What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31
A Christian blogger named Derek Hill recently wrote the following about today’s text, which he describes as his favourite text in all the Bible: Almighty God is sovereign over all things and He is untouchable. Nothing can match His Glory, strength, power, might, knowledge, forgiveness, blessings, riches, love, mercy, grace, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, skill, handiwork, greatness, holiness, righteousness, availability, sensitivity, patience, tenderness, peace, graciousness, gentleness, self-control, joy, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, strategic ways, agape love, bravery, consistency, intentionality, humbleness, willingness, sympathy, empathy, beauty, authority, and anything else you can possibly think of. Mr. Hill nicely sums up the point that having God on our side means it simply doesn’t matter who is on the other side. It’s something like the little boy who feels safe against the neighbourhood bully while walking beside his father. Having God on our side is a guarantee of safety, success, and victory. But are we certain that we have God on our side? Do we know that God is for us?
The necessity of having God for us, on our side, is critical. We have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. We are no match for any one of them, let alone all three. Without God on our side, we must know constant danger, failure, and defeat. Without God on our side, we have no hope of survival. Because we are saved, we know that we can have God on our side. In fact, He is on our side in terms of our eternal standing before Him. The victory won by our Lord Jesus on the cross is our guarantee of eternal security. But just because we can have God on our side, we need to be aware that there are times when He is not on our side.
Actually, the way to know that God is for us is for us to be on His side, working toward those things that He desires, holding those truths that pertain to Him, supporting and believing in His purposes. We know we are on God’s side when we preach the Gospel or support those who preach it, because He desires that all men might be saved. We know we are on God’s side when we gather with His people because He has called us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. In short, when we are obedient to God’s Word and submissive to His will, we are on God’s side.
God is for us to the extent that we are for Him, and He is not for us to the extent that we are for the world, the flesh, and the devil. -Jim MacIntosh