The Saints’ Riches

The Saints' Riches

(No. 3204)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 1910.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
NOVEMBER 2, 1862.

"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?" Romans 8:32.

MANY of you, dear Friends, are coming to the Lord's Table at the close
of this service. Our blessed Redeemer instituted that simple but
sublime ordinance so that we might be kept in constant remembrance of
Him. The bread is nothing but bread, yet it is the very suggestive
emblem of Christ's flesh. And it shall be well with you if, after a
spiritual fashion, you shall thus eat the flesh of Christ. The wine is
nothing but wine, yet is it the emblem of Christ's blood. And they are
thrice blessed who experimentally understand the meaning of Christ's
words, "Whoever eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, has eternal life."
Christ is yours, Believer! You know that He is more yours than even
your own life, for that you may lose. When God gave you your existence,
He gave it to you without any covenant as to its prolongation, but He
has given Christ to you by an Everlasting Covenant, to be yours forever
and ever! Christ is yours, Beloved! Oh, that you knew how to make the
best use of this blessed property! Christ is yours to live upon and to
spend, yours to have and to hold, to keep and to enjoy, yours not only
to look at that you may be saved, and to wear that you may be
justified, but yours to eat that you may be refreshed by Him and live
upon Him! Christ is yours to the fullest extent possible! There is no
reservation–He is your absolute, indefeasible and inalienable
property–yours, today, as perfectly as He will be when you are in
Heaven! Yours as certainly as you are His. Oh, that you may now,
knowing that Christ is thus your property, live upon Him, rejoice in
Him and feel that you are, indeed, immeasurably rich!

When we come to this Communion Table, to partake of these emblems of
Christ's death, it will be a very happy thing for us if we remember
that possessing Christ, we have everything. There is no need that you
have which will not be supplied if you really know that Christ is
yours. There is no necessity, however great, which may press upon you
which shall not be instantaneously supplied if Christ is truly yours.
You come to Christ's Table to meet with Christ and you know that when
you have Him, you have everything, so you do well to sing–

"You, O Christ, are all I need"– for in Him you have all that you can
possibly need. And, moreover, the gift of Christ is God's solemn pledge
that He will keep back from you nothing that you really need. "No good
thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." "Whatever you
shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive." Having given you
Christ, He must, He will–with Christ–freely give you all things–

"How vast the treasure we possess!

How rich Your bounty, King of Grace!

This world is ours and worlds to come–

Earth is our lodge and Heaven our home.

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." I am going to make it my business, in
a very simple but earnest manner, to try and exhort the children of God
to cast aside all thoughts of their being poor and to rejoice, now, in
their boundless riches in Christ Jesus!

I. First, let me remind you, Believer, that, whatever you may really
require, God will not deny it to you, for He has

already given you Christ! THINK WHAT THIS GIFT WAS TO THE FATHER–it
was His only-begotten and well-

beloved Son!

Perhaps you have a willful, wayward boy–one who costs you much, but
brings you little comfort–yet, would you like to lose him? If you saw
him in his coffin tomorrow, would you not cry over him as David cried
over his son, "O my son, Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! Would God I
had died for you, O Absalom, my son, my son"? Vile he may be, and a
disgrace to your name, yet he is still your child and you could not
bear to give him up. But what shall I say of the child who, from his
youth up, has been obedient to you? Who, having grown up to manhood,
has become your friend as well as your offspring? Who has been with you
in every holy enterprise and has proved himself to be worthy of his
father's love and esteem? Could you give him up? Mother, you know how
dear is your first-born son to you. Of all griefs that tear a mother's
heart, perhaps the greatest is to lose her first-born. Even if he is
only in his infancy, it is a wound from which the mother's tender heart
does not soon recover. But to lose that son in manhood. To see the hale
strong man suddenly cut down–this is no small sorrow–and many, under
such trying circumstances, have found it no easy task to say, "The Lord
gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

To lose one's child even for some object which is nearest and dearest
to our heart, is pain and grief, indeed. Then what must it have cost
God to give up His Son to die for His people? What must God's love to
His only-begotten Son be? We can only speak of God after the manner of
men, for we know not how otherwise to speak of Him and, inasmuch, as
God is infinitely greater than we are, His love is infinitely greater
than ours! We can only love to the finite degree of which humanity is
capable, but God loves beyond all degree. The heart of God is filled
with fathomless oceans of eternal affection–and this affection has
always been fixed upon His Son! Christ is infinitely more dear to God
than your son can ever be to you because of the greatness of the heart
of the Father who loves His Son who has always been with Him, and ever
His delight, who has never offended Him, who takes His share in all the
Father's plans and who said of old, and says it always, "I delight to
do Your will, O My God."

Besides, Christ is One with His Father in essence. What that mysterious
Unity is, we cannot tell. And how Christ is the Son of God, we do not
know. We know that His Sonship does not imply any inferiority in the
Son, nor that the Father existed before the Son. He was not the Father
till the Son was His Son and the names, "Father," and, "Son," are not
to be understood as they are used among us, although the marvelous,
indescribable relationship which we cannot fully understand cannot be
better expressed than by the terms used, "the Father" and, "the Son."
Again I ask–what must it have cost such a Father's heart to give up
such a Son–a Son so near and so dear to Him? Yet the Father gave up
His Son to die for you and for me, Beloved! Theologians lay it down as
an axiom that God cannot suffer, but I am not sure that they are right.
I cannot understand God's love to me. I cannot rejoice as I should in
His goodness to me unless I believe that the gift of His Son cost His
heart awful pangs. I know that I am treading upon delicate ground and
that I am standing where thick darkness gathers, but I am not certain
that what theologians take for granted is necessarily true. That God
can do everything, I do believe. And I also believe that if He wills to
suffer He can do so. I cannot think of God as an insensible Being when
He gave His Son to die for sinners. I cannot imagine Him giving His
only-begotten Son and feeling no more than a heathen idol of stone
could have done. I think that the Father, in giving up that Son who had
always given Him such intense joy, must have suffered in His Son's
death.

Well then, as God has thus given up His only-begotten and well-beloved
Son, how can He deny anything to you who believe in Him? Do you feel
anxious about the bread that perishes? Is that worthy to be compared
with God's only-begotten Son? Are you concerned about how you are to
get food and clothing? How can God deny you such trifles as these when
He has given you His Son? Perseverance in Grace–is that what you ask?
Even that is but a crumb under the Master's table compared with His
Son! You need certain virtues, you need help in trouble, you need
sustenance under stern difficulties–I know not what you need, but this
I know–all the needs of all of us put together could only make one
little drop in comparison with the tremendous ocean of benevolence
which flowed out of God's heart when He spared not His own Son but
delivered Him up for us all! As we look at Christ, whom God has given
to us, we must believe that, with Him, He will give us whatever we
need!

II. I shall try to knock a second time at the door of your hearts to
comfort you by reminding you how PRECIOUS

CHRIST WAS INTRINSICALLY IN HIMSELF.

The wonder is not only that God gave His Son, but that His Son was what
He was. Paul says He is "over all, God blessed forever." Jesus Himself
said, "Before Abraham was, I Am"–claiming the very name of the eternal
Jehovah. In due time, Christ became Man and, as Man, He was very dear
to His Father. Even His earthly mother could not look upon her Child
with half the affection that His Father had for Him. He was a perfect
Man and, therefore, lovely in His Father's sight. He was, indeed,
Himself God and, therefore, One with the Father even while He was Man.
The loftiest angel could not adequately preach to you upon this
point–unto what, then, shall I liken the preciousness of this gift?
Similes fail me, metaphors I have none, "no mention shall be made of
coral, or of pearls, for the price of Jesus is above rubies." He shall
not be given for gold, no, not for much fine gold. As for topaz, and
onyx, and sapphire, and all other precious stones, these must not be
mentioned in comparison with Him. Paul's expression is the only
appropriate one, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift."
Eternity alone can reveal the value of Christ! By the miseries of the
Hell from which He saves us, let us measure Him! By the bliss of the
Heaven to which He lifts us, let us estimate His worth! By the depths
of ignominy and shame into which He dived, let us conceive of Him! By
the glories He relinquished and by the agonies He bore, let us attempt
to form some faint idea of His value! But this Pearl of Great Price is
so precious that I am bold to say that if Heaven, and earth, and all
the starry orbs could be sold, their united price could not buy such
another pearl as this one which God has given to us in Christ Jesus!

So, Beloved, as God has already given you this priceless pearl, will He
not also give you all else that you need? If a man gave you ten
thousand pounds, would you doubt his willingness to give you a
farthing? If he should give you a munificent income to last throughout
all your life, would you doubt his willingness to give you a penny if
you were ever in need of one? I think I need not attempt to draw the
inference–you can draw it for yourselves. See, then, the wondrous
treasure you possess if you are a Believer in Jesus–God is yours, the
perfect Man is yours, Christ's life, His death, His blood, His
righteousness, His intercession, His Incarnation, His Second Advent are
all yours–and all else that you need. Do but ask boldly, receive
gratefully, wait patiently, hope trustfully and walk rejoicingly, for
as God has given you His Son, shall He not, with Him, also freely give
you all things? Sing with good old John Ryland–

"He that has made my Heaven secure,

Will here all good provide!

While Christ is rich, can I be poor?

What can I need beside?"

III. But now, as a third blow at your unbelief, I want you to remember,
Beloved, THE MANNER IN WHICH THIS

GIFT WAS GIVEN.

The text says, "He that spared not His own Son." A mother may give up
her tall strong son to fight in the army of her country and he may
perish by an enemy's hand. But I cannot conceive of a mother
slaughtering her own son for her country's good! We have wondered as we
have read of Brutus, who, when his sons had entered into a conspiracy
against the Republic, could say, "Lictors, do your duty." The father
saw the corpses of his sons with the pangs of a father, but with the
stern serenity of a judge they had offended–so they must die. Strong
must be a man's sense of justice to be able to overcome his love so as
to give up his own son to die. But our gracious God not only gave up
His Son to die for us, but He was Himself, (if I may use such an
expression), the executioner of Christ. Isaiah tells us in his
wonderful 53rd Chapter, that "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of
us all…It pleased the Lord to bruise Him. He has put Him to
grief…you shall make His soul an offering for sin…We did esteem Him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." This, indeed, was the very
sting of Christ's death, for He cried out in His worst agony, "My God,
My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Oh, what love God must have had to
you and to me, for it overcame His love to His only-begotten Son! So we
read in Zechariah 13:7, "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and
against the Man that is My Fellow, says the Lord of Hosts: smite the
Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." My tongue cannot tell the
story of this marvelous Grace of God to you and to me, but I again
remind you that although God knew that His plan of salvation involved
His smiting His own Son and deserting Him in His hour of deepest need
so that you and I should not perish–the Father smites, and wounds, and
slays His own Son! And there upon the accursed tree, in intense pangs,
unutterable, unknown, the Son of God dies, "the Just for the unjust,
that He might bring us to God."

Well, then, Beloved, as God has given you His Son, will He not also
give you all else that you need? You are about to ask for fellowship
with Christ, but that will not cost the Father the smiting of His Son,
again, so He will surely give it to

you! You are going to ask God for holiness, but it will give Him
pleasure, and nothing but pleasure to make you holy! It will certainly
not involve His lifting up His hand against His only-begotten Son
anymore, so it shall be God's delight to give you your heart's desire!
Having given you His Son, will He not, with Him, give you whatever you
believingly ask of Him? He still says, "Open your mouth wide and I will
fill it." Tell Him what your present need is and you shall have all
that you need. Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you and
He will take all your cares away. Shame on you, Christian, if you shall
give way to sadness–surely you will not let unbelief vex you, now! You
know that God has given Christ for you–then can you fear that He will
deny you anything, or leave you, at last, in trouble to sink? That is
impossible! God forbid that you should slander Him by thinking that He
can so act! What were you saying, poor aged Christian? "I shall want
for bread." How can it be? How can it be? The God who out of His
amazing love to you has smitten His only-begotten Son will certainly
give to you whatever your soul or body may need–

"Seek first His Kingdom's Grace to share.

Its righteousness pursue,

And all that needs your earthly care

Will be bestowed on you!

Why then despond in life's dark vale?

Why sink to fears a prey?

The Almighty Power can never fail,

His love can never decay."

IV. Now, as a fourth stroke of the axe at the root of unbelief, let me
remind you of THE SPIRIT IN WHICH CHRIST WAS GIVEN.

The Father gave His Son, but who asked Him to do so? Not you,
certainly, for even after the Father had given Christ, you despised the
wondrous gift! Who asked Him? No one of the whole human race! The
thought never crossed any created mind. Angels did not throw themselves
down between justice and the sinner and intercede for him. I have never
read of any burning seraph crying to God, "Spare the guilty, Lord,
spare the guilty! Give up Your only-begotten Son to die and let the
guilty live!" I cannot conceive of anyone proposing to the Most High to
make so tremendous a sacrifice. The Father did it according to His own
Sovereign Will, unswayed by anything outside Himself. That
self-sustained, almighty Being deigned to give this matchless
manifestation of His inflexible Justice and His infinite Love to the
sons of men–it was His own conception freely welling up from the deeps
of His own loving heart! Well, Beloved, if He gave His Son unsolicited,
will He not give you all you need, now that you have learned to ask of
Him, now that you understand the art of the widow woman who came to the
unjust judge and can plead with the Lord in holy importunity? Now that
you have been taught to knock and knock again at God's door–as the man
knocked at his friend's door until, at last, he arose at midnight to
give him the loaves he needed–surely He will not deny you what you
ask! As He gave you Christ unasked, unsought–when you were dead in
sin, when you were His enemy, when you hated Him–how much more, now
that you are His son, adopted into His family and taught by His Spirit
to pray and to plead the promises He has given you–how much more will
He give you all things that you need! If you have not, surely it must
be because you ask not, or because you ask amiss. Ask now! Ask in
faith! Ask in the name of Jesus and all your need shall be given to
you!

V. A fifth time let me try to smite down that old giant, Incredulity,
by bidding you remember THE PERSONS TO WHOM THIS GIFT WAS
GIVEN–"delivered Him up for us all.

Not one child of God is left without that gift. Little Benjamin has as
great a share in Christ as Reuben or Judah has. Mr. Ready-to-Halt has
as true an interest in the blood of Jesus as Mr. Greatheart, himself,
has. The ancient Jews, on the day they were numbered, had to each pay
half a shekel as a ransom for their souls. The Lord said to Moses, "The
rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less." The
redemption money was the same for all–and Christ has paid the
redemption money equally for all who believe in Him! Not one of those
whom He bought with His blood is left out! Not one of His chosen, not
one whom He calls, not one whom He justifies–all are redeemed by the
precious blood of Christ. I know you are apt to say, "No doubt the Lord
will give much to So-and-So, for he is an eminent saint, but not to
me." Yet, as He gave Christ to you, why should He not give you all else
that you need? "Oh, but I am so obscure, no one will take notice of
me." Did not the Lord take notice of you when He gave you Christ? Then
why should He not, with Him, freely give you all things?

"Ah," says another, "but I have been such a backslider. Not only my
faith, but all my other graces are so feeble, I do not feel fit to be
numbered with the Lord's people." Ah, poor Heart, that may be true, yet
as God has given you Christ, why should He deny you anything that you
need? I wish I could put this Truth of God in words that would never be
forgotten! I would like to help every heir of Heaven to carry this
Truth with him even to his tomb! It is certain that as you believe in
Christ, He is yours–then it must be equally certain, be you who you
may be, that "all things are yours." Go, you lonely ones, up from the
hour of your mourning! Take down your harps from the willows and make
every string in them praise the name of the Lord! Come, you afflicted
ones, wherever you wander! Come, you who think yourselves
poverty-stricken, and find yourselves infinitely rich in Christ Jesus!
It always delights me to know how many poor people there are, and some
very poor ones, too, who say that this House of Prayer is the happiest
place to which they ever go. Dearly do they love the Truth of God and
the preacher, too, for the Truth's sake. And he often thinks with
gratitude, when other things have failed to cheer him, that there are
poor and needy ones who will come up to the sanctuary, seeking comfort
and finding it, while critics, who come only to judge, will go away
thinking there is nothing notable here. And the wise men of the world
and the disputers will quibble at this, and carp at that, and get no
good out of it at all. But these afflicted and poor people of God know
the joyful sound of His Truth and they walk in the Light of His
Countenance and find it sweet, indeed, to know that Christ is theirs
and that all good is theirs in Christ!

VI. Now let us turn to another argument from THE VALUE OF CHRIST TO US.

What is the value of Christ to us? Christ is to us–I pause, for what
shall I say? I cannot tell all that Christ is to us, for what is He not
to us? He is the Sun of our day! He is the Star of our night! He is our
Life! He is our life's Life! He is our Heaven on earth and He shall be
our Heaven in Heaven! How sweetly does Madame Guyon sing of Christ and
of His exceeding preciousness to her soul! I was reading only
yesterday, an account that she gives of herself and of the persecutions
she endured for Christ's sake. Yet she says that it seemed to her to be
just the same whether she was a prisoner in the Bastille or in the gay
society of Paris, as long as she was in communion with Christ, for
Christ was everything to her! And the Grace-taught Christian will tell
you that he has had his happiest times on a bed of sickness, or when
losses and crosses have come quickly, one upon another! Fellowship with
Christ transforms a desert into a garden, a wilderness into a paradise!
It makes the beggar a prince and sets the prince above the angels. Give
a man, Christ–and this is no dream I speak of, no vision of a heated
imagination, but in sober solemn earnest do I say it–and he has
everything that a Believer can desire! Yes, there is more in Christ
than a Christian can hold and, like good John Welsh, the old
Covenanter, he is ready to cry, at times, when Christ's love is very
sweet to him, "Hold, Lord, hold! For I can bear no more! The joy of
Your love is too great for me!" Beloved of God–not beloved of kings,
though men grow great if they have a king's affection–not beloved of
angels, yet it were no trifle to have a seraph's affection, but Beloved
of Jesus, the eternal Son of God! To have our names written on His
heart and engraved on His hands, oh, how exceedingly precious is Christ
to us!–

"Precious in His death victorious,

He the host of Hell overthrows!

In His Resurrection glorious,

Victor crowned over all His foes!

Precious, Lord! Beyond expressing,

Are Your beauties all Divine!

Glory, honor, power and blessing

Be henceforth forever Thine." Well then, I hope you never set your food
and raiment in comparison with Christ. He who gave you His unspeakable
gift will give you such trifles as those! I hope you never put your
worldly estate, nor even your spiritual comforts, in comparison with
your blessed Lord Jesus, for as God has given you Him, what can He deny
you? Pluck up your heart, poor fainting one! Be of good courage and
face the foe again! You have no armor for your back, so show your
breastplate to your adversary and never even dream of defeat. He who
has brought you thus far and enriched you with such a priceless Gift
can deny you nothing that you really need!

VII. And, lastly, remember THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH GOD GAVE HIS SON,
JESUS CHRIST, FOR US.

His purpose was our salvation and it is inconsistent with all right
ideas of Deity to believe that the purposes of God can be frustrated.
We know that our God made the heavens and the earth and that the Word
of our God shall stand forever. Our God is not a lackey to the will of
men and His purposes are not like footballs to be kicked about as men
may please. What God says, is done! What He commands, stands fast
forever! And what His heart devises, that His hands do. "God is not a
man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should change."
And if He wills to save, none can damn. He has proved the honesty and
sincerity of His purpose to save us by giving us Christ. And if my
faith has laid hold of Christ, and Christ is mine, then I know that it
is God's purpose to save me! And I also know that all things that are
necessary to my being saved must surely be bestowed upon me. I have
never yet been able to put my mind into such a condition as to
understand that God would give Christ to die with the intention of
saving a man–and yet that man would not be saved!

I know that you and I, in ordinary business transactions, are
accustomed to expect, if we pay the price for anything, that we should
have what we buy. I am sure that I could not speculate with another
man's blood–and especially I know that I could make no speculation
with the blood of my own son! I must know beforehand what so great a
sacrifice would effect. In like manner, we believe that God well knew
what Christ's blood would buy, and what Christ's death would
ef-fect–and we cannot think that Calvary was a venture, that the Cross
was a speculation–and that the death of Christ was a lottery. God
forbid! Be of good courage, then, you who are redeemed–not with
corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood
of Christ–all things must be yours! How can He who has already given
Christ to be the Way to Heaven, leave you without shoes for your feet,
or without armor for the fight, or without anything else that you will
need? He who has given the greater must and will give the less! Lay
your many needs before Him. Your plea is a plea that must prevail, a
knock that shall make Heaven's gates ring till the porter shall open
them–and the favor that you need shall be given with open hands!

The only question I have to ask before I have done is this–Is Christ
yours Is Christ yours, my Hearer? Answer "Yes," or "No," tonight! He is
yours, or He is not yours, there is no third answer! Is Christ yours?
Do you say "No"? Alas, poor wretch, how miserable is your state
now!–"condemned already." How wretched shall your state be hereafter,
when, "Depart, you cursed," shall be your sentence! "I know not," says
one, "whether Christ is mine or not." Do you trust Him? This is the
deciding question. If you fully and implicitly trust yourself with
Christ, He is yours! If you rest in any degree upon your own works,
feelings, doings, or willings, He is not yours! But if you take Him now
to be your All-in-All, trusting Him and Him, alone, He is yours and He
shall be yours forever and ever! Let there be no aching heart at this
Communion Table tonight! Let everyone of us come to this feast of love
with joy and gladness because when we can say that Christ is ours we–

"Can smile at Satan's rage, And face a frowning world."

May the Lord give Christ to each one of us and unto Him shall be the
glory world without end! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: ROMANS8:26-39.

Verse 26. Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities. Oh, how many
these are! Lack of memory, lack of faith, lack of earnestness,
ignorance, pride, deadness, coldness of heart–these are some of our
infirmities. But thank God we have the Omnipotent Spirit of God to help
us!

26. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit
itself makes intercession for us with groans which cannot be uttered.
These groans are too deep, too full of meaning to be expressed in
words. There are some things the Christian needs for which he cannot
ask. Perhaps he does not even know what it is that he needs. There is a
vacuum in his heart, but he does not know what would fill it. There is
a hunger in his spirit, but he knows not what the bread is, nor where
the bread is that can satisfy his needs. But the Holy Spirit can
articulate these unuttered groans and the deepest needs of our soul can
thus be brought before God by His own Spirit. You, then, who find it
difficult to pray, do not give up praying! The devil tells you that
such poor prayers as yours are can never reach the ear of God. Do not
believe him! The Spirit helps your infirmities–and when He helps you,
you shall, you mustprevail!

27. 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. [See Sermon #1532, Volume 26–THE
HOLY SPIRIT'S INTERCESSION.] It cannot be supposed that the Father does
not know what is the mind of the Spirit, since they are one God, and,
moreover, inasmuch as the Spirit of God never intercedes for anything
which is not according to God's will, we are sure that our heavenly
Father will grant every Spirit-indited prayer!

28. 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." [See
Sermon #159, Volume 3–THE TRUE CHRISTIAN'S BLESSEDNESS.] Almost
everything in this world looks to us to be in confusion, but to God's
eyes, all is in order. One wave dashes this way and another that, but
they are all working together, and they are all working with one great
purpose, too. Say not, Christian, "All these things are against me."
Ah, poor Soul! This is the verdict of your unbelief, but you will know
better than that one of these days! All things are working for you, and
not one of them is working against you–therefore, be not dismayed.
They are all working together for good to those who love God, to those
who are the called according to His purpose.

29. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of His Son, that He might be

the first-born among many brethren. [See Sermons #355, Volume
7–PORTRAITS OF CHRIST and #1043, Volume 18–GLORIOUS PREDESTINATION.]
That was the very end and object of their predestination that they
might become like Christ, their great perfect elder Brother–

"'Christ, be My first Elect,' He said,

Then chose our souls in Christ our Head

Before He gave the mountains birth

Or laid foundations for the earth!"

30. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called [See Sermon
#241, Volume 5–predestination and calling.] My Soul, have you been
called of God? Has the Spirit of God

ever called you? If so, rejoice in your predestination! Have no doubts
and fears concerning that matter, for He would never have called you if
He had not intended to save you from before the foundation of the
world!

30. And whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified,
them He also glorified. My Soul, do you believe in Jesus?

Have you trusted in His precious blood? Then you are justified! Never
give way, then, to any fears concerning your eternal salvation, for as
surely as there is a Heaven, you shall be a partaker of its
glories–for never was there a soul justified who was not afterwards
glorified!

31. What shall we then say to these things? If God is for us, who can
be against uss'[See Sermon #580, Volume 10–god is with

US.] Have you the world against you, Christian? What is the

opposition of the world when God is on your side? Is your own heart
against you? What then? God is greater than your heart! Is the devil
against you? Ah, he is mighty, but God is Almighty and He shall bruise
Satan under your feet shortly. Paul was no fanatic–he was a man of
great experience and of sound sense–yet he makes nothing of all our
foes when God is on our side!

32. 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?When God
gave us Christ, He gave us everything, for all the blessings of this
life and of the life that is to come lie hidden in Christ as the kernel
is within the shell of the nut! What encouragement we have here for
believing prayer! Christian, Christ is the golden key of God's
treasuries! You have but to use Him aright, and whatever you need shall
be yours!

33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?Here is true
boldness! Paul, who called himself the very chief of sinners dares to
challenge anyone to lay anything to the charge of God's elect! Surely
God can do so. "No," says

Paul–

33. It is God that justifies. He is both Just and the Justifier of all
who believe in Jesus, and they are "God's elect."

34. Who is He that condemns [See Sermons #256, Volume 5–THE BELIEVER'S
CHALLENGE and #2240, Volume 38–A CHALLENGE AND A

SHIELD.] "Why," says one, "Christ, the great Judge, will condemn." No,
that He will not, for–

34. 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.
Christian, as Christ makes intercession for you, He will never condemn
you! Did He shed His blood for you and yet will He cast you into Hell?
Did He rise from the dead for you, and yet will He leave you among the
dead and the lost? Think not so strangely of the Christ of God who is
the same yesterday, and today, and forever–and who will never condemn
those who trust in Him!

35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? They have been tried again and again.

36. It is written, For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter. What was the effect of this
persecution? Were the saints turned away from Christ by it?

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 [See Sermon #2492,
Volume 45–PAUL'S PERSUASION.]