Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans chapter 8 as we look at God's everlasting love for us. In our society today we hear people say those words "I love you!" and then in the next breath they say "I hate you!" or by their actions they show it. Thus, we try to do this or that, look a certain way, act a certain way so people will love us and there is that fear that they won't. Then when it comes to God, we feel teh same way and if we don't do this or don't do that, if we don't look or act a certain way, God won't love us anymore. But that is a fallacy; God's love towards us is everlasting, as we will see in our study this morning. Before we get to our text let me show you the love of God with this story that goes like this:
A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.” As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illuminated the cross of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the church. There was nothing else to say.
- Source Unknown
Keep that illustration in mind as we go through this study, as you go through difficult times, dark times, that God loves you so much that He was willing to die for your sins so that you may live! It is when we lose the proper perspective of God that we jump to faulty conclusions about God!
Here in Romans chapter 8 Paul has told us that we have been freed from the condemnation of sin if we are in Christ. We have been set free from the mindset of sin because now our mind is controlled by the spirit and not by the flesh. He has told us that we are freed from the restraints of sin, no longer a slave to sin but free in Christ as the Spirit of God empowers us to walk in holiness. We have seen that we have been adopted into the family of God, joint heirs with Christ, sons of God. That we may suffer at times in this present life but it is just a vapor when compared to the glory we will have for eternity as God gives to us a new body for our spirit and soul to dwell in. Also, all of creation will be restored when the Lord comes back, creation will live at peace with each other. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray when we just don’t know how to pray over a situation, He prays for us! And all things happen in our lives for a reason, for a purpose and God will find a way to use it for good to those who are His, to those whom He foreknew, predestined, called, justified and glorified. It is here and now, as the Father looks at us, we are glorified, that is how He sees us and we may feel we have a long way to go, but He will complete that work He has begun in us!
Now, after all of that, Paul is going to show us the love of God, how it is everlasting. With that said, let’s begin reading in verse 31 of Romans chapter 8 and let’s see what the Lord has for us this morning, keeping in mind all that Paul has said regarding what God has done for us.
Out of this portion of Scripture I see four areas emerge that we are going to look at a little closer because I believe it is important for us to understand, to believe that God’s love for us is everlasting. We will be looking at: WHO IS AGAINST US, THE EVIDENCE OF GOD’S LOVE, THE BATTLE and then we will conclude with PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE. So let’s dig deeper into these verses this morning and see what the Lord has for us.
1. WHO IS AGAINST US – ROMANS 8:31
There is an interesting story that occurred during the Civil War. During this crisis in our country a very timid civilian sought out President Lincoln and said to him, “Oh, Mr. President, I am most anxious that the Lord should be on our side!” President Lincoln replied back, “That gives me no anxiety at all. The thing I worry about is being on the Lord’s side.” How correct President Lincoln was and is!
Remember the story of Joshua as they were preparing to attack the city of Jericho and in Joshua 5:13-15 we are told, “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, ‘Are You for us or for our adversaries?’ So He said, ‘No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I [AM] have now come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, ‘What does my Lord say to His servant?’ Then the Commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, ‘Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.’ And Joshua did so.”
Notice what happens here. Joshua is probably preparing his attack on Jericho, pondering what he and his men are going to do to defeat this walled city of Jericho. Then, as he is walking he saw a man standing by and Joshua asks him if he is for them or is he an enemy, whose side is he on. Now, of course, this is a Theophany or an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ. The thing I find interesting is Jesus does not respond to Joshua’s question on whose side He is on, He just says “No . . .”
You see, it was not a question of what side the Lord was on but what side Joshua was on, the Lord’s or the enemies! And that is what Paul is saying here, God is on our side but what side are you on? If God is on our side, which He is, and we are on His side, then no one can be against us in a victorious way!
What tends to happen when we go through tough times, difficult situations, times that seem so unfair, that are so overwhelming is that we say “Everyone is against me, nobody loves me, I am all alone!” But that is not what the Scriptures teach us. Paul just finished speaking of all that God has given to us, all He has done for us, showing us His omnipotence or that He is all powerful and His omniscience or that He is all knowing and thus, it doesn’t matter who may say they are against us because God is for us and He is in control, He will not lose!
David, in Psalm 27:1 tells us, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” Also, in Psalm 46:1-3, 11 we are told, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. . . . The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.” And in Isaiah we are told, “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. . . . Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. . . . Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah 40:22, 26, 28. That is our God!
Peter tells us in II Peter 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” God has done all this for us, thus, if God is for us, who can be against us? Absolutely no one! If you still doubt that, then the next verse in Romans will truly show you the evidence of God’s love.
2. THE EVIDENCE OF GOD’S LOVE –
ROMANS 8:32
For those that believe you can lose your salvation, Paul is making a point that contradicts that line of reasoning. God the Father willing gave His Son to pay in full the penalty for our sins when we were hard-hearted, stiff-necked, rebellious sinners. If that is true, which it is, then why would He cast us away after we are saved telling us we are not good enough, worthy to enter in? You see it would make no sense. We were and never will be worthy to enter into God’s presence in our own righteousness, but as we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior His righteousness is then imputed into our lives. Paul tells us in II Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Thus, Jesus sacrifice on the cross of Calvary is the foundation of our salvation and it is also our security in our salvation. In Isaiah chapter 53 we are told, “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. . . . Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.” Isaiah 53:4-6, 10.
This covenant that God has made with us is a unilateral covenant not a bilateral covenant. It is based upon His faithfulness, not ours. Thus, as Jesus said in John 6:37-40, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Also, in John 10:27-30 we are told, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one.”
Thus, if God has given us His Son to save us, if He gives us eternal life that we can’t lose, then why would He not give to us the things we need to live by? He wouldn’t hold back but has given to us all that we need. Paul said in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
In verse 32 the word “freely” in the Greek is CHAROZOMAI, which carries with it the idea of bestowing graciously or out of grace. In II Corinthians 2:7 Paul said, “so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.” The word “forgive” is the same Greek word and thus, we see the idea of God’s gracious forgiveness as well as His gracious giving. In knowing that, it would make it impossible for a believer to sin himself out of God’s grace!
Also, in Hebrews 6:17-18 we are told, “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.” God’s unchangeable purpose and His unchangeable oath to honor what He has purposed. God has given to us proof of our security in our salvation. If God if for us, who can be against us?
3. THE BATTLE – ROMANS 8:33-36
Paul starts out by saying who can condemn us? We already know the answer to that one for Paul told us in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Then why do we feel condemned? Because we listen to the lies of Satan who is the accuser of the brethren. If God has cleansed us of all our sins, if we are already looked upon as glorified, how can we be condemned? The answer is simple, we can’t!
We see that God’s love for us is everlasting and Satan comes in and tells us “How can God love you? Look at what you have done!” And what do we do? We listen to his lies, we feel condemnation and we stop reading God’s Word, we stop praying, we stop going to church, we stop being around other Christians because we are so bad. Satan, as he condemns us, causes us to draw away from God and our brother’s and sister’s in the Lord. That condemnation is not from God.
You see, God does not condemn us but He convicts us when we go astray because He loves us. Notice what Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:5-11, “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Do you see that God chastens us, not condemns us, because He loves us. It is the conviction of God upon our hearts that brings us to Jesus. Remember on the day of Pentecost as Peter and the others were filled with the Holy Spirit and Peter stood up and gave that powerful salvation message. As he finished we are told in Acts 2:37, “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’”
You see, they were “cut to the heart” conviction came upon their hearts, they saw themselves as sinners separated from God and they wanted to know what to do to be saved and we are told “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” Acts 2:38-41. Do you see that conviction draws you to God, while condemnation drives you away from God!
And it is not only that God doesn’t condemn us, but when Satan brings a charge against us it is Jesus who makes intercession for us, saying to the Father that we are His, that we have been washed by His blood and are as white as snow and thus, there is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus!
Paul goes on to speak of those things that can separate us from the love of Christ and his conclusion is simple, none of these things can separate us from the love of Christ! You see, no person can take away our salvation and now no circumstances can rob us of our salvation! The security of our salvation is clearly seen.
In this section Paul is asking a rhetorical question if any circumstance is powerful enough to cause Christ to turn away from us, not love us anymore. In John 13:1 we are told, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” He is speaking of the end of our earthly life and God will love us to the very end, we will not be lost – He loves us that much!
Shall tribulation separate us from the love of Christ? The word “tribulation” comes from the Greek word THLIPSIS and it speaks of being squeezed as grapes are squeezed to produce grape juice or olives to produce olive oil. It is not only outward difficulties but also emotional ones, it is something that all of us experience in our lives and yet, these things can not separate us from God’s love – no matter what we are going through. Don’t lose the perspective of God because the enemy will rob you of the joy and peace that God has for you through any tribulation!
Can distress separate us from the love of Christ? The Greek word carries with it the idea of being hemmed in, boxed into a corner with no way out. When we find ourselves in those situations what can we do except trust in the Lord, rest in Him. It is as Paul said in I Corinthians 10:12-13, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” But what if we don’t see a way out? Then God will provide the strength to go through this distress until He does! Don’t let this cause you to lose sight of God’s love for you!
Can persecution separate us from the love of Christ? The idea here is persecution because of your love of God. Paul said in II Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” It may not be pleasant but it will happen and God will use it in our lives to help us to grow in Him. Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Don’t let persecution cause you to lose sight of God’s love for you!
Can famine separate us from the love of Christ? Again this can be a result of persecution, and the same with nakedness or peril or the sword. All these things cannot separate you from the love of Christ!
Paul continues on by quoting out of Psalm 44:22, which may seem strange but he is talking about persecution and the thought is we, as Christians, should not be surprised when we are suffering because of our faith in Jesus. It does not mean that God doesn’t love us; it means that the world doesn’t love us, for if they didn’t love Jesus, why would they love those that love Jesus?
4. THE CONCLUSION – PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE – ROMANS 8:37-39
Folks, we are conquerors not because we are so strong, so faithful, so good, but because God is and He loves us that much that He will see us through these things. His love for us is seen in His action. He loves us as we are but He loves us too much to leave us like we are! Remember the story of Asa, king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, a good king who did what was good and right before the Lord. One day Zerah the Ethiopian brought his million-man army out against Asa and his men, who only amounted to 500,000 men. The Ethiopians also had 300 chariots, which would be like our tanks, and Israel did not have any chariots.
Asa was outnumbered, outgunned you might say, and what could he do? Listen to his prayer in II Chronicles 14:11, “And Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, ‘LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!’” What a great prayer, he saw that the victory was not going to be found in their strength but in the strength of the Lord and He gives us that victory because of His great love for us!
Thus, Paul concludes by saying, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39. Nothing that has ever been created or will be created can separate us from God’s love for God’s love is based in Christ and that is unchangeable! Don’t let Satan tell you otherwise. When you are feeling unworthy, God loves you. When you are felling like a failure, God loves you. No matter what, God loves you – praise the Lord for that!
Listen to what Pastor Chuck Smith had to say regarding this portion of Scripture:
God loved me before the foundation of the world. He loved me when I was a wretch who hated Him and rebelled against Him. How much more does He love me now that I’m fumbling, struggling, and seeking to do my best to serve Him. Now my heart is open to Him, my desires are toward Him, and I love Him and want to serve Him. How much more will He sustain me through my weaknesses, strengthen me in my desperate hour, draw me daily to Himself, and grant me His victory within my life. The principalities and power of darkness cannot overthrow me, because I’m more than a conqueror through Him that loves me. I belong to Jesus now and forever.
I’m sure of my relationship with God and my eternal life in Him. I have nothing to fear or to worry about. I simply cling to my Lord Jesus Christ. He has loved me and I love Him because of His love. He has filled me with His Spirit, given me His power, and strengthened me day by day. Glory to God forever and ever!
- Pastor Chuck Smith, The Gospel According To Grace, pp. 75-76
What a precious promise to us, God’s everlasting love, as Jeremiah 31:3 tells us, “The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’” As I begin to rap this up this morning we have seen that God is for us, that God shows us His love through His Son, that no matter what battle we are in, God loves us, no one can take that away from us, and thus, let’s put these truths into practice in our life and walk in the victory that God has given to us.
Let me leave you with this works from Fanny J. Crosby’s song, Blessed Assurance. It goes like this:
Folks, if God is for us, then who can be against us? Absolutely no one! His love is that strong and that sure, may we not forget it or be lead astray from it!