Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Ophelia, Hurricane Dennis and still they come, storm after storm after storm. It is almost like life itself, which one wit described as “just one thing after another.”
Whether one is battered by the winds and waters of a hurricane or the troubles and trials of life, it is good to know that God is always for us.
The apostle Paul, writing in Romans 8, boldly declared that nothing can “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus” (v. 39). That means God is always for us. But before running up this victory flag of Christian living, the apostle took time to explain why those of us who believe in God through faith in Jesus Christ know God is always for us.
The explanation begins in v. 31, where Paul asks, “If God is for us, who is against us?” The word “if” is not meant as a question. It is more of a statement of fact that “God is for us.” The verse builds on Psalm 118:6, where the psalmist affirmed, “The Lord is for me. I will not fear. What can man do to me?” The following verse in Romans tells how we know God is always for us — because He “did not spare His own Son.” God took the initiative to bridge the gap between Him and mankind that sin had created.
He took the initiative because “God so loved the world …” (John 3:16). “The world” is understood as Paul notes here — “delivered Him up for us all.” We know God is always for us because of God’s love for us, the apostle contends. And since God has already given us the greatest gift — Jesus — God will also give us all things.
The next two verses present a second reason — God stands with believers against the adversary. Like the couplet before it, the imagery draws on Old Testament teaching. Isaiah 50:9 says, “Behold, the Lord God helps me. Who is he who condemns me?” The writer goes on to say that those who oppose him will “wear out like a garment.”
Against this background, Paul asks, in v. 33, “Who will bring charge against God’s elect?” Satan cannot condemn because God has already justified and God is more powerful than Satan.
The apostle offers a second reason that Satan cannot win — because of Christ Jesus. Jesus died paying the price for the sins of all who believe on His name. He was raised to new life as a promise that all who believe will share His life for eternity. He ascended into heaven from where He will return in final victory. In the meantime, He sits at the right hand of God making intercession for believers. The love of God made known in Jesus Christ and the love of Jesus Christ for the saints made known in His life, death and resurrection demonstrates that the adversary can never win. God is always for us.
Only one other question remains to be asked, and that is found in v. 35. “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” It is a key question for if there is anything in the whole of being that can separate the believer from the love of God made known in Jesus Christ, then the believer is still at risk.
From Paul’s pen flows a seven-fold response. The first two are general in nature — tribulation or distress. Then come five pointed references that seem to reflect the dangers of the apostle’s own life. Later Paul would write that he “died daily” (1 Cor. 15:31). His letters tell of persecution, stoning, starvation, shipwreck and other perils.
Tradition holds that Paul died in Rome some years later pierced by a Roman executioner’s sword. It is no wonder that Paul turns to the psalmist to emphasize that “we are being put to death all day long” (Ps. 44:22).
Despite all of these troubles and trials, Paul responds to his own question with a resounding “no.” This is the man who later wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). It is as if the apostle stares into the face of the worst that could be done to him and declares that “in all these things we are more than conquerors” or super conquerors (v. 37).
His argument is clear. We know that God is always for us because nothing this world can do can “separate us from the love of God made known in Jesus Christ.”
But Paul is not through. As he begins to hoist his victory flag, he has a final declaration to share. Christ has conquered death so death cannot separate from God’s love. Paul has experienced life and he knows that nothing in life can separate from God’s love. The fallen angels and demons have already been defeated. They cannot separate from God’s love. Nothing in this world or any future world can separate; neither can the power of the stars at their zenith or their depths. Not any power, not any created thing can separate the believer from the love of God.
What a victory for the Christian. Praise God that the Bible makes it so clear that God is always for us.
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