Well, dear church family, we continue with our Bible study series in the Apostle Paul's epistle to the Romans. We got as far last time to Romans chapter eight, verse 30, where we considered in the two preceding verses how that's every believer's trials are indeed customized and are bespoke, aren't they? They are tailored by the Lord specifically for their spiritual good, for our spiritual good, our eternal good, our spiritual good, and of course the good. of all believers as verse 28 speaks about. We know that all things work together for good, don't we, to them who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. They're customised. They are tailored. Every trial, every providence that we go to, they are tailored to every believer. And we looked at examples of this, didn't we, right throughout at scripture and we can take comfort that the Lord indeed is sovereign over all things, over all circumstances in our lives. We can trust him no matter what, can't we? Whether we're in the valley or the shadow of death or whether we're up on the mountain. in a sunny season, we can trust him no matter what. There's a lovely, I was reminded of a lovely text earlier, thy testimonies of old are my counselors. And how true that is, isn't it? We can go to the old scriptures and we can read of how God preserved his people, how he gave them that indestructible faith. and like we read earlier of David. And they can be our testimonies. We can delight in God's testimonies. They can be like counsellors to us. We consider of course the grounds upon which all things work together for good, for all true believers and which they are laid upon. And that of course was God's predestination. of us. We consider that the doctrine of predestination and how in fact it is a wonderfully comforting doctrine isn't it? It is a wonderfully comforting doctrine if presented aright. We thought about the effectual divine calling of every true believer along with their justification and of course their ultimate and our ultimate glorification and the certainty of it. Well, for the remainder of God's word this evening, from verse 31 through to 34, I trust that we'll see very clearly that if God be with us, who can be against us? That's the theme. If God is with us, we're just looking at a few verses tonight, verse 31 through 34. If God is with us, who can be against us? Well the Apostle Paul closes this chapter really with a holy triumph in the Lord. Verse 31 says, Who can be against us? What shall we say? Says the Apostle Paul. All these truths which he has already spoken to us about. About God's predestination of us. About the divine calling. About justification by faith in Christ. About these custom trials that we are going through. All these glorious and wonderful truths. about our ultimate glorification. And of course those early Christians really needed to know these things, didn't they? As later on in the passage it talks about who shall separate us from the love of God and it talks about persecution and nakedness and tribulation. Those early believers would have gone through great persecution by high powers, by By many things, they would have lost their jobs, they would have undergone much pain and heartache. And so this, of course, was not only relevant for them, but more so as well throughout all generations. We can take comfort that these truths, all these truths spoken about, are relevant to us and we can apply them to our hearts as well. Well the Apostle Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit is really struck with a sense of awe, isn't he, and wonder at God's everlasting love and sovereign free grace to believers. Verse 31, if God before us Who can be against us? And like I said, we must remember those early Christians suffered greatly for the gospel, didn't they? And for the faith once delivered to the saints. Who can prevail against God's people? Who can prevail against God's people? Who is stronger than the only one true living God? Be there ever so many strong enemies against our faith, What are they in comparison to the almighty God of Jacob, the living God? What can they do to us? What can they do to our faith? They can do nothing, can they? Who is greater than the creator of the universe, the sovereign Lord and King? Who can thwart God's counsels and his designs and purposes who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, as it says in Ephesians? If God's spirit be within us and his grace be upon us and his mercy be over us, who can be against us? Who can prevail against God and his justified people? And we can take great courage, isn't it? It's a mighty encouragement we have here. If God be for us, who can be against us? Not Satan, with all his devices and his plans, nor the dark powers. principalities or this present evil world which we have to contend with, nor our own corruptions and backslidings at times, nor death, nor nothing, nothing, you see. If God before us, who can be against us? How can we be assured of this, really? How can we be assured that if God is with us, who can be against us? Well, because God spared not his own son for us, didn't he? He gave us his best. He withheld not his own son. Verse 32, 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? We know in our hearts, don't we, that God loved us because he spared not his own son for us, didn't he? For our sins, to be that propitiation for our sins, to bear upon his body, the Lord Jesus upon his body, all our sins. And God withheld not his best to save us sinners from our sins. I think about Abraham when I think about that. How Abraham withheld not Isaac, his son, and his son's willingness to be made a sacrifice. And he was delivered up, wasn't he? A perfect atonement and propitiation for our sins upon the cross. Well, the context here is quite important because our text says that Christ was delivered up for us all. And it is, of course, speaking about us all as true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who are justified by faith in Christ and by his grace. We have been effectually called, haven't we? We've thought about that. We have been called and we have been justified by grace in Christ. In Christ we are freely given all things, we are told. Yes, all things concerning salvation and our justification. Yes, all things concerning godliness and our sanctification. And yes, all things pertaining Christ's kingdom and heaven as well. We're given all things, aren't we? And it says they are all given to us freely, freely. It is not by works of righteousness that we have done, but we are saved, aren't we, by sovereign grace abounding in the sun. They're freely given to us. Everything that pertains to our salvation, our justification, our sanctification and our glorification, they're all freely given to us, aren't they? They're a gift, a free gift of God, not of works, lest man should boast. And so, beloved, I just want to encourage us that why should we overly fret and despair if the streams of this life sometimes will run dry, as it were, when we have a fountain a fountainhead to go to, for all things are freely given to us, aren't they? We can go to that fountainhead when we just think that everything is going against us and we go to that fountainhead as it were. Well that's why it says, does it not, in verse 33 and 34, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. And verse 34, 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. Now we as Christians, as God's elect, as God's chosen, can be charged with many things as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ said himself, didn't he, in John 15, 20, the servant is not greater than the master. And our Lord suffered many things, didn't he? He suffered persecution, they twisted his words, they treated him unjustly. And so again, we do not seek to be offensive But by the very fact that we have Christ within us and we are followers of Christ, we shall suffer. It's just a fact. We shall suffer. We shall go through much tribulation. Now Satan, of course, who is the accuser of the brethren, will use anyone or anything to lay down charges against God's justified people. And he has no qualms in using even our nearest and dearest at times. And so we need to be very mindful that Satan has no moral compass. No common grace at all. The lost have common grace. Satan doesn't have any common grace. He has no moral compass. He is ruthless, and he will use anything. He will lay any charge, and he has no qualms about tempting, and he can even do this with believers. He can even tempt us and stir us up. to discourage one another, make us bite and devour one another. But in particular, he can use others to lay charges. As it were, we read of that, didn't we? Earlier in Psalm 3, remember poor old Job and the patience which the scriptures teach us about Job. Satan said to the Lord, In Job, I mean he shouldn't even have been with the sons of God there, didn't he? But he was there, wasn't he? In Job 1.19 it says, Doth Job fear God for naught? Doth Job fear God for naught? Straight up to begin with, the Lord says to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? A man who is upright, perfect, who escheweth evil. In other words, someone who is trusting in his Redeemer. He was not perfect in himself, we know that. He was trusting in his Redeemer that he lived. He was considered perfect because he trusted in the Lord. And so he wasn't perfect in himself, but in his integrity and his trust of the Lord and what the Lord has done in his heart. He eschewed evil. He hated it. And he was justified, wasn't he? By faith in Christ. Satan knew that. And we have this great display, as it were, open before us. And Satan comes along and he says, doth Job fear God for naught? In other words, what he's saying is, is a laying a charge, wasn't he? He was laying a charge. Doesn't Job love you because of what he can get from you? That's really why he loves you. He's really just like the prosperity gospel people say. It's just because you've made him rich and you've blessed his estate, you've hedged him in, you've given him all these things. And that's really why he loves you. He doesn't love you for who you are. And that was the charge laid against Job, you see, that he really loves you because of what he can get from you, not because of who you are, because you're the living God. And this was an awful charge, not only against Job, but against God. And so when verse 33 talks about laying a charge against God's justified people, it's really speaking in terms of one's salvation and one's justification. To lay and charge is to literally throw down reasons and accusations why someone should be condemned and not be justified, and why someone should go to hell and not to heaven. It's really to throw down and lay charges and say, this person, like we read earlier in Psalm 3, this many save my soul. as it were. There are many people who say of my soul. And so like I said, Satan has no moral compass at all. He has no qualms about tempting and using, like I said, even our nearest and dearest against us to lay charges. Remember Lot's wife. Remember what she said, does thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. Now, it must be said, Lot's wife, some people read that and say, she wasn't a believer. No, she was a believer. She did love the Lord. She was distraught. She lost. She lost. her children. They lost all their livelihood. They lost it all, didn't they? And it was devastating. And it was an emotional response from Lot's wife. And Job's wife. Thank you. Sorry, did I say Lot's wife? Job's wife. Thank you, brother, for correcting me. Job's wife. It was an emotional response, wasn't it, from Job's wife. And again, Satan was behind that, wasn't he? What was the subtle charge, an insinuation? It was that God has abandoned us. God has abandoned us. That he's not sovereign over these things. And of course, Job was given that grace to stand up, wasn't he, in that moment. Remember the lengthy and cruel charges which Job Job's three friends, those lousy comforters, are made against Job. And when you read that, your heart goes out to Job, doesn't it? And we have this great theme. If you read the book of Job, you have this great theme threading through the pages of scripture. The theme of grace and the theme of works. and the one is trying to push the other and the theme of works triumphs wonderfully as we see Job's lousy comforters saying there's something you're hiding from God you're something you're hiding from us there's some sin really that you're not telling us all all about and the things they said the insinuations the charges they said really were so cruel really and of course they were tempted weren't they? They were laying these charges as it were. So again these can be charges laid against justified believers. Job was a justified saint. And so we read also, did we not, in Psalm 3 earlier, where David mentioned that there were many who said of his soul, there is no help for him in God. And David, of course, was being run out of his own kingdom. David was being run out of his own kingdom in Psalm 3, wasn't him, by his own son. And David made big mistakes, didn't he, in his life? We've all, if we're honest, I can put my hands up, my children know, I've made mistakes as a father. We make mistakes, don't we? David made some big, gross mistakes, but he still loved the Lord. He still accomplished much for the Lord. I mean, if we had a spotlight on our lives, 24 hours of every day, and it was written in a book, How much more so could be said of us? David was mightily used of the Lord. And yet we know from scripture there were many people who insinuated to David, even as walking up the hill, as it were, saying that God has abandoned you, David. You're almost like Saul. You're a hypocrite, as it were. There's no help for you. There's no help for you in God anymore. There's no help for your soul. Really, you're not saved, David. And you know, that is one of the most hurtful things to say to someone who's truly converted, someone who loves the Lord and they make They have a time where they fell, they've made mistakes, and they genuinely are repentant, they're genuinely trying to seek and love the Lord. It's one of the worst things you can do, is just dig the nail in deeper, as it were, and say you're not a Christian, you're going to hell, or lay these charges. That really, friends, when that begins to happen, that's actually satanic. We need to be very, very careful when it comes to that. And by all the way, beloved, be very careful about digging up, just as a practical application, be very careful about digging up faults, past faults about people. Make sure your motives are squeaky clean and that you're thinking spiritually. Don't bring up the past. Don't start to bring up the past and dig up things. Remember Proverbs 16, 27. An ungodly man diggeth up evil. An ungodly person digs up the past as it were. Don't look for evil in other people. Don't dig it up as it were. Because if you do, it's more than likely that that problem is more about your unforgiving spirit, really, and your ungracious spirit than the faults of that other person. It's more likely got to do with that than anything else. Well, it's not only Satan who lays charges against God's elect, it is also this present evil world, isn't it? Because we are not conformed to this world's way of thinking, this world's way of doing, We are born again, aren't we? We're born of the Spirit. As believers, we are in the world, but we're not of the world, are we? Our faith certainly is not of the world. It's a supernatural faith given to us. It's an indestructible faith. The world is not our friend, is it? It will never be our friend. You know, as Christians, it sometimes takes a long time to realise that. You know, because the world can tempt us. The world is not our friend, says the scriptures, but it tries to, it tries, it will do everything to befriend us, won't it? Everything to befriend us. And sometimes as a Christian, it takes a long, long time for the penny to drop. This world is not my friend. And ultimately, it's all going to be burnt up in the end. And what's really going to matter is what was done for Christ. But you see, If we do not conform to this world's way of thinking, this world's way of doing, it will lay many charges against us, won't it friends? I know part of my job, I get to go into many manufacturing and engineering companies. And I get to see some of the machinery there. Some of the machines which I see are these huge, what they call bruderer, pressers. They're 3 quarters of a million pound, a million pound machine. And they're high speed metal stamping, metal pressing machines. They're huge. I mean, some of them are half the size of this room and as tall as the ceiling. They're massive. And they literally have this huge coil with sheet metal on it going straight through the machine. and this machine is is literally pumping out a hundred components a second. Literally they go into phones and all these sorts of things, many computer devices, you name it. And in order for that to pump out, to stamp and mark and press every component a hundred plus a second, it's got to have a master tool and a master die. And it takes great skill for a tool maker to machine it, to inspect it, to make sure the tolerances are absolutely precision, to make sure that the die and the tool is going to precisely mark out and stamp out the exact image. which will be used in all these devices, you see. That's what the world is trying to do with us, isn't it? It tries to conform us to this world's systems, this world's way of thinking, this world's way of doing. And when we do not fit into that mold, into that dye, when we jam the system, And there is some shutdown, as it were. It's not happy. And they call the managers, and they call the powers that be. And this is the reality, friends, is that when we do not conform to this world's way of thinking and this world's way of doing, it's inevitable, isn't it, that there will be many charges laid to our lay to our account. But we must be ambassadors in saying that. We must not be those who deliberately go out and try to make offence. But this is inevitable, that if we're standing for the Lord, if we're invited to a boozy company do party, You know, we know that's going to be bad for our faith and the appearance of it. And I'm just giving one example amongst many. Better to stand for the Lord, isn't it? And say no. And just your standing for that will speak volumes, won't it? And there's many such things which it's actually, as a Christian, it's OK to say no. No thank you. Because if they ask why, you can tell them why. Graciously and meekly, it's OK. But when we do that, of course, there will be many charges. People will think we're peculiar. People will think we're odd. The problem is, you see, Satan will say, you know, you're being unloving. You're being mean. You're being all these, you know, you should just love and not be so difficult and not be so peculiar. And that's the charge laid against us, you see, friends. But we must stand for the Lord. Now if you thought that that was all to be laid and charged against believers, you'd be wrong. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but also against spiritual wickedness. in high places, ecclesiastical, don't we? And it's a sad day, isn't it, when we see nominal Christianity laying so many charges against God's people. And that's one of the most painful things, I think, is when you're going out on the high street out of genuine love for the Lord and for the lost. and you have many professing Christians coming up to you putting you off from preaching the gospel saying what are you doing preaching the gospel they're laying charges as it were saying you shouldn't be doing this you should just be doing other things and it's a sad day isn't it when we have these charges of course because the system as it were they've been brainwashed into this comfortable nominal Christianity Or perhaps if we're honest with ourselves, and more importantly if we're honest with our God, what can sometimes lay the most grievous charges, if we're honest, is our own hearts, isn't it, at times, and our own backslidings and our own sins. shortcomings and corruptions, especially amidst pressures. Can't we? I can put my hand up and certainly say that amidst difficult pressures in life and trials. And that is the whole purpose why the Apostle Paul here is seeking to encourage believers in God's sovereignty in all these things and that ultimately they'll work for their good. And so perhaps as a young Christian you may have fell into a particular sin, a lust as it were, or even spiritual pride as a young believer and you're not fully resting in the grace of God. Or perhaps as a middle-aged Christian you may have become complacent for a number of years and perhaps you've become distrustful really and you've been hurt and let down by perhaps by other Christians and so you've drawn back into a kind of a lukewarm safe type of Christianity and you're no longer committed you see other people in the fight but you've become distrustful and hurtful you don't want to commit and get in the fight as it were or perhaps as a Christian full of years a senior Christian you may have compromised like Solomon did in practice and use your liberty for an occasion for the flesh. Well, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? whether that comes from within and from without. Remember that with the Lord there is forgiveness that he mayest be feared. There is forgiveness with him. If you truly love the Lord, no matter your shortcomings, no matter all the charges laid against you, whether from within your own hearts or from within the Lord, from without, who shall lay anything against your charge? Your God's child. He has bought you with an everlasting price. the price of his son's blood. And nothing's going to ever change that, is there? And you've just got to remind yourself of that every day and put on that helmet of God's salvation every day and remind yourself of who we need to remind ourselves of who we are, aren't we? And so know assuredly that it is God that justifies. as verse 33 says, who is he that would dare condemn us seeing that God's Son and our Saviour has died for our offences, all of our offences, all of our sins, not some of them. And has also, of course, been risen again for our justification as well. And if Jesus did not rise, friends, it means that he does not live. He rose, didn't he? And sometimes we talk about justification, but do we understand what that means? He rose, didn't he? If he didn't rise, he wouldn't live, he wouldn't be exalted and at the right hand of the Father, the right hand of power. He's risen and he lives and that means we live as well. We live in him. We're justified in him. If death held him, if he couldn't overcome death, we wouldn't be justified, would we? But he's overcome our sin, he bore our sin upon the cross and he And he overcame the consequences of our sin, death. And he rose. And we rise with him to newness of life, don't we? We're justified. And it is our sin, isn't it, that would condemn us and separate us from God's love. But praise be to God that Christ made one atonement for all of our sins upon the cross. Not many, one atonement for all of our sins with his precious blood upon the cross. The life is in the blood, isn't it? I love that song, the life is in the blood of the crucified one. There's life, isn't there, in the blood. of the Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all sin. No longer are we separated from God, but now have an absolute union with God through His obedience, through His active obedience, through His passive obedience. When we talk about His active obedience and His passive obedience, we're talking, first of all, His active obedience is life. He lived a perfect, righteous life, always obeying the law of God, always doing righteously. His passive obedience is he was willing to be as a sheep before her shearer's done. He opened not his mouth. He was willing to suffer. He was willing not to react. That's his passive obedience. We react, don't we? He was perfect in his obedience. You see, His active and passive obedience. And when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Saviour for the forgiveness of sins, He gives that to us. He credits that to us. You see, so God, when He looks upon us, He doesn't see our faults and our failures and our sins. He sees the perfect righteousness, the perfect obedience of His Son. put upon our accounts like a cloak of righteousness to that banquet feast, you see. So when we come in, we're not going to be an imposter in our own works. We'll have that robe of righteousness, as it were. Come in thou good and faithful servant, you see. You've believed in me, you've trusted in my righteousness, you see. You're trusting in the promises of the Lord. And so no longer are we, beloved, separated from God, but now have that wonderful union through Christ's obedience, which is imputed to us. We're told in closing at the end of verse 34 that Jesus Christ is even at the right hand of God, who maketh intercession for us. Well, Christ being exalted to the right hand of God speaks, of course, of his power. He's at the right hand of power, isn't he? It's also talking about his authority. And you can just imagine what a comfort this epistle would have been to those early believers. Who had put their faith and trust in Christ. Who had been changed by the gospel. And they are suffering. Immensely. Nakedness. Tribulation. Their jobs are being taken away. They've been thrust into the corner of society. They're being persecuted. They're being scorned at. And they are being told, really, that your saviour, the one in whom he's changed you and the one who you've trusted in him, he is still in control. All power is in his hand, all authority is in his hand, even when the rulers come against you, while he is still in control, your saviour. He's at the right hand of power. He's absolutely sovereign. He's got all authority as it were. And so not only this, but we're told, of course, of his intercession for us. Christ intercedes for us. He intervenes for us. He mediates for us, doesn't he? Every day, every single day, the Lord does this. He is not, like I said, a God who is far off. He's not one who cannot be touched with our infirmities. He spent time here. He knows what it is like to undergo pressures and all sorts of things. And so he's not a God that's far off. He's not a God that is forgetful. He mediates and intercedes for us. He gives us peace which this world cannot give, can it? My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Not let your heart be afraid. He gives us that wonderful heavenly peace and perspective. He gives us fresh streams of grace. And faith, doesn't he? Increased faith. When the battle, as it were, gets heated, he gives us that grace. Think of Elijah, he hadn't given up. And he comes and he gives him that more grace, as it were, to face our accusers, to face trials. He speaks to us through his word, doesn't he? He assures us through his promises to us. He guides us, he comforts us through the Holy Spirit's felt presence. in our hearts and ministry in our hearts. He intercedes in events and circumstances. The King's heart is in the Lord's hands, isn't it? And he can work in bowels, he can How often can sometimes you're at home and the Lord could just put something into your heart. Call that person. Pray to that person. Pray for that person. That person may be going through financial difficulties. Help them out. Do something. The Lord prompts us through the Holy Spirit, doesn't he? He intercedes. He prays for us. This is his work, isn't it? We are his workmanship, aren't we? We are in the vine, as it were. And so friends, what a wonderful encouragement this is to us, isn't it? When we take these truths on board, why should we fret, overly fret, when we have such a mighty friend in Jesus Christ, our Saviour. What a friend we have in Jesus. What a friend, and that's what we're gonna sing at the end. What a friend we have in Jesus. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? I've never found a friend that faithful, have you? That all your sorrows share, will always be willing to listen, always be willing to help. That's the type of friend that this world needs. That's our friend, isn't it? Who will all our sins and griefs bear? Nothing, friends, can separate us from Christ's love. And we'll be speaking a bit more about that next time. Amen. Feel free to contact us at Sovereign Grace Church in Tiverton. Email us at grace2seekers at gmail.com. That's grace2seekers at gmail.com. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.sovereigngracereformedchurch.co.uk.