“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31

The gospel of Christ faced a great deal of opposition the first few decades following Christ’s ascension. Many accounts have been recorded on how the early Christians were martyred for their beliefs. Rome as we know it, was the dominant force of the world at the time. The Romans ruled more than half of the known world, including the Jews. It was expected that they would meet a foreign message of “salvation” with intense opposition.

Roman officials frequently offered Christians the chance to appease their gods by publicly sacrificing animals or lighting incense, and when they declined, they were charged with sacrilege. Refusal was met with torture, executions, incarceration, and arrest. In the face of it all, it was important that the church bind together. Paul, an overseer at the time, stepped in to offer some direction and encouragement to the suffering Christians.

In Romans 8, the apostle highlights how far God has brought His people and why He standing by them shifts the odds in their favor, explaining the concept of predestination in the process – ^“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. and those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ” – (Romans 8:29-32)

Today, we may not be facing the same challenges the early Christians faced but we also have our crosses to bear. Christ said he was sending us as sheep among wolves, there will be several attempts to take us down but as long as God is with us, we are on the winning side, regardless of what might be happening in out lives.

“…and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:28