A Study of The Book of Romans

Lesson 58 Chapter 8:34 – 37

1. Verse 34 “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
1. We see in chapter 8, 4 very important questions to us the believers of Christ.

a. “…What shall we then say to these things?” verse 31

b. “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?” Verse 33

c. “Who is he that condemneth?” Verse 34

d. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

e. All four of these questions are the security of the Christian. (1.) Can our frail minds contain the love and grace that God has shown us by saving our worthless souls, (2.) Once saved no one can charge us because we have been totally cleansed by Christ blood, (3.) And since Christ is the righteous judge then only He has the power to condemn us and He simply does not condemn them that was given to Him and died for, His love is to great and it makes His death vain, and (4.) God saved us from start to finish only because He loves us, and that love is too great to allow anyone or anything take it away. Gods love is an eternal love, no beginning and no end.

2. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God…” The Son of Man sits on Jehovah Gods right hand possessing all power and glory. Matthew 26:64 “Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” – Coming with all power.
3. Hebrews 1:3 “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
4. “…who also maketh intercession for us.” This is our most valuable security; Jesus Christ is on Gods right hand on our behalf.
1. Verse 35 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
1. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” This is not our love for Him, but rather His love for us, and it can never be destroyed.

a. Charles Hodge once said - “It is no ground of confidence to assert, or even to feel, that we will never forsake Christ; but it is the strongest ground of assurance to be convinced that His love will never change”

b. Christ cannot change in any matter and His love will never change. Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

c. The idea here is that we need the security that Christ loves us because many bad things can happen to us that would cause us to wonder if His love is still there.

2. “…shall tribulation…” – affliction or anguish
3. “…or distress…” - narrowness of room – This refers to a man reaching the point of not knowing what to do, or distress of the mind when everything shrinks around us.
4. “…or persecution…” – from the world – even if it leads to our death the love of Christ is still there. In fact this would be great evidence that Christ loves you. Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”
5. “… or famine…” - through the idea of destitution – doing without food and being hungry.
6. “…or nakedness…” – the lacking of proper clothing –
7. “…or peril…” – danger – Let us not forget the danger those before us suffered and even then that walked with Christ.
8. “…or sword?” – death – Many of Christians have died for Christ and everyone of them were loved of Christ and died because of that love.
2. Verse 36 “As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
1. Psalms 44:22 “Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.”
2. For His sake Christians will always suffer death, following God and Christ Jesus has a great price and that price can even be death.
3. 1 Corinthians 4:9 “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” The word “spectacle” means - a place for public show – for the world, angels, and men to watch the show of us being killed in public for Christ sake. Angels here could mean demons or it could be angels in heaven simply viewing our love for God through Christ.
3. Verse 37 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”
1. “Nay…” No they do not show a lack of love from Christ, in fact they show His love even more so.
2. “…we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” – or we gain victory over them because it shows our faith and love for Christ which comes from Christ to us. It is a victory that none other can even compare.
3. 2 Corinthians 4:14 - 18 “Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. (15.) For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. (16.) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. (17.) For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (18.) While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”