Well, it's not a very good thing when the preacher sends his congregation home entirely bamboozled, confused and up a tree. I'm not seventy-four years of age, and I have not been saved for seventy-four years. I've been saved for seventy-one And this is my eighty-fourth birthday. Now you can go back home after the meeting and go to bed and sleep in quiet peace with all your confusion. Dispelled. This week I pulled out some large boxes from under my drawer, from under my desk. I hardly have room for my knees. And I went over some of my books of teaching at Emmaus. I was thinking about this weekend. But I didn't take them from those books. And I pulled out folder after folder of notes. And I thought of the times when I wet over preparing them. But I found some notes that I thought I would like to bring before you, because as I read them, they were a challenge to me, because they reminded me of all of the things that we have in the Lord Jesus. We are the most fortunate people in this world. We may not be rich. We may not be particularly intelligent. We may not be able to work hard anymore. We may even have gotten to the point as I have where your memory fails. But you know what? Jesus doesn't change. And everything that he promised to us is going to be ours. Let's turn to Romans chapter eight. I can remember teaching this book in Emmaus Bible School and it is quite often taught in Bible schools because he has a very clear gospel message. Now I said to you this morning that I looked around and I didn't see anybody that was unsaved. So I had to change the tenor of the message this morning. And I look around and I think most of you were here this morning. But just in case somebody has slipped in, I want to remind you that if you're not a Christian, you don't know what you're missing. I've heard people who didn't know the Lord Jesus, who were not born again, who were not Christians say, I don't understand these people. They are so religious. That's mistake number one. We are not religious. Paul said you can be too religious, and I believe that with all my heart. The trouble with us is we found out we were sinners. We discovered that the Lord Jesus died on the cross for us, and a deep sense of indebtedness seized our hearts, and we said, If he did that, I said to myself, and I know you did, if you're saved, if the Lord Jesus did that for me, then I've got to do something about him. I don't find him in my life. I don't seem to reveal him as I think about him. Occasionally I say my prayers. and I mention His name, but if Jesus did all that He did on the cross and He did it for me and would have done it for me had I been the only person unsaved in the world and He did it for you. And not only did He suffer on the cross, and pay the price for our sins, and make it possible for us to be saved, to be right with God, but then He laid before us a banquet of good things. Now here you have open on your knee, if you have a Bible there, Romans chapter eight. What verse comes to you from Romans forty-eight, even though you don't know exactly where on the page it is? Romans, forty-eight, and what verse comes to you? Do you have a favorite verse? Does anybody have a favorite verse from this chapter? Romans eight and nine. I've heard in Romans ten and nine. They have a chorus about that. But this is beautiful. This is a lovely verse, but we're in Romans chapter eight. Now did you say eight and... Verse twenty? You like verse twenty, do you? Twenty eight. Twenty eight. Romans eight and twenty eight. I thought that it might be that that verse would come to you. For we know, and we couldn't say this in the days when we were unsaved, we know that all things were together for good to them that love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Doesn't that sound very familiar to you? I think that most believers, when they think of Romans eight, Think of that verse, for we know it's great in a world of uncertainty, in a time of uncertainty, with our health very uncertain, to have something we can be sure of. And this verse says, we know that all things, even the bad things, even the hurtful things, Even the things we don't understand, we know that all things work together for good. To them that love God, now there's the qualification, you have to love God. All things to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose. But I don't intend to preach on that. Instead, let's look at verse thirty-one, shall we? Verse thirty-one. Now this is a passage that is full of questions. Romans eight and thirty-eight. That means thirty-one. What? Here's the first question. What shall we say then to these things that everything that's gone before, including we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. What then shall we say to these things? All of the positive, wonderful things that we've been reminded of in the earlier chapters because we are believers, they're ours. If God before 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? Did you notice what? Did you notice who? Did you notice how? He 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 condemneth? It is Christ that died, yet 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 with a slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. And I thought somebody might choose that person. 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 creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now who says that the Christian isn't on the winning side? I don't. because we're not on the winning side we're on the side that has already won everything is certain everything is sure and all of these things belong to us in Christ now we open up with questions here the question what what should we say then to these things if God before us who can be against us and then notice The who's begin. There's a what, and there's a how, and then there are the who's. And I'm going to read them down for you in a moment or two. The passage begins with a what, and then the questions begin to unfold. In many ways there are questions that are answered in what has gone before and even in the chapter. But there are lots of other things beside those whose that I'm interested in. There are four that I want to talk about. Who can be against us? That's a good question. Who shall lay anything? Who is it? Shall lay anything to our charge. Who is he that condemns? Who shall separate us? from the love of Christ. Now there are four very interesting questions out of the list, and I want to dwell upon those this evening. But the what calls for a response. What shall we say to all these things? And if you've read all the chapters that went before, there's only one thing you can say, and that is, well, You didn't know you were so rich. You didn't know you had so many blessings. You didn't know that there wasn't anything that wasn't yours since you became a Christian that's worth having. Absolutely nothing that's worth having that you haven't got in Christ. So the answer is to the first question, what shall we say then to these things? And the answer is, well, because we can't grasp it, we cannot understand it, we certainly cannot exhaust it. The next question says, how shall he not, with Christ, give us all things? That's what I've just been saying in the last five or six or seven minutes. When we sing, count your blessings, name them one by one. To somebody it wasn't adequate, so they used to sing, count your blessings, name them two by two. Count your blessings, name them four by four. Count your blessings, name them by the score. And it will surprise you, there are millions more. and I don't think if you start counting your blessings you'll ever get to the end of the list now there's a statement that is made in these verses about the Spirit of God in this chapter in verse ten we are told that the Spirit of God lives in verse fourteen we are told that the Spirit of God leads. In verse sixteen, we are told that the Spirit of God speaks. In verse twenty-six, we are told that the Spirit of God prays. And when we come to verse twenty-seven, when it speaks of the mind of the Spirit, we understand that the Spirit knows. Of course, all these things are true because the Godhead is three in one. And it's true of God, the Father, it's true of God the Son, and it's true of God the Spirit. And the moment you, and I don't know how old you were when you were saved, but the moment, and I was only thirteen, the moment I let the Lord Jesus in my heart, everything for my future was settled for me. and I was guaranteed a place in heaven. And that's true of every one of you that's here tonight. Now, if you're not saved, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes because not only do you not have all these wonderful things that belong in the Lord Jesus. For there are many things that have gone out of our lives since Jesus came into our hearts. And one of the most fearsome of them was the penalty of our sins. If I die in my sins, and I won't because I'm a believer and can never be lost again, but if you're lost and you die that way, then you will reap the penalty of your sins. And that is eternal damnation. And that's a horrible phrase. But there's no stronger term that I could use to describe it. If there's anyone here who's not saved, I wouldn't want to stand in your shoes for all the gold that the world holds. Because every moment you live without Christ in your heart could be the moment of your doom. And it will last for all eternity. So when I talk about the things that we Christians have in Christ, I want you to envy us, and then I want you to join us by asking the Lord Jesus to come into your heart and into your life. So the chapter tells us, before the portion that I read to you, that the Spirit of God does these things. He's a living spirit, a leading spirit, a speaking spirit. a praying spirit, and a knowledgeable spirit. And he grows in our hearts. The reality of the Spirit of God. That's one of the themes in the chapter here. And then there's the future of the child of God. This is also in the chapter. The glory that shall be revealed to us. Now think of that, for it's not a sentence. It's just a long phrase. The glory that shall be revealed to us. What a prospect this is. When we see heaven, that'll be a glory revealed to us. When we find ourselves in the glory, we'll continue to be amazed and we'll never exhaust the wonders of heaven. Heaven is an eternal place. And you and I, we are eternal souls. And we're going to spend eternity somewhere, though the word spend is not a good word because eternity can't be spent. It goes on and on and on and on. And if you're lost and you die that way, then for all eternity, these things are lost to you. And judgment will come upon you. But if you are saved... you'll never exhaust the wonders of heaven and the glory that shall be revealed to you that's in your future there's something else too the redemption of our body that the chapter uses these expressions the redemption of the body my you and I grown in this body the Bible says that and you don't need the Bible to tell you that because You have the older you get. You do it more quietly, but you do it more fervently. You groan because, as we say at Park of the Palms, old age is not for sissies. You and I are getting older with every day, and we know it. I know it because I'm so tied to my notes these days. I used to have a mind. I used to have a memory. I used to have good eyesight. Now I need my glasses changed. So I have to pause and look at my notes. The redemption of our body. You know, the word of God doesn't say that what the Bible does say. Let me take the positive. It says that our bodies are going to be changed like unto his glorious body. So there's going to be glory revealed in us. and our bodies are going to be changed into bodies of glory no pains then no aches then no bad memory then all these things will be behind us and there because God is there and that's God's home and we're God's people and we're going to be changed and we shall never have another ache or pain we shall never have any moments of confusion all these things will be gone and gone forever that goes with the redemption of the body and then the chapter also in verse twenty nine speaks of the conforming indeed the image of Christ now this is not something that's reserved for when we get to heaven the process begins here on earth the conforming into the image of Christ. You know, I know you know, because I've told you so many times, when I came out into the work, I joined a party of eight open-air preachers. We traveled around the country preaching every night at market crosses, in villages and towns and so on. Now the work was started by two men. One was named Percival Petter. He became Sir Percival Petter, and he invented a special kind of engine called the Petter engine. He was a believer. And a very, very well-known man. And he had a very large house. but it was very close to the sidewalk, a railing along the fronts of which people could see, had a great big front window. Every morning he had his retinue of servants down into the living room where they could look out into the street, and the street could look into the room, and every morning he had them praying, unease with him. All of his servants, people passed by. They didn't say the owner of that house must be a maniac. They knew him. They knew that man had made his millions. They knew that man had received a knighthood. They knew that man is a very special kind of man. But he didn't hesitate to get on his knees where everybody could see him to pray. Great testimony in Yovil in Somerset. But there was another man with him who also was... responsible with him in starting this work. And his name was Mr. Lough, Ernest Lough. And he used to come from time to time with the party. And one day, and sometimes we slept in school rooms, we even slept in a firing range, anywhere we could get, we would put down our beds and we would sleep. Sometimes we were entertained in homes. And one day Mr. Luff, one of the party, we were all put up in Christians' homes. And he was put in a home that was a very expected home because it was a little earlier. And she learned that a pilgrim preacher was coming to stay the night. A pilgrim preacher. She just conjured up all sorts of things in her mind. I guess she had an idea what a pilgrim was. She knew what a preacher was, but a pilgrim preacher That was a sort of puzzle to her. And she was very disappointed when she had to go to bed before the pilgrim preacher came to the house. But she didn't go to bed until the mother promised her, You shall see him when he comes. And he came to the house, little girl was in bed, and she was sleeping. But when Mr. Luff went to bed, it was quite late, the little girl wakened up and she said, Mommy, did the pilgrim preacher come yet? Yes, but he's in bed. She said, I would like to see him. Oh, you will see him tomorrow. You promised me that I would see him. I would like you to take me into his bedroom. I would like to see him. Now you have to know, Mr. Lough, to appreciate this story. She was led quietly into his room, and she stood beside his bed, and she looked at his face. He had a grey beard, a very tidy beard, and it was an old man with white hair. But he had such a look on his face. She looked at her mother, and she said, Mommy, it's Jesus! It's Jesus. I say you have to have known Mr. Lough to realize how very, very intelligent that little girl was. You looked at his face and you knew there was something different about him. He was so tender, he was so sweet. Do you know what he used to pray? God keep me from becoming a wicked old man. Now that used to be one of his prayers. Keep me from becoming a wicked old man. and God surely did that. The little girl said it's Jesus. Here it is, conforming to the image of Christ. I wonder how much of the Lord Jesus people see in you. You know, the grumpy Christian is not really a very good testimony. The complaining Christian is not a very good testimony. Conforming to the image of Christ means taking the blows as they come and not complaining. Boy, I'm preaching to my own heart now. Physician heal thyself. The thing is that the Christ-likeness in a Christian takes time to develop. And the only way it is developed is not just by reading the Bible, but by spending time in the presence of the Lord Jesus. More time you spend with them, the more you become like him. Maybe that's the reason why some of us are not as Christ-like as we should be. So the earliest statements here have to do with the reality of the Spirit of God, with the future of the child of God, and with the transformation of the creation of God. We shall be changed. There's a reminder, and it's in verse thirty-two. That's the verse where we began. We began with thirty-one. 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 spared not his own son, the darling of his heart, God's father's heart was broken when he beheld his son dying in shame on the cross. He spared not his own son. And nobody, no creature on the globe ever died a death so horrible, so vile, so destructive and so devastating as the death of the Lord Jesus upon the cross. He said, well, other people were crucified, yes, but they were not spotless sons of God. He was. And his holy soul could and did suffer more than the soul of the sinner could ever know. about suffering. We have been brought, this chapter says, into the glorious liberty of the Church of God. Now the one who spared not his son delivered him up freely for us all. And since he did that, how shall he not with his son, Give us all things. I have all things in Christ. That's where I started. And I'm not finishing with it. Because I still have two other things to say. Well, there are three things here, as a matter of fact. Very briefly, my time is going. Almost gone. Who can be against us? Now, there's a very good question. You say, well, there are lots of people against us. People who are not Christians are against us. Who can be against us? That's the question. Now there's an assertion here. God is for us. Now God's for us. How can anybody hurt us? Because God allows that which comes to us, that He is sufficient to help us to bear. The things that He's able to make us capable of bearing. Who can be against us if God's for us? That's the assertion. We can be opposed. The verse says that. But there's an absurdity also in the verse. It's a foolish thing to fight against God. The man who fights against God is a loser from the start. You can't fight God and win. And because God is for us, that kind of God, who can be against us? What does it matter if we have any of this because we are Christians, in the sense in which God means they can't be against us? They are wasting their time. They are accomplishing absolutely nothing by all their opposition. The thought is, who can successfully be against us? Is that a good thought? Nobody can successfully be against the Christian because God is for us. Here's another question. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It says God tells us that we are precious to him. It says the foe may level an accusation against you, a charge against you. But you're a believer and you will be totally exonerated. It is God that justifies. And God has the evidence and it's irrefutable. We stand in Christ and that means Nothing can be laid to our charge. All our sins have been born, they've been forgiven, and they have been washed away. God gives us a precious title. He said we are God's elect. He says the foe may level an accusation but will be exonerated. The believer is totally exonerated because he is in Christ. Who is he that condemns? That's the third question. Who is he that condemns? He's the one who ignores all of the facts. First of all, the plan of God for salvation. Secondly, the death of Christ for redemption. Thirdly, the intercession of the Spirit of God for the believer. And finally, the acquittal. of the believer forever. Who is he that condemneth? The question was, who is he that could be successfully against us? He doesn't exist because we're in Christ. Who is he that wants to charge us and find and have us found guilty when we've been totally exonerated? Who is he that condemns us? The last one is this. Who shall separate us from the love of God? This is a wonderful thought to finish with. We have problems. Not one of them can snatch us out of his grasp. Tribulation. You know what it is to tribulate. Distress. Persecution. famine, nakedness. Now the chapter mentions these. Our portion at the end of the chapter mentions all of these things. These are problems. But the love of God is a solution. They're solved problems. And then there's peril and sword and death. These are dangers. But they cannot touch the believer because the believer... cannot be separated from the love of God. And then angels and principalities and powers are mentioned. Spiritual antagonists. But they seek to antagonize us in vain. Why? Because who shall separate us from the love of God? Even spiritual powers, evil powers, cannot do it. And then it says, even the things that are naturally ours, the present. That which is to come. Height. Depth. And then note this phrase. Any other creature. Who can be against us? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who is he that condemns? Who shall separate us from the love of God? What a beautiful portion it is. Not even life can do it. Because it can't be lost. We can't be snatched from the love of God. That's why the Bible says we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Aren't you glad you're a Christian? If you're glad you're a Christian, say amen. Amen. If you're sorry, say, no. I won't even ask you because I know the answer. Let's pray together, shall we? Our Father, we ask why such grace shone to us? Why such love, and we think of the years that we fought against that love, and yet you pursued us. You were the hound of heaven, and you continued to pursue us until at last our Our evil hearts were touched and broken. The suffering of the Lord Jesus touched our hearts. The knowledge of him as a Savior has changed our lives and the realization that none of these things can snatch us away from thy love. keeps our hearts at absolute peace. We thank you for that peace, for that assurance, O our Father, how anxious we are to share it with those who do not have it, and whose future is so dark. Bless thy word to our hearts, we pray. In the name of the Lord Jesus.