ROMANS—PART 60 Romans 8:35-39 Mark Kring, Senior Pastor March 17 & 18, 2018

1. 8:35 I cannot know the love of Christ until I know Him as Savior (1 John 4:19). 2. 8:35 Christ’s love for me will never be separated from me. It is not dependent upon my ability to sustain it. 3. 8:35 God does not shelter us from struggles. We need them for our spiritual growth and for our testimony to others (Romans 8:28). 4. 8:35 What might trials look like:  Tribulation—Most often used of outward difficulties, but also of emotional stress; speaks of intense adversity (lost relationships, lost jobs, lost finances, lost health)  Distress—Primary idea of strict confinement, of being helplessly hemmed in without options, no place to turn  Persecution—Biblically, speaking of the affliction suffered for the sake of Christ Jesus  Famine/Nakedness—Not nudity, but being so destitute that you cannot clothe yourself or your family; carries the idea of being vulnerable; result of being culturally ostracized or discriminated against for Jesus 5. 8:35 Perseverance does not keep salvation safe, but is evidence that salvation is safe. 6. 8:36-37 Christians endure trials for His sake for His purposes. He will not desert you. 7. 8:37 Those who overwhelmingly conquer are supremely victorious in overcoming everyone and everything that threatens their relationship to Jesus. But they do so entirely through His power, the power of Him who loved us so much that He gave His life for us that we might have life in Him.

8. 8:37 If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are:  Free from judgment because He died for you.  Free from defeat because He lives in you.  Free from fear because He intercedes for you.  Free from discouragement because Jesus is coming again. 9. 8:38-39 Things present and things to come, everything we are experiencing and will yet experience, powers from on high or from below…there is absolutely nothing, ever, that can drive a wedge between the children and the Father. 10. 8:38-39 Trials will drive you deeper into the relationship with the One who knows the full range of suffering. He has your past, your present, and your future! 11. 8:38-39 It is true that, just as many fear death, so many are afraid of life. But why should believers fear? Nothing in life can stop God from loving us.

Thlipsis—tribulation; idea of being squeezed or placed under pressure to the point of crushing Stenochōria—distress; term for narrow space Hypernikaō (hoop-er-nik-ah'-o)—to vanquish beyond, gain a decisive victory :- more than conquer

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