It Is God Who Justifies

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 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? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 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. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

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

Romans 8:31-39

Because we are his children we are loved no matter what we do or fail to do. It means instead that we should think about His love and bask in its radiance and warmth all day long.

God loved us before we were born, and He loves us now.

There are five times in John’s gospel that he described himself as the disciple Jesus loved. Jesus loved His other disciples too, but John reveled in the fact that Jesus loved him!

God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is.

Our Daily Bread – July 8, 2013