Well, what a wonderful conference this has
been. And yesterday and today, it has just been
pure joy for me in the Lord, and I trust that it has been a profitable time for you as well
in your Christian life. What I love about these Ligonier conferences
is they are just so Bible-centered and straightforward and rich in theology and doctrine. And so, I just always feel like a round peg
in a round hole when I am here at these Ligonier conferences. So, for this last session, I have been asked
to address "More than Conquerors," Romans 8 verses 31 to 39. So I want to invite you to take your Bible
and turn with me to Romans 8 beginning in verse 31. And I'm looking at the clock that they have
going and I've already lost half of my time already. So, we sang too many verses I think of "A
Mighty Fortress." So I'm going to have to move quickly through
this. But I feel compelled to begin by reading the
text. Romans 8 beginning in verse 31, "What shall
we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered
Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one
who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who
was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For your sake we are
being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly
conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Now, these verses are among the most beautiful
to be found anywhere in the Bible. They address the doctrinal truth of the eternal
security of the believer. Here is the strongest argument to be found
anywhere in the entire Bible that a believer can never be separated from the saving, redeeming
love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the truth, "Once saved, always saved." Here is the truth, "Once justified, always
justified." Here is the truth of our eternal security
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when I was in high school and had just
come to faith in Christ, I did not know this truth. And I thought it was up to me now to somehow
keep myself in the grace of God. And I often had the thought, "I know that
I'm saved and I know my other classmates are not and the other guys on the football team
are not." And I had this thought, "When I come to the
end of my life what if I become lost and in the meantime they are saved," and the great
reversal that could potentially take place. And I remember when I was in college hearing
a sermon on this, the eternal security of the believer. It was like I was saved all over again. It was the greatest, grandest truth I think
that I had ever heard since I came to know Christ as Lord and Savior. And so, in this last session I just want to
help us tighten the screws on this and be more deeply convinced. I'm sure if you're at a Ligonier conference
like this you believe in the perseverance of the saints. You believe in the eternal security of the
believer. So, I know that I'm bringing a truth to you. For the most part of us here today, you're
already there. And so, I just want to pour some more concrete
into your foundation and help you see from this passage this glorious truth. And if you're not there yet, I pray that the
Word of God will speak so clearly to your heart and to your mind that when you leave
here today at the end of this session that you can say, "I am all in on the clear teaching
of Scripture concerning the eternal security of the believer." So, let's jump right into this. Beginning in verse 31, I want you to see number
one, this is the first heading, "No Accusation can Condemn Us." No accusation can condemn us. And Paul writes with a courtroom scene in
mind. He says, "What shall we say to these things?" The "we" refers to believers and "these things"
refer to the truths that he has just taught specifically in verses 28, 29, and 30. What shall we say to these things that those
whom God foreknew He predestined, these whom He predestined He called, and these whom He
called He justified, and these whom He justified He glorified? What shall we say to these things? What shall we say that from eternity past
to eternity future those whom God has sovereignly chosen to be His own can never fall from grace,
that there are no dropouts along the way? What can we say to these things? Well, Paul answers that question with a question. And the question is in reality a statement. It's like when your wife says to you men,
when your wife says, "You're not going to wear that shirt tonight, are you?" That's not a question. That's not intended for discussion. That is a statement. That's what Paul's doing here when he answers
his question with a question. So, notice what he says, "If God is for us." The "if" really should be translated "since." "Since God is for us." Please note the verb tense, present tense. Right now, this very moment, God is for all
who are in Christ. We don't have to hold out till the end and
somehow get into heaven and close the door behind us and wipe the sweat off our brow
and say, "I finally made it at last. Now I know that God is for me." No, this is in the present tense right now
while we're living on planet Earth, while we are alive here walking with the Lord. "This moment," Paul says, "we, all believers,
we know that God is for us." And the "us" refers to those who are foreknown,
predestined, called, justified. and glorified. He says, "Who is against us?" Who could possibly reverse the justification
that God has declared? Is there a Supreme Court above God's court? Is there a higher court of appeal that can
overrule what God has declared? The answer is no. Justification is irrevocable. Those whom God has declared to be the righteousness
of Jesus Christ, that will never be reversed. "Who is against us?" Well, in verse 32, there are those who would
bring a charge against God's elect. They can't be against us and prevail. In verse 34, he says those who would condemn
us. In verse 35, those who are bringing tribulation
and distress and persecution and even the sword, could those enemies of the gospel,
could those enemies of true believers ever prevail over what God has declared? And the answer is a resounding no. And behind this "If God is for us, who is
against us?" no one can bring a charge that would ever
stick against us. Do you see how secure you are in your salvation,
that no prosecution could ever be brought against you in the courts of heaven that would
ever overrule the salvation that God has given to you, that no incriminating evidence could
ever be admitted into the heavenly courtroom, that no dirt could ever be dug up and submitted
before God that would cause God to overrule His own decision, that no witness could ever
be called to the stand and testify against you and submit any evidence against you that
has not already been dealt with at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ? You are eternally secure in your salvation. And the Apostle Paul could have just ended
it right there. Roman chapter 8 could have just ended after
verse 31. And the argument would have been signed, sealed,
and delivered. But Paul now will begin to build an argument
in which he intensifies and strengthens what he is saying. And second, I want you to know in verse 32
no blessing can escape us. How do we know God is for us? Verse 32. "He," referring to God the Father, "who did
not spare His own Son." He didn't spare Him from the cross. He did not spare Him from the shame of the
public crucifixion upon Golgotha, "but delivered Him over for us all." The word "delivered" means, it's a Greek word
paradidomi which means "to be delivered over to judgment." And we would ask the question, "Who delivered
over the Lord Jesus Christ? Was it the Romans? Was it the Jews?" The answer here is God the Father. The Jews and the Romans were merely secondary
agents through which God worked by His provenance. But standing behind it all was the invisible
hand of sovereign God. And it was God who delivered over His own
Son for us all. The "us" here refers to all believers, the
elect of God. And here we see strong language for definite
atonement, that Jesus was delivered over by the Father for those who were predestined,
called, justified, and glorified. But now he asks the question in verse 32,
"How will He," God the Father, "not also with Him," God the Son, "freely give us all things?" Now, what are these "all things"? Some would say, well, they are physical things,
physical blessings, that if God would give His Son over at the cross to us then wouldn't
God give us human resources, food and clothing, and that kind of thing. But that's not what this text is referring
to because verse 35 makes it abundantly clear that there will be for those for whom Christ
died tribulation and distress and persecution and famine and nakedness and peril and sword. So, "all things" at the end of verse 32 obviously
does not refer to material creature blessings. No, in this context "all things" refers to
everything that's been mentioned in this chapter, that "there is now therefore no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus," that the Father has supplied the very righteousness
of Christ to us, that we have been emancipated and liberated from our former slavery to sin
and we have been set free to follow Christ, that the Holy Spirit has been put within us
and we now have the assurance of our salvation and we have been made heirs of God, heirs
with Christ, heirs of glory. All of these blessings have been given to
us permanently. And if God delivered over His Son upon the
cross, then all of the benefits of that cross are supplied to us and will never be withdrawn. God is not an Indian giver. God is not giving and taking back. What God has provided at the cross through
the death of His Son will never be rescinded in the life of someone who entrusts their
life to Him. It would render ineffective the cross. It would make Calvary the blunder of the ages. It would make the death of Christ at Golgotha
to be null and void for those benefits of the cross to not continue to be given to all
those for whom Christ died. It's a powerful argument that Christ would
have died needlessly if the benefits of that death were ever taken back from anyone who
entrusts their life to Christ. But there's more here. The third heading is in verses 33 to 35. And it is, no charge can convict us. These verses are still in a in a courtroom
setting beginning in verse 33 with many foes bringing many charges of sin and crime against
us. So, he says in verse 33, "Who will bring a
charge against God's elect?" Who can bring a charge that will ever stick
against us? Again, verse 35 tells us that we have many
foes and many enemies who would do everything that they can to bring railing accusation
against us in the courtroom of heaven, and there is not a one. But behind this, who? At the beginning of verse 33, "Who will bring
a charge against God's elect?" stands the devil himself, who is "the accuser
of the brethren," Revelation 12 and verse 10, and the god of this age and the spirit
of this world working through the sons of disobedience inciting their hatred against
believers, who would do everything they can to remove us from our union with Christ, and
the devil pulling all the strings. Well, Paul will answer this. "Who will bring a charge against God's elect?" Paul answers, "God is the one who justifies." It matters nothing what anyone else has to
say about God's elect. God is the judge. God is upon the throne. God has the gavel in His hand. It doesn't matter what the devil says. It doesn't matter what your enemies say. It doesn't matter what your foes say. They have no jurisdiction over your soul and
over your life. There is only God upon His throne in heaven. And if God is the one who justifies, that
is all that matters in the courtroom of heaven. No one else has any authority whatsoever in
the courts of heaven. He says in verse 34, "Who is the one who condemns?" And I think there is a note of sarcasm in
the voice of the Apostle Paul as he writes this. Who on earth could ever condemn you? Who on earth or in hell or in the heights
of heaven could ever successfully condemn you when all that matters is what God says? God justifies, and no one can overturn the
verdict and the jurisdiction of God in heaven. It doesn't even matter what the devil says. And so, Paul now with his theological brilliance,
beginning in the middle of verse 34, he now makes his argument for why justification of
the believer is permanent and can never be reversed. So, he says, "Christ Jesus is He who died." It was in that one death of Jesus Christ upon
the cross that He secured eternal salvation for everyone for whom He died. Romans 5 verse 18 says "Through one act of
righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men." Just the one act of Christ upon the cross
submitting Himself to the death bearing our sins has resulted in the righteousness and
the justification of all who put their trust in Him. And in Romans 5 verse 19, "Through the obedience
of the one the many will be made righteous." 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21 says, "Him who knew
no sin God made to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." The worst about us was laid upon Christ. The best about Christ was laid upon us. All of our sins transferred to Christ, His
perfect righteousness transferred to us. But he continues in verse 34 and says, "Yes,
rather was raised." What is the point of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead? It is to validate the perfection of the death
that He died for us. It is, if you will, the guarantee that His
death upon the cross successfully has dealt with our sin problem and has provided forgiveness
of sin as well as the righteousness that we so desperately need. We are saved at the cross, but it is the resurrection
that validates the power and the validity of the cross. If Jesus had remained in the grave, it would
have sent notice that His death upon the cross was not a successful mission, that it was
a failure and the Father has not accepted His death on our behalf. But the resurrection proves that the cross
has dealt with our sins. And so, that is why Paul adds here, "Yes,
rather was raised." Romans 4 verse 25 is a very important cross-reference. It says, "He," referring to Christ, "who was
delivered over because of our transgressions," listen to this, "was raised because of our
justification," not in order to secure it but because the cross provided it. God raised His Son from the dead because of
the righteousness that was provided in His death for us. And so, the resurrection is very important
because it validates that the death of Christ has secured our salvation. But he continues in verse 34, "Who is at the
right hand of God." And there at the right hand of the Father,
Jesus continues to make intercession for us. And He ever lives to continue to save us at
the right hand of God the Father. And any accusation that is brought against
us in the courts of heaven, we have a defendant at our side, an advocate who has never lost
a case and who pleads the merit of His own death on our behalf with the Father. No one can come into the presence of the Father
with Jesus at the right hand of the Father and to be able to bring an accusation against
us. "Who is at the right hand of the Father." He adds, "who also intercedes for us." All for whom Jesus interceded at the cross,
He continues to intercede for them at the right hand of the Father. It's another airtight argument for definite
atonement, that the two intercessions of Jesus Christ were for the same people. At the right hand of the Father, Jesus is
not interceding for the world. John 17 verse 9 makes that very clear. Jesus is interceding only for those whom the
Father has chosen and given to Him in eternity past. It is that very same group that Jesus interceded
for in His death upon the cross. And here in verse 34 as Paul says that Jesus
intercedes for us, the idea is that He continues to keep us saved. He continues to preserve our justification
because He is interceding for us at the right hand of God. So, the argument that Paul is making is an
indisputable argument, that no charge can convict us. But Paul wants to heighten the drama of what
he is writing here and he has one more argument to make. It is impossible to misunderstand what Paul
is saying here. He says now, fourth, no suffering can separate
us. No matter what adversity is thrown at us,
no matter how we may weaken, no matter how we may falter or fail and the pressure of
difficulties that are brought against us, that nothing can separate us from the love
of God. Even in our worst moments as a believer, as
we would be led to the stake to be burned as a martyr or to have a sword brought against
us, regardless of how we might be so weakened in that moment, even that cannot separate
us from the love of God. So, notice what he says in verse 35, "Who
will separate us from the love of God?" That is synonymous with, "Who will separate
us from salvation? Who will separate us from the redeeming, saving
love of God?" There is a general love that God has for all
mankind. He causes the rain to fall on the just and
the unjust, but there is a saving love that God has exclusively for His elect. In the next chapter, he will write in Romans
9 verse 13, "Jacob I loved; Esau I hated." There is a specific love that God has for
His chosen ones that is a redeeming love that He does not have for the non-elect. So, who will separate us from this redeeming
love of God? And Paul will now answer this question with
a lengthy question. And the anticipated answer is, "No one." So, notice he says in the middle of verse
35, "Will tribulation?" The word "tribulation" means tribulation from
human enemies of God. The word "tribulation" literally means to
be in a squeeze like in a vice grip where both sides of a wall are narrowing down on
you and you are placed under extraordinary pressure in your Christian life. "Will distress?" That's a compound word here that means to
be hemmed in from every side. "Will persecution?" which is the affliction
suffered for naming the name of Christ. "Will famine?" Here it's intended to mean those who cannot
afford to buy enough food as a result of the previous three. It's the tribulation, distress, and persecution
that brings about the famine. And then he adds "nakedness," which is also
the result of the tribulation, distress, and persecution, that you are left without a job,
you are left without human resources, you are left without even clothing. You are utterly unprotected because of what
you are suffering for your faith in Jesus Christ. "Will peril?" which means to be exposed to
danger. "Will the sword?" which refers to martyrdom,
as the next verse makes abundantly clear. He writes, "just as it is written." He quotes Psalm 44 verse 22, "For your sake,"
referring to for God's sake, for their faith in Christ, "we," believers, "are being put
to death." It's a reference to the martyrdom with the
sword at the end of verse 35. "All day long," meaning it is constant and
it's continual, that believers are almost marching to the stake or to the lion's den
to have their life taken. It says, "We were considered as sheep to be
slaughtered." Sheep are weak and defenseless and to be slaughtered
is to be brutally martyred for your faith in Jesus Christ. And when your back is against the wall, and
when your very life is about to be taken, and when your knees begin to buckle and bend,
and your heart begins to pound inside your chest, and the tears begin to flow from your
eyes, then your cheek, and in those very moments can that separates you from the love of Christ
when outward circumstances would appear that God has turned His back on you, that God has
walked away from you, that you no longer have a relationship with His Son, as you're walking
through the very valley of the shadow of death, and from all outward appearances it would
seem as though you are abandoned by God? Will that separate you from the love of Christ
by those outward circumstances of tribulation and persecution? He says in verse 37, "But in all these things,
we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." "Yea though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, You are with me all the way. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all
the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." "I will never, never, never, never leave you
nor forsake you." And it's not just that the Lord is with us,
but that we overwhelmingly conquer in those situations because in our weakness His strength
is made perfect. And He is not only the author of our faith,
but the perfector of our faith. And when we are put into the fire of adversity,
we are not there alone, but the Lord stands with us and the Lord stands in us. And we can never be separated from the love
of God that is in Christ Jesus as we find ourselves in the crucible of life. It's an argument from the greater to the lesser
that in the most torturous moment of your life for your Christian faith, when all hell
is breaking loose, even that cannot pry open the hand of God in which you are living and
separate you from the love of Christ. You think up the most difficult trying circumstance
and trial of your life, and it can never bring such pressure to bear upon your soul that
it would drive a wedge between you and Christ. And so, Paul will now bring this to summation
in verses 38 and 39. And he will end verse 39 as he began verse
35, talking about "Who will separate us from the love of Christ," verse 35. He tells us at the end of verse 39 that he
is convinced that all the things in between can never separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ. It's a literary device, a figure of speech,
a rhetorical device known as inclusio or inclusion, which are like bookends or brackets around
a unit of thought and it's like tightening this circle or this box of the argument in
here. It all hangs together. It's like saying, "From the East Coast to
the West Coast, from the Atlantic to the Pacific." And what is implied, "and everything in between." It all is one unit. It all hangs together. So, look at verse 38, "For I am convinced." It's a Greek word that means to be deeply
persuaded and firmly confident and resolutely certain. Paul possesses a settled conviction. And every one of us here today needs to be
able to say, "I am convinced." "For I am convinced," and now he brackets
things in pairs. Here's the first pair: "that neither death
nor life." He's referring to things that could potentially
in the mind of some separate them from Christ and salvation and justification. "That neither death nor life." That covers the entire field. You're either dead or alive. And by putting it in these extremes, death
points back to verse 35, sword. And verse 36, slaughter, he's referring to
martyrdom. And the word "life" refers to any and every
experience in life including any sinful activity in life, any denial of Christ in a weak moment
like Peter, and any departure from God's will in life, anything that would happen in your
life. Could that separate you from the love of Christ? That's the first pair. And, of course, you know the answer is going
to be "no." Then, the second pair. Paul pulls back the veil and we look into
the invisible world of angels and spirits. And he says, "Nor angels, nor principalities." Angels refer to good angels. Principalities probably refers to fallen angels,
which are demon spirits. Can anything that an angel or a demon do ever
separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus? Principalities or fallen spirits, and what
Paul is reasoning, no temptation that the domain of darkness can ever bring against
you would ever separate you from the love of Christ regardless of how you respond. No deception of false doctrine could ever
sever you from Christ. No pressure, no persecution inspired by the
devil himself could ever separate you from Christ. And then the third pair in verse 38, "Nor
things present nor things to come." You understand how all-inclusive that is? Whether it's now or at any time in the future,
nothing in this life, that's the present, and nothing in the life to come, that's in
the future, can ever separate you from the love of Christ. These things present refer to any present
difficulty, any present danger, any present trauma, any present tragedy regardless of
the effect that it would have upon you and how you would respond. None of those things could separate you from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. And when he says things to come, that includes
the final judgment, that when the books are open and the book of life is opened, nothing
that could ever happen on that last day as you stand before the Lord could ever sever
you from the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what would be in those books. The entire record of your life, nothing there
would ever separate you from the love of Christ. And then, he comes with a single
at the end of verse 38. He says, "Nor powers," refers to earthly powers. No government authority, no earthly rulers,
no Caesar, no persecution could ever be brought against us. No matter how the government might come down
heavy upon believers, God will never abandon you. And God will never withdraw his verdict that
you are declared righteous before Him. And then in verse 39 is the fourth pair, "Nor
height, nor depth." That's another set of polar opposites. "Heights" refer to heaven where God is and
where Satan is allowed to bring accusations against God's elect. Nothing there will ever separate us from the
love of God that's in Christ. "Nor depths" refers to hell itself and the
lower parts of the earth where some demons are already confined and where unbelievers
already are. Nothing in the heights of heaven and nothing
in the depths of hell. And then he has a final single and it is so
all-inclusive and it is so comprehensive. As Paul has already made the case in such
an overwhelming way, but he just concludes with this as kind of a catch-all: "Or any
created thing." That's anyone and everything outside of God
Himself, that there is nothing outside of God that could ever pry you loose from the
saving grace of God. Someone may say, "Well, couldn't you remove
yourself from God's hand?" Excuse me, I thought you were a created thing. This says, "No created thing." You fit in that category. You cannot even remove yourself from the saving
grace of God, and no true believer would even want to remove himself from the saving grace
of God. So, as we come to the end of verse 39, he
just summarizes everything that we just walked through, four pairs and two singles. None of those things, nothing, death, life,
angels, principalities, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth, or any created
thing will be able, will have the power to separate us, to drive a wedge, to create a
divorce between God and us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. From eternity past when He first set His heart
upon us in distinguishing love when He foreknew us and loved us on into eternity future, the
lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. That means there is no end to it. There is no expiration date on it. It has a perpetual shelf life. It will never be expired. God will just keep on loving us and loving
us and loving us, and He will never let go of those who are His own. How anyone could ever think that a believer
could lose His salvation is reading his Bible upside down in a dark room at midnight with
his eyes closed and a veil over his eyes. Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Have you not
read?" He said to the scribes, "Have you not read?" And I would say to anyone who thinks that
they can lose their salvation as a Christian, "Have you not read?" This is a slam dunk airtight argument for
the eternal security of the believer. And there is no other way to possibly read
this. It is out of the entire Bible the strongest
teaching on the eternal security of the believer. So, I end by asking you this question, "Are
you a believer?" You can be in a Ligonier conference but not
be in Christ. You can come to all of this incredible Bible
teaching and have it in your head, but the truth and the reality of it not be in your
heart. And so, I ask you this question as we come
to the end. Have you come to that place in your life where
you have seen that you're a sinner, that the wages of your sin is death, that the curse
of God is upon your life because you have violated His law but that God has sent His
Son into this world to be delivered over to the death of the cross, and there upon the
cross Jesus bore the sins of all those who would put their faith and trust in Him, and
with His death He has satisfied the righteous anger of God toward them, that with that death
He has reconciled holy God to sinful man, and with that death He has paid the penalty
for our sins and secured perfect righteousness that now clothes us from the top of our head
to the bottom of our feet? Have you ever come to that place where you
have humbled yourself before Almighty God and you have said, "Have mercy upon me, the
sinner?" Have you ever looked to Christ? Have you ever come to Christ? Have you ever committed your life to Christ? He is the friend of sinners. And He says, "Him who comes unto Me, I will
in no wise cast out." This moment, the gates of paradise are swung
wide open and if you would take that decisive step of faith and leave behind a world of
self-centeredness and sin and come to the Savior who has come to seek and to save that
which is lost, He would receive you in His arms of love. He would take you unto Himself. He would wash away your sins. He would give you His righteousness. He would live inside of you. He would prepare a place for you in heaven. He would defend you at the right hand of God
the Father. And one day when you die, He would take you
home to the Father, there where you would live forever around the throne of God. That is the greatest offer that has ever been
extended to you. And if you have never received Christ and
that offer, I plead with you to do so this very moment. And you will find in Christ the grace and
the forgiveness and the righteousness that you so desperately need. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved." May that be you today! Let us pray: Father, what a salvation You
have accomplished through Your Son, Jesus Christ! What a salvation You have designed from eternity
past! What a salvation that You have secured to
take us out of this world and into the world to come! We are humbled. We are grateful. We are overwhelmed, and we are filled with
joy for what You have done for us. May these truths in Romans 8 linger long in
our heart and soul! In Jesus' name. Amen.
