Romans 8:31-39 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.
Romans 8:35-39 goes on to remind us 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.
Taking a look at the things Paul lists here, “Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword” in verses 35-37, 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.