on its tippy toe. Creation is waiting for what will happen to us believers because it is linked to us in the fall. Someone has well said that it was mankind’s fall that put thorns on Roses! Creation is under the “bondage of corruption”. In scientific terms it is known as the “2nd Law of thermodynamics” which says that everything is decaying, running down instead of evolving and speeding up. In anticipation of that day nature groans in the anticipation that it will be liberated from the curse we put it under.

If as Julie Andrews piped in the Sound of Music, “The Hills are alive with the sound of music”, they are singing in a minor key. Isa. 11:6-9 describes this redemption of creation as being a time when; “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.” “Creation is not undergoing death pangs . . but birth pangs.” So dear ones, maybe it isn’t a bad idea to hug a tree and tell them you are sorry for the condition they are in.

Vs. 23-25a From groans to glory

Vs. 23-25a Believers Groan: Next Paul says our groaning is because as Christians we have tasted the first fruits of glory that are to come and we long for more. The final words in the Bible echo this as John hears Jesus proclaim that He is coming quickly and responds enthusiastically “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” Though our spirits are redeemed we too are groaning as we await the redemption of our bodies. Every groan and grunt ought to be a reminder that glory awaits us! We are in a waiting pattern anxiously awaiting what “for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” Titus 2:13.

Faith looks backward and upward; Hope looks onward
Faith is concerned with Him who promises, Hope is occupied with the good things promised.
Faith accepts, Hope expects
Faith appropriates, Hope anticipates.

Vs. 25b-30 Groans for our good and God’s glory

Vs. 25b-30 The Holy Spirit Groans: Today it is the Holy Spirit who intercedes through our groanings that we may live life in His power through our sufferings.

God has two purposes for our suffering:

Our good
His glory

We have the assurance that His plan will succeed in both areas! While watching that T.V. commercial for Direct TV that says, “Don’t just watch TV ,direct TV”, I realized that a lot of the time that could be said of our prayer lives. Saints, prayer isn’t to direct God, it is to be directed by God! As such we don’t have to explain the situation and tell Him what to do. The Holy Spirit’s intercession is perfect as He searches the groans of our heart and interprets what our minds and words cannot express, articulating and guiding our prayers according to the will of God.

Vs. 28 This verse doesn’t tell us that everything that happens to us is good. What it says is that every situation whether good or bad, will eventually work together for good, if you know God’s love. Dear ones, there is no incident or circumstance no matter how slight that is without purpose or meaning. Paul doesn’t say “most things, or some things” work together for good but “ALL Things”! God does not begin a work in our lives to abandon it in the midst of our present suffering. What appears to be a thousand jumbled up movie scripts dropped together from 1,000 feet of our life’s experiences is in reality a divinely coordinated novel, brilliantly written with every moment fitting together perfectly.

Vs. 29-30 In these two verses Paul identifies five ways in which God is writing the novel of our lives. First it is important that as we read these verses that we understand the context. He is not in this chapter dealing with “election”, which deals with explaining why some people believe in Christ and others don’t; he will take up that question in chapter 9. All Paul is doing in these two verses is explaining what God has already done to bring us to faith.

Vs. 29a Foreknew: Read this carefully as it says “those WHOM He foreknew” and not “those WHICH He foreknew”. Many folks miss reading this and think that this is about God looking down the corridor of time and seeing who would believe in Jesus and then choosing based upon that. But what Paul writes is concerned with our individual specific existence as believers and that among all those who have ever been believers on earth God knew each and every one of them. You’re not an accident, you haven’t flown under God’s watchful radar. He has known all about you, friend.

Think of the uniqueness of each and every believer brought about at human conception! Add into that our geographical upbringing, education, life experiences, cultural dynamics etc. Yet we are told that God knows each of us through all of human history. Think of the mind of God and His vastness in His ability to know all about each and every believer, all of this before time began. Suddenly I feel very small, yet very significant at the same time! In Matthew 10:29 Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.”

Vs. 29b Predestined: As soon as people read this word they think, “You mean God pre-determines who will go to hell and who will go to heaven?” But the context in this verse explains what God is pre-determining us too is, “to be conformed to the image of His Son.” God’s predestination has nothing to do with going to hell and everything to do with what He has pre-determined the goal of every believer to be conformed into, namely the character of Jesus. Everything that happens to us is focused on that purpose. I’m afraid far too many Christians think God’s primary concern for us is our “happiness”, but the truth is His primary concern for us in our “holiness”. And because of this God knows that our character, our wholeness will never be developed apart from trials. It is when we cooperate with His plan for our wholeness that we will experience our happiness.

Vs. 30a Called: Up to this point in these verses we have been speaking about God’s mind and purpose but here we have become involved as we respond. In John 6:39 Jesus said, “all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” The Holy Spirit draws us and wins us and our hearts begin to be open to Jesus. This is what Paul will develop more in the 9th chapter with regard to our free will and God drawing us into a relationship. We don’t “Find God”, we just stop running from Him and the moment we do we realize that He was calling us along.

Vs. 30b Justified: Remember that those who are justified are declared of value or worth in God’s sight. All of this is without merit or works of our own. The truth is our calling by God and our response to it is what has now declared us of value and worth. You get the sense in reading Paul’s words that there is a progression here from eternity where God foreknew us to His plan for us to be in the image of His Son, calling us, then declaring us of worth which leads to our eternity and glorification.

Vs. 30c Glorified: Finally are told that God doesn’t declare us of value and worth apart from our glorification. Paul writes this in such a way that suggests it has already happened. Now we know as Philip. 1:6 says “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” but here it is declared as already being completed. By declaring it as finished reveals that none of God’s children are lost in the process of sanctification. The same number called are the same number he declared of worth and they are the same number that will be glorified. Not a one of us will be lost dear ones. At times it may seem as if you will never finish your race but you will in spite of your present suffering and oft repeated failures because what God has started before time began will be completed in eternity and God is about doing whatever it takes to get us there.

Romans 8:31-39

“Where Are You?”

Vs. 31-32 If God is for us

Vs. 33-34 Who shall bring a charge

Vs. 35-39 Who shall separate

Intro

This section starts off with a word that by its very use creates doubt, “IF”. When the word “IF” is followed by the phrase “God is for us” then we may tend to feel insecure about our standing in God’s love. I did some research into the original Greek meaning of the word “IF” and Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest translates the “IF” in this sentence as: “In view of the fact that God is on our behalf, who can be against us?” Do you ever think that such verses are “too good to be true?” There are those who have a tendency to over value their effort (or lack of it) and under value God’s. God is for you, He isn’t “disappointed” with you. For God to be disappointed with you would mean that He isn’t “all knowing”. That’s one of the many lies of Satan as we know according to Rev. 12:10 that he, not God, is “the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night.” These final nine verses emphasize the believer’s security but what is in focus isn’t the believer’s “eternal security”, but rather his present security in the love of God. In this section Paul asks three questions and gives five reasons as to why we are secure in the love of God.

Vs. 31-32 If God is for us

Paul outlines for us three things that God’s love defeats and he does this by asking and answering three questions and then giving five reasons we are secure in the love of God:

Vs. 31-32 If God is for us….?: We start with the realization of this truth then we move to its implications. Since God has proved His love for me while I was yet a sinner apart from Him, that means that He is for me not against me. The first thing that is defeated by the love of God in answering Paul’s question is FEAR. And in answering this Paul will speak of two common things we fear that are destroyed by the love of God.

Vs. 31 Who shall be against us…?: Since God is for me and not against me I don’t have anything to fear with regard to any successful opposition against me. We have already crossed over the biggest most successful obstacle separating us from God’s love, “Sin” and have joined the winning team. David wrote of this fact in Psalm 27:1 saying, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

“God is for us”: In verse 32 we are told that the Father proved it by giving His only Son. In verse 34 we are told that Jesus is for us and in 8:26 we were told that the Holy Spirit is for us, so we can conclude that all the Godhead is on our side. Perhaps we feel like Jacob did after the disappearance of Joseph and Simeon in Genesis 42:36 “All these things are against me.” But we are assured in Rom. 8:28 that “all things are working together for our good and God’s glory”. Saints, I have a suggestion for you: Before you start your day take a moment in prayer and remind yourself of this truth, that no matter what you face, or who you face you need not have any fear because God is for you and is only going to give you those things this day that will be to make you better. According to Jer. 29:11 His plans for you today are to bless you and to give you a future and a hope.

Vs. 32 How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? The 2nd thing we fear is lack or want. God has already given us His best, His only begotten Son, are we to believe that having done so now that God will withhold that which we need? Listen to the words of David in Psalm 23:1 where he proclaims, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” The first thing God’s love destroys is the fear of successful opposition and fear of consuming lack.

Jesus died for us: Since our security in His love is based upon His love not our performance that means it is 100% secure. So since God did this on our behalf before we became His children He is going to now “graciously give us all things”. Back in Genesis 3:9 Adam fell into sin then sought to hide from God and cover his failure by sewing together “fig leaves”. But dear ones take note that God called to Adam and said, “Where are you?” Not, “Where were you?”, “What did you do?” He didn’t even ask, “Why did you?” The heart of the Father was concerned with Adam’s absence, not the reason for it. The Father’s interest is to restore us back to fellowship. In heaven there is no blackboard where we have to write a thousand times what we did and why we did it. Instead there is our Savior and Lord with visible scars on the throne who welcomes us home with the words, “Well done good and faithful servant”.

Vs. 33-34 Who shall bring a charge

Vs. 33-34 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect…Who is he who condemns? In these two questions Paul is addressing the 2nd thing that God’s love defeats and that is GUILT! God is not the accuser of Christians. He doesn’t sit in the clouds with score cards counting our falls and then giving us a score like an Olympic ice skating judge. Therefore we don’t have to defend before God our slip ups and hard landings. Instead we simply tell Him right away when we do a face plant. Did you know that Jesus has already bore the shame of your guilt so that you don’t have to hide it or justify it? Don’t let your slip ups drag you down, grab a hold of His love and He will raise you up!

Vs. 33 God has declared us of value and worth: The only one who has the right to charge us has instead clothed us in His rightness and declared you of value. That means no matter what we experience day to day our security never changes. Jesus has already taken into account all our failures and defeats and has paid for our security. In Mark 16:19 we are told that after Jesus ascended into heaven He sat down at the right hand of God. Hebrews 8:5 tells us that “Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle.” As God said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain.” A careful examination based upon these two verses reveals something interesting: In the tabernacle that Moses was divinely instructed to build according to the pattern there was no place for the priest to sit. There was a table to eat from, a lamp to see by, and a bowl to wash your hands in, an altar to sacrifice on but no chair! So why does the New Testament speak of Jesus sitting at the right hand? Well because prior to his coming the work of the priest was never done but when Jesus the Great High Priest became the sacrificial lamb on the cross His final words were “It is finished” and as such there is no more work to be done and a chair was placed in heaven for Him to sit. The application for you and I is since Jesus is sitting at the right hand in the tabernacle in Heaven why are we convinced that we need to keep working to earn His approval and acceptance? Dear one, it is either “FINISHED” as Jesus declared or it is not and I for one chose to believe Him and have received His love.

Vs. 34 Jesus intercedes on our behalf: In Rom. 8:26-27 we saw that the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf and here we see that Jesus does as well. The same person who died for us is now seen praying for us. He is praying His grace over us so that we can overcome temptation. He is being our advocate when we fail to appropriate His grace to restore us back to fellowship. Saints, the very One who hung on the cross for our sins now represents us before the throne of God in heaven, what security we have in Jesus.

Vs. 35-39 Who shall separate

Vs. 35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?: The 3rd thing that God’s love defeats is SEPARATION! Paul asks the question then divides his answer into two things that we often think cause separation, TROUBLES and POWERS or PEOPLE. God is completely and absolutely in love and committed to us.

Vs. 35-37 Taking a look at the things Paul lists here, “Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword”, we see that these 7 things all fall under the category of TROUBLE with a capital “T”. The word “distress” refers to a tight or narrow place and when we go through trouble or trials, we can often feel distant or disconnected from God’s love. In reality these things ought to draw us back into His arms. In fact, He says they make us “more than conquerors” in Christ.

Vs. 38-39 Next taking a look at these 7 things together and they speak of another group that we tend to think can separate us from God’s love, PEOPLE or POWERS. Be that supernatural forces or powerful people that attempt to create distance both now or in the future or even taking our lives, they will have no success in keeping us from the love of God.

Vs. 35-39 Jesus loves us: In verses 31-34 Paul outlined how God cannot fail us but that is only one half of our security, can we fail Him and lose our earthly security? In Rev. 2:4 as Jesus spoke to the Church that was in Ephesus His indictment wasn’t that they “Lost” their first love rather it was that they “Left it”. Suppose some great trouble came our way that caused us to walk away from His love would we lose the opportunity to ever come back to that Love? Paul tells us that those troubles and trials aren’t meant to separate us from His love, they are designed to cause us to cling tighter to His love. God’s trials aren’t there working against us they are instead working for us that is why God hasn’t sheltered us from the storms of life. But what about powers and people who are bent upon separating us from God’s love, causing us to become distant now and in the future?

Paul’s words in verse 37 declares us “super-conquerors” more than just victorious and he has done so ahead of all the battles so that we will enter into the fight knowing that we have already won and are secure in God’s love. We’re to be lambs, salt added to flavor, create thirst and bring healing. We’re to be light that illuminates, not dominates. And from the world’s perspective, we’ll never win or get it. If we don’t understand this then we’ll become frustrated, disillusioned and embittered. Dear ones we aren’t called to be crusading conquerors, we are called to be “MORE THAN” conquerors!