Romans 8:31-39 "God's Inseparable Love"

1:01And specifically, Paul asks, What then shall we say to these things? And these things refer to everything that he has taught so far in this long, important chapter. Everything about our suffering and our future glory, about the Holy Spirit praying for us and interceding for us, about the Father's good purpose to conform us to. The image of his Son Jesus. What then shall we say to these things? Well, friends, here is what Paul says to these things. Take a look on the screen. This is his conclusion to the chapter. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

1:53Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. But how do we know that? How do we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ? Well, Paul's going to communicate three truths in these verses. Again, take a look. These will be on the screen. The Father is gracious to us. The Father is satisfied with us, and the Son is interceding for us. That is how we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. The Father is gracious to us. The Father is satisfied with us, and the Son is interceding for us. So let's take a look now at verse 31, where we'll see that the Father is gracious to us.

2:46What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Now, when Paul asks the question, if God is for us, he's not Questioning whether God is actually for us. This is a logical argument. It's an if-then statement. So when he says, if God is for us, it carries the sense of, since God is for us, or because God is for us. And since God is for us, who can be against us?

3:24Most of us have probably seen the Avengers movie. I know it's Star Wars Day, but the Avengers movie back from 2012. At the end of that movie, Loki, the bad guy, the villain, is standing there talking to Iron Man, and he's convinced that he's going to win this war that he's waging. And he says, I have an army. And Iron Man responds, we have a Hulk. In the Marvel cinematic universe, if the Hulk is for you, who can be against you?

3:58And in real life, if God is for us, who can be against us? But how can we be sure? How can we be sure that God is really for us? It's one thing to say that. It's one thing to claim that God is for you. But how do we know that he is for us? Look at verse 32. 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?

4:39Paul says in verse 32 that the final proof, the unquestionable proof, the incontrovertible proof that God loves us and is for us is that he has graciously given up his only son for us. Friends, if you ever doubt whether God really is for you, remember that he did not spare his own son, but graciously gave him up for you. That is all that you need to know. In Genesis 22, God called Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, which we sang about a few moments ago.

5:24God calls him to give up his only son, Isaac, the son that he and Sarah had waited for and hoped for and prayed for their entire marriage. The son that they had waited for for 25 years after God promised that they would have a son. But Abraham obeyed God. He was prepared to sacrifice his son, his only son, in obedience to God. And the book of Hebrews tells us that Abraham reasoned that God was. Was able to raise him from the dead because Abraham knew that God would never break his promise.

6:08But I want you to look at what happens in Genesis 22. God intervenes and he says this to Abraham right as he's about to sacrifice his son. Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. How did God know that Abraham feared him? Because Abraham did not withhold his son, his only son from him.

6:45If you are willing to give up your one and only son, you are willing to give up anything. And how do we know that God is for us? Because God did not withhold his only son, but gave him up for us all. Abraham was only asked to be ready to give up his son. But friends, God actually did give up his only son for us all. Oh, brothers and sisters, God is for you. But do you believe that?

7:25Do you actually believe that God is for you? Not simply not against you, but lovingly, joyfully, gladly, wholeheartedly for you. Do you believe that? The hardest time to believe that is when we suffer. Think about children for a moment. When you have to discipline a child, or when you have to tell a child no, or when you have to tell a child you're going to have to suffer the consequences for your poor choices, what do children say?

8:10You don't love me. If you loved me, you would not allow this to happen to me. You wouldn't be doing this. The hardest time for children to believe that their parents are for them is when they are suffering. And the hardest time for us to believe that God is for us is when we are suffering. We ask, why am I suffering? Have I done something wrong? Is God not for me? Is he mad at me? Look how Peter answers this question in 1 Peter 4.

8:54Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you. You, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Our tendency in suffering is to conclude that we have done something wrong, that God is mad at us, that God is not for us, and that is why we're suffering. But, friends, Peter reminds us that we should not be surprised when we suffer or act like something strange is happening to us. We are going to suffer.

9:50That is part of life in this world. We are fallen people, surrounded by fallen people, living in a fallen world. Suffering is inevitable. But suffering does not mean that God is not for us. Suffering does not mean that God is mad at us or disappointed with us. And He proved that once and for all by graciously giving up His only Son for us all. Friends, the Father is gracious to us. But not only that, the Father is satisfied with us. Let's look now at verse 33.

10:35Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Now, this word charge means to bring a serious accusation against someone else, usually in a court of law. And so Paul is calling to mind the imagery of the courtroom. And the question is this, who shall bring any charge against God's elect? Well, who are God's elect? I want to remind you about our passage from last week. Look in your Bible back at verse 28.

11:16And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. Friends, who are God's elect?

11:55God's elect are the people that he loved and knew before the foundation of the world. Those that he chose and predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, those that he called out of darkness into light to be his people. So, who shall bring any charge against God's elect? Well, the answer should be obvious. If God knew and loved us from eternity past, if he chose and predestined us for sanctification, if he called us to be his people, no one can bring any charges against us, right?

12:39But that's not how it be. If you're a Christian, there are charges leveled against you all the time. Satan brings charges against you, others bring charges against you, and you bring charges against yourself. First, Satan brings charges against us. In Hebrew, Satan's name means accuser or adversary. Satan is in an adversarial relationship with us, he accuses us night and day. Zechariah 3 provides us a great picture of this. Take a look on the screen. Zechariah says, Then he showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, O Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you. Is not this a brand plucked from the fire? Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, Remove the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.

14:16What a picture. The high priest's job in Israel was to represent the people before God. And in this vision, Joshua represents us in our sin, in our filth, standing before the Lord. And what is Satan doing? He is doing what he always does, accusing, leveling charges against God's elect. And here's the thing: Satan is exactly right in his accusations. When he points out Joshua's sins, when he points out his filthy garments, when he tells God, this man has no right to stand. Before you, he's correct.

15:05But what does God do? He personally rebukes Satan. He reminds Satan that he himself chose his people, that Joshua is a brand plucked from the fire. Yes, Joshua's sin makes him filthy. Yes, he deserves to burn in the fire of hell for his sin. But God plucked him from the fire that he deserved. He took away Joshua's iniquity. He clothed him with pure vestments. That is what he does for all of us, for everyone who trusts in Christ. He plucks us from the fire and he washes us clean. Christian, you are plucked from the fire. You are washed clean.

15:57Satan brings charges against us, but those charges won't stick. Why not? Because it is God who justifies. Second, others bring charges against us. Happens all the time, doesn't it? Other people are quick to point out our sins, our faults, our flaws. They call us hypocrites. Not because we're pretending. To be people that we aren't, but simply because we aren't perfect. On a particular Sabbath day, Jesus came across a man who was born blind. And the disciples asked Jesus, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

16:50And Jesus says, neither one. He was born blind that the work of God might be displayed in him. So Jesus heals the man and then goes away, and the crowd brings him before the Pharisees. And the Pharisees say that Jesus can't possibly be from God because he doesn't keep the Sabbath. So the Pharisees get in this big debate with this man who has been healed, who is blind from birth and now sees, and the man is just dunking on him. He's like, Look, there's no way that Jesus could perform these miracles if he wasn't from God.

17:29And I want you to look at what these religious leaders say to this man. They answered him, You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us? And they cast him out. Think about that. Having religious leaders tell you, you Are a sinner. You will always be a sinner. God wants nothing to do with you. They don't even know this man, but they judge him and they throw him out of the synagogue. Look what happens next.

18:20Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered, And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? Jesus said to him, You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. He said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. Other people accused this man. The religious leaders told him, You will always be a sinner. God wants nothing to do with you.

18:55But what does Jesus do? He seeks this man. He finds this man. He reveals himself as the Savior, and he receives this man's worship. Friends, other people bring charges against us, but they won't stick. Why not? Because it is God who justifies. And third and finally, we bring charges against ourselves. Don't we? Especially those of us who are perfectionists, especially those of us who have soft and tender consciences, we bring charges against ourselves. We fall short and we think, here is the latest evidence that I am not worthy of God's love.

19:54How could God possibly love me? Can you relate to that? I think many of us, perhaps most of us, struggle to believe that God is for us, that He loves us, that we cannot lose His love. Our hearts need reassurance. And where do we go for that reassurance? Look on the screen at 1 John chapter 3. By this, we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him. For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything.

20:46How often does your heart condemn you? Weekly, daily, hourly? Friends, John writes these words to help you reassure your heart whenever it condemns you. John reminds us: here's the truth: God is greater than your heart, and he knows everything. Everything. He knew everything that you would think and say and do before you were ever born. He knew every sin that you would ever commit. And despite all of that, God knew you and loved you and chose you and predestined you to be conformed to the image of his Son. He called you to follow Jesus and be his disciple, his beloved child.

21:49Friends, we bring charges against ourselves, but even those charges won't stick because it is God who justifies. Christian, God is satisfied with you. At Jesus' baptism, the Father spoke from heaven and he said, This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Well pleased. God is satisfied with his Son, and you are included in the Son through faith. But many believe in the Son of God. Believers seem to think that God just kind of tolerates them.

22:35Sure, he may not send you to hell, but he's not super happy with you either. When you picture the face of Jesus, I wonder how you envision his expression. Is it one of delight, or is it one of disappointment, even disgust? God is well pleased with his son. He could not be happier with him, which means that he could not be happier with you, Christian, because you are in Christ through faith. Brothers and sisters, who can bring any charge against God's elect? No one, because it is God who justifies. The Father is gracious to us, the Father is satisfied with us. What a comfort and encouragement when our hearts need reassurance, when they condemn us, or when others condemn us, or when Satan condemns us.

23:52But there's still more good news. The Son Himself is interceding for us. Look at verse 34. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised? Who is at the right hand of God? Who indeed is interceding for us? This is nearly a repeat of the question in verse 33. Who shall bring any charge? Who is to condemn? No one. This is how Paul started the chapter. If you think back to Romans 8, 3, we are told in that verse, he condemned sin in the flesh. The Father condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be met in us. This is how he started the chapter. There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus died for our sins. Oh, but friends, he didn't just die for our sins. Remember Romans 4.25? Look on the screen. Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. In his death, Jesus bore our sins in his body. In his resurrection, he secured our justification, our right standing before God the Father. And now, because he is alive, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, always in the Interceding for you and me, always appealing for us, standing in the gap for us. Look at how God the Father portrays the Son's ministry in Hebrews 4.

25:44Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Jesus is our advocate. If Satan, the accuser, is the prosecuting attorney, Jesus, our advocate, is our defense attorney. And since that is true, we can draw near to the throne of grace with confidence. We will never be turned away because Christ is our advocate. He will make sure that we are never turned away. We will receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need, especially when we're suffering. O friends, do you believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is your advocate, not your accuser?

26:56He's always interceding for you, always seeking. At the right hand of God, speaking to the Father on your behalf, taking up your case. In our country, if you're accused of a crime and you can't afford a lawyer, the government will provide one for you, a person known as a public defender. And public defenders are often hard-working, kind-hearted people who work long hours for low pay to help folks who don't have a lawyer because they can't afford one.

27:33But no matter how good they are, no matter how noble their intentions, they're not going to win every case for their clients who may be innocent. Now, I want you to think about our situation before God. He is the great judge of all the earth, and we have to stand before him, every one of us, and give an account for every word that we've ever spoken, every thought we've ever had, every deed that we have done and left undone. We have to stand before the great judge, and we cannot defend ourselves. No one else is able to defend us either. But the judge's own son, Jesus Christ, steps forward to advocate for us on our behalf.

28:28Here's the thing: everybody in the world. That courtroom knows that we are guilty. We know that we are guilty. All of the observers know that we are guilty. Our lawyer knows we're guilty. And even the judge himself knows that we are guilty. It does not seem like the odds are in our favor to win this case. But here's what happens: Jesus, our defense attorney, pleads our case before the judge, who happens to be his father. He pleads our case not on the basis of our own merits, but on the basis of his perfect, sinless life.

29:11He asks the judge, his father, to punish him instead of us. He asks the judge for our record not only to be wiped clean, but for his perfect record to be substituted in its place. And the judge listens. On the basis of Jesus' perfect record and on the basis of his perfect sacrifice, the judge declares us not guilty and perfectly righteous. Brothers and sisters, who is to condemn us? Who is to bring any charge against God's elect? No one. It is God who justifies.

30:02The Father is gracious to us. The Father is satisfied with us, and the Son is interceding for us. And that means nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. And that's where Paul ends the passage. Look at verse 35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

30:49Oh, friends, when we suffer, these questions naturally arise in our hearts. Am I suffering because God doesn't love me? Because he's angry with me, because I've done something wrong. Has God abandoned me? Certainly not. And to remind us of that, Paul quotes Psalm 44. And you need to understand that in Psalm 44, the people of God are suffering not because they've done anything wrong. They have not forsaken God. They haven't turned to idols. They're not living in sin. They are just experiencing suffering because they are loyal to the Lord.

31:27And Paul wants us to know that. God has not abandoned his people. He will not abandon us either. Paul asks, who can separate us from the love of God in Christ? And then he names all of these terrible things. Can any of them separate us from God's love? Verse 37. No. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Oh, friends, the Father is gracious to us. He is satisfied with us. The Son is interceding for us. Therefore, in all of our suffering, we are more than conquerors. More than conquerors? What is more than a conqueror?

32:16That's exactly the point. Paul is sure that we are more than conquerors, that the battle is over and the victory is won. Look at verse 38. 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. Friends, nothing in creation can separate us from God's love. That is how high and deep and wide and long that the love Of God is for every one of us. That's how secure it is. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Not death or the impossibly difficult things that happen to us in this life. Not angels or demons or the powers that are at work in this universe. Not time or space. Nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God in Christ because we are united to Christ in faith.

33:30That is what Paul has been teaching all throughout the book of Romans: is that when we place our faith in Christ, we die with him. We rise with him, and now we are hidden in him for all of eternity. So nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Paul is sure about that. But my friend, are you sure? Are you sure of God's love for you in Christ Jesus? If not, what causes you to doubt?

34:09Is it your weak faith? Never forget that all of Jesus' disciples abandoned him the night that he was arrested. Peter denied him. Thomas said, I will never believe that he rose from the dead unless I touch the scars and see him with my own eyes. Is it your sin, past or present? Is that what causes you to doubt God's love for you? Oh, my friend, all of your sins were in the future when God chose you and when Jesus died and rose again for you.

34:55Is it your suffering? Is that why you doubt God's love for you? Friends, remember that all that Paul has been teaching is that our suffering is simply a prelude to the glory that we will experience when Jesus returns and we are fully and finally and forever adopted into his family and we receive our new perfect resurrection bodies. Jesus' death and resurrection on our behalf proves that God loves you and he is for you. The Father is gracious to you. He is satisfied with you. The Son is interceding for you so you can be sure that nothing can separate you from God's love. Not now, not ever.

35:47And if you aren't yet a Christian and you wonder if God could ever love you, if God could ever be for you. Then all you need to do is look to Jesus Christ. Look to Jesus Christ, who left all of the glory that he had with his Father in heaven and came down and took on flesh for you. Look to Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect, sinless life and yet went to the cross to suffer in your place and for your sins, who died for you and was buried for you. Look to Jesus Christ, who on the third day rose from the grave, defeating sin and its consequence death, once and for all. My friend, if you doubt that God could ever love you, if he could ever be for you, then just look to Christ. He gave everything for you to prove once and for all that he is for you. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, nothing can separate you from the love of God.

37:07So do it. Do it today. Don't put it off for another second this morning. Put your faith in Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection on your behalf and be assured once and for all that nothing could ever separate you from the love of God in Christ. Do it today. Let's pray Father, I am aware this morning that we are people who often feel condemned. We feel condemned by Satan and by other people and what they say about us, and perhaps most of all, we feel condemned by ourselves.

38:41And so, Lord, we are so glad, so thankful that you included these words in the Bible for us to read and soak in and delight in forever. Ever. That there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That you are gracious to us and satisfied with us, that your Son is interceding for us, and we know all of these things because you did not withhold your only Son, but you gave Him up for us all.

39:26God, I pray for every heart that is weary and discouraged. Would you strengthen hearts this morning with your great love for us? Would you minister to those who are especially downcast as they think about their weak faith or their sin or their suffering? And would you remind them that there is nothing they can do, nothing that they could leave undone that is going to make you love them less? Your love is secured by the finished work of Christ.

40:12Help us to believe that. And God, we pray for those among us who are not yet believers, men and women and children who perhaps have struggled for a long time to believe that you could ever love. Them, thinking there must be something that they've got to do to make themselves acceptable to you. God, would you reveal the truth to them this morning? Would you reveal your love to them this morning? Would you reveal your Son to them this morning? That they would look to Him and put their faith in Him once and for all, believing that because of Jesus, nothing could separate them from your love.

41:03God, we thank you for your word, we thank you for your Spirit. Minister to us through it and through Him. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the Sermon Audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.