When I observe a television program moving in the direction of introducing Christianity into the picture, I think, “It's time to laugh at the Christians again.” When a Christian is part of the plot, the purpose they serve is usually to get a laugh at their expense. Christians are portrayed as ignorant, uneducated, socially backward incompetents, blundering through life clinging to foolish beliefs. Christianity is the only religion which is consistently ridiculed.
If they laughed at Jews, then a cry would go up that they were Anti-Semitic. Yet, Judaism and Christianity share a common moral basis. If our ideas are out of step, certainly theirs are as well. There are all sorts of religious groups which seem exempt from the ridicule that is heaped on Christians who are trying to live out their faith.
It seems that New Testament Christianity is always going to be the target of those who are opposed to the Kingdom of God. Those who are intent on trying to establish the kingdom of man try to discourage true Christianity by use of one of the most powerful weapons of all—ridicule.
This has a very real effect on us. It produces a sense of intimidation. We feel a certain fear and embarrassment before those who might scoff at us. We are, all too often, intimidated at the raised eyebrow. And this is nothing new. Christians have been persecuted since Jesus' day. Here in Romans, we have a powerful message to us about facing the opposition of the world. We need to experience the power of this message, because terms like insecurity, fear, and intimidation all too often describe Christians. So let's look at five questions our text poses—five questions with the same answer.
The first question is, “Who can oppose us?” It says in verse 31, What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Actually, the implication is “Since God is for us, what difference does it make who is against us?” While we might be intimidated, we shouldn't be because we have God Almighty on our side—the God who loved us, the God who died for us, the God who is for us. He is on our side.
I don't know what your experience was in school, but it seems that most of us boys had to face a bully or two. We knew he would be waiting on the corner for us, and we would plan our strategy of how we would avoid him that afternoon. Some of us had the luxury of having a friend in school who was older, bigger, stronger and tougher, but was on our side. If we could persuade that friend to accompany us past the corner where the bully stood, we knew we were safe. It did not matter how strong we were, it mattered how strong our friend was. It mattered who was on our side, and if he could ever be persuaded to put out the word to the bullies of the school, “Look, if you mess with that guy, you mess with me,” we had it made.
We must begin to live in the realization that God is for us. It's more than a theological statement. It's something we can know because of what God has done in history to prove it. God did not just say, “I love you.” He showed us. Look at verse 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?
How much is God for us? He is for us so much that when it came time to give up His most priceless possession, the Lord Jesus—His only begotten Son, He did so without reservation. He did not spare His own Son, He gave Him up freely for us. Seeing that this is true, do you have any doubt that those of us who come to Christ will be the recipients of good things from the hand of a God who loved us that much? That is how much God is for us.
God loves you enough that Jesus died for you. How much would it take for me to give up my son? I can't even think in those terms. I cannot even imagine any circumstance that could ever exist that would cause me to do that. It just does not register in my brain or in my heart, the kind of love I would need to have in order to give my son sacrificially, to allow him to die so that any other human being could live. You parents know that you would gladly step in your son's or daughter's place and die for them, rather than to see them die, even for you.
God loved us that much. What a testimony Calvary is to that fact! God said, “In Calvary I am for you. There is nothing which is too great a price for me to pay for your sake. I sent my Son to die for you.” If God is for us, who is against us? What does it matter if all of the world lines up against us. Sometimes we are intimidated, but we shouldn't be, because God is on our side. Who can oppose us? The answer is, Nobody. Nobody who matters.
Second question: “Who can accuse us?” Verse 33 says, Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Who accuses you? Well, the Devil does! In the book of Job, we see Satan, not in hell, suffering, but walking into the very courts of God. We see a conversation taking place between the God and Satan, as if it occurs every day in heaven. In Revelation, Satan is called the accuser of the brethren, whom he accuses day and night before the throne of God. Satan stands before God's throne to accuse you. He brings to God's attention every flaw, every defect, every sin, every shortcoming, and every weakness you have.
Who else does? The world accuses us. Look at the nightly news. Today we in the Church stand guilty by association. When any Christian falls, we stand accused of that sin whether we are guilty or not. Sometimes that makes us ashamed before the world.
Many may accuse us, but the point is, what does it matter? Does it matter who accuses us? “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?” The answer to that is, “It is God who justifies.” In other words, God is for us, and He justifies us on the basis of our coming to the Cross of Christ and casting ourselves on His mercy. God forgives us because of what Christ has done on the Cross. Seeing that as a reality in your life, does it really matter who accuses you? Your past sins are forgiven. The power of the blood of Christ is sufficient to cover your present sins, even to cover your future sins. So, what does it matter if Satan accuses you? Some people accuse us and perhaps rightly so. The point is not that we need to be perfect. The point is that we are forgiven. God is the One who justifies. When we come to Christ and confess our sins, the Bible says in 1 John 1:9 that “he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.” It is as if God stamps across our sins, “Forgiven.” So, when someone accuses us, God says, “Yes, you are right, David did do that, but he is forgiven. My Son Jesus has accepted the penalty for his sin.” So what does it matter who accuses you? Should we be afraid? Should we be intimidated? Should we be fearful? Should we be embarrassed? NO! Who can accuse us? Nobody. Nobody who matters.
The third question is, “Who can condemn us?” Verse 34 says, 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.
The only one who can condemn us is the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is revealed in Scripture as the One who will be the Judge of all the earth. He will be the judge of both Christians and the lost masses of humanity at the end of the age. He will be the only one in the universe who has the power to condemn anyone. Yet, in verse 34 it says that Jesus Christ, who is our judge, is also our advocate. He is at the right hand of the throne of God interceding for us. The only One in the universe who could condemn us is the very One who forgives us, the very One who intercedes for us, who went to the Cross, who died for us. So who can condemn us? Nobody!
The fourth question is, “Who can separate us?” Verse 35 says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Trouble, hardship, and persecution—those are emotional things. We feel them deeply in our spirits. Our minds and our hearts are troubled when we are in distress, experience hardship, are persecuted. Most of the persecution that exists today, at least in this country, is not physical persecution, but it is the persecution we feel when we are ridiculed, laughed at, scoffed at and rebuffed. It happens on the inside. Is this going to separate you? When you are in turmoil, when you are in inner conflict, when you don't know where to turn, are you separated from God? No. He moves on to more physically oriented things: famine, nakedness, danger, and sword. Though your body be destroyed are you separated from God? No.
In verses 38-39, he says, 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.
He includes quite a bit there. If you die, death hasn't separated you from God. I heard of someone who did not want the usual dates—Born and Died—on his tombstone. He wanted Born, Born Again, and Transferred. Death does not separate us from God. It actually bring us into His presence. We are transferred. We don't really die. Death is not the end for the believer. We are in His presence instantly. Death cannot separate us. People fear death, but they ought not if they know the One who holds the keys to life.
There is another fear which is very real for Christians. That is the fear of life. Can life separate us? The challenge is not merely to be ready to die, the challenge is to be ready to live. The world, with all of its temptations, pressures, and demands, presses in upon us. Sometimes we are threatened by life itself. But life cannot separate you from the love of God.
How about spiritual things? How about some of the angels or demons? Can they separate us? No. There is not a demon in hell who can separate us from God's love. Not even the Devil himself can separate us from God's love. We could look Satan squarely in the eye and say, “Satan, do your worst. You can't separate us from the love of God!”
Your present situation cannot separate you from God's love. You may be struggling with your current situation. Perhaps you are not where God wants you in your own spiritual life. You have fallen back in your commitment to Christ. Perhaps you are not even aware of how to get out of the rut in which you find yourself. Habit patterns have become strong in your life, and although you would like to break some of those things, you have tried and failed. God says, “Even that cannot separate you from my love.” You might be in a hard situation in the present, and your circumstances may look bleak, but I want you to know that they only look that way. The message of the New Testament is that we have a God who is on our side. We have a God who will come to our aid and rescue us, even from ourselves. My worst enemy is myself. Sometimes God has to rescue me from me. The good news is that He can and He does.
Things present cannot separate us, and neither can the future. How many of you live in fear of what may happen tomorrow? Jesus said, “Take no thought for tomorrow.” He was not talking about planning for the future, He was talking about not having anxiety, not being immobilized by fear of what may happen, living in the “what-ifs.” What if this happens? What if that happens?. When you do that you are suffering for things that have not even happened. What a lie of the Devil to convince us to live that way, as if that would help. What if it does happen? Well, suffer for it then. No need to suffer for it now. It may never happen! The future ought not hold any threat to us because we trust in the God who is present in our lives today to take care of whatever may come tomorrow. Who then can separate us? Nobody and nothing!
Verse 37 says, No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. The implied question is, “Who can defeat us?” The answer, again is “Nobody!” Nobody can defeat us. We are more than conquerors. The term in the Greek is hyper-conquerors. We are super-abundant conquerors through Christ. We need to go forth as the Church of Jesus Christ, with our heads held up high, knowing that we are God's chosen people. He is the King, we are in His Kingdom, and we are the King's Children.
The world ridicules Christianity because it senses, intuitively, that real, true, biblical, New Testament Christianity is a threat to the kingdom of man. So it mounts an attack to seek to destroy our morale. We need to be wise to that. We must understand that God is for us. Whenever we allow God to precede us into battle, as the children of Israel did when they symbolically carried the Ark of the Covenant before them, we will win. We need to go forth recognizing that it is “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.” We are more than conquerors.
Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. I like to say it in the affirmative, that the Church of God will prevail against the gates of hell, because I believe that is precisely what He had in mind. This is not a picture of the church in retreat, and the faithful few holding out to the end. As we take the commands of Jesus Christ seriously and walk in the power of the Spirit, we will find ourselves to be super-abundant conquerors.
So who can oppose us? Nobody. Nobody that matters. God is for us. Who can accuse us? Nobody that matters. Jesus Christ has forgiven us. Who can condemn us? Nobody that matters. God has already justified us. Who can separate us? Nobody and nothing. God loves us. Who can defeat us? Nobody. God has already given us the victory. As I heard in the lyrics of a song, “I have read the back of the Book, and we win!”
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