"Peace in Believing"
(No. 2626)
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JUNE 11, 1899.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
FEBRUARY 19, 1882.
"Peace in believing." Romans 15:13.
ON whatever subjects I may be called to preach, I feel it to be a duty
which I dare not neglect to be continually going back to the Doctrine
of the Cross–the fundamental Truth of God of justification by faith
which is in Christ Jesus. This topic is essential to the life of the
soul. Men are not saved but by faith in Jesus and, therefore, to this
great central point we must return again and again and again, hoping
that God will bless His own Word to those who hear it proclaimed. I
notice that some of our friends, who are bakers, have in their shop
windows divers articles of confectionery, and I suppose they have their
set days for making their various kinds of cake and sweetmeats. But one
thing I know they never forget to do and that is to bake, every day, a
batch of bread because, if their customers do not need this or that
confectionery, they always need bread–and what is the good of a baker
if he has no bread? I wish that every preacher felt that, albeit there
are certain things which are sweet and toothsome, which some mouths are
always craving, yet the chief business of the minister, like that of
the baker, is to have a constant supply of good bread. It may be a very
ordinary kind of food.
Some may even call it commonplace and what a mercy it is when bread is
a commonplace thing! I have known some people who would have been glad
if they could place it in common upon their tables, but they have not
been able to get it, and the necessity has grown into a luxury. And
what a mercy it is when the Gospel is a commonplace thing–when you
have so much of it that you really understand it, enjoy it and feed
upon it! It is then as it ought always to be with the true ministry of
the Gospel. So, preacher, whatever you choose to neglect, never neglect
to preach Christ Crucified and the simple, soul-saving precept, "Look
and live."
What if there are some prophetic passages which you cannot understand?
The day shall declare them! What if there are certain deep Doctrines
that are too profound for you? You and your people shall learn them in
eternity, if you learn them not in time! But as for this Doctrine,
that, "he that believes on the Son has everlasting life"–it must be
learned now or never! And if it is not learned now, men will be shut
out of Heaven eternally. Therefore, let this Truth of God be proclaimed
again and again and again! Let it still be preached, even though some
who have itching ears weary of it, for there is an urgent necessity
that it should be made known whether men will hear or whether they will
forbear. Better that the sun should not rise than that Christ should
not be preached! Better that the wheels of time should stand still than
that the name of Jesus should not be sounded forth! Better that the
dews be withheld and the rain fall not again upon the earth, than that
the glorious Gospel of the blessed God be hidden from the sons of men!
So, then, this is my reason for coming to you, again, as I have come so
many hundreds of times before, with the same old message, "Believe and
live." I am comforted by the persuasion that all who are saved by
believing are the most ready to hear this story over and over again. It
is not what I do not know so much as what I do know that I delight to
hear– and many others are of the same opinion as I am in that matter.
It is a curious phase of human nature, but it is true. You may talk to
a congregation about discoveries in the center of Africa and yet you
may lose their attention. But if you speak about the village, or
hamlet, or street in which one of them was born or lived, he will prick
up his ears at once. The very thing that he knows best is that which,
somehow, holds his attention the most. So have I often seen it in the
highest affairs–they who understand the Gospel best are the most ready
to hear of it again and yet again. If I were to take Luther on the
Galatians, intending to give it as a present to someone who would be
sure to appreciate it, I would not bestow it upon a man who was not a
believer in Jesus Christ, or give it to one who did not understand the
Doctrine of salvation by faith–I would hand it over to the man who has
long believed in Christ and found rest in Him–for I would be certain
that the strong and racy utterances of the great Reformer would be
appreciated by him. They love the Gospel most who know it best!
Another thing comforts me, too, namely, that in such a congregation as
this there are always some persons who are just ready to believe. I
throw the fly with confidence because there are always fish rising to
it. God is plowing the hearts of many and so preparing the soul for the
good Seed of the Kingdom! Little children die. Aged mothers are carried
away. There is sickness in the body, or loss in the business, or
suffering of various kinds–all this is the passing of God's great plow
up and down these furrows–and when I scatter the good Seed, I know
that the furrows are gaping for it. They are hungry for it, so they
gladly receive it! Here are many of those who are ordained unto eternal
life to whom the Truth of God concerning "peace in believing" comes as
the very message of God to their soul, the good news that they are most
glad to hear! So they receive it and go on their way rejoicing.
Doubtless, there are some hearers of that kind here right now–oh, that
we may very soon hear of their conversion, for it would gladden our
heart to have such good tidings! Therefore, by the help of God, let us
at once get to our work.
I. And, first, having to talk about faith and one of its sweet
results–for our subject is that faith brings peace to the soul, "peace
in believing"–the first head shall be that IT IS A FILLING PEACE.
In the verse from which our text is taken, the Apostle says, "Now the
God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing," so that the
peace which arises from faith is a filling peace. There is, in the
heart of an awakened man, a great vacuum caused by sin. He is like some
of those great artificial harbors which I have seen, in various places,
out of which they sometimes allow all the water to run and there
remains a dreary expanse of mud. What is the use of it? What is needed
in order to make it of service once more? Why, simply that the tide
should come into it, fill it and cover up all that mud! As I look on
some of you, dear Friends, I know that your heart is just like that
great harbor full of mire. What is to be done for you? What is to be
done withyou? Well, the Grace of God can come in and cover all your
transgressions and your iniquities till they shall never be mentioned
against you ever again! What a blessed peace that is which quiets the
conscience–which takes away the sense of guilt and puts in the place
of it, consciousness of perfect pardon, of justification and of
acceptance before God! This is "peace in believing." It fills the
vacuum that sin has made.
Then this Divine flood, when it has covered that part of our distress,
flows in over our sinfulness as well as our sins, for, in addition to
our actual transgression, there is the defilement of our nature. And
when a man is awakened, it is a cause of moaning and unrest to him that
he not only has sin, but that he issin–that his very nature is a
fountain of evil containing much that is adverse to God and in
alienation from Him. But, by believing, there flows into the heart a
flood of life which removes our death–a purifying stream which takes
away our corruption and we have peace with God, for "we which have
believed do enter into rest" about that matter, too. And though we
sometimes have to cry, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me
from the body of this death?" Yet we "thank God, through Jesus Christ
our Lord," that we are delivered from the dominion of sin and that we
shall, by-and-by, be delivered from the very existence of it and shall
be like unto God in purity and true holiness. That is, indeed, a
blessed peace–a peace that comes of a changed nature, of a renewed
heart and of reconciliation to God.
You will tell me that those blessings are enough to fill a man with
peace and, truly, I think they are. But as when the tide comes in, it
not only rolls up the main stream of the Thames, but it also flows into
every creek and fills every tiny streamlet, so is it with the Grace of
God. There is a black stream that sometimes runs into the river of a
man's life and makes it turbid–that is the fear of death. But, oh, I
have seen the great flood of eternal life come rolling up and drive the
black stream back till all was pure, all was quiet and calm! Is it not
so with the man who believes in Jesus? He loses the fear of death.
Sometimes, instead of fearing it, he almost longs for it! As Mr.
Flavel, when living in sweetest communion with Christ, said, "I never
saw a face more beautiful than that of death when I saw the light from
the face of Christ fall on it. Then I longed to die much more than to
live." And good Dr. Watts sang–
"Oh, if my Lord would come and meet, My soul should stretch her wings
in haste, Fly fearless through Death's iron gate, Nor feel the terrors
as she passed!"
Yes, this "peace in believing" will fill your soul so as to drown the
fear of death!
Perhaps another says, " The fear of life is that which is upon me, the
fear of the troubles incident to my condition and my position among my
fellow men, the fear which arises out of those three questions, 'What
shall we eat? What shall we drink? And how shall we be clothed?'"
Beloved, the peace which comes through believing will chase these fears
away and fill your soul with perfect rest concerning them. Indeed,
these things will seem to you to be only trifles after which the
Gentiles seek–and you will scorn to be troubled by them, for you will
remember that "your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of all
these things," and He will supply your need in His own good time and
way.
Then, sometimes, will come upon us, to break our peace, the cravings of
desire. A man is never perfectly at peace if he is ambitious and
craving for this or that which, as yet, is beyond his reach. "Peace in
believing" makes us say of Christ, "He is all my salvation and all my
desire." He loves us to know that all things are ours and, therefore,
that there is nothing left in the region of desire, for–
"All things are ours–the gift of God– The purchase of a Savior's
blood! While the good Spirit shows us how To use and to improve them
too." Oh, what a blessed, blessed rest it is when a man's desires are
satisfied with the favor of God!
One very natural cause of disturbance of mind is solicitude about our
families–anxiety as to how we shall bring them up in the fear of God,
earnest longing that they may become believers in Christ, honorable
Christian men and women, but Faith learns to bear even this without
having her peace broken, for she pleads the promise, "Unto you, and to
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call." Faith falls back upon the Inspired Word–"But the
mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that
fear Him, and His righteousness unto the children's children, to such
as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do
them." I know of no cause of disquietude which faith will not remove. I
know of no groundswell disturbing the mind which faith cannot quiet. I
know of nothing on earth, in Heaven, in Hell, in time, in eternity, in
life, in death which is not fully met by the Covenant blessings which
are within reach of faith and which faith learns to appropriate. This
"peace in believing" is a sea that has no bottom nor shore–it is a
peace of intense restfulness! Oh, that we were all plunged in it this
very hour!
II. Now, very briefly, let me remind you that, according to the text,
IT IS FAITH'S PEACE that is such a filling peace as I have tried to
describe.
I may be addressing some persons who are needing to find peace for
their souls, but they have never sought faith's peace. There is a false
peace that some get–the peace of carelessness–they do not even think
about eternity. They "count it one of the wisest things to drive dull
care away." They scarcely think of what will happen even a month ahead,
but they say that they are content to live by the day. This is the way
in which the man protects himself when, after the thief has broken into
his house, he covers up his head, lies in bed and thinks that he and
his property must be safe because he cannot hear the burglar at work.
This is the kind of philosophy of men who, when they are ready to fail
in business, shut up their books and never take stock because they
would be so disturbed if they knew their real condition! It is a
beggarly, cowardly kind of peace that is fit for fools and madmen, but
is not fit for you who are reasonable, responsible beings. Oh, I would
scorn to have a peace in my heart which consisted in shutting my eyes!
The truth ought to be faced and, the more dangerous the truth, the more
urgently does it call upon us to look at it! And he is the wise man who
can stand before the truth that frightens most men and, having looked
it in the face, can say, "Now I am not afraid. I am, rather, the more
established in my conviction of my safety, now that I have seen that
which would have destroyed me if it had not been for faith in Christ."
Shun, I pray you, the safety which is but in appearance, and does but
thinly film the deadly ulcer that needs to be eradicated from your
body!
Some others seek a peace which comes of hardihood. They not merely shut
their eyes, but they lie against the Truth of God. "The fool has said
in his heart, There is no God," and he gets peace out of that foolish
and false declaration. Men deny the immortality of the soul. They deny
the Divinity of Christ. They deny the Inspiration of the Bible and so
they think that they shall sew pillows together that shall make it easy
for their heads to rest! Let those do this who dare, but, as for some
of you, you cannot do it, for you know too much and you have felt too
much to ever be self-deceived in such a fashion as that! Can he ever be
an infidel who has seen his mother die joyfully triumphant? Is it
possible for me, for instance, to find a shelter from my sins by
denying that there is any hereafter, when I have stood by the bedside
of saints and seen their ecstasy, and have heard the strange things,
scarcely lawful for a man to utter, which they have told concerning
that which is within the veil? Some of us are spoiled for infidelity,
for we have had familiar communion with the Eternal! We have spoken
with Him, "as a man speaks with his friend" and, therefore, this escape
from thought avails us not! Thank God that it does not avail us, for
the abhorred of the Lord fall into this deep ditch and how seldom do
they come up out of it! May God grant that we may never need to tell a
lie and violate our conscience in order to give it peace! That is not
the rest of faith which I commend to you!
Some have tried to get peace from self-confidence. They think they are
as good as others, if not rather better. As they see those who are mere
professors of religion, they thank God that they are not professors of
religion, for they are not hypocritical and, therefore, they do not
pretend to be what they are not. Yet there is often a worm at the root
of that proud boasting and, in your sober moments, you who talk in this
fashion do not really think thus of yourselves. You are not insane and
you know that you are not doing that which is pleasing to God, or
living to His Glory. Self-righteousness is sometimes a delusion, but it
generally begins by a man's attempting to delude himself. But there is
no real peace to be obtained by any works that we can perform, or by
the pretense that we have performed works which are meritorious in the
sight of God. There is no promise of peace to come in this fashion.
But, perhaps, you have patched up your self-righteousness with a few
ornaments stolen from the Church of God. Were you, as an infant,
"baptized" and made "a member of Christ, a child of God, and an
inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven"? Have you been confirmed, and taken
the "sacrament"–as it is wrongly called–and is there not much
efficacy in that? Sirs, listen to me! There is nothingin it! There is
nothing whatever in it unless you have first believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ! Or, if there is anything in it, you have participated in
ordinances to which you had no right, for these things are only for
Believers–and if you have not believed in Jesus, you are intruders
into His Church and you have stolen from His altar that which He
reserves for His own people–and little advantage will this be to you.
Beware of trusting in your church-going, or your chapel-going, or your
Tabernacle-going! Beware of trusting in your prayers, or your Bible
reading, in your hymns and holy thoughts and almsgivings. They are all
lighter than vanity and, as chaff from the fan of the winnower, shall
they be blown away! There is no peace in them though you multiply them
as the sand upon the seashore. Our text speaks of "peace in believing,"
and there is no peace worthy of the name that is to be found in any
other way!
III. But now, thirdly, this "peace in believing" is A WELL-FOUNDED
PEACE. But what is it?
It is, first, a peace which is the result of believing the Word of God,
who cannot lie. God, the ever-blessed Father, says, "Listen to Me. I
have given My Well-Beloved Son to be a Savior to you. Trust in Him and
you shall be saved." I trust in Him and I am saved. How do I know that?
Why, because God said so! And God cannot lie! Is there any better
foundation for peace in this world than the Word of God? What God has
spoken must be true. "Let God be true and every man a liar." And I,
believing what He has said, have a right to all the peace that can come
out of that sure Word which I have believed!
Remember, too, that this Word of God comes to us by the Inspiration of
the Holy Spirit. If you do not believe that Book to be Inspired, I have
nothing to say to you just now. But most of us do believe that every
part of it is "God-breathed." Well, then, knowing that Book to be the
Infallible Word of God, if we get peace through believing what is in
that Book, we have sure ground to stand upon! Either the Book is a lie,
or else our faith is fully warranted, and our peace is perfectly
justified. Oh, what a blessed thing it is to feel that you have
Scripture at your back! Many saints that I have read of have asked,
when dying, to have their fingers laid upon some precious promise of
the Word, and they have thus witnessed to their conviction that the
passage was the very Truth of God to their souls. One said, "Guide me
to that glorious Eighth of Romans." Another had his finger laid upon
this text, "Him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." And
another on this verse, "Yes, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me, Your rod and
Your staff they comfort me." You know how you take one another's word
and trust to it. And when you get a note of hand in black and white
from a good tradesman, you do not mistrust it. Then, shall we ever
mistrust the black and white of God–the record of His dear Son which
He has given us in Holy Scripture? No! Nor will we mistrust the peace
that comes into our heart through believing it!
And then, my Brothers and Sisters, also mark that our peace is founded
on God's testimony concerning His Son. He tells us, in this Book, that
the Only-Begotten took upon Him human form and came down among
men–that being here,
He lived the life of a servant and, at the last, taking upon Him man's
sin and as the Substitute for guilty men, He went up to the Cross and
there bore His Father's wrath, dying in the place of the guilty, "the
Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." I recollect how I
grasped that Truth of God when I first understood it–it was that
Doctrine of Substitution which brought peace to my troubled spirit. I
saw that if Christ died for me, then I should not die! And that, if He
paid my debt, it was paid and I was clear! And I knew that this was the
case as soon as I believed in Him. So I did believe in Him and I was
filled with "peace in believing." And that "peace in believing" meets
every need of the heart. Are you troubled? "All things work together
for good to them that love God." Are you afraid that you shall fall?
Rest content about that, also, for, "He will keep the feet of His
saints." Are you afraid that you shall ultimately perish? Has He not
said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and
I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of My hand"?
Our faith is, indeed, well-founded, and can be abundantly justified!
Faith in Christ is nothing but common sense of sanctified of God. It
may be common sense to trust some banker who has long maintained his
credit and not to be always worrying about whether he is solvent or
not, but it is infinitely greater common sense to trust God–to trust
His Son– to trust His Spirit–to trust His Word! If you trust these,
you shall enjoy a calmness of spirit which will not be the effect of a
mistaken confidence, but the result of the most glorious facts–a peace
which may be questioned and cross-questioned, examined and
cross-examined, but the answer it shall give to all enquiries will be
satisfactory. Faith's building may be searched, tried and tested from
foundation to top stone, but no flaw shall be found in any part of it.
It is a good, wise, true, just and proper thing to trust the Lord Jesus
Christ–and so to have "peace in believing!"
IV. I have done when I have noticed just one more point, namely, that I
believe this "peace in believing" to be A MOST FRUITFUL PEACE.
I wish you all knew it, for, first, it makes even this world a better
and a happier place. It takes the sting out of all troubles to have
"peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." There is no man who is
so ready to cope with the troubles of life as the one who knows that
all is right for eternity. Some of you often get worried in your daily
calling and when you come home from business, you cannot rest. When you
go to bed, you cannot sleep, for there is within you a fear of death
and of a dreaded something after that. But suppose that a man can say,
"That matter is all settled"–
'Tis done! The great transaction's done! I am my Lord's, and He is
mine!– "I have trusted myself with Christ, and I know that He is able
to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day"? He goes
to his business feeling that he has a burden off his shoulders–the
great burden he had so long carried– and he is ready for anybody and
ready for anything! If you set a man to run up a hill and lay heavy
weights on his back, he must make slow work of it. Take off those
weights and now watch him! Why, he turns into a gazelle and he leaps
from crag to crag when the burden is gone! Ah, dear Friends, if you
were relieved of your burdens, your very office work would grow
lighter! Your bargaining would be more wisely done! You would be able
to deal better with your fellow men when you have come to your proper
position before God and all is made right there.
This peace with God is fruitful in the growth of all other Graces. Have
you a garden? If so, have you some fruit trees in it? Do you dig them
up every year? Do you take them out of the ground two or three times in
a season, and carry them about the garden and then plant them in a
fresh spot? If so, I would not give you a penny for all your fruit! But
when you plant your tree in good soil and it is well-watered and
fertilized, when the fruit-bearing season comes, there is your fruit.
It is a blessed thing to get the very roots of your being entwined
around Christ–now you can grow, now you can bring forth fruit! Now you
will get patience. Now you will get hope. Now you will get love and
soon you will get full assurance! You will have the work of
sanctification going on, you will be more and more consecrated and
devoted to Christ– and you will become "strong in the Lord, and in the
power of His might." God give you "peace in believing," that you may
grow in every other Grace!
And this, I know, will help you to serve others. A man who is enjoying
the blessings of true religion, living init and living onit, wants
other people to know about it and to share it with him. I think that
nobody would give a recommendation to a new kind of food which he did
not like, himself, and which did him no good. He would say, "Well, if
this is intended to keep me from being ill, I would rather be ill than
eat it! I certainly shall not recommend it to others." But he that has
eaten it, loves the flavor of it and finds that nourishment comes from
it, says to his friend, "You are getting emaciated, and thin, and
debilitated as I was–you should try what I have tried." He is sure to
commend it because it has done so much for him. And when we enjoy the
Gospel, we are sure to recommend it to others. God's happy people are
God's working people! Those who fear and tremble and never have any joy
in the Lord are generally a barren generation. But they who delight
themselves in the Lord are sure to speak of Him to others and to bring
others to Christ!
Lastly, I believe that "peace in believing" is one of the best
instrumentalities for bringing others to Christ. If you are soon to be
very happy in a time of trial–if you are known to be very patient in
great pain–and especially if the Lord helps you to be triumphant in
the solemn article of death, you will be a soul-winner! Those who come
round your bed will never forget the joyous look on your face–it will
be a life-long sermon to them. I do not advise you to sit up like
Addison and make a show of it, and say, "Come see how a Christian can
die!" No, that is a style of thing I do not admire. But when you can
honestly, straightforwardly, without any parade, sweetly fall asleep in
Jesus Christ, triumphantly entering into Glory and let those around you
hear your shout of victory as you enter in to be "forever with the
Lord"–if you can do that, the memory of it will abide–and those who
were unconvinced, before, are most likely to be decided! While those
who never hesitated will be more than ever confirmed in the faith!
In conclusion, to gather up all in a word, you who have no peace may
have it even now. Believe! That is, trust! Trust Jesus with your souls
and you shall have "peace in believing." And you who have it, though it
is somewhat broken, may have it to the fullest! Where you obtained your
first peace, you can get more! Where peace has only trickled in, it can
come pouring in, it can rush in like a Heavenly deluge and flood your
entire nature, to the praise and glory of your gracious God! May He
make it to be so, for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: ROMANS 8:14-39.
Verse 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God. Leading implies following and those who are enabled to
follow the guidance of the Divine Spirit are most assuredly children of
God, for the Lord always leads His own children. If, then, you are
following the lead of God's Spirit, you have one of the evidences of
sonship!
15. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but
you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The spirit of bondage is the spirit of servants, not of sons–but that
servitude is ended for us who are made free in Christ Jesus. We are no
longer afraid of being called the children of God. We are not afraid of
our own Father–we have a filial fear of Him, but it is so mixed with
love that there is no torment in it. Whether Jew or Gentile, we cry,
"Abba, Father."
16. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God. Our spirit knows that we are God's children and then
God's Spirit adds His testimony to the witness of our spirit that we
are the children of God.
17. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we map be also glorified
together. This would not necessarily be true of any man's family, for
he might have children who were not his heirs. But in God's family, all
who are born into it are born "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ." We must take our part of Christ's portion–His portion here,
and His portion hereafter–the rule for us who are in Him shall be,
"share and share alike." He Himself has said, "Where I am, there shall
also My servant be." And all that He has, He will divide with us. Are
you willing, dear Brothers and Sisters, to take shares with Christ? If
not, then I question whether you can be rightly reckoned among His
saints.
18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. '
'Light afflictions" are contrasted with "an exceeding weight of glory."
Temporary afflictions, but for a moment, are to be followed by
everlasting crowns that fade not away. What a contrast!
19. For the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the
manifestation of the sons of God. All creation is, as it were, watching
and waiting on tiptoe for the day when God shall manifest His sons and
daughter, who, at present, are hidden. In due time, they shall come
forth, acknowledged of God, and then shall the whole creation rejoice!
20-23. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but
by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope, because the
creature itself shall also be delivered from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the
whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. And not
only they, but ourselves, also, which have the first fruits of the
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. We have already obtained
salvation for our souls, but our body is still under bondage–subject
to weariness–to pain, to infirmity–to death. But, by-and-by, with the
new creation, our newly-molded bodies shall be fit to live in the new
world and fit for our newborn souls to inhabit. This is the full
redemption for which we are waiting!
24-28. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for
what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for what we
see not, then do we with patience wait for it Likewise the Spirit also
helps our infirmities: for we knownot what we shouldpray for as we
ought: but the Spirit itselfmakes intercession for us with groans which
cannot be uttered. And He that searches the hearts knows what is the
mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints
according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to
His purpose. "We know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
That is a wonderfully positive statement, Paul! There are certain
persons, nowadays, who say that we knownothing, yet the Apostles
constantly say, "We know this" and, "We know that." These people tell
us that there is a great distinction between believing and
knowing–but, evidently it is a distinction of which the Inspired
Apostles knew nothing at all! Read the Epistles of John and note how he
continually says, "We know, we know, we know," and how frequently he
adds, "We believe," as though believing and knowing were the same
thing! Agnostics may declare that they know nothing, if they please,
but, as for us who do know, because we believe what we are taught of
God in this Book, we will speak! He who has something to say has a
right to say it! We know and therefore we speak!
Mark, Brothers and Sisters, how the Apostle speaks here. He does not
say that all things shall work together for good. No, but that they do
work together. They are nowworking for your present good. This is not
merely something which shall eventually turn out right–right now it is
all right! "We know that all things are working together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called according to His
purpose." No sooner does the Apostle mention that word, "purpose," than
he must begin a long discourse upon it. He was not afraid or ashamed to
speak of the purposes of God! There are some preachers who say nothing
about God's purposes, or God's decrees–they seem to be afraid of
them–they say it is "Calvinistic doctrine." Why, it was here, in the
Scriptures, long before Calvin was born! So what right have they to
call it by hisname? Listen to what the Apostle has to say–
29, 30. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called:
and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them
He also glorified. There is no separating these golden links of love
and mercy! That foreknowledge, to which all future things are open and
present, begins the deed of love. Predestination comes in and chooses a
people for God who shall be eternally His. Upon this, in due time,
follows effectual calling by which the chosen ones are brought out,
from the impure mass of mankind, and set apart unto God. Then follows
justification by faith, through the precious blood and righteousness of
Jesus Christ! And where this is, glory will certainly come, for "whom
He justified, them He also glorified."
31, 32. What shall we say, then, to these things? If God is 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?
Notice, it is not simply "freely give us all things," but, "with Him,
also freely give us all things." You shall get all things with Christ,
but you shall get nothing without Christ, for all the other gifts come
in this one! God first gave us His Son and He gives us everything in
Him.
33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God who
justifies. Ring out the challenge in Heaven itself! Trumpet it through
all the caverns of Hell! Let the whole universe hear it! "Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect?" None can, for "it is God who
justifies," and His justification blocks every charge that is brought
against His people–
"Who shall the Lord's elect condemn? 'Tis God that justifies their
souls And mercy, like a mighty stream, O'er all their sins divinely
rolls."
34. Who is he that condemns?None will answer to that challenge, for
34, 35. It is Christ that died, yes, rather, that is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Oh, this blessed
question–this touching question! It seems to come at the end of all
the others–a rear-guard which effectually prevents our treasures from
being taken from us. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"
35. Shall tribulation?That has been tried. Have not the saints been
beaten like wheat upon the threshing-floor? Has not affliction been to
them a stern test of the reality of their faith? But Christ has loved
them none the less for all the suffering that He has permitted to fall
upon them.
35. Or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? When they have been in famine or poverty, has Christ ever
forsaken His saints? Ah, no–He has loved them all the more! Have any
of these things separated us from our Savior? No, but they have, to our
own consciousness, knitted us even more closely to our Divine Lord.
Cruel men have tried every form of persecuting the saints of God. They
have been more inventive in the torments which they have applied to
Christians than in almost anything else! Yet no torture, no rack, no
imprisonment has ever divided them from Christ. They have clung to Him
after the manner of John Bunyan, who, when they said that he might go
free if he would promise not to preach the Gospel, said, "I will lie in
prison till the moss grows on my eyelids rather than I will ever make
such a promise as that! If you let me out of prison today, I will
preach tomorrow, by the Grace of God."
36. As it is written, For your sake we are killed all the day long; we
are accounted as sheep for the slaughter But there has been no triumph
over the saints in this case.
37-39. No, 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–
"Not all that men on earth can do, Nor powers on high, nor powers
below, Shall cause His mercy to remove, Or wean our hearts from Christ
our love." Glory be unto His holy name! Amen.