“35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Paul uses these last verses in chapter 8 to encourage and build confidence in the believer by reflecting on God’s immense love for His people, which is displayed by the fact that those who are in Christ can never be separated from God. Paul acknowledges that believers will encounter trials and suffering. “As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.” (v. 36) This is a direct quote from Psalm 44:22. Indeed if there was anyone who understood that Christians will encounter trials and suffering, it would be Paul.
“Instead, as God’s ministers, we commend ourselves in everything: by great endurance, by afflictions, by hardships, by difficulties, by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger, by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God; through weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, through glory and dishonor, through slander and good report; regarded as deceivers, yet true; as unknown, yet recognized; as dying, yet see — we live; as being disciplined, yet not killed; as grieving, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” — 2 Corinthians 6:4-10
“Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches.” — 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
Paul is asking the question, can any of these things separate us from the love of Christ? No! For those who are in Christ, there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God. There will be trials. There will be suffering. It may be that not all believers will encounter the same type and intensity of difficulty. Regardless, one thing remains certain: In Christ, we will have complete and total victory over sin and evil. In the midst of suffering it may be hard to see that we will have victory in the end. It is as Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthians:
“We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.” — 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We may find ourselves afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, or struck down for the cause of Christ, but never to the point where we fall outside the reach of God’s love toward us. He will not let us be crushed, dwell in despair, be abandoned, or destroyed. It may be tough, but in the end, through Christ, we will have victory.
In verse 37, Paul uses the phrase: “more than conquerors” to indicate that our victory over sin and evil will be total. It will be a complete landslide. The HCSB Bible translation uses the phrase: “more than victorious”. This promise of a conquering victory is spoken of by Jesus.
““I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”” — John 16:33
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” — 1 Corinthians 15:56-57
Notice in both of these instances, it is only through the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished that affords us our final victory over sin and death.
This is exactly why Romans is my favorite book in the Bible. If you have doubts or are unsure regarding a particular subject, Romans most likely discusses and aids in resolving that doubt.
Great work again, brother! I’m really enjoying getting to go through this for a second time.