‘No Separation’
No Separation
Chapter eight of the book of Romans begins with a promise of ‘no condemnation’ (v. 1) and ends with the promise of ‘no separation’ (v. 39). Those who have placed their faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior are free from the condemning judgment of God and are assured that their union with Christ will never be broken…..they are safe in Jesus! We’ve been repositioned before God in Christ on the basis of God’s grace alone. In Christ we’re justified….we’re sanctified….and we will be glorified!
Paul, the Apostle, opens the final paragraph of chapter eight by asking a question - “What then shall we say to these things (v.31)?” What things? - the gospel truths that Paul has presented in chapters 1-8 of Romans, with a particular focus on verses 31-39 of chapter 8. Paul presents his conclusions by asking a series of rhetorical questions: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”.....”Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?”....”Who is to condemn?”.....”Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
A Probing Question
The first question is very probing - if God favors us and is working on our behalf, who can be against us? The anticipated answer is ‘no one’. To substantiate this intended answer Paul writes - “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (v.32)?” Nothing tells us more forcefully that God is for us than the giving of his own Son to die as an atonement for our sins. In order to provide salvation for us, God the Father didn’t hold back what he loved most, his own beloved Son; rather, out of his love for us (the Elect), he sent his Son as our saving sacrifice. God has graciously given us all things related to our salvation. Our salvation, from beginning to end, is an expression of God’s grace!
The next two questions are companions (vv. 33, 34) - “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?”....”Who is to condemn?” When we honestly look at our lives, we discover much that condemns us. The evidence of our daily lives, particularly our interior lives, shows us to be flawed, failing, unbelieving, and disobedient. But when God’s grace is laid over our lives, everything changes. Paul’s response to these two questions is gospel - centered - “It is God who justifies (v.33).” Paul turns our attention away from our sins, failings, and flaws, and focuses our attention on what God has done for us in Christ. God graciously looks away from us to Christ our Savior and considers us righteous because we’re in him.
Christ, Our Saving Substitute
There is no minimizing our guilt. We are thoroughly sinful, we do stand condemned, we do deserve God’s judgment. But Christ took our place and became our saving substitute! He not only died to secure our forgiveness, he was also raised from the dead for our justification. We’re given a new and secure standing before God as ‘righteous sinners’, and our new standing is sustained by the intercession of Christ (v. 34). This is the radical nature of the gospel; it turns our natural religious inclinations on their heads. We’re saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, not by religious and moral works. The legitimate charges that condemn us are illegitimate when applied to Christ! And we’re trusting and hiding in him! We’re safe and secure in Christ and can never be separated from his loving embrace!