Paul brings the 8th chapter of Romans to a great crescendo, as he challenges anyone or anything in all of God’s universe to separate a child of God from His love. Nothing can!
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Who Will Separate Us From The Love Of Christ?
Romans 8:35-39
Can anyone or anything separate a true child of God from God’s invincible love? Can anything abort God’s sovereign purpose of salvation toward His elect? Can a born again believer walk away from Christ, reject Him, and forfeit his salvation? This has been a hotly debated topic within the Church for hundreds of years, and probably will be until Christ returns. I know that some probably believe the opposite of what I’m going to teach, namely, that a born again believer can forfeit his salvation. And, to tell you the truth, I sympathize with your position. Why? Because there are texts in the Bible that sound like that. In fact, there are texts that different Christians use that seem to support each view. I spent the first 12 years of my Christian life believing that Christians could lose their salvation.
However, my job as a Bible teacher is to do my very best to seek to understand and interpret Scripture as well as I possibly can, and then communicate it as clearly as I can. And that is exactly what I will do this morning. I would just ask that you listen with an open mind, be a Berean, and examine everything carefully to see whether these things are so.
Let’s get a running start on our passage. Paul is in the second half of Romans 8 in which he is emphasizing present suffering and future glory. The passage begins in 8:18 and runs through 8:39. Starting in verse 28, Paul begins to emphasize the rock solid security of the believer in God’s invincible love. We learn in verse 28 that the Christian has been called according to God’s purpose. Well, what is that purpose? We discover that it has to do with God’s foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification and glorification. In fact, Paul teaches that every person who is called is justified. Therefore, God’s call precedes and brings about our salvation, because we are justified by faith. Not only that, but verse 31 tells us that God is for us! And, because that is true, no one can successfully be against us.
In verses 33 and 34, Paul points to people who might be able to do something to abort God’s purpose of salvation in our lives. Are there any people who can bring a charge against God’s elect, and thus cause them to forfeit their justification? Are there any people who can condemn God’s people, so that they forfeit their justification? The obvious answer is No! Why? Because God is the one who justifies, and He is the supreme judge of the universe. No one can go over His head and reverse His decision. Further, Jesus Christ has done everything necessary to deliver us from condemnation by dying in our place, rising from the dead to prove that His death has set us free from sin, ascending to God’s right hand with the supreme power over all, and interceding for His people that they all be brought home to heaven. No, there is no persons that can unjustify a person whom God has justified.
But what about circumstances? Are there any circumstances which can cause us to walk away from Christ, and reject Him, so that we are eternally lost? That is what Paul will deal with here in Romans 8:35-39.
Paul begins this chapter with “no condemnation” (8:1), and he ends it with “no separation” (8:39). These last five verses of the chapter are like the great climactic ending of the Hallelujah Chorus. The entire symphony joins together in ear-splitting volume to make the final triumphant refrain.
This morning we are going to look at Paul’s Great Question, and then his Great Answer.
1. The Great Question
Paul states the general question first, and then he breaks it down into seven specific questions. The general question is, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” This “love of Christ” is not our love for Christ, but His love for us. We know that because of verse 37 which says, “we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Paul’s great point in this section is to give us assurance of our final salvation. If he had pointed to our love for Christ, we wouldn’t have any assurance, because how do we know whether our love for Christ will always or ever be enough? But by pointing to God’s love for us in Christ, we have perfect assurance. In verse 35 he speaks of the love of Christ, and in verse 39 he speaks of the love of God. The reason he can switch them around is because Christ is God, and so the love of Christ and the love of God are synonymous.
Paul has been telling us over and over of the love of God.
It is because of God’s love for us that He causes all things to work together for our good.
It is because of God’s love for us that He foreknew us, predestined us, called us, justified us, and will glorify us.
It is because of God’s love for us that He is for us.
It is because of God’s love for us that He did not spare Christ but delivered Him up for us all.
It is because of God’s love for us that He will freely give us all things.
It is because of God’s love for us that He has justified us.
It is because of God’s love for us that Christ died, rose, ascended, and intercedes for us.
Do you see how great and sweeping and marvelous God’s love for His people is?! However, if anyone or anything can separate us from that love, all is lost. So the great question is whether that can ever happen. So, at this point, Paul switches from his general question and gets specific. He takes the general question of whether anyone or anything can ever separate us from the love of Christ, and begins to ask specific questions of whether this or that circumstance can separate us from the love of Christ. Paul brings up some of the most horrendous situations we might ever find ourselves in, to question whether something that bad might be the thing that will separate us from Christ’s love. Let’s look at them. There are seven in all.
Tribulation. This word is talking about pressure from without. Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Paul said in Acts 14:22, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” He also wrote in Romans 5:3, “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance.” Tribulations are a normal part of the Christian life. We will all face many of them on our Christian journey. Can these tribulations separate us from the love of Christ?
Distress. This word is the flip side of tribulations. Tribulations speak of pressure from without, and distress speaks of pressure within. When we face pressure on the outside, we react to it on the inside. And usually we react in negative ways, like fear, anxiety, panic, dread, or anger. Can this inward distress that we feel separate us from the love of Christ?
Persecution. The word for persecution literally means “to pursue someone to harm them.” It speaks of the verbal or physical abuse that others heap on a follower of Christ, because of their allegiance to Jesus. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 5:10-12, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Can the persecution that we face because of Christ separate us from the love of Christ?
Famine. Wait a minute, Brian. Are you telling me that God might allow one of His own children to go through a famine, and experience suffering of hunger or even starvation? Yes, that’s exactly right. God will take care of us and support us and protect us in this life until His purpose for us has been accomplished, and then He will take us home. But we have no guarantee that our homegoing will be without pain. Do we really believe that no Christians suffered in the Irish potato famine of 1845-1850? That’s wishful thinking. Do we really think that no Christians suffer in the great famines in Africa? Again, that is wishful thinking. God has not promised to protect Christians from earthly suffering. He has promised to be with them in their suffering and to provide the grace they need to glorify Him in the midst. Can famine separate us from the love of Christ?
Nakedness. Paul is speaking of lack of adequate clothing. This is to be so poor that you can’t clothe yourself. In some countries in certain times, if you are a Christian you can’t get a job to feed and clothe your family, and become destitute.
Peril. This is talking about danger because of your commitment to Christ. Jim Elliot and four other missionaries faced perils because of his commitment to bring the gospel to the Aucan Indians. They were speared to death in their efforts to win them to Christ. Any Christian who seeks to evangelize Muslims in their own country faces severe danger. Any Christian who converts from Islam to Christianity faces the danger of beheading. So, my friends, can perils separate us from the love of Christ?
Sword. The sword refers to martyrdom for Christ. Christians have faced terrible deaths because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. In the first century, they were torn to shreds by wild beasts, crucified, and beheaded for Christ. As the centuries rolled on, man invented even uglier ways to torment believers. Many were burned at the stake. Others were buried alive. Others shot to death. Can these terrible sufferings separate us from the love of Christ?
It is important to note that Paul is not speaking as an armchair theologian in some far off ivory tower. No, the apostle actually endured the first six of these as he wrote this epistle, and he would face the sword and die as a martyr for Christ. Listen to what he writes in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27, “Are they servants of Christ? — I speak as if insane — I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” When Paul wrote Romans 8:35, he was speaking of personal experience!
Then, to support Paul’s position that believer have always faced suffering because of their faith, Paul quotes Psalm 44:22, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” The psalmist was crying out to God to deliver Israel in their time of distress. Paul’s point is that this is nothing new. This has been the lot of all of God’s people for all time. Brothers and sisters, we should not marvel if the world hates us.
Application: The love of Christ does not remove Christians from suffering. Two things are evident in this passage. One is that God loves His people. That just oozes throughout 8:28-39. The second is that Christians face suffering in this world. So, how do we put those two things together. If God loves us, wouldn’t He make sure we didn’t have to face any suffering? No! When my firstborn son was only a few months old, he could very sick, and the doctors thought he might have meningitis. The doctors had to give him a spinal tap, where the doctors had to insert a hollow needle in his lower back to remove fluid in order to find out if he had meningitis or not. When the doctors inserted that needle into his spine, he screamed and cried in great pain. Now, I loved my son. So, did I refuse to allow the doctor to do the spinal tap? No, I gave him my permission, because I loved him. God allows suffering in the lives of His beloved children, not because He doesn’t love them, but because it is necessary for the great work He is doing in their lives.
Brothers and sisters, never look at your circumstances to determine whether God loves you or not. Don’t look at how much money you have, or the kind of home you live in, or the car you drive, or the job you work at. If you want to know if God loves you, look at the cross of Christ! “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
So there is the Great Question. Paul lists seven of the most severe forms of suffering that a believer may experience in this life, and asks whether any of them will separate us from the love of Christ.
2. The Great Answer
8:37 “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Paul’s answer is that we are not defeated in these sufferings. Rather we are conquerors. No, that’s not even true. We are “super-conquerors.” This may be a word that Paul coined himself, as we don’t find it anywhere else in Scripture.
The KJV says “We are more than conquerors”
The NASB says “we overwhelmingly conquer”
These sufferings don’t defeat us. We defeat them. And it is even better than that. A conqueror is someone who defeats his enemy. A super-conqueror defeats his enemy and then makes his enemy serve his own interests. We are super-conquerors in two different ways. The first is that not only do these sufferings not separate us from the love of Christ. They drive us closer to Christ! They make us more dependent on Christ, not less. They purify us and cause us to develop perseverance and character. Secondly, we are super-conquerors because these sufferings actually increase our eternal rewards. In 2 Corinthians 4:17 Paul wrote, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” Did you hear that? Note the contrasts. Paul contrasts momentary with eternal, and light with weight, and affliction with glory. He actually says that our present, light afflictions are producing an eternal weight of glory. And this glory is far beyond all comparison with our afflictions. In other words, we are super-conquerors because our sufferings don’t separate us from Christ, but instead lay up heavenly and eternal treasures for us.
For I am convinced. Now, I find this really interesting. As Paul draws his great argument on the security of the Christian to a final climax, he tells us that he is convinced about something. In other words, he has no doubt about what he is about to tell us. He is persuaded. He says essentially the same thing in Philippians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Again in 2 Timothy 1:12 Paul says “I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” If Paul was convinced about this truth, you and I should be convinced too. So, what was Paul convinced about? He begins mentioning things in pairs that we might think could separate us from God’s love. Let’s look at them.
Death and Life. Can death separate us from love of Christ? Absolutely not! To die is gain. To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord. In Psalm 23 it says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” What about life? Life presents all kinds of temptations, difficulties, worries, pleasures, troubles, pains, and sorrows. There is much in life that we might be afraid will separate us from Christ’s love. But to live is Christ! In Romans 14:8 Paul says, “if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” No, neither death nor life can separate us from the love of Christ!
Angels and Principalities. Angels probably refers to holy angels, and principalities probably refers to evil spirits. Why in the world would a holy angel separate us from the love of Christ? Well, of course, they wouldn’t. But even if they tried, they couldn’t. What about Satan and his demons? Angels and demons have great power. Angels destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone. One destroying angel killed all the firstborn throughout the land of Egypt in a single night. One angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in a single night. Even if all the great angels of heaven were to unite all their spiritual power to try to separate the youngest, weakest child of God, they would all utterly fail. It is as impossible as one of us trying to stop the sun from shining in the morning. And neither can Satan and all his evil host. They can hurl every cunning and deceptive temptation against the most backslidden Christian, but he will utterly fail. He may be able to weaken our love for the Lord, but he can never weaken the Lord’s love for us! Satan might be given permission to sift Peter like wheat, but the Lord prays for Him and he is kept by the power of God! Can angels or demons separate us from the love of Christ? Never!
Things Present or Things to Come. Think about things present – all of the problems and worries you are facing now. Nothing that is going on in your life right now can separate you from the love of Christ, I don’t care what it is, or how severe the trial. It might the stress of a wayward child, a marriage that is on the brink of divorce, bankruptcy or the loss of a job. What about things to come? What about the great falling away and persecution of the church before Christ returns? What about the coming of Christ in all His glory? What about the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment of billions of people, the passing of heaven and earth, the earth and its works burnt up, and the separation of all mankind into the sheep and the goats. Can any of those future things separate us from the love of Christ? Never!
Powers. This one is odd, because it doesn’t occur in a pair like the rest, and it is uncertain as to what it refers to. It may be another term for principalities (evil spirits). Or, it could refer to the miraculous. We are told in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 of the “lawless one, whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with the deception of wickedness for those who perish.” Jesus said in Matthew 24:24, “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” I like that – “if possible”! He puts that in because it is not possible! I was almost sucked into a cult soon after my conversion – the Moonies. I spent a 3 day weekend in one of their proselytizing conferences. But the Lord was gracious to deliver me. If you are one of God’s children, He won’t allow you to be deceived and damned by the lies of the enemy.
Height or Depth. There is no place we can go where we can be separated from God’s love. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 139:7-8, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.” However, high we go or however low we go, we can never be separated from God’s love.
Nor any other created thing. There are a great many Christians who will agree with everything I have said. They will say, “Brian, I agree. You are absolutely right. Nothing can ever separate us from the love of Christ. He holds us in the palm of His hand, and no one can snatch us out of it. But we can jump out!” My friend, that will just not work. Paul says that “no other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God.” Are you a created thing? Of course you are! Paul is saying that we should consider everything that is not God. All of that is a created thing. And none of it will separate us, including ourselves. And God won’t separate Himself from us. Therefore we are eternally and absolutely secure in His love!
Conclusion
John Chrysostom, one of the early church’s great preachers, at one point was brought before the Empress, Eudoxia.
She said, “I will banish you.” You cannot banish me, for this world is my Father’s house.”
“But I will kill you,” said the empress. “No, you cannot, for my life is hid with Christ in God,” said John.
“I will take away your treasures.” “No, you cannot, for my treasure is in heaven and my heart is there.”
“But I will drive you away from your friends and you will have no one left.” “No, you cannot, for I have a Friend in heaven from whom you cannot separate me. I defy you, for there is nothing you can do to harm me.”
When we really understand what Paul is saying, it will make us bold, and confident and secure in God’s love, and will enable us to face our sufferings and overcome them, and turn them into our slaves. When we know that nothing will ever be able to separate us from God’s love, nothing can stop us. In the final analysis it is not my hold on God that is all-important. It is His hold on me! And His grip will never be broken. No one or no thing in all the universe can break His grip on His children. Child of God, believe that! Let it produce a steel backbone in you, so that whatever you find yourself going through, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God loves you, is working all things together for you, has chosen you, predestined, you, called you, justified you and will glorify you. Nothing can possibly separate you from God’s love, unless they can unGod God and topple Him from His throne! My friends, sink your roots deep into the sovereign, almighty, unchanging love of God for His people, and you will never be moved!
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