Romans 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39  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.

God’s people have the assurance that God is for us. If that is true, who can stand against us? We know from God’s Word that this is true. The devil will try to trick the true child of God to sin, but God is greater than the devil. A true child of God has no reason to sin. When we sin, we do so because we choose not to follow God’s way.
In verse 33 God justified His promises by reminding us that He did not spare His own Son. God sent His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to become a man and to go to the cross and suffer and die there, shedding His blood for the remission of our sins. He proved the extent of His love to mankind. We see here that God not only sent His own Son, but “He delivered Him up for us all.” Jesus Christ did what no human being would do. He did not fight back, knowing He could have called twelve legions of angels to defend Him. He proved His power of creation and over man, yet He laid down His life for the sheep.
This fact is evidence that He has also provided all that is needed for every one of His children to be able to live in victory over sin. We do not need to pay for God’s help. We do not need to wrestle with God to get some help. We simply need to know Him and walk humbly with Him.
In verse 33 we see that no one has the right to lay any charge of sin against the true child of God. The elect here does not support the Calvinist heresy of election. The elect does not mean all could not be saved. Jesus Christ died for all people. It is God Who justifies. We are not the ones who declare anyone saved. We need to teach the truth and be careful we do not declare someone saved who does not have a testimony of salvation. Rather than give a person a false hope, we need to teach the truth and help people to see what God actually says. The Holy Spirit will work in the heart of the person and bring conviction of sin. The person needs to obey that and be saved. If the person responds to God’s work in their heart, and turns to God in repentance and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ they are saved. Then they need to grow in Him. We have the Scriptures that tell us how to address the individual regarding salvation and provoking them to love and to good works.
In verse 34 we are asked the question of condemnation. Who has the right to condemn any person? We noted earlier that we are born condemned. Jesus Christ came to save. He died for us. He rose again victorious over sin and death. Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God now. He is making intercession for the saints. It is God’s Word that condemns the sinner. We are called upon to preach and teach the truth. We do not make up the rules. God has already declared the law. He judges according to His law.
It is a blessing to know that we have the Saviour of mankind interceding for us, if we are saved. The lost have rejected the Saviour. The Pharisees made up their own laws and they condemned the Lord Jesus Christ according to their corrupt laws. However, their condemnation was of no value. True Christians do not make up their own laws. They teach the truth and show the way to be set free from condemnation. When a godly person points out the truth, it is not he or she that is condemning the ungodly. It is God that has declared what is right and what is wrong.
In verse 35 Paul began with the question of separation. Who shall separate the true child of God from the love of Christ? Tribulation cannot do it. Christians will face suffering in this world, but true Christians will not turn their backs on the God Who saved them.
Distress will not do it. Tribulation brings distress but when in distress, the true child of God cries out to God. He or she knows that God hears His child and the true child of God takes comfort in the hope of eternal life.
The book of Romans shows us that God saves and He also provides all that is needed for the true child of God to grow in the Lord. Persecution cannot separate the true child of God from Christ. The love of God is greater than that. Famine will not do it either. The true child of God knows that life is more than food and raiment. The true child of God has learned the importance of fasting and thus is already prepared to be able to handle a shortage of food and water.
Nakedness is a plague in our time. Most churches are guilty of tolerating nakedness. Modest clothing is important for the true child of God. The world can be quite cruel and they may try to strip the true child of God of their modesty. They will not succeed in stripping them of their eternal hope. Nakedness can also be used to describe poverty in the material sense. In the past, some true Christians have been quite poor. In Luke 16, Jesus described Lazarus as being a poor beggar. Yet Lazarus did not lose hope in God. The true child of God has his faith in the true God and that faith will be tested but it cannot be removed.
Peril will cause the true child of God to draw closer to God, not further away. The sword also cannot take away our hope. The sword is a tool for violence. The apostles suffered at the hands of wicked people. During the Dark Ages many Christians lost their lives at the hands of the Catholics. Those that were truly saved went straight to heaven. They were brought closer to Christ, not further away.
In verse 37 we see that all the things listed above cannot separate us because we are more than conquerers through Him that loves us. The hope of the true child of God is in Christ. We know He died for us. We know He was buried and He rose again the third day. We know He is seated on the right hand of His Father in glory now, interceding for the saints. We know these things. We do not just wish they were true. We have a lively hope.
In verse 38, Paul stated that he was persuaded, he was fully convinced, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come could separate him from the love of God. He knew that God cannot lie. He knew that God had been with him in every trial he faced as a true child of God.
In verse 39 he continued the list of things that we might face, but none of that is able to separate the true child of God from the love of God. The love of God is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The love of God does not promise the absence of trials and testings. The love of God promises to be with the true child of God in the midst of trials and testings. It is far better to go through life with God’s love guiding us than to face the challenges of life without knowing the true God. Of course the challenges of the lost will be different than those faced by the saved. The lost can face poverty and sickness, but they will not face persecution because they do not know the true God.
As we have noted, Christ Jesus is alive. It is important to note once again that for those who are saved, Christ Jesus is our Lord. We have been bought with a price and we need to glorify God with our body and our soul. We do not make up the rules. We do not live for ourselves if we are saved. We need to live for the Lord.
Pastor Bartel