Romans 8:31-37 (NKJV) 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
This week we are looking at Romans chapter 8. Hebrews 12 tells us that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Another way to say that might be that he is the prototype of how to walk in faith. If Jesus is the prototype of Faith, Paul is one of the first “end users” of faith.
Where one might say Jesus had the ability to walk in faith because he was the Son of God, Paul was just as imperfect as any of us. Paul had failures; he got discouraged and could be hard to get along with. Yet his testimony from 2 Timothy 4:7 is that he finished his course. He was successful in his faith walk.
In verse 31 Paul asks, “What shall we say to these things.” Verses 18 to 30 tell us what things Paul is responding to. We can boil them down to three things.
1. Something good is coming to the church and to us as individual believers.
2. The Holy Spirit is at work helping us in our infirmities to walk out the will of God for our lives.
3. We are truly and eternally saved. Jesus paid the price for our sin and the glory of God is made available in our lives.
What shall we say to that? What did Paul say to these things? I believe we find five foundational ideas that Paul says we must receive as true because of what is written in the previous verses. If we meditate on these five things, we will find that the same faith that sustained Paul through all kinds of opposition will sustain us in our challenges. We must remember that this faith also caused Paul to be so effective in his ministry that he has touched every generation from his time until today. That is the kind of testimony I want to have.
The first of these truths we need to meditate on and accept is this. “God is for me so who can be against me.” What greater ally could I have in my life than almighty God? Just from the conclusions drawn from verses 18-31 we can see this is true. He has a wonderful future for me. He has given me the Holy Spirit to live in me and he has saved me from my sins. He is for me.
We have a church softball team. If we had some major league baseball player retire and decide to join our church, how good would our softball team be with that kind of ally? If we had a major leaguer for us who could be against us? That is a little like what Paul is saying.
God is on your side in any trial or need you face. His power is available to you. He can do anything you need to be done. He will not always do what you want him to do, but he will always do what you need him to do. With that kind of power available, who can oppose you and be successful. Think about that. Let it become a reality in your life just as it was to Paul.
There is another aspect of God being for you. If someone opposes you, they do not like you. They may speak against you or do things to hurt you. According to Paul’s words, God is for you. That means he is not only working for you but he likes you. He will encourage you and uplift you.
God is for you right now so who can stand against you.
The next thing Paul tells us is this. Since God did not withhold his only begotten son from you, he will not withhold any other good thing. We often think that when things do not go the way we want them to go, God is withholding something form us. This verse tells us that this is simply not true.
As Paul walked through his life, he understood that God would never withhold anything from him that he needed. God had given Jesus. That is the best that God has. If he would not withhold his best, he will not withhold any other good gift.
That does not mean we get anything we want from God when we want it. He withholds no good gift. There are things we think we need that would not be good for us. There are things we may want that would lead to weakness in our lives and not strength. He loves us enough to make keep those things from us. That is not withholding good things it is protecting us from bad things.
There are times when the devil keeps things from us that God wants us to have. Keep believing God. If you think it is God withholding that thing from you, you cannot have faith for it. When you know God is not withholding from you, you can continue to trust God and in the end, the good gift will come to you. If it does not, since God did not withhold it, you know it was not a good gift.
We will look at more tomorrow, but today just take some time to think on the first two. God is for you. He is for you right now. He is for you in the good times and the bad times. He not only loves you, he likes you! He will do whatever he can do see to it that you win. He can do anything! I do not know about you but that makes me feel pretty confident.
He is withholding nothing from you. Do not believe the lie of the enemy that says he is. He gave Jesus. If he would not withhold his son, I know he will not withhold anything else. If he is not withholding a thing from you, than there is no power in hell that can keep that thing from coming to you if it is good for you. Just keep trusting God and it will be yours in the end.
Meditate on those truths and faith to overcome will arise in your heart.
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