Romans 8:36 - Printer Friendly

ESV: As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

NIV: As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'

NASB: Just as it is written: 'FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE REGARDED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.'

CSB: As it is written:Because of youwe are being put to death all day long;we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

NLT: (As the Scriptures say, 'For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.' )

KJV: As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

NKJV: As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

This verse is a quote from Psalm 44:22. Paul has movingly written that nothing which can happen to us could separate us from Christ's love for us. Struggles in this life are not a sign that God has abandoned us; they are hardships He works to see us through (Hebrews 12:3–11). By quoting this from the Psalms, Paul is showing that God's people have faced persecution and hardship for generations.

Paul wants the Christians in Rome to have the right perspective on the circumstances of their daily lives. Whether or not they experienced hard times or good times, it does not change whether God loves them or not. Paul has made it clear that God's love is absolute, and God will fulfill His purpose for them: He will succeed in bringing them to glory. Now he seems to want them to be ready for trouble on this side of eternity. They should not be surprised when it comes. In fact, they should be ready to be killed, slaughtered like sheep, for Christ's sake, if that's what it comes to (John 6:1–2; 16:33).

Romans 8:31-39 is one of the most encouraging and affirming passages in all of God's Word. Paul has established that God is for all of us who are in Christ; for those who have been saved by their faith. No charge or accusation made against us can stand, because God has provided for our justification and Christ is interceding for us. Paul makes two lists of all of the things in the universe that cannot separate us from God's love for us in Christ. Hard things will happen, indeed. Yet, none of them will cause our Father to stop loving us, nor are any of them signs that He has abandoned us. Our salvation is entirely, absolutely secure on account of His great love.

Romans 8 begins and ends with declarations of the Christian's absolute security before God. There is no condemnation for those in Christ, and nothing will ever be able to separate us from His love. Having believed the gospel, we now live in the Spirit of God. That allows us to call God Abba Father. We suffer with Christ, and we suffer along with all creation while we wait for God to reveal us as His sons. With the help of the Spirit, we are confident that God is for us and loves us in Christ.

In Romans 7, Paul revealed his frustration of trying to do good only to be thwarted by his sin. He begins Romans 8, though, with the triumphant statement that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. We live in the Spirit, and we relate to God as a child does to a father. The Spirit helps us in this season of suffering along with all of creation while we wait for our adoption to be complete with the redemption of our bodies. We are confident, though, that God is for us and nothing can separate us from His love.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.

Accessed 5/2/2024 9:58:17 AM