The Bold Challenge of God's Elect

I'm going to speak to you today
on this subject, the bold challenge of God's elect. And our text
will be taken from the book of Romans, chapter 8, verse 33 and
34. Now, over in the Old Testament,
one of the prophets said, Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth. Do we dare allow God to speak
to us, to let God speak for himself? And more than that, do we dare
to hear what God has said? Now, the passage of scripture
that I'll be using as my text today has been the subject of
controversy for many, many years. But I want you to listen carefully.
Will you take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans, chapter
8, verse 33 and 34. Will you listen to this message?
Do you dare let God speak to you? God revealed himself as
he reveals himself in his work. The scripture says in Romans
8.33, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who
is he that condemns? 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. Now, my friends, the
holy law of God stands ready to condemn every son of Adam. For what thing soever the law
saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth
may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. The
holy law of God has a charge against you and against me. All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All we like
sheath have gone astray, we've turned everyone to his own way. And the holy law of God stands
ready to condemn you and to condemn me. And the sword of God's justice
waits to fall, because the scripture says, the soul that sinneth,
it shall surely die. The scripture says, God will
in no wise clear the guilty. Sin, when it's finished, bringeth
forth death. The sword of God's justice is
poised and ready to fall upon the human race. The righteousness
of God must reject every son of Adam, for the righteousness
of God declares that we have sinned, and Almighty God cannot
have fellowship and communion with those who sin. Who shall
stand in his presence? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart. So the law of God charges us,
the sword of God's justice waits to execute us, and the righteousness
of God rejects every son of Adam. But out of the darkness of human
depravity, and out of the rubble of Adam's awful fall, and out
of the rags of human righteousness, I hear a brave, strong voice
call, who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect. Who
is he that condemneth? From the scales weighed and wanting,
from the bitterness of sinful gall, from the prison house of
the broken law, I hear a brave, strong voice call, Who can lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? Who is he that condemneth? Found guilty through Adam's treason,
their backs pressed against the wall, condemned to death universally. But I hear a brave, strong voice
call, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? And the voice cries, Wait, holy
law, hold back thy charges. They are right, they are just,
Man deserves every charge brought against him by the holy, immaculate,
unchangeable law of the living God. But wait, law of God. Hold
back your charges. Let's hear what he has to say.
Wait, justice of God. Thy sword is poised to fall,
and man deserves thy condemnation, and man deserves to be separated
eternally from a holy God. But wait. Wait. Hold back thine
avenging sword. weight righteousness of God,
thy claims shall surely be met. The judge of the earth shall
do right. The holy God of heaven will not clear the guilty, but
the holy Lord of heaven will not condemn the innocent. The
guilty shall surely die, but the just shall live. Let's hear
what this voice pleads. What is it you say? And the voice
again says, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's Who are
God's elect? You take your Bible there and
let's answer that question. First of all, in Romans 8, just
a few verses up from where we've been reading, verse 28, all things
work together for good to them that love God. But the natural
mind is enmity toward God. It's not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. This is condemnation. That light,
Christ said, I'm the light of the world, light is coming to
this world. But men do not love light, they love darkness because
their deeds are evil. The scripture says that Christ
is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows acquainted with
grief. Our Lord said to his disciples,
my brethren marvel not at the world hate you, it hated me before
it hated you. Men hate the living God, they
hate the God of the Bible, that's true. But some, by the grace
of God, do love God. Does not God's own words say,
we love him? We love him because he first
loved us. And did not God say to Abraham,
I know that you love me? And our Lord Jesus Christ met
with his disciples down to the seashore. He built a fire, prepared
them something to eat. As they were sitting around eating,
he looked at Peter and said, Peter, do you love me? Do you
love me? And Peter said, Lord, thou knowest
all things. Thou knowest that I love thee.
Who are God's elect? They're those who love God. By
the grace of God, there are some who do love God. By the grace
of God, there are some who do. And they can say in their hearts,
Lord, you know all things. I don't love you as much as I
want to. And I don't love you as much
as I should. And I don't love you as much as I expect to. But
Lord, you know I love you. All right, go on. Who are God's
elect? Verse 28 again, "...to those who love God, to them who
are called according to his purpose." Now, my friends, it's the purpose
of Satan to ruin. He said, I will exalt my throne
above the throne of God. That's his purpose. His purpose
is to ruin. If he cannot reign, Satan's purpose
is to ruin, either through deception or any amount of subtlety or
craftiness, he is set to ruin. And man's purpose is to rebel. Man says, we will not have this
person to reign over us, but it's the purpose of God to redeem. God Almighty's purpose is to
redeem. There are a people who are the
called according to his purpose. You know, when they ask David,
where is your God? David said, our God's in the
heaven. And he hath done whatsoever he pleased. Whatsoever the Lord
pleased, that did he in heaven, earth, and the seas, and all
deep places. What hath it pleased God to do? And Moses wrote, It
pleased God to make you his people. Yes, it's pleased God to redeem. God will have a people. He will
have a people out of every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue unto
heaven. Heaven will be populated, for
God said, I will be merciful. Moses says, show me your glory.
God said, this is my glory. My glory is my goodness. And
I declare the name of the Lord. I will be merciful. I will be
gracious. So God's people, God's elect,
are those who love him and those who are called according to his
redemptive purposes. God is going to save some people.
He's going to have a people. He said, Abraham, your seed is
going to be like the stars of the heavens. Your seed is going
to be like the sands of the seashore, an innumerable company, a company
which no man can number. Well, go on. Who are God's elect?
Thirdly, verse 29, they are those whom he foreknew. Now, I quote
from God's own words. In Jeremiah, chapter 1, verse
5, he said, Jeremiah, hear the word of the Lord. Before I formed
thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before thou camest out of thy
mother's womb, I sanctified thee and ordained thee to be a prophet
to the nations. I knew you. Before you were born,
I knew you. Before this earth was created,
I knew thee. Our Lord has a people," he said,
listen to Ephesians 1, 4, "...according as he hath chosen us in Christ
before the foundation of the world." And Paul, describing
his own conversion, said, It pleased God, who separated me
from my mother's womb, to call me by His grace. It pleased Him
to reveal His Son in me. And Paul, writing to the church
at Thessalonica, said, Brethren, I thank God for you, beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth. Yes, God's are those who love
him by his grace. He loved us first. We love him
because he first loved us. There are those who are called
according to his redemptive purposes, and there are those whom he foreknew,
there are those whom he gave to the Son. Read John chapter
6, verse 37. Our Lord Jesus said, All that
my Father giveth me, all of them shall come to me. And him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out, for I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me. And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all which
he hath given me I lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day."
His elect, who are they? They are those whom he hath given
to the Son, those whom he foreordained, those whom he foreknew. Those
who in eternity passed in His covenant mercies He determined
to save. All right? Read verse 29. Who
are God's elect? Those whom He did predestinate.
He predestinated all whom He foreordained. Predestinated what? He predestinated them to be like
Christ. He predestinated them to the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ according to the good
pleasure of his will. This is the goal of redemption.
That all whom God saves, that all who populate heaven, that
all who live with him in glory, that all who are joint heirs
with Jesus Christ will be just like the Lord himself. John wrote
about it. He said, Behold, now are we the
sons of God. Right now. To as many as received
him, to them gave he the right, the privilege, to become sons
of God. And brethren, now are we the
sons of God. It does not yet appear what we
shall be. You can't picture what we're going to be like. We know
whom we're going to be like. But he said, we don't know what
we're going to be like. But this we do know. When he
shall appear, we're going to see him and be just exactly like
him. And David, this was his goal.
He said, I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. David had a lot of things to
satisfy him. If the things of this world could
satisfy, he had wealth, he had fame, he had education, he had
position, he had possessions, he had friends, he had a kingdom,
but he said, I'll be satisfied when I wake with his likeness.
And God's elect are those whom God predetermined to make like
his Son. Those whom he foreknew, he predestinated
the means, He predestinated the way that they should be just
like his son. All right, go on. Who are God's
elect? Those whom he called. Whom he foreknew, he predestinated. Whom he predestinated, he called.
Now, they won't call on him until he calls on them. The Lord Jesus
Christ said this, No man can or will come to me except my
Father which sent me draw him. And they shall all be taught
of God, and every one that hath learned of the Father cometh
unto me." No, they won't call on Him until He calls on them.
And they won't seek Him until He seeks them. And they won't
love Him unless He loves them. He will cross their path, and
He will make them willing to embrace Him and to love Him and
to believe on Him and to come to Him. That's what He says in
Psalm 110, verse 3, shall be willing in the day of
our power." And our Lord said in John 10, when they asked him
this, they said, if you be the Christ, tell us plainly. He said,
I told you, you didn't believe me. The works that I do, they
bear witness of me, but you believe not. You believe not because
you're not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish. And he that shun any man plucked
him out of my hand. My Father which gave them to
me is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my
Father's hand. My sheep will hear my voice." There are two
marks of God's sheep. One is the mark on the ear, the
other is the mark on the foot. They hear His voice, and they
follow Him. He calls them. Who are God's
elect? Those whom He foreknew, and those whom He predestinated
to be like Christ, and those whom He called. And he'll call
them. Oh, he'll find them in idolatry.
That's where he found Abraham. He'll find them in harlotry.
That's where he found Mary. He'll find them in religion.
That's where he found Saul. He'll find them even one yard
from hell. That's where he found the thief
on the cross. But he'll find them. He said to Paul, he said,
now you stay in that town and preach. I've got much people
in that town. Nobody's going to hurt you. Nobody's
going to lay his hand on you. You don't have to leave. You
don't have to be afraid. I've got much people in that
city. And he'll find them, and they'll
hear his voice, because he'll call them. My sheep hear my voice. Well, go on. Who are God's elect?
Look at verse 30. Romans 8, 30. Those who be justified. Those who be justified, you say? Do you know what justification
means? To be justified means not guilty. To be justified not
only means pardon or even parole, but to be justified means not
guilty. That means righteous. That means
holy. That means without sin. So that's
the reason Job asked this question. How can man be just with God?
How can he be clean that's born of a woman? Why, behold, the
moon and its shine is not. Even the stars are not clean
in God's sight. How much more filthy and abominable
is a man that drinks iniquity like the water. How can man be
just with God? Justified, you say? Oh, I understand
what you're saying. The elect of God are those that
love God, and those who are called according to His purpose, and
those whom He foreknew, and those whom He predestinated, and maybe
even those whom He called. But justified? Man justified? Man innocent? Man not guilty? Man holy and without sin? How can that be? Love found a
way. Love found a way to redeem my
soul. Love found a way to make me whole. Love sent my Lord to the cross
of shame. Love found a way. Oh, praise
His holy name. He was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities.
The chastisement of my peace was laid upon Him, and by His
stripes I am healed. That's what the angel declared.
Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were born under the law. Yes, the Savior took our
flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. He was numbered with the transgressors.
The just died for the unjust. The sinless became sinful, that
the sinful might be sinless, and we have a righteousness that
was worked out by Christ our Lord in his perfect obedience
to the holy law of God. Yes, God's elect are those who
are justified. All right, next. Who are God's
elect? They're those whom he glorified.
Those who love God by the grace of God. Those who are called
according to his divine purpose to redeem. God's purpose from
all eternity. to have a people. And he foreordained
them, and he predetermined that every one of them would be like
Christ. And in time he sent his Holy Spirit to call them. And
the Spirit of God not only called them, but through the blood of
Christ justified them, and he said even glorified them. My
friends, in Christ God's elect are cleansed. In the Holy Spirit
God's elect are sanctified. And now at the right hand of
they are glorified. At the right hand of God there's
a man, the God-man, who is seated, he is accepted, he is honored,
he is exalted, he is the second Adam, and he has restored unto
us all that we lost in the first Adam. He restoreth my soul. And in Christ, in the sight of
God, every believer is holy and clean and pure and without blame,
seated with Christ in the heavenlies, blessed with all spiritual blessings. All right? It's clear that God
has an elect. That's what the Word of God says.
It is clear that God has a people. He has a people who love Him.
He has a people whom He hath called according to His purpose.
He has a people whom He hath foreknown from all eternity.
He said to those at the judgment, I never knew you. I never knew
you. But he said to Jeremiah, before
I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. He said, I never knew you. But he said of his sheep, I know
them. I know them. And he not only knows them, but
he's predetermined that they'll be like Christ. And he's called
them and justified them and glorified them. But wait a minute. What's
the challenge of God's elect? What do they have to plead? What
do they have to claim? Listen to Paul. Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? He faces that holy immaculate
law, and he says, who can lay anything to our charge? He faces
that avenging sword of God's justice, and challenges justice
and says, who can lay anything to our charge? He faces the immaculate,
immutable holiness, the righteousness of God, and he says, who can
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? You know what the
plea is? It's a fourfold plea. Look at
it, verse 31. If God be for us, who can be
against us? If God be for me, if God be for
me in elective grace, if God mark me out as his own, if God
set me apart as an object of his affection, if God is for
me in substitution, if he so loved me that he gave his son
to die for my sins, If God is for me in redemption, who can
be against me? Can the angels be against me?
Why, the Hebrews says they're ministering spirits sent by God
to minister to the heirs of salvation. They can't be against me. They
are our servants. Well, what about Satan? He's
against everybody. Well, his power is broken. Why,
the prince of this world, Christ said, is judged, and he's cast
out. He doesn't have any power. Well, shall the world be against
me? Christ said, I've overcome the world. Well, shall my own
flesh be against me? Listen to Paul, O wretched man
that I am. It's true. I deny it not. But thanks be to God, I have
the victory. Who shall deliver me from this
body of sin? I have the victory. This body of death? I have the
victory through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's
the first bold challenge of God's elect. Who can lay anything to
my charge if God's for me? If God's on my side, Who can
be against me? If God chose me, who can be against
me? If God justified me, who can
be against me? If God says I'm not guilty, dare
anybody say that I am? Here's the second bold challenge.
Who shall anything to the charge of God's election? God's own
children. We don't stand in our righteousness.
We stand in the righteousness of Christ. We don't plead our
own works. We plead His. We don't offer
our sacrifices. we offer his sacrifice. I like
what that great old black preacher, John Jasper, said. John Jasper used to pastor a
big church in Richmond, Virginia, back a hundred years ago. People
came from everywhere to hear that old man preach. And one
day a man walked up to him and said, John Jasper, you think
you're going to heaven? He said, yes, sir, I believe
that I am. He said, well, John Jasper, when you get to heaven,
And you stand there at the gate of that great city, and you ask
to be admitted. And someone looks at you and
says, John Jasper, what right have you got to be here? What
are you going to say? Well, he said, I'll tell you
what I'm going to say. I'm going to say, oh, John Jasper hadn't
got any right to be here at all. No right at all. But I'm not
here on my righteousness. I'm here on the righteousness
of my Lord Jesus Christ. That's the reason we can challenge.
That's the reason we can say who can lay anything to my charge.
I'm not pleading my righteousness. I'm pleading His. I'm not pleading
my works. I'm pleading His. I'm not pleading
my obedience. I'm pleading His. I'm not presenting
my sacrifice. I'm claiming His. Christ died
for my sins. If I go to hell, I'll go to hell
trusting Christ. Job said, though he slay me,
I'll trust him. I'm not trusting myself. We'll
surely fall when we begin to trust the flesh. Put no confidence
in the flesh, yours or anybody else's. Put your confidence in
Christ. All right, here's the third bold
challenge. Who is he that condemns? Who is he that condemns? This
is the reason no one can condemn me. Fourfold. First of all, he
said, who can condemn me? Christ died for me. Yea, rather,
he is risen again. who is even at the right hand
of God. Now listen, who also maketh intercession
for us. Watch how the apostle climbs
these golden steps. Who can condemn me? I challenge
heaven, earth, and hell. I'm one of God's elect. Who can
condemn me? Christ died for me. More than
that, he arose for my justification. More than that, he is seated,
accepted on the right hand of God. More than that, he calls
my name. He prays for me. He makes intercession
for me. Now, who's going to deny Him
what He bought? Read that verse up there, verse
32, that says, How shall He not freely with Him give us all things? If God spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us, shall He not with Him freely
give us all things? Who can deny Christ what He prays for? Here's
the fourth challenge. Who can separate us from the
love of God? Who can separate us? He said,
My sheep hear My voice. I know them, they follow me,
I give them eternal life, they'll never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hands. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man can separate my people from my
love." What's the conclusion? Law of God? I find no fault. Righteousness of God? He's holy. Justice of God? My wrath is exhausted,
my judgment is satisfied, my penalty is fully paid. Who can
lay anything? The charge of God's elect. It
is God that justifies. Not what we've done, what He's
done. This message is available on cassette tape recording. If
you'd like to have it, write us at the address that will be
given to you in just a moment.

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