Paul begins his letter to the Romans by explaining that God’s wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Both Gentiles (1:18-32) and Jews (2:1-3:8) are guilty of sin. He argues that no one is righteous on their own (3:9-18).
Paul expresses the bad news and good news of God’s activity on behalf of humans in the last verse of chapter 6: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6.23).
The climax of the good news for the first eight chapters of Romans comes at the end of the eighth chapter.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
Nor 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 (Romans 8.35, 37-39).
For sinful humanity that trusts the finished work of the Messiah, there is nothing that can separate us from his love.
An Eternal Relationship
The Sadducees tried to trip up Jesus with a hypothetical question concerning the resurrection. Jesus’ answer is echoed by Paul’s words in this passage.
Jesus answered the religious authorities: “You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.
“For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
“And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God,
“‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22.29-32).
There are many insights to be gained from this passage in Matthew, but I’d like to focus on two key points.
First, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are mentioned by name, and their identities are recognized. This suggests that in heaven, individuals will still have names and be known.
The second point is about God’s relationship with these men. Jesus speaks of the resurrection of the dead because, once God establishes a relationship with someone, that bond is unbreakable, even by death.
When Paul emphasizes that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ, he’s not referring to some vague idea of God’s affection for humanity. Rather, love is a relationship, similar to the one God had with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
This means that nothing, not even death, can keep us from God’s presence. For this, we can be deeply grateful for God’s grace.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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