Our second point rises before us WHEREIN ARE BELIEVERS DEFICIENT? It is as when a man doth marry. She will retain evil, she will lose good. I pray you never think lightly of the supplications of your anguish. There is a result to come of it of the best kind. Is it wisdom to stand in opposition against him? And then he adds this blessed argument, "Father those for whom I plead are thine own children, and thou lovest them as much as I do," yea, "thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me." Hope operated spiritually upon our spiritual faculties, and so does the Holy Spirit, in some mysterious way, divinely operate upon the new-born faculties of the believer, so that he is sustained under his infirmities. It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us" Romans 8:34 . Directions for our behaviour, as members of civil society, Rom. Why, I see you, sirs, if there is a new and perilous work to be done for Christ, you like to be in the rear rank this time; if there were something honourable, so that you might ride on with your well caparisoned steeds in the midst of the dainty ranks ye would do it; but to leap into certain annihilation for Christ's sake Oh! Thus much upon the sacred end of predestination. Say not, "In my baptism, wherein I was made a member of Christ, and a child of God." And yet it is within reach of every truly penitent sinner. Now that which God reads in the heart and approves of for the word to "know" in this case includes approval as well as the mere act of omniscience what God sees and approves of in the heart must succeed. Do you curse your father, who so wisely watched over you? What does he say upon it? Ye are of God, little children, and the whole world lieth in the wicked one. Why, Paul, Satan will bring thundering accusations against thee; art thou not afraid? In the volume of the Book it is written of him: "I delight to do thy will, O my God! The text speaks "of the mind of the Spirit." There is an amazing glory in reserve for us, and though as yet we cannot enter upon it, but in harmony with the whole creation must continue to groan and travail, yet the hope itself should minister strength to us, and enable us patiently to bear "these light afflictions, which are but for a moment." EP-1975 784dbl.col.pp. How can we deserve anything from the being we hate? In his light shall we see light: I pray, therefore, that we may be helped of the Spirit while we consider his mysterious operations, that we may not fall into error or miss precious truth through blindness of heart. Oratory may stand back, and eloquence may hold her tongue. We heard of abundant harvests, but we soon discovered that they were all a dream, and that there would be scant in the worker's cottage. So it is true; we constantly forget that salvation is by grace alone. Has the Spirit operated in my heart in a manner to which flesh and blood never can attain? Silently the forest groweth, anon it is felled; but all the while between its growing and felling it is at work. Now the apostle adds two more expressions, "nor height, nor depth." See, brethren, he enters into glory, but not for himself alone, for it is written, "Whither the forerunner is for us entered." You have felt as sure about the promise as you felt about the trial. It is astonishing where men will go to seek salvation. It is the free man that has been brought out of Egypt, who proves that he has been called of God and is precious to the heart of the Most High. But the man that yearns after more holiness, the man that sighs after God, the man that groans after perfection, the man that is discontented with his sinful self, the man that feels he cannot be easy till he is made like Christ, that is the man who is blessed indeed. that we might stamp it with truth, and that God might help us to impress upon its wings some proof that it has not flown by neglected and unheeded. This is a 12-16 week, in-depth study of Romans 8, averaging less than 3 verses per week (there are 12 weekly preparation guides, but leaders should allow some discussions to take one and a half or two weeks). We may be brought into such perturbation of mind, and perplexity of heart, that we do not know how to pray. If thou art this day an heir of heaven, remember, man, thou wast once the slave of hell. "Ah!" Can ye say, "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I desire to keep all thy commandments, and to walk blamelessly in thy sight. Second, the people being described as having no katakrima are not all who believe in Christ for everlasting life, but a particular type of believer. O brethren, what honors are ours! Do observe with care the fact that he is always described in heaven as sitting down. I want you to notice that Paul does not even rest his confidence as to the believers' safety upon the fact that they are able to say, "We have trusted in Christ; we have loved Christ; we have served Christ." Wherefore, seek the Lord now ere it be too late. In Hebrews 3:1 , you find this sentence. Though the sins of the whole world should press on any one of these sacred columns, it would never break nor bend. The various rebellions of nations, the heavings of society, the strife of anarchy, the tumults of war all, all these things, overruled by God, have but made the chariot of the church progress more mightily; they have not failed of their predestinated purpose "good for the people of God." Bible > Romans > Chapter 8 > Verse 35 Library Free Downloads eBibles Romans 8:35 We all know that the word "carnal" here signifies fleshly. But my counsel would say, "Now just be quiet, my dear sir, you perhaps may plead more earnestly than I can, because it is for your own life, but then you do not understand the law, you will make some blunder or other, and commit yourself and spoil your own cause." 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. how ought we day by day to seek, by living unto God, to acknowledge the debt we owe to him; and, if we cannot pay him the principal, yet to give him some little interest upon the talent which he has lent to us, and upon those stupendous mercies which he has granted to us. 3. Remember, it is not the one thing alone that is for your good; it is the one thing put with another thing, and that with a third, and that with a fourth, and all these mixed together, that work for your good. To the Christian, however, the highest good he can receive on earth is to grow in grace. In English history, the days of Mary, when the saints at Smithfield bore witness for Christ at the stake, were grand days; and in Madagascar, did you ever read a more thrilling story than the record of the bravery of those Christian men and women who suffered the tyrant's cruelty? My hands have never been stained with the blood of any man." That prayer which came from heaven will certainly go back to heaven. Now here is a proof that the Christian cannot be condemned, because the blood is on the mercy-seat. Is the carnal mind at enmity against God? Come let us at the sovereignty which has called us, and let us remember the words of the apostle, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence. The comforting truth of Romans 8:28 is based especially on God's sovereignty. Oh! So far as mere prescience goes, every man is foreknown, and yet no one will assert that all men are predestinated to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus. If not, tremble, for there are but two vast families in this world. The more I have read it, the more certainly have I come to the conclusion that this is one of the things in Paul's epistles to which Peter referred when he said, "Wherein are some things hard to be understood." For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of low, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. That shows that this is used as an argument drawn from something mentioned before. "You know how you used to blaspheme his name." Whether you will receive it, or not, must rest with yourselves. Brethren, we can confidently say, then, hearing such a testimony as that, "We know that all things work." Then, remember, it cannot be; when you refuse the one, you relinquish all claim to the other. He had not time so much as to eat bread, full often, so eager was he to accomplish all his work. How many an event has seemed to be conflicting in its day, that has worked out good for us? : I took pleasure in sin; but, "he, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame." I know this I believe God was at work with my heart for years before I knew anything about him. There is but one that can claim the heir's rights, and the heir's title. Now, I speak with bated breath. Some esteem it nothing. It was evermore most clear that he acted towards God as a son towards a father. I think you will see that, like links in a chain, these different truths draw each other on the spirit of adoption proves the fact of adoption; by the act of adoption we are children; if children then heirs; if heirs, heirs of God; but since there is another heir, we must therefore be joint heirs with Christ Jesus. I do not find them either in the English version or in the Greek original. It is his business to be the accuser of the brethren, and he carries it on with very great vigour. And when he surroundeth thee with favors, girdeth thee with mercies, encircleth thee with loving kindness, dost thou hate him for this? When, indeed, we are in our bewilderment almost driven to give up prayer, the whisper of his love drops a live coal from off the altar into our soul, and our hearts glow with greater ardour than before. We have the witness of the Spirit within, bearing witness with our spirits that we are born of God. ", II. Let us make sure that the foundation is laid, but let us not have continually to lay it again. He is in an enemy's house; for he is at enmity with God. We shall see his face; the devils in hell cannot hinder it; we shall possess the promised rest, still the fiends that are beneath shall not rob us of the heirloom. Would that he would be merciful and pass them by without an atonement! Yet these are the strongest forces imaginable death, life, angels, principalities, powers, the dreary present and the darker future. It makes all brethren who feel its power. The whole creation is fair and beautiful even in its present condition. We are to be conformed to the image of his Son, fifthly, as to our inheritance for he is heir of all things, and what less are we heirs of, since all things are ours? He see the disease, but the name of the medicine is not known to us. If you have proved by your works that the grace of God is within you, God will not forget you; he will not leave you, he will not cast you away. For memory graspeth with an iron hand ill things, but the good she holdeth with feeble fingers. Oh! There is a third thing in which we are deficient, namely, liberty, the glorious liberty of the children of God. Those of us who have passed through any spiritual conflicts know that Satan is a terribly real personage. In the golden age of Rome, if a man were tempted to dishonesty, he would stand upright, look the tempter in the face, and say to him, "I am a Roman." In the previous chapter, Paul was writing to some who ought to have been teachers, but who needed still to be taught the first principles of the gospel; they were such babes in grace that they needed the milk of the Word, the very simplest elements of gospel truth, and not the strong meat of solid doctrine. But when it has attacked us, and done its worst, there comes in the majesty of divine sovereignty. And let the idle and slothful remember that they are a great anomaly; they are blots in the great work-writing of God; they mean nothing; in all the book of letters with which God has written out the great word "work," they are nothing at all. his Allmightiness is ours. A thorn in the flesh may be as painful a thing as a sword in the bones, and yet we may go and beseech the Lord thrice about it, and getting no answer we may feel that we know not what to pray for as we ought; and yet it makes us groan. Now, I am not sure that the doctor is perfectly right. Is there a place into which your Master went that you would be ashamed to enter? His interpretation of it is a groan, and that is all. Only the sinner, the awakened sinner, can be at all assured that he has been called; and even he, as he gets older in grace, must look for those higher marks of the high heavenly and holy calling in Christ Jesus. 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