Nothing Can Separate Us

A Powerful Promise

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he described a powerful promise. This promise is meant to provide great comfort for Christians in the security that is found when one obeys the Gospel.

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:37-39 (NASU)

A List of Many Things

Within these verses, we find a number of different examples of things, persons, entities, and powers which are unable to separate the Christian from God. This list is inclusive of not simply a great number of things, but specifically any “created thing” which describes anything in existence apart from our eternal God.

This is comforting, for there are great forces which seek to harm the church in general and Christians individually. Christians have faced persecution in the form of insult, slander, economic and social hardship, and even imprisonment, torture, and execution. These persecutions have come from hostile individuals and State governments.

Beyond these sources is the spiritual realm, including our greatest enemy which is a source of great danger. Even death itself is included, as the Gospel allows us to overcome it. None of these forces have, of themselves, the power to separate us from the love of God. Not even Satan himself could accomplish such a feat.

A Key to Remember

However, with this great promise there is one key element to remember. Paul’s focus was to provide confidence to Christians facing Roman persecution that nothing created could force them to abandon God and Christ, nor could anything created take away their salvation. No outward force could accomplish these things. But they, as individuals with free will, could walk away from God.

This means that our enemy’s real goal is not to pull us away from God; such a thing is impossible. His goal is instead to convince us to abandon God of our own free will. And he will use every power possible to influence us to make such a choice.