Who Can Be Against Us?
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I don’t know about you, but the growing violence and immorality in our nation, and around the world has me feeling burdened in my heart quite a lot recently. I had a conversation with my aunt over the phone on this past Monday night who was expressing the exact same feeling. And then when I arrived in the office on Tuesday morning, the exact same feeling was expressed by Chuck Nehring and Cathy Hartman.
Seeing it and hearing it from others in the congregation also has me thinking about one Scripture passage in particular. Paul writes in Romans 8:31-39 (ESV), Romans 8:31–39:
“31What then shall we say 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 with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
For the sake of Christ (in verse 36) we face all kinds of terrible and miserable things, in faith and without giving up our faith. We do so because we are certain of the love of God, expressed in all that He did and gave through Christ. If He did and gave all of this to love us and to save us, why in the world would He withdraw His love from us, or abandon us when we need Him most? The answer is that He wouldn’t. His love for us remains long-suffering, steadfast, and unconditional.
So no matter what horrible things are swirling all around us, He will be with us to care for us, support us, encourage us, comfort us, strengthen us, and sustain us through it all. He may not fix it or take it away from us immediately, but He will never abandon us, or remove His love from us in the midst of it all.
The cross and the empty tomb give us full confirmation of this steadfast love of God!
In His steadfast love,
Pastor Paul Pett
I don’t know about you, but the growing violence and immorality in our nation, and around the world has me feeling burdened in my heart quite a lot recently. I had a conversation with my aunt over the phone on this past Monday night who was expressing the exact same feeling. And then when I arrived in the office on Tuesday morning, the exact same feeling was expressed by Chuck Nehring and Cathy Hartman.
Seeing it and hearing it from others in the congregation also has me thinking about one Scripture passage in particular. Paul writes in Romans 8:31-39 (ESV), Romans 8:31–39:
“31What then shall we say 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 with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
For the sake of Christ (in verse 36) we face all kinds of terrible and miserable things, in faith and without giving up our faith. We do so because we are certain of the love of God, expressed in all that He did and gave through Christ. If He did and gave all of this to love us and to save us, why in the world would He withdraw His love from us, or abandon us when we need Him most? The answer is that He wouldn’t. His love for us remains long-suffering, steadfast, and unconditional.
So no matter what horrible things are swirling all around us, He will be with us to care for us, support us, encourage us, comfort us, strengthen us, and sustain us through it all. He may not fix it or take it away from us immediately, but He will never abandon us, or remove His love from us in the midst of it all.
The cross and the empty tomb give us full confirmation of this steadfast love of God!
In His steadfast love,
Pastor Paul Pett
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