Romans 8:31-39 The Gospel - Gods promise to always be there

Theological Proposition/Focus: We cannot overstate the significance of God's promise to always be with us. Through the love of Christ, we have been brought into an unbreakable, eternal relationship with God.

Christ Focus: Jesus Christ is the decisive proof that God is for us, the righteous advocate who stands in our place, the loving Savior who holds us fast, and the victorious King whose triumph secures our future.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Because God is for us in Christ, we are free to live with confidence, humility, endurance, and courage—resting in His righteousness, trusting His love, and walking boldly in His victory.

Introduction

Image: Standing in a moment of uncertainty—but confident because you know someone has your back.

Have you ever been in a situation where you "needed" to know that someone had your back? Emily and I love to travel, and sometimes that means traveling to places that are not exactly "Midwest safe." In fact, we almost always travel to places that are not Midwest safe.

Over time, Emily and I have developed a kind of unspoken procedure for moments when safety becomes questionable. There's a particular look we give each other—a signal that the risk level has just gone up. When that happens, Emily knows she doesn't get to hold my hand or my arm. Instead, I take a step back and walk slightly behind her so I can see more clearly. Emily navigates, and I protect.

I know that no matter what, Emily will lead us in the right direction. And Emily knows that I will always be watching her back. We trust each other, we rely on each other, and that trust allows us to move forward with confidence—even in uncertain situations.

Setting the Stage:

Context matters. Romans 8:18-30 has been about assurance—assurance of salvation, assurance of God's plan, and assurance that suffering is not the final word. Now Paul brings that assurance to a crescendo by asking a series of questions that drive us to one unavoidable conclusion: "Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus."

In verse 31, Paul begins with the phrase, "What then shall we say to these things?" That phrase intentionally gathers everything that has come before and wraps it together. So what has come before?

Look at Romans 8:30:

"And those he predestined he also called, and those he called he also justified, and those he justified he also glorified."

In the midst of sin, brokenness, struggle—and even the effects of the Fall—Paul declares this staggering promise: God has glorified His people. Notice that Paul uses the past tense for "glorified." In the Greek, this is what scholars call a "proleptic (or futuristic) aorist"—a future reality spoken of as already accomplished in order to emphasize its certainty.

In other words, what God has promised is so secure that Paul can speak of it as already done.

With that assurance firmly in place, I want us to dig into Romans 8:31-39.

Body

Aligned - The promise God has made is that He is for us (8:31-32).

The central question: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (31)

As we move through life, we interpret our experiences differently. Some people tend to see conflict everywhere; others instinctively look for cooperation and common ground. That difference often comes down to perspective—and perspective matters.

But here is what Paul is not doing. He is not denying the reality of conflict. Scripture is clear that there is a real battle taking place. At the same time, Paul is reframing the battle. His concern is not that we become preoccupied with identifying our enemies, but that we understand this unshakable truth: the enemies of God's people cannot ultimately prevail against them.

We are indeed in a battle—but not against one another. Our struggle is against sin, and the crucial thing Paul wants us to see is that this battle has already been decisively won. The question "If God is for us, who can be against us?" does not minimize opposition; it puts opposition in its proper place. The conflict is real, but the outcome is not in doubt—and it is not ours to secure.

Opposition may exist, but it cannot ultimately prevail against the God who stands with His people.

Opposition is not hard to find in our culture. Open a newspaper, turn on the news, scroll through social media, and you will quickly be told to pick a side, join a tribe, and prepare to fight against whatever looming threat is most urgent in that moment. I cannot tell you how many people insist that I personally take a stand against the catastrophe they are most concerned about right now.

Scripture offers us clarity here. Ephesians 6:12 says:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

At the very least, this means we must stop treating other people as our enemies. But Paul presses us even further. The real opposition identified throughout Romans 1-8 is not "them out there"—it is "sin."

Whatever happens in the world, the most urgent problem any of us must face is the problem of sin. And Romans is not primarily about the sin of someone else. Romans is about "my" sin. As we move through life, we must recognize that the true enemy is not lurking outside of us, but within us.

And here is the good news: God promises to be for us in this battle. But how can we be sure?

There is no greater evidence that God is for you than the crucifixion (32).

There is no greater evidence that God is for you than the crucifixion.

Paul's argument in verse 32 is simple and overwhelming: God has already proven His commitment to us by giving us Jesus. He did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all. God gave what was most precious—Himself—for our good.

Earlier, I talked about walking through a dangerous, unfamiliar place while knowing someone was watching your back. Life can feel dangerous. It can feel threatening. But we do not merely have a promise of protection—we have proof of it.

How do I know God has my back? Because He has already acted decisively in my interest. The cross is not just a promise; it is a finished act.

Image: How do you prove your love to someone?

Have you ever asked your spouse, "How do I know you love me?" It can be kind of fun to ask. When I ask Emily, her answer is simple: "I'm still here, aren't I?" And if you know me, you know that I drag Emily into plenty of adventures—so that answer actually carries some weight.

God's answer to us is even stronger. He doesn't just say He loves us. He went to the cross—and He's still here.

MTR: Take a second and ask yourself: "What would it take for me to truly see God as for me?"

When Paul asks, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" he is not calling us to deny the reality of struggle or opposition. He is calling us to rest in a deeper reality—that God has already acted decisively on our behalf. The cross settles the question once and for all. Whatever battles we face, whatever fears rise up, and whatever sins confront us, they do not define the outcome. God does. And the God who did not spare His own Son has made it unmistakably clear: He is for us.

Righteous — Christ's righteousness is our standing (8:33-34).

Since God is the judge, only His verdict ultimately matters (33).

We've just seen that the real opposition we face is sin. Now Paul presses that truth even further by showing us why sin—and even the fear of sin—no longer gets to control us. Earlier in Romans, Paul made it clear that sin has been defeated and that we are no longer slaves to it. Here, he goes a step further: we are not only free from sin—we are declared "righteous."

So if sin is the real enemy, what about accusations? What about the voices that rise up—whether from others, from our own hearts, or from the enemy—pointing out our failures?

Paul's answer is decisive: if you have trusted in Christ, no one can bring a legitimate, eternal charge against you. The only One who has the authority to judge is the Creator Himself—and He has already rendered His verdict. In Christ, you are righteous.

That means this: only God's judgment ultimately matters. We must be far more concerned with being right before God than with managing the opinions or accusations of others.

I love flying, and a few years ago Emily, her family, and I took a trip to Washington, D.C. We landed at Reagan National, which has a short runway. When you land on a short runway, you come in firm, deploy reverse thrusters immediately, and get on the brakes hard. The rest of the family was convinced they had just experienced the worst landing of their lives. I, on the other hand, was praising the pilots for executing a near-perfect landing.

Same event—very different evaluations. Why? Because not everyone is equally qualified to judge.

In the same way, God is your judge. And if you are in Christ, His verdict is already in. You cannot be condemned.

But why is that verdict so secure?

The verdict is secure because Jesus—who died, was raised, and reigns—intercedes for us (34).

The beauty of salvation is that we do not earn our standing before God—Christ grants it to us. And Paul lays out the full weight of that reality.

First, Christ died, paying the penalty for sin. As Romans 6:23 reminds us, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Second, Christ was raised, securing our legal standing before God. Romans 4:25 tells us that He "was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." But Paul doesn't stop there. Christ didn't just die and rise—He now reigns. He is seated at the right hand of God, and here is the climax of it all: He intercedes for us.

Jesus actively uses His position on our behalf.

I was reading a book recently about how we often approach teaching children, and it made a powerful observation. We spend a lot of time trying to build children's self-confidence so they can stand firm when life gets hard. But the truth is, what we need most is not self-confidence—it is "Christ-confidence."

Jesus is standing up for you. He is interceding for you. What more could you possibly need?

MTR: Ask yourself: When have I lost sight of grace by focusing on my own righteousness?

Satan's lies are rarely obvious—they are subtle. And one of his most effective tricks is shifting our confidence away from Christ and onto ourselves. We do need people who walk through life with confidence—but not confidence in themselves. We need confidence in our Savior.

So here is a concrete action step: the next time you need to encourage yourself—or someone else—ask whether you can point that moment back to Christ. Ask how you can anchor confidence not in effort, performance, or self-belief, but in Jesus' ongoing intercessory work on our behalf.

Love — Christ's love endures through everything (8:35-36).

Paul's rhetorical questions pile up to make the point unmistakable: nothing has the power to sever Christ's love (35).

Paul's rhetorical questions stack up to make one unmistakable point: nothing has the power to sever us from the love of Christ.

As we race toward our Easter reenactment, we will once again portray Christ's love on full display. Frankly, there is no excuse for anyone at Southview to doubt the significance of the cross. At that moment, Christ unmistakably loved His people.

But here's the deeper question: "What about today?" That was nearly 2,000 years ago—does Christ still love you now?

What about when trouble comes? What about hardship? What if persecution arises? What if you find yourself hungry during famine or unable to afford basic necessities like clothing? What if one day war reaches our own soil and your very life is threatened?

Do any of those realities change Christ's love? Does Christ still love you when everything familiar—everything comfortable—falls away?

Let me be more concrete. Imagine war breaking out here at home. We don't like to talk this way—though we often watch movies about it. The reality of war is uncertainty about food, worn and tattered clothing, displacement, and separation from friends and family. Imagine marching as a refugee away from your home, maybe spouses are separated as each take a child or two hoping one day they will see each other again. As you part ways at the checkpoint you hope that your love will one day be brought back together but you are uncertain. That is not exaggerated—that is history and for the Roman Christians many of whom had at one point been expelled from the city it was a recent reality.

And into "that" reality, Paul declares this truth: even if you are separated from everything you know and hold dear, you will not be separated from the love of Christ.

No matter what you endure in this life, you can have confidence and assurance that Christ still loves you. The same love that carried Him to the cross is the love He has for you today. And I want to be very clear here: Christ loves you not only corporately, but personally—and nothing can take that love away.

Even suffering, persecution, and death do not mean abandonment—they are not signs of separation (36).

Earlier in the service, we read from Psalm 44. In Romans 8:36, Paul directly quotes Psalm 44:22. That psalm is a cry of anguish. The psalmist feels abandoned. The people of Israel feel as though God is no longer for them. They have heard stories of God's mighty acts in the past, but in their present reality, all they see is suffering.

Paul does not dismiss that pain. Instead, he reinterprets it through the lens of Christ. His answer to the ache of Psalm 44 is simple and profound: suffering does not mean abandonment. Pain is not evidence of separation.

Even suffering, persecution, and the threat of death do not signal the absence of God's love. Nothing—absolutely nothing—can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

MTR: Ask yourself: What am I enduring right now — and is my present situation causing me to doubt God's love?

Two Ways to Practice This Action Step

First, name the suffering without spiritualizing it away. This week, take time to be honest with God about what you are enduring. Not what you "should" be feeling, not what you think a "strong Christian" would say—but what you are actually carrying. Write it down. Say it out loud in prayer. Suffering does not disqualify you from God's love, and pretending it isn't there does not strengthen your faith. Bringing it into the light does. Paul quotes Psalm 44 precisely to show us that God invites honest lament, not quiet denial.

Second, deliberately interpret your circumstances through the cross. When hardship tempts you to ask, "Does God still love me?" replace that question with this one: "What does the cross say about God's love for me right now?" Make it a practice—daily if necessary—to preach that answer to yourself. The cross is not an ancient memory; it is a present verdict. It tells you that love is not measured by comfort, but by Christ's self-giving sacrifice on your behalf.

Bridge to the Victorious Point

And here's where Paul takes us next. If Christ's love endures through everything—if suffering is not separation and hardship is not abandonment—then what does that mean for how we live?

It means we don't just endure; we overcome. It means we are not barely surviving; we are standing in a victory that has already been secured.

If nothing can separate us from Christ's love, then nothing can ultimately defeat us. And that is exactly where Paul leads in the final movement of this passage—not to fear, not to retreat, but to confidence, assurance, and victory.

We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Victorious — The victory won in love cannot be overthrown (8:37-39).

We are not barely surviving; we are "more than conquerors" through Him who loved us (37).

Paul does not say that we barely make it through. He does not say we survive by the skin of our teeth. He says that we are "more than conquerors" through Him who loved us.

How many of you remember Max Fleischer's 1940s Superman cartoon? Many of us grew up hearing Fleischer's old Superman introduction: "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."

Superman Clip

0:57-1:12

Superman wasn't just fast—he was faster than fast. He wasn't just strong—he was stronger than strong.

Interestingly, the ancient world had its own superhero stories. In the first century BC, the historian Diodorus Siculus wrote about a legendary strongman named Polydamas. He was said to kill lions with his bare hands and outrun the fastest chariots of his day. The phrase used to describe him—"outstripping swift-running chariots"—comes from the Greek verb ὑπερνικῶμεν (hypernikōmen).

That is the exact word Paul uses in Romans 8:37.

Paul's point is not that we win by a narrow margin. He is saying we overwhelmingly prevail. Not because of our strength, but "through Him who loved us." We are not just promised victory—we are promised decisive, sweeping victory.

Superman is fiction. Polydamas is legend. But the victory you have in Christ is real.

Paul lists every conceivable threat—and declares them powerless to undo God's love (38-39).

A merism is a rhetorical device where a whole is expressed by naming its extremes. Paul then piles up what scholars call "merisms"—a rhetorical device that expresses a whole by naming its extremes. Life and death. Angels and rulers. Present and future. Height and depth. Anywhere you could go. Any power you could imagine.

Paul's point is simple and total: he covers "everything." From the beginning of life to its end, across the spiritual realm, from now into eternity, and in every possible place—nothing can separate you from the love of God.

Why? Because that love is found "in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Image: Playing Mario and getting a star, don't go out of control but do take risks.

Think about playing the old Mario games. One of the best power-ups you could get was the star. For a brief moment, you were invincible. But a wise player didn't panic or lose control. Instead, they moved forward intentionally, taking risks they couldn't take before—because they knew they were secure.

MTR: Live invincibly.

What do I mean by that? Not recklessly. God has entrusted you with life, work, family, and relationships—those matter. But don't live fearfully. Don't shrink back. Don't let anxiety define your steps.

If nothing can separate you from the love of God, then live like nothing can separate you from the love of God. Step forward in faith. Take obedient risks. Love boldly. Endure confidently.

The victory has already been won—and it cannot be overthrown.

Conclusion

The Christian life is not built on our ability to hold onto God, but on God's unshakable commitment to hold onto us. In Christ, God is for you, Christ stands for you, Christ loves you, and Christ has already won for you.

Nothing can separate you from that love.