All Charges Dropped

Romans 8 and looking at verse 33.

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

! It is God who justifies.

!

It is important for us to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Particularly if we have been following the Lord for a long time,

it is important for us often to just stop and to reflect and to remember

what it is that God the Father did

and what it is that God the Son did for us

and what God the Holy Spirit continues to do for us

and Christ interceding for us.

And this chapter is one of these chapters that brings before us in a very, very clear way.

It is a chapter, and particularly this latter part,

it is a tremendous encouragement of assurance

because it is something that quite often we can grapple with,

our assurance, being assured of our faith.

Sometimes we are so assured,

we are absolutely sure that we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ,

no doubt whatever.

And for some Christians,

they spend a lot of their lives like that.

But many don't.

Many struggle at different times

with a whole sense of assurance.

And at the heart of all that the Apostle is reminding of us here

is that God is for us.

That God is not against us.

That as a believer, God is for us.

And that is an incredible statement in itself.

If God be for us, who can be against us?

So that means God is for us.

The creator of this world,

the one who brought all things into being by the word of his power,

he is for you.

You are precious to him,

far more precious than you or I ever realize.

He will never forget you.

He will never fall out with you.

He'll never disown you.

He'll never not be there for you.

He's committed to you completely.

And every day we should remember that,

because there are times in our experience

when we say, like Jacob said,

remember,

he said,

all these things are against me.

And yet,

Jacob was to discover by the end of his life,

far than being against him,

they were actually all working together

for his good

and for God's people's good.

But sometimes when we're going through the difficult times

and things aren't working out

and God's providence is mysterious

and we're struggling,

we kind of echo Jacob's sentiments

and say,

all these things are against us

or against me.

Well,

it certainly wasn't.

As the Lord says in Jeremiah,

I know the plans that I have for you,

plans for peace

are not of evil

to give you a future and a hope.

Now,

Paul is arguing here and saying,

he's displaying how much God is for us

and he's saying,

if God has done the greatest thing possible for us,

it is inconceivable

but that he will do the lesser things as well.

And the greatest thing that he did

was in giving his son.

Giving his son

to a life

that ended up in pain,

in torture,

in abuse,

in crucifixion,

in abandonment,

in the full experiencing

of the wrath of God

and death itself.

That's what the father gave the son up to.

That's what God gave his son up to

for you and for me.

And that's what the son gave himself up to

for you and for me.

So,

if God has done this for us,

the greatest thing possible,

then,

obviously,

that's the argument here,

he will do the lesser things as well.

That was Jesus' own argument,

remember,

when he was talking about how God cares for us.

He even cares for the lilies,

for the birds in the air.

He cares even for the lilies.

And if God cares about the grass

that grows on the ground,

how much more will he

but care for you as well?

And so,

Paul then goes on to ask this question,

who shall bring,

that's what he's saying,

who shall bring any charge

against God's elect?

The election of God

is one of the most wonderful

statements,

truths,

that we have

in the word of God.

And it's hard for us,

we cannot,

to even begin to imagine,

but before ever we were,

God has set his love upon us.

Now,

I know our minds can't process that.

It is beyond human comprehension

because we're dealing

from where we are

here in time

into eternity.

And it is beyond

our understanding.

But faith

believes it.

You have no problem

with your faith

in accepting that

and believing

that from all eternity,

God

has set his love upon you.

And he knows

everything about us,

all our yesterdays

and every yesterday

of our life.

Because as the scripture

tells us,

that a thousand years

are but as yesterday

and as a watch

in the night.

So God knows

everything about us

in intimate detail.

But going way back

into the councils

of eternity,

we find that God

set his love

upon us.

And I find this

one of the most

comforting truths

that we can ever find

in scripture.

Because you see,

part of our problem

is that we often

wonder,

did I start right?

I'm here tonight

as a Christian,

you're saying,

but did I start right?

And if I didn't

start right,

maybe I have been

mistaken all the way

along.

Because you look

at your life

and you see

all the inconsistencies,

you see the failures,

you're aware of

who you are

and what you are

and so often

we say,

well maybe,

maybe,

maybe it was simply

because of a very

difficult providence

that I was going through

and I said to the Lord,

Lord,

you've got to help me here

and you've asked the Lord

to come in

to your life.

But then you're saying

as the time goes on,

maybe I didn't

ask Christ

to come in,

maybe I didn't,

maybe I didn't

make a decision,

maybe,

and sometimes

we can torment

ourselves

with all these

kind of thoughts,

maybe,

maybe I didn't

start right.

Have you ever

asked yourself that

and you're thinking,

here I am

all these years later

and what if I,

what if,

what if it's not

real faith?

Well,

here's the beauty

of it.

It didn't start

with you.

It started

with the Lord.

And the Lord

is in charge

of the providences

and all the different

things in our lives.

And every person

here has a different

experience

of how you came

to start

following the Lord.

And following

is a lovely

biblical expression

of what a Christian

is,

to follow the Lord.

Jesus says that

often,

to follow me.

Follow me.

And that's what we do

as Christians,

we follow the Lord.

And you began

to follow the Lord

because the Lord

had set his love

upon you.

He had always

set his love,

but there was a

particular point

in your life

when he said

he began to work

in your heart

and in your life.

And it might be

through lots

of different experiences.

And the reason

that you're still

following tonight

is because

you are

following the Lord

because of his love.

And you can't

turn back,

you can't go away,

you've experienced,

there's been lots of things

that have happened

in your life

which could,

from a natural

point of view,

would cause shipwreck

and cause you

to go back,

but you haven't

because you're rooted

to him

and you're grounded

in him

because of his love.

And it's his love

to you

that is at the

start of it all.

You notice

when in verse 35

the apostle says,

who shall separate us

not from,

who shall separate

us

our love

for Christ,

but no,

it's his.

Who shall separate us

from the love

of Christ?

If it was looking

simply at our love,

then you'd put,

but whatever love

we have

is as a result

of his love

to us.

And that is

an incredible comfort

because it gets rid

of all the problems

that we have

about,

maybe I didn't

start right

or what.

It's because of

his love

that worked

in your heart

and produced

a love for him

and the things

of God

that you tonight

are following him.

And so this is

where the great

encouragement is

because Jesus

had said,

all that the

Father gives me,

everyone,

all that the

Father gives me

will come to me

and him that

cometh to me

I will in no

wise cast out.

So we have

the two sides

of it there.

We have

the Father's

giving of the

people to Christ

and in time

they come to

Christ

and Christ

will turn

none of them

away.

Now some people

say,

you've got to be

careful about

mentioning election

because people

will say

they'll hide

behind and we

know that some

people do hide

behind the

doctrine of

election and

they say,

well if I'm

going to be

saved,

I'll be

saved anyway

and if I'm

not going to

be saved,

well there's

nothing I

can do about

it.

Well scripture

certainly is not

silent on the

doctrine of

election and

we find that

the great

apostles who

preached the

doctrine of

election saw

thousands coming

to faith under

their preaching.

You'll see how

much Peter talks

about election and

yet Peter was a

very one,

thousands were

converted as he

preached.

And of

course when we

preach we have

to give both

sides because we

have our

responsibility as

well.

And we're told

that what we are

to do, we're

never told to

just sit and

fold our arms and

wait for God to

work.

We're told to

search and to

seek and we're

told we're given

great promises to

knock, to ask, to

search, to seek,

to pray.

And if we do so

sincerely and

with all our

heart God will

honour that and

respond to that.

So the question

is asked here,

who shall bring

any charge

against God's

elector, against

the believer?

Now in order to

understand this we

have to put

ourselves into the

courtroom because

we're talking legal

terms here.

Here's the court

in session.

And the call is

made.

And here you

are in the

box.

And the call is

made, can anybody

bring any charge

against this

person?

There you are as

a believer.

So as we say,

it's a legal

term.

We're talking

legally in God's

sight.

And we know

that there are

many who can

bring charges.

We know that

Satan brings

charges all the

time.

If we could see

behind the scenes

and see how many

charges Satan

is bringing

about us

before God.

We're told that

in Revelation.

For the accuser

of the brethren

is cast down

which accused

them before our

God day and

night.

Now we know

it's an awful

thing to stand

accused.

And the devil

is an expert

at accusing

us.

And he brings

up before us

so much.

He'll bring

your past.

And he'll bring,

particularly since

you became a

Christian.

You may not

bother too much

about your life

before you

were a Christian.

I'll bother

with that as

well.

But particularly

since you

became a

Christian.

You'll say

call yourself

a Christian.

You remember

what you said.

You remember

what you did.

Remember these

times.

Remember.

Remember.

And all these

things can

really, really

bring you down.

But you know

the wonderful

thing is that

not one

accusation that

is brought

against the

Christian will

stick.

Who shall

bring any

charge?

Well, as you

say, the world

can.

There are five

things in

operation.

There's sin.

There's Satan.

There's the law

of God.

There's death.

And there's hell.

And these five

things bring us

into condemnation.

These five things

are what are going

to destroy us.

because we're

regarding the

law of God.

Not that the

law of God is

evil.

It is anything

but it is

perfect.

But we are all

required to

adhere every

single day in

thought, word,

and deed to

God's law.

To live it

perfectly.

And if we fail

at any point,

we are guilty of

failing in

everything.

And that means

nobody, nobody

can fulfill

God's law.

We are all

under condemnation.

We are all

naturally under

the wrath of

God.

We are all

standing accused.

But of course

this is what

the Lord Jesus

has done.

Because Jesus

came.

Jesus came and

he fulfilled the

law.

And Jesus is

the one who

experienced all

the wrath and

all the

condemnation of

God.

And the thing

is this, at the

moment that we're

born again, we

are justified.

Remember,

justification is a

legal act.

We don't become

more justified than

the very first

moment we become

justified.

It means that as

God looks on us,

when we come to

accept Christ,

God looks on us

as somebody whose

sins have been

forgiven and

pardoned.

That's part of what

he does.

says, your sins

and your

iniquities, I

will remember

no more.

It's like the

slate is wiped

clean.

There's none

there.

Oh, there's all

the accusations

and God says,

no, they've all

been wiped

clean by my

son.

But God goes

even further

than that.

He now accepts

us as righteous

because of what

Christ has done.

And you see,

it's an amazing

transaction that

takes place because

God, who is

absolutely just,

and in order to

retain his

justice, he

cannot overlook

sin or bypass

it or ignore it

in any shape or

form.

It has to be

punished.

punished.

And because

Christ was

punished in

our place, it

is impossible

for God to

punish us

now.

Christ has been

punished.

Because of his

justice and who

he is, it's

once and for

all upon the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

And that means

that we are as

justified as we

will ever be.

Now, justification

doesn't mean that

all of a sudden

we become perfect.

Sinless

creatures, not

at all.

Justification is

not what

affects, we

know that there

are two great

terms that we

remember it from

our catechism

days.

And remember

how there's

justification and

adoption and

sanctification.

And if you

remember,

justification was

an act and

adoption is an

act and

sanctification was

a work.

And in a sense

sanctification is

both an act

and a work

because there

is a once and

for all

sanctification

because to

sanctify simply

means to set

apart.

And that's

what God has

done.

The moment

you're born

again, you're

set apart to

him.

You belong to

him.

Don't belong to

anybody else.

You belong to

him.

So in one sense

you're sanctified

right away.

but there's

this ongoing work

and sanctification

is changing

us bit by

bit so that

we become

more and

more resembling

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

That's not

what justification

does.

That's what

sanctification

does.

So always

remember that

no claim,

no charge

will ever

stand.

The world

makes plenty

charges against

the Christian

because as the

world looks at

the Christian,

we make the

mistake, I

can remember it

myself, of

thinking whenever

you see a

Christian doing

or saying

something that

you think,

that's not

right, or

doing something

that's not,

you say,

call themselves

a Christian.

Hypocrite.

I remember

it.

Because back

then, I

thought that a

Christian became

perfect.

But a Christian

isn't.

There's not one

Christian who's

perfect in this

world.

We're full of

sin.

Our hearts are

just a

cogmire of

deceit, the

hardest deceitful

above all things

and desperately

wicked.

Not till glory

will we be made

perfect in

holiness.

So the

world's charges

against the

Christian don't

stand.

Because even as

we live out our

days in this

world, all our

faults, all our

sins, all our

blemishes, they

have been pardoned

and forgiven in

Christ.

And that's the

wonderful thing.

What a liberty,

what a freedom

it gives a

Christian.

Once we discover

this, that is all

of grace.

we didn't do

anything.

We just

received.

And I think

sometimes when

you're trying to

share the gospel

with somebody, one

of the hardest

things for them to

grasp is that

salvation is a

gift.

That you don't

earn it.

There's nothing

you can do to

earn it.

All you can do

is just come

falling on your

knees and say,

Lord, you've

got to help me.

I can't do this

myself.

It's the greatest

discovery.

Because that's

the place where

the Lord will

come and deal

with you and

bring you that

salvation, that

light, that life

that you need.

So we find who

shall bring any

charge against

God's elect?

Nobody.

Because God

justifies.

And that follows

on very simply

who is to

condemn.

Well, it says,

if you were to

say, you could

put this question,

will Christ

Jesus condemn?

Well, Christ

Jesus can't

condemn.

Jesus is the

one that we're

going to have to

appear before

the judgment.

Remember, judgment

seat of Christ.

We stand before

him.

Is he going to

condemn us

having died for

us?

Of course not.

He can never

condemn anybody

that he has

died for.

In fact, at the

opening of the

chapter, it tells

us there is

now no

condemnation to

those who are

in Christ

Jesus.

So that's why

tonight I want

us just to

simply look

back on what

it is to be a

Christian.

Because sometimes

we forget.

Sometimes we

just drift along

and we take it

for granted.

And it's

important for

us to remind

ourselves just

what the Lord

has done.

and to

remember that

you're following

the Lord

because he

set his love

upon you.

That's where it

began.

And that is the

greatest encouragement

to us.

And try and get

rid of all these

things.

Did I start

right?

Because you know

sometimes you go

through all that

in your mind.

And I've done it

myself.

I remember

sometimes going

back and I'd

come to the Lord

and say Lord if I

have never come

right I'm coming

to you tonight.

There's nobody

else I want in

my life but you

Lord.

But you're already

there.

This is Satan

again.

Satan is tempting

us and the sin

of our heart and

all these things.

We love him

tonight because he

first loved us.

That's it.

Let's pray.

Lord our God

we give thanks

for the wonderful

news that the

gospel brings.

We give thanks

that it's light

and life and we

pray that we may

rest upon the

finished work of

Christ.

And we give

thanks that you

turn no one

away that comes

to you.

Irrespective of

our past it's

for sinners that

Christ came.

Christ didn't

come for the

righteous.

He came for

sinners.

This man eats

with publicans

and sinners was

how the Pharisees

they were trying

to condemn him

and how thankful

that he sat

with the publicans

and sinners.

This man

received sinners.

They mocked him

with these words

but how thankful

that Jesus Christ

received sinners

because that's what

we all are.

And so help us

tonight and help

us here.

As we heard

we pray Lord

to direct us

in light of

the congregational

meeting which will

take place soon.

and we ask

Lord to guide

Calamurdo

in the decision

that he has to

make and we

pray that you

will guide him

that it will be

heavenly wisdom

that will be

given because

that's the only

direction that

we can know.

We pray to bless

this world that

we are part of

and Lord what a

world of upheaval.

There's so much

pain and heartache

all over.

It's devastating

when we see of

all the carnage

all the deaths

when we think of

all that's happening

in the Middle East

and all that's

happening in Iran

and all that's

happening in Ukraine

and in all

just so many areas

of this world

and we pray for

your people.

Your people are

suffering unbelievably

and we ask Lord

for their protection

for their help

and we pray Lord

that you will

intervene.

Lord bring peace

to reign.

Sometimes we don't

know how that is

possible.

But all things

are possible with

you.

And so we pray Lord

for your intervention.

Bless us all then

we pray and grant

us your grace.

Take us all to our

home safely we pray

for giving us our

sin in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.