Our Scripture reading for this morning is in the eighth chapter of Romans again. We are concluding the Lord willing our study of the eighth chapter this morning, and will the Lord willing go on to the ninth chapter next Sunday. We're going to begin reading this morning with Romans chapter eight, verse thirty-one, and read through verse thirty-nine. This is Paul's hymn of assurance and praise as a result of the great doctrines which he has been unfolding up to this point. So it is something of a summary, something of a conclusion, and something of the praise and gratitude which filled his heart as he contemplated the various things that God had done for him. He has just talked about predestination. for knowledge or election. He has talked about calling and justification and glorification. And so now in verse thirty-one he writes, What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns us? 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. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation. Now, I have made that change because I want you to see that. Nor any other creation shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. May God bless this reading of His Holy Word so that we understand it and believe it. Let's bow together in prayer. Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, we are thankful that we are able to gather in the name of Jesus Christ, the one of whom Paul has just spoken, in saying, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? We know, Lord, that thou hast commended thy love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And the love of the entire Trinity is revealed in thy word. And so we rejoice this morning that we are able to bask in the love of God. And know that since thou dost love us, that we do not really have anything ultimately to worry about. We know, Lord, that if the last hour belongs unto thee, we need not worry about the next minute. And we know that since thou dost love us, fear is cast out. For perfect love casteth out fear, and the love of Christ is a perfect love. And so, Lord, what wonderful privileges and blessings thou hast bestowed upon us. And we want to express to thee gratitude and thanksgiving and praise. We acknowledge, Lord, that it is not upon the basis of our merit, for we have none, but upon the basis of the merits of Jesus Christ, that thou hast been so gracious to us. Thou didst not have to bless us. but in grace thou hast. And so we thank thee, O God, for Jesus Christ. And we want to bring to thee, Lord, each one present in this auditorium. We realize, we know that in the hearts of many there are problems, there are difficulties, there are perplexities, And we know, Lord, that thou alone art sufficient for them. And so for those who are troubled, we pray, Lord, that thou wilt minister to them the comfort and consolation of the Holy Spirit. For those who are perplexed, wilt thou unravel the problems of life and point them to the plan of God. And for those who are disturbed because of illness, who are bereaved, We thank thee that the comfort of God is the comfort that really sustains and strengthens. And so will thou minister them, to them. And Lord, for some who may have come in this morning, who do not know thee, but who want to know thee, who are seeking to know the genuine God, may through the word of God the Holy Spirit reveal him to them, so that as we leave this morning, There may be others who have come to know him whom to know his life eternal, who have been born again, who have been brought into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ. May Lord the ministry of the Spirit work the miracle of regeneration again. We pray again Lord for those who have gone forth to minister the word. For all who are ministering the Word in Dallas today and in Texas, in the United States, in the various countries of the world, we pray for those who are faithful. And may Lord the ministry be fruitful for Christ's glory. We pray Lord for this country, for its leadership. We sense, Lord, that in this country there is a great need for our government to rest and rely upon the eternal God. And so, Lord, we pray that thou wilt turn the hearts of men toward thee. May the blessings which thou alone canst provide be ours in the United States of America, within the plan and purposes of God. But, Lord, we know there is a loyalty that is above all human loyalties, loyalty to God. And may, Lord, this be evident in our land, among the hearts of those who know thee as Lord and Savior. Minister to us in the remainder of this meeting, especially in the singing of the hymn, and also in the ministry of the Word. For we ask it with thanksgiving and praise. In Jesus' name. Amen. The subject for today as we conclude the eighth chapter in the Epistle to the Romans is God for us for no separation. You'll notice that in this thirty-first verse, Paul says, If God be for us, God for us. You know when you say something like that, And when you begin to attempt to expound it, you get the feeling that you are detracting from the statement itself. Because once you say, God for us, this is the moment for silence and worship. And so it is very difficult for a human being to add anything to those three words, God for us. I think the more I reflect upon it, the more I come to the feeling of a man who has come to the top of a mountain at the time of sunrise and for the first time looks at a sunset from a mountain top. And the first feeling that you have is just the feeling of awed silence. Or perhaps the first time that you ever looked at the ocean and saw it. I'll never forget when I moved to Charleston, South Carolina and went down to the great Atlantic and looked out for the first time on the ocean about which I had read and studied. And I know for the first few moments I could not say anything, just look and observe. And that's the feeling I get when I read, if God be for us. Now our generation today is not so astonished at that statement as they might be. God we think of as being a God of love. Well, of course he's a God of love, just as the fire is hot and as water is wet. So God is a God of love. But in Paul's day, one hearing this expression, God for us, would undoubtedly have been just a little bit surprised. because you see they could very easily believe that God was not for them they knew what it was to be in sin they knew what it was to be in rebellion against God and they had not been propagandized by a God who is supposed to be someone like a friendly Buddha who doesn't really care what we do but just loves us all the time so in Paul's day This wonderful expression, if God be for us, really meant something because they knew that God often was just the opposite. If God be for us, what is the evidence of God being for us? Well, Paul always goes back to the cross. This is the evidence that God is for us. This is the sign that love is toward us, always. the cross of Jesus Christ. Now the cross of Christ shows us what we are. Look at Caiaphas, the great religious leader, or Amos, the high priests of the day. The cross showed exactly what religion was. Religion crucified Jesus Christ. The cross shows us what Pilate was, Pilate with his soldiers, with the pomp and ceremony of the Roman procurator. But nevertheless, he was a man who was a sinner. The cross even shows us what Peter was. Peter, a disciple of the Lord. And yet, when the cross comes, Peter and the rest flee the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is alone. So the cross shows us what we are, and it reveals every one of us to be a sinner. If you want to know what man is in himself, just look at the cross of Jesus Christ and see man, and you can name almost every kind of man, for they all had a part in the cross. Here you see man crucifying God's gift to us. This is what man is, the cross of Jesus Christ. But at the same time, this is also what God is. For the very thing that reveals our sins, is the thing that reveals the love of God. And so God for us, in the cross, this is Paul's great teaching, for us. And you know, it's an interesting thing that the Lord Jesus, just before the revelation of what man would be in the cross, gave the disciples the Lord's Supper to be a memorial of him. And he said to them, This bread... is my body which is given for you. This cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you. For you, for you, the cross, God for us. And yet at the same time, this is where we see what we really are. Have you noticed how many times Paul uses that expression for us in this section? Notice verse twenty-six. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us. Verse thirty-one. If God be for us, who can be against us? Verse thirty-two. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all. And finally, verse thirty-four, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. What led Paul to say, if God be for us? Well, Paul has been dwelling in God's full salvation. He began with elections. Last time, in case there are some of you who weren't here and you didn't profit from the exposition of what foreknowledge means, let me remind you that when Paul says foreknew, he does not mean that God looked down through the years and saw who would believe, and then he chose them. In that case, God would increase in knowledge. And if he can increase in knowledge, then he does not... omniscient and therefore he is not God. Foreknowledge is a word that simply means to choose beforehand in an intimate way. Foreknowledge and the evidence of it is in the text itself because in verse thirty three he says, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? So Paul has been talking about foreknowledge, God's intimate relationship into which he enters with everyone who is a believer in the law of Jesus Christ. Foreknowledge, election, predestination, calling, justification, glorification, It's no wonder that Paul says in verse thirty-one, what then shall we say to these things? I know what you're thinking. This is Calvinistic doctrine. Someone has said why Calvinism? That's just another word for the gospel. Now, I don't really believe that. But nevertheless, in case there are some of you who are saying, well, this is just Calvinistic doctrine, let me remind you that this is biblical doctrine. Don't make the mistake of the woman who said, well, as far as I'm concerned, I'm a high Calvary. I believe in high Calvary preaching. Well, I believe in high Calvary preaching, too. And it so happens that the proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the kind of preaching of the cross that I believe in. And furthermore, I believe in sovereign electing grace that reaches down and selects. I don't understand it. Don't come and ask me to explain God to you. I cannot do that, except I know that I have been saved by sovereign grace. And so I'm rejoicing in it, and I want you, too, to rejoice in it. Well, Paul, you see, has been talking about all of these wonderful doctrines of foreknowledge and predestination and calling and justification and glorification. Well, it's no wonder that he should suddenly break forth into this hymn of praise and assurance. What then shall we say to these things if God be for us? Isn't that wonderful? God for us. Well, let me just for a moment here outline this passage, and then we're going to look at some of the high points. I spoke to my wife during the week past and said, you know, what do you do when you have forty-five minutes to give a message, and you're going to take up just a brief section, but nevertheless you can spend two or three hours on it? What do you do with something like this? Why, do you know that we could stay in Romans for the rest of our days? This is such wonderful teaching, taking it one verse a time, and still we wouldn't exhaust the meaning of Paul. Well, at any rate, looking at the text, let me summarize it for you. Paul, first of all, in verses thirty-one and thirty-two, a general question. If God be for us, who can be against us? Actually, he asks three questions, but the import is, if God is for us, who can be against us? Then in verses thirty-three through thirty-seven, he asks three specific questions. And these three questions in a wonderful way summarize the teaching of the epistle to the Romans. For the first one is a justification question. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect in verse thirty-three? The second is a sanctification question. Who is he that condemneth? For remember in Romans chapter eight and verse one in the center of that sanctification section he said, There is therefore now no condemnation. to them which are in Christ Jesus. And finally, a glorification question in verse thirty-five. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And then Paul concludes in verses thirty-eight and thirty-nine with his grand persuasion, for I am persuaded. Well, let's look now at this opening general question first. What then shall we say to these things? What are these things that Paul is talking about? Why, the things of verses twenty-eight through thirty. We know that God works all things together for good to them that love him, to those who are the called according to his purpose. And then he talks, as I've said several times already, about foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification. There's these wonderful five steps from eternity to eternity. And in between this sovereign providential care that he exercises toward us, he works all things together for good. Now let me ask you, what is lacking here? Why is it that Christians are so anxious and disturbed? Why is it that we are so perplexed at times? In the light of these things which Paul is talking about here, why we have everything that we need. Now Paul does not say we're not going to have adversaries, but he says, if God be for us, who can be against us? God for us. Now let me give you a Greek lesson too. The text says in verse thirty-one, if God be for us, and you just might get the impression that that is conditional. It so happens that this is what we call in Greek a first-class condition. Now a first-class condition is a condition of reality. It is the author's way of assuming something to be true for the sake of argument. The context determines whether it is true or not. Now, in this case, it is quite obvious that God is for us. He's just been saying all of these things which represent how God is for us. Now, grammarians say, and it's not always true, but nevertheless, we cannot engage in grammatical discussion in a morning like this. Grammarians sometimes say, and there is some truth in it, that when this is true, That is, if the thing that is being argued is a true fact, then we are justified in rendering the if by sense. And if there is ever such a case where we may render an if by sense, this is it. So let's read it that way. Since God is for us, who can be against us? You see, Paul is not questioning the fact that God is for us. He has stated this three times in this passage other than this one. So he is saying, since this is true, God is for us, who can be against us? Today we read and hear a lot about an integrated personality. Do you have an integrated personality? Do you even know what an integrated personality is? Well, let me tell you this, that if you come to understand the love of God for you in Jesus Christ, then you will have an integrated personality. Now it's possible that we might cause the psychologist to lose some business, but that's all right. That's all right. If you recognize that God is for you, then this will clear up a lot of the mysteries of life and set you on the road that leads to the glory of God by the plan of God. If God be for us, since he is for us, who can be against us? Now, I read this in the Greek text. I've read it, I don't know how many times, perhaps a hundred, maybe two hundred, because it so happens I've taught Romans in the Greek text about twenty times now. As you know, in the Greek text, it's even more forceful than the English text. For the Greek text simply says, if God before us, who against us? Who against us? Now the idea is not that we will not have someone against us, but the idea is that whoever is against us will not prevail. Now it is quite sure we're going to have things against us. Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, height, depth. Do you know what those words mean, really? See, this is some of the things we cannot take up in forty-five minutes, but height and depth have to do with astrology. Did you know that? Did you know that a Christian doesn't have to worry about walking under a ladder? That a Christian doesn't have to worry about Friday the thirteenth? He doesn't have to worry about spilling salt? He doesn't have to worry about a black cat? Did you know that? If God before us, who against us? You see, we have the power that controls the universe. Well, now, to show you that this is so, Paul says, 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? He that spared not his own son, this is the evidence that God is for us. Do you remember Abraham and Isaac? Do you remember how Abraham was told by God to take Isaac to Mount Morau and there to sacrifice him? And do you remember that Abraham gathered Isaac, a couple of young men with him, some wood and some fire, and made his journey to Mount Morau? And do you remember that when he came to the bottom of that mountain, he turned to the two men who were with Isaac and himself, and he said to them, You stay here, I'm the lad going yonder, and we're going to worship, and we're going to come again unto you. The writer of the Epistle of the Hebrews uses that as an evidence of the resurrection, that he accounted that God would raise him up from the dead. Well, they went up that mountain, and Isaac turned to his father. He said, Father, The sacrifice equipment is here, but where is the lamb? And you remember Abraham said to Isaac, my son, God will provide himself a lamb. And so when they reached the top, they prepared the fire. Isaac was placed on the fire, bound, and Abraham took his hand. knife which he had with him, and he was just about ready to strike Isaac, to put him to death, to offer him as the sacrifice, according to the command of God, when there came a voice, the angel of the Lord speaking, and saying, Abraham, Abraham, here am I, do not lay thy hand upon the lad, do nothing to him. Now I know that thou lovest me, because thou hast not spared thine only son. Now, if you read that in the Greek text, the same word is used that Paul uses in Romans chapter eight in verse thirty-two. Yes, that he has that in mind. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. But let me tell you something. God is no Abraham who just as he raises his hand to strike his son hears a voice that says, Abraham, Abraham, lay not by hand upon the child. For at Mount Calvary there was no one to call out of heaven, Abraham, Abraham, stay not by hand to slay the child. Because you see there the type meant it's antitype and the reality must take place. And so the Father spared not his own son. Why? to show us that He is for us. God for us. He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. Now, the formal was negative. This is the positive. Delivered Him up. Have you ever thought of the cross of Christ as an accident, something that God could not prevent? The cross was not an accident. The cross was planned. The cross did not take place because Judas loved money. The cross did not take place because the Jews wanted to put him to death. The cross did not take place because Pilate was a Roman soldier who had control in Judea and he put him to death. The cross took place because God the Father designed that it should take place. He was delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him. He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. So I know because of this that God is for me. How shall He not with Him also? Now let me very carefully try to bring home what Paul is saying here to you. Do you know what he's really saying? How shall he not with him also freely give you all things? What he's trying to say is this. The greatest gift that God could possibly give is the Lord Jesus Christ. Anything else is less than that. And so if he gave us the most, he will surely give us the least. If He gave the best that He possibly could, He will surely give the rest that we need. He that spared not His own son, the most, the best. How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? If He's done so much for us, surely everything else is inconsequential. This is what he means. And mind you, when he puts it this way, you can see that the greatest gift of all is not things. The greatest gift of all is Jesus Christ. This is why Paul says, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. Even justification, even sanctification, even predestination, even foreknowledge, wonderful doctrines, high Calvary doctrines, if you want to put it that way. These things are not the greatest things. The greatest things are bound up in a person whom God has given for us. And because the person has been given for us, God is for us. Listen, would you make that personal? God is for you. For you, sir. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Well, that's in general. Now Paul stops as if to say, I want to review the epistle to the Romans up to this point, and I'm going to do it by means of three questions. The first question, verse thirty-three. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Now who are God's elect? Why, those who have been foreknown, those who have been predestinated, those who have been called, those who have been justified, those who have been glorified, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect. Who is going to say anything against me? Why can no one say anything against me who have believed in Jesus Christ, resting in the finished work, resting in the blood of Christ, resting in what He has done for me, made that my own, upon which I am resting for eternity? Who shall lay anything to my charge? Who shall stand up in court and condemn me? Do you know why? It is God that justifies. Are you going to dispute with the judge of the court? He's the judge. And he says, if I believe in Jesus Christ, I stand righteous before him. Are you going to stand up and say, he's not justified and stand up against the court of God? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. We cannot dispute with the judge. And he's acquitted me. so as I stand before the throne of God and hear His voice of acquittal, in fact, His declaration that I am righteous, then there is no one who shall stand and question that decision. Well, now we move on to the sanctification question. Who is He that condemned this? Now I say this is sanctification because in the eighth chapter in the first verse we read, There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation because of sin. No condemnation because of indwelling sin. No condemnation because of the penalty of sin. No condemnation because of the power of sin. For in Christ who has died for me and in whom I have died, there is no condemnation. Who is he that condemneth? Well, now, Paul, wait just a minute. Aren't you going a little too far? Are you saying this because you have discounted sin? Don't you know how heinous sin is? Don't you know how much God hates sin? How can you say who is he that condemneth? Why, everyone is condemned? Paul, you have a very light view of sin. Now, who could ever say anything like that? Paul is the man who knew sin as no other man knew sin. He is the man who could speak of himself as less than the least of all the apostles. He's the man who could speak of himself as the one great illustration of the mercy of God. The man who knew sin in a deeper way than any other man has ever known sin, the Apostle Paul. And yet this is the man that says, Who is he that condemned this? No, it's not because Paul mitigated sin. It's not because he had light views of sin. But now wait, Paul. Are you saying, Who is he that condemned this because of what you have done? After all, you are a very religious man. Well, Paul is not talking about religion. He's not saying, Who is he that condemned this because I have got religion. As I've often said and still say, religion is the devil's counterfeit. And religion has sent more people to hell than almost anything else, because religion leads us to believe that it is possible for us to be righteous before God without Jesus Christ. No, Paul does not say, who is he that condemneth because of anything that he has done. Would you look at his answer? Don't look at me, look at the text. Verse thirty-four. Here is a fourfold protection, and it's all bound up in Jesus Christ. This is why he can say, Who is he that condemned this? You know, before I look at these four points, do you know whom Paul reminds me of? He reminds me of a little boy. who's just managed to outrun a fierce dog that has been yapping at his legs, you know, and finally he's got behind a fence or something and the dog is on the other side and barking at him and snarling at him. And now the little boy who's safe, he says, you know, he starts to tease him. Ah, you're not going to get me. See what you can do now. Have you ever seen little boys do that? Well, Paul reminds me of this, you know. Now he's on the other side. The fierce dog doesn't have him anymore, and so he starts out with these questions. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justified. Who is he that condemned it? Now notice the fourfold protection. It is Christ that died. Christ that died. Wait a minute. Christ, who is the Christ? The Massau. What is the Massau? Christas, Mashiach, the sent one. God's sent one. God's anointed king. He has died for me. So that's my first protection. Christ. has died. God's own anointed one whom he sent. He has died for me. God's for me. Yea, rather. Rather, Paul. What do you mean, rather? Why, isn't Christ's death enough? Yea, more that is risen again. In what way can the resurrection be something extra? Let me use a very homely illustration. Let's suppose that a woman is very, very much in debt. Her creditors are hounding her at every turn, but she meets a very wealthy man, and she marries that wealthy man. Immediately her debts have become his debts, and so she is delivered from her debt. But it's not until the man actually goes and pays those debts and gets the receipt for them that she feels fully relieved. Now legally, I suppose, I'm making the laws, legally I suppose she was free to some extent the moment that she married that man. But now, when the debts are paid and she has the canceled debt in her hand, the receipt for them, then she really feels relief. And so likewise here, Jesus Christ paid the price in His blood on the cross at Calvary. That is the basis of our justification. But then He ascended on high in resurrection. And by that God said to men, I have accepted what he paid on the cross at Calvary in full payment for the sins of the human race. So that the resurrection, while it does not free us from our debt, it is the evidence that our debt has been paid, the receipt has been acknowledged by God, and the guarantee is given that whosoever believeth in him has no longer any debts of sin lodged against their name. so that I can understand. It is Christ that died, yea, more, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God. This is my third protection, because you see, the Bible tells me that he is the one who has come to be for me. And that when I believe in Jesus Christ, I am raised up to be seated with him in heavenly places. I am in Christ. In fact, Ephesians chapter two and verse six says that I am at the right hand of God in Christ. And so you cannot condemn the members if you do not condemn the head. And who can condemn the head? And I am in the head. And so... I get some joy out of this, who is even at the right hand of God, accepted by the Father, and I am in Him. And finally, who also maketh intercession for us. Therefore, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Makeeth intercession. What does he pray? Well, when he was here on the earth, in John chapter seventeen and verse twenty-four, He prayed something like this, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me. For thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. And so he is there at the right hand of the Father, praying for me that I be with him where he is, that I may behold his glory which God gave him before the foundation of the world. So who is he that condemned it? That is Christ that died for me. It is Christ who has been raised up. It is Christ who is seated at the right hand of God, and I am seated in him. And furthermore he is praying for me that I may be with him where he is, and behold his glory. The wonder, Paul says, who is he that condemned it? Well, now, you know, that would almost be enough. But Paul doesn't stop there. He goes on to this glorification question in verse thirty-five. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword, as it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things. Now I want you to notice that little word in. Paul does not say that we will not have difficulties. He does not say that we will not have adversaries. He does not say that we will not have famine. He will not say that we shall not have peril or sword. He will not say that we do not have distress because we do have distresses and we have persecution and we have peril and we have sword. We may not have them physically such as the apostle had or we may. But Paul says, in all of these things, not out of them, in all of these things, we're more than conquerors. Some people are inclined when they are passing through difficult times to question whether God loves them. If they are having difficulty, they say, I wonder if the Lord really loves me. Do you know that is a very, very poor way to look at God's truth? Suppose Jesus Christ hanging on the cross had said, I wonder if God really loves me. You see, experience can never be the test of God's love. Whether we're having good times or bad times can never be the test of his love. The test of his love is what he has done in Christ. And no matter in what experience we may be, we know that he is for us. In all of these things. It is to the glory of God that He delivers His saints in tribulation, not that He prevents them from entering tribulation. So if you are having some difficult times, it is God's desire to deliver you in that tribulation. If you are having distress and trouble and perplexity, it is God's desire to deliver you in that trouble and in that perplexity, not from it. If you see a saint whose suffering it may just be because God is blessing them and showing them what he can do in all of these things. Say, let me ask you a question. What's the greatest and strongest and most powerful animal in all of the animal kingdom? Don't answer. If you're a South American, you'll say the wild bull of the pampas, that's the greatest and strongest animal of them all. I've heard it said that the lion is king of the jungle or the gorilla is king of the jungle. Perhaps if you're from India or someplace in Asia, you will say the bingle tiger. That's the most ferocious animal in all the jungle. If you ever get in touch with one of them, it's too bad. You'll never win a victory there. Do you know what the most powerful animal in all of the animal kingdom is? Conquering sheep. Did you know that? Did you notice that verse just before this? As it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Do you know that conquering sheep? are the most powerful animals in all of the world? And I'm a sheep. That's right. I am a sheep for the slaughter, but in all these things I am more than conqueror. Not just conqueror. More than conqueror. What does that mean? Well, it means the very difficulties that I have to struggle with instead of overcoming them, I use them for my own good. In all these things we are more than conquerors. I would love to see a translation of this made by Hollywood. You know, Hollywood cannot be satisfied with a word like victory. It has to be colossal victory or super victory. Well, that's the word Paul uses. More than conquerors. Super conquerors. Through him that loved us. Conquering sheep. Isn't that wonderful? Through him that loved us, though, that's our secret. Through him that loved us. Well, Paul now concludes with this grand persuasion, for I am persuaded. One of our faculty members at the seminary the other day spoke on Romans chapter eight, and he referred to this, and he said, you know, we're mighty thin on persuasion these days. We really are in the Christian faith and among Christians. There are very few who have much of any kind of persuasion. Paul was a man who had a strong persuasion. There was once a man who had another denominational-minded brother come up to him and say to him once, by the way, of what persuasion are you? He sort of parroted the question because he didn't think it was worth answering. But he repeated it. What persuasion are you? And finally he gathered himself together and he said, well, my persuasion is this. I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall ever be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's my persuasion. And that's my persuasion too. You couldn't have a better persuasion than this. I am persuaded. I wish you could read this in the Greek text because the idea of this verb is I have reached this persuasion and now I'm resting in this persuasion and I'm not going to be moved right up to the present moment. I am persuaded. Paul, these are some mighty terrible things. Death? Death is not going to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, my Lord. No, Paul would say. Do you remember Lazarus, the beggar? What happened to him when he died? He went to Abraham's bosom. What about the thief on the cross? What happened to him? This day thou shall be with me in paradise. Death cannot separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus, my Lord. In fact, death is simply the pathway into the presence of God. death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, nor height, nor depth, nine different enemies, Paul mentions. And then as if to say, there may be one I've left out, or any other creation. Do you notice that word? Creation, not creature, creation. What does he mean? Why he means that everything in this universe is simply a creation. But listen, Christians, we have the Creator on our side. The Creator. How can something separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus my Lord? I know what you're saying. Oh, but what about my faith? Well, listen. The God who gave you faith when you hated him, when you were his enemy, Paul says in Romans five. Do you think for one moment that he will not maintain your faith and trust in him no matter what the circumstances might be? Do you know that once you put your hand in the hand of God, that he grasps your hand so that you cannot get it out? Nor do you want to get it out. any other creation. Creation. We have the creator on our side. We cannot separate ourselves. We are creations too. There was once a little girl who was at a curbside. Guy King tells the story in one of his little books. He says he was observing, and she wanted to cross the street. It was obvious. And before he could get to a big policeman came up and she put her little hand in his and they started across that dangerous intersection. And when they got out right in the center of the intersection, a big truck came down toward them. And Mr. King was looking and he said, he saw that little girl when that truck was almost upon them. She became fearful of it because it looked as if the truck was going to run right over them. She began to pull on that policeman's hand. but you see his hand was stronger than her hand. And so they got across safely, because you see her safety did not depend upon her grasp of him, but upon his grasp of her. And so I am persuaded, dear Christian friend, my safety does not depend upon my grasp of God, but upon his grasp of me. Let me no more my comfort draw from my frail grasp of thee. Let me henceforth rejoice with awe in thy strong grasp of me. That's what the Bible teaches. That's what God says. Shall be able to separate us from the love of God. Have you ever noticed this in the Bible? The Bible says perfect love casteth out fear. Now that's a strange thing. Why does not the Bible say perfect courage casteth out fear? Strong fortitude casteth out fear. Why doesn't it say steely will casts out fear? Do you know why? Perfect courage cannot cast out fear. Perfect courage may suppress fear, but it cannot cast it out. You see, fear comes and anxiety comes because we sense there is a broken bond. But when we see that God loves us, then fear is cast out because perfect love knows that bond, the bond is restored. And I need have no fear in the darkest forest with my hand and my father's, because He is for me. And when I know that He is for me, then anxiety goes because the bond is restored. That's an integrated personality. The love of God, George Matheson, was a great preacher and also a hymn writer. Do you remember he wrote that wonderful hymn, O love, that will not let me go. Let me rest my weary soul in thee. Do you know how he wrote that? He was very much in love with a lovely young lady whose spiritual insights were not so deep. And Mr. Matheson found out that he was going blind before he married this young girl. He went to tell her of the fact that he was going blind. And he explained to her that it was certain and sure the doctors had told him there was no recourse and he did go blind. and that he just wanted to put it to her so that she might understand before they were married. And she looked at Mr. Matheson and she told him that under the circumstances she did not feel that she ought to marry him. And when he left that home, of course, a greatly saddened and disturbed man, and began to reflect on the love of God as over against the love of man, He went home and shortly after that he wrote this wonderful hymn, O love that will not let me go. You see, it's greater than any love. It's greater than a love of the mother for her child, of the wife for husband, or husband for wife. It is the love of God. And I'm persuaded, Paul says, that nothing shall ever separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Well, Paul began Romans eight with no condemnation. He winds it up with no separation, eternally his. Do you know what that means? Have you ever reflected upon eternal life? How is it possible for me to have eternal life when I was born in time? Have you ever thought about that? How is it possible for you to have eternal life? You were born at a specific time. I was born September the thirteenth, nineteen hundred and fifteen. That makes me forty-eight. Don't bother to count it up. How can I have eternal life? Well, let me illustrate. If you were to take a little branch and you graft it into a living tree, It's not long before that branch in that living tree not only is alive, but that branch protects of all of the strength, all of the life that that old tree partakes of. Or take a child. When a child is born into a family, his life doesn't really begin just then, but he is grafted into a family tree. I've never seen one yet that didn't need spraying. But anyway, he's grafted into the tree, the family tree. And do you know that it is impossible for you to be grafted into a family by adoption or by birth and not partake of that which is gone before? Do you know that when I was born in September the thirteenth, nineteen hundred and fifteen, that wasn't the beginning of all of my life. My roots go back all the way to Kent. in England. I partake of all of the good or bad of the Johnson family because I've been born into it and so my roots go way back as well as in the future. There is a law of heredity as well as a law of inheritance. And do you know that when I am grafted into Jesus Christ and I become a member of the family of God, that I have eternal life and I begin to become a partaker of divine nature, Peter says, and therefore I am a partaker of all of the blessings and privileges and the dignity and the honor and the authority of the family of God, which has been in existence from eternity? That's how I can have eternal life. Isn't that wonderful? Through faith in Jesus Christ, receive it as a gift. Well, my time is up, but I'm going to ask the question that Paul asked. Paul asked. What shall we then say to these things? Paul has been talking about believers. They don't say anything. They just say, thank you, Lord. for this wonderful series of blessings which we have in Christ Jesus. But perhaps you're in this audience and you have never yet believed in the Lord Jesus. Wouldn't you like to be a member of the family of God? Wouldn't you like to be able to say, who is He that condemned us me? Who shall separate me from the love of God? Wouldn't you like to be an integrated personality knowing the love of God and the blessings of God and have this life? Do you know how you can obtain these blessings? Not join the church. Not pray through. Not do good works. Not turn over a new leaf. Not be baptized, confirmed, sprinkled. Do you know how? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Just say what we say. Thank you, Lord, for what you have done for me in Jesus Christ. The moment you make that decision in your heart, you're grafted into the family of God and possess all of the blessings of eternal life. May God speak to your heart through the word. Shall we stand for the benediction? Now may the love of God the Father, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be and abide with all who have come to know him in sincerity. And, O God, for those who do not yet know him, give them no rest nor peace until they rest in him. For Jesus' sake, amen.