What does Romans 8:35 mean?

This chapter has indicated that those who are in Christ (Romans 3:23–26) can look forward to a future of sharing in God's glory (Romans 8:18). At the same time, we are not there yet. For now, we suffer along with the rest of sin-ravaged creation. We groan in longing for our home with the Father. We patiently wait for the hope to be fulfilled (Romans 8:19–23). Paul urged his readers to understand, however, that though suffering continues, God is still for us. He has been for us since before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and He has proven His love for us by sacrificing His own Son to make it possible to adopt us as His children (John 3:16–18).

Paul now writes that we must never interpret the darkness of earthly life as evidence of God's lack of love for us. Nothing we do can keep Christ from loving us, and nothing that happens to us can mean that Christ no longer loves us. Paul builds a list of some of the worst things that can happen in this life, including trials, hardship, persecution for our faith in Him, hunger, lack of clothing or shelter, physical threats, or death by violence. None of this can separate us from Christ's love. None of this means Christ does not love us. Just the opposite is true. He loves us enough to bring us through these things (John 16:33).

Paul would have known this better than almost anyone. He himself experienced most, if not all, of those hardships (2 Corinthians 11:23–29) and remained convinced of Christ's love for him.