Romans 8 is my favorite chapter in the Bible, definitely. The assurance in this chapter that transcends all of our sins, all of our fears, all of our feelings of inadequacy, all of our doubts. The heavenly Father loves us so much that He allows His most beloved Son to die… for us. There is nothing that can stand between us and God's Kingdom — except our own indifference, our own loss of faith. Christ will never abandon us unless we abandon him.

In the first verses of Romans 8, we are assured that "there is no condemnation for those who remain in Christ"; that despite our sins God will declare us "righteous" because of our faith in His Son.

We are assured that, even though we were once slaves to Sin, we are now freed forever from that bondage, and we are led by God's Son into a wonderful family, the family of God. In this family, we are assured that we will be an important part of the "new creation" of the whole world so as to reflect God's glory.

And, when we wander away from, or forget, our Lord and Saviour, he assures us that he will still remain to "intercede" or speak up for us before his Father's throne. In short, no matter how we fail, or how often, we know that God works in all things for our ultimate glory — if we continue to trust Him.

Nothing stands between us and eternal glory except our own loss of faith:

  • not our sins, for they are forgiven;
  • not our nature — it will be changed in a moment;
  • not the law — it was satisfied in the death of Christ; and
  • not even our trials, for they are specially designed by our Father for our benefit — our Father and His Son, who will never forsake us so long as we trust in them.

With these exalted, and exalting, assurances Paul prepares his readers, in the last part of this glorious chapter (Romans 8), to become "more than conquerors", or "super-conquerors through him who loved us".

Verses 31-39 are the conclusion of Romans 8. In these verses, Paul draws together all these golden threads into a statement of faith. This statement of faith should be the personal profession of hope and trust which is the foundation of every believer's life. The believer may take Romans 8, and say: 'Here is where I take my stand. Here is the basis of my faith and my hope. I trust in my God to help me and save me.'

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (v. 31).

Paul is now completely and passionately convinced of his salvation, and ours. All creation is being divided into two camps, and we, who are in Christ, are on the winning side.

This is the Scriptural viewpoint, and it can scarcely be stressed too much. As Christadelphians we must resist the false idea expressed in the simplistic phrase 'once saved, always saved'. We are being saved out of this world right now! But we can still lose that salvation if we walk away from our faith and our God.

We must also reject the too optimistic statement that 'Christ has done it all.' Christ has done all that he can possibly do, but he cannot make us immune to the possibility that we might choose to walk away, and never come back. It is our responsibility, to hold on to our personal faith — no matter what happens.

That, it seems to me, is the only truly unforgivable sin, because we cannot be forgiven if we abandon our faith and then never choose to come back and seek forgiveness.

There is a danger, however, in thinking too much about false ideas like "once saved—always saved", or "Christ did it all for me." The danger is this: We may spend too much time on the negative side of things. And we may conclude that, if our salvation is not guaranteed, then we are in terrible danger of failing, all the time. And when we remember, as we should, that we have duties and obligations to our Lord, there is always the danger of wondering: Am I doing enough?

Then, when troubles come, as they will, we may find ourselves trapped in a "place" of our own creation, a "place" where fear and doubt overcome us. "I am just not good enough", or "I am afraid that I will come up short!" This can be an enormous danger.

So we need to remind ourselves of the blessed assurance of this verse: "If God is for me (and so much of the Bible tells me that He is for me!), then who can be against me?"

The remaining verses in this chapter help us to face all the troubles that lie around us, and inside us — while understanding that absolutely none of those troubles are "deal-breakers". Let the world, and our own minds, throw the worst at us, and still… still… there is nothing there (up to, and including death itself) that can separate us from God's love shown in His Son.

This is why Romans 8 is my favorite chapter.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, will He not graciously give us all things? (v. 32)

If God gave us His only-begotten Son, how could He possibly hold back anything? The greatest possible gift — His own Son! — guarantees all the lesser ones that follow. Here Paul refers to God's commendation of Abraham in the offering of his son Isaac: "…because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son…" (Gen 22:16).

In other words, Abraham suffered along with (perhaps even more than) Isaac in the anticipation of the sacrifice. But the outcome of their dedication was the promise of blessing to all nations (Gen 22:17,18).

The New Testament counterpart, then, is that God participated in the offering of His Son (Isa 53:10; Acts 2:23). In a sense, it was God's "pleasure" to do so, because it would bring eternal blessings to others:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

Nevertheless, the effort involved a sacrifice and distress on God's part. Here is a side of God's character hinted at in such passages as Isaiah 63:9: "In all their [Israel's] afflictions God was afflicted also."

In Genesis 22, the ultimate act of sacrificial love on God's part was portrayed by Abraham on the human level. And in that story, and Paul's allusion to it, we have seen the curtain pulled back from the Holy Place, so that we catch a glimpse of God's own personal and private feelings.

Can God sorrow? Can God feel pain? Can God be compassionate? Can He love? Yes to all of these questions!

The Eternal God is many things. But here, to Paul, He is a Father; a Father who graciously loves His children, finding great joy in even their smallest steps toward Him. And an all-powerful Father who has provided, and will continue to provide, all things He possibly can provide for our salvation.

Just as the Father shared with His Son in his sufferings and sacrifice, so we are called to do the same thing, even if only in small ways.

For example, we take bread and wine to draw nearer to Christ, and to think about and to experience — as best we can — his sacrifice, the pouring out of his life — for us.

And we try, every day and perhaps in very small ways, to take up our own "crosses" or burdens, and carry them — cheerfully and in faith — with Christ's help.

So, in some earlier words of Romans 8, "we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory" (v. 17).

"Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died— more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us" (Rom 8:33,34).

These two verses take us into a courtroom. In similar Old Testament scenes both Jews and Gentiles found themselves lacking when they stood in God's court of justice (Isa 41:21-24; 43:8-11; 44:7; 45:20,21).

Here, of course, the position of all men before God is portrayed: Without Christ we are all — without exception — "under sin… and [we all] fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:9,23).

But for us who believe, something wonderful has happened. By his life, his teachings, his death, and his resurrection, Christ has stood up for us! And he stands, now, for us, when we stand with him.

No man could condemn Jesus Christ of sin. And no one will condemn us if we stand with Christ.

God will not condemn us (v. 33), because it is He who has arranged all things (including the death of His beloved Son) for our benefit. And Christ will not condemn us (v. 34), because to do so would be to deny the value of his own blood, and to act contrary to all he has previously done, and all he is doing now as our mediator.

There is no doubt that, if we were judged solely on the basis of our own deeds, we would all fail miserably. The all-seeing eye of God has caught each of us "in the very act" of sin, so many times that they can scarcely be counted. But the only man who can righteously condemn us, being himself without sin, refuses to do so. As he said to the woman caught in the act of adultery: "Neither do I condemn you" (John 8:11).

Or, as Paul tells all believers:

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1).

For those who do not believe, or have turned away from their faith, the Judgment Seat will be a true "courtroom", where one's sins are offered in evidence and judgment (i.e., condemnation) is passed.

But for those who have truly believed, who have truly shown faith, who have continued to serve their Lord — and who have stood up again and again after they have fallen — the Judgment Seat should hold no fear. No "charges" will be brought against them. (And — my opinion — if their sins are remembered, it will be brief and "instructional" only.)

Where is the "prosecuting attorney" in this courtroom, who is ready to condemn believers for their sins? There is no one; that seat is empty! And the One who might have sat there has instead become the defense attorney! Now he is pleading — to a sympathetic Judge (who is his own Father!) — the mitigating circumstances that nullify the sins of the "defendant", no matter who that defendant is. Let's read the transcript of that trial; here's his final argument:

Your Honor, whatever this man did or did not do that fell short of Your glory, I can testify that he believed in You through me. In that faith he threw himself upon Your mercy, and trusted in Your promises. He followed my example, and did what he could, given the limitations of his nature, and the body of weakness in which he lived. Now, Father, he leans upon me for what he could not do. I personally vouch for his love, and his sincerity. He's part of our family too! For my sake, O Lord, and for the glory of Your Holy Name, in Your great mercy and Your everlasting love, declare this one, my brother and Your child, "righteous"!

The writer to the Hebrews anticipates this very scene:

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Heb 4:14-16).

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" (Rom 8:35).

Who can separate us from God's love in Christ?

  • Not "trouble": tribulation, pressure, affliction, or "trials".
  • Not "hardship": distress, anguish of mind.
  • Not "persecution": enemies who pursue us.
  • Not "famine".
  • Not "nakedness", that is, poverty in all of its aspects.
  • Not "danger" or "sword": perils of travel, from thieves or wars.
  • No! Not even death itself!

Even if we face death every day, even if we are considered like "sheep to be slaughtered" (v. 36), it doesn't matter. Christ was the preeminent "sheep led to the slaughter", and when he died, it was for our deliverance! He died so that, among other things, we can even face death unafraid, because of what our Saviour has gone through for us.

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (v. 37).

The Greek word here, which is translated "more than conquerors", basically means: "super-conquerors".

What does it mean to be "more than conquerors", or a "super-conqueror"?

When our granddaughter Miriam was about three years old, she watched a couple of cartoons and decided that she had "super powers". Fortified with what she imagined as a great "strength", she informed us that she could run faster than anyone. Then she set out immediately to show us.

All went well until she tripped on some unseen object and fell flat on the ground. Much weeping was followed by much comfort from grandparents, and I am pleased to report that she survived.

But the interesting thing is this: To this day, she has never claimed to have "super powers" again!

Through Christ we have won a victory which is more than a victory. We do not need to be "super-heroes" ourselves. We do not need "super powers" in order to defeat or fight through our trials with a superhuman strength.

Instead, we live as though our trials are not our adversaries, as though they are something entirely different. Our 'enemies' become our 'allies' when we recognize God's providential hand in all our lives.

And so we use, and God uses, each experience of our lives, no matter how painful, for our ultimate benefit. "All these things" of verse 37 are simply the "all things" — good and bad — of verse 28, where Paul says that "God works in all things for good."

We truly have no real "enemies" when Christ is on our side, because our would-be enemies have shrunk into insignificance when compared to him — just as the great storm on the Sea of Galilee gave way to perfectly calm waters at Christ's command. And all would-be "enemies" have become as nothing when compared to his love. For he has performed, for us, the one supreme act of love, when he laid down his life, deliberately, for his friends and his family. This was, and will forever remain, the one great, all-surpassing act of love — more extraordinary than we could ever imagine… except that it happened!

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:38,39).

The last two verses express with great precision the full assurance of faith which is, or should be, the possession of those who have been declared righteous in Christ. No physical condition, no power of any sort, no dimension of time or space, and nothing else imaginable in God's creation… can separate us from the love of God in Christ. We must believe this.

What if Paul were writing to us today? What would he say? Here, in this beautiful chapter, he has surely left us a message too, and a guideline: No depression, no recession, no inflation, no bankruptcy, no unemployment, no riot nor crime in the streets, no cancer, no heart disease, no arthritis, no diabetes, no old age, no nuclear holocaust, no international terrorism — nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here is the victorious life in Christ. Do we have the faith and the courage to live it? Let us find those stumbling-blocks in our lives, those delusions, which hinder us and leave us trapped in fear and uncertainty. And let us put them firmly to the side, and choose this instead. If we do, the Father who remembers us, and the Son who has engraved us on the palms of his hands (Isa 49:16), will rejoice at our faith, and will justify us from all sin.

Literally nothing at all can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In this last verse, two different "pairs" are each inseparable from one another. They are each bound together for eternity:

  • God's love and Jesus Christ, and
  • God's love and us.

And it is precisely because we have become "one" with our Lord Jesus Christ that we will never be separated from God's love, which was in him before it could ever be in us.

Thanks be to God for His amazing grace, and His inexpressible gift of love.