Sermon Tone Analysis

*Romans 8:31-39 (NRSV) *31 What then are we to say about these things?

If God is for us, who is against us?

32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies.

34 Who is to condemn?

It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted 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, 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.

*Introduction:* In Romans 8:31 the phrase “If God be for us” is poorly translated.

The particle  does not provide for a supposition, but for a certainty.

It is not a condition, but a conclusion.

It should really read, “since God is for us.”

Because it is certain that God is for us, the conclusion follows, “who can be against us?”

Obviously, Satan and his demonic hosts are against believers (cf.

Eph.

6:11-13; 1 Peter 5:8), and if you have lived even a little bit of this worlds life, sometimes it can seem like there are all kinds of people can “be against us,” causing us trouble and pain and sorrow.

*But nothing can ultimately triumph over us.

God wins, and in Christ, we win with Him.

*

*Point 1:* God Himself is the believer's assurance.

God Himself has acted for the believer; He has done everything necessary and then more:

It was God who "spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all" (Romans 8:32).

The words "spared not" (/ouk epheisato) mean that God did not hold back or refrain from giving His Son; He did not refuse or even hesitate to give His Son.

The picture is that of God weighing man's eternal separation from Him against the sacrifice of His Son.

He had a choice to make and He made it; He deliberately chose to sacrifice His Son for us.

God knew exactly what He was doing.

He wanted man delivered from this struggling and suffering world, and there was only one way for man to be saved:

⇒  Someone had to bear man's penalty for transgression and sin, which was the judgment of death.

Therefore, God handed His own Son over to die /for/ us—in our behalf, in our stead, in our place, as our substitute.

God /spared not/ His own Son; He delivered Christ Jesus up for us all.

What a glorious, marvelous, wonderful love!

And just how wonderful His love is can be clearly seen in this: it was while we were sinners, acting and rebelling against God, that He gave His Son to die for us.

*Point 2:* God is our Provider.

Since God has done such a great and glorious thing, how shall He not also give us all things?

Giving His own Son for us was the greatest gift in all the world; therefore, He is bound to give us everything else.

Nothing could ever cost God anything close to the price He has paid in giving up His Son; therefore, God shall give us everything else.

Note three points.

a.  God's provision includes spiritual, eternal, and material gifts.

⇒  The spiritual provision is the fruit of the Spirit (Ephes.

1:3.)

*"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (**Galatians 5:22-23**).*

*"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (**Ephes.

1:3**).*

⇒  The eternal provision is deliverance from the struggling and suffering of this sinful world.

It is the gift of eternal life, of living gloriously conformed to the image of His dear Son, Jesus Christ (see note, pt.2—•Romans 8:29 for just what this means).

⇒  The material gifts are the necessities of life (see outline—• Matthew 6:25-34, and notes—• Matthew 6:25-34).

*"Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?

or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?...But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (**Matthew 6:31**, **33**).*

*"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (**Phil.

4:19**).*

The provision is /freely/ given.

God's gift of His Son was freely given; therefore, all that God provides for man is freely given.

No man can merit or earn God's provision.

God provides and meets the need of the believer because He loves the believer.

*"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (**Ephes.

2:8-9**).*

The provision of God comes through Christ and through Him alone.

Note the words "with Him."

It is /with Christ/ that God gives us all things.

If we are /with Christ/, then all things are given to us.

We shall be delivered from struggling and suffering.

Believers can rest assured of this.

No matter how much we struggle and suffer through the sin and shame of this world, God will see us through it all.

He is is going to conform us to the glorious image of His Son.

The next two questions Paul raised and answered are forensic or legal in nature.

*Who will bring any charge *(/enkalesei, /“make a formal accusation in court; press charges”; Acts 19:40; 23:29; 26:2) *against those whom God has chosen?

*

Satan is identified as “the accuser” of God’s people (Rev.

12:10; cf.

Zech.

3:1).

His accusations are valid, because they are based on the believer’s sinfulness and defilement.

*But Satan’s accusations will be thrown out of court, because it is God who justifies.

*

*Point 3:*  God is our Justifier.

This is the most glorious truth: God does not charge us with sin.

In fact, He does not /lay anything/ to our charge; He justifies us (see Deeper Study #1, Justification—Romans 4:22; Deeper Study #2, Justification—Romans 4:22; note—•Romans 5:1 for more discussion).

Note the question: Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?

It is God; only God can charge us with sin and shame.

But note: if we have truly trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior, if we are one of God's elect, he does not charge us with sin.

He justifies us.

He forgives our sin and counts us righteous in Christ Jesus.

If we are God's child, no one can charge us with anything.

*We are God's; we belong to God.*

No one can charge, count, or doom us to be...

| •  a failure•  a detriment•  a shame•  a sinner•  lost•  unusable | •  an embarrassment•  hopeless•  helpless•  defeated•  unworthy•  of no value |

*Man is not our judge; therefore, man cannot judge these things to be true of us*—only God can.

God is our Judge, and this is the glorious truth: God does not judge His elect.

He does not lay sin and shame against His children; He justifies His children.

*No matter how much we have struggled and suffered through the sin and shame of this world, God delivers us.*

No matter how far we have fallen, no matter how discouraged we have become, if we are truly God's child, He picks us up and justifies us in Christ Jesus and continues to conform us to the image of His dear Son.

God does not leave us down and defeated, nor does He go around charging us with sin and shame.

*God justifies us and continues His work of forgiveness and grace in our lives.*

*Point 4:* Christ protects the believer from the severest circum-stances.

*This is one of our assurances of deliverance,* and it is the most wonderful assurance imaginable.

Too many people, even believers, *feel that God does not love them, that He just could not love them.*

They feel unworthy of His love, for they come too short too often, been too disobedient, and failed too many times.

So often the Father of Lies plants within us the question: how could God possibly love them when they go against His will so much?

The results of such feelings are...

| •  a sense of unworthiness•  a downing of oneself•  a sense of discouragement | •  an accusing of oneself•  a low self-esteem•  and a defeated life |

Note a crucial point: *all such feelings totally contradict Scripture*.

Look at the verse: "Who [or what] can separate us from the love of Christ?"

There is no circumstance, no situation, no event that can cause Christ to turn away from us.

*No matter how terrible or severe the situation, it cannot separate the true believer from the love of Christ.*

Christ loves the believer regardless of the circumstance, and He longs to be reconciled to the believer.