Romans chapter eight and verse
33. 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. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. In the opening to this chapter
eight, the Apostle Paul insisted that the Church of Jesus Christ
is under no condemnation for sin because Christ died in our
place. He says, There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. And this point, the apostle returns
to, substantiating and giving evidence, giving proofs for throughout
chapter eight. And let me just, in the introduction
that I have for you here, make two specific points. First, when Paul says, there is therefore
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, he is not
saying that there is nothing condemnable in us. there certainly
are many things condemnable in us. Every believer will testify
to their personal struggle with sin and indeed to the ongoing
failure to live up to the standard that they would desire. In fact, Many believers will
acknowledge that they hardly knew what sin was until after
the Lord met them, until after the Holy Spirit brought conviction
and they were saved. Their life beforehand had been
dominated by sin, they had been ruled by sin, and they thought
little of it. But after they were shown the
true nature of their own heart, then their consciences were pricked,
and then their desires were after holiness. Paul is an example. And the whole of chapter seven,
the chapter prior to this chapter eight that we're thinking about
just now, in the whole of chapter seven, the apostle is bearing
his soul to these Roman believers that he had never yet met. He
is bearing his soul to them concerning the frustrations of his desire
after practical holiness. He sees, he tells them, he sees
a law of sin in his members, warring against and resisting
the transforming grace of God. And though he is a child of God,
though he is a believer in Christ, though he possessed the Holy
Spirit, he yet calls himself a wretched man for the intensity
of the struggle between what he is in the flesh and what he
desires to be in his heart. And the sad reality is, There remains plenty of condemnable
features and issues in all of us. There remains plenty in us
that is in our flesh that is condemnable. Nevertheless, to offset this
sad reality, There is a corresponding glad reality. And this is the
second point in my introduction. Condemnable as our sin is, it
is not judged, at least not in us. There is, says Paul, therefore
now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. And while
the wages of sin is death, there is no condemnation to them that
are in Christ Jesus. For the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no condemnation
for sin now, is not attributable to us. No punishment is due to
us. No record of guilt is maintained
against us because our sin has already been condemned and punished
and paid for and dispensed with in our Lord Jesus Christ. And justice has been served.
Satisfaction has been made and accepted. God transferred the
sin of the elect onto the body of Christ on the cross. He condemned
that bundle of sin in the flesh of His Son. And though we in our nature continue
to be the workers of iniquity and transgressors of the law,
yet neither sin nor the guilt of sin is imputed to us who are
in Christ Jesus. The sin of all for whom Christ
died was laid on him, born by him, atoned for in him, and carried
away by him. All our sin was laid on him,
sin past, sin present, and even, dare I say it, sin future. Isaiah is very bold. He says,
he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all. That's what Isaiah said in the
Old Testament prophetically in anticipation of Christ coming.
Peter confirms this same point in the New Testament when he
says of Christ, his master, who his own self bear our sins in
his own body on the tree. Who his own self bear our sins
in his own body on the tree. And this is exactly what Paul
is telling us here. He says, it is Christ that died. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's
son, died to effect our justification and bring about this state and
order for the elect in which the everlasting covenant was
satisfied and accomplished. It is why he died. Great salvation
required great sacrifice. And I say this, anyone who denies
what Christ effectually accomplished on the cross is treading underfoot
the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant an
unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. Substitutionary
atonement is the heart of the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ
really suffered in our place. He delivered us from guilt and
judgment. In taking our place, He secured
real, full, and free salvation for all for whom He died. Christ personally took our sin
in His own body. He willingly, He mercifully,
He lovingly paid the price and rendered us in time and for eternity
holy and without blame before God. Divine justice was served
by Christ's suffering and the Lord God, according to the terms
of the covenant of peace, is satisfied with the sacrifice
of His Son in our place. And our happy state today as
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ is entirely because it is Christ,
the God-man, that died. He must be man to suffer for
men. He could not be a proper substitute
if he was not flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. He must
be a man to suffer for men. Yet he must be God to bear the
infinite cost of that infinite crime. The hymn writer, Mrs. Alexander, says, No one else
could. He was the fit man who's spoken
of in Leviticus. The fit man set apart to convey
our sins away. He was the scapegoat upon whom
our sins were laid. He was the sacrificed lamb who
died in our place. And yet Paul has more to say
in this matter about our standing before God. While it is true
that we are justified by the death of our Saviour, there's
more to see in this matter because of the great salvation that this
is. There's more to be understood.
Christ was delivered for our offences and he was raised again
for our justification. And having once and for all purged
our sins by the shedding of his blood, Christ rose from the dead
that he might ever after personally represent his people to his Father
in heaven and intercede for us there. So that not only did he
justify us from our sins by his death on the cross, but now he
intercedes for us in heaven before his father. Died on the cross
and was raised again and ascended into heaven. So we are going
to spend the rest of our time today thinking about this intercessory
work, this priestly role fulfilled by our Saviour. The Apostle Paul
tells Timothy, he says this, there is one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And John, the Apostle
John, tells the church, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous. And the writer to the Hebrews,
whoever he may be, tells us, Christ is able also to save to
the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them. So here we have this mediator,
this advocate, this intercessor. And it is all wrapped up in this
Jesus Christ the righteous, the man Christ Jesus, Jesus Christ
the righteous, he who ever liveth to make intercession for us.
And Paul is here in our passage today, telling the church at
Rome that we have a living savior, risen again, seated at the right
hand of God, which denotes that he has finished
the work that he had been given to do and is located now in the
place of highest honour. That's what Paul means when he
says, a living saviour seated at God's right hand. And here,
Christ continues to be active. Yes, he said when he was hanging
on the cross, it is finished. The price had been paid. His
life was coming to an end. It was a completed, accomplished
work. But never think that the Lord
Jesus Christ stopped working the day that he died. He rose
again, and now he intercedes for us in heaven. He continues
to be active. He continues to represent his
beloved church and people. He is looking after the affairs
of his bride here on earth, as well as in heaven. He is caring
for the well-being of his children. He pleads the case of the redeemed
sinners in a sinful world. against the allegations and accusations
of our enemies. He pleads his own blood. He pleads
the efficacy of its cleansing power. Says Paul, Christ is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. So here are three elements of
our Saviour's intercessory work. He speaks for us before his Father. He grants us access to the Father. And three, he gives us access
to the throne of grace. This is Christ's mediatorial,
his intercessory work on our behalf. So let's take these three
examples and just touch upon them lightly. And then we will
be done today. The first one is this. He speaks
for us before his Father. This is the sense of advocacy. He is our advocate. He is speaking
to God. He is using his voice to God. Advocate. And here Christ speaks
in this intercessory capacity. Now, a few weeks ago we spent
time thinking about Christ's high priestly prayer in John
17. The Lord prayed for and advocated
for his people while he was here on earth. He says in verse 9
of John 17, I pray for them That is it, he's advocating for us. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. Then in verse 20 he says, neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word. So the Lord Jesus was advocating
in this intercessory prayer for his church and people. And we
should realise that this intercessory role which he fulfilled on earth
did not cease when the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven. There,
at the Father's right hand, Paul tells us he continues to pray
for us. He continues to speak for us,
to plead for us, and represent our interest in all the blessings
that he won for us at the cross. All the rights that he secured
by his death. And Christ's advocacy with the
Father for his people rests on the basis of his own perfect
sacrifice. Now we've noted this before,
so I'm repeating myself. The Lord Jesus Christ in his
intercessory prayers, both on earth and in heaven, is not asking
for grace and favour. He's claiming his rights and
privileges under the terms of a completed contract and a finished
work. He claims and he obtains the
fulfillment of all the promises of the everlasting covenant,
saying, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me
be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou
hast given me. For thou lovest me before the
foundation of the world. I hear the Lord Jesus Christ
praying that prayer in the presence of his disciples. hours before
he went to the cross. And I hear, methinks, the Lord
Jesus Christ praying that prayer at his Father's right hand in
heaven. Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me
before the foundation of the world. And I want to mention
something here because it seems very clear to me, but I hope
it is also to you. There is a clear and evident
distinction made by Paul, no doubt upon the basis of the words
of Christ himself, that this intercession is for us, for us. Such a small phrase, but so important. Christ did not pray for the world,
that is the unbelieving world, while he was in the world. What
makes us think that he is going to pray for the unbelieving world
now that he's in heaven? He didn't on earth, neither does
he pray for the unbelieving world in heaven. At God's right hand,
he prays for us. all who were given to him in
the covenant of grace, all for whom he bled and died, all who
with Christ were heirs of the blessings of the covenant, who
were loved of the Father before the foundation of the world.
It's distinctive, it's personal, it's particular. Can we just
pause for a moment? and consider the utter foolishness
of thinking Christ's heavenly intercession includes the reprobate,
by whom I mean those who never will believe and never will be
saved. Let's just think about the foolishness
of that notion. If every time a sin is committed
on earth, Christ pleads his blood to cleanse it. Christ advocates
for the culprit, whoever he may be, reprobate that he is, and
mediates reconciliation between God and man. There would be no
debt to pay, there would be no grounds for judgment, and there
would be no need for hell. there would be no sins outstanding
on judgment day, and the separation of sheep and goats would be just
imaginary make-believe. Because every sin of every individual
must have been washed away at the cross, and universal salvation
must be the order of the day. Now I could develop that, but
it's such nonsense, such arrant nonsense that It doesn't merit
our attention. I hope you see the foolishness
of such a notion of Christ interceding in heaven for the reprobate. Christ has a continuing priestly
role in heaven for God's elect. There he appears in the presence
of God for us. Paul is explicit. Us who believe
and yet shall believe the gospel, for he intercedes for all for
whom he died, each one being known and loved from before the
world was formed. The Apostle writing to the Hebrews
confirms this, saying, by his own blood he entered in once.
This is what we read earlier in our Hebrews reading at the
beginning. By his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption. Eternal redemption,
mind you. Eternal redemption for us. For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the true,
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God
once again for us. Christ pleads for us. He claims
and obtains fulfillment of all the promises of the everlasting
covenant for all for whom he suffered and shed his blood.
His representation, his advocacy, with the Father for his people
is founded upon his own perfect sacrifice. And as long as the
church remains on earth, at least in part, our Saviour will continue
to claim and by right obtain all the promises of the everlasting
covenant on our behalf. And these include such blessings
as the Father's love upon us, the Spirit's convicting power,
His quickening grace, His comforting presence, Christ's own constant
attendance with us and our future presence with Him, for which
He prayed in John 17 and for which He prays yet today. So
that was our number one point about Christ speaking, advocating for
us before the Father. Here's another benefit of Christ's
intercession. We're told that he grants us
access to the Father. Now intercession is a central
pillar of Christ's mediatorial work. And through Christ, we
have access to the Father. The Lord told Thomas, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. And we have access to God through
Christ alone. There isn't another way. Jeroboam
thought he could set up a couple of calves in northern Israel
and that would do the job. There isn't another way. And
the religions of this world and the false notions of men and
women who make up their own rules and their own ways of gaining
fulfillment and assuaging their consciences have missed the truth
if they miss Christ. Paul tells the Ephesians, for
through him we both have access by one spirit unto the Father. Christ has given us access. And so the intercession of Christ
with the Father for us opens a door, opens a way of access
into the presence of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul continues
speaking of Christ Jesus our Lord in whom we have boldness
and access with confidence by the faith of Him. So we have
boldness in our approach to the Father by the intercessory work
of Christ as well as access with confidence. Do you see what Paul
is saying? You and me sinful, fallen creatures
that we are. Nevertheless, can have, may have,
do have boldness with confidence and access to the eternal God
by the Lord Jesus Christ. The God-man, the God-man who
is the mediator between God and man. And that is true in time and
for eternity. We shall gaze upon the infinite
God through endless ages by looking at Jesus Christ. We shall commune
with God the Father in heaven in Christ. I mean, if it wasn't that the
scripture said it, it's staggeringly wonderful. We shall commune with
the eternal God in heaven in our communion with Christ, because
Christ intercedes for us with the Father. We shall please and
delight the eternal Godhead in Christ. and all our timely relationships
with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and all our eternal relationships
are enabled and facilitated and maintained by our Savior, the
mediator between God and man. Now, of course, I struggle to
conceive what heaven will be like and what it shall be like
to stand before God. What shall it be like to stand
in God's presence before whom the angels shield their eyes? But we know this, whatever our
entrance into, whatever our experience of heaven will be, We have boldness
and access with confidence by the faith of him. By the faith
of Jesus Christ, we have access and we have boldness and access
with confidence into the presence of God. And here's the third
thing that I want to mention in this context. So I said, first
of all, that one aspect of Christ's mediatorial work, his advocacy,
is that he speaks for us before the Father. A second aspect of
this mediatorial work, his intercession, is that he grants us access to
the Father in time and in eternity. That will be so. And thirdly,
Christ's intercession for us gives us access, not only to
the Father, but to the throne of grace. So that here, in this
world, is a channel for our petitions. Here is a vehicle, a voice for
our troubles. A forum, if you like, for our
fears. And just as Christ's divinity
gains us access to the Father, so his humanity brings us his
sympathy and his care. He intercedes between us. He's
the mediator between God and man. And as he speaks to us,
or as he speaks to God on our behalf, so he cares for us with
sympathy and care. The writer to the Hebrews says,
in all things, it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God to make reconciliation for sins of the people. For in
that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to
succour them that are tempted. There's this dual aspect of Christ's
intercessory work to God and to man. He continues. The writer
to the Hebrews continues, for we have not a high priest that
cannot or which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace. Here it is again, boldness before
the throne of grace. We have boldness to go, we have
boldness with access with confidence into the Father's presence, and
we have boldness to go to the throne of grace that we might
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. This is
beautiful. Do you see how often boldness
in coming to God is mentioned? Christ's success in his covenant,
mediatorial, and intercessory offices is the ground of our
boldness. because Christ has won, we can
be confident. And if he can be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities, and if he is both a merciful
and a faithful high priest, merciful to us, faithful to God, how bold
and how frequent ought our approaches to the throne of grace to be. Now, we pray for one another,
we go and we pray for ourselves, we bring our needs before the
Lord, we pray for one another, we share together in fellowship
the needs, the burdens, the cares, the concerns, the trials, the
troubles of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And whether
we gain the specific outcome that we seek in our prayers or
not, We should be bold in our approach. We should be confident
in accessing these blessings that God has given to us. And
thereafter, we should be content to rely upon the goodness and
the wisdom of God in our earthly affairs. What a privilege we
have to have such an intercessor. Such a mediator, such an advocate
with the Father. May the Lord bless these things
to us today. Amen.