“May I please come with you?”  That’s a polite question.

In Romans 8:31-39, Paul asks four questions–not politely. John Stott (20th century English Evangelical leader) wrote that Paul “hurls these questions out into space, as it were, defiantly, triumphantly challenging any creature in heaven or earth or hell to answer them or deny the truth that is contained in them.”

“What then are we to say about these things?” (8:31a). ‘’

This question isn’t one of Stott’s four.  But, if Stott is right, Paul asks it with the same challenging spirit evident in the coming four.  So, having thought deeply about what Paul’s just written (especially Romans 8:1-30), what should (or, will) we say about “these things”?

Question 1: “If God is for us, who is against us?” (8:31:b).

“For” translates the Greek hupare.  Paul uses it again in 9:3—“For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people . . .”.  He uses it in the same sense here.  So we might say, “If God has so acted for our sake in Christ, who is against us?”  Or, to particularize, “If God works all things for our good to conform us to the glorious likeness of his Son, who can be against us?”

Well, a lot can be against us!  “ . . .tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter’” (8:35,36).  So, Paul doesn’t mean no one and no thing can be against us.  He means no one and no thing can beat us.  Since, God has acted for our sake in Christ (8:1-30), we can’t lose—no matter what.  God is our Protector.

Question 2:  “ . . . will he not with him also give us everything else?” (8:32b).

Here’s the whole verse: “He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?”

Paul is arguing logically, from the greatest to the least.  The greatest:  God did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for us all.  The least:  he will with him give us everything else.  Here’s John Piper’s explanation of Paul’s reasoning . . .

“The reason [God’s sparing not his own Son is] the greater thing is that God loved his Son infinitely. His Son did not deserve to be killed. His Son was worthy of worship by every creature, not spitting and whipping and scorn and torture. To hand over his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13) was the incomparably great thing. The reason for this is the immensity of God’s love for his Son. This is what made it so unlikely that God would hand him over. Yet God did it. And in doing it he showed that he most certainly would do all other things — all of which would be easy by comparison — to give all things to the people for whom he gave his Son.”

What is “everything else”?  It includes at least two glorious things both free from sin’s corruption and death’s decay:  a new, resurrected body and a new creation (8:18-23).

Question 3: “Who will bring any charge against God’s elect?” (8:33a).

Paul is not saying that no one will ever condemn us or charge us.  In fact, Satan does.  In Revelation 12:10, the apostle John hears a loud voice in heaven calling Satan “the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, [who] has been hurled down.”  This implies we are constantly accused before God, much like Satan accused Job (Job 1:9-11–“‘Does Job fear God for nothing?'” Satan replied.  ‘Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.'”

Paul is saying that no charge against God’s chosen ones will stick.  Because, “It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us” (8:33b,34).

Paul has already said that God has imputed Christ’s righteousness to us, so we are “right” before him.  Who can condemn us since God has justified us?  Not Satan.  Not our own sins.  Not an enemy.

Christ Jesus died.  He was raised.  And he’s at God’s “right hand” (metaphor for God’s place of sovereignty and dominion) interceding for us.

I heard Pastor Jack Arnold {http://www.religionnewsblog.com/10049/The-Preacher-Who-Died-With-Heaven-On-His-Lips) offer this illustration (my paraphrase) . . .

“I imagine standing before God on Judgement Day. He reviews all my sins, then asks, ‘What do you have to say for yourself?’  Jesus stands next to me and says, ‘I’ll take care of this.’  He says not another word, just holds out to the Judge his nail-scarred hands.”

Jesus paid it all.

Question 4: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” (8:35a).

Christ’s love is seen supremely in his sacrifice for us.  But will anyone or anything ever be able to sever us from his love?

“Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered’” (8:35b,36).

I understand “hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword” to be suffering that might make us presume we’re no longer in Christ’s love.  Does this hardship mean Christ no longer acts to me in love?

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:37-39).

“ . . . more than conquerors” is the NRS’ translation of hupernikao—“to be completely and overwhelmingly victorious.”  It’s a rout, a shut-out.  In all these things, however hard, we’re super-conquerors “through him who loved us.”  Christ Jesus is our means of conquering.

Paul makes this audacious conquer-claim because he’s convinced that . . .

  • “neither death (death brings us to Christ—Philippians 1:21-23),
  • not life (anything it throws at us),
  • nor angels, nor rulers (nothing in the spiritual realm, good or evil),
  • nor things present, nor things to come (not today’s circumstances, not tomorrow’s troubles),
  • nor powers (supernatural forces—Satan, demons),
  • nor height, nor depth (anything above the heavens or beneath the earth),
  • nor anything else in all creation (with these words Paul encompasses anything unsaid in the above list).

. . . absolutely nothing has the power (Greek, doonami) to set us apart from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

* * *

This Scripture deserves a 100-piece orchestra and huge choir singing its words so we could soak them into our soul as the music shakes the walls.  But here’s the best I can do for now.  I turn Paul’s questions into four defiant declarations of faith. . . .

“If God is for me, no one and no thing can succeed against me!”

“Since God gave up his Son for me, he will surely give me all things with him!”

“No one can ever condemn me, because I am one of God’s chosen, justified by Christ!”

“Absolutely nothing in all creation can ever separate me from God’s love in Christ Jesus my Lord!”