Romans 8:31-39

KJV

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 

Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Main Points: This section comes after Paul’s exhortation that God will glorify those He adopts, so any suffering simply will not compare to the glory. And we can rely on this gospel! He puts God/Jesus in the seat of ultimate authority. It ends his life/death dissertation (chaps. 5-8). He completely associates himself with this sentiment since it looks to God/Jesus for answers to our lives.

23. Looking at verses 31-32, what exactly is God going to give us because He is for us and did not spare His own Son? “All things.”  No doubt, “all things” as pertains to Godliness, a more spiritual life, freedom from sin/law, justification, faith, grace, mercy, holiness, sanctification, eternal life, heirs with Christ. All those things he has been alluding to!

24. Can charges be brought against God’s elect? (33) How does God solve the problem? No. God is the one who justifies! This is a direct statement against those attempting to bind the old laws on Christians. ANY system of law for that fact.

25. Who can bring a condemnation against us? (34) Extending verse 33 – No one can condemn the Christian (before God). We are brothers and sisters of the Son! Paul makes an authoritative play with words by putting Jesus at the right hand of God. Jesus speaks for us before the King….who would look to accuse anyone in that position?

26. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? No one and nothing. This language raises the question of the level of possible suffering Christians were facing at this time. No doubt, the Jewish leaders has not adopted Christianity and fought it at the governmental/religious levels. In Rome and surrounding areas, it became financially perilous to be Christian as well. Eventually Christianity became a death sentence. Paul addresses persecution as a possibility, but inconsequential to the love of God. God’s love in the Christian life is just more important than any physical suffering.

27. What point is Paul driving at with these rhetorical questions? The immediate encouragement cannot be ignored. God loves His children and nothing can change that. To the Jewish listener, Paul uses terms they recognize: “God’s elect”   “justified”  “right hand of God”  “(nothing) shall be able to separate us from the love of God”. These are things the Jews would value and have a history of wanting. He finishes it with “which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” He is purposefully associating Jesus and God. The implication is “this is where we need to be, stop teaching adherence to law.”

We must note Paul’s use of personal pronouns. He really makes sure to let them know when what he says is good: us/we  vs. when things are wrong – they, them, you.

Chap. 1 “they” focus on Gentiles

Chap. 2-3a  “you” focus on Jews

Chap. 3b “We” Jews-Gentiles by faith

Chap. 4 – Faith/grace – Abraham

Chaps 5-8 – “We, Us, Our” 

5- We have been justified by faith, …access by faith into this grace in which we stand,  we rejoice in hope …, we rejoice in our sufferings, hope does not put us to shame, …God’s love has been poured into our hearts, …the Holy Spirit who has been given to us, … we have been justified by his blood,  ….we shall  be saved from the wrath of God, while we were still enemies we were reconciled,  we will be saved by His life, we rejoice in God through Jesus through whom we have received reconciliation.

6- What shall we say, are we to continue in sin,  we died to sin, all of us have been baptized into Christ, we were buried with Him, ….as Christ rose from the dead we too might walk in newness,  we have been united with Him in death…we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection. We know our old self was crucified with Him, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. If we died with Christ, we will also live with Him. We know Christ….will never die again.

YOU must consider yourselves dead to sin (and alive to God). For the remainder of chapter 6 Paul references his audience as you and your ….because they were slaves of sin (16).

7- Paul continues with YOU for those who want to practice law/sin (5). He interjects “we” statements when addressing being released from law(6)

8- More me/we/us vs. they  - “Jesus made me free from sin” “….righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us”   “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” etc