By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 28-30 of chapter 8.
1.1.1. Being
Resurrection Sunday, 2006, we spent some time considering the importance and
centrality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1.1.2. We also considered two incredible truths :
1.1.2.1. The fact that
for the believer that the Lord causes all things to work together for good in
his/her life.
1.1.2.2. The Unbroken
Chain that the believer has entered into and which guarantee him an eternity in
glory with the Lord.
1.1.2.2.1.
The five links in the unbroken chain for the believer
are: We are foreknown, predestined,
called, justified, and glorified.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses
31-39 of chapter 8.
1.2.1. In this
study, we will see that Paul continues his dissertation (that which takes up
chapter 8) concerning the security of the believer in Christ by explaining how
that there is nothing that can or will ever be able to separate a believer from
the Lord.
1.2.2. Paul will
attempt to compile a list all of the beings that God has created, all of the
extreme experiences in life that people go through, all of the spiritual powers
in the universe, and even life and death itself. This list is intended to include every
possible thing that could ever exist or occur in life. Paul tells us then that none of these things
will ever be able to separate the Christian from the Lord.
1.2.3. We noted in
our last study that all things work together in the Christian’s life for
good. We mentioned that knowing this
truth alone should keep the Christian from ever allowing a single situation in
life to cause a separation between him/her and the Lord. The Christian should always be drawn to the
Lord because he can trust his/her life completely in the Lord’s hand.
1.2.4. We will see
in this study that Paul asks one rhetorical question after another as he tries
to get us to practically apply the truths he has been writing about to our
life.
1.2.5. Paul makes
the crescendo of his teaching of eternal security for the believer in this
message.
1.2.6. In his “Morning
And Evening” devotional book, the great English preacher Spurgeon wrote, “Think
of how his grace has been sufficient for thee in all thy troubles—how his blood
has been a pardon to thee in all thy sins—how his rod and his staff have
comforted thee. When thou hast thus looked back upon the love of the Lord, then
let faith survey his love in the future, for remember that
Christ’s covenant and blood have something more in them than the past.
He who has loved thee and pardoned thee, shall never cease to love and pardon.
He is Alpha, and he shall be Omega also: he is first, and he shall be last.
Therefore, bethink thee, when thou shalt pass through
the valley of the shadow of death, thou needest fear
no evil, for he is with thee. When thou shalt stand
in the cold floods of Jordan, thou needest not fear,
for death cannot separate thee from his love; and when thou shalt
come into the mysteries of eternity thou needest not
tremble, “For I am 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 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.””
2. VS 8:31 - “31
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” - Paul
asks the rhetorical question of how that if God is for us, who can be against
us?
2.1.
In teaching about assurance of salvation all
throughout this chapter 8 of Romans, Paul now asks the question, ‘What then
shall we say to these things?’ In
other words, Paul is asking us to make an application to our own life of all of
the things that he has written so far, especially those in chapter 8 which
refer to the Christian’s guaranteed assurance of salvation.
2.2.
After the sum total of all that Paul has written up
till now to create his case for the guarantee of the assurance of salvation for
the Christian, Paul asks the second question, “If God is for us, who is
against us?” Christians might have felt that they had many enemies and that
many people were against them because of their faith as a Christian, however if
God is for them, how could anyone on this earth hinder them from inheriting and
fully enjoying the salvation that is promised them in the gospel of Christ.
2.3.
The phrase, ‘If God is for us,’ should better
be translated, “Since God is for us.”
There is no doubt about God being for us as the word ‘if’ would
indicate.
2.4.
We Christians must come to the place to where we
realize that our God IS for us. He is
not against us. So many times people tend
to think that the Lord is waiting for them to blow it so that He can really
come down hard on them. However, God is
always for His people, on their side, and working everything out for their
good, as He is working in their lives according to His purposes for them.
3. VS 8:32 - “32 He who did not spare His own
Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give
us all things?” - Paul asks another rhetorical question about
whether if God did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us whether or
not He would also freely give us all things?
3.1.
In this verse, Paul is writing to the Romans to tell
them that if God went to the trouble of giving His only begotten Son to die on
the cross for their sins, then He will also follow through and bring them to
salvation as well. There is nothing in
all of creation which can compare to what God has given us in the gift of His
only-begotten Son. God could give
nothing greater for us. God would not
have given what was most precious to Him for men, if He was not also willing to
complete the work that He begins in our Christian life that moment we receive
Him as Lord and Savior, until the final day of our salvation when we go to
spend eternity with Him and see Him face to face.
3.2.
Have you ever come to the place where you realize in
your heart that God gave up His Son to go to the cross because of His great
love for you?
3.3.
We Christians must keep before our minds the fact that
God freely gives His people all the help that they need in order to make it all
the way to heaven.
3.4.
We have already seen the fact that being co-heirs with
Christ we shall inherit all that He has or, ‘all things.’ So, in that sense God will also give us ‘all
things.’
4. VS 8:33 - “33 Who will bring a charge
against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;” -
Paul asks another rhetorical question about who will bring a charge
against God’s elect since God is the One who justifies a person?
4.1.
As we consider these next two
verses, there are some things that we need to remember:
4.1.1. God is the
Law Giver.
4.1.2. Sin is the
transgression of God’s Law (1 John 3:4).
4.1.3. When God
justifies a believer, that by definition means that all the demands of justice
have been satisfied.
4.1.4. Jesus is the
One who paid the full debt of our sins, and He is also the One who will judge
the world (John 5:22, Acts 10:42, Acts
17:31).
4.1.5. Jesus who
died for us and will be the One who also judges the world is also the One who
makes intercession for God’s people (Rom.
8:34, Heb. 7:25).
4.2.
In this chapter 8 of Romans we see that God has
provided us a list of everything that is conceivable that people could think of
that could possibly cause them to lose their salvation (or somehow fall short
of making it to heaven), having once obtained it. However, Paul makes the point that none of
these things can cause the Christian to lose his/her salvation. Therefore, a genuine Christian should
entertain no doubts as to his eternal salvation.
4.3.
In this verse, we can see that Paul had a courtroom in
mind, and that he then asks the question as to ‘who’ it is who might be
able to come before the Judge in order to bring a ‘charge’ against one
whom God has chosen (the ‘elect’) to salvation sufficient enough to
disqualify them from obtaining heaven.
4.4.
By Paul’s using the word ‘who’ instead of “what”
here we are immediately reminded of the one who is called the ‘accuser of
the brethren.’ If anyone might bring
a charge against God’s elect people, it would be him. We see in the book of Job how that Satan
brought an accusation against Job saying that the only reason that Job served
God was because he was being blessed. It
is a bit ridiculous however to think that Satan is constantly trying to bring
charges against all of God’s people, yet being thrown out of the
courtroom. Rather, it seems more the
case in the spiritual realm, that Satan cannot bring any charges before God on
behalf of God’s people because of the fact that which Paul states in this
verse, ‘God is the one who justifies.’
4.5.
As I mentioned earlier in my discussion of this verse,
when God ‘justifies’ a believer, it is by definition implied that the
full demands of His justice have been met.
Therefore, if justice has been met, there can be no possibility of
further charges being filed against God’s people.
4.6.
When we examine this verse, we have to see that the
verse begins with a rhetorical question, and that the second part of the verse
is the answer to this rhetorical question.
4.7.
As we Christians read these verses here in this last
section of Romans, we have to see the great crescendo that Paul is making in
making the climax of his argument for the assurance of salvation for the
Christian. Seeing the logic of Paul’s argument,
that it is completely thorough in every aspect, we should never again let
Satan, the accuser of the brethren, rob us of our joy of salvation.
4.8.
We Christians though must also realize that just
because we made a commitment once in our life, that we are now free to do as we
please, since we have our fire assurance.
The Bible is very clear that the true Christian understands the gospel
and is bearing fruit. So, we must ask
ourselves where we are today in our walk with the Lord? Does our life match what the Bible says must
be true of one who has had a genuine conversion experience? If not, then we must question whether or not
we have a saving faith or not? It is
better to receive salvation now than wait until its too late to find it and we
are standing before the judge of all the earth!
5. VS 8:34 - “34 who is the one who condemns?
Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right
hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” -
Paul asks the rhetorical question of who is the One who condemns since
Christ Jesus is the One who died and was raised and is at the right hand of God
interceding for us?
5.1.
In this verse, Paul asks a question which is very
similar to the one asked in the previous verse.
He asks the rhetorical question as to ‘who condemns’ ? Again using the word ‘who,’ we
immediately think of the one who is the Christian’s arch enemy, the Devil. He would like to not only “bring a charge”
against God’s elect people, he would also like to “condemn” them. However, there is no way in which the Devil
could possibly ever “condemn” the Christian, the one who has to come to
saving faith in Christ.
5.2.
As with the previous verse, we see the answer to the
rhetorical question in the second part of the verse. In
this verse, Paul writes that the devil cannot “condemn” the Christian because
of the following reasons:
5.2.1. Christ Jesus
is He who died.
5.2.1.1. Jesus did
not come to earth in the first place in order to condemn the world, but rather
in order that the world might be saved, as John records Jesus saying in John
3:17.
5.2.2. Christ Jesus
was raised from the dead.
5.2.2.1. The fact of
Jesus’ raising from the dead is proof that what He said He would do for mankind
He has in fact already done. Not only
that, but it confirms all of the words which Jesus spoke in relation to His
mission to come into the world in order to save men. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, the
Christian can now be forgiven, justified, and glorified.
5.2.3. Christ Jesus
is at the right hand of God.
5.2.3.1. There are a
number of places in the Bible where it is written of Jesus that He has been
raised up to the right hand of God (see Mark 16:19, Eph. 1:20, Col. 3:1, Heb.
1:3, Heb. 8:1, Heb. 10:12, 1 Peter 3:22).
5.2.3.2. Being at the
‘right hand’ of someone was in the day of the writing of this epistle a
great honor awarded to only the most favored of guests in one’s house. It is also a reference sometimes in scripture
to the place of power and rule.
5.2.4. Christ Jesus
intercedes for us.
5.2.4.1. Not only is
Christ the One who has fully satisfied the demands of God’s justice by going to
the cross and paying the full payment (propitiation) for our sins (see 1 John
2:2, 4:10), and not only will He be the One who judges every person on the day
of the Great White Throne Judgment for non-believers but also on the day of
judgment for believers, but, He is also the One who is constantly making
prayers of intercession on the Christian’s behalf to God the Father. Jesus is asking on behalf of all believers
for God to have mercy and to show grace toward those for whom He died and who
now possess eternal life.
5.3.
So, as we look at this verse, we see that there is no
way that the Devil nor any other creature could ever bring “condemnation”
upon one of those whom Christ redeemed.
5.4.
If we Christians have confessed and repented or our
sins and yet we still feel condemnation, then we need to realize that what we
are feeling has not come from God, but from the Devil. We must learn to trust what the Lord says is
true of us, not what the Devil tries to whisper in our ear in a moment of our
weakness.
6. VS 8:35 - “35 Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” - Paul ask the
rhetorical question of who it shall be that shall be able to separate us from
the love of Christ? Then, he asks if any
of these could ever separate us from God:
tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword
6.1.
When Paul began this chapter, he made the statement
that there is now no condemnation for the Christian. Here as he ends the chapter, Paul says that
nothing shall be able to separate the true Christian from God’s love for
him. It is very important to understand
in this verse the distinction that this is not the Christian’s love for his
Lord that is being discussed, but rather the love of Christ for the believer.
6.2.
Having purchased the Christian by His own blood, and
made him an adopted child, now nothing shall be able to cause the Lord’s love
to be separated from this child which He has called and chosen for
Himself. The Christian loves Christ only
because He first loved him (1 John 4:19).
This is only the natural response to God’s love. Therefore, it could not be the Christian’s
love for the Lord that is at issue or that is critical for discussion. What is critical however is the fact that in
Paul writing these things he sees that as long as a Christian is connected (not
separated) with Christ’s love then he shall have the guarantee that he shall be
with his Lord in heaven for eternity.
6.3.
As Paul brings up all of these things which some might
think had the potential to separate a Christian from Christ’s love for him, we
must remember that Paul is a person who more than any experienced firsthand
each of the experiences which he mentions.
If anyone should know if these things could separate a true Christian
from Christ’s love, it would be Paul. In
this chapter we have already listed all of the many and horrendous things that
Paul had suffered in his missionary journeys and walk with Christ.
6.4.
It is important also to realize that in Paul writing
these things here that some think might have the possibility of separating a
Christian from Christ’s love, it is implied of course that God does not always
spare his children from these very extreme and difficult experiences. The experiences of the apostles as recorded
in the book of Acts is a commentary on the veracity of that fact.
6.5.
Paul compiles here a list of 7 things which some
people might think of as being things that could potentially separate a person
from Christ’s love :
6.5.1. Paul
mentions first “tribulation.”
6.5.1.1. This word is
translated from the Greek word “thlipsis”
which means “a severe restriction, narrowing, or crushing pressure, and
carries the idea of afflicrtion, distress or
tribulation.” This word is found
many times in the New Testament. Jesus
said in John 16:33, “33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you
may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have
overcome the world.””
6.5.1.2. ‘Tribulation’
cannot separate a true believer from Christ because God just uses these kinds
of experiences in a Christian’s life to mold him and make him more like Christ,
which is an aide to his persevering faithful to the end.
6.5.2. The next
thing that the apostle Paul brings up which some could imagine might separate a
Christian from the love of Christ is ‘distress.’
6.5.2.1. This word
comes from the Greek word ‘stenchoria,’ which
means “a narrowness or constriction.”
The image that comes to mind when thinking of the literal definition of
this word is the “claustrophobia” that occurs when one is stuck in a
very tight or narrow place with nowhere to escape.
6.5.2.2. ‘Distress’
cannot separate a true Christian from Christ’s love since God also uses this
trial for the bettering of the Christian and it causes him to become more
Christ-like, therefore improving his likelihood of persevering faithful until
the end.
6.5.3. The next
thing that Paul writes about that some may think may have the possibility of
separating a Christian from his Lord is ‘persecution.’
6.5.3.1. Paul wrote
in 2 Tim. 3:12, “12 And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted.” However, ‘persecution’
never separates the true Christian from his Lord, and we see this so clearly in
the examples of persecution from the book of Acts. When Paul and Silas had been beaten with rods
and then had their feet fastened in the stocks in the Philippian
jail, they were singing hymns of praise to God.
In Acts chapter 5 the apostles were arrested for preaching the gospel
and the Sanhedrin had them flogged and warned them not to preach any more, and
then they went away rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer shame
for the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So also, many of the saints all through the centuries have testified of
the blessing that they experienced in enduring the suffering of ‘persecution.’ Thus, we know that ‘persecution’
cannot separate the true Christian from his Lord.
6.5.4. The next
thing that people might think could cause a Christian to be separated from
Christ’s love is ‘famine.’
6.5.4.1. Although the
Lord promises to cloth us and provide food and shelter, there are times when He
allows His children to suffer the lack of these things.
6.5.4.2. When a
Christian experiences ‘famine,’ it becomes a time to pray and trust that
the Lord will provide for his basic needs.
Thus, the experience of ‘famine’ drives a Christian to prayer,
which is good for him spiritually, rather than separating him from the love of
his Lord.
6.5.4.3. In the Old
Testament, there are many stories of God miraculously providing food for his
people during drought and famine times.
For example, the Lord caused ravens to bring food to Elijah in 1 Kings
17, or in providing food for the widow that Elijah stayed with in the same
chapter (her flour just kept increasing), etc.
God’s provisions for us in our need bolsters our faith in Christ.
6.5.5. The next
thing that some people might think could separate a Christian from the love of
Christ is ‘nakedness.’
6.5.5.1. We know that
the Lord promises to provide clothing as one of the essential needs for His
people, however there are times when His people do suffer this essential
need. However, ‘nakedness’ can
never separate a true Christian from His Lord, as it will also cause him just
to pray fervently and trust that his Lord will provide this essential need.
6.5.5.2. A joke is
in order: A pastor went visiting one afternoon. He knocked on a door several times, but no
one answered. He could see through the
window that the TV was on, so he took one of his cards, wrote "Revelation
3:20" on it, and stuck it in the door.
(Rev. 3:20 says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will open, I will come in.")
The following Sunday, a woman handed him a card with her name on it and the
following message: "Genesis 3:10 -
I heard your voice, and I was naked, so I hid myself."
6.5.6. The next
thing that some people might think that could cause a Christian to become
separated from the Lord is ‘peril.’
6.5.6.1. This Greek
word translated as ‘peril’ here means “a danger” or ‘peril,’
and Paul writes that one who is a true Christian cannot be separated from his
Lord by ‘peril.’
6.5.6.2. Paul wrote
in 1 Cor. 15:30 that he was in danger every hour. The Lord sometimes allows his people to be in
perilous situations.
6.5.6.3. There are
many instances in scripture where the Lord delivered His people from very great
‘peril,’ as they sought Him in prayer for protection. I think of the angel coming in the night and
opening the prison doors and letting the apostles out of jail in Acts chapter 5
for instance. Likewise, Peter was delivered
out of jail by the angel in Acts.
6.5.7. The next
thing that some people might think would cause a Christian to be separated from
the love of Christ is the ‘sword.’
6.5.7.1. In the
gospels John the Baptist, and in the book of Acts, James, were men who were beheaded. However, far from renouncing their faith in
order to spare their lives, in each situation, God gave the men the grace to be
able to endure death by the sword. And
in any situation in life, God will give the believer the grace that he needs in
order to bear up under trials and suffering, no matter how difficult, so
therefore the ‘sword’ will not be able to separate a true believer from
the love of His Lord, nor cause him to come short of heaven.
6.5.7.2. We
Christians need to recognize that in every situation that we may have to face
in life, that our Lord will give us the grace that we need in order to bear up
and not fall away from our Lord. We do
not have “dying grace” today because God is not calling us to Himself today,
however on the day that we go to be with the Lord, we will have it.
7. VS 8:36 - “36 Just as it is written, “For
Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be
slaughtered.”” - Paul tells us
that for the Lord’s sake we are being put to death all day long and are
considered as sheep to be slaughtered
7.1.
Quoting Psalm 44:22, in this verse Paul writes about
the life of a Christian as being one of being mistreated. He says that because of a Christian’s
commitment to his Lord, he is ‘being put to death all day long.’
7.2.
The Christian is also one who has denied himself, thus
dying to self, and has taken up his cross, and is following the Lord. He is a person who has died to sin, and
therefore should be walking in a crucified life, dying ‘all day long.’
7.3.
Paul wrote about being ‘put to death all day long’
in various places, including :
7.3.1. 2 Cor.
1:9-11, “9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order
that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who
delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we
have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in helping
us through your prayers, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf
for the favor bestowed upon us through the prayers of many.”
7.3.2. 2 Cor. 4:10,
“10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of
Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”
7.4.
The Christian is always dying to self and his old sin
nature, and thus he is ‘always being put to death.’
7.5.
Since a Christian should not stick up for his own
rights and look out just for himself, but rather he is called to look out for
the interests of others even above his own, Paul writes ‘We were considered
as sheep to be slaughtered.’ Many
people take advantage of Christians because of their generosity and kindness,
and thus Christians are sort of like sheep waiting to be slaughtered in this
world.
7.6.
However, even though a Christian is often taken
advantage of by the wicked people of this world, this cannot separate him from
the love of his Lord, nor cause him to come short of heaven.
7.7.
We Christians must realize that we have given all of
our rights to the Lord, and now we are His servants. Therefore, we are not free to fight back or
watch out for ourselves first. Rather,
we must follow in the footsteps of Christ, who was the greatest servant of men. We must deny ourselves and genuinely love
others unselfishly like our Lord.
8. VS 8:37 - “37 But in all these things we
overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” -
Paul tells us that in all of these areas that we ‘overwhelmingly
conquer’ through Him who loved us
8.1.
Not only will these difficult circumstances which
God’s people sometimes find themselves in not separate them from the love of
the Lord, something much greater is true of the Christian. The Christian is not made to be able to
merely tolerate his circumstance, though this would be a great blessing, he is
made to be victorious over his circumstances through Him who strengthens
him. The apostle John wrote in 1 John
4:4, “4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because
greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
8.2.
However, Paul writes that the Christian has more than
even victory over his circumstances through Christ, he can ‘overwhelmingly
conquer through Him.’ There is
nothing from which the Christian cannot have complete and ultimate victory over
through his faith. Satan is allowed at
times to come and to tempt, circumstances are allowed to test, however in every
circumstance the Christian can have complete victory, and ultimately he shall
overcome until the end in his faith.
8.3.
There is a doctrine which John Calvin the early
reformer introduced called “The Final Perseverance of the Saints,” and
this doctrine teaches that a true Christian will ultimately persevere faithful
until the end. If one is a true
Christian, then he will understand the truth of the gospel, bear fruit, and
though he may stumble at times throughout his life, he will persevere faithful
until the end in his faith, and spend eternity with the Lord. No circumstance will be able to cause him to
become separated from the love of his Lord.
8.4.
We Christians must realize from chapter 8 of Romans
that we are called to a walk of victory in Christ, not defeat. There will be times where we slip into the
chapter 7 experience of defeat trying in vain in our flesh to obey God’s laws,
but the norm for the Christian life is a life of victory over all of our
circumstances!
8.5.
In 2 Corinthians 2:12-16, Paul wrote about the fact
that the Lord should always be leading the Christian in triumph in Christ,
"Now when I came to Troas for
the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no
rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them,
I went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in
Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every
place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to
the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?"
9. VS
8:38-39 - “38 For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 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.” - Paul tells
us that he is convinced that neither death, life, principalities, things
present, things to come, powers, height, depth, nor any other created thing
shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord
9.1.
In this verse, Paul writes about what he is personally
‘convinced’ (or “persuaded”) about concerning himself and every
Christian regarding their relationship with their Lord. In writing this, Paul is expressing something
that is more than an intellectual assent, but rather it is something in the
realm of the heart, something of which he is absolutely persuaded is true.
9.2.
As Paul here writes of the things that he is “persuaded”
of, the following story illustrates what the Christian should be “persuaded”
of :
A visitor said to a wounded soldier who lay dying in
the hospital, “What church are you of?”
“Of the
“I mean, what persuasion are you of?”
“Persuasions?” said the dying man, as he looked
heavenward, beaming with love to the Savior, “I am persuaded, that neither
death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present
nor things to come … shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38).
9.3.
In formulating a list here, Paul is trying to
summarize every experience in this life and the one to come, and then to say
that in each and every case that it is absolutely the case that the experience
cannot separate a true Christian from Christ’s love, and thus cause him to come
short of heaven.
9.4.
The summary of everything that exists in this life or
the next :
9.4.1. Paul begins
by saying that neither ‘death’ nor ‘life’ could separate a true
Christian from Christ’s love.
9.4.1.1. It is
significant that he puts the experiences of ‘death’ before those of ‘life.’ Perhaps in doing so he is saying that in
essence it is easier to experience ‘death,’ and there is less to worry
about in that realm for the Christian, than is the case for the experiences of
‘life.’ It is this life which
brings a Christian his toughest challenges.
9.4.1.2. Paul has
written about the Christian’s victory over death in 1 Cor. 15:54-57, “54 But
when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will
have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written,
“Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 “O
death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of
death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Since a Christian has had his sins forgiven
and completely washed away, he is assured that he will have victory in death,
and thus it will be sweet and easy for him.
9.4.2. ‘angels
nor principalities’ :
9.4.2.1. When Paul writes in these verses that ‘angels
nor principalities’ can separate us from the love of Christ, it appears
that he is speaking of those created beings other than human, both good and
evil. Some feel that the ‘angels’
he is referring to are demons, and the ‘principalities’ that he is
speaking of are earthly rulers. However,
demonic forces are referred to by Paul in his writings as ‘principalities,’
so when he groups ‘angels and principalities’ together, one almost
should assume that he is referring to angelic creatures in both cases, both
good and evil.
9.4.2.2. I’ve already
noted (1 John 4:4) in my discussion in this chapter that fallen angels cannot
separate a true Christian from the love of Christ because the One who is in the
Christian is greater than he who is in the world (the devil). Christ in His death on the cross disarmed all
of the rulers and authorities in the spiritual realm.
9.4.3. ‘things
present, nor things to come’ :
9.4.3.1. In Paul
writing in these verses that ‘things present, nor things to come’ can
separate a true Christian from the love of Christ, Paul is just trying to
summarize every created entity or being as well as every experience, both of
this life and of the one to come, and to say that none of these will be able to
separate the true Christian from the love of Christ.
9.4.4. ‘height
nor depth’ :
9.4.4.1. A Christian
may experience incredible extremes of emotion as well as experiences and
circumstances, both in this life and the next, and so Paul writes in these
verses that neither ‘height nor depth’ can separate the true Christian
from the love of Christ, and thus cause him to come short of heaven.
9.4.4.2. As an
apostle it is from divine revelation that Paul is able to write that this will
be true for the Christian.
9.4.5. ‘nor any
other created thing’ :
9.4.5.1. In case
anyone might wonder if there is anything that Paul might have missed that might
potentially be able to cause a Christian to be separated from the love of
Christ, Paul adds this final category to the list he is compiling: ‘nor any other created thing.’
9.5.
The result then is that there is absolutely nothing
that could or will occur in this life or in the next that shall ever for all of
eternity be able to separate the true Christian from the love of Christ.
9.6.
In verse 39, Paul does not write of the love of
Christ, he instead actually uses the terminology ‘the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ This
seems to have been done by Paul for one or more of these reasons :
9.6.1. So that the
reader does not confuse the love of Christ as being other than the love of God.
9.6.2. So that the
reader does not think that Jesus loves the Christian more than God the Father,
or the Holy Spirit.
9.6.3. In order to
remind his readers that God’s love is revealed in the fact that He gave His
only-begotten Son so that anyone who believes in Him might not perish, but have
everlasting life (John 3:16).
9.7.
Paul wrote Timothy in 2 Tim. 1:12, “12 For this
reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have
believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to
Him until that day.” Paul knew that
he was being held and kept by God for the day when he would meet the Lord to
spend eternity with him, and nothing and no one could convince him otherwise.
9.8.
We Christians must realize that we are being kept by
God’s love, and as long as we look to worship and serve Him, doing His will in
this world, we must never doubt that He loves and keeps us in salvation. When we fail, we must just confess and repent
of our sins, and know that there was never a time when His love had ever waned
for us, we have that assurance.
10.
assurances of salvation from
Romans 8 :
10.1.
There is no condemnation - 8:1.
10.2.
The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us
free from the Law of sin and death - 8:2.
10.3.
The requirement of the Law is fulfilled in us who walk
not after the flesh but after the Spirit - 8:4.
10.4.
If God’s Spirit dwells within us, He will give life to
our mortal bodies through His Spirit - 8:11.
10.5.
If we are putting to death the deeds of the body, we
will live - 8:13.
10.6.
If we are being led by the Spirit, we are a son of God
- 8:14.
10.7.
We have not received a spirit of slavery leading to
fear, but a Spirit of adoption as sons - 8:15.
10.8.
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that
we are children of God - 8:16.
10.9.
We are groaning within ourselves awaiting eagerly our
adoption as sons, the redemption of our body - 8:23.
10.10.
God causes all things to work together for good for us
who love God and are called according to His purpose - 8:28.
10.11.
The unbreakable chain of foreknowledge,
predestination, calling, justification, and glorification assures us that once
we have entered into salvation through Christ, we will complete it - 8:29-30.
10.12.
Since God is for us, who could possibly be against us?
- 8:31.
10.13.
Since He did not spare His own Son for us, He will
also give us freely all we need to make it to the finish line (heaven) - 8:32.
10.14.
No one could bring a charge against God’s elect since
He is the One who justifies them. God
Himself is the Law giver, and He is the one who justifies, and justification
means that the full demands of justice have been made - 8:33.
10.15.
No one can condemn God’s elect since Jesus’ purpose in
the first place was to save men, not to condemn them - 8:34.
10.16.
Jesus’ raising from the dead is assurance that all He
said is true, and that He has therefore forgiven us completely - 8:34.
10.17.
Jesus, who will be the judge of all men, is He who has
been raised up to the right hand of God (the place of highest honor) - 8:34.
10.18.
Jesus who is the judge and is also seated at the right
hand of God (place of honor) constantly intercedes for us - 8:34.
10.19.
The Christian overwhelmingly conquers tribulation,
distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and sword - 8:35-37.
10.20.
Neither death nor life, angels nor principalities,
things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any
other thing shall able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus -
8:38-39.
11.
CONCLUSIONS :
11.1.
As we consider this study, as well as all that we have
learned from chapter 8 of Romans concerning the assurance of our salvation that
we as Christians can have, it is important that we personalize these things
realizing the love that the Lord has for us in promising us such incredible
assurance. You can always trust someone
who loves you, so learn to continually trust in the Lord and His love towards
you.
11.2.
We who are genuinely saved need not worry about what
we may encounter in our experiences because the Lord tells us that in all of
these things that we can be overwhelming conquerors if we in faith look to the
Lord and His provision for us and learn to trust and obey Him in all
things Distrust your fears O’ Christian.