Fear Nothing Part One. (Romans 8.31–39)

n this episode, we begin exploring one of the most powerful and reassuring passages in all of Scripture. Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions that build a case for the absolute security of the believer. If God is for us, who can be against us? If He did not spare His own Son, how could He possibly withhold anything we truly need?

Drawing from the story of Abraham and Isaac, and continuing the courtroom imagery of justice and justification, Paul offers us a divine guarantee: nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We reflect on the depth of this assurance, the finality of Christ’s sacrifice, and the unshakable truth that no accusation, condemnation, or opposition can prevail against those God has chosen and justified.

Key Themes:

• God’s unbreakable promise of love and salvation
• The logic of grace: from the greater (Christ) to the lesser (our needs)
• The courtroom metaphor of justification and advocacy
• Christ as our defender, not our accuser

Key Verses:
“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” – Romans 8:32

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• 16:40 [Ad] The Balance of Gray
• 17:28 (Cont.) Fear Nothing Part One. (Romans 8.31–39)

Transcript

 Fear Nothing - Part One. (Romans 8:31–39)

Transcript:

When someone offers a guarantee, we instinctively look for the fine print. We’ve all learned that most human promises come with limitations—whether it’s a car warranty that excludes the very thing we thought it covered or even a promise from an acquaintance or an employer. Guarantees, in my experience, are rarely unconditional.

So, when Scripture tells us that we’re guaranteed glory—eternal glory—it’s not surprising that some of us bring that same sceptical attitude we might have learnt because of our interactions in the everyday.

What’s the catch? What if we fail? Can anything separate us from the love of God?

Today we look at one of the most lyrical passages Paul ever wrote. In it we find a wonderful allusion which would stand out to any Jew who knew his Old Testament well. Paul says in effect: "God for us did not spare his own Son; surely that is the final guarantee that he loves us enough to supply all our needs." 

The words Paul uses of God are the very words God used of Abraham when Abraham proved his utter loyalty by being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac at God's command. God said to Abraham: "You have not withheld your son, your only son, from me" ( Genesis 22:12 ). 

Paul seems to say: "Think of the greatest human example in the world of a man's loyalty to God; God's loyalty to you is like that." Just as Abraham was so loyal to God that he was prepared to sacrifice his dearest possession, God is so loyal to men that he is prepared to sacrifice his only Son for them. 

Surely, he says, we can trust a loyalty like that for anything that life might throw at us…. God’s Guarantee Means We Need Fear Nothing

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 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. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 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.

In Romans 8, Paul speaks directly into that doubt. Earlier in the chapter, in verse 18, he said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” And then in verse 30, he gives what is essentially our spiritual guarantee: “Those he justified, he also glorified.”

Notice that last word—glorified—is in the past tense. That’s striking. We haven’t yet experienced our full glorification; that’s still in the future. But Paul speaks as though it’s already happened. The promise is so sure, so settled in the heart of God, that it’s as if it’s already complete. That’s not just a guarantee—that’s divine assurance.

And yet we still wonder. We know what it’s like to be let down by promises. We’ve had setbacks in life that make us question whether God is truly for us. So, Paul, knowing our hearts, closes Romans 8 with a kind of courtroom defence of this spiritual guarantee. He does it by asking four powerful questions—each designed to strengthen our confidence in God’s love and faithfulness.

The first comes in verse 31: “What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

What are “these things”, he is talking about? Likely everything Paul’s said so far—not just in chapter 8 but going all the way back through Romans. That we are justified by faith. That we have peace with God. That we are no longer slaves to sin. That there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. And now—this guarantee of glory.

So, in light of all that, Paul asks: If God—almighty, sovereign, gracious God is for us, who could possibly stand against us?

It’s a rhetorical question. The answer is implied: no one. Nothing. No enemy, no accusation, no hardship can overcome the one who is held in the love of God.

And in case we still doubt, Paul gives the foundation for our confidence in verse 32: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

If God already gave us His very best—His Son—how could we imagine He’d hold anything else back?

The cross is the ultimate evidence that God is for us. It’s not just a feeling or a hope; it’s a blood-bought reality. If He gave us Jesus, He’ll certainly give us everything we need for life, for faith, and for the glory to come.

That’s the first layer of Paul’s answer: If God is for us, no one can ultimately be against us. And our confidence rests not in our strength, but in His sacrifice.

The idea is simple yet stunning. If God has already given us the greatest gift—His own Son—how could He possibly withhold the lesser gifts? This is a classic argument from the greater to the lesser. If He did not hold back His beloved Son, the treasure of heaven, what good thing would He now deny us? 

Paul seems to be echoing the language of Genesis 22, where Abraham offers up Isaac, his only son, in obedience to God. But at the last moment, God provides a ram in Isaac’s place. Yet here, there is no substitute. God gave His Son, Jesus Christ, and there was no ram to replace Jesus as the Lamb of God. He was offered up, crucified, bearing our sin. The Father delivered up the son—for us all.

So, if that has happened—if the Father has already made this ultimate sacrifice—what is left that He would not now provide for those who are in Christ? Not health, not peace, not perseverance, not hope, not eternal security—all things are ours in Christ. As Paul puts it elsewhere, “In Christ we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3).

If God has given us our redemption—His own Son—He will certainly give us everything else we need to live in that redemption. Security. Assurance. Comfort. Hope. Nothing can come between us and Him.

So again—verse 31—“If God is for us, who can be against us?” The answer? No one. Not one enemy can successfully oppose the believer, because God is on our side.

If the power of God is driving forward, what enemy could withstand Him?

So again, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” No one. Not really. Not ultimately.

Now Paul asks the second question—verse 33: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?” Perhaps someone may not be able to defeat us directly, but could they accuse us? Could they raise a charge against us in the courtroom of heaven?

Again, Paul doesn’t just say, “Who will bring a charge against the believer?” No—he says, “against God’s elect.” He’s already framed the answer in the very wording of the question. These are God’s chosen ones. Who would dare accuse them?

And what is the answer? “It is God who justifies.”

In the Greek, the words are even simpler and more direct: “God who justifies.” It could be a question or a statement. Either way, the meaning is the same. God is the one who has declared us righteous. No one else’s accusation can stand.

Think back to what we learned earlier in Romans about justification. Justification means to be declared righteous. And here’s what that means: I stood before God condemned. I was guilty as charged. The evidence was all there—I had broken His law. But Christ stepped in. He bore the penalty for my sin. He took my place. And when I trusted in Him, God the Judge—the only Judge that matters—declared me righteous in His sight.

So now, who could bring a charge against me? What court could overrule the Supreme Judge?

It’s like this: the high court in the UK or in American law, once the Supreme Court has made a ruling, no lower court can reverse it. The verdict is final. If the highest authority has spoken in your favour, who else has the right to contradict?

That’s Paul’s point here. The highest authority—God Himself—has already ruled. He has declared us righteous. Justified. Forgiven. So, no accusation can stick. No condemnation can hold.

Paul’s third rhetorical question cuts even deeper into the heart of our assurance: “Who is he that condemns?” In other words, is there anyone—especially any ultimate authority—who can now pronounce final judgment against us?

We’ve already heard Paul say that no charge will stick, that no accuser will stand. But now he narrows the focus. He’s no longer painting the broad strokes of a courtroom; now, he's zeroing in on the figure behind the bench—the judge himself.

And who is that judge?

Scripture tells us plainly: in Acts 10 and again in John 5, the authority to judge all humanity has been entrusted to Jesus Christ. So, if anyone is going to condemn us, it would have to be Jesus. But that raises a deeply important question: would Jesus, the one appointed as Judge, ever turn against those who belong to Him?

Paul answers with the glorious gospel:

“It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34)

The very one who could condemn us is the one who gave His life for us. He died in our place. He rose to secure our justification. He ascended to the right hand of God in power. And now—He pleads for us. He is our advocate, not our accuser.

It’s as though Paul is saying: You’re worried about condemnation? The Judge is the very one who paid the penalty. The Judge is the one who went to the cross for you. What kind of courtroom is this? This case has already been settled—in your favour!

It’s almost scandalous—almost like the courtroom has been rigged in our favour. Of course, that’s not how it works legally, but spiritually speaking, the justice of God has been satisfied fully in the death of Christ. There’s no double jeopardy in God’s courtroom. The penalty has been paid in full. And more than that, Christ’s ongoing intercession means there is always grace being applied in real-time to our lives.

As John puts it in 1 John 2:1:

“If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

The death of Christ removes our guilt. The resurrection of Christ secures our righteousness. The intercession of Christ guarantees our ongoing forgiveness. So, who can condemn us? No one. Not even the Judge—because the Judge has already declared us righteous in Him.

And then Paul adds another beautiful layer of assurance: not only does Christ intercede for us, but so does the Holy Spirit.

Earlier in Romans 8:26–27, Paul wrote that the Spirit “intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

Think of it: God the Son and God the Spirit are both praying for you. They are interceding before the throne of God on your behalf. There is no more secure place to be in the universe than under that kind of divine advocacy.

That’s our hope. That’s our confidence.

We have the Son himself bringing us before the throne. And the Father listens. He has already accepted the sacrifice of His Son, and He delights in the Son’s intercession.

So, who will condemn you?

Not Christ.

Not the Judge.

Not anyone.

Because you are in Christ, and “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

But now a fourth and final question arises—one that cuts to the emotional heart of the matter:

Can anything ever change that?

Could anything ever cause God to stop loving me?

That’s the question Paul asks next. Let’s turn to the answers he gives.

Paul now takes us through seven harrowing realities, each one a test of the soul. Tribulation. That word in Greek—thlipsis—literally means pressure. It's what you feel when life is closing in on you, when the weight of circumstance bears down on your chest and it becomes hard to breathe. 

Then distress. This word has the sense of being hemmed in, of narrowing space. It’s the feeling of being trapped, when options vanish and you find yourself in a tight, dark corner.

Then persecution. That’s more straightforward—being targeted for your faith in Christ. Followed by famine. Going hungry. Nakedness. Being destitute. Having no protection, no covering. Peril. Any danger at all. And finally, the sword. Not just a blade—but anything that threatens your very life.

Paul had faced nearly all of these dangers and pressures—he recounts them in detail in 2 Corinthians 11. But why does he list them here? Because these are the sorts of trials that tempt us to question the love of God. When life threatens us, when illness strikes, when we lose someone we love, when the pressure is unbearable—we start to wonder: does God still love me? Can He?

So, Paul doesn’t just talk theology; he turns to Scripture. In verse 36 he quotes Psalm 44:22: "For your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." The suffering of God’s people is nothing new. It stretches all the way back. The faithful have always seemed to live under the shadow of death. We walk with a sentence hanging over our heads—daily death. It’s as if we’re on death row, and we’ve not yet been executed.

You’ve likely had those moments. When everything felt like it might collapse. When a loved one’s life hung in the balance. When your job was slipping through your fingers. When illness overtook you. In those moments, the question comes: If God loved me, would He really let this happen?

That’s the question Paul is answering: Can anything separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus? And his answer in verse 37 is triumphant: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.