Into the Heart of Romans
A Deep Dive into Paul’s Greatest Letter
Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love (4|4)
Pages 215-221
Romans 8:34-39 (NIV) Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus, who died —more than that, who was raised to life —is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul rejects the assumption that suffering is necessarily a sign of divine anger, instead quoting Psalm 44 to affirm the faithfulness of God’s people amid hardship. How does this challenge common ways (both ancient and modern) of interpreting suffering, and how might it shape the way we respond to others (and ourselves) when trouble comes?
Paul says that those “in the Messiah” are reckoned both as sheep for slaughter and, paradoxically, as “more than conquerors.” How does this tension (between suffering and victory) affect your understanding of what Christian “triumph” looks like, and how might our own struggles and “prayerful groaning” become part of the way God overcomes evil in the world through the love of the Messiah?
Paul lists every conceivable power (cosmic, temporal, spiritual, and earthly) to insist that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in the Messiah. Where do you most feel the pressure of these “powers of the present age,” and how does Paul’s vision of creation’s future rescue help you hold on to hope in the meantime?
Our assurance is not based on vague religious feeling or denial of hardship, but on the concrete event of Jesus’ resurrection. How does grounding confidence in Easter (rather than in emotions or circumstances) shape the way we understand faith, assurance, and hope when facing uncomfortable or painful realities?
What have been your biggest takeaways from this book?