Romans by Douglas J. Moo

Author:Douglas J. Moo
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Christian, Reference, Bible Study & Reference, New Testament, Religion, Biblical Commentary, Commentaries
ISBN: 9780310494003
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2000-11-26T00:00:00+00:00

“Bring [a] charge” (v. 33) is the first of several judicial terms in this context. Again, Paul’s point is not that nothing will ever try to prosecute us in the court of God’s justice. Satan, “the accuser,” will certainly do so, and he will bring our sins as evidence of our guilt. But the prosecution will be unsuccessful, for God has chosen us to be his and has justified us already—pronounced over us the verdict of “innocent” that can never be reversed. Paul alludes at this point to Isaiah 50:8–9a:

He who vindicates me is near.

Who then will bring charges against me?

Let us face each other!

Who is my accuser?

Let him confront me!

It is the sovereign LORD who helps me.

Who is he that will condemn me?

Verse 34 provides more evidence for the same point. No one can successfully condemn us because Christ has died for us and has been raised to life to be our intercessor before the Father. With such a defense attorney, it is no wonder the prosecution loses it case!

The Love of God for Us in Christ (8:35–39)

THE QUESTION AT the beginning of verse 35 shifts the focus of the paragraph. It is parallel to the one in verse 31, but sets the tone for verses 35–39 by introducing Christ’s love into the picture. Knowing we are declared innocent of all charges against us is a wonderful assurance. But Christ not only defends us; he loves us and enters into relationship with us, and nothing will ever separate us from that love. To make sure we get the point, Paul specifies some threats at the end of verse 35. As a comparison with 2 Corinthians 11:26–27 and 12:10 reveals, Paul himself has gone through most of these. He has learned by experience that they cannot disrupt his relationship with Christ.

The quotation of Psalm 44:22 in verse 36 is a bit of a detour in the logic of Paul’s argument. But the detour reveals two of his key concerns: to remind us that suffering is a natural and expected part of the Christian life (cf. 5:3–4; 8:17), and to root the experiences of Christians in the experience of God’s old covenant people.

With verse 37, Paul returns to the main line of his teaching in verse 35. In all the varied difficulties of life, we are “more than conquerors.” This felicitous rendering of the Greek verb hypernikao (to more than triumph over) goes all the way back to the sixteenth-century Geneva Bible. Paul may have chosen this rare intensive form of the verb simply to emphasize the certainty of our triumph. But he may also be suggesting that we more than triumph over adversity; in God’s good hand, it even leads to our “good” (v. 28).

Paul concludes his celebration of God’s love for us in Christ with his own personal testimony: “I am persuaded….” The list following is arranged in four pairs, with “powers” thrown in between the third and fourth pair. We can easily “overinterpret” such a list, insisting on a precision of definitions that misses the point of Paul’s rhetoric.

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