Who Shall Separate Us?

Romans 8:35-39 ESV

“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.’

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Recap: Who are the “us” in this context? We are those who are in Christ by genuine God-given and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ. We are those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And we are those who are no longer walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, but we are now walking according to the Spirit, by the Spirit.

We are also those who are suffering with Christ in denial of self, in dying daily to sin, and in living to God and to his righteousness, all in his power and strength. And since we are followers of Christ who are committed to doing his will, we are also those who are suffering persecution and rejection for the sake of the name of Jesus, and for righteousness’ sake, and for the sake of the gospel of our salvation, especially if we are those who are sharing the truth of the gospel in opposition to Satan’s lies (Romans 6-8).

So, this is who it is speaking of when it says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” The “us” is all of us who are walking in righteousness and holiness in obedience to our Lord and not in sin. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we don’t know God, we are not born of God, we don’t have the life of the Spirit living within us, and we don’t have eternal life with God. So, we are, thus, already separated from the love of God/Christ.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, if we want to be assured that we are in Christ, and that we are not living separate from Christ, we should read these Scriptures referenced above, take them to heart, and make certain that we are living according to the Word of God and not according to the flesh. And then, with confidence, we can claim these promises of God intended for those who are walking by the Spirit and not by the flesh, and not in sin. And this is not claiming sinless perfection, but it is saying that godliness and obedience are our practice.

And if that is true, we can say with confidence that nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ – not tribulation, or distress, or persecution, etc. The only thing that can separate us from God’s love is if we turn from God and we choose to go the way of sin rather than the way of holiness, in practice. For then we would not be those who love God. We would not be those who are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. So, this promise would not be for us. And that is made quite clear in the Scriptures noted above. 

For we who are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake are those who are following the Lord in obedience in walks of holiness, and not in sin. And that is why we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered, for the enemy of our souls is hot on our trail and he is out to take us down. But, through faith in Jesus Christ we can stand strong against his attacks and his attempts to take us down, and we can be conquerors through our Lord who loves us and who gave himself up for us to free us from our slavery to sin.

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

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