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...
God who comforts the depressed “But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (2 Corinthians 7:6). There are many things that discourage us. There may be a lot of disappointment in looking at the country in which we live, but there may also be discouragements to think about the Lord’s church which we love and care for. Especially we can be discouraged because of our pastors whom we love and also we can be disappointed by our church elders. When we see the division of the church, we can become more and more depressed. These discouragements can be fatal to our life of faith. The reason is that big, deep and lasting discouragement can make us fall into spiritual depression. If we fall into a spiritual depression, then no one's consolation will be enough to comfort our depressed soul. Rather, we will refuse to be comforted by our close brother/sister in...