Paul asks if God is for us who can stand against us? Who can bring a charge against God's elect? This is Satan's most futile work. This lesson shows why justification is not an abstract doctrine as Dr. Sproul covers 17 aspects that secure the believer's relationship with God.

Once again, we turn our attention to Paul’s letter to the church at Rome, and we are still in the eighth chapter. But God willing, we will try to finish that eighth chapter this evening. I will pick it up at verse 31, repeating where we left off last week and reading through verse 39, which is the end of chapter 8, so I will read Romans 8:31–39. I ask the congregation to stand for the hearing of the Word of God:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, 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 Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who 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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanks be to God for these words of great comfort for our souls. Please be seated. Let us pray.

O Lord, as the deer pants for the mountain spring, so pants our soul after Thee. We rejoice in every word that proceeds from Your mouth, but particularly these strong words of comfort and assurance that You have given to us here in Your Word. Help us, O Lord, to take this Word to our hearts, that we may embrace this Word with all of our might, so that whatever befalls us, we know wherein we stand with You. For we pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Deus Pro Nobis

Last week, after considering the golden chain, I talked about the rhetorical question Paul raises in chapter 8 when he asks, “What then shall we say about these things?” So often, what is said about those things when they involve the doctrine of predestination and God’s sovereign electing grace is unending protest against God’s sovereignty. That is not where Paul’s thinking goes. Rather, he considers the implications of this work of grace that begins in eternity and concludes with our glorification, by which we will be in God’s presence for the rest of eternity.

I’ll mention as an aside that I love when we sing “Amazing Grace,” when we get to that last verse where it says that “we’ve been there ten thousand years” and so on, we say:

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun.

We think of Paul and the Apostles, who went to be with the Lord two thousand years ago, yet they still have eternity to enjoy the blessedness of their salvation. We will also enjoy that same endless period of time with Him.

Having taught these things in Romans, Paul says that what we should say to these things is the confession that I mentioned last week, the confession Deus pro nobis, God for us. “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

That phrase is set forth in a conditional sense, where the language suggests a kind of uncertainty. The Apostle says, “If God is for us,” almost as if that were a matter open to some doubt or further speculation. But Paul is not trying to indicate that there is any uncertainty about God’s being for us, because he has simply labored throughout these chapters to demonstrate how deeply God is for His elect. Paul is speaking in terms of the language of logic, the language of a syllogism that gives the first premise followed by the second premise, rushing toward the conclusion. The conclusion of a syllogism is one that follows inexorably and irrefutably from the premises, if the premises are sound. If A is true, we say, and if B is true, then C must necessarily follow. So, when Paul says, “If God is for us,” he is speaking syllogistically, not with respect to uncertainty.

We can state what Paul says in another way, and the language allows it: “Since God is for us, who can be against us?” If God is for us, the whole world can be against us because man, in his revolt against God, not only protests against his Creator but against all of the redeemed. Implicit in the Apostle’s statement is that if God is for us, who could possibly stand against us? This is, of course, a rhetorical question where the answer is obvious: No one can stand against us if God is standing with us. The old aphorism, which has since become something of a cliché, says that one person with God on his side is in a majority against all the rest of the human race.

The Son of God Delivered Up

Paul goes on to expound upon this idea, saying, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Notice that the language the Apostle uses is the language of sparing. If someone is rescued from an almost certain doom at the last second, we say that person has been spared the disaster that was about to befall him or her.

When we read this language in Romans 8, how can we not think back to Genesis 22, when God commanded Abraham to offer his son, his only son, the son whom he loved, Isaac, on the altar at Mount Moriah? We remember the drama of that event where Abraham in his obedience took his son on the arduous journey and placed him on the altar bound in ropes, lifted up the knife to slay him, and at the last possible second, God stopped him. He said, “Abraham, Abraham, lay not your hand upon your son.” In that moment, God commanded Abraham to spare his son.

In terms of ancient geography, Mount Moriah would later be called Mount Calvary, just outside the city of Jerusalem. There, one thousand years after Abraham’s experience, our Savior went into the garden of Gethsemane on the night before His death and sweat drops of blood, pleading with the Father to allow the cup He had set before the Son to pass from Him. Nevertheless, Jesus said, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). In that moment of Christ’s grand passion, the Father said no. The Father would not spare His Son.

Paul is answering this question: How can we understand the posture of God toward His people when He goes to such lengths and extremes to effect our redemption that He spares nothing—not even His own Son—that we might be saved? Paul says that God “did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,” or to put it another way, “for all of us.” I do not believe for a moment that this was for all mankind. God gave His Son to redeem His elect. Paul says that He gave His Son for us, meaning for believers, for those who are a part of the golden chain that we have studied in weeks past. God did not spare anything, but delivered Christ up for us all.

Then Paul asks another rhetorical question: “How will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” He has spared nothing to effect our redemption, and in His refusal to spare anything, He does not hold anything back to effect our salvation. At the same time, because of Christ’s perfect obedience, the Father bestows every conceivable blessing upon His Son, who has effected our salvation. His inheritance is the world and everything in it.

Paul says that because the Son has died for us and the Father has not spared Him, He will also give us everything that He gives His Son, continuing on the theme of adoption that he developed earlier in this chapter, when he spoke about our being heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ. The Father is pleased to give all things to His Son, whom He did not spare. He gives those things not only to His Son but to all whom He had given to His Son for His Son’s glory.

Who Shall Bring a Charge?

Paul goes on with his list of questions: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” What a powerful statement. Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? Well, the work of Satan is to bring every conceivable slanderous charge against God’s elect. Satan never ceases accusing the brethren. He never stops harassing us, getting at our consciences, and telling us how wicked and undeserving we are to be in fellowship with Christ.

The principal work of Satan in the life of the believer is not temptation, though he is engaged in that, but his chief work in the life of the believer is the work of accusation, to take away your assurance, your joy, and the consolation that is yours in Christ. He keeps reminding you of your sin. He keeps telling you of your shortcomings. He keeps wagging his finger at you, saying, “Shame on you for this and for that.” He lays every conceivable charge that he can bring against God’s elect.

Yet there is no work that Satan has ever been engaged in, dear friends, that is more futile than his work of bringing charges against you. Paul mocks Satan with the question, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?” What can be sillier than bringing accusations against those who have been redeemed through the blood of the Lamb? Who is it who justifies? It is the judge of all the earth who declares us just by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, which is perfect righteousness.

Let us back up for a moment: Who can rightly bring any charge against Jesus? He said to His contemporaries, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46). He is sinless. Any attempt to charge Jesus with sin is an exercise in futility. It is a waste of time and breath because the Father knows that Christ is without sin, and His perfect obedience is then imputed or transferred to the account of everyone who puts their faith in the Son.

It is just as futile for anyone to lay a charge against us as it is to lay a charge against Christ because we are clothed in His righteousness. We are justified by His merit, by His righteousness. In Jesus Christ, God has not pardoned us, nor has He exonerated us, but having clothed us with the righteousness of Christ, the judge of all the earth has pronounced His verdict of righteous to everyone who is in Jesus Christ.

Once the supreme, sovereign judge declares you righteous in His sight, all the slander in the world will make no impact or dent upon God’s assured, final judgment of you. That is why there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus: The judge has declared us just. Do you see why justification is not just an abstract doctrine? We must never, ever negotiate this doctrine, because it is the very heart and soul of the gospel.

Because of our justification in Jesus Christ, I fear no slander from Satan or from the whole world. You may know about the tombstone of Saint Athanasius. He was driven into exile so many times that it is hard to count them. On his tombstone it simply says, Athanasius contra mundum—“Athanasius against the world.” If you turn the tombstone around it should say, Deus pro nobis. God was for you, Athanasius, though the whole world was against you.

This is Paul’s way of saying, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” My mother used to tell me that. She taught me that when somebody says something nasty to me, I should just say, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, nut names will never hurt me.” Have you ever tried that? The first time I tried it, I said, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me,” but the names did hurt. Many times, those slanderous accusations are more painful than sticks and stones. But they bounce off the skin of the Christian in the presence of God, because God has declared us righteous in His sight. The verdict is in. There is no higher court of appeal than the verdict rendered by the sovereign judge of all the earth.

The Heavenly Court

Paul goes on: “It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns?” Once God has justified you, who can condemn you? Condemnation is gone. It has evaporated. He continues: “It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

Do you hear the Apostle’s Creed in miniature in that one sentence? It is Christ who died. It is Christ who is raised for your justification. It is Christ who ascended to the right hand of God, where He was seated in the position of power, of cosmic authority. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the highest tribunal in the cosmos, and He is the One who died for you.

Do you remember when Stephen was stoned? Do you recall the fury of his enemies as they set themselves against him, gnashing their teeth in their hatred? They started throwing rocks that were opening gashes and cuts on this saint. While his blood was pouring from his veins and his life was draining from him, he looked up, and God gave him a vision into heaven. When he looked up, he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

The earthly court condemned Stephen to death, and at that very moment, the heavenly court was in session, and the judge of all the earth was the defense council for Stephen. That is where the court that matters sits, at the right hand of God. Not only is our Savior who has been raised from the dead our judge and our defense attorney, but He is our intercessor. He is our Great High Priest who is pleading our case before God every minute. Do you see how foolish it is, in light of that, to worry about the slanders of men in this world?

“Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. It is Christ who died.” It is Christ who was raised for our justification. It is Christ who is sitting at the right hand of the Father, and it is Christ who intercedes for us every day. Beloved, it just does not get any better. It could not possibly get any better than that.

Nothing Shall Separate Us

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Many people live a life of uncertainty, thinking that once they are saved, they can lose their salvation. Tomorrow, they might commit a mortal sin and have to go through the second plank of justification for having destroyed the grace in their souls. Those who worry about failing to persevere till the end always live in uncertainty.

We have seen that the finest flower in God’s garden is the tulip. I have explained that to you. The worst flower in God’s garden is the daisy, where Christians who are uncertain pluck the petals off the daisy saying: “He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not.” Paul will have none of that: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

Paul explores the options of those potential things that could drive a wedge between our Savior and ourselves: “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Are not all of these things the very experiences in which Jesus steps to the front and assures us of His presence with us? If anything seals His love for us, it is His promise to be with us in the midst of persecution, peril, sword, famine, and everything that the world, the flesh, and the devil can throw against us.

Remember that the things Paul anticipates here are not exhaustive. This list is representative. He could say: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, perils, the sword, the press, the police, the devil . . .” He could go on forever about things that would try to separate us from the love of Christ. But he points to what is written in Scripture:

For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

How often is the image of sheep used in the Bible to refer to the flock of God and to Christ, who is our Good Shepherd? The Bible describes Jesus in this way, which would be fulfilled in His trial before Pilate:

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth. (Isa. 53:7)

Our Lord, who is the Great Shepherd, became the sheep. He became the docile One who went willingly to the slaughter. We participate in that vocation by participating in His humiliation, His tribulation, and His death.

Conqueror of the World

In the nineteenth century, some of the most cynical attacks against Christianity ever written came from the pen of Friedrich Nietzsche in which He declared the death of God. Do you know what malady it was that Nietzsche claimed to have killed the Deity? Nietzsche said, “God is dead; He died of pity.” What was he getting at?

Nietzsche was convinced that Western civilization, particularly Western Europe, had become completely decadent by his time in the nineteenth century, principally as the result of the baleful influence of Christianity. He could not stand that Christianity exalted virtues like mercy, love, and pity, which virtues, according to Nietzsche, stripped human beings of their natural humanity.

Nietzsche argued that the primary defining trait of humanness is not that we are homo sapiens, that we have the ability to reflect and to be engaged in cogitation and wisdom, but really what defines human beings and separates them from the beasts is our will to power. Every human being, according to Nietzsche, has this drive to dominate, to conquer, to rise to the top, to be king of the hill, but Christianity with its false piety takes away the strength of humanity and has left us with a race of impotent men.

Nietzsche called for a new humanity, the dawn of a new man who would be superman, the Übermensch, who would be the example of authentic human existence, who would be the father of biological heroism. Is it any wonder that Hitler sent copies of Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra to his henchmen as Christmas presents when he was trying to develop the super race of Arians in the twentieth century?

The chief characteristic of superman, according to Nietzsche, is that superman is a conqueror. He is the man, Nietzsche said, who sails his ship into uncharted waters, the Hemingway of his day who grabs the bull by the horns, who builds his house on the slopes of Vesuvius. He will bow to no opposition and show fear to no power of nature, such as a volcano. He is defiant to the end. He is Übermensch, the superman, in counter-distinction to the weak, pitiable Christian who turns the other cheek.

I always think of Nietzsche when I read this portion of the text where Paul says, “Yet in all of these things”—pestilence, tribulation, peril, sword, being led as sheep to the slaughter—“we are more than conquerors.” The Greek here comes from the term hypernikaō. We are hyper-conquerors. The Latin is even better: super vincēmus. “In all of these things,” the Word of God tells us, we are supermen, “through Him who loved us.” You want a superman, an Übermensch? We have it in Christ, who has conquered the world.

Nietzsche believed in dialectical courage, which would mark the superman. Dialectical courage is courage that is irrational. Nietzsche declared that life is meaningless, and there are no real values, so he preached to his contemporaries, saying: “Life is meaningless, but be of good cheer. Be courageous anyway. You have no reason to be courageous. Your courage will leave you at the bottom of the sea, but be courageous anyway.”

How different that is from Jesus’ charge to His people: “Be of good cheer.” Why? “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). There is a reason for our cheer. There is a reason for our joy, because the Lord Jesus Christ has conquered powers, principalities, and every wickedness in the cosmos.

Safe in Christ

“For I am persuaded,” the Apostle says, “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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You may feel at times that God has departed from you, but that is when you have to believe His Word rather than your feelings. The Word of God promises and guarantees that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ—death cannot do it, life cannot do it, earthly governments cannot do it. They could throw Joseph in prison for years, but they could not separate Joseph from the love of his God. Principalities in the demonic world, Satan and his angels, cannot separate us. What else? Nothing in the present and nothing tomorrow can happen that will separate us from the love of Christ. What about height? What about depth? Paul is giving us a selective number of examples of things that we might think could separate us from the love of Christ, but he is saying not height, not depth, not life, not death, not powers, not principalities, not anything from any creature—nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

Do you remember the theme of this chapter that I mentioned when we first began to study chapter 8? The question was, “Is it safe?” If we have been saved, are we safe? Safe from what? Safe from anything that this world can put against us, because God from all eternity has loved us and has redeemed us.

We are God’s elect. To be elected of God is to be chosen by God. To be chosen by God is to be chosen for a purpose: to be conformed to the image of Christ and to be Christ’s possession, not for a day, not for a week, but for eternity. You do not like the idea of God’s sovereign grace? Do you still kick against it, even though it is our guarantee that nothing can separate us from the great love with which He loved us? Let us pray.

Father, we cannot begin to fathom the depths and riches of this love, Your love that perseveres. It is only because of Your persevering love that we have any hope of persevering, because You are committed to preserving your people whom You have given to Christ, that You may give to Him and to His all things. O Lord, make our hearts sing in gratitude tonight and forevermore. Amen.

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.