“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 8:38, 39)
Apostle Paul is here sharing one of his convictions. The word conviction reminds me of the court of law where a conviction is reached on the basis of irrefutable evidence(s) or facts. Someone on the accuser’s stand is convicted on the basis of the judge’s or jurors’ conviction that he/she is culprit. We use the word conviction to imply certainty and exclude any shadow of doubt. It is the same as saying that “I know for a fact”.
Apostle Paul is actually saying that he knows for a fact, with certainty, that nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Please understand that he is talking about the love of God. He is simply saying that the love of God is in Christ Jesus our Lord. In other words, Christ Jesus our Lord loves us with the love of God.
This is an amazing revelation because before Christ Jesus our Lord came on earth peoples had different ideas about the love God. It was opened to speculation, as it were. However, the coming of Jesus Christ to earth ended all speculation about the love of God because He is the living expression of it….
I recall stating somewhere that “the love of God is the only thing that I can take for granted in life”. Here Apostle Paul reminds us that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not even sin! Do you know that there is nothing you can do in order to make God love you more or less? God will always love you the same.
True, we have many places in the bible where it is suggested separation between God and his chosen people. For example, consider Isaiah 59:1, 2: “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
It is important to note that the foregoing verse is not about God. It is about the power of sin or iniquities. It tells me that my sin does not affect God in the sense of changing his disposition toward me. God is the same before, whilst and after I sin. However, my sin makes me more vulnerable because it cut me off the presence of God. Note that it is the presence of God and not his love as the following verse makes clear.
Romans 5:7, 8: “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
See, God demonstrates his love for sinners in the death of Christ. It means that even sin could not separate the sinner from the love of God as the death of Christ Jesus demonstrated.
The love of God in Christ Jesus my Lord convinces me that no matter how low I have fallen, or how badly I have done, or how terrible my sin is, God still loves me the same and is ready to receive me in his arms as soon as I come to “my senses” as to turn back to Him in repentance.
I pray that apostle Paul’s conviction be ours as we step into the new year. To have such a conviction means that one will allow nothing in all creation to make him or her doubt the love of God.
To God be the glory!
