God's Love I. Prayer II. Base Text: Romans 8:31-39 III. Context and Interpretation A. What are "these things" (Romans 8:31)? 1. Romans 8:1-11: no condemnation for those in Jesus; walking by Spirit, not flesh; Spirit "in" us 2. Romans 8:12-23: sons of God by adoption; suffering not comparable to waiting glory; desire for creation, Christians to be set free from decay, corruption 3. Romans 8:24-30: hope; intercession of the Spirit; all things work out for good; foreknowledge, predestination, conformity to Son, salvation 4. The question indicates that Paul is about to sum it all up in conclusion B. If God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)? 1. The purpose of the passage perhaps summed up here! 2. Rhetorical question for effect; the answer is that no one can! 3. Encouragement to the believer: God is not antagonistic, but our aid and help! 4. God is for us: He has delivered us from sin in Jesus, adopted us as sons, provided the Spirit to assist in our weakness, provided the means of our salvation C. Not Sparing Son, Giving Us All Things (Romans 8:32) 1. Paul continues with the point: if God was willing to give of His Son, what will He not give? 2. A reminder to the brethren in Rome: if God is faithful in the big gift, He is faithful in the comparatively little ones also! D. Charges and Condemnation (Romans 8:33-34) 1. Another rhetorical question: who can bring a charge against God's chosen people? 2. The adversary, the devil, will try, but it is God who justifies! 3. Who can condemn, since Jesus who died for us now intercedes for us at the right hand of God? 4. All meant for reassurance! E. The Love of God (Romans 8:35-39) 1. As Paul concludes this part of the message, he makes the context clear 2. Romans going through difficulties: called upon to suffer for the faith 3. Romans 8:36 a citation of Psalm 44:22; the sons of Korah convinced God has abandoned them and has not maintained covenant loyalty 4. The reason for the encouragement apparent: Roman Christians enduring trial, likely persecution; assured it is not a display of divine disfavor 5. Yet "more than conquerors": victory in endurance and suffering 6. Assurance: no external force can separate us from the love of God! F. Abuse of Romans 8:35-39 1. Passage is unfortunately abused to declare something it does not: eternal security 2. Many infer from it that since nothing can separate us from God's love, we are saved no matter what 3. God's love has always been there for us, however (John 3:16) 4. We can still separate ourselves from Christ's love through our sin, just as at the beginning (cf. Isaiah 59:1-2)! 5. Yet let us not lose sight of Paul's message of encouragement here! IV. Application A. Our relationship with God 1. How do we view our relationship with God? 2. Paul makes it clear in Romans 8:12-17 that we are to view God as our adoptive Father, one who loves us deeply 3. God will give us all things since He has given us of His Son; He is for us, not against us! 4. This is critically important to recognize in our walk with God: He is not hostile toward us 5. Yes, He does not like sin, and we might have consequences for our sin 6. We may also go through periods of testing and discipline (James 1:2-5, Hebrews 12:5-11) 7. But this is not because God is our enemy: God is always for us, seeking to have us be saved, loving us and wishing to bless us beyond our imaginations! B. Intercession 1. Previously we saw that the Spirit intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:26) 2. Now we see also that Jesus makes intercession at the right hand of God (Romans 8:34)! 3. How encouraging it is to consider that two members of the Godhead intercede on our behalf! C. Our Salvation 1. We have mentioned how Romans 8 has been abused to support the doctrine of "once saved, always saved" 2. But Paul is not advocating an "if saved, barely saved" position either! 3. Paul intends for the believer to derive encouragement from their present salvation in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1, 31-34) 4. It is indeed dependent on walking according to the Spirit (Romans 8:5-13) and suffering for the faith (Romans 8:17), but Paul can speak presently of how God is for us and that no one can condemn us! 5. We must maintain the balance: not so complacent as to fall into sin, but not paralyzed by constant fear of having lost salvation, either! D. God's Love 1. The great message of Romans 8:1-39 is that God's love is there through it all 2. God's love was in the beginning, providing the way of salvation 3. God's love is manifest in the sacrifice of Jesus 4. God's love is with us now, and no external force can separate us from it 5. Very encouraging when we are constantly in the midst of difficulty and trial! E. More Than Conquerors 1. No matter what our circumstances, if we stand firm with Jesus, we are greater than conquerors 2. Physical and spiritual forces of darkness cannot stand before His great glory 3. We are saved in hope, and look forward to the great day when we have full redemption 4. There is no condemnation, but a spirit of hope and love that guides us ever closer to the goal 5. Also the spirit of Revelation: victory in Jesus involves suffering and enduring distress while maintaining faithful witness to God's love in Christ for all men V. Conclusion A. Thus ends Romans 8:1-39; a very encouraging chapter indeed! B. Do we stand to be more than conquerors? C. Is there condemnation for us? Or will God justify us? D. Do we walk according to the Spirit? Have we received the adoption as sons? E. Are we living in that patient hope, trusting in God's love and grace? F. Let us press onward to the goal! G. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? (Romans 8:31). Why has Paul gone on about walking by the Spirit, the adoption we have received in Christ, and God's work for our salvation? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who indeed? Yes, we will have reason for despair in the world; but if we are in Christ, God is not against us. We will obtain the victory in Christ! May we stand firm for God in Christ and obtain the resurrection of life! 2: He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32) God has given us the greatest gift we could ever imagine. We do well to contemplate the enormity of what God has done for us in Christ. We can know how necessary it proved to be, for if there had been another possible way, God surely would have taken it. God has given the greatest thing; He will not miss or forget lesser things. May we trust in God based on what He has done for us in Christ and find life in Him! 3: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us (Romans 8:37). God provides encouragement to those in distress. Roman Christians were suffering from challenges, persecution, and other trials. They were reckoned as sheep to be slaughtered. It would be a new experience for those having come out of paganism. They might have feared it was evidence of God's disfavor. And yet God loved them in Christ; in suffering they would obtain victory. May we endure trial and persecution in Christ to obtain the victory in Him! 4: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 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 (Romans 8:38-39). Romans 8:1-39 is a most encouraging chapter in Scripture, for in it we see the love of God in Christ through the Spirit. We are liberated from sin and death to walk in the Spirit. We have adoption and hope in Christ. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love in Christ. We can find strength and sustenance through our relationship with God in Christ so as to overcome all difficulties in love. May we find strength and security in God's love in Christ for us, and love one another as Jesus has loved us, and be saved in Him!