Questions No. 6 and No. 7 are coupled together to crescendo with an overcoming statement and a convincing statement, which are the crowing answers to “The Magnificent Seven Questions” posed in Romans 8: 31-35. Question No. 6 starts out with a “who.” “Who can separate us from the love of Christ?” Is there a personal being in the universe that has to power/ability to make this separation? Do you have an affirmative, “absolutely nothing” as your answer? Then question No. 7 puts forth seven things that mankind thinks could seek to separate us from the love of Christ. “Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” These seven things cover everything from hard times to facing (death-sword) as a believer for the sake of Christ. Notice Paul’s contrasting “victory statement” to these things, for the key word is “in.” “But in (not around or avoid) all these we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Paul’s final crescendo is a “convincing/conviction statement.” Paul mentions 10 things here that are too lengthy to include here. “I am convinced that neither (10 things) will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” Answering these seven questions with the conquering and convincing affirmation, as Paul did, brings great security and courage to face anything that would come against a believer in Christ, on this earth, in the future.
—Col. Jeff Mitchell, state chaplain, Louisiana National Guard
