“What, then, are we to say about these things?  If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Over the last few weeks, we have walked with Paul as he has laid out some of the glories of the Gospel. He has talked about our freedom from condemnation in Christ. He has celebrated the presence of the Spirit in us. He has boasted of our adoption as children into God’s family. He has marveled at the access through prayer we have of God—with His help, no less. Most recently he has declared with wonder God’s ability to bring good to our lives regardless of the circumstances we face. Here at the end, through a series of three key questions, Paul ponders some of the implications of all these wonderful truths. Let’s take a look at each of them in turn.

Paul starts with a summary question: “What, then, are we to say about these things?” What indeed. The sheer wonder of the things Paul has been saying just almost take your breath away if you spend time actually thinking about them.

Just think about the freedom from condemnation we have in Christ alone. In Christ, all condemnation for our sins is gone. We don’t have to walk around with a guilty conscience. We don’t have to bear the weight of iniquity. We don’t have to browbeat ourselves for not being good enough for God.

None of that. It’s gone. All of it. Or, rather, Jesus took it on Himself. When He went to the cross, He went with the weight of the sins of the world on His shoulders. God placed on Him all of our sin. He became our scapegoat. This was all in spite of His having never sinned in His own life. Not even once. It was the grossest injustice that has ever been perpetrated on anyone ever.

But Jesus did it anyway because of His great love for us. He bore our justly deserved condemnation so that we could be made fit to bear the righteousness of God. As a result, for all those who are in Christ Jesus—that is, for those who have placed their faith in Him, there is now no more condemnation for them; for us. Our sins are covered and there is only life for us—Jesus’ life. God looks at us who added covered by Jesus because of our faith in Him, sees only Jesus, and treats us accordingly. His righteousness becomes our righteousness.

How can we respond to that with anything other than humble gratitude? A God who would do that for us is more committed to us, to our good, than we could possibly imagine. That, as it turns out, is just where Paul starts to trying make sense of wonders such as these.

“If God is for us, who is against us?” Let us make no mistake: God is for us. The cross proves that beyond any shadow of reasonable or even rational doubt. Let’s make that more personal. God is for you. He did all of this for you.

And here’s the thing: This God who is so profoundly for you is the same God who created and sustains the universe. He is a God of infinite power and might. There is nothing too hard for Him. Nothing can thwart or even hinder His plans. No one can stand against Him. And He is for you. If He is for you, then who could possibly stand against you?

There is nothing you need to fear. At all. Whatever it is can’t ultimately defeat you or even slow you down as long as you are moving in Him. As long as you are standing firmly in God’s way, no one has even the remotest possibility of standing against you. You can be like the little kid who walks around with all the confidence and swagger in the world because he knows that his big brother has his back. Whatever bullies might try to oppose him are going to turn their tails and run because his brother is so big and intimidating.

If God had called you to a thing, you will be able to do that thing. Nothing can stand against you when you are standing in Him. No one who opposes that thing will be able to stop you because God is for you. This means you can march forward with boldness and confidence. God’s got you.

Still, a truth as grand and glorious as this is hard to keep our minds wrapped around. Could this all really be true? Is God really for us this much? Can we really trust Him to have our back no matter what? There’s really no rational reason for any fear?

No, there’s not. “He did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?” The proof is once again in the cross. If God didn’t hold back His own Son for us, what wouldn’t He do for us? The answer is obvious: nothing. There is nothing He wouldn’t do for us. His love for us is just too great. It is too well-established. Surely there are still doubts we face and struggle through, but this is at least one place where no doubt is rational. God has proven Himself entirely.

If you are struggling with any of this, I would suggest the reason is simply that you don’t yet understand it well enough. Perhaps you have wrapped your mind around it, but your heart is lagging. Spend some more time digging into the Scriptures with prayer and in the context of the community of faith and let yourself be convinced of what is truly, deeply, and essentially true. God is for you. Let us praise His name!