The closing verses of a great chapter
Chapter 8 is also the closing chapter of a great section of Romans:
Sin - chps 1 to 3
Salvation - chps 3 to 4
Sovereignty - chp 5
Struggle - chps 6 +7
Sanctification - chp 8
Romans chp 8 verses 31 to 38:
- Saved
- Satisfied
- Secure
Saved
Full “all things” (8:32)
A God who gives up His Son or me will hardly withhold any good thing from me!
The nature of God towards His own is that He cannot withhold any good thing! Even if that good thing is something I might want or desire!
The only reason we have such a full salvation is that I have a full Christ!
‘Everything’ comes in a package with Christ
Don’t think that this is Christ plus a lot of other things
I have a difficulty with this idea: Col 1:16; 1:19; 2:9; 3:11
What God offers at Calvary is all of what God has for me
God offers a full Christ
Everything I can receive from God is only in Christ
All God has for me is in Christ and with Christ
If I don’t like Christ God has nothing else for me!
Free “freely give us” (8:32)
Why does salvation have to be by grace through faith?
We sometimes say to the unsaved that it must be this way because what could we offer to God in exchange for our soul or in repayment for our sin?
Here is a deeper reason.
If the sacrifice for my sin requires the giving of Gods son what could I ever do to compel or force the God of heaven to give up His only Son for me?
What could a man, mere dust and ashes do to justify God giving His Son for me?
It is unthinkable!
Such a sacrifice must be given in Grace alone
Such a salvation must be received by Grace alone
This Grace casts its shadow over all of the Christian life:
we are saved by Grace (Acts 15:11; Eph 2:8; Rom 3:24) - the first mention in the Bible of Grace is Gen 6:8 “Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord” and the last mention in the OT is in Zech 12:10 - Grace to come to Christ
we are sustained by Grace (2 Co12:9; 2 Tim 2:1; Acts 14:26)
we are satisfied by Grace (Jo 1:16; Rom 5:17)
we are strengthened by Grace (2 Tim 2:1)
we are shaped by grace (1 Co 15:10)
‘Grace and peace’ becomes the characteristic greeting for Christianity in the NT
Finished “delivered” (8:32)
Where did you get ‘finished’ from?
Consider Heb 10:12,14
In English we have past tense, present tense and future tense
In Greek we have extra tenses including one we find in Rom 8:32 - the aorist or point tense
“but delivered” is an aorist tense
A complete and completed work - once and for all
Satisfied
Here lies the secret of Christian contentment - to be satisfied with Christ
Secret of contentment satisfied with what God has given me in Christ
Isaac - the son given on the altar and in resurrection
Joseph - the son at the right hand of the throne
Samuel - the son given to ministry in the temple
Secure
All of this security flows out of the sovereignty of God in election
If there is no Divine Sovereign individual election then there is no eternal security
cf. John 10:25ff
If anyone ever tries to rob you of Divine Sovereign unconditional election remember they are also robbing you of eternal security
Don’t let them steal it!
The foundation of our security: “if God be for us” (8:31)
Of great importance as we go into Roms 9 - behind election to salvation lies this motive: “the love of Christ” (8:35) and “the love of God” (8:39)
“more than conquerors through Him” (8:37):
If I am a conqueror - I fight and I win
If I am a conqueror through Him - I fight and He wins : eg David and Goliath, Joshua and Jericho and Gideon and the Midianites
If I am more than a conqueror through Him - He fights and He wins.
This has the effect of transforming even my greatest disappointments and tragedies!
Consider:
Stephen (Acts 7:55ff) - received by Christ
Paul (2Tim4:6-8) - looked for a crown of righteousness
Smyrna (Rev2:10) - Gained a crown of life
The crown is there and waiting What do I do? He has fought and won!
Notes from our bible study teaching series of messages preached systematically, verse by verse, through Paul's letter to the Romans. Free to download audio mp3 recordings of this sermon and other sermons are available at the end of this blog and on the website page.
Yours by Grace in Christ
Dr J Stewart Gillespie