“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31).
How do we know that God is for us? Paul continues: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall he not also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32)
Most sin flows from fear. We fear being caught, so we lie. We fear being left out, so we steal and cheat. We fear injustice and so we blow up and hate and kill. We fear pain and oppression, so we dishonor and disobey authority. Elsewhere the Bible says that we fear death and that is fundamentally what keeps us enslaved to sin (Heb. 2:14-15). And it really is a kind of insanity: we go back to sin because we are afraid of death, but sin only brings more death. It’s like smoking more cigarettes because you have lung cancer and you’re afraid of dying.
Why do we run to sin? Why are we afraid? Fundamentally, we are afraid because we are guilty. We are like Adam and Eve in the garden trying to hide in the bushes from God. And why do we hide? Because we believe that God is against us. And He is against us in our sin. He is against us clinging to our sin.
But the Bible says that God is for us. And we know that He is for us because He spared not His own Son and delivered Him up for us all. If God gave His only Son for us, how could He be against us? But this was not just a one-off thing: if God gave His Son, how will He not also freely give us all things? What things? Joy in your marriage, fellowship around your table, fulfillment in your work, healing estranged relationships, harmony on our streets, justice in the public square, peace in your heart. Why wouldn’t God give us those things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Guilt is what makes us afraid, and fear of God’s judgment keeps us locked in a cage. But Jesus was crucified to take all of our guilt. He was crucified to break us out of that prison. Therefore, God is for us. And we cannot be afraid anymore.
Photo by Jakub Kriz on Unsplash
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