This great book of divinity,
it actually is. And in verse 28, Paul makes another
argument why there's no condemnation under the saints of God that
are in Christ Jesus. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to 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, whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we say then to these
things? If God be for us, who against
him? 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 justifies. 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 makes 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. Now we'll be down about verse
32, 33, 34 for the most of our study of the morning. Now, the foundation upon which
the salvation and the perseverance of the elect stand has many layers
and therefore is broad, is wide, and is deep. And it has those
two layers as a foundation that are mentioned in the text that
we have read this morning. They are number one, the atonement
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. death that our Lord died
has the strongest bearing not only upon our salvation, but
upon our sanctification and upon our perseverance. Therefore,
it is not simply the self-sacrifice of the people, but it is the
one great sacrifice of our Lord. And why Matthew 121? he shall
save his people from their sin. Not try to save them, not hope
to save them, not remove obstacles that might be in the way of their
being saved, and not to make salvation simply and only available
unto them, but our Lord died that he might actually save his
people from their sin, that he might deliver them from their
sin, that he might take away the thing that separates between
them and their God, as Isaiah chapter 59 and verse 2. But the second thing that we
look at this morning is having a bearing upon the perseverance
of the saints is the mediatorial intercession and the life that
Christ lived in heaven before and in the presence of God. This too has regard unto his
people and unto their perseverance. He is there as an intercessor,
having died and overcome death and ascended to the right hand
of God. He's not there to intercede for
himself. He's not there as a private individual. His intercession has the same
object and has the same subject as his atonement. His people,
those he died for, those he intercedes for. For whom he died, them he
does intercede. and appear in the presence of
God. For them given unto him by God
the Father, he intercede even as he died for them. In reality,
it is his atonement that is the basis of his intercession. He intercedes upon the fact that
he has given unto God a propitiatory sacrifice for the elect of God. Now, if you might pardon a slight
and a short digression just for a moment, if we might. We see
these two things that I mentioned. the atonement, the sacrifice,
the shedding of blood, and the intercession in the presence
of God. We see these two things typified
in the Old Testament throughout in the work of the great high
priest of Israel on the day of atonement, when he did the two
things that are typical of the priesthood of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Number one, he made a sacrifice. He caught an animal without spot
and without blemish, as far as the flesh goes. And he brought
it before the altar, and there he slew that animal, and he burned
it with fire and caught the blood in a vessel. Number two, like
Christ, he entered in. But the Old Testament high priest
entered into the most holy place. carrying the blood of the sacrifice
with him. And what did he do with it? He
sprinkled it upon the mercy seat there in the Holy of Holy, there
where the typical presence of God dwell. He put the blood on
the golden mercy seat between the two cherubim. and the law
and the manna inside of that ark or that shed. And in this,
he is typifying the work of the priesthood of our great Lord
and our Savior, even Jesus Christ. And so the Lord himself offered
himself without spot to God, and he did so through the eternal
spirit. And then, after his resurrection
and his victory over death, he entered into heaven itself, into
the very presence of God, and he sat down on the right hand
of God. Now, let's ponder these two things
if we might. The atonement of our Lord and
his intercession before God. These two aspects of Christ's
saving work, the atonement on the cross on earth, and the intercession
on the right hand of God in heaven, though they may be distinguished
the one from the other, yet they must not be disassociated or
separated one from the other. since they are two aspects of
the saving work of God in Christ Jesus. As typified, again, in
that Israeli high priest who first made the sacrifice, then
entered into the holy place where the people were not allowed to
go. They were not allowed to enter
into the holy place. And to repeat, both of them are
a part of the priestly and the saving work of our Lord. I was reading Louis Burkhoff
this week in his theology. He noted that in today's preaching,
not for a long time, most of the emphasis is put upon the
atonement, while little emphasis seems to be given to the intercessory
work of the Lord at the right hand of God, but which is a necessary
part of the complete saving of the elect. So let's consider
the atonement and consider whether it has a hand and a part and
an influence on the perseverance of the saints of God. Whether
it only relates goes no further than the saving of the soul. So the questions come, is perseverance
a fruit of the death of our Lord? Or is perseverance only a work
of the saved person? Or is it a work of the Spirit
of God that is carried on in them? Or is it a result, in large
and in part, of the intercessory ministry of Christ and the surety
ship of our Lord for his people? Surely the atonement, in conjunction
with the decree of God, is the foundation of the blessing that
are bestowed upon the elect of God. Blessings like regeneration,
and the creation of faith, justification, and pardon, and forgiveness,
these all are given as fruits, yes, of the will of God, but
also of the atonement of our blessed Lord. All of them because
our Lord gave a sacrifice to God that propitiated him in behalf
of the sin of the elect. But now let's settle in. What
about sanctification and perseverance? Are these two also fruits of
the atonement or are they the part in the contribution of the
person who has trusted the Lord Jesus Christ? Does he simply
or she simply separate themselves from evil and abstain in their
own power from worldliness and yield themselves up then to the
will and the pleasure of God? And do they remain in the grace
of God only so long as they are able to avoid the pitfalls of
the world, of the flesh, and of the devil? We do not deny
that true believers, the saved of God, do walk before God in
sanctification, they do sanctify themselves unto the Lord, and
they persevere, as did Abraham of old. But that this is the
result of the work of the grace of God in them, and not owing
only to their ability. So that God works and is working
in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Now, in showing the relationship
between the atonement and the perseverance of the saints of
God, I think that we must consider, we must contemplate the design
and the intent of that atonement that was made by the Lord's Christ
in his death on the cross. The question raised by John Murray,
in his very, very excellent book, the death of death in the death
of Christ, in which he raises two questions in regard to the
atonement of the Lord. Question number one, what was
the intended aim and end of the death of Christ. What did God,
what did Christ intend to be accomplished by his death upon
the cross? All might answer immediately,
to save sinners. The Lord died that he might save
sinners and to give eternal life and to snatch sinners from and
out of the misery of the fall And yes, scripture confirms this. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1 and verse 15. To deliver us from this present
evil world. Galatians 1 and verse 4. To seek and to save that which
was lost, Luke 19 and verse 10. He came and he died to justify
many. And then the question is, the
atonement of Christ, was it a, was it general, universal? Was it for all without exception
or distinction? Was it for all of the children
of Adam that our Lord died? Or B, was the atonement of our
Lord special and particular? Was it for those given unto him
by the Father that he might save? Was our Lord's atonement for
the sheep, but not for the goats? Our Lord said he died, shed his
blood, gave his life, for the church. Again, he said, my blood
shed for many. For those given unto the Lord
Jesus Christ. And these questions must be answered
if we are to arrive at a proper conclusion. Now, the second question
raised by Owen, and that needs to be discussed, what is the
actual accomplishment of the atonement of our Lord? So what
did God intend by the atonement and what is the actual accomplishment
of the Atonement. Are all being saved? Are everyone without exception
be saved? Fact, millions have died in their
sin and in their unbelief. Millions more in idolatry. Millions in Islam and other false
religions clinging to Christless cults that have no proper sacrifice. And many there are who are believing
another gospel and another Jesus that is being preached far and
wide in apostate sections of Christendom. So the conclusion
from these two questions is this. If Christ died for all, then
the aim of the atonement does not match the end according to
the Arminian scheme. Now, if any say that Christ died
for the sins of all, without exception, with the express intention
and plan to save all, but as Owens wrote, then one of two
things must be true. If Christ died to save everyone,
but everyone is not being saved, never have in any age or in any
time. So two things, therefore, must
be true. Number one, God and Christ have
come far short of their aim and their intention. If it was his
aim to die and to save all without exception, Who can deny that
they have fallen far short of that goal, aim, or intention? Their will has been overturned,
their purpose has been frustrated, and for many, Christ is dead
in vain. His blood shed for nothing in
the case of so many, and many lost for whom he has died or
shed his blood. In short, God and Christ have
failed in what they intended if the atonement was universal
in scope. And then number two, The only
other alternative is to have some kind of absolute reconciliation. That's the only other possibility
if Christ died for all. That all will ultimately Finally,
in the end, be saved. And there are some today who
hold that position. They call it absolute reconciliation. It all will ultimately be saved. There are some holding to that.
even denying hell and so forth and making that argument. Even
some Armenians are not so bold as to call God a failure in these
exact words, though their conclusion may be drawn from their doctrine
and from their preaching. Christ gave his life, shed his
blood, paid the debt for each and every individual. And then
the evangelical wing of Arminianism, if I may call it that, might
deny that all will be saved. So they try to give some respect
to their denying that the atonement infallibly fails. They teach
that some can make themselves to differ, that it is they and
not God who makes themselves to differ. They could appropriate
unto themselves what is common and available unto each and every
one. Thus, Armenians have two anomalies,
that is, they have two irregularities. When we look at their preaching,
and when we look at what they say, is the will of God. That is, first of all, they believe
that some that Christ died to save may never be saved. They believe that Christ can
die for some, and still they not be saved. They believe that
those that God loved and that Christ died for will be lost
and never be saved. That is the confession of their
theology. And then number two, they believe,
that is some of them do, many of them, that are that that some
that are saved say for a time genuinely in grace and in Christ
may then fall away sin away their grace and be lost and even perish
forever forever. They believe that some once genuinely
saved may fall out of that grace and perish forever. So coming to our passage here
in Romans chapter 8 where we find a number of very strong
anchors for those that love God and those that Christ loves and
those that he has redeemed. Notice what we find along in
this passage. We find purpose called according
to purpose. and we find for donation, and
we find for knowledge, all of them in this passage of the scripture. And verse 28 through verse 30
speak in definite terms of a very strong purpose of God toward
a specific people. Them who, look at that, them
who are called according to purpose. We find that in verse 28. Whom
he did foreknow, found in verse 29. Now notice something about
that. Whom he did foreknow. It is not what he did foreknow,
as Pink said, it is always whom he did foreknow. It is not what
he did foreknow, but whom he did foreknow, or who he did foreknow. them he foreordained, if you
look at verse 29, who called according to his purpose, for
whom he did foreknow, not what, not but whom, Them he foreordained,
verse 29. Them he also called, in verse
30, and he justified and glorified them. All of those are in the
past tense. in the Greek and in the scripture. All of these are in the past
tense. They stand upon the purpose of
God, whom he did foreknow and whom he did foreordain. Now, verse 31, let's read it
again. What shall we say then to these
things? If God for us, who against us,
literally it says. What shall we say? We have here
what Murray called the triumphant conclusion, quote unquote, in
regard to these things. But then the question is, what
is included in these things? It's not so easy to say or to
determine. Some say it refers to what is
said, these things, in verse 28 through verse 30. Others take
it back to verse 18 of this same chapter, and some take it all
the way back to chapter one and verse 16. all things that have
been said in regard to justification up to this point. Therefore,
in respect to these things are saying. And the footnotes I found
in the New Geneva King James Study Bible as it These things
embrace the whole display of free grace to lost sinners in
the letter thus far." And if that be true, then it includes
God's method of justifying sinners. these things in regard to the
justification of sinners. Again, the expositor John Brown
subheads verse 31 and following as showing this, quote, nothing
can be wanting for the welfare of those for whom God has given
his son, unquote. The question, what shall we say
then to these things, if God for us, who against us? The if is not the if of doubt
or of uncertainty. He is for us, the scripture is
declaring. In that, he has given his son. He has done the most important.
He has given the greatest gift. Of course, some are against us.
Yes, they are. Some are and always will be against
us, but they cannot destroy, they cannot negate, they cannot
overthrow, and they cannot undo what God has done and what he
has provided in Christ. Cannot separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus. Now, let's look at the 32nd verse,
if we might. If God for us, who against Him? Now the half full of gospel truth
is that verse, and we see it expressed negatively and then
positively. And if you look at the word spared,
who spared not. He did not spare his son. And the word spare is an interesting
one, very picturesque in the New Testament for us to consider. It means to forego punishment. It means to forego the punishment
that might be due. It means to abstain from or to
treat leniently. It means to forbear. And what
Paul says here is God did not forego punishment. He did not
forego the proper punishment due unto us upon His Son. Now this is the same word that
we find in other places in the scripture to kind of give us
an idea of how to understand it and how to use it. He spared
not his own son. In Romans 11 and verse 21, Paul
writes and says, now be careful, God spared not the natural branches,
that is the Jew. He did not spare the natural
branches. In 2 Peter, chapter 2 and verse
4, he spared not the angels that sin. He was not lenient with
them. He did not forego their punishment.
He cast them down in the chains of hell to be reserved. 2 Peter 2 and 5, he spared not
the old world. He was not lenient with that
generation of violent and wicked sinner, but he spared the, but
he destroyed the ungodly, but delivered him up. Here's the
positive. He spared not his son. He was
not lenient with him. He did not forego our punishment
because it was the light upon his own son, but he delivered
him up for us all. And delivered is the word to
give over. or to yield up, or to deliver. It was typified in Abraham, offering
up Isaac, his son, upon that altar. In Genesis chapter 22,
and referred to in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 17. And who did he give? And who
did he not spare? Well, the text said, his own
son, the eternal son of the eternal love of God. and he has given
his son up to death at the cross, the greatest gift. He will not
withhold other things that are needful to our full and complete
salvation. Coming to verse 33, Paul hurls
the challenge now, who shall lay anything to the charge of
God's elect? Who can charge them and make
it stand? Who can lay a charge as to negate
their justification and put them under the accusation of sin? Who can so accuse them as to
reverse They're standing and bring them again under condemnation. Who can condemn those that God
has justified? Remember what God has joined
together, let not man put asunder. Now, who can condemn those that
God has justified? I would that you might compare
verse 33 with a passage out of Isaiah chapter 50 and verse 7
and verse 8. have some likeliness, likelihood
between them. Now, verse 34, here's another
challenge. Who is he that condemned? Who shall lay anything to the
charge? Now, who is it that condemned? It's Christ that had died. Here
is the further impossibility of a justified one ever being
condemned. Christ having died, he having
risen again, He's at the right hand of God, and in addition
unto this, he also makes intercession on behalf of us. Now the meaning
or the connection, Christ having died, and all sufficient atonement
has been made. He has died and given all that
is required. Christ has been made sin that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Christ's death
confirmed the justification of the elect and his resurrection
also did that. The law cannot curse them. Sin
cannot condemn them. Satan cannot have them. The world
cannot seduce them away. Hell cannot swallow them up. for Christ has died and shed
his blood for them. Now not only did Christ die,
but he lived again. We know the grave could not hold
him. He saw no corruption, Psalm 1610
and Acts chapter 2. Death could not hold him and
the grave could not corrupt our blessed and sinless Lord. But not only did he live again,
but he also is ascended to the right hand of God. Perhaps the
highest honor, the highest exaltation, Sovereign over all things Hebrews
1 and verse 3 set down on the right hand of God the promise
of Psalm 110 and verse 1 was sit down on my right hand until
I make thine enemies thy footstool Paul said he also makes intercession
for us now intercession is from the Greek word That means to
draw near or to meet with, to converse, to make petition, to
make petition of another, both for or against. In the scripture,
we see that type of intercession as Elijah made intercession to
God against Israel and not for them. Romans 2, 11 and 2 and
1 Kings 19. And the word is used in Acts
chapter 25 and 24, at least in the King James Version, it is
translated this way. Dealt with me, but it is the
same word that we have intercession here in our in our tech Barry's
interlinear has it this way Petitioned me in Acts chapter 24 and 25
and verse 24 The NASB version of the Bible
has it, appealed to me. These have appealed unto me,
the king said, during the trial of Paul. And they declared unto
him, that Paul ought not to be allowed to live any longer. They made their appeal upon that
basis in that particular verse of the scripture. Christ's intercession,
who also makes intercession for us, for we have one. to draw
near unto God in our behavior, one who intercedes for us and
not against us. Furthermore, he does so directly
with God without any intermediary to act in that capacity, directly
to God. He's the one and only mediator
between God and men 1st Timothy chapter 2 and verse 5 and it
reads for One God and also one mediator also between God and
man a man Christ Jesus One mediator between God and man, that mediator
is none other than Christ Jesus, the man Christ Jesus. Now a couple of great truths
they are here in this place, such as in verse 6 of that passage
there in Timothy, The one who is mediator is the same one having
given himself a ransom for all. And as some expositors have said,
the ransom, the blood and the death of Christ is itself an
intercession. When Christ died, he was actually
making an intercession with God in behalf of his people. Now another thing we notice there,
this one Christ Jesus, who is the one mediator between God
and man, is himself both God and man. The Lord Jesus Christ,
the man Christ Jesus, the God man. He is both God and man. Hear what Paul has written in
1 Timothy 2 and 5. They are a man Christ Jesus. He had both a human and a divine
nature. by what we call the hypostatic
union of the two natures in the one person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And in that, he is therefore
a mediator between God and men. It was necessary that he be both
God and man, that he might be the intercessor. Necessary that
he have the natures of both. God and man. For example, if Christ were the
mediator between God and angels, if that had been God's design
and purpose, then it behooved him to have assumed an angelic
nature to do so. But this he did not do. For in
Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 16, we read, he took not hold of
angels. but of the seed of Abraham he
took hold. And in the next place, Hebrews
2.17 we read, wherefore in all things it behooved him by all
means to be made like unto his brethren that he might be in
order that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the people or propitiation. In fact, the son of God, to be
a high priest forever, he had to be a man. For only men are
priests, Hebrews 5, 1 through 4. He had to partake of flesh
and blood, Hebrews 2, 14, and that he did, and yet without
any corruption and without any depravity. Now, the New Testament
word and doctrine of mediator is that the word mediator means
literally a middle man, one who stands between two who are, for
some reason, estranged from each other and cannot deal directly. Now, this doctrine is, as R.L. Dabney wrote in his theology
book, quote, one who intervenes to act between two parties who
cannot, for some reason, act with each other directly, end
of quote. In the case of Christ, between
holy God and sinful man, for such a person cannot rep represent
themselves before a just and a holy God. This idea needs to
be driven out of the mind of modern people and modern thinking. One, a sinner cannot deal with
God directly. He must have Jesus Christ as
a mediator and as a high priest. He cannot act or she cannot act
in their own interest before the just God. The mediator and
the intercessor must be sinless and so was the Lord. Watch this,
who makes intercession for us. You can see the same in Hebrews
7 and verse 25. He is able to save them unto
the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives
to make intercession for them. He's able to save because he
ever lives to make intercession for them. The word uttermost
there is very interesting and expressive. It literally means
completely or it means forever. It means always. He is able to
save completely and fully and always. Those that come to God
by him since he ever lived to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7, 5. This is the second
act of the sacerdotal office of our Lord, the intercession
of Christ. It has its effect from his death
and is made continually and was typified that burning incense
in the Old Testament tabernacle always before God the sweet smell
of that incense beaten small was raised up. Christ in heaven
is not limited to words. as he intercedes in our behalf,
but his sacrifice, like the Jewish high priest, I don't know if
he said anything when he went into the Holy of Holies, there
he put the blood on the mercy seat as God would, and it therefore
made the intercession. And he bore upon his heart the
names of the tribes of Israel. Now we want to mention 1 John
chapter 2 and verse 1. Sin not but if any man sin we
have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous now
the word here Advocate is the same word that is used by the
Lord Jesus in the upper room Discourses to his disciple on
the eve of his death. I'll give it a try or aklatas
it is in John 14 16 and 1426 1526 and 16 and 7 and all four times
that word is translated in our King James as Comforter a comforter
we have a comforter in an advocate with a father, an intercessor,
a comforter, a consoler, an advocate. It's not Mary, not a saint, not
a Christian brother, not the minister, but the Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ himself, and he is called the righteous, fully
righteous, without sin, righteous. He needs no advocate. He is the
advocate of his people. And why? Because he, verse 2,
1 John 2, is the propitiation for our sin. The same one who's
our advocate is our propitiation and vice versa. When they sin,
Christ has propitiated for their every sin And he is faithful
to intercede, to act as an advocate, and to forgive. And this is another
place where the atonement and the intercession of Christ are
closely locked together and adjoined. Our advocate made propitiation. If sin condemned a child of grace,
Then tell us, how many sins would it take for one in grace to be
condemned? Adam lost paradise for one sin. The angels were cast out of heaven
for their one sin. So how many sins, and to what
degree, and what kind of sin, and for how long? to grace to
be lost, and that one fall again under condemnation. If a child
of God could leave, could lose eternal life, then what has become
of the promise of Christ? The spirit shall never leave
you forever. Questions quickly in closing.
Verse 31, what shall we say to these things? Verse 33, who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Verse 34, who is
it that condemns? Christ died. Verse 35, who shall
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus? And the answer is none can separate
us. No power, no creature, none can
separate from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.