Lessons From Romans – Lesson 11
Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
These things was how God in His foreknowledge predestines all those that will accept Christ as savior out of their free will to be conformed into the image of His Son. We went over those verses a couple of weeks ago.
And also Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
God does work all things, even the bad things, to work together for good for His dear Children.
Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Many can be against us and many are against us. But the wrong they do to us God takes it and makes it come out for good to us in the end. Much of it in this life and some of it in the form of rewards in Eternity.
Either way in the end they lose and we win. If God be for us, who can be against us? The answer to that rhetorical question is no one. Some will miss use this scripture and try to apply it as no one can hurt us. That is not true. Or they try to apply it as no one can hinder our ministry. That also is not true.
We can be hurt and we can be hindered by those against us. They can even win a battle. But they cannot win the war. And the battles that they do win God will somehow work that out for good.
The context of If God be for us, who can be against us? Is talking about God winning in the end and how God will work all things together for good in His time.
In the end no one can win, beat, or derail the will of God for His children.
And it is God’s great love for us that is behind this.
God’s love for us in a real active way does not stop with us getting saved and no longer going to hell. That is not the end of God’s love that is the beginning of God’s love to us. The moment we got saved we became one of His dear children.
Instead of being children of wrath we became God’s children. And His love moves God to work in our lives. He works to see us conformed into the image of His dear Son. We will see some of that in this life as we grow in our Christian walk. As we choose to put off some things of the flesh and then more and more. And as we yield to Him and let Him change us.
Thru this growing process we will become a little more like Christ and a little more again. It is a process. But one day we will see the total fulfilment of that when Jesus comes back or when we die.
We are predestinated to be conformed into the image of His dear Son. And nothing can stop that. No one can be against us in that. It will happen one day.
And between when we got saved and that day, God’s love prompts Him to be active in our lives. He never leaves us nor forsakes us.
And because of His love He makes all things work together for good for us in His time, even the hard things.
And because of His love He hears and listens to our prayers and He sends us many blessings in this life.
Rom 8:32 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?
It does not say when He will freely give us all things. And keep the rest of the Bible in mind. He will not give us things that are bad for us. He will not give us things to heap upon our own lusts.
He will in this life freely give us all things that line up with His will. He will give us things that are good for us in His perfect timing.
And also remember we have been made joint heirs with Christ. So in the future He will freely give us all things. At that time we will be without sin and cannot ask wrongly. The trouble in this life is not even worthy to be compared with what He will give us then.
God’s love for you is deeper than we can really fully understand.
He loved us so much that he spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.
God the Father so loved that He gave His only begotten Son.
God the Son so loved that He voluntarily stayed on the cross and gave His love for us.
1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us
John 10: 17 – 18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
It has been well said that the nails did not hold Jesus on the cross it was love that held Him there.
He paid for our sin and that payment was in full and it was perfect and complete.
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
The answer to the question is no one can lay anything to the charge of His children. And do not let anyone confuse you here. Verse 33 says to the charge of God’s elect. That has already been defined a few verses earlier. That predestination to be conformed into the image of His Son is done by His foreknowledge.
God does not elect some to go to hell and elect some to go to heaven and no one has any choice about it. Man does have a free will. It truly is as the Bible says whosoever will may come.
And no one can lay anything to the charge of anyone who does come. God justified everyone that comes. And no one is over God. No one can undo that justification. No one can change God’s mind.
Rom 8:34 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.
When the wicked one does bring accusations against us God the Son is at the throne and He is making intercession for us. The accusations do not stick. Jesus says nope, it is paid for.
Yes my child did that wrong thing but it has been paid for, it is covered in my blood.
The context of this is of course our salvation and our eternity. No charge will stick against us no matter what. A Christian can backslide and even a Christian who is doing a fair job at walking with the Lord can mess up and break a law.
He can for example break the speed limit and lose control and crash into someone’s fence. And it is his fault. The law and the property owner can bring an accusation and it will stick. And he will have to pay the price in this life for it.
But when that same accusation comes before the throne of God as far as our salvation and eternity is concerned. It does not stick. Yes it was wrong and acknowledged as wrong, but it has been paid for by Jesus on the cross.
It was paid for because of the Love of God.
The love of God is greater and stronger than anything else. Nothing can dislodge it or change it or move it away from us. This is what Paul goes into next.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 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.
It is important to understand when Paul wrote this. He wrote it before he went to Rome and was under house arrest for years before his release. Anyone could and many did come and be taught by Paul in his house. No need to write a letter to Rome when he was in Rome.
He did not write it after that. He was released in Rome and not too long after was arrested again and sentenced to death.
I believe that happened because most of Rome burned to the ground and they blamed the Christians and that is when they started killing Christians just because they were Christians.
So Paul had to write Romans before all of that.
The Bible says that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and the Bible teaches that men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
So to write scripture the man had to be listening to and submissive to the Holy Ghost. When we went thru the book of Acts we saw that Paul went thru a time where he was not listening to the Spirit.
God kept telling Paul to not go to Jerusalem and I am not going to reteach all of that right now. But while Paul was in that period of not listing to the Spirit he could not have written Romans.
That means that Paul wrote Romans sometime towards the end of the 3rd missionary journey and before he tried to walk into that theater with the riotous mob.
That means Paul wrote this before his arrest, before the Jews making a vow to not eat until Paul was dead, before the trip to Rome and the shipwreck and before the Viper bit him.
Placing this as the time that Paul wrote Romans also means that Paul wrote this after him and Barnabas went to a town and preached and then were ran out of town, went to another town and preached and was ran out of town and went to another town and preached and was ran out of town and they Jews caught up to them and stirred the people up and they hauled Paul out of town and stoned him and left him for dead.
This is after Paul was told by the leaders in Jerusalem to just get lost. They told him just go home to Tarsus. So Paul wrote this after his rejection by Christians.
This is after Paul heard the Macedonian call. This is after Paul saw Lydia get saved and shortly after Paul was arrested and whipped and thrown in jail. This is after they sang that night and saw the jailer saved. And were released and told to leave town.
This is after Paul was in Corinth and did not have enough support and was doing without and was making tents. This is after he had a lack of support. This is after other Christians in Corinth and other places were slandering him.
And the list goes on and on. What is the point I am making?
This was written by a man who experienced tribulation and distress and persecution. These are not words written out of logic or doctrine or book knowledge. These are words written by a man who experienced these things.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 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.
Paul knew from experience that being whipped and thrown in jail did not mean that God did not love him. God was there and God gave him the grace he needed.
Paul still felt the love of God when he was taken out and stoned and left for dead. Man’s evil and man’s wickedness does not separate us from the love of God.
Any kind of hard times or tribulations and persecutions in no way means that God does not love you or love you less than He did when everything was going great.
And Paul had learned and seen God take the bad that man does and turn it into good like when he saw that Jailer and his household get saved. If Paul had not been arrested that would not have happened. God turned the bad that man intended and turned it to joy.
The love of God is perfect.
The love of God is continual.
The love of God is eternal.
The love of God is Greater and more powerful than anything or anyone.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 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 Love is not based on our performance.
God’s Love is not based or increased or decreased on how lovable we are.
God loved us and died for us while we were yet sinners at enmity with God.
God’s love is based on Him, not us.
And nothing can separate us from the Love of God.