8th chapter of the book of Romans.
And I'll read verse 32. I read from verse 29, 29 and
30. He talked about those that he
foreknew. He also did predestinate. He conformed the image of his
son those He predestinated He called,
and whom He called, them He also justified. Whom He justified,
them He also glorified. He said, How or what shall we
say to these things, if God be for us, who can be against us?
Verse 32 says, Now He that spared not His own Son, now that's God
the Father. He spared not His own Son. but
delivered him up for us all. How shall he not, with him, by
him, and through him, on his account, also freely give us
all things? Now, what I want to talk about
for just a little bit here this evening, I want to talk about
the characters mentioned in this word, us, but delivered him up
for us all. Now, it's evident that the writer
here, the Apostle Paul, I believe, does not mean all of Adam's race
when he says, He that spared not his own son, but delivered
him up for us all. Us all. Not all of Adam's race. Doesn't
mean that. Can't mean that. Can't mean that. The prevalent The doctrine of
salvation in religious circles in our day is a universal salvation. They believe that Christ died
for everybody and everybody is going to heaven when they die,
whether they believe the gospel or not. That is a universal salvation. That is what they believe. They
believe that when it says here, He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all." They believe that means every
man, every woman, every girl, and every boy, every human being
that came from Adam's seed, everybody. And you hear them talking about
it on the television, you know, the man upstairs, when we get
ready to go, we'll go, and everybody's going to go there when they die.
But that's not so. That's just not so. It's evident
to me from what I read to you that Paul is not talking about
every member of Adam's race. He's talking about these people
up here. And we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. That's who he's talking about,
Bob, us all. for whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate." Those are the ones he's talking about.
He's not talking about every member of Adam's race. Well, there's thousands upon
thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people alive right
tonight who are ignorant of God. That's all there are to it. They're just ignorant of God. I'm not talking about the religious
people. I know most religious people are ignorant of the true
and living God. I know that. That's self-evident, too. But
leave them out. There are thousands and thousands
and thousands of people not identified with any religion that are ignorant
of God. They all know God in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. No, sir. He has described us
all. If you'll turn with me to the
book of 2 Peter, or 1 Peter chapter 2. He has described the word us. He calls them, in some places,
His little children. Little children. He calls them,
in some places, the sheep of God. He calls them in some place
the family of God. He calls them in some place as
the household of God. Here in I Peter chapter 2 verse
9, he calls the us a chosen generation. And know what he is saying? Ye
are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. He calls them a holy
nation. He calls them a peculiar people,
the us. See? Keep in mind now, He that
spared not His own but delivered Him up for us all. That is what He describes them
as here in the Bible. They are set forth as a holy
nation. Now, they are not holy in their
fallen nature. We know that. Not holy in their
fallen nature. But he describes them as a holy
nation. Now, there's no people on the
topside of God's green earth who groan and moan, being burdened
as these people do, who he refers to as a holy nation. There's
no people on earth who are so sensible of their unworthiness
as these that He calls His holy nation. They're sensible of their
needs. They're sensible of their sin. He calls them a holy nation,
those that He describes here in Romans 8. I know I've been
in the way for a number of years, and most of you have been in
the way for a number of years. And I thought when I first got
in and on the King's Highway, when this thing first confronted
me and overwhelmed me, and I began, started the race, I thought I'd
get better as I proceeded along the course. I thought I'd get
better. I thought that's the way it was
supposed to be, that you'd get better. I wanted to renounce
the world, put the world under my feet, have nothing to do with
it, and shun the very appearance of evil. I had those holy desires. But instead of getting better, I feel at times, even right now,
I feel how can the good God, the merciful
God, the great and glorious holy God dwell in such a black heart
as mine. He refers, though, to me as a
member of that holy nation. He calls me his child, a sheep
in his pasture. Well, if there wasn't a holy
kingdom in our hearts, we'd never come to hate this unholiness,
would we? Well, that's what it means when
it says, The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit lusteth
against the flesh. And these two opposites, the
Spirit and the flesh, which are opposite. These two opposites
are the reason that you and I don't do the things that we would do,
that we desire to do and want to do, is because of this warfare. But this holy nation that he's
talking about, these who are in this nation, who are the recipients,
who have received This great gift of life, eternal life, the
gift of His Son, they have desires in their hearts. In their heart
of hearts, they have desires for the glory of God. They want
to glorify God. And for the most part, the whole
force of their life is going in that direction. They're living. in such a manner, in such a way
that they want God to be glorified. They desire that He is glorified. They want to get off in the background
and let God have all the glory. Well, they are a holy nation
in their hearts. In their hearts they are a holy
nation. Unholy in this fallen nation,
but not unholy in their hearts. He says they're a peculiar people.
They have a peculiar language, Bob. They're loved with a peculiar
love. Let me tell you about it. This
love that they're loved with, first off, it's an everlasting
love. Secondly, this love has no beginning. And thirdly, this love has no
ending. These peculiar people. The us
that he is talking about here in Romans chapter 8 verse 32. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all. They have peculiar love. No beginning,
no end. No top, no bottom to it. Everlasting. Endurability. Endurability. It endures, it lasts, no end
to it. Peculiar, isn't it? He said,
I have loved thee with an everlasting love, and therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee, the prophet said. This love, which is peculiar,
has peculiar effects on the soul that feels it, the results of
this love brings about certain feelings in the heart of one
of these. He loves his God. This love that
he has experienced, which is the love of God, no beginning,
no ending, endures, endures forever and forever and forever. And
when it smacks into the heart of a man, well, he loves his
God. over and above everything else
in this world. He loves God more than his wife.
He loves God more than his children. He'll renounce his family. He'll
renounce anything and everything. But he won't renounce God. He
loves God. It's a peculiar love. There ain't
nothing like it. There ain't nothing like this
love on the face of the earth. This love, the holy love, that's
deposited in the hearts of His Peculiar people, it's a peculiar
love. He loves all that is of God. It's such a peculiar love that
the world can't understand it. The world can't understand it.
Dare I say, you and your wife, you hear this morning, you hear
last Sunday morning, last Sunday night, last Wednesday night,
you hear tonight and in all probability, unless you're hindered by the
providence of God, you'll be here. You've been here all these
years. People don't understand that,
do they? Aren't there some of your people
and your friends who say, well, you go to church all the time.
They always say it about you, they say it about Bob, they say
it about Rosemary, and Glenn, and Gene, and all the rest of
you. That's a peculiar love, isn't it? Nobody understands
this love. Whoa, my wife's in the hospital,
or my dad's in the funeral home. Yeah, but this love is so strong
and so great. Well, the people of God are going
to meet, and they're going to sing, and they're going to give
testimony of the love and the mercy and the grace of God. Oh,
I've got to be with the people of God. I'd rather be with the
people of God than I would with my dead daddy in the funeral
home. That's a peculiar language. I
don't like it. People don't understand it. No. They can't figure this thing
out. Huh? Oh, none can understand it but
those that's mentioned in the word, us. They understand it. They understand it. It's a peculiar
lie. If you and I have a taste of
it, we'll find out it'll bear us up through every storm that
arises. in this scene of life. Any difficulty, this will bear
us up. We may falter a little bit, and
we may take a step backward, but before it is over with, in
the process of the dealings of God with us, this love will stay
us. It will keep us from sinking.
It will bear us up when the storm comes. It is a peculiar love. It has no beginning and it has
no ending. It has no top and it has no bottom. You see, there is a oneness.
There is a oneness with these people who are the
us in the text here. They can speak of their weakness,
and at the same time tell you about God's power and the riches
of His glory. That's a oneness with them. They're
all united in their hearts together in truth and in love. They won't
hear nothing but truth. Immediately when they hear that
which is not right, which is false, there's something in their
souls that rises up against it, and they said, that's not so.
That's just not so. Oh, listen, that's the us. Well, He that spared not His
own Son, but delivered Him up for us, a holy nation, the sheep
of God, the family of God, the household of God. They're members
of the city of God. Abraham said, they said, What
are you looking for, Abraham? He's out there one day looking
around. What are you looking for, Abraham? He said, I'm looking
for a city. I'm looking for a city whose
builder and maker is God. We're members of that heavenly
city. We're citizens of the household
of God and the celestial city of God. That's the us He's talking
to. Not talking to ever Tom, Dick,
and Harry. He's talking to those that He
foreknew. Those that He foreknew. Those
that He predestinated. Those that He called. That's
who He's talking to. But He said, now listen to this, How shall ye not with Him also
freely Give us all things. Freely giving His beloved Son
for us. That's what it says. How shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things? He gave us His
beloved Son, He said in the first sentence. He that spared not
his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how then shall
he not with him also freely give us all things? Well, freely delivered him up
for us all. What grace! You talk about faith,
you talk about grace of God. This is the grace of God, freely
delivered him up for Saul. Grace. That grace is the boundless,
boundless love of God Almighty. Boundless, insurmountable, unfathomable
in depth or height, or top or bottom, this love. All this is
wrapped up in this great love of Almighty God. You remember
when our Lord Jesus Christ was born a virgin? It said that the
angels cried out in song, Glory to God in the highest! That's
what they said. Glory to God in the highest! Highest form of glory! Glory to God! What a marvel it
is to me that the angels sing about the glory of God in creation. Creation is a great and glorious
thing, but that's not the greatest and most glorious thing. God's
salvation is the great and most glorious thing. But the angels
were mostly referred to creation, I think. And I think that it's
a marvel to me anyhow, and I know it is to you, that God should
speak particles of dust into a man. He took the dust of the
earth, particles of dust, and He spoke them, particles of dust,
and they became a man. They became eyes. hair on your
head, a nose, a mouth, a finger, a hand, a feet, toes, a heart,
a brain, particles of dust. Become a man, become a machine.
Not in the sense that you turn him on and he doesn't have any
accountability or responsibility. I don't mean that. But that's
a marvelous thing, isn't it? Remember I read the other night
what old David said when he sang praises unto God, he said, I
am fearfully and wonderfully made. Glory to God. The angels sing glory to God
in the highest, but the top of all glories is this greatest
display of glory in God giving His Son. That is the greatest
display of God's glory. He gave His Son for worms like
you and I, for individuals who only are particles of dust, sawdust,
sawdust. When we die, we'll go back from
where we came. We'll go back to the dust. He'll
put us right down in the ground. It won't be many years until
the worms will come within us. and eat
us up, and there won't be nothing there but dust. Dust. Well, listen. We who are included
in the Word, us, I've already said, saved with an everlasting
salvation. That's the greatest display of
His glory. What happened then? Well, sin
was completely abolished. He made an end of it, as I said
this morning. The devil was conquered and death
was subdued. Oh, that's glory to God for this
gift that he spared not his own son, sent him. He inflicted upon his own son
all the punishment and all the penalty that was due us by the
hand of God. I tell you, that's a great gift,
isn't it? While the thought's with me,
let me say unto you that everything you have is a gift of God. Everything you have is, if you've
only got a penny, that's a gift of God. Everything from the least
to the greatest, it all comes from the hands of God. give it
to us. But the greatest gift, the greatest
token of God is the gift of His Son. He inflicted all the punishment
and the penalties, the vengeance of God that was due us. That vengeance fell on Him in
our stead and our place. He delivered Him up for us all. He delivered us up that we might be sheltered in
Him, that we might be under His wings, sheltered in Him. And listen to me, and delivered
out of every probability and every Possibility of condemnation. Isn't that a wonderful thing?
Isn't that a wonderful gift that He delivered him up? That there
is no possibility or probability, situation or circumstance that
would bring us into condemnation? By and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. How shall he not with Him also
freely, freely? That everlasting salvation is
free. Free. He said it was free. If you have money to buy it,
you can't have it, because it's free. It's free. It's free to
whoever. wants it. Whoever wants it, they
can have it. It's free. It's for the asking
for. That's how free it is. Oh, no
condemnation. God has sworn. He's sworn by
two immutable things. He's sworn by Himself. He's sworn an oath. And He will
not lie. God's immutable and He cannot
lie. He's pledged His oath to those
that He gave to Christ, those for whom Christ died, those who
come by faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He promised
them that He'd bring them safely home. That's His oath, and He
will not lie. Now, I've been watching the trials,
you know, on the television every once in a while. They talk about
perjury. That means, I think, that means
that they get the man up on the witness stand, and
he raises his hand. Sometimes they put their hand
on the Bible. Sometimes they raise their hand. And they take
an oath before God. What I say here, the words that
I say, I swear to God, they are the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth. Now, if a man says that and then
turns around and goes back on what he said, they say he perjured
himself. They said he perjured himself,
and they can put him in the penitentiary just for that one act of perjuring
himself. God will not be a perjurer, Father. What God said, He'll do, because
He's God. He will not go back on His oath
if He has promised you and I, His sheep, the ox of Romans 8. He's promised us eternal life. He promised us that in this life
He'd see us through, and at the end of life, He said, I'll bring
you home to glory, where you'll be with me, where there'll be
no sin, no sickness, no sorrow, no tears. It'll be all gone,
a new Jerusalem. I'm going to bring you home to
myself. Now God'll do it, won't He? He'll do it. He won't perjure
Himself. He swore by Himself, and He can't swear by no higher,
Bob, than by Himself. He said, What I promised, I'll
do. Surely as God promised, He's
going to bring us home to His glory. So He that spared not
His own Son in sparing, delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things? All things. He didn't say, give us all we
want. Did he? No. We pray for a lot of things,
you know, that we want, that we never get. I guess I could
spend a half hour here telling you about things I prayed for
that I wanted and never got. Moses wanted to go to the land
of Canaan, but he didn't get to go, did he? He wanted to go
over there. And he kept telling God about it, and God said, Don't
speak any more about this. He said, Just let it aside, Moses. I don't hear no more about it.
And that's all there was to it. He got to see it, but he wanted
to go in it. There's a lot of things we want, but everything we get.