Grant, John: Romans-15 Chapter 8_18-39 Who Shall Deliver Me-2

We have now come to verse twenty to thirty of Romans chapter eight, which deals with the end of suffering. Let us look now at these verses. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are be called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Glorify. Salvation is a subject which is linked with coming glory. When the Romans accepted the gospel and believed the message concerning the Lord Jesus, it was in the anticipation of coming glory. It is because of that that Paul writes in Romans chapter five that we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. As we have seen, however, in this section of Romans chapter eight, which deals with suffering, there are circumstances through which we pass before that glory will be revealed. At times, it is almost impossible to equate present suffering with the glory of which the gospel speaks, and the apostle has taken us through the valley of the shadow in these verses. But from verse twenty eight he now lifts our hearts even further. We have been encouraged to see that the Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. But, as we say from verse twenty eight, the apostle lifts our hearts even further and is determined not only to show us that glory is indeed the end for those who obey the gospel, but that glory is the guaranteed end for those who obey the gospel, and that despite present circumstances, this hope of glory cannot be dimmed, and this hope of glory cannot be taken away. Thus it is that in verse thirty, after speaking of predestination and calling and justification, he says that then he also glorified. Let us look now at these verses which move from our present circumstances to that hope of glory which is ours. I want you to see, please, what Paul is saying in verse twenty eight: We know that all things work together for good to them that love God. We have seen that there is a lack of harmony in this creation. It is groaning and travailing in pain together. For, in verse nineteen we have read, the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. There is about this creation something that is out of key, something that does not function as it ought. We as believers know that this something is sin. But, says Paul, there is in this creation something that is working in harmony. It may not appear to be working in harmony at the moment. If in any great piece of music we look at one single note or even one single bar, it may be that that note or that bar seems to be dark and brooding in its atmosphere. But when linked within the whole of the piece of music, it is part of a beautiful harmony. So, says Paul in verse twenty eight, we know that all things work together for good. I want you to see that this is something of which we are aware. We can look at circumstances with a knowledge which the world does not have. Unsaved people do not know this because this truth does not affect them. They cannot see circumstances in the light of eternity, but as believers we can, and we know as believers that all things work together for good. I want you to see, please, that this does not tell us that every circumstance through which we pass is good. It does not imply that every circumstance through which we pass is pleasant or enjoyable. It does not say that every circumstance will be free from sorrow or anxiety or disappointment or trial. It does not say that every circumstance through which we pass will be free of the vicissitudes of the life which we live in a sinful world. But what it does say is that all things are working together for good. The ultimate goal, the end of it all, will be good. And although the present trial may seem severe, and the present darkness be intense, and the present disappointment perhaps be great, says Paul, remember that God is working all this out for our ultimate good. Paul encourages us here by telling us that we are them that love God, and we are also them who are the called according to his purpose. So as believers, we have a love for God. There is a love in our attitude to God that the world does not know. But, as believers, we are the called ones, those who have been called according to his purpose. Now, what is his purpose? What does Paul mean when he says his purpose? Let us just pause for a moment to say that no matter what that means, and we will see it in verse twenty nine and in verse thirty, but no matter what that means, God has ordained that we are the called according to his purpose, that whatever his end purpose is, we have been called to that, called to enjoy that, called to be part of that, called to enjoy final fulfillment in that. And because of that, all things work together for good, because we are part of God's ultimate purpose. Now in verse twenty nine, Paul commences his explanation of how this can be. In these two verses, he speaks of a number of great gospel truths: foreknowledge, predestination, conformed to the image of his son, called, justified, glorified. I want you to see just what Paul is saying here. First of all, he says of believers that they were those whom he did foreknow. The expression foreknow means simply to know beforehand. Now, this goes far beyond simply having a knowledge of our existence. It is that God beforehand had, as it were, a relationship with us marked out. We had been marked out for that. God knew us beforehand, not just our existence, but knew us by way of relationship beforehand. So he did foreknow us. Note secondly, that it says he also did predestinate. So, foreknowledge is first, and predestination is second. Now, to predestinate is to appoint before to a particular end. Predestination is that which he had in mind for those who were foreknown. So, in foreknowledge, the person is in view, and in predestination, the prospect for that person is in view. So God not only knew us, but he had something specific in mind for us. Now, what was it that he specifically had in mind for us? Paul explains it. It was that we were predestinated to be the conformed to the image of his son. In other words, we were predestinated to be like the Lord Jesus, to have the same form. Now, please do not misunderstand what Paul is saying. No one can be like Christ in all his fullness. He is the only and the unique Son of God, the only begotten Son. No one can be like him in all his fullness, but it has pleased God to foreknow us and to predestinate us to be conformed to the image of his Son, to be like him, so that he, the Lord Jesus, might be the firstborn among many brethren. In other words, so that he might be preeminent amongst us. So grasp this, that the end purpose of God is that we might be conformed to the image of his son. Sin will have gone, disobedience gone, rebellion gone, failing gone, because we will be like him. Now, having spoken of foreknowledge and of predestination, Paul then says, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And that call took place in the gospel. It was in the gospel that we heard the beneficent invitation of God to come and partake of the blessings that are to be found in Christ. And so, having foreknowledge and predestination, he then called us. Now, says Paul, having called us, then we were justified. Now we have learned in this epistle the meaning of justification. It means that we have been declared to be righteous. So, having been declared to be righteous by God, we can enjoy the blessings of the gospel. But I want you to notice that Paul does not end there. Foreknowledge. What a truth. Put yourself into that picture. God foreknew you as an individual. Predestination, he set out a particular end for you as an individual. Called, he called you as an individual in the gospel. Justified, he justified you as an individual in the gospel. But listen, finally, he says, them he also glorified. Now, of course, if we are to be conformed to the image of his son, we must be glorified, for he is glorified. But I want you to notice, please, that Paul is now taking us to the great conclusion, we will be glorified, despite present circumstances, despite suffering through which some may pass. At the end of the day, we will be glorified. That is God's copper-bottomed guarantee. But don't you notice something about these verbs? He did foreknow. He did predestinate. He called. He justified. These are all in the past tense. But look at the last, glorified. That also is in the past tense. Do you see what Paul is saying? So secure are we that God in purpose sees us glorified already. In divine purpose, it has already taken place. In divine purpose, we wait for nothing. Foreknowing, predestinating, calling, justifying, glorifying. In divine purpose, it has already taken place. And what in God's purpose has already taken place can never be reversed, can never be annulled, can never be eliminated, can never be eradicated. What benefits in the gospel? And in this little section, the end of suffering is set before us, and Paul has climbed the mountain and told us that in God's purpose, it is all through already, and we are glorified. Let us look now at the closing verses of chapter eight, which deal with our security. Let us read these verses. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. The security of the believer. Having, in verse thirty taken us to the mountaintop and showing us that in divine purpose we are glorified already, Paul then asks the question, what shall we then say to these things? In other words, what conclusion do we draw from these things? What lessons do we learn? I want you to observe, please, that he begins by telling us that God is for us, if God be for us. Now, the word if in verse thirty one is not the if of possibility. It is not if it be perhaps that God be for us, but it is the if of certainty and could be well read since God be for us. So what shall we then say to these things? Since God is for us, who can be against us? The conclusion that we reach is simply that no one can prevail over us. Do you see that he has taken the enemies of God, those whom he found at the beginning of this epistle to be opposed to God, and he has taken them, and in the gospel has now brought them to a position where God is for them. Mark the greatness of this teaching. It is not just that God is neutral as far as they are concerned. It is not just that God's judgment has been withdrawn from them. It is not that God just looks on them now in a disinterested way. It is that God is actively working on their behalf. God is actively for them. And if that be the case, who can be against them? Every day, remember that God is for you. In every circumstance of life, he is not an uninterested nor disinterested spectator. He is actively working for you. So says Paul. What conclusion do we reach? We reach this conclusion that God is for us actively, and thus no one can prevail against us. Verse thirty two is simply to emphasize what he has said. God is for those for whom he spared not his own son. If he went as far as sparing not his own son, and went as far as delivering him up for us all, surely he will freely give us all things. Nothing will be withheld from us, nothing kept back, nothing shoddy will ever be given to us, because the God who has made us what we are, spared not his own son and delivered him up for us all, at no cost to us. Now, a God who did that, how shall he not with him grant us gratuitously everything? Grant us all things. The blessings of the gospel roll over us like great billows from the ocean's depths. God is actively for us. No one can prevail against us. God spared not his own son. God delivered him up for us all, and now he freely gives us all things. All things that we need for life, all things that we need for relationship with him, all things that we need for eternity. God gives us all things. Who can prevail against us? Now Paul pauses. He will now ask some further questions. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who is he that condemneth? Who shall separate us from the love of God? Questions that must be answered. Can I submit for your consideration that at this point, Paul takes us back into the courtroom into which we were first introduced at the beginning of the epistle? Do you remember that in that courtroom, man was placed on trial and was found to be completely guilty without excuse. As the gospel chapters have been written, the state of those who believe the gospel has been seen to be changed, no longer guilty, but justified. In these closing verses of chapter eight, Paul, as we say, takes us back into this courtroom. He wants us to see now clearly how things have changed, and he does so by asking these questions. Now, let us look at the questions. Verse thirty three: Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? In a courtroom, it is necessary to have a prosecutor. It is necessary to have charges laid against the accused. Says Paul, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? We can see Paul, as it were, standing in the courtroom, and this ringing question leaving his lips. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? The demand has gone out. The challenge has been issued. The question has been asked. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? The answer is silence, because in this court, there are no charges on the table. In this court, there is no prosecutor to answer. Thus, says Paul, I will tell you why there are no charges, because it's God who justified. Because it is God who has cleared those who previously were guilty, and the charge sheet has been wiped clean. It has been disposed of. It does not even now exist. And in this court, there is no charge and there is no prosecutor. But if a prosecutor is necessary in court, so also is a judge. And Paul turns his attention now to the bench and asks his second ringing question, who is he that condemneth? Because at the end of the day, it is the judge who passes sentence. It is the judge who condemns. Now, says Paul, who is he that condemneth? Is it necessary to ask such a question? If there are no charges, there can surely be no sentence, no condemnation, but Paul asks it because he wishes us to see clearly how great is the victory of Christ. So the question, the challenge is issued. Who is he that condemneth? There is silence for this reason, that if the court lacks charge and lacks a prosecutor, this court also lacks a judge. There is no one to condemn, and attention is taken from condemnation to the one who bore the condemnation himself. It is Christ that died. Yea rather, and here an additional reason is given, that is risen again. And the triumph of the Lord Jesus is clearly pointed out. He is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. There is no condemnation because at Calvary he died, and on the first day of the week he rose again, and he ascended to the right hand of God, and he maketh intercession for us. Thus, Calvary, the sacrifice of the cross, has been accepted completely and totally by God. So there can be no condemnation because he bore our condemnation. The prosecutor's chair is empty. The table on which the charge sheets would be laid is bare. The judge's bench is empty. But in verse thirty five, he issues another challenge. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? In a court, there is also a jailer waiting to separate the prisoner who is condemned from his loved ones. There is the jailer waiting to place his hand on the shoulder of the condemned prisoner and take him away, to incarcerate him for the period of his sentence. Now, says Paul, I now challenge the court, who shall separate us? Silence again meets the challenge, for in this court there is no jailer, no charges, no prosecutor, no judge, no jailer. The court convened in chapter one is now empty. The charges no longer exist. The justified need never stand in the dock. And so the court has been cleared as far as the believer is concerned. Remember this, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus. Sin's penalty you will never bear. Sin's judgment you will never experience. Sin's condemnation will never be passed upon you because this court no longer is sitting as far as the elect are concerned. Says Paul, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? No one will. No one can. The court is clear. Let us look a little further at verse thirty five uh and thirty six. Paul speaks there about things that we feel may separate us from the love of Christ. Tribulation, that is the afflictions, the squeezing, pressing afflictions of time. Distress, that is the anguish, the hemmed in feeling of difficulties. Persecution, when we seem to be opposed by others. Famine, when we are in want. Nakedness, when we are exposed to the cold elements of the world. Peril, when we are in danger. Sword, which at times may be raised against us. These circumstances are circumstances through which believers have passed down through the centuries. Says Paul, this is nothing new. As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. Paul quoting, citing Psalm forty four says this is nothing new. Suffering in the service of God is not new. You've known it. Others have known it, and it is not a circumstance which is peculiar. Now, these circumstances can never, ever separate us from the love of Christ. They can never take us away from that. We are as secure as God can make us. Indeed, in verse thirty seven he says this: In all these things, we are more than conquerors. The believer does more than simply overcome these trials. Through him that loved us, we are more than conquerors. Through him that loved us, it is not simply a case of getting through, but through him that loved us, it is a case of riding majestically over the trial. We are more than conquerors. A conqueror is one who can look at a defeated foe. A conqueror is one who can see that the victory has been gained, but to be a supreme super conqueror, for that is the expression Paul uses, shows that believers are conquerors of the top rank. In other words, no greater victory is ever won by any man than that won by believers over these adverse circumstances of life. Such victories are only possible because they are through him that loved us. They are not won by our own power alone. They are not won fighting at our own charges with our own resources. They are won through him that loved us. And believers gain the victory, victories greater far than those of the mightiest conquerors of human history. The victory of the Lord Jesus was above all victories, unique on its own, never to be equaled, never to be matched. No one can come near to that. But Paul here is not comparing us with Christ, but simply stating that amongst men, no greater victories are won than those gained by believers over the circumstances of distress and persecution and tribulation, et cetera, which oftentimes marks their pathway. In all these things. Do you see that it is in these that the victory is gained? And without these, such a victory could not be expressed or experienced. But in them, we are more than conquerors. So, says Paul, the believer is not only secure, the believer does not only have God working actively for him, but the believer is the supreme conqueror. The conqueror of top rank. It is little wonder that he closes his chapter with the verses of thirty eight and thirty nine. Do we see in the chapter how his reasoning has developed? In verse eighteen he says, for I reckon. In verse twenty eight he says, and we know. And in verse thirty eight he states, for I am persuaded. Persuasion is deep. Persuasion runs deep down into the soul. Persuasion is not simply knowledge, but a deep down conviction. Says Paul, I am persuaded. I am absolutely, utterly convinced and convicted of this fact, that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and what could ever so be thought to do? He says, death will not do it. The terror of death will never separate us. Passing through death will never tear us away from the love of God. Going through the darkness of that dark experience will never separate us from the love of God in the midst of death, at the point of death, we will not be separated from the love of God. Let us take courage from that. I am persuaded that neither death with its terror, nor life with its allurements. Because if death holds terror, life has allurements, and all the attractions and the allurements and the activities of life will not be able to come in and separate us from the love of God. So neither the dark, cold hand of death, nor the warm, intoxicating attractions of life will be able to separate us. Now, having dealt with death and life, Paul now speaks about angels, principalities, and powers. These unseen forces will never be able to separate us. I suppose the fact that he is speaking about separation indicates that in mentioning angels and principalities and powers, he is thinking of the unseen forces of evil that work against us. Now the- these will never be able to achieve their evil purpose. They will never separate what God has brought together. And so, the evil power that so many fear will never be able to achieve their avowed purpose in separating us from the love of God. But Paul goes on, nor things present, nor things to come, that is, the circumstances of the present and the circumstances of the future, nor height nor depth, that is nothing in space, nor any other creature, nothing else in creation shall be able to separate us. Paul has plundered the creation to bring out every single force, every single being, every single circumstance that may be thought to have power to separate the believer from the love of God, and the answer is that he is absolutely persuaded that no one and nothing can ever achieve this purpose. For all eternity, believers and the love of God cannot be separated. We are as secure as that, and this is the end to which Paul has brought us. To bask for all eternity in the love of God, to enjoy its warmth, to enjoy its fruitfulness, to enjoy its peace, to enjoy its contentment, to simply revel in the fact that God loves us, and that love has been expressed in Christ Jesus, our Lord. No other higher state exists, and as believers, we enjoy it now, and as believers, we will enjoy it for all eternity. So we have reached the end of our section. If we were to summarize it, we could do so in this way. Verse thirty one and thirty two is the conclusion. The conclusion to the teaching of these seven chapters. Since God is for us, and he that spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? That is the conclusion. From verse thirty three to verse thirty seven is the challenge. Who can challenge that conclusion? Although God is for us, can anyone lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Although God is for us, can anyone condemn? Although God is for us, can anyone separate us from the love of Christ? And as we saw, the courtroom is empty. The challenge goes unanswered. The believer cannot be dislodged from his place of blessing. And then, from verse thirty eight to thirty nine is the climax. The conviction and persuasion of Paul that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The epistle commenced with the gospel of God. In the early chapters, we dealt with the wrath of God. As the epistle moved on, we dealt with the righteousness of God. And then we came to see clearly the glory of God, which is our hope. And then we came to know, in the writing of Paul, the love of God. I tell you, this epistle has brought us from a hopeless, helpless, punishment-deserving state to being privileged believers who will bask for all eternity in the glow, in the warmth, in the reality, and in the enjoyment of the fact that God loves us. That is our standing. That is our state. And it is secure because nothing in it depends on us at all. Everything rests and depends on the stated word of God, on the promise of God, and we stagger not at the promise of God through unbelief, but we believe God, and because of that, we enjoy the fullness of God's love now and for all the ages of eternity.