INTRODUCTION
One of the fiery darts of the enemy is to plant in our mind questions about our relationship to God and about our salvation. Paul has been combating these fiery darts in much of Romans 8. As he closes this chapter he brings more of these doubts forward and extinguishes Satan’s fiery darts one by one.
In Romans 8:31-39, Paul uses a series of questions to raise and then answer the questions or doubts that Satan might put in our minds. I think you’ll agree that this is a very effective way of bringing up the issues and then bringing out the truth.
Paul begins with a question that he only answers by asking and answering five other questions.
The big question: What shall to these things? 31a
In the face of all that God has done for us believers – call, justify, give the Holy Spirit, adopt us as his children, assure us of our salvation, give us victory over sin, assure us of immense glory to come, have the Holy Spirit pray for us when we don’t know what to pray for, actively work all things together for our good, and to predestine us to become like Jesus…
In the face of all this what shall we say? Paul knows that what he’s already said should be assurance enough for all of us who have trusted Jesus to be our Savior.
Yet Paul is ready to tell us more, to give us even more assurance, to tell us what we can say to these things. He is going to do that by asking and answering five additional questions.
The answer to the big question: Five more questions, 31b-37
Question One: Who can be ? 31
Worried the devil might make you say something or do something that would turn God against you?
Paul reminds us God is for us.
A worship song we sings has the words:
In the morning, in the evening
In your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing
He is for you, he is for you
He is for you, He is for you
(The Blessing, Songwriters: Chris Brown / Steven Furtick / Cody Carnes / Kari Brooke Jobe. The Blessing lyrics © Worship Together Music, Capitol Cmg Paragon, Be Essential Songs, Kari Jobe Carnes Music, Writers Roof Publishing)
This is what Paul wants us to remember.
The answer to who can be against us is, “It would have to be .”
Question Two: …how will he not also with him graciously give us ? 32
Worried that God won’t give you what you need to be faithful to him when you suffer with Christ? Think that God will be more gracious to others than to you? Wonder if you’ll have enough to live fully as God desires?
With the demonstration that God has already given to us of his love for us, why would we be concerned that he wouldn’t give us all we need to live fully for him or die faithfully for him? (He argues from the greater to the lesser.)
The answer to the question of whether God will give us all things is: “Since he he gave us Jesus, he’ll what is far less.”
Questions Three: Who shall bring anything God’s elect? 33
Illustration: The President of the US
Since God has justified his elect, that is, declared them ‘not guilty’, and has reckoned righteousness to their account because of their faith – who could bring an accusation against them that he hasn’t already cleared them of?
Answer: No one! Whoever it is would have to the verdict himself.
Question Four: Who is to ?, 34
Answer: He’d have to get past Jesus to do this.
Remember:
1. Christ (God’s perfect son offering the final and perfect sacrifice for sin)
2. Christ (his sacrifice was fully accepted by Gid the Father)
3. Christ is (the position of honor and authority)
4. Christ (he continues to plead the merits of his blood to the Father, and continues to secure for us whatever measure of God’s provision and grace we need.)
Question Five: Who shall us from in Christ? 35-37
Perhaps at one time or another almost every Christian has wondered if God still loves him or her. That could be caused by sin, by failure, by wondering why prayers haven’t been answered, etc.
Answer: It would have to be something more powerful that the “fearful seven”:
(MULTILINE)
Instead of these things defeating us or separating us from the love of Christ, we in these very things through him.
The certainty, 38-39
Questions are done, confession begins
Paul is convinced, sure, certain that nothing in the “big ten” can separate us from God:
(MULTILINE)
A recent Christian song partly based on this passage echoes Paul’s words:
There is a love
That never runs out
That flows from the heart of my Father
It never forsakes
It won’t walk away
God your precious love
Is running after us
[Chorus]
No height
No depth
No width
No length
Nothing can separate us
No power
In hell
Or here on
The earth
Nothing can separate us
Nothing Can Separate, Lucy Grimble. Copyright 2020
This is Paul’s triumphant conclusion. All the questions, all the doubts are answered. The fiery darts of the enemy are extinguished. The Christian can stand secure in his/her relationship to God, secure in God’s love and care, absolutely certain of their eternal destiny, because , , can ever get between a born-again child of God and his/her heavenly father.
CONCLUSION
Paul began: What shall we say to these things?
Here’s what we can say:
We are in God’s love and provision.
We are secure.
Nothing we experience or will experience, and no one anywhere at any time will be able to with God.
Let these truths put away any doubts about your salvation, about God’s love for you, about where you will spend eternity, and about whether anything you or anyone else can do will ever separate you from God’s love.