Inseparable from Christ

[By  Pastor Charles Stanley]



18) Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19) For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20) Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21) the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22) For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23) And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children,[a] including the new bodies he has promised us. 24) We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope[b] for it. 25) But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

26) And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27) And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers[c] in harmony with God’s own will. 28) And we know that God causes everything to work together[d] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29) For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30) And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. 

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31) What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32) Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33) Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34) Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.  35) Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 )(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”[e]) 37) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.  38) And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[f] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39) No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8: 18-39

When pain and adversity enter our lives, it’s easy to conclude that God has abandoned us. After all, we think, if He were there, He would have done something by now. However, today’s passage says that nothing can separate us from Christ’s love. Let’s consider the vast scope of this promise.

No events. Not a single distress can remove us from divine love, but rather, we can “overwhelmingly conquer through Him who love[s] us” (Rom. 8:35-37). Today’s verses also teach that our present sufferings cannot be compared to the coming glory (v. 18) and that God’s good purpose is our transformation into Christ’s image (v. 29). When we understand this, we gain a victorious eternal perspective, which produces hope and perseverance (vv. 24-25).

> No time. Nothing we have gone through in the past, are dealing with at present, or will encounter in the future can take us away from Christ. He is with us every step of the way (v. 38).

> No power. The unseen powers of evil that try to deceive and entrap us are no match for the Lord, who holds us securely in His omnipotent grasp (v. 39).

> No created thing. Only our triune God is self-existent, and if He calls you His own, nothing and no one—not even you—can break that relationship (v. 39).

This promise of security in Christ isn’t a license to sin without consequence. Instead, it should motivate us to fall on our knees in gratitude and praise. As we truly grasp the greatness of this gift, our love for Christ will increase and result in obedience and perseverance, no matter what difficulty we face.
 
Be Blessed!
 
Dawn