Romans 8:31 (NIV)
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
This popular scripture is often used and abused with misunderstanding amongst both believers and unbelievers alike in today’s modern landscape. I’ve observed that people speak loosely without caution and without understanding in spiritual matters quite often. Isolating this verse from what God has declared before and after may cause one to feel falsely empowered by God’s promise of protection and defense. It is therefore wholly important that we look at God’s Word always in context and study His Word to show ourselves approved.
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things?” – This must first be answered.
Paul declares the following guideposts in Romans 8:
- There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! – There is therefore condemnation for those who are not in Him. It is only if you are in Christ Jesus that you are free by the law of the Spirit from the law of sin and death.
- How does one know if they are in Christ Jesus? Those who are in Christ Jesus live according to the Spirit and not the flesh. The mind governed by the flesh is death and lives in hostility to God because it does not submit to God’s law.
- If the Spirit of God does indeed live in you, you are a child of God and you live in the realm of the Spirit. If Christ is in you, you are therefore obligated to not live according to the flesh but rather to put to death the misdeeds of the body.
- As children of God, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ and we groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption to sonship and the redemption of our bodies.
- The Holy Spirit intercedes for God’s people, His children, in accordance with the will of God.
- God works for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to his purpose.
- God’s children have been predestined, called, justified and glorified.
What then shall we say in response to all these things that have been highlighted for our edified guidance?
We concur that God is for His children, those who are in Christ Jesus and who live by the Spirit because He intercedes for them and works for their good. No one can therefore be against God’s children who are not condemned and who are free from the law of sin and death.
God first has to be for you to stand for you. It is through God’s love that we as believers are made conquerors. No one can bring a charge against those whom God has chosen and justified.
Before Paul enables us with the promise that God is for us, He tells us in detail what qualifies those who are God’s.
Before uttering this scripture audaciously, your first two questions should be: “Am I for God?” and “Is God for me?” God is obligated to be for me if I love and obey Him. No one person or circumstance can stand against a true child of God. There is no power in repeating scripture if our lives are not rooted in God’s spirit and truth. The way we live must be aligned to God’s prescriptions.
I’ve learned that we often give the Devil too much credit for the misfortunes of our lives. I do believe God yearns for us all to believe in His son, Jesus Christ and become adopted into His family. More often than not however, we continue living fleshly governed lives while longing to be identified as a child of God when it benefits us.
God desires that no one perishes and He is for you in that regard. This is why He sent His son to die on the cross for our sins to relieve us from the penalty of sin and death. Nonetheless, if you are not for God, then God cannot be for you and if God is not for you, your denial of His Lordship will stand against you.
You can therefore be found standing against yourself if you are governed by the sinful nature of your flesh. If you live in disagreement with God’s Word, you thereby live in agreement with the Accuser, Satan, who has every legal right to accuse and condemn you concerning the law of sin and death. Without the residence of God’s spirit, you are not exempt from the reality and consequences of that law.
If you are not in Christ Jesus, you stand condemned! If you are condemned, God is not for you and His judgment is obligated to stand against you.
It is important to note here that living in Christ Jesus by the Spirit is not equal to living by religion. For example, not because you attend church every Saturday/Sunday or perform religious rituals means God’s Spirit indwells in you. There must be practical holiness which proves that there is new life within and you have been made into a new creature. If Christ lives within you, the rivers of His living water will flow uncontaminated by your flesh. You are not controlled by human passions but by the Will of God. Believers ought to be distinguished from unbelievers in that their indwelling and enablement of the Holy Spirit allows them to bear fruits of the Spirit.
In closing, I will leave a favourite scripture of mine for our self-reflection:
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
