18^th – 19^th June

Weekend Edition

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

Romans 8:31

If God is for us, does it mean we don’t have enemies? Does is mean that everyone will like us if we profess we follow Christ. As much as the answer should be yes, unfortunately it is a no. Just look at Jesus’ life. He was murdered by a group of people that didn’t like Him. So what does Paul mean when He says ‘if God is for us, no one can be against us’? In order to understand this verse fully we need to look back to the previous verses.

Paul clearly says that God chose us, cleansed us, made us new creations and that because of the love of God, we are right before the throne of God, due to the sacrifice of His son. He adds that we can eagerly await the full inheritance of a child of God and the promise of life eternally spent in the very presence of God, with new bodies and without sin and suffering. If all of the above is true, then this means that there is no-one in the world, both physically or any other spiritual powers, that can come against us and tear us away from the blessings of what Jesus did on the cross. Paul adds in the following verses that there is no-one who can condemn us, no-one who can accuse us, and no-one that can separate us from God’s love.

Friends, God is for us. We are on His side. There is nothing or no-one that can change that. Yes we may face opposition, both spiritually and physically, yes we live in a fallen sinful world, but nothing changes the fact, that our identity and position in Christ is un-movable, because God is for us. If God is not against and doesn’t condemn us, then we can live without fear of others doing so.