As we come for today to the first of the two sermons in connection to the New Year, I ask you please to turn with me in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8, as we come to consider a message that I am calling the Christian's courage for the New Year. Romans chapter 8, picking up at verse 28, Paul who wrote these words says, the following in a chapter which Martin Luther called the masterpiece of the New Testament. Romans chapter 8, and I'll read verses 28 to 31 in your hearing. Romans 8 verse 28, Paul by the direction of the Holy Spirit writes the following and says, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. to those who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he, that is Christ, might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called. Whom he called, these he also justified. whom he justified these, he also glorified." Verse 31, our verse for today. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Let's pray. Our Father, we are so thankful for your holy and blessed word. We are thankful, O God, that the scriptures are living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, and that they pierce us deeply within, that they challenge us. Yes, Lord, again, as Luther said, the scriptures have feet. The scriptures run after us. The scriptures have hands. They lay hold of us. And Lord, we pray this day that your word would run in this place. and go after us, that your word, O God, would apprehend us. Lord, we pray that this day your word would come and instruct us and bless us and encourage us as we stand upon the precipice of a new year, O God, that you would use your truth, O God, to build us up in our most holy faith. that we might stand strong in the new year and exalt your most excellent name. O God, we pray, therefore, that you would send the Holy Spirit to us. For we know, O God, unless the blessed third person of the Holy Trinity comes and animates and anoints, all that is said and done, O God, it will be to no avail. So come, we pray, O Holy Spirit, and fill us all with your person, your power, and your presence, we pray and plead and ask all of these things in that wonderful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the well-known prodigal son-like book entitled Robinson Crusoe, entitled by Daniel Defoe, the story goes that Crusoe had long been isolated on a small desert island following a shipwreck. And while he was there, he had come to firmly believe that he was the only individual on that island. Well, one day, as he went to the beach to get his boat, we're told that he was startled to see the footprint of a man in the sand. And when he did, he concluded that the footprint was the footprint of a vicious savage who no doubt would take his life. Well, in fear of this, we're told that Crusoe hurried quickly back to his cabin, and while he was there, lying on his bed, trembling, he suddenly thought of the great words which are found in Psalm 50 and verse 15, where God says of himself, to call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you shall glorify me." Well, having thought on this text, we're told that it brought such tremendous comfort to Robinson Crusoe that after this he cheerfully rose out of his bed, exalted in God, and then he returned to the normal activities of his day and this without fear. Now dear brothers and sisters here this morning, I believe that if we are all honest with ourselves that we would all acknowledge to one degree or another that at times with Robinson Crusoe we are all fearful of things. fear is really a common experience among all of God's people and so this is why for example when we look at our Bibles we see that from Abraham to Joshua to Daniel and yes to Timothy in the New Testament that they all had to be told to stop Fearing, yes again brethren, fear in all of its various forms is something that we all experience for even the mighty Apostle Paul could say of himself and his traveling companions in 2nd Corinthians 7 and verse 5, for indeed When we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were in trouble on every side. Paul says, outside were conflicts, inside were fears. And so what then do we fear as Christians? Well, no doubt we fear all kinds of things that other people in the world do. However, perhaps what we fear most is the unknown, and this type of fear is especially acute to us as we enter a new year. I mean, brethren, What will happen to us this year in 2018? Will we get cancer? Will we lose a loved one? Will we stay single forever? Will our marriages last? Will we be able to pay our bills? Will we keep our jobs? Will our physical pains continue? Will we get accepted to college? Will we continue to serve Christ faithfully to the end? What will happen with our children, et cetera? Well, on and on the list goes, as do our fears, fear. unfortunately, is often a dominant emotion in our lives. It is a constant plague to us. Well, this morning, this morning in our gathering together. I want to give you who are Christians in this place a powerful antidote to fear and this antidote is connected to your remembering something very vital about our God today. My desire is that all of you who know the Lord Jesus Christ in truth will go forward from this place into the new year with great courage and confidence, being able to put fear to flight as it were. And as I think about all of the various passages in the Bible that can help you in this regard, I think that the text before us today in Romans 8 and verse 31 is really an outstanding one in this regard. Now in the setting here of these words before us now, we have Paul coming to the high point of all that he has been writing in this chapter, having already spoken of our new status and new life as believers. Now in verse 31 and following, He begins to speak to us about the new assurances that we can have as Christians regardless of what trials and hardships we might ever face as the people of God. Now brethren, I don't know about you, but for me, I find such assurances in the word of God very helpful. I find such truths as we have them in our passage for today very encouraging for my soul. Friends, as a believer, I need as much hope and security as I can possibly get for all that I have to face in life, and so I greatly cherish the words of the Apostle Paul in our text for today, and I trust that if you don't, that by the time that we're done with our exposition for this morning, you will as well. as Paul here, in this subsection of this chapter, invites us, as it were, to sit back and to contemplate all of the grand spiritual realities that he's been speaking of up until this point in this chapter. He does so in two ways, and the first is by asking a striking question in verse 31a, And I ask you to please note these words with me in your Bibles once again. Romans chapter 8 and verse 31a, he writes, what then shall we say to these things? Now, of course, The important question for us to ask and answer is, what is Paul referring to in our verse here, 31a, when he speaks of these things? I mean, when he writes, what shall we say to these things? Is Paul speaking about these things which immediately precede all that he's been speaking of up until this point in this chapter, in this verse? Or is his mind going much further back than this, even to the beginning of this epistle as some scholars say? Well, while good arguments could be made for both positions personally, I think it's best to understand his words here as referring specifically to that which he was speaking of from verses 28 to 30 of this chapter. Now, as you'll know, I'm sure, these words here in 28 to 30 of Romans chapter 8 are really quite outstanding. These are some of the best and most beautiful words in this entire chapter and so first Paul tells us in verse 28 that for us who are true Christians, for us who have been born again by the almighty power of God's grace, note the language again in your Bibles he says, and we No, not, and we feel or we always see it to be the case, but he says, and we know, that is, know as a truth, know by experience, that beyond the shadow of a doubt, all, not some, but all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Now again, friends, as I said, these words here, with everything that follows, are some of the most tremendous, outstanding verses of scripture, not only in the book of Romans, but throughout this entire Bible. These words here, thinking specifically of verse 28, are also great words to think on for the new year. And I believe that the truth here, of Romans chapter 8, what's being said in this verse is very nicely summarized in the words of the great reformed theologian Augustine when he memorably wrote of them saying, quote, God is so good in himself as to permit no evil to exist except that he is so powerfully able to draw something good from it for us. God in himself is so powerful to allow no evil to exist in his cosmos except that he's able to draw out from it something good for us, his people. Dear brethren, I say that for us. who are the true children of God in this place. What the apostle is teaching us in Romans 8 and verse 28 is that everything that happens in our lives is graciously directed towards one main aim, and that main aim is our good. That one aim is our good. Now while, of course, and listen to me closely, while, of course, everything that happens to us in our lives may not be good in and of itself, nevertheless, our passage teaches us that God will use it for our good in his own mysterious and sovereign way, and that good, of course, ultimately is our conformity to Christ, as Paul will go on to speak of in the subsequent verse. having spoken of our calling. In verse 28 you see it there. Which is to say our effectual calling through the gospel which has made us Christians, which Paul says here also, was according to God's purpose, that is to say his divine will. He goes on next then in verses 29 and 30 of this chapter to backtrack, as it were, in order to capture the majestic sweep of how it was that we became Christians in the first place. Here, Paul goes on to explain in greater depth what was truly involved what was absolutely involved in God bringing us to Christ for salvation, and as he does this by way of a, and he does this rather by way of a salvation sequence, if you will, which sequence the great Puritan William Perkins called the golden chain of salvation. And so here, In speaking of these events, this sequence, this golden chain of salvation, look again in your Bibles what Paul writes of us, for he says here, picking up in verse 29, for whom God foreknew, again backtracking as it were concerning the majestic sweep of how it was we became Christians, for whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He, again Jesus, might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called, whom he called, these he also justified, and whom he justified, these he also glorified." Now obviously, Obviously, there is much that could be said here concerning these words in view. I mean, I can go on and on about them for days. And for us who in this place, who are absolutely committed to all that the Bible has to say to us, we greatly cherish these words because they shed so much light on God's immense love for us in Christ. And again, how it is that we got converted here. We have the words of the Apostle Paul. Again, I stress, the Apostle Paul. Not of John Calvin, who is often charged with making up such doctrines. No, but again, Paul. And so as Paul speaks about our salvation, look at it again in your Bibles. He says, firstly, that God foreknew us. He foreknew us. Now you'll notice with me here that Paul does not say that whom God foresaw would believe upon Christ he predestined to be conformed to his image the image of his son as our Armenian friends like to tell us no rather. Or actually, I should say, no, Paul didn't say this at all. But rather, he says here, look at it closely, that whom, the individuals, the ones, whom God foreknew, he predestined. And the verb here, foreknew, is not merely that of God having an intellectual knowledge of all people, as he does. But rather, the word is a compound verb in the original language. And it carries the idea of special intimacy. and is frequently used in scripture to express a love relationship. Dear friends, to state the matter another way, when we're told here that God foreknew us, who are Christians, the point is that even when we were not saved and under his wrath, nonetheless, his heart was still toward us. His heart was still toward us. Let me make it more personal. say to you, dear believer in this place, that even when your eyes were not upon God, while you were not a Christian, nonetheless, according to what it means that He foreknew you, it means that His eyes were upon you. But secondly, Paul says here that those whom God foreknew, he also predestined. And so what does the word predestined mean? Well, simply stated, it means to determine the destiny or one's destiny beforehand. The word predestined. It's composed of two parts, pre, meaning before, and destination, meaning the point of final arrival. And so to predestine something is to determine beforehand where it will end up, which, by the way, for us who are Christians, this means heaven. And so we ask again, what was one of the great goals of God for knowing and predestinating us, his people, to eternal life? Well Paul tells us in the second part of verse 29 when he says, look at it with me again, he says that it was so. that we might be conformed or made like unto the image of His Son, not in facial resemblance, but in moral likeness. And this, not so that we would have the praise, but rather that Jesus Christ might be the firstborn, that is to say, the one to have the highest rank and honor of those who belong to Him. Well, having spoken of what God has done in eternity, As Paul here continues to unfold this golden chain of salvation with reference to how it was that we got saved, he speaks next in verse 30 concerning what God has done in time, namely, calling us to himself. Here again, as in verse 28, this word calling means God's effectual call, that is to say, his regenerating call to us through the power of the gospel by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. And so after God regenerated us through the power of the gospel by the Holy Spirit, what happened to us next? Well, after this, and really because of this, we believed on Christ to the saving of our souls, and then right there at the point of faith, in the finished work of Jesus Christ our Lord, who died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, we were justified, as Paul says in Romans 5 and verse 1, and as he also says here in the second part of verse 30. And so what then is a justification all about? Well, to be justified, if you're taking notes, means to be acquitted. It means to be given an absolute, flawless, perfect, impeccable standing before the Lord God Almighty, and this, through the merits of Christ, being clothed with His righteousness. Oh dear friends, I say that justification is an instant legal act of God, whereby out of his free grace, he pardons all of our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to us and received by faith alone, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism rightly says. And so, a dear believer here this morning, What does all of this mean for you? Having given you that nice puritanical definition, what does it mean to you here sitting in this place who are believers? What it means is right now, Right now, despite all of your struggles with sin, all of the problems in your own life, right now you are completely, 100% accepted before the Lord your God. What it means is that because of Christ's death in your place as your sin-bearing substitute, God has irrevocably declared you as righteous in his sight and as so separated your sins as far as the East is from the West so that Paul can say in chapter one of this verse, look at it with me there in your Bibles, he writes, therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. No condemnation. No word of anger or negativity, as it were, against us. No condemnation for those who are in Christ. And why? Because Christ has suffered our condemnation in our place. God declares us acquitted, justified, accepted in his son. So therefore, again, as far as the East is from the West, so our God has removed our sins from us. Well, as if all of these things were not enough, Paul goes on next to say at the end of verse 30, that those whom God justified, note the language in your Bibles, he writes, These he also glorified." Now, you might be sitting there this morning in the pew this afternoon, and you might be thinking to yourself, well, I don't really feel glorified. And to be honest, those who know you best would certainly agree with you that you are not glorified. You see, brethren, a glorification is the final aspect. We could say the final application of our salvation. And when we are glorified, what will happen is all vestiges of remaining sin shall be removed from us in the eternal state. Oh dear ones, at that time, mortality shall put on immortality. At that time, when Christ returns, or we go and die and be with Him, Jesus will transform our lowly bodies that it might be made conformable unto His glorious body, according to the workings whereby He is able to subdue all things to Himself. To quote the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3 in verse 21, well dear ones, What a glorious event this is going to be for us, the people of God. Amen. When Christ returns, mortality puts on immortality. All vestiges of sin that we struggle with will be done away with once for all time. And so here then, no doubt, is why the true believer regularly cries out in his soul with the Apostle John in the book of the Revelation, even so come, Lord Jesus come, even so come and fulfill and complete that final aspect of what you have begun in my life by grace. Well, having said this, if glorification is in fact the final aspect of our salvation to come. Why then does God in our verse say here, look at it again, that those who were justified, these he also glorified when it hasn't happened yet. In other words, why speak of this future event when it is so far off? Well, dear friends, the simple answer is this. Listen, in the mind of God, the final completion of those whom he has saved is so certain that Paul here could use the past tense in describing it. That's the point. The point is, friends, that those whom God has foreknew and predestined, those whom He justifies, those whom He calls, He will most certainly glorify. And hence all the terms are in the past tense. Yes, it's a future event, but it's a done deal for God. And so if you're here this morning, and you know God has saved you, the point of Paul is, He's going to glorify you. Why is this? Because God, having begun a work in us, will complete it at the day of Christ. God always finishes what He begins. And if He's begun that work in you, dear believer, rejoice and praise God. for you will see its eschatological fulfillment in the day of Christ. Well, in view of all these things, in view of the fact that God and love has foreknown us, has predestinated us, has called us, has justified us, and most certainly will glorify us, I ask then with the apostle his striking question in verse 31, namely, what then shall we say to these things? What then shall we say to these things? I mean, brethren, can we deny them? Well, no. Can we speak lightly of them? We certainly shouldn't. Can we say anything against them? Well, of course not. Why? Because these are the very truths of the Word of God. Dear ones, these are the things which are most surely believed among us, and I say that as we think about how far-reaching God's plan of salvation is for us who believe, from eternity past to eternity future, I say that it should cause us to say with the hymn writer of old, Hallelujah! What a Savior. Hallelujah! Praise be to God. Friends, I say that it should cause us to say with the psalmist in Psalm 116 and verse 12, what shall I render to the Lord for all of His benefits toward me? For knowing us, predestinating us, calling us, justifying us, and then glorifying us in the final day. It's a done deal. Praise be to God. Well, having asked his striking question in the first part of our verse for today, in view of all that he's been writing, Paul goes on then, secondly, in 31b, to give us really the heart, the essence, the core, if you will, for why it is that as Christians, we ought not to fear anything as we go forward in life. Here in the setting of these words, as Paul is so caught up with the grand wonder of what God has done for us in salvation, in view of it, He makes this strong assertion and says here now, note it with me in your Bibles again, he writes, if God is for us, who can be against us? Now, I trust that each and every one of you here are absolutely convinced based on all that we've just spoken of in the golden chain of salvation, again to quote William Perkins, the great Puritans, I trust that you're all convinced that God is absolutely for us. Amen? I mean, it's clear. This is why I spent the time and I did the little exegetical treatment of those verses and brought you through them so that you could be saying now in your heart 100% God is for us. He's for us all the way 100% no questions asked. It means we've seen he's not only for us in our salvation, but he's also for us in our glorification and everything else in between. Praise be to his name. Well, brethren, because this is so, and in view of it, again, Paul, as he thinks about all that the spirit led him to write, he just has this one sentence to say, one sentence to say, if God is for us, who can be against us? Who can be against us? Now, you should note here that the word if in the verse doesn't express doubt as we might understand it in our modern language, but rather it expresses certainty and assurance. If God is for us, who can be against us. Here the word in the original language is a condition of fact. And thus it really should be translated as since God is for us who can be against us or because God is with us who could be against us. And so here in effect Paul is asking since God proactively foreknew us and proactively predestinated us and faithfully called us in time and justified us and will certainly glorify us in the future. Paul is asking, since God has faithfully done all of these things and will do them, his question or his challenge to the whole moral universe is this, who, or perhaps we could say, what can be against us. That's a good way to understand the language. Now, maybe you're here this afternoon and you're thinking, well, surely, pastor, there are a lot of things that can be against us as the people of God. You say, pastor, as Christians, there are so many things that oppose us. while living on the earth, of the world, and the flesh, and the devil, and that tough boss, and that wicked neighbor, and the remaining sin of my heart, and Satan, et cetera. Oh, pastor, so many things are against us as the children of God, to which I say it's true, no doubt, and surely Paul himself knew many of these things as well. And so what then is the real sense here in the Apostles' words. Well, it's this. Listen. Even though all of these things may be true, nevertheless, because God is with us, Because as Job says of God in Job 42 in verse 2, I know that God can do everything and that no purpose of his shall be thwarted. Brethren, listen, the point is, in the ultimate sense, nothing or no one can ever be truly successful against us. The point is, and listen closely to what I say, Since omnipotence is working on our behalf and no one can ever reverse what God has done or is doing as God himself says in Isaiah 43 in verse 13, the point is no lesser power can ever defeat his plan or purposes for our lives. That's the point of what Paul is saying here. You see, Paul's not an idealist. He's a realist. He's a biblicist. And he understands that since omnipotence was working on behalf of God's people, no lesser power can ever thwart or defeat his plan and purposes for their lives. Now that, friends, is good news. That is good news. We're talking about the Almighty God. If God is for us, not some puny deity, but the God of heaven and earth, if He is for us, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, who can be against us? Paul says, name Him. Where is He? What is it? Paul says, please tell me. No one and nothing can possibly be against us. Look again at the words. Paul says here, if God is for us, who could be against us? And so I ask you here today, is anyone stronger than God? I ask you, can anyone or anything truly thwart or prevail against the almighty God and his covenantal purposes for us in Jesus Christ, the Lord? We are talking about God here. God. Because God is for you, Christian, who could possibly, in the ultimate sense, be against you. The answer is no one. The answer is nothing can ultimately be against us, for as we read in Daniel 4 and verse 35, no one can restrain God's hand, nor say to him, what have you done? And so while, listen closely, while not at all again denying that there will be those who will be against us in the new year and in the years following. And we will face hardships and trials, et cetera. However, as John Calvin rightly says, quote, with such a great defender as God, none of them is to be dreaded. That's the point. Listen, as Christostom rightly said, that great preacher in the early church, quote, those that be against us, so far from thwarting us at all, actually become to us the cause of crowns and procurers of countless blessings. so that God and His wisdom and amazing sovereignty turns their plans against us for our salvation and glory. See then, says Christostom, how really no one is against us. It's amazing. God even turns their plottings against us, their schemings against us for our good. See then, Christosom says, how no one is really against us. See then how really futile their efforts are. And so, because God is for us, the true people of God. Again, I make it more personal. Dear Christian here today, because God is for you, I ask you, what do you really need to fear for 2018? I ask, what do you really need to allow your thoughts to be consumed with, especially with reference to worrying and fear, since according to the Bible, no weapon formed against you shall prosper? What do you really need to fear? What do you need to worry about? Oh, I say nothing, dear friend, nothing at all. We need to fear no one or anything. Well, the view is such a truth in light of the fact that God is for you, Christian. as your heavenly father and friend, so much so that he did not even spare his own son, but delivered him up for you. As Paul says in the very next verse in this chapter, I say, Christian in this place, that regardless of what the new year might bring you, You should be able to say with the Apostle Paul, the words of verse 37 of this chapter, look at them there with me. After speaking about all types of hardships and distresses in the previous verse, what does Paul say now in verse 37? Yet, look at that. Yet, Paul says, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. That's what you should be able to say, dear Christian. Again, back up verse 35. Who shall separate us from the love of God and Christ? And Paul names all of these things, all of these trials, all of these matters that might be against us. Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword. Paul says, as it is written, for your sakes, we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughterer. Yet. In all these things, Paul says, quite literally, we are hyper-conquerors. That's the Greek. We are hyper-conquerors. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. And why? Because God is with us. And I say, beloved, because God is with us, no one can be against us. And so may it be that in view of all that we might face as God's people, That since He is for us, that we rest in Him at every single point, every moment of the day, with every trial before us, that we rest in Him. Trusting in Him. To work all things together for our good as He said. May it be that we believe in Him, repose ourselves in Him, take comfort in Him, hope in Him. saying with the Psalmist in Psalm 118 in verse 6, the Lord is on my side, I will not fear. What can man do to me? You see Paul's words here in Romans 8 in verse 31 are really a commentary on Psalm 118 in verse 6. The Lord is on my side, I shall not fear. What can man do to me and so in the time that remains I want to begin to close by speaking to all of you here today by way of application and so let me begin doing this by saying three things firstly to those of you who are Christians and the first is this listen since God is for you you are to face your trials in the new year in faith not in fear Knowing that God is on your side and ultimately you will be victorious. Second, since God is for you, you are regularly to preach this truth back to yourself, knowing that all of us tend to forget it and then we get discouraged. And then third, since God is for you, yes, since he's for all of us as a local church, we are to go forth boldly and confidently proclaiming his wonderful gospel, knowing that God will defend us and be with us in all of our endeavors. And so first, dear Christian, for you, all the trials that you might face in the days ahead in the trial that you might be facing right here this afternoon you are to face them in faith in faith knowing that since God is on your side ultimately you will be victorious in faith not in doubt what trial you're experiencing this morning what trial are you going through this day whatever it might be whatever tomorrow might bring and we know not the point is we are to enter these trials in faith believing that God is able to do all his holy will and that he's in control of all things and that he will defend us and that he is king and that he is going to work all things after the good of those who love him are called and are called according to his purpose we need to go ahead in faith this year not in fear not in fear again as I said in the outset of the message This year as we enter into it we want to put fear to flight. What do we have to worry about in the ultimate sense? Really nothing? Nothing. If we understand again that omnipotence is working on our behalf, really? Do we really need to get all upset? Do we really need to get worried as though God Christ was not on his throne ruling and reigning working all things after the counsel of his own will. So firstly, fear, rather faith, not fear. Secondly, since God is for you, dear Christian, you need to preach this truth back to yourself again and again. Why? Because we all forget it. We all forget it. And we fall into unbelief. We fall into doubt. We do get worried. We get full of anxiety and all the rest as if there is no God. We act like atheists when really we are theists. So may God help us to repeat this text over and over again this year. When a hardship comes upon us, we say, God is for me, who can be against me? Since God is for me, what can ultimately or possibly be successful over me? We preach it to ourselves. We believe it wholeheartedly, for this is the very word of God. And then thirdly, as I said, since God is for you, dear Christian, yes, for all of us corporately as a congregation, we are to go forth boldly and confidently this year in his great name, spreading his great gospel, knowing what? That he will defend us. He will stand with us. For no one is greater than God. We need not fear the faces of men. or women. We need not fear those who would come against us, but no, we must go forth, knowing that as we considered this morning in the earlier hour, Christ is the King, the head of the church in all the world. He's the King of the universe, the cosmos, that according to Matthew chapter 28, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. And isn't it interesting that after Jesus made that solemn declaration, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, his next words were, go therefore. Go therefore. The point is, I got it all under control. Go forth. Don't worry about it. Even if they kill you, as Christos said, it'll work for your good because it'll bring you home. What they throw against you, they actually are the procurers of your blessings and benefits. Even though they don't know it's the case, it's still so. And so Jesus says, go therefore. I'm the king, I got it all under control. Go therefore to all the nations, making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And then we have the grand promise. And lo, I am with you. to the consummation of the age. That's Christ saying, I'm for you, I'm with you, I'm by your side. Go forth triumphantly as Christians in the new year, boldly in your God, knowing that since he is for us, no one can be against us. I close then with a word. to any non-Christian here this morning. You in this place who haven't honestly and sincerely gone to Christ in repentance of your sins and faith in his finished work alone as the only grounds of your acceptance with God, friend, listen to me when I say that until you do this, listen, God is not for you. He is not for you. You see, until you come to Jesus, owning your sinnerhood before Him, seeing yourself as God sees you as a rebel, as a transgressor, until you do this, the Bible says that God Himself is against you. And so I ask you, if God is against you, who could possibly be for you? If God is against you, who could be for you? The most horrible condition to be in is to be a non-Christian, is to be one who is at war with the Almighty God. Listen, my dear non-Christian friend here today. You are in a losing battle. There's no winning against God. And so today is the day to throw down the weapons of your warfare against him. You can't win. God is too strong. God is too powerful. No man can stay his hand nor say, what have you done? And so, dear non-Christian in this place, today is the day. for you to come to Christ to be saved. If God is for you, no one could be against you, but if He's against you, no one could be for you. No place to hide, no place to go. And so you ask, in what way is God for you? Well, there's only one according to the Bible, and it is that in the fullness of time he sent forth his son into the world sinners to save. You see the God who can crush you in an instant is the God who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. But you know there's still a score to be settled between you and your God and that score is called your sin because God must punish it. So how does God clear the score, the bad record of our sins against him? Well, the good news of the Bible is that he punishes our sins in a substitute. A substitute that he himself has provided. That substitute is Jesus Christ, the Lord. God would declare peace with you today, my dear non-Christian friend. Peace because of the blood shed on the cross of Calvary by Jesus Christ, the Lord, in the place of sinners. But if you would receive the peace of God and reconciliation with him, then you must repent of your sins and trust in what God has done in his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Today is the day of salvation. Today, as you enter into of the New Year, this first Lord's Day, think about this. Why go into 2018 with God against you? That's a horrible way to start the new year. That's a horrible way to start any year. So this day may it be that By God's doing, you turn from your sins and you fly to Christ by faith, saying, wash me, Savior. Cleanse me of my sins, my rebellion against God, my evil ways before Him, my polluted thought life, my theft, my lying, my stealing, my fornication, my idolatry, my drunkenness, all of my waywardness, my not putting God first in my life. But being a idol unto myself, may it be that this day God will grant that you'll turn from these things and beg him for mercy through his son. God would become your friend. God would be reconciled to you. But this is only done through the crosswork of Christ. May God give you ears to hear and a heart to respond to his call. Let's pray. Father, we are thankful that you are no longer against many in this room. We remember that there was a time when this was so, and it was miserable. As Isaiah the prophet of old says, there's no peace for the wicked. Say it the Lord. There's no peace in our hearts. There's no joy. There's no forgiveness. There was no real meaning or purpose. Oh God, why? Because we were strangers from you. We were fighting against you. Oh God, we pray that some this day will stop the fight. Will give up and throw themselves at the mercy of God. as set forth in the cross of Christ. Be gracious, we pray, O God. We call upon you for these things, we ask them in Jesus' name, amen.