What Will Separate Us?

Romans 8:34-36

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

               Paul continues his series of rhetorical questions in this passage. At the same time, he uses them as rhetorical, these are also serious questions people would have about the love of God and His power. When Paul asks who has the right to condemn, he answers it right away by showing the only one with the right to condemn would be Jesus because He is the one who died. Paul then goes on to show how, instead of condemning us, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and at the right hand of God interceding for us. Jesus had every right by the fact that He was raised up by God and seated at His right hand, but He intercedes for us. He is on our side to bring about the justice of God through His sacrifice. That is true love—Jesus does not condemn us—and Paul shows how strong that love is by asking the rhetorical question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” The answer he gives is nothing, and to prove his point he lists a bunch of different situations that are a reality to those who accept Christ. In the last verse, Paul quotes Psalm 44:22 to show how physical trials will come but that does not make the truth of our lack of condemnation or Jesus’ love for us any less true.

            It is important as believers to realize we are not condemned but welcomed. In this is what the whole chapter has been about—that Jesus Christ is the only man worthy of condemning and even He does not. Instead, He intercedes on our behalf that we might be found worthy before the King of kings. This strong love of Christ is still true even when it is difficult to see because of the situation God brings us to in life. We still must hold fast to the promise of Christ’s love even through destress and persecution and danger; it is still true. The biggest evidence of this universal fact is shown in the verse Paul quotes from Psalms. In that Psalm, David is showing how he and the people of God are being faithful and how much they love God, yet they are being killed all day long by their enemies. In another verse he says they are being harassed and disgraced before the other nations. However, this does not discount the love of Jesus because, in the end, we will hold tight to the promise of Jesus interceding for us which will carry us to the end.

            For non-Christians there is not a promise of perfect happiness if you come to believe in Jesus, but there is a promise of perfect love. There might have been a time you mocked Christians for what they believe, and this is a fair response from the perspective of the world, but now you can see a glimpse of the hope—not pleasures in this life or the general graces given by God to all, both non-believers and believers—the hope of Christianity is in One and the One has the ultimate love in which we find joy in any circumstance because we are truly loved and known. That is the promise of Christianity, to be truly loved and known in an age where that is all anyone wants to be. Please come to the source of that question and find the answer which can only truly be found in Jesus.