God’s love for us Romans 8:31-39

Intro…Talked with my older sister this week about some parenting issues, struggles…it’s not an easy job. I gave my parents grief, my kids will…
• I believe when you become a parent, new “senses” kick in…
• You develop this amazing love for your children, that somehow will always be there, it’s a limited, human love, but it’s there.
• Imagine how God’s love is for us…way beyond any human level.

Text: Romans 8:31-39

Thesis: If we have sincerely given our hearts and lives to God through Jesus Christ, then somehow in His amazing grace and mercy, we can never lose His love and our salvation.

Our text this morning comes from Romans 8, a chapter that reminds us that the life we live in Christ is:
• A life that is set free from the law of sin and death. 8:2
• A life that is led by the Spirit of God. 8:14
• A life where all things work out for the good, to those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. 8:28
• (And in our verses today) A life that cannot not be separated from the love of God. 8:35-39

This month, we’ve talked about how we need to love God with everything we are, heart, soul and mind.
• Today is a reminder of God’s unending love for us.
• Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. We can choose to reject it, but it will always be there. Just like a healthy parent-child relationship.
• When Paul says in vs. 31, “What shall we say in response to this?” he is referring to the previous verse taking that says we are: predestined, called, justified and glorified.
• When we are assured of this, then we can say, (v. 31) “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

• God’s love will always be there for all humans. When someone decides to accept that love and become a Christian, then they enter into a special relationship with God where they can never be separated from him.

How do we enter into this eternal, loving relationship with God? (This is how God set it up, spelled out in our verses starting in v. 32…)
• It starts by accepting Jesus’ death on the cross as forgiveness for your sins…
• V. 32 Makes that clear for us…”He who did not spare his own Son..”
• God wants to “give us all things,” that is, the things we need according to His perspective. V. 32
• We are justified, (made right) only by God and no man can bring any charge against us. V. 33
• Christ was raised to life (resurrected) and now sits at the right hand of God interceding for us. V. 34
• We make a choice to follow Jesus (although we were predestined to make that choice).

It’s a great place to be, a Christian in a loving relationship with God. But then doubt and sin enter the picture.
• When we continue to do things that displease God, we may wonder if he still loves us.
• Or if awful things happen in our lives, we may wonder it God still loves us.
• Or if someone claims to be a Christian and then chooses to live a sinful lifestyle, others may wonder if they’ve lost their salvation.

To calm our fears, Paul goes into a list of those things that seem like they could separate us from God’s love:
• Trouble
• Hardship
• Persecution
• Famine
• Nakedness (losing all)
• Danger
• Sword (facing death, led to slaughter)
• Death
• Life
• Angels
• Demons
• The present
• The future
• Any powers
• Height
• Depth
• Or anything else in all creation

v. 37 No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
So as we go through life, when we hit those times when it seems like God has abandoned us, or maybe doesn’t love us anymore, we need to remember these verses.

The bigger picture we are talking about this morning is eternal security, or can we lose our salvation?
• As human’s we are born into sin. (Original Sin)
• There is nothing we can do to earn God’s mercy and salvation.
• Not everyone will accept Jesus.
• Once you do become a Christian, there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation. This is known as:

Perseverance of the Saints (Once Saved Always Saved)
You cannot lose your salvation. Because the Father has elected, the Son has redeemed, and the Holy Spirit has applied salvation, those thus saved are eternally secure. They are eternally secure in Christ.

Watchman Nee tells about a new convert who came in deep distress to see him. "No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I'm losing my salvation." Nee said, "Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess, he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog; my son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ's heir because it is for you that He died." We are Christ's heirs, not through our perfection but by means of His grace.

A Biblical basis for eternal security:
• John 6:47 “he who believes has everlasting life”
• John 10:27-28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
• Romans 8:1 “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
• Of course Romans 8:37-39

I know this can be a tough concept for some people to understand.
• When you wonder if someone can lose their salvation (because of a continually sinful lifestyle) what we really need to question is their original commitment to Christ.
• Did this person really ever give their heart and life fully to Jesus?
• Have they chosen to daily be filled with the Holy Spirit and live the life of a disciple of Jesus?

Predestination/eternal security is the concept that whenever God creates faith in our hearts and thereby joins us to Christ and His saving work, He will sustain that faith, that saving relationship with Christ, causing us, by His grace, to persevere in faith.

Conclusion: The Love of God, Cheri Keaggy Slide Show