Paul pictures someone in Rome responding to his gospel this way: "As I listen to you, I hear you assuring me that God has provided all the resources I need to live a life that pleases God, but I'm such a weak person, and the forces that want to pull me away from Him are so strong that I don't feel confident that I'll make it to heaven. Paul, you sound so sure of your salvation. You talk like you already have it. Why are you so confident?" In this magnificent passage Paul tells us why he's so confident and why we should be too. He shows us how to answer the doubts that come to erode the inner certainty that we are, and will stay, saved. Whether these doubts arise from the devil or our own flesh, every Christian remains painfully aware that we continue to sin and wonders whether God's patience with us has run out. And we also wonder how we would respond if faced with severe persecution. So nagging doubts try to pursue us. Have I sinned so much that when I stand before Him at the judgment He will find me guilty? Am I so weak that sooner or later the hardships of persecution will break down my resolve until I deny Him? Is it possible that someday I might encounter demonic forces powerful enough to tear me away from Him? In these nine verses Paul raises and answers six questions that sooner or later every Christian will ask. He tells us what to say when the winds of self-doubt and condemnation blow.

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