Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of Christ

The Summit of Our Salvation

Allen Snapp

Grace Community Church

Oct. 27, 2024

Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of Christ

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 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? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 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. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ 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. Rom. 8:31-39

There was once a manager was trying to motivate a poorly performing sales rep to do a better job so he brought him into his office where he pointed to a map on the wall that had several colored push-pins in it, each pin representing a sales rep and their territory. The manager said, “I’m not going to fire you, Wilson, but I’m loosening your pin a little bit just to remind you how insecure your job is.”

If I had to sum up these verses in one word it would be “security”. When it comes to the Christian’s salvation, God doesn’t loosen our pin to motivate us to “do better”. In fact, there is no reference at all in this passage to what we do. It’s all about what Christ has done for us. Our security isn’t based on how well we perform, it’s based on the perfect work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.

Paul asks the question, what then shall we say to these things? He’s referring to the Golden Chain in vv. 28-30. All those God foreknew He predestined, all those He predestined He called, all those He called He justified, and all those He justified He also glorified. We went through those verses two weeks ago but talk about security, no one in this chain is lost. Paul is asking, what does this mean to us?

1. It means that God is for us

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Vs. 31

It means God is for us! Think about that: God isn’t against us, God is for us. He’s on our side, He’s cheering us on, pulling for us, wanting only the best for us.

And if God is for us, who can be against us? Actually there are many who can be against us! People can be against us. The devil, the enemy of our souls, is against us. But if God is for us, those against us will come to nothing. If God is for us, it doesn’t matter who is against us.

Now for us to live in the goodness of this truth we need to exercise faith and believe that God is for us.

It can be hard to believe that God is for us, especially if we focus on ourselves, knowing all our flaws and failures and sin. That’s why we need to take ten looks at Christ for every one look at ourselves. God isn’t for us cause we’re such top performers. He’s for us because we are in Christ.

One thing I’ve noticed about insecurity is that it reduces relationships to performance. Think about it, if you feel insecure when you’re around someone, you’re gonna try harder. You’re going to try to push the pin in deeper by performing better. Insecure people have a hard time being themselves because they’re trying to secure people’s opinions by trying harder to be what they think the other person wants.

Try to push the pin in deeper by being super-funny. Or always agreeable. Or really, really nice. Or deferential. Or a façade of super confidence. It can look different, but what it all has in common is we’re trying to be secure, push the pin in, by being what we think they want.

God says we don’t need to do that. God is for us – the real, honest, un-air-brushed version of us. With all our sins and failures and flaws. Our relationship with God isn’t secured by our performance, it’s secured by Christ. That’s what this entire chapter is about! Believe that God is for you!

2. It means we will never be condemned

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? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 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. Rom. 8:32-34

The greatest demonstration that God is for us is that He didn’t spare His Son but gave him up to die on the cross for us all. If God did that for us, we know God will also provide all we need to get by.

The next two questions really are the same: who will bring a charge against God’s elect? Who is to condemn? Actually there are a lot accusers and condemners. The voice of accusation and condemnation is all around us. The devil is called the “accuser of the brethren”. Accusing is what Satan does. He accuses us to ourselves and he accuses us before God. People sometimes accuse and condemn. And we accuse and condemn ourselves. We feel guilty, we feel unforgiven. Our consciences are weighed down with guilt.

Paul’s answer to accusation and condemnation isn’t “try harder to be good. Work harder to push that pin in so your standing with God is secure. Paul’s remedy for condemnation is 100% what Jesus did, not what we should do.

Those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ are God’s elect. What does “elect” mean? In a week and a half we will elect a new President – through voting we will choose our next President.

Elect means “chosen”. We are God’s elect – His chosen. Eph. 1:4 tells us that God chose us in Christ

before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. Blameless means there’s nothing to condemn, nothing to accuse. How can we as sinners be blameless? Because Jesus bore our blame on the cross. There’s no blame left. Amazing but true!

Jesus not only died, he rose from the dead – he’s alive! - and is right now interceding for us at the right hand of God. Vs. 26 says the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, verse 34 says Jesus is interceding for us. Jesus and the Spirit are interceding to God for us: Father, give him grace for this trial! Father, lead her through this deep valley! Father, comfort her in her time of loss. Father, provide all that he needs in this challenging situation. And you can bet God the Father hears those prayers!

3. It means nothing can separate us from the love of Christ

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ 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. Rom. 8:35-39

We see in Rom. 8 (and throughout scripture) that God will never fail us…but what if we fail Him? What if some unforeseen future event or choice we make separates us from Him forever?

What if the push-pin falls out, not because of anything God did, but because of something I did…or didn’t do? What if life coming at me is too much for me? Because one thing is for sure: being a Christian doesn’t exempt us from the hard things life can throw at us. In fact, Paul quotes from Ps. 44 saying that because we believe in Jesus we are being put to death. That was a very real possibility for the early Christians (we don’t face that so much today, but again greater to lesser: if God’s grace holds us in the face of death, how much more anything else life throws at us?).

Nope, in all these things we are more than conquerors. Not just conquerors, more than conquerors. Super-conquerors. No matter what life throws at us, we overcome! No matter how we get knocked down, we bounce back! No matter how life tries to pull the rug out from under us, we stand strong!

Paul wants us to believe the audacious promises of God here! You are more than a conqueror…believe that! Because without faith we might not be living in all the goodness of what Christ has achieved for us. It takes faith to grip the promises of God and apply them to our daily experience.

Cancun diamond bracelet – last February Janice’s sister Celia and husband Bill invited us to join them for a week at the resort they belong to. We didn’t pay for it, they paid for it using credits they had accumulated. So at no expense to us, the first thing they did when we arrived was wrap a wristband that said “diamond level” around our wrist. That wristband made virtually everything available to us just for the asking. We could go to any restaurant or coffee shop and order whatever we wanted and it cost us nothing. But we could have refused to believe all that was available to us and just ordered water and bread all week. All the while it had already been paid for in full! Jesus has purchased for us more than conqueror status – strap that super-conqueror wristband on and by faith access all the victory and overcoming Jesus purchased for you on the cross and at the resurrection!

The ultimate, unshakable, unbreakable victory is that we will be with Christ and God forever and nothing will ever separate us. Nothing can separate us, but what does that nothing include? Everything!

1. Nothing in human experience (neither death nor life)
2. Nothing in the spiritual realm (nor angels nor rulers)
3. Nothing in time (nor things present nor things to come)
4. No kind of power (power is the word dunamis – dynamite)
5. Nothing in space (nor height nor depth)
6. Nor anything else in all creation – just in case there’s something Paul forgot to mention!

What does nothing include? EVERYTHING!!

Nothing can separate us, nothing can sever us, nothing can remove us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Before the foundation of the world He adopted us in love. God doesn’t love isn’t based on anything in us (which could change) or anything around us (which could change). God loves us because He loves us and nothing can change that and nothing can ever, ever, ever separate us from His love that is ours through Christ our beautiful Savior.

Application: if you are a believer slap that “God is for you, you’re more than a conqueror” wristband on by faith and live in the goodness of all that Jesus has purchased for you. You aren’t a pin hanging tenuously to God’s grace. You are secure in the love of God!

Salvation call

If you’re not a Christian, these wonderful promises aren’t yours yet but they could be by simply putting all your faith and trust in Christ as your Savior. The Bible says that because we are sinners we are under the condemnation and judgment of God. No one is righteous, no not one. But Jesus came to save us from our sin and paid the full price when he died on the cross.

God is working on your heart. Your part is to believe. Believe in Jesus. Reach out to him with arms of faith and say, “Jesus I need you! Be mine! Come into my life! Save me!”