The Inseparable Love of God (1) [ Romans 8:38-39 ] Why can nothing separate us from the love of God? 1. Because God’s love is eternal. Romans 8:29a says: “For those whom He foreknew…” The word “foreknew” refers to before eternity began —before the creation of heaven and earth . The phrase “those whom He foreknew” does not simply mean knowing about someone intellectually, but rather loving them. In other words, it refers to “those whom God loved from eternity past.” Amos 3:2a says: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” If “known” merely meant intellectual knowledge, that would imply that God only knew Israel and did not know the other nations—which cannot be true, because the all-knowing God lacks knowledge of nothing. Therefore, “I have known you only” means “I have loved you only.” God loved Israel among all the nations of the earth. Hosea 13:5 says: “I knew you in the wilderness , in the land of great drought.” The “wilderness” was where the Israelite...
Day 30:
Romans 7:4-6
A life bearing fruit of God
In Romans 7:4-6, Paul explains to the
saints in Rome about two types of fruit. The first fruit is for death (Rom. 7:5),
representing the fruit we bore while living as slaves to sin before believing
in Jesus. We lived producing fruit for
death, walking in disobedience and lawlessness. This life under the law is what Paul refers to
as living "under the law" (6:15). This life is living in the lusts of impurity (1:24),
driven by shameful desires, not living in the proper and natural way but
contrary to it (v. 26), doing things that are not fitting before God.
The second fruit is for God. This fruit is holiness, and the end of
holiness is eternal life (6:22). If we
truly believe in Jesus, we must strive to live a holy life. Holiness is living a life set apart for God,
and the ultimate result of holiness is eternal life. We have been called to be saints, set apart
for Jesus (1:6) and identified as those who are called to be saints (v. 7). We are not of this world, but we belong to
Jesus. We have a clear sense of
belonging, living a life separated from the world, and further, we seek to live
in pursuit of the holiness of Jesus.
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