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Real Questions about God’s Love
Romans 8:31-39
We have been told in Romans 8 that through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are God’s children. And I think that, just like little children with their earthly parents, our comprehension of the reality of God’s love is awfully limited.
I think that most of the time, my three children have no real comprehension of the depth of my love for them. They don't know that I would do anything for their good. They don't know that I would lay my life on the line for them. It seems that, recently, my kids are more often upset with me than not. As I try to lead them into making good decisions, away from harm, and try to strengthen their faith, they fight me; they hold it against me that I am trying to do them good. They only want things
their way. And when they don’t get want they want, even if it would do them harm, they pout.
And when I reflect on my relationship with God in light of that, I go, “Ahhh!” Now I get it! I don’t think our little minds can comprehend the depth of the love of God our heavenly Father. When all seems against us in the world, we feel that God is not for us, and we pout. We do not value what God
has given us, and instead demand what we want. And we pout when we don’t get it.
Paul the Apostle deals with four BIG, REAL questions that we must face honestly about God’s love. He is not afraid to do so, for when we question God’s love, God’s love does not fail—it shines through and says, “Yes, I
do love you.”
These questions are not new to you. You’ve asked them in your dark nights; you’ve asked them
in your anger. The doctor’s diagnosis brought them to the surface, as did the court’s decision and the ugly bank statement. No, the questions are not new, but maybe the answers are.
We praise God that he put these words in our Bible! He wants each Christian to know the God’s-honest truth! God’s love is beyond question!
Paul asks four very real questions about God's love.
Question 1: Does God Protect Us? (Romans 8:31)
“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
(Romans 8:31)
The question is not just “Who can be against us?” Hey, I can answer that one!
Disease, corruption, exhaustion, persecution.
Indwelling sin is a powerful adversary.
Death is still an enemy, defeated but not yet destroyed. And so is the one who holds the power of death—that is, the devil (according to Hebrews 2:14).
“For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12)
Everywhere I turn it seems the world, the flesh or the devil are opposed to me, and I feel overwhelmed. I may even feel alone in the battle.
But the question is NOT simply, “Who can be against us?” No. The question is
“IF GOD IS FOR US, who can be against us?” And know this: God is
for his children!
I pray that this is true for you this morning—that you can confidently say, “I am one of God’s children, because of my faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.” If not, it is not too late to get on God’s side. Once you turn your life over to Christ and allow Him to lead you, God IS ON YOUR SIDE!
Once, you may have viewed God as some distant, wrathful deity but now through
your faith in Christ you rightfully view God as a close, intimate, loving
Father--there to protect you.
Take a moment and fill in this blank with your name:
God is for ______________.
Stop and look at that. Let it soak in. Knowing that—really—who could possibly be against you? Who can truly harm you? Can your purpose be destroyed or your value diminished? NO. You are protected! God is
for you.
Question 2: Does God Provide for Us? (Romans 8:32)
In Romans 8:32 we find the second question: “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?”
Again, if the question were put simply, “Will not God graciously give us all things?” we would probably need to hedge our answer. I know I
need many things. But, if you have been listening to me for a while, you know that, contrary to what some TV preachers are peddling, when we become Christians, health and wealth are not necessarily promised.
When we look at the question in the context of this chapter of Romans, we see that what Paul is speaking about here is the fact that God has provided
all the things necessary for our ultimate “good.” We are assured that every blessing—spiritual and material—that we require for our individual paths toward our final destiny
of salvation, glorification, becoming molded into the image of Christ, will be provided.
After all, God provided us the ultimate gift in his Son dying for us…if he gave that, will he not give us everything else we may need to arrive in our destiny in heaven?
At Christmas, I like to ask people this question: “What is the greatest gift you ever received?” Now, think for a moment in the big picture—what is
really the greatest Christmas Gift ever given?
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all…”
How we take God’s greatest gift for granted!
Reflecting back on my childhood, I know that more often than not I was disappointed in Christmas. I was one of those kids that built up the holiday to the point that it could not be anything close to my anticipations and preconceptions. So, every year was the same story: When I had finished tearing through all the presents, I was always disappointed and I would pout and complain. That had to be hard on my parents!
The problem was not with them, it was with me! They loved me as only a parent could love a frustrating kid like me! The greatest gift they could give me was their love, but I was focused on all the other stuff. Sure, they wanted to show their love by giving me these gifts, but what they really wanted to give me was this: They wanted to give me all that I needed to
have to be all that I was meant to be! They wanted me to be happy and satisfied in life, fulfilled in living life to the fullest. They would have made any sacrifice for that to happen for me! That was the greatest gift from my parents—their love given to me in that very real, practical way.
The greatest gift of love that could possibly be given from our heavenly Father is the gift of his Son! What other gifts do we want from God? We want a new job, new house, new car, new marriage…and when God does not give us what we want, we feel unloved and we pout and complain.
The problem is not with God; the problem is with us. We do not value God’s greatest gift enough! We prize our job, our house, our toys more than we prize the greatest gift from God—the giving of his Son, Jesus Christ.
If I find myself feeling alone and unloved, that God is distant and uncaring, I need to reset my eyes on Jesus. If all I hear are the lies of the evil one that God does not care, I need to reset my eyes on Jesus. If I need to feel loved, I need to refocus my attention on the greatest gift! I need to ask God to stir within me affections for the greatest gift, instead of the bent of my affections on the things of this world. I must change what I most esteem! I need to realize that since I have Christ, I already have God’s best.
And Having God’s best gift will assure us that God will certainly “throw in” anything else we will need for us to succeed in being all that he wants us to be. We have a destiny set out for us before the creation of the world, and God will provide all we need for that to happen.
God will give me all that I need to have to be all that I am meant to be! He
wants me to be happy and satisfied in life, fulfilled in living life to the fullest.
He has have made the perfect sacrifice for that to happen for me! Jesus
Christ's death on the cross was the greatest gift from God—God's love given to me in
a very real, practical way.
This is the Bible’s question here. “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?”
Would he who gave his Son not give us everything else we need to attain God’s purpose for us? But we still allow ourselves to be swallowed up in anxiety. Did God really save you so that you would live a life of anxiety? Would Christ be nailed to the cross of your sins and then disregard your greatest spiritual needs?
2 Peter 1:2-3 reads, “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
When God said this, was he teasing? I don’t think so! God will continue His gracious giving to you—he will not ditch you after all that he has done for you!
In Romans 8:33-34, we find
Question 3: Does God Pardon Us? (Romans 8:33-34)
“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? 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.”
God considers our case closed.
We cannot be charged for our sins, we cannot be condemned for all our selfishness and pride and arrogance and self-destruction and maliciousness. This is not because God has lowered the standards, or has lost his stomach for justly punishing evil-doers. No, the reason we are freed from the charges,
the reason we have been "pardoned," is because the justice of God’s law
has been satisfied. The just punishment for sins was paid upon the cross.
This is not “too easy.” This cost the Son of God his life. He suffered and died in our place. Grace is free, but it is not
cheap.
Isaiah 53 explains it:
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)
Again, Grace is free, but it is not cheap. So, if Jesus has chosen to die upon the cross for us, in perfect accordance with the
will of God the Father, so that we can be pardoned of our sins through that amazing gift of Justification, then who (WHO!?!) can bring a charge against us? Who is going to get around the cross by appealing to a higher court? GOD IS the Supreme Court of the Universe!
That is why this great chapter starts out with the triumphant verse: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” (8:1)
Nobody can condemn us, not even our own hearts. Sure, it is true that we deserve to be miserable; we deserve to be destined to Hell; we deserve to be haunted by our bad decisions. But through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are pardoned of all that. God gives us what we
do not deserve. He gives us peace and hope and joy and limitless satisfaction.
There is not one sin that the cross fails to pardon.
But we still feel undeserving and small and unlovable. We are certain, even in light of that amazing truth, that we can screw up the whole mess in such a way that God will disown us. God’s love must have its limits, we think. He cannot be so passionate for me to withstand all the mess I make of things. That leads us to the next question…
Question 4: Does God have a Passion Us? (Romans 8:35-39)
Romans 8:35 asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”
It’s the big question isn’t it? What can drive a wedge between God’s love and me? I want to know if God still loves me when I suffer!
Trouble, hardship, and persecution represent all the pressures and distresses that Christians suffer for living in an ungodly and hostile world. God never said that being a Christian would be easy!
Famine and nakedness speaks of the lack of food and adequate clothing.
Danger and sword are those things that threaten our lives and may even take our lives.
As these kinds of trials invade our lives, we can be assured that they are NOT an indication that God’s love has somehow disappeared.
They, instead, are reminders that God suffered in the same way. Theologians call the suffering of Jesus Christ the “Passion.” Passion Week was the week leading up to and including Jesus Christ’s death.
Passion. That is a fantastic term for it isn’t it?
For what drove Christ to the Passion was his passion for sinners! That’s the kind of passionate love has for you! It was in God’s Passion that all that is against us was ultimately CONQUERED.
Therefore, can any pain, misery or loss separate you from Christ’s love? NO!
On the contrary, look at what the Bible says in verse 37—underline it! God says in His Word that we are
“more than conquerors through him who loved us!”
And how did God love us? By dying on the cross!
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
(John 15:13)
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.”
(1 John 3:16)
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)
If we were to list all the things that we worry could separate us from God’s love, it would be an ugly list—but Paul lists the things that CANNOT separate us from the love of Christ. He speaks from experience. When he says in verse 38,
“For I am convinced,” that word is in the perfect tense—meaning more literally, “I have become and I remain convinced.”
Paul has asked these very real questions himself about God’s love for him—and he now declares in a beautiful climax of poetry that nothing—NOTHING!—can do so!
vv. 38-39
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers,
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.”
I dare you to name one thing that is excluded from that list! Yes, even your own sin is included on that list of things that cannot separate me from God’s love!
You mean God loves me even when I am a total jerk? Yes!
He loves me even when I have gutter-level thoughts? Yes!
He loves me even when I’ve said the most wicked thing to belittle my wife? Yes!
Allow God to turn your Guilt into Grace. Certainly, you must realize the depth of your sin in order to be awed by the depth of God’s love. But if you allow yourself to wallow in the guilt of sin after you have accepted God’s pardon through the cross of Christ, you do not grasp the awesome power of that grace. You have not yet realized that you are in the grip of God’s grace, and he will not let you go.
It is time to be freed from condemnation; it is time to be empowered to live fully for the glory of God. It is time to see ourselves as God’s children, dearly loved. It is time to bask in the love of God for us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It is time for transformation.
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