NOTHING
The title of my message today is Nothing. An interesting title. Does it mean I have nothing to talk about?
No, that's not it. There are 22 verses in the Bible about nothing! I am going to talk about one of these nothings today.
Romans 8:31-39 NLT
Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us, whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:31–39 Paul ends this chapter by emphasizing how believers can look forward to Christ’s ultimate victory over earthly suffering and supernatural oppression. God’s plan of salvation has resulted in total victory. Nothing on heaven or earth can separate believers from the love of God in Christ
I want to take a few minutes and go through these verses. I will be referring to the notes in the Zondervan NIV Study Bible.
v. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? If. The “if” here does not imply that there is any uncertainty or conditions attached. It means since God is for us, nothing can stand against us. There is that keyword again: “nothing”.
If God be for us, who can be against us? —If God be resolved and engaged to bring us through, all our enemies must be His; and “Who would set the briers and thorns against Him in battle? He would go through them. He would burn them together” (Is 27:4). What strong consolation is here! Nay, but the great Pledge of all has already been given; for,
v. 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
The argument (from the greater to the lesser) here is similar to Romans 5:9-10. If God gave the supreme gift of his son to save us, he will certainly also give whatever is necessary to bring to fulfillment the work begun at the cross. See Gen. 22:16 note
v.33 & 34 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
A court of law is in mind. No charge can be brought against Christians because in Christ their penalty has been paid and their sentence has been served.
Jesus’ death accomplished the justification of believers.
Who then is the one who condemns? Echo’s the language of Isaiah 50:9: “it is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.” Paul gives three reasons why no one can condemn God’s people: (1) Christ died for us; (2) Christ is alive and seated at the right hand of God, the position of power. (3) Christ is interceding for us.
Vv. 35-39 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake, we face death all day long;
We are considered 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 convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul shows his readers that suffering does not separate believers from Christ but actually carries them along toward their actual goal.
In verse 36, Psalms 44:22 is quoted to show that suffering has always been part of the experience of God’s people.
Verse 37, who loved us is referring especially to Christ’s death on the cross.
Neither height nor depth in v. 39. It is impossible to get beyond God’s loving reach (Eph 3:17-19). Nor anything else in all creation includes all created things. Only God is not included, and he is the one who has justified us.
Matthew Henry in his commentary about these verses, writes:
In general, here, the Apostle Paul makes a challenge, throws down the gauntlet, as it were, dares all the enemies of the saints to do their worst: If God be for us, who can be against us? The ground of the challenge is God’s being for us; in this, he sums up all our privileges. This includes all that God is for us; not only reconciled to us, and so not against us, but in covenant with us, and so engaged for us—all his attributes for us, his promises for us. All that he is, and has, and does, is for his people. He performs all things for them. He is for them, even when he seems to act against them. And, if so, who can be against us, so as to prevail against us, so as to hinder our happiness? Be they ever so great and strong, ever so many, ever so might, ever so malicious, what can they do? While God is for us, and we keep in his love, we may, with a holy boldness, defy all the powers of darkness. Let Satan do his worst; he is chained; let the world do its worst, it is conquered: principalities and powers are spoiled and disarmed, and triumphed over, in the cross of Christ. Who then dares fight against us, while God himself is fighting for us? And this we say to these things, this is the inference we draw from these premises.
The following is from the Theology of Work Bible Commentary:
God is for us, says Paul, having given his own Son for “all of us” (Rom. 8:31–32). Nothing is able to come between us and the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35–39). “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” (Rom. 8:38–39). Many of these things seem to threaten us in the sphere of work. We face menacing or incompetent bosses (rulers). We get stuck in dead-end jobs (things present). We make sacrifices now—working long hours, taking classes after work, serving in low-paid internships, moving to another country looking for work—that we hope will pay off later but may never pan out (things to come). We lose our jobs because of economic cycles, regulations or unscrupulous actions by powerful people we never even see (powers). We are forced by circumstance, folly, or the crimes of others into degrading or dangerous work. All these things can do us real hurt. But they cannot triumph over us.
Christ’s faithfulness—and ours, by God’s grace—overcomes the worst that life and work can do to us. If career progress, income, or prestige is our highest goal at work, we may end up disappointed. But if salvation—that is, reconciliation with God and people, faithfulness, and justice—is our chief hope, then we will find it amid both the good and bad in work. Paul’s affirmations mean that no matter what the difficulties we encounter with our work, or the complexities and challenges we face with co-workers or superiors in our workplaces, the love of God in Christ always abides with us. The love of God in Christ is the steadying force in the midst of adversity now, as well as our hope for bodily redemption in the future.
In this section, Paul returns to the big ideas he introduced in verses 16–17 before putting them aside to address the issue of suffering in verses 17–30. We now understand that we will face suffering and hardship in the short term, but that all things will be restored as part of God’s larger plan. Most of us in North America live a pretty tame existence compared to Paul and the other first-century Christians. In 2 Corinthians 11:24–28, Paul provides a lengthy list of the perils he faced. Even so, he remained confident of God’s continuing presence and guidance in his life. Rather than viewing these trials as signs of abandonment, Paul attributes them to life in a fallen creation that awaits final redemption. He makes this point in Romans 8:31–36.
His rhetorical question in verse 31 introduces the big idea for this section. “These things” refers back to sufferings addressed in the preceding section. The rhetorical question “what” points forward to the claim in the second half of the verse. Note that Paul is not claiming that we won’t face opposition; instead, he almost assumes it. The more important question is what will happen to that opposition since God is for us.
It is natural to be anxious in the face of trials, tribulations, and opposition. Despite our fear and anxiety, we need to rest in what we know. God is for us. He knew us before we even came into existence. He predestined and called us. He has justified us and will finish the job of glorifying us. God has a larger plan of seeing His Son glorified, part of which depends on us being conformed to His image (8:29). Based on these truths, why would God ever leave us? His plan depends on staying with us, on working all things together for the good of those who love Him (8:28). We cannot allow the opposition we might face to make us doubt or forget how committed God is to His plan for us. Paul drives this point home by recharacterizing God as “He who did not spare his own Son but gave Him up for us” (8:32 leb).
Paul lists a number of things that could cause us to fear that we might lose or be excluded from God’s protective care. But if God was willing to give His own Son to die for us, why would He scrimp on providing things we need (8:32)? Although we continue to struggle with the presence of sin in our lives, we must remember that we have peace with God as a result of justification by faith (5:1). Who could bring a charge against God’s elect and make it stick? No one. The accuser does not have the power to judge or justify; God alone has that authority (8:33). The same holds true for condemnation (8:34). The penalty has been paid; sin and death have been conquered through Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Nothing can undo His sacrifice or reinstate the death sentence we once faced.
Separation Anxiety: Can anything separate us from the love of God? Paul lists potential barriers before triumphantly declaring that nothing can separate us from God.
Affliction, distress, persecution, hunger and need, danger: All of these are natural consequences of life in a yet-to-be-fully-redeemed world, but they have no bearing whatsoever on God’s favour and love for us. No matter the circumstances, despite how we might feel, we must steadfastly rest in the truth that God is with us and for us. Nothing can separate us from His love.
In fact, rather than the trials and opposition overcoming us or separating us from the love of Christ, the opposite is true. In 8:37, Paul makes the audacious claim that we prevail—that we are more than conquerors. How can this be? It is not because the trials and suffering disappear in the short term; they don’t and won’t. Rather, Paul’s claim is based on the bigger picture outlined in Romans 8. All things work together for good—not by avoiding the hardships—but by God guiding all things to accomplish His purposes. Since nothing can separate us from the love of God, and since no one can make an accusation stick against one of God’s elect, the short term doesn’t matter. We may suffer, be imprisoned, even be killed. But the God who was faithful enough to us to send His only Son will remain committed to finishing the job. Present battles indicate nothing about the overall war. God has already won—it is simply a matter of faithfully following Him as He does what He has promised—working all things together for good according to His larger plan. So when you feel tempted to be anxious about your status with God, instead, remember the bigger picture.
I really like the way Eugene Peterson wrote Romans 8:31-39 in The Message:
Romans 8:31-39 The Message
31-39 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us! —is in the presence of God at this very moment, sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
I read the following from a book titled: The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning:
The question the gospel of grace puts to us is simply this: Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? What are you afraid of?
Are you afraid that your weakness could separate you from the love of Christ? It can’t.
Are you afraid that your inadequacies could separate you from the love of Christ? They can’t.
Are you afraid that your inner poverty could separate you from the love of Christ? It can’t.
Difficult marriage, loneliness, anxiety over the children’s future? They can’t.
Negative self-image? It can’t.
Economic hardship, racial hatred, street crime? They can’t.
Rejection by loved ones or the suffering of loved ones. They can’t.
Persecution by authorities? They can’t.
Nuclear war? It can’t?
Mistakes, fears, uncertainties? They can’t.
The Gospel of grace calls out. Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing!
In the NLT translation, the Apostle Paul says: 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.
You must be convinced of this, trust it, and never forget to remember. Everything else will pass away, but the love of Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Faith will become vision, hope will become possession, but the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death endures forever.
In the end, it is the one thing you can hang onto.
So, to recap, what can separate us from God?........ That’s right, nothing!
If you are here today or watching online, and want the love of Christ that I have been talking about today is the day. Today is the day to ask Jesus Christ to come into your life. As the bible tells us in Romans 10: 9-10, 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Do this today and you too will have all the love, grace, forgiveness and joy that only Jesus can give you!
