who can seperate us from the Love of Christ...

[givennewname]

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Rom 8:36 Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

Rom 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can anybody tell me what those verses mean?

Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Certainly there are enough backslidden Christians who have counted the cost of following Christ and abandoned the faith.. Paul knew a few of them in Demus who loved the world more and abandoned him and Christ... So i don't really know what Paul is talking about here. He seems to be contradicting himself.

2Ti 4:10 for Demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

Edited November 17, 2008 by givennewname

[Guest HIS girl]

Hi gnn..

Your title says you are finding it difficult to walk with Jesus. In what way? Not understanding the verses or .....what is it exactly?

[kross]

There are those of us who believe that JESUS saves and keeps HIS people. There are those of us who believe that JESUS offers salvation, but if we except it, we can not trust HIM to keep us saved.

JESUS said, "All that the FATHER gives me will come to me and of them I will loose none"

I am one of those who is putting my trust in JESUS to keep me.

Also, while it does say they abandoned Paul, it doesn't say they left JESUS. Paul was on a hard road, many Christians are not called to the harder ministry of JESUS.

All Christians fail to live up to somebody's standard of what they should be or what they want them to be. That does not mean that JESUS has tossed them.

[LIVN4JC]

I was always afraid my sins would keep me from my Lord and Savior. But after reading Romans 8: 38-39 and John 10: 27-30 I take comfort that Jesus is now and forever will be my Savior. Galations 2:20. Yes I still sin and I need to confess and get right again with the Lord. But nothing can take me from His arms. Praise the Lord I am forever saved. Remember Isaiah 53:6. Blessings to you.

[givennewname]

that is my question exactly. Paul mentions that is is so difficult to seperate us from God's love and fellowship when in realiaty almost anything can seperate us from God. Certainly riches can keep some one from God as seen in the passage where Jesus ask the rich man to leave everything behind and follow him, the guy didn't because he loved his money. there is another passage in the gospels that mention whoever that ploughs a field and looks back will never inherit the kingdom so aparently there are many attractions that can keep a man from God's love. These are just a few of the long lists of things that can keep a man from God, so why is it that Pauls says nothing can keep us from the love of God?

[Guest man]

so why is it that Pauls says nothing can keep us from the love of God?

daystar101 already answered your question.

If you truly and honestly try to walk in obedience, there is nothing or anyone who can take you away from the Lord.

The only one who can separarte you from God is "you".

[Guest shiloh357]

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Rom 8:36 Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

Rom 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can anybody tell me what those verses mean?

Well if you exmaine the preceding verses, Paul has just made case for the fact that we who are in Christ are predestined for "adoption." Now, the word "adoption" in the Greek and in the way Paul is using it here, does not refer to anything like our modern transaction in which parents adopt children. That is not what it means.

Paul defines "adoption" as:

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

(Romans 8:23)

As it is used in this context, Paul is talking about what God has planned for us. He has predestined us to "adoption" or to the receiving of our glorified body. See, this shows an eternal perspective. Notice these verses in chapter 8:

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

(Romans 8:14-17)

We have the inner witness that we are the children of God. We have received the spirit of adoption. Paul states that if we are children then God then we are heirs of God and if we are heirs, we are "joint-heirs" with Christ. Which is important. It means that we get treated just like first born. That is the end to which we who are Christians are predestined to experience.

[Lomi]

Who can separate us from the love of GOD?

No-one can separate us from the love of GOD, it is we ourselves that separates us from it.

When we turn our back on GOD, HE still loves us, HE'll still wait for us.

HE didn't even spare HIS ONE and ONLY SON, which is JESUS CHRIST.

I've realised that in this verse, how stubborn man really are.

We love to give GOD the blame, when things go wrong, but we never look at ourselves or see who's behind it all...

Since the beginning, when GOD created us, HE wanted us to have a special relationship with him, But as we all know, what happened...

Sin steped in and separate us from GOD, GOD's love never grow weak, But only stronger...

We sometimes run after our fleshly desires, and that leads us to backslide...not all of us can stand strong.

Say for instance,you are a mother/father.. you have a child, that you love dearly, But this child always get into trouble, don't appreciate you,

hurt you, doing his/her own thing, and is not even bothered about you mostly, then sometimes this child give you a hug & out of the blue gives you a present. Will you tell me your love towards your child will lessen...Will you tell me that you will separate your love from your child?

I do not think so, same to GOD. GOD is HOLY, and Loving. Imagine this, will you be able to give your Only child's life to safe a bunch of people that is ungrateful?

GOD is love, HE first love us. I'm glad HE does. I'm only human, I do make mistakes, But I can rest assured that with a GOD that love me so much, I can come and ask for forgiveness, and HE'll do it.

HE is love...

Regards,

Alomia

[EricH]

Only we ourselves, having free will, can separate us from the love of Christ.

Agree with what you were trying to say, however even if we turn from Christ and begin to walk in sin, Jesus will still love us. Now i am not saying we can continue in sin and expect to go to heaven, but Jesus will never stop loving us.

The problem is that may fit your theological position but it goes against the context of the passage. Consider theses addtional verses:

First, 8:1 defines the audience:

Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus,

Romans 8:1 HCSB

The audience is those who are saved

The method of salvation is God's soveriegn election:

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30 HCSB

Therefor since it was God's sovereign work that saved us, we have assurance in the midst of circumstances that may lead us to believe that we have been abandoned by God:

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare His own Son, but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God's elect? God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Romans 8:31-39 HCSB

The whole context of the passage is that our salvation is a soveriegn act of God in our lives and that since God is all powerful, nothing can remove that from us. The love spoken of here is the love that is "in Christ jesus". This phrase "in Christ Jesus" is used by Paul in the NT to describe those who are part of Christ as a result of receiving salvation. So the love described here is the love we experience as a result of being saved. According to Paul, nothing can separate us from that. The exception you have noted is not mentioned in the passage, so for you to add it here would seem to me to be reading it in

[kross]

that is my question exactly. Paul mentions that is is so difficult to seperate us from God's love and fellowship when in realiaty almost anything can seperate us from God. Certainly riches can keep some one from God as seen in the passage where Jesus ask the rich man to leave everything behind and follow him, the guy didn't because he loved his money. there is another passage in the gospels that mention whoever that ploughs a field and looks back will never inherit the kingdom so aparently there are many attractions that can keep a man from God's love. These are just a few of the long lists of things that can keep a man from God, so why is it that Pauls says nothing can keep us from the love of God?

Because Paul believed that once you are saved you are sealed with the SPIRIT of promise until the day of redemption. Because Paul taught that, JESUS saves those who call on HIM. Paul did not teach or write or say that once you were in the arms of GOD, you would only get into Paradise if you were good enough.

Salvation is a gift from GOD. It is given freely and it can not be earned or lost by our actions. Paul tells us that we, (the US and WE used in this passage means THOSE IN CHRIST) WE can not be removed from the hand of GOD or the love of GOD in any fashion.

The only thing that would make a person leave GOD would be a power or principality. The actions of Satan or even the power of the individual. Both things are addressed in the scriptures that tell us that nothing can separate us from HIS love.

There are those who chooose not to believe this. There are those who choose to interpret the scripture to mean all of mankind and not just those who Paul wrote the letter to. You are welcome to listen to them, or you can take what the scripture says as fact.

JESUS said, "All that THE FATHER has given to ME, will come to ME, of them I WILL LOSE NONE"

That is a fact.