Sermon 3204. 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 thatsimple but sublime ordinance so that we might be kept in constant remembrance of Him. The bread is nothing but bread, yetit is the very suggestive emblem of Christ's flesh. And it shall be well with you if, after a spiritual fashion, you shallthus eat the flesh of Christ. The wine is nothing but wine, yet is it the emblem of Christ's blood. And they are thrice blessedwho 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 youyour existence, He gave it to you without any covenant as to its prolongation, but He has given Christ to you by an EverlastingCovenant, to be yours forever and ever! Christ is yours, Beloved! Oh, that you knew how to make the best use of this blessedproperty! Christ is yours to live upon and to spend, yours to have and to hold, to keep and to enjoy, yours not only to lookat 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 liveupon Him! Christ is yours to the fullest extent possible! There is no reservation-He is your absolute, indefeasible and inalienableproperty-yours, today, as perfectly as He will be when you are in Heaven! Yours as certainly as you are His. Oh, that youmay now, knowing that Christ is thus your property, live upon Him, rejoice in Him and feel that you are, indeed, immeasurablyrich!

When we come to this Communion Table, to partake of these emblems of Christ's death, it will be a very happy thing for usif we remember that possessing Christ, we have everything. There is no need that you have which will not be supplied if youreally know that Christ is yours. There is no necessity, however great, which may press upon you which shall not be instantaneouslysupplied if Christ is truly yours. You come to Christ's Table to meet with Christ and you know that when you have Him, youhave 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 isGod's solemn pledge that He will keep back from you nothing that you really need. "No good thing will he withhold from themthat 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 exhortthe children of God to cast aside all thoughts of their being poor and to rejoice, now, in their boundless riches in ChristJesus!

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 losehim? If you saw him in his coffin tomorrow, would you not cry over him as David cried over his son, "O my son, Absalom! Myson, 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 beenwith you in every holy enterprise and has proved himself to be worthy of his father's love and esteem? Could you give himup? Mother, you know how dear is your first-born son to you. Of all griefs that tear a mother's heart, perhaps the greatestis 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 notsoon 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 bethe 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 mustit 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 speakof God after the manner of men, for we know not how otherwise to speak of Him and, inasmuch, as God is infinitely greaterthan 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 affectionhas always been fixed upon His Son! Christ is infinitely more dear to God than your son can ever be to you because of thegreatness of the heart of the Father who loves His Son who has always been with Him, and ever His delight, who has never offendedHim, 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, OMy God."

Besides, Christ is One with His Father in essence. What that mysterious Unity is, we cannot tell. And how Christ is the Sonof God, we do not know. We know that His Sonship does not imply any inferiority in the Son, nor that the Father existed beforethe Son. He was not the Father till the Son was His Son and the names, "Father," and, "Son," are not to be understood as theyare used among us, although the marvelous, indescribable relationship which we cannot fully understand cannot be better expressedthan 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 sucha 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 layit 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. Icannot rejoice as I should in His goodness to me unless I believe that the gift of His Son cost His heart awful pangs. I knowthat I am treading upon delicate ground and that I am standing where thick darkness gathers, but I am not certain that whattheologians take for granted is necessarily true. That God can do everything, I do believe. And I also believe that if Hewills 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 cannotimagine Him giving His only-begotten Son and feeling no more than a heathen idol of stone could have done. I think that theFather, 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 inHim? Do you feel anxious about the bread that perishes? Is that worthy to be compared with God's only-begotten Son? Are youconcerned about how you are to get food and clothing? How can God deny you such trifles as these when He has given you HisSon? 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 tremendousocean of benevolence which flowed out of God's heart when He spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all! As welook 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 Manand, as Man, He was very dear to His Father. Even His earthly mother could not look upon her Child with half the affectionthat His Father had for Him. He was a perfect Man and, therefore, lovely in His Father's sight. He was, indeed, Himself Godand, therefore, One with the Father even while He was Man. The loftiest angel could not adequately preach to you upon thispoint-unto what, then, shall I liken the preciousness of this gift? Similes fail me, metaphors I have none, "no mention shallbe made of coral, or of pearls, for the price of Jesus is above rubies." He shall not be given for gold, no, not for muchfine gold. As for topaz, and onyx, and sapphire, and all other precious stones, these must not be mentioned in comparisonwith Him. Paul's expression is the only appropriate one, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." Eternity alone canreveal the value of Christ! By the miseries of the Hell from which He saves us, let us measure Him! By the bliss of the Heavento which He lifts us, let us estimate His worth! By the depths of ignominy and shame into which He dived, let us conceiveof Him! By the glories He relinquished and by the agonies He bore, let us attempt to form some faint idea of His value! Butthis Pearl of Great Price is so precious that I am bold to say that if Heaven, and earth, and all the starry orbs could besold, 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 mangave you ten thousand pounds, would you doubt his willingness to give you a farthing? If he should give you a munificent incometo last throughout all your life, would you doubt his willingness to give you a penny if you were ever in need of one? I thinkI need not attempt to draw the inference-you can draw it for yourselves. See, then, the wondrous treasure you possess if youare a Believer in Jesus-God is yours, the perfect Man is yours, Christ's life, His death, His blood, His righteousness, Hisintercession, 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 freelygive 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 countryand he may perish by an enemy's hand. But I cannot conceive of a mother slaughtering her own son for her country's good! Wehave 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 ofa 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 asto 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 mayuse such an expression), the executioner of Christ. Isaiah tells us in his wonderful 53rd Chapter, that "The Lord has laidon 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 offeringfor 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 andto 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 Iagain remind you that although God knew that His plan of salvation involved His smiting His own Son and deserting Him in Hishour of deepest need so that you and I should not perish-the Father smites, and wounds, and slays His own Son! And there uponthe accursed tree, in intense pangs, unutterable, unknown, the Son of God dies, "the Just for the unjust, that He might bringus 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 askfor 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 willcertainly not involve His lifting up His hand against His only-begotten Son anymore, so it shall be God's delight to giveyou your heart's desire! Having given you His Son, will He not, with Him, give you whatever you believingly ask of Him? Hestill says, "Open your mouth wide and I will fill it." Tell Him what your present need is and you shall have all that youneed. Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you and He will take all your cares away. Shame on you, Christian, ifyou shall give way to sadness-surely you will not let unbelief vex you, now! You know that God has given Christ for you-thencan you fear that He will deny you anything, or leave you, at last, in trouble to sink? That is impossible! God forbid thatyou 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 certainlygive 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 despisedthe wondrous gift! Who asked Him? No one of the whole human race! The thought never crossed any created mind. Angels did notthrow themselves down between justice and the sinner and intercede for him. I have never read of any burning seraph cryingto God, "Spare the guilty, Lord, spare the guilty! Give up Your only-begotten Son to die and let the guilty live!" I cannotconceive of anyone proposing to the Most High to make so tremendous a sacrifice. The Father did it according to His own SovereignWill, unswayed by anything outside Himself. That self-sustained, almighty Being deigned to give this matchless manifestationof His inflexible Justice and His infinite Love to the sons of men-it was His own conception freely welling up from the deepsof His own loving heart! Well, Beloved, if He gave His Son unsolicited, will He not give you all you need, now that you havelearned to ask of Him, now that you understand the art of the widow woman who came to the unjust judge and can plead withthe Lord in holy importunity? Now that you have been taught to knock and knock again at God's door-as the man knocked at hisfriend'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 givenyou-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 becauseyou 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 GIFTWAS 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 daythey were numbered, had to each pay half a shekel as a ransom for their souls. The Lord said to Moses, "The rich shall notgive more and the poor shall not give less." The redemption money was the same for all-and Christ has paid the redemptionmoney 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 Lordtake 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 notfeel fit to be numbered with the Lord's people." Ah, poor Heart, that may be true, yet as God has given you Christ, why shouldHe deny you anything that you need? I wish I could put this Truth of God in words that would never be forgotten! I would liketo help every heir of Heaven to carry this Truth with him even to his tomb! It is certain that as you believe in Christ, Heis yours-then it must be equally certain, be you who you may be, that "all things are yours." Go, you lonely ones, up fromthe 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 infinitelyrich in Christ Jesus! It always delights me to know how many poor people there are, and some very poor ones, too, who saythat 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 arepoor 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 HisTruth and they walk in the Light of His Countenance and find it sweet, indeed, to know that Christ is theirs and that allgood 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! Heis our Heaven on earth and He shall be our Heaven in Heaven! How sweetly does Madame Guyon sing of Christ and of His exceedingpreciousness to her soul! I was reading only yesterday, an account that she gives of herself and of the persecutions she enduredfor 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 inthe gay society of Paris, as long as she was in communion with Christ, for Christ was everything to her! And the Grace-taughtChristian 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 beggara 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 thana Christian can hold and, like good John Welsh, the old Covenanter, he is ready to cry, at times, when Christ's love is verysweet 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 belovedof 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'saffection, 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 gaveyou His unspeakable gift will give you such trifles as those! I hope you never put your worldly estate, nor even your spiritualcomforts, 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 toyour adversary and never even dream of defeat. He who has brought you thus far and enriched you with such a priceless Giftcan 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 canbe frustrated. We know that our God made the heavens and the earth and that the Word of our God shall stand forever. Our Godis not a lackey to the will of men and His purposes are not like footballs to be kicked about as men may please. What Godsays, is done! What He commands, stands fast forever! And what His heart devises, that His hands do. "God is not a man thatHe should lie; neither the son of man, that He should change." And if He wills to save, none can damn. He has proved the honestyand 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 mustsurely be bestowed upon me. I have never yet been able to put my mind into such a condition as to understand that God wouldgive 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, thatwe should have what we buy. I am sure that I could not speculate with another man's blood-and especially I know that I couldmake 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 thatCalvary was a venture, that the Cross was a speculation-and that the death of Christ was a lottery. God forbid! Be of goodcourage, then, you who are redeemed-not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ-allthings 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 givethe less! Lay your many needs before Him. Your plea is a plea that must prevail, a knock that shall make Heaven's gates ringtill 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, howmiserable 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 yoursand He shall be yours forever and ever! Let there be no aching heart at this Communion Table tonight! Let everyone of us cometo 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 Spiritof 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 whichcannot be uttered. These groans are too deep, too full of meaning to be expressed in words. There are some things the Christianneeds for which he cannot ask. Perhaps he does not even know what it is that he needs. There is a vacuum in his heart, buthe 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 breadis that can satisfy his needs. But the Holy Spirit can articulate these unuttered groans and the deepest needs of our soulcan thus be brought before God by His own Spirit. You, then, who find it difficult to pray, do not give up praying! The deviltells you that such poor prayers as yours are can never reach the ear of God. Do not believe him! The Spirit helps your infirmities-andwhen 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 thatthe Father does not know what is the mind of the Spirit, since they are one God, and, moreover, inasmuch as the Spirit ofGod never intercedes for anything which is not according to God's will, we are sure that our heavenly Father will grant everySpirit-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 Hispurpose." [See Sermon #159, Volume 3-THE TRUE CHRISTIAN'S BLESSEDNESS.] Almost everything in this world looks to us to bein 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 wholove 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 neverhave 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 inJesus?

Have you trusted in His precious blood? Then you are justified! Never give way, then, to any fears concerning your eternalsalvation, for as surely as there is a Heaven, you shall be a partaker of its glories-for never was there a soul justifiedwho 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 wasno 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?WhenGod gave us Christ, He gave us everything, for all the blessings of this life and of the life that is to come lie hidden inChrist as the kernel is within the shell of the nut! What encouragement we have here for believing prayer! Christian, Christis 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 ofsinners 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 intercessionfor us. Christian, as Christ makes intercession for you, He will never condemn you! Did He shed His blood for you and yetwill 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? Thinknot so strangely of the Christ of God who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever-and who will never condemn those whotrust 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 effectof 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.]