God’s Everlasting Love
Do you feel loved today? Loved by God?
I have one impossible goal in this email: to show you how much God loves you. His is not a fickle love that fades if we don’t do our part, but a deep, enveloping love that never wavers.
But first, a question. Do you love God? We are commanded to. Jesus called it the greatest commandment (see Luke 10:27), drawn from the Shema in Deuteronomy 6. Yet it is a bit of a trick question, because we can only love God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, we love Him because He first loved us (see 1 John 4:19).
As we conclude our series on Romans 8, Paul brings us to the most comforting passage in the Bible. He asks five questions that have no answer.
If God Is For Us
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). If Paul had simply asked, “who can be against us”, we would have a long list: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, danger, sword (v. 35). We face opposition from Satan, the world, our own weak flesh, and sometimes even other believers. It can be overwhelming.
But notice the little word “if.” This is a conditional promise. If you are a child of God, led by the Spirit, adopted, predestined and justified, then nothing in all creation, including the powers of hell, will prevail against you. We may suffer setbacks, sickness, and loss, but they are temporary. God works all things for our good and His glory.
The Gift of the Son
Verse 32 asks, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
Many of you live paycheck to paycheck. Many raise support for ministry, trusting the Lord with the future. When the bills are due and the pressure is on, doubt creeps in (see Philippians 4:19).
Paul removes the doubt by pointing to the cross. God didn’t write a check from His eternal bank account to pay for our salvation; He gave everything. Having given His Son, how will He not also give us what we need? The cross is the guarantee of His continuing generosity.
Accused but Not Condemned
The next two questions sound alike but are different. “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (v. 33). “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died… who indeed is interceding for us” (v. 34).
The name Satan means “accuser.” An accusation claims that someone did wrong; condemnation is the final verdict and sentence. Imagine standing in court, charged with the sins of your past. The prosecutor makes his case, and every time, our Advocate stands and says, “I paid for that already, and I have the receipts.”
The accusers are many: our past, our own minds, enemies who delight in pointing out our flaws. But none of it stands in light of our position in Christ (see Isaiah 50:8-9).
And condemnation? Satan whispers, “You haven’t done enough, given enough, or loved your family well enough.” But he has no authority to judge. Only Jesus judges our lives, and his Word says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Who is there to condemn? There is no answer.
Who Shall Separate Us?
The final question is the best of all. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (v. 35). Paul lists seven threats, then quotes the psalmist: “For your sake we are being killed all the day long” (v. 36).
“For your sake.” Believers knew their suffering came from following Jesus. Don’t let anyone tell you the Christian life is one of ease; that is a lie from hell. Jesus promised trouble (see John 16:33). Today, more Christians are being killed for their faith than at any time in history. In Nigeria alone, no fewer than 3,083 Christians were killed between January and August this year.
Then comes verse 37: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” More than conquerors! We don’t merely endure; we conquer. How? Through Him who loved us.
Paul closes with a crescendo: “For I am sure 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” (vv. 38-39).
The Sun Behind the Clouds
“I am sure,” says Paul. Are you? Our confidence is not in our love for Him or our good works, but in what He has done and promised.
Think of the sun. It rises every day, shining on the just and the unjust, whether we notice or not. Then the clouds roll in, and in a strong storm, it may feel like the sun is gone. But it is still there, still burning, still holding the solar system together. The clouds don’t stop the sun; they only block your view.
God’s love is like that. In storms of discouragement, guilt, grief, sickness, or loss, it can feel as though His love is distant or conditional. But feelings don’t change facts. Not even your own doubt can separate you from His love. It doesn’t flicker like a candle; it blazes like the sun.
Do you know the love of Jesus? Have you fully trusted Him for your salvation, and are you being led by the Spirit?
God loves you with a supernatural love, and if you are His child, nothing in all creation will be able to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.