If God Be For You!

Romans 8:-31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” NKJV

Paul began this chapter addressing life in the Spirit and life in the flesh. He warned us that a carnal life was no life at all, while true life was found in being led by the Spirit of God! He discussed sonship, sharing of an inheritance with Christ, suffering with Him, and then being glorified with Him.

Paul seems to take a detour by explaining how God takes us from that state of suffering to revealing His glory in us. He reminds us that even creation is waiting for the day of our full redemption that it may also be redeemed. Paul refers to being in that place where you have no words, only groanings; but it is okay because the Holy Spirit comes alongside us, helping us through those weak moments. Then he informs us that all the sufferings, heartaches, prayers that cannot be uttered, and feelings of being overwhelmed are working together for good for those of us who love God and are invited into His purpose! Those who have been justified, Paul states, will be glorified! Encouraging words!

But he isn’t finished, for while he has had some hard things to say in previous verses, now he is full of words of encouragement. If you have been following along with me in this study, you have already seen some of that! And with our key text, he brings home yet another very important point about our God:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31 NKJV

The things Paul is referencing are the sufferings that he has mentioned to us. The type of sufferings that causes our hearts to hurt. What do we say to theses things, Paul asks?

This gives me the impression that we can talk to our circumstances! If we are honest with ourselves, our circumstances are always talking to us! God doesn’t love you and that’s why you are going through this! God isn’t faithful because if He was you wouldn’t be going through this! Life was better for you before you became a Christian. Our circumstances talk loudly and persistently to us! Now Paul asks the question, “What do we say to these things?

Well, he answers with a question that should stop all complaining in its tracks!

If God be for us, who can be be against us?

Romans 8:31b NKJV

We should “oida,” have full knowledge, of the power that God possesses! He is Creator of the ends of the earth! He is the One who parted the Red Sea for the children of Israel! He is the One who sent fire upon the altar that Elijah built! He is the One who held the sun back at Joshua’s word! He is the One who caused the walls of Jericho to fall! He is the One who made a public spectacle of the devil, triumphing over him! He is the One who holds the keys to hell and death! He is Jesus! There is no one greater than Him! And Paul says,

If God be for us, who can be be against us?

Romans 8:31b NKJV

I used to wonder why Paul used the word if, and not since. It always seemed to me that “if” left us wondering, if God indeed was for us! And maybe Paul was stating that everyone who believed that God was for them, He was not really for! After all, Paul experienced that himself when he was persecuting the Church. He thought God was for what he was doing, only to discover that he was fighting against God; and therefore, God was not for him! Some people have a difficult time understanding that God isn’t for everything that they say He is for!

Then I read somewhere that what Paul was saying is, “If God is for you, and He is, then who can be against you? I was leaning that way because it made more sense to me, than Paul leaving us wondering! But in all honesty, they both work! Because we can be assured that God is for His people!

So when we have these circumstances coming at us, instead of listening to what they have to say, we should say some of the things the overcomers in the word had to say:

Jonathan and his armor bearer spotted a group of Philistines, and though he was outnumbered he said to his armor bearer:

 “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.”

1 Samuel 14:6 NKJV

They had a mighty victory that day, and God did indeed save them! He doesn’t need a lot of anything to overcome circumstances in our lives!

David said, before defeating Goliath:

Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

1 Samuel 17:47 NKJV

Then David released his rock and Goliath fell down! If God be for you, you understand that the battle belongs to the Lord!

David wrote these words:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.

Psalm 27: 1-3 NKJV

What is the thing that David was confident in? His confidence was in the fact that the Lord was for him! He had no reason to be afraid of man, his enemies, or his foes, because he had seen them stumble and fall! Even an army camped against him would not cause his heart to fear! David knew that God was for him!

One of my personal favorite cross-references to Romans 8:31 is Isaiah 54:17:

No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.

Isaiah 54:17 NKJV

None! Absolutely none! It doesn’t matter what life, or the devil, throws at us, when we are trusting God, IT SHALL NOT PROSPER!

Jeremiah had this to say:

But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.

Jeremiah 20:11 NKJV

I know I placed a lot of verses in this blog, but sometimes we need reminding of how often God tells us that He is for us! We need to remember that if He delivered Daniel out of the lion’s den, and He did, then He can most certainly deliver us from our troubles! If He delivered the children of Israel, and He did, He can certainly deliver us! There is nothing too hard for Him, and there is no weapon, no demon, no circumstance, that He cannot overcome!

The remaining verses of this chapter are so encouraging, I may have to take them one by one! Be patient with me, because this stuff is so exciting and so encouraging that I can’t help myself!! Wonderful Jesus!

I love this song! Let it bless you!