Romans: Assurance, Providence, and Life in the Spirit: Romans 8:28-39

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 15

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 1999-09-05

Synopsis: In this sermon, John Weaver expounds Romans 8:33, focusing on the incontrovertible nature of God's verdict of justification. He explains that Paul's use of the term 'God's elect' is crucial because it grounds assurance not in human effort or decision, but in God's sovereign choice and legal act of justification. Weaver argues that no one can bring a charge against God's elect because God is the judge, lawgiver, and justifier, and any accuser lacks standing in His court. The sermon emphasizes that salvation is entirely of the Lord, and believers can have unshakable assurance because their standing depends on God's work, not their own feelings or works.

[John Weaver] Romans chapter 8, and let's begin reading there with verse 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate, that He conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, then He also called, and whom He called, then He also justified, and whom He justified, then He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be 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?

[John Weaver] Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? 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.

[John Weaver] Now, we've been on Romans 8, 28 and the following verses for the last three or four months, and I started off with verse 28 and we finally worked our way down to verse 33. And I want you to remember, especially those who are just here today and trying to catch up some, I want you to remember that I told you that verses 28 through 30 stated the truth positively. And then verses 31 through 39 states the same truth negatively. What the Apostle Paul is doing is he sets forth the truth positively in verses 28 through 30, and then he handles objections or challenges to the truth that he's laid out there. Now, may I remind you that we've dealt just recently with verse 31 on the fact that God is invincible because he says, if God be for us, who can be against us?

[John Weaver] In other words, this then is considered a challenge to God's power. If God be for us, who can be against us? So God is invincible. No one can overthrow God. No one can defeat God. God is omnipotent. And then in verse 32, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall I not with him also freely give us all things? Here is the truth that God's grace is inexhaustible. So the challenge comes around. Well, well, What if God's grace runs out, or what if God refuses to be gracious to us? And Paul said that's an absolutely ridiculous argument, for if God has done the greater for us, if God spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? So very clearly then, Paul deals with the fact that God's grace is inexhaustible.

[John Weaver] Now today we come to verses 33 and 34. And I'm only going to be able to deal with verse 33.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand that this point is that God's verdict is incontrovertible. That is, it cannot be overturned. It cannot be altered. It cannot be controverted. It cannot be changed.

[John Weaver] Now, we're dealing with verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand that the Apostle Paul, in reality, demonstrates the truth that God's verdict is incontrovertible in two ways. Number one, in verse 33, He considers the possibility of someone bringing a charge against us. I will explain this today. He asked who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect. And then secondly, in verse 34, which we'll begin dealing with next Lord's Day, he considers the possibility of someone somehow condemning us or proving that we're in a state of condemnation. But today we're going to be dealing primarily with verse 33, and that is of someone bringing a charge against us. So let's begin, first of all, by noticing in verse 33, point number one, the Paul's classification. Notice, if you would, verse 33, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Now, I want you to note and pay strict attention to Paul's classification. Note the title.

[John Weaver] given to the people of God. It is God's elect.

[John Weaver] Now it is important that we emphasize this truth because you're going to see that this truth is crucial to the apostles argument in just a moment. Now the scripture teaches us that God does indeed have an elect people and he calls them that. Let me show you. I want you to hold Romans chapter 8, but look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew 24. And let's begin there with verse 24. Matthew 24. And verse 24. Note what the scripture says, Matthew 24, verse 24.

[John Weaver] For there shall arise false Christ.

[John Weaver] and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect. So he says, if it were possible, indicating it's not, they should deceive the very elect. Look in verse 31, and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from the one end of the heaven to the other. So once again, the people are called God's elect. Look in Luke 18, verse 7. Luke 18, verse 7. Luke 18, verse 7. Our Lord says, And shall not God avenge His own elect, who cry day and night unto Him, though He hear them or bear long with them? So he asks, and shall not God avenge his own elect? So each time they have been called God's elect. Look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3, note if you would please verse 12. Colossians 3 verse 12.

[John Weaver] Here the Apostle Paul writes, put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering. Notice he says, put on therefore as the elect of God. Look in the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 1.

[John Weaver] Now I'm showing you this to prove that this title, this classification, is given to God's people over and over. Notice Titus 1 in verse 1, Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness. Now, he says, according to the faith of God's elect. Look in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 2. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 2. Hear the Word of God says, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit and obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God. Then if you look in 1 Peter 5 and verse 13, 1 Peter 5 verse 13. He says the church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluted you, and so doth Marcus my son. Then if you will turn to 2 John, 2 John chapter 1, of course there's only one chapter there, but 2 John 1 and verse 1. The elder unto the elect lady and her children whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. Now, he calls her the elect lady. Look in verse 13. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. So he's talking about entire churches, and he's referring to them as the elect.

[John Weaver] Now, if you'll turn back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 1. And note, if you would please, verse 4. 1 Thessalonians 1.

[John Weaver] Here Paul simply says, knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. And then in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, he makes this statement. But we're bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

[John Weaver] Now, I read these passages just to demonstrate the fact that God does have an elect people, people that He has chosen and therefore they are called God's elect. Now, if you look back in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8, and let me ask a question. Why did the Apostle Paul use, in verse 33, this term, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Now, it is true that the word elect and especially the term God's elect summarizes the teaching in verses 28 through 30. That is true. It is also true that the word elect or its equivalent occurs 73 times in the New Testament alone. It is the same way of saying that God has a peculiar people, which is a term that Peter uses. And then the scripture says that we are his peculiar possession. So it really doesn't matter in one sense of the word if you talk about God's peculiar people or God's peculiar possession or God's elect. Basically, that is one in the same. But why is it? That Paul wrote, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?

[John Weaver] Why did he not write? Who shall lay anything to the charge of him that believeth on Jesus? Or why did he not write, Who shall lay anything to the charge of Christians? Why did he say, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Why?

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you some truths this morning, and I hope that you're going to understand not only what I'm going to share with you now, but when I begin to tie this together at the end. Why does Paul emphasize that we are God's elect? Let me tell you why. Because one of our main problems in grasping the concept of salvation, one of our main problems in grasping the assurance of salvation is the fact that we humanize it.

[John Weaver] Now listen to me carefully. There is no such thing as a humanized salvation in reality. It's a misnomer. Because only God can save. I'll quote it later, but I'll quote it now as well. Jonah 2.9, the scripture says salvation is of the Lord. And in reality, there is no such thing as a humanized assurance of salvation. But that's basically what we do. We try to humanize salvation.

[John Weaver] For instance, we refer to Christians as good men. Well now, God's people ought to be good men. But you remember, our Lord said in the book of Mark, There is none, or he says in Romans 3, there is none good, no not one. And then when the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10 came to Jesus and said, good master in Christ, that's why he calls me good. There's none good but one, and that's God. So what Christ was saying there, if I'm good, I'm God. And if I'm God, you don't come running into my presence demanding something of me. By the way, our word good comes from the word God. But we understand what we mean when we say, well, Doc is a good man, or Chester is a good man. We even refer that to ourselves, but the truth of the matter is, good men can do bad things. See? And sometimes good men become bad men.

[John Weaver] And what have we just done? We've just humanized salvation by saying, well, he's a good man. But good men can change. Now, if a good man does bad things, let's say he does not become a bad man, but he does bad things. What happens to the salvation or what happens to the assurance of salvation? Because you see your assurance. was based on what you did or what you did not do, and so your salvation.

[John Weaver] Sometimes we refer to Christians as those who've made a decision. Well, he's decided for Christ. We know scripture never uses that phrase. That's one that we've humanized and institutionalized and made up. But let me ask you something. If someone just simply decided for Christ, What's to keep him from deciding to go against Christ? What's to keep him from undeciding? You see what I'm saying? I may have told you this in time past, but here's a good illustration.

[John Weaver] I was preaching in the Greenville County Jail in Greenville, South Carolina, and the jailer was a friend of mine. And he told me, he said, as I walked in that night, he said, Johnny, I got a good one back there for you. And he was a man that they were holding in jail who had murdered his wife and his mother-in-law. And so I walked back there to preach and they let all the prisoners out in the bullpen. And this one guy stood back up against the wall and listen, all the other men were up front.

[John Weaver] And so after The message is over. This one man who'd been charged with murdering his wife and mother-in-law came up to me and said, that was a good message, preacher. He said, these men in here really needed that. I said, and you didn't? He said, no, I'm already a Christian. I said, aren't you in here charged with murdering your wife and your mother-in-law? Oh, yes. Yes. I said, well, how do you know that you're a Christian?

[John Weaver] He said, because I went forward at a Billy Graham crusade and made a decision. I said, sir, I've got news for you. The scripture says, you know, that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. I said, now somebody's lying and I don't think it's God. And that doesn't mean a murderer can't be saved. But you see, here's a man that made a decision, quote unquote, But evidently he decided against God because he turned around and did exactly what God said not to do.

[John Weaver] So what we've done is we've humanized salvation. So we say, well, he's a baptized individual or he's a member of such and such church. What have we done? We've humanized salvation. Well, what if that someone breaks his baptismal vow? What if that someone refuses to keep the church covenant? You say, well, this person is willed to come to Christ. Well, what if he wills to go away from Christ?

[John Weaver] You follow what I'm saying? What we've done is we've humanized, and most of our questions arise from the fact that we have humanized God's salvation and we've humanized assurance. Salvation is not a work of man, it's a work of God. Assurance is not a work of man, it's a work of God. That's why I said in Jonah 2.9, salvation is of the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now this is exactly Paul's argument in verse 33, and I'll get to it later, but look at the latter part of verse 33. He said, it is God that justifies. It's not man. It's not anything that man does or anything that man says. It's God who justifies. What is Paul saying? Paul is saying salvation is of the Lord. It's God who justifies. Justification, salvation is not in our hands. It's in God's hands. It's not based upon our works. It's based upon the work of God. It's not in our acts, our deeds, our will, our work. It's in God. It is God who justifies. If we desire to honor God and to give Him glory and walk in the assurance of salvation, we cannot and must not humanize salvation, and we must remember that we are God's elect, that we are God's peculiar people, that we are God's particular possession.

[John Weaver] In other words, we've got to learn to think in biblical terms. Now, why did he say, again, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? I've given you partially the answer. Let's notice not only the Paul's classification, but notice secondly, Paul's challenge. He asked in verse 33, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? So Paul then is challenging the objectors. He's challenging the critics. Now, I want you to understand that Paul's challenge here is a legal one. And what Paul is doing is he's presenting the challenge in the form of an illustration of a case being tried in a court of law.

[John Weaver] So picture, if you will, please, that we're in a courtroom. Here is the judge. Here is the jury. Here's the people. Here's a prosecuting and a defending attorney. And the Apostle Paul stands up and he asks this question. who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect. I'm calling on anyone, says the Apostle Paul, that can come up and bring a legal charge against one of God's elect. Now, the word charge is very important. It is the word ekkaleo. And it literally means to bring into account to accuse, to incriminate, to call into question.

[John Weaver] Now I want to show you, I want you to turn with me to several passages. I want you to see the other places where this word is used, and in every instance it is used in a legal framework. Look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19 and verse 40. Acts 19. And note, if you would please, verse 40. You remember, Paul was overthrowing the work of the silversmiths because he was preaching against idolatry. And the silversmiths said, man, Diana's the great one. And they got this great convocation together and they were hollering, great is the goddess Diana, etc., etc.

[John Weaver] And of course, it was an unlawful assembly. So, in verse 40, the, in fact let's begin reading with verse 35, and when the town clerk So here's the appointed city official, and when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, You men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of Ephesus is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

[John Weaver] Seeing them that these things cannot be spoken against, you ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. For you have brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore, if Demetrius and the craftsmen which are with him have a matter against any man, watch, the law is open, and their deputies let them implead one another. Go to law.

[John Weaver] But if ye inquire anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. Watch, for we are in danger to be called into question for this day's uproar. There being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse." Now when he says in verse 40, we're in danger to be called into question, literally he's saying we're in danger of being accused. We're in danger of being incriminated. We're in danger of being brought to account for this day's uproar. In other words, it is a legal term. It is a legal matter. What he's saying is charges can be brought against us. We have held an unlawful assembly.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bible, Acts chapter 23. Acts 23, beginning there with verse 28. Acts 23, verse 28.

[John Weaver] Paul, of course, is the subject here. Claudius Lysias, the captain, has rescued him. He's writing a letter to Felix, the governor, and he says this in Acts 23 and verse 28, And when I would have known the cause whereof they accused him, that is the Jews accusing Paul, I brought him unto their counsel. Then he says, whom I perceive to be accused of questions of their law, but to nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. Now the word accused in verse 28 and the word accused in verse 29 is exactly the same word as charge in Romans 8 in verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who shall accuse them? Who shall bring a matter before a court of law? Look in your Bibles, Acts 26, verse 2, and then verse 7. You'll see it again. Paul says, I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee, touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews. In other words, they've laid a legal charge against Paul.

[John Weaver] That's why he's before King Agrippa. Look in verse 7. unto which promise our twelve tribes instantly serving God, day and night, hope to come, for which hope say, King Agrippa, I am accused, that is, I'm indicted, I'm incriminated, I'm brought into account of the Jews. So every time this word is used, it is used in a legal context.

[John Weaver] Now, it's important to comprehend that When Paul says in Romans 8 in verse 33, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is a challenge in relationship to a legal verdict. We're talking about a courtroom now. The Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 12 and verse 10. That the devil is the accuser of the brethren. Now, how does he accuse the brethren? Well, there are two ways, basically. Number one, he can accuse us in our own consciences. For instance, when you do something and maybe you do it without thinking and it's wrong, and the next thing you know, something says, and how can you be a Christian and do that? Or how can you be a Christian and say that, or act like that, or have an attitude like that? And then your own conscience condemns you. So in one sense of the word, that is one way that he accuses us. Another way that he accuses us is by using other people. Sometimes the other people are even Christians. And when he uses other people, then those people are acting as junior counsel to the devil.

[John Weaver] In other words, they are in league with him. they're operating in the prosecutor's department.

[John Weaver] Now, the old children are saying something. And this is all getting back as to why Paul used the term, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect. He did not say who shall lay anything to the charge of God's Christians or who shall anything to the charge of him that believe in Christ why because this is strictly a legal matter and the answer is not dependent upon my works it's not dependent upon my belief are you listening it is dependent upon an act of work a choice a verdict of God and of God alone and so this challenge is in God's court and in God's court of law. Now what Paul is doing is he is using a form of ridicule to show the absolute preposterousness of anyone bringing a legal charge against any of God's elect. You have ridicule in the courtrooms of man all the time and God uses this through the Apostle Paul to show how utterly preposterous it is for anyone to try to lay anything to the charge of God's elect.

[John Weaver] Look back to verse 31 just for a moment. Watch this. What shall we say then to these things if God be for us, who can be against us?

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. What would you think of here I stand and behind me or beside me or with me is the omnipotent, sovereign God of the universe. And here are three people, or a dozen people, or a whole world for that matters, that have arrayed themselves against me. Here's my question. What could they possibly do to me if God is protecting me? What's the answer? Nothing. Why? Because no one can overthrow God. No one is more powerful than God. God is omnipotent. He is the all-powerful One. And so what he's using is ridicule and one central word in this argument when he says, If God be for us, who can be against us?

[John Weaver] What good would it do anybody to be against us? Now, it's the same type of argument in verse 33 when he asks, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. What is he saying? You've got to consider for anyone to bring a charge against God's elect, he has to be in God's courtroom with God as judge using God's law.

[John Weaver] Now, as you would laugh someone out of existence, literally for fighting against God, and you would say that's the most foolish man, he's ignorant, he's stupid to fight against God. So Paul is saying it's the same amount of foolishness for anyone to think that he's going to approach the judge of the universe in his law and in his courtroom and bring a charge against one of God's elect. Let me show you several things that you need to consider. First of all, man's relation to God is a legal one, and God's dealing with man has always been through covenant. A covenant is a legal document. I don't care if you talk about the covenant of works with Adam or the Abrahamic covenant.

[John Weaver] or the Davidic covenant, or the Noahic covenant, or the eternal covenant, which we have in Christ according to Hebrews 13 verse 20. God's relationship with man has always been a legal one. It has always been through covenant. And a covenant is a legal document.

[John Weaver] Secondly, listen to me, God himself has ordained the law which governs his relationship with men through the covenant. The law was promulgated by God. The law was ordained by God. The law was delivered by God. The law was given by God, as we shall see later. The law was enforced by God. God is the one who made the law. So God says my relationship with man, number one, is always on legal terms, and I have given a law in which my relationship with man shall be maintained. Thirdly, God is the administrator of his law.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, whole Romans 8, but turn to Isaiah 33 and look at verse 22. Here's a verse you need to memorize. Isaiah 33, verse 22. This is the passage from which our founding fathers derived the three branches of our government, the executive, the judicial, the legislative. In Isaiah 33, verse 22, the Bible says, For the Lord is our judge. There's the judicial branch. The Lord is our lawgiver. That is the legislative branch. The Lord is our king. That is the executive branch. He will save us. Now what is God? God is king, yes. God is lawgiver, yes. But God is judge. So all three offices are bound up in God. That's why Abraham asked in Genesis 18 and verse 25, shall not the judge of all the earth do right?

[John Weaver] So God then has a relationship that number one has always been on legal terms. Number two, God has written and given his law which regulates those terms on which he will have intercourse with man. Thirdly, God has always been the administrator and the judge of that law. And fourthly, any charge brought by anyone must be brought in terms of God's law. Now, folks, let me tell you, Any charge brought by anyone must be brought in terms of law. This is true not only in God's law, it is true in man's law. Suppose I go up to the court when it's in session, and let's just suppose the judge said, does anyone have any business with this court? Let him speak now.

[John Weaver] And I raised my hand and he said, yes. And I approached the bench and I said, your honor, I want you to have Russ arrested and imprisoned. The judge says why? Well, I don't like him. You don't like him? Yeah, I don't like him. I don't like his attitude. I want you to put him in prison and throw away the key. The judge would say, Bayless, would you escort this man out of my courtroom? He's crazy. I can't have Russ arrested because I dislike him, or I can't have him blessed by the court because I like him.

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying? Why? If I go to court against Russ, it must have a legal claim. If there is no legal claim, I have what is known as no standing. I have no right to be there. Because I have no valid, legal, lawful claim that would put me in that court of law.

[John Weaver] Now, why is it the devil, nor anyone else, can bring a charge against any of God's elect? They have no standing. They have no right to be there. I'm going to show you why in just a moment. Now, let me show you something else that happens in the courtroom. Let's suppose there is a legal battle going on and Chester is over here fighting for what right? And man, he's doing a good job and everybody says, yeah, boy, Chester's got him. And all of a sudden, the prosecuting attorney comes up and says, Your Honor, there's something Mr. Taylor overlooked.

[John Weaver] You will find this in Rule 4A, Subsection 1, Subsection B, Subsection 3, and Subsection 4Q, or whatever. And lo and behold, there it is. And everything that Chester has done has gone down the tubes because of one little rule of law way down in the book somewhere that he had not seen. It can never happen in God's court of law like that, for God wrote the law, God knows the law, and God is the one that enforces the law. So Paul is asking, who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect?

[John Weaver] He's saying nobody can, because they're not going to have any standing. Let me show you why. Look back at Romans 8 in verse 33 at Paul's conclusion. Not only his classification, not only his challenge, but his conclusion. Look in verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to remember, a few weeks ago I brought three messages on justification. I hope you remember that justification is a legal act. It is a judicial act. It is a verdict from the judge. Please remember this. Justification is more than forgiveness. Justification is more than a pardon. Justification is a declaration of a right standing in relationship to the law.

[John Weaver] Now, before I go any further, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Romans 3 and 2 Corinthians 5. Let me just reiterate something. Romans 3, and then 2 Corinthians 5. We'll go to Romans 3 first, and let's begin reading there with verse 24. Romans 3 verse 24. Watch carefully, Romans 3 verse 24. Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Now, note that phrase, being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be of propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past. See, we do have remissions of sins through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness. Watch, that He might be just and the justifier of him who believeth on Jesus. Now, how can God be just when he justifies a sinner?

[John Weaver] Because every one of us have sinned, we have violated his law, and we deserve death. And the answer is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. The reason God can be just is because God sent his son to be a substitute. And that substitute not only died in our place, in our stead, but that substitute also worked out a perfect righteousness which is now imputed or given or charged to our account.

[John Weaver] It's a legal term again. Watch it. For he hath made him, for he God the Father, hath made him, that is God the Son, to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So justification then is not merely negative, it is also positive. God not only forgives our sins and pardons us, but God imputes to us a positive righteousness which is in Jesus Christ alone.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you one of the most beautiful illustrations of this in the entire Bible. I want you to turn back to the book of Zechariah, which is right before Malachi. Zechariah chapter 3. Zachariah chapter 3 and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch carefully. Zachariah chapter 3 verse 1. And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. Watch. And Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuketh thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuketh thee.

[John Weaver] Is not this a bran plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment. And I said, let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.

[John Weaver] And I'll go back to verse one. And he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, that is, before our Lord Jesus and Satan standing in his right hand to resist him.

[John Weaver] Now, the Hebrew word resist literally means to attack or accuse. So here is Joshua standing before the Lord, and here is Satan right there standing to attack, or accuse, or indict Joshua. Watch verse 2. And the Lord said, that is the judge said, The Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuketh thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuketh thee. Watch, is not this a bran plucked out of the fire?

[John Weaver] That is, is not this one a mighty leg? Is not this one that I have chosen?

[John Weaver] Now who is doing the rebuking? It is God Himself. Why? Satan has no standing. He has no right to bring a charge against Joshua. You say, oh, but look, Joshua has filthy garments. Verse 3. Yes, he does. But guess what happens? God said, I have forgiven thee, I have pardoned thee, and he takes away his filthy garments. And what does he do? He clothes him with righteousness.

[John Weaver] And he puts the mitre upon his head. Here's an absolutely perfect picture of what God does for us in justification. God removes our filthiness, our vileness. God clothes us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And then He looks at us, and then He looks at the law, because we've now kept the law perfectly in Jesus Christ, and God says, justified. More than forgiven, more than pardoned, imputed with a perfect Righteousness.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to Romans 7. Romans 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Paul writes, Know you not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law, how that the law hath dominion over man as long as he liveth.

[John Weaver] Now he gives an illustration to prove that. For the woman who hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth. But if the husband be dead, she is loose from the law of her husband. So that if while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband be dead, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

[John Weaver] Now let me just tell you. The Apostle Paul is not teaching on marriage and divorce at this particular point. He is teaching something far more important. What is it? Look down in verse 4. Wherefore? Here's the conclusion based upon the illustration that he just used about the woman being bound to her husband as long as she lives or as long as he lives. But if the husband be dead, she's freed. Note verse 4, Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that you should be married to another, even him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Now, wait a minute. What does he mean when he says that we have become dead to the law by the body of Christ? Does that mean that we can now go out and steal and kill and fornicate? Well, of course not. What does it mean when it says that we are dead to the law? It means we are dead to the law as far as condemnation is concerned.

[John Weaver] The law can no longer condemn us. Let me give you an illustration. Let's suppose a man walks through that door and shoots Ed right between the eyes and kills him. And all of us are horrified. We identify the man. Maybe we wrestle him down and catch him. The sheriff comes and arrests him. There is a trial. He's found guilty of murder in the first degree. He's sentenced to death in the electric chair. And here he is, back in prison now, waiting for the day that he's appointed to die. And a month before he's to be executed, he drops dead of a heart attack. Now would you please tell me what the law is going to do to him? Are they going to keep him in that cell for another 30 days and then finally drag him out piece by piece, put him in an electric chair and go ahead and execute him? Are they? No. What can the law do to him now? Nothing. He's dead. You follow me?

[John Weaver] Now, how can God's law condemn us If God has justified us, and we are not under that condemnation, but we're now in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, there can be absolutely no condemnation. Why? Because we're dead to that condemnation, and we're alive in Christ. Look in your Bibles, Romans 8 verse 1. Here it is again. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. Do you get that? There is no condemnation. Now, look in Romans 10 and verse 4. Romans 10 and verse 4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Now, how is Christ the end of the law for righteousness? Because I don't keep God's law to make me righteous. Christ has already kept it for me and I'm righteous in Him. You see what I'm saying? I now have a perfect righteousness.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make some applications and try to tie things together. First of all, I want you to understand the importance of doctrine. There's so many people going around today that try to say, well, doctrine is not important. Doctrine is important. Many people live by their feelings. They live by their experiences. Here's to give you an illustration. I heard about a pastor who had resigned his church or was going to resign.

[John Weaver] And at this particular time, we had a Bible Institute and I had seven or eight different young men who were studying for the ministry, and I was always trying to find places for them to preach. So I stopped at this church, and I went in and talked to the pastor. I knew him. I said, Brother, I understand that you've resigned or that you're going to. And I was just concerned if the church needed any pulpit supply, I've got some young men that could take care of it while they locate another pastor. And here's what the pastor said to me. Well, he said, I was going to resign.

[John Weaver] But I feel like now that this is the place for me to be. And I feel better now than I've ever felt before. And I feel like we're going to have a good work here. And I feel like we're going to do great things. Well, I said, well, thank you. I just wanted to offer help. And I turned around, walked out, got in the car. And Alice said, what did he say?

[John Weaver] I said, he'll be gone in 30 days. And he was. You know how I knew that? I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. Folks, let me tell you something. Feelings do not count. It's the Word and the will of God that counts. If that man had said, it is God's will that I stay here based upon His Word, I'd have had a different attitude. You see, I have people say, well, I feel saved today. Well, wonderful.

[John Weaver] What if you wake up in the morning with a stomach ache and a virus and diarrhea and a headache and a temperature of 104? Do you feel saved then? No, you don't. Well, I had an experience last year. Well, you'll forget that experience. In fact, the devil can give you experiences himself. Your own flesh can give you experiences. If you trust in your feelings, if you trust in your experiences, you can be shaken.

[John Weaver] But if you know the truth from God's Word and you say, here I stand, God help me, I can do no other, you can't be moved. So that's why Paul is saying, you better understand some doctrine. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. You better understand the doctrine of justification.

[John Weaver] Secondly, how in the world do you handle accusers? How in the world do you handle your own conscience when your conscience begins to condemn you? The only way you can answer them is this. You have no standing to accuse me before God. It is God who justifies. You cannot alter. You cannot overthrow. You cannot change. You cannot reverse His verdict. It is incontrovertible. It is God that justifies. Not man. Not my conscience. It's God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me cover one other thing. If you understand the doctrine of justification, you understand that we have been justified not from one sin, but for all sin. So many people get confused on this. They say, Brother Weaver, I understand how God can forgive me and justify me of my past sins, but what about my present sins or even the sins I might commit in the future?

[John Weaver] That's a pretty good question. Well, let me ask you one. How many sins had you committed personally before Christ was crucified? None. You weren't even alive. You weren't even around. Which meant Christ died not just for past sins, but for future sins as well. And when God justifies us, He justifies us from all sins, even those he knew that we would commit, even as Christians. So, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? No one. Why? It is God who justifies.

[John Weaver] Now, very clearly, this does not give us a right to run out in sin. And God's people are not going to do that. I've heard people say, well, Brother Weaver, if I believed that, I'd live any way I please. Well, that's true. And if you've really been converted, you're going to live the way that pleases God, and that's going to please you. But if you want to run out and sin and disobey God and get into all kinds of wickedness, you've never been converted to begin with. Something's wrong with you.

[John Weaver] But you see, the truth is, we've been justified. And no one can have a legal right to incriminate us before God's court according to God's law. For God Himself is the judge. And anyone who tries, he will find the same answer that God gave to Satan in Zechariah 3, verse 2. The Lord rebuke thee. You have no standing. You have no right to sin. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day and we ask your blessing and your help. May we praise thee for thy so great salvation and glorify thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 15

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	450791723
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Assurance, Providence, and Life in the Spirit: Romans 8:28-39
Genre	Sermon
Date	1999-09-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 169: Romans 8:28-39 — Chapter 15
Source Timed Segments	82

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Romans chapter 8, and let's begin reading there with verse 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. 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. What shall we then say to these things? If God be 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?

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? 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.

Introduction and Review of Romans 8:28-32

Weaver reviews the series, noting that verses 28-30 state truth positively, while verses 31-39 handle objections. He recaps verse 31 (God's invincibility) and verse 32 (God's inexhaustible grace).

Now, we've been on Romans 8:28 and the following verses for the last three or four months, and I started off with verse 28 and we finally worked our way down to verse 33. And I want you to remember, especially those who are just here today and trying to catch up some, I want you to remember that I told you that verses 28 through 30 stated the truth positively. And then verses 31 through 39 state the same truth negatively. What the Apostle Paul is doing is he sets forth the truth positively in verses 28 through 30, and then he handles objections or challenges to the truth that he's laid out there. Now, may I remind you that we've dealt just recently with verse 31 on the fact that God is invincible because he says, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

In other words, this then is considered a challenge to God's power. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" So God is invincible. No one can overthrow God. No one can defeat God. God is omnipotent. And then in verse 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?" Here is the truth that God's grace is inexhaustible. So the challenge comes around: "Well, what if God's grace runs out, or what if God refuses to be gracious to us?" And Paul said that's an absolutely ridiculous argument, for if God has done the greater for us, if God spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? So very clearly then, Paul deals with the fact that God's grace is inexhaustible.

Paul's Classification: 'God's Elect'

Weaver emphasizes that Paul calls believers 'God's elect,' a title used throughout Scripture (Matthew 24, Luke 18, Colossians 3, Titus 1, 1 Peter 1, etc.) to denote God's chosen people. This classification is essential to the argument.

given to the people of God. It is "God's elect." Now it is important that we emphasize this truth because you're going to see that this truth is crucial to the apostle's argument in just a moment. Now the Scripture teaches us that God does indeed have an elect people and He calls them that. Let me show you. I want you to hold Romans chapter 8, but look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew 24. And let's begin there with verse 24. Matthew 24, and verse 24. Note what the Scripture says, Matthew 24, verse 24.

"For there shall arise false Christs,

and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." So he says, if it were possible, indicating it's not, they should deceive the very elect. Look in verse 31, "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." So once again, the people are called God's elect. Look in Luke 18, verse 7. Luke 18, verse 7. Luke 18, verse 7. Our Lord says, "And shall not God avenge His own elect, who cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?" So he asks, "And shall not God avenge His own elect?" So each time they have been called God's elect. Look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3, note if you would please verse 12. Colossians 3, verse 12.

Here the Apostle Paul writes, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." Notice he says, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God." Look in the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 1. Now I'm showing you this to prove that this title, this classification, is given to God's people over and over. Notice Titus 1 and verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Titus 1:1

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness."

Now, he says,

Scripture Reading — Titus 1:1

"according to the faith of God's elect."

Look in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 2. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 2. Hear the Word of God says, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:2

"Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God. Then if you look in 1 Peter 5 and verse 13, 1 Peter 5, verse 13. He says, "The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son." Then if you will turn to 2 John, 2 John chapter 1, of course there's only one chapter there, but 2 John 1 and verse 1. "The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth." Now, he calls her the elect lady. Look in verse 13. "The children of thy elect sister greet thee." So he's talking about entire churches, and he's referring to them as the elect.

Now, if you'll turn back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 1. And note, if you would please, verse 4. 1 Thessalonians 1.

Here Paul simply says, "Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God." And then in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, he makes this statement: "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." Now, I read these passages just to demonstrate the fact that God does have an elect people, people that He has chosen and therefore they are called God's elect. Now, if you look back in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8, and let me ask a question. Why did the Apostle Paul use, in verse 33, this term, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Now, it is true that the word elect and especially the term "God's elect" summarizes the teaching in verses 28 through 30. That is true. It is also true that the word elect or its equivalent occurs 73 times in the New Testament alone. It is the same way of saying that God has a peculiar people, which is a term that Peter uses. And then the Scripture says that we are His peculiar possession. So it really doesn't matter in one sense of the word if you talk about God's peculiar people or God's peculiar possession or God's elect. Basically, that is one and the same. But why is it that Paul wrote, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?"

Why Paul Uses 'God's Elect' Instead of Other Terms

Weaver explains that Paul uses 'God's elect' to counter the humanization of salvation. Assurance based on human decisions, goodness, or feelings is unstable; true assurance rests on God's sovereign election and justification.

Why did he not write, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of him that believeth on Jesus?" Or why did he not write, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of Christians?" Why did he say, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Why? Now, let me give you some truths this morning, and I hope that you're going to understand not only what I'm going to share with you now, but when I begin to tie this together at the end. Why does Paul emphasize that we are God's elect? Let me tell you why. Because one of our main problems in grasping the concept of salvation, one of our main problems in grasping the assurance of salvation is the fact that we humanize it.

Now listen to me carefully. There is no such thing as a humanized salvation in reality. It's a misnomer. Because only God can save. I'll quote it later, but I'll quote it now as well. Jonah 2:9, the Scripture says, "Salvation is of the Lord." And in reality, there is no such thing as a humanized assurance of salvation. But that's basically what we do. We try to humanize salvation.

For instance, we refer to Christians as good men. Well now, God's people ought to be good men. But you remember, our Lord said in the book of Mark, "There is none good, no, not one"—or He says in Romans 3, "There is none good, no, not one." And then when the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10 came to Jesus and said, "Good Master," Christ said, "Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God." So what Christ was saying there, if I'm good, I'm God. And if I'm God, you don't come running into My presence demanding something of Me. By the way, our word "good" comes from the word "God." But we understand what we mean when we say, "Well, Doc is a good man," or "Chester is a good man." We even refer that to ourselves, but the truth of the matter is, good men can do bad things. See? And sometimes good men become bad men.

And what have we just done? We've just humanized salvation by saying, "Well, he's a good man." But good men can change. Now, if a good man does bad things, let's say he does not become a bad man, but he does bad things. What happens to the salvation or what happens to the assurance of salvation? Because you see, your assurance was based on what you did or what you did not do, and so your salvation. Sometimes we refer to Christians as those who've made a decision. "Well, he's decided for Christ." We know Scripture never uses that phrase. That's one that we've humanized and institutionalized and made up. But let me ask you something. If someone just simply decided for Christ, what's to keep him from deciding to go against Christ? What's to keep him from undeciding? You see what I'm saying? I may have told you this in time past, but here's a good illustration.

I was preaching in the Greenville County Jail in Greenville, South Carolina, and the jailer was a friend of mine. And he told me, he said, as I walked in that night, he said, "Johnny, I got a good one back there for you." And he was a man that they were holding in jail who had murdered his wife and his mother-in-law. And so I walked back there to preach and they let all the prisoners out in the bullpen. And this one guy stood back up against the wall and listened, all the other men were up front. And so after the message is over, this one man who'd been charged with murdering his wife and mother-in-law came up to me and said, "That was a good message, preacher." He said, "These men in here really needed that." I said, "And you didn't?" He said, "No, I'm already a Christian." I said, "Aren't you in here charged with murdering your wife and your mother-in-law?" "Oh, yes. Yes." I said, "Well, how do you know that you're a Christian?"

He said, "Because I went forward at a Billy Graham crusade and made a decision." I said, "Sir, I've got news for you. The Scripture says, you know, that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." I said, "Now somebody's lying and I don't think it's God." And that doesn't mean a murderer can't be saved. But you see, here's a man that made a decision, quote unquote, but evidently he decided against God because he turned around and did exactly what God said not to do. So what we've done is we've humanized salvation. So we say, "Well, he's a baptized individual" or "He's a member of such and such church." What have we done? We've humanized salvation. Well, what if that someone breaks his baptismal vow? What if that someone refuses to keep the church covenant? You say, "Well, this person is willing to come to Christ." Well, what if he wills to go away from Christ?

You follow what I'm saying? What we've done is we've humanized, and most of our questions arise from the fact that we have humanized God's salvation and we've humanized assurance. Salvation is not a work of man, it's a work of God. Assurance is not a work of man, it's a work of God. That's why I said in Jonah 2:9, "Salvation is of the Lord."

Now this is exactly Paul's argument in verse 33, and I'll get to it later, but look at the latter part of verse 33. He said, "It is God that justifies." It's not man. It's not anything that man does or anything that man says. It's God who justifies. What is Paul saying? Paul is saying salvation is of the Lord. It's God who justifies. Justification, salvation is not in our hands. It's in God's hands. It's not based upon our works. It's based upon the work of God. It's not in our acts, our deeds, our will, our work. It's in God. It is God who justifies. If we desire to honor God and to give Him glory and walk in the assurance of salvation, we cannot and must not humanize salvation, and we must remember that we are God's elect, that we are God's peculiar people, that we are God's particular possession.

In other words, we've got to learn to think in biblical terms. Now, why did he say, again, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" I've given you partially the answer. Let's notice not only Paul's classification, but notice secondly, Paul's challenge. He asked in verse 33, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" So Paul then is challenging the objectors. He's challenging the critics. Now, I want you to understand that Paul's challenge here is a legal one. And what Paul is doing is he's presenting the challenge in the form of an illustration of a case being tried in a court of law.

Paul's Challenge: A Legal Courtroom Illustration

Weaver presents Paul's question as a legal challenge in a courtroom. The word 'charge' (ekkaleo) is a legal term meaning to accuse or bring to account, as seen in Acts 19, 23, and 26. Paul challenges anyone to bring a legal charge against God's elect.

So picture, if you will, please, that we're in a courtroom. Here is the judge. Here is the jury. Here's the people. Here's a prosecuting and a defending attorney. And the Apostle Paul stands up and he asks this question: "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" I'm calling on anyone, says the Apostle Paul, that can come up and bring a legal charge against one of God's elect. Now, the word "charge" is very important. It is the word ekkaleo. And it literally means to bring into account, to accuse, to incriminate, to call into question.

Now I want to show you, I want you to turn with me to several passages. I want you to see the other places where this word is used, and in every instance it is used in a legal framework. Look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19 and verse 40. Acts 19. And note, if you would please, verse 40. You remember, Paul was overthrowing the work of the silversmiths because he was preaching against idolatry. And the silversmiths said, "Man, Diana's the great one." And they got this great convocation together and they were hollering, "Great is the goddess Diana," etc., etc.

And of course, it was an unlawful assembly. So, in verse 40, the—in fact let's begin reading with verse 35, "And when the town clerk"—so here's the appointed city official—"and when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, 'Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?' "Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another. Go to law."

"But if ye inquire anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. For we are in danger to be called into question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse." Now when he says in verse 40, "we are in danger to be called into question," literally he's saying we're in danger of being accused. We're in danger of being incriminated. We're in danger of being brought to account for this day's uproar. In other words, it is a legal term. It is a legal matter. What he's saying is charges can be brought against us. We have held an unlawful assembly.

Now, look in your Bible, Acts chapter 23. Acts 23, beginning there with verse 28. Acts 23, verse 28.

Paul, of course, is the subject here. Claudius Lysias, the captain, has rescued him. He's writing a letter to Felix, the governor, and he says this in Acts 23 and verse 28,

Scripture Reading — Acts 23:28-29

"And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, that is the Jews accusing Paul, I brought him forth into their council."

Then he says,

Scripture Reading — Acts 23:28-29

"Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds."

Now the word "accused" in verse 28 and the word "accused" in verse 29 is exactly the same word as "charge" in Romans 8 in verse 33. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Who shall accuse them? Who shall bring a matter before a court of law? Look in your Bibles, Acts 26, verse 2, and then verse 7. You'll see it again. Paul says, "I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews." In other words, they've laid a legal charge against Paul.

That's why he's before King Agrippa. Look in verse 7. "Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused"—that is, I'm indicted, I'm incriminated, I'm brought into account—"of the Jews." So every time this word is used, it is used in a legal context.

Scripture Reading — Revelation 12:10

Now, it's important to comprehend that when Paul says in Romans 8 in verse 33, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" it is a challenge in relationship to a legal verdict. We're talking about a courtroom now. The Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 12 and verse 10 that the devil is the accuser of the brethren. Now, how does he accuse the brethren? Well, there are two ways, basically. Number one, he can accuse us in our own consciences. For instance, when you do something and maybe you do it without thinking and it's wrong, and the next thing you know, something says, "And how can you be a Christian and do that?" Or "How can you be a Christian and say that, or act like that, or have an attitude like that?" And then your own conscience condemns you. So in one sense of the word, that is one way that he accuses us. Another way that he accuses us is by using other people. Sometimes the other people are even Christians. And when he uses other people, then those people are acting as junior counsel to the devil.

The Accuser's Lack of Standing

Weaver argues that Satan and other accusers have no standing in God's court because God's relationship with man is legal, God is the lawgiver and judge, and any charge must be based on God's law. Since God justifies, no charge can stand.

In other words, they are in league with him. They're operating in the prosecutor's department. Now, the old children are saying something. And this is all getting back as to why Paul used the term, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" He did not say, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's Christians?" or "Who shall anything to the charge of him that believeth in Christ?" Why? Because this is strictly a legal matter and the answer is not dependent upon my works. It's not dependent upon my belief. Are you listening? It is dependent upon an act, a work, a choice, a verdict of God and of God alone. And so this challenge is in God's court and in God's court of law. Now what Paul is doing is he is using a form of ridicule to show the absolute preposterousness of anyone bringing a legal charge against any of God's elect. You have ridicule in the courtrooms of man all the time and God uses this through the Apostle Paul to show how utterly preposterous it is for anyone to try to lay anything to the charge of God's elect.

Look back to verse 31 just for a moment. Watch this. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Now let me ask you a question. What would you think of here I stand and behind me or beside me or with me is the omnipotent, sovereign God of the universe. And here are three people, or a dozen people, or a whole world for that matter, that have arrayed themselves against me. Here's my question. What could they possibly do to me if God is protecting me? What's the answer? Nothing. Why? Because no one can overthrow God. No one is more powerful than God. God is omnipotent. He is the all-powerful One. And so what he's using is ridicule and one central word in this argument when he says, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

What good would it do anybody to be against us? Now, it's the same type of argument in verse 33 when he asks, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies." What is he saying? You've got to consider for anyone to bring a charge against God's elect, he has to be in God's courtroom with God as judge using God's law.

Now, as you would laugh someone out of existence, literally, for fighting against God, and you would say that's the most foolish man, he's ignorant, he's stupid to fight against God. So Paul is saying it's the same amount of foolishness for anyone to think that he's going to approach the judge of the universe in His law and in His courtroom and bring a charge against one of God's elect. Let me show you several things that you need to consider. First of all, man's relation to God is a legal one, and God's dealing with man has always been through covenant. A covenant is a legal document. I don't care if you talk about the covenant of works with Adam or the Abrahamic covenant, or the Davidic covenant, or the Noahic covenant, or the eternal covenant, which we have in Christ according to Hebrews 13:20. God's relationship with man has always been a legal one. It has always been through covenant. And a covenant is a legal document.

Secondly, listen to me, God Himself has ordained the law which governs His relationship with men through the covenant. The law was promulgated by God. The law was ordained by God. The law was delivered by God. The law was given by God, as we shall see later. The law was enforced by God. God is the one who made the law. So God says my relationship with man, number one, is always on legal terms, and I have given a law in which my relationship with man shall be maintained. Thirdly, God is the administrator of His law.

Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Romans 8, but turn to Isaiah 33 and look at verse 22. Here's a verse you need to memorize. Isaiah 33, verse 22. This is the passage from which our founding fathers derived the three branches of our government, the executive, the judicial, the legislative. In Isaiah 33, verse 22, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 33:22

"For the Lord is our judge."

There's the judicial branch.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 33:22

"The Lord is our lawgiver."

That is the legislative branch.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 33:22

"The Lord is our king."

That is the executive branch. "He will save us." Now what is God? God is king, yes. God is lawgiver, yes. But God is judge. So all three offices are bound up in God. That's why Abraham asked in Genesis 18 and verse 25, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

So God then has a relationship that number one has always been on legal terms. Number two, God has written and given His law which regulates those terms on which He will have intercourse with man. Thirdly, God has always been the administrator and the judge of that law. And fourthly, any charge brought by anyone must be brought in terms of God's law. Now, folks, let me tell you, any charge brought by anyone must be brought in terms of law. This is true not only in God's law, it is true in man's law. Suppose I go up to the court when it's in session, and let's just suppose the judge said, "Does anyone have any business with this court? Let him speak now."

And I raised my hand and he said, "Yes." And I approached the bench and I said, "Your Honor, I want you to have Russ arrested and imprisoned." The judge says, "Why?" "Well, I don't like him." "You don't like him?" "Yeah, I don't like him. I don't like his attitude. I want you to put him in prison and throw away the key." The judge would say, "Bailiff, would you escort this man out of my courtroom? He's crazy." I can't have Russ arrested because I dislike him, or I can't have him blessed by the court because I like him. You see what I'm saying? Why? If I go to court against Russ, it must have a legal claim. If there is no legal claim, I have what is known as no standing. I have no right to be there. Because I have no valid, legal, lawful claim that would put me in that court of law.

Now, why is it the devil, nor anyone else, can bring a charge against any of God's elect? They have no standing. They have no right to be there. I'm going to show you why in just a moment. Now, let me show you something else that happens in the courtroom. Let's suppose there is a legal battle going on and Chester is over here fighting for what's right. And man, he's doing a good job and everybody says, "Yeah, boy, Chester's got him." And all of a sudden, the prosecuting attorney comes up and says, "Your Honor, there's something Mr. Taylor overlooked."

"You will find this in Rule 4A, Subsection 1, Subsection B, Subsection 3, and Subsection 4Q," or whatever. And lo and behold, there it is. And everything that Chester has done has gone down the tubes because of one little rule of law way down in the book somewhere that he had not seen. It can never happen in God's court of law like that, for God wrote the law, God knows the law, and God is the one that enforces the law. So Paul is asking, "Who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" He's saying nobody can, because they're not going to have any standing. Let me show you why. Look back at Romans 8 in verse 33 at Paul's conclusion. Not only his classification, not only his challenge, but his conclusion. Look in verse 33. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies."

Paul's Conclusion: 'It is God that Justifies'

Weaver explains that justification is a legal, judicial act—a declaration of righteousness based on Christ's imputed righteousness. He cites Romans 3:24-26, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Zechariah 3 as illustrations of God removing sin and clothing believers with righteousness.

Now I want you to remember, a few weeks ago I brought three messages on justification. I hope you remember that justification is a legal act. It is a judicial act. It is a verdict from the judge. Please remember this. Justification is more than forgiveness. Justification is more than a pardon. Justification is a declaration of a right standing in relationship to the law.

Now, before I go any further, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Romans 3 and 2 Corinthians 5. Let me just reiterate something. Romans 3, and then 2 Corinthians 5. We'll go to Romans 3 first, and let's begin reading there with verse 24. Romans 3 verse 24. Watch carefully, Romans 3 verse 24.

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:24-26

"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Now, note that phrase,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:24-26

"being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past."

See, we do have remission of sins through the forbearance of God,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:24-26

"to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

Now, how can God be just when He justifies a sinner?

Because every one of us have sinned, we have violated His law, and we deserve death. And the answer is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. The reason God can be just is because God sent His Son to be a substitute. And that substitute not only died in our place, in our stead, but that substitute also worked out a perfect righteousness which is now imputed or given or charged to our account. It's a legal term again. Watch it. "For He hath made Him"—for He, God the Father, hath made Him, that is God the Son—"to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." So justification then is not merely negative, it is also positive. God not only forgives our sins and pardons us, but God imputes to us a positive righteousness which is in Jesus Christ alone.

Now, let me show you one of the most beautiful illustrations of this in the entire Bible. I want you to turn back to the book of Zechariah, which is right before Malachi. Zechariah chapter 3. Zechariah chapter 3 and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch carefully. Zechariah chapter 3 verse 1. "And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord." Watch. "And Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, 'The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee.'"

"'Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?' Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, 'Take away the filthy garments from him.' And unto him he said, 'Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.' And I said, 'Let them set a fair mitre upon his head.' So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by." And I'll go back to verse one. "And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord," that is, before our Lord Jesus, "and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him."

Now, the Hebrew word "resist" literally means to attack or accuse. So here is Joshua standing before the Lord, and here is Satan right there standing to attack, or accuse, or indict Joshua. Watch verse 2. "And the Lord said"—that is the judge said—"The Lord said unto Satan, 'The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee.'" Watch, "'Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?'" That is, "Is not this one a mighty log? Is not this one that I have chosen?"

Now who is doing the rebuking? It is God Himself. Why? Satan has no standing. He has no right to bring a charge against Joshua. You say, "Oh, but look, Joshua has filthy garments." Verse 3. Yes, he does. But guess what happens? God said, "I have forgiven thee, I have pardoned thee," and He takes away his filthy garments. And what does He do? He clothes him with righteousness.

And He puts the mitre upon his head. Here's an absolutely perfect picture of what God does for us in justification. God removes our filthiness, our vileness. God clothes us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And then He looks at us, and then He looks at the law, because we've now kept the law perfectly in Jesus Christ, and God says, "Justified." More than forgiven, more than pardoned, imputed with a perfect righteousness.

Dead to the Law and Alive in Christ

Weaver uses Romans 7:1-4 and an illustration of a dead criminal to show that believers are dead to the law's condemnation. Romans 8:1 and 10:4 confirm that there is no condemnation for those in Christ, who is the end of the law for righteousness.

Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to Romans 7. Romans 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Paul writes, "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?"

Now he gives an illustration to prove that. "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man." Now let me just tell you. The Apostle Paul is not teaching on marriage and divorce at this particular point. He is teaching something far more important. What is it? Look down in verse 4. "Wherefore"—here's the conclusion based upon the illustration that he just used about the woman being bound to her husband as long as she lives or as long as he lives. But if the husband be dead, she's freed. Note verse 4, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." Now, wait a minute. What does he mean when he says that we have become dead to the law by the body of Christ? Does that mean that we can now go out and steal and kill and fornicate? Well, of course not. What does it mean when it says that we are dead to the law? It means we are dead to the law as far as condemnation is concerned.

The law can no longer condemn us. Let me give you an illustration. Let's suppose a man walks through that door and shoots Ed right between the eyes and kills him. And all of us are horrified. We identify the man. Maybe we wrestle him down and catch him. The sheriff comes and arrests him. There is a trial. He's found guilty of murder in the first degree. He's sentenced to death in the electric chair. And here he is, back in prison now, waiting for the day that he's appointed to die. And a month before he's to be executed, he drops dead of a heart attack. Now would you please tell me what the law is going to do to him? Are they going to keep him in that cell for another 30 days and then finally drag him out piece by piece, put him in an electric chair and go ahead and execute him? Are they? No. What can the law do to him now? Nothing. He's dead. You follow me?

Now, how can God's law condemn us if God has justified us, and we are not under that condemnation, but we're now in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, there can be absolutely no condemnation. Why? Because we're dead to that condemnation, and we're alive in Christ. Look in your Bibles, Romans 8 verse 1. Here it is again. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Do you get that? There is no condemnation. Now, look in Romans 10 and verse 4. Romans 10 and verse 4. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Now, how is Christ the end of the law for righteousness? Because I don't keep God's law to make me righteous. Christ has already kept it for me and I'm righteous in Him. You see what I'm saying? I now have a perfect righteousness.

Applications: Doctrine, Assurance, and Handling Accusations

Weaver stresses the importance of sound doctrine over feelings, explains how to answer accusers by pointing to God's justification, and clarifies that justification covers all sins—past, present, and future—without giving license to sin.

Now, let me make some applications and try to tie things together. First of all, I want you to understand the importance of doctrine. There's so many people going around today that try to say, "Well, doctrine is not important." Doctrine is important. Many people live by their feelings. They live by their experiences. Here's to give you an illustration. I heard about a pastor who had resigned his church or was going to resign.

And at this particular time, we had a Bible Institute and I had seven or eight different young men who were studying for the ministry, and I was always trying to find places for them to preach. So I stopped at this church, and I went in and talked to the pastor. I knew him. I said, "Brother, I understand that you've resigned or that you're going to. And I was just concerned if the church needed any pulpit supply, I've got some young men that could take care of it while they locate another pastor." And here's what the pastor said to me. "Well," he said, "I was going to resign.

But I feel like now that this is the place for me to be. And I feel better now than I've ever felt before. And I feel like we're going to have a good work here. And I feel like we're going to do great things." Well, I said, "Well, thank you. I just wanted to offer help." And I turned around, walked out, got in the car. And Alice said, "What did he say?" I said, "He'll be gone in 30 days." And he was. You know how I knew that? "I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel." Folks, let me tell you something. Feelings do not count. It's the Word and the will of God that counts. If that man had said, "It is God's will that I stay here based upon His Word," I'd have had a different attitude. You see, I have people say, "Well, I feel saved today." Well, wonderful.

What if you wake up in the morning with a stomach ache and a virus and diarrhea and a headache and a temperature of 104? Do you feel saved then? No, you don't. "Well, I had an experience last year." Well, you'll forget that experience. In fact, the devil can give you experiences himself. Your own flesh can give you experiences. If you trust in your feelings, if you trust in your experiences, you can be shaken.

But if you know the truth from God's Word and you say, "Here I stand, God help me, I can do no other," you can't be moved. So that's why Paul is saying, you better understand some doctrine. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies." You better understand the doctrine of justification. Secondly, how in the world do you handle accusers? How in the world do you handle your own conscience when your conscience begins to condemn you? The only way you can answer them is this. You have no standing to accuse me before God. It is God who justifies. You cannot alter. You cannot overthrow. You cannot change. You cannot reverse His verdict. It is incontrovertible. It is God that justifies. Not man. Not my conscience. It's God.

Now, let me cover one other thing. If you understand the doctrine of justification, you understand that we have been justified not from one sin, but for all sin. So many people get confused on this. They say, "Brother Weaver, I understand how God can forgive me and justify me of my past sins, but what about my present sins or even the sins I might commit in the future?" That's a pretty good question. Well, let me ask you one. How many sins had you committed personally before Christ was crucified? None. You weren't even alive. You weren't even around. Which meant Christ died not just for past sins, but for future sins as well. And when God justifies us, He justifies us from all sins, even those He knew that we would commit, even as Christians. So, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? No one. Why? It is God who justifies.

Now, very clearly, this does not give us a right to run out in sin. And God's people are not going to do that. I've heard people say, "Well, Brother Weaver, if I believed that, I'd live any way I please." Well, that's true. And if you've really been converted, you're going to live the way that pleases God, and that's going to please you. But if you want to run out and sin and disobey God and get into all kinds of wickedness, you've never been converted to begin with. Something's wrong with you.

But you see, the truth is, we've been justified. And no one can have a legal right to incriminate us before God's court according to God's law. For God Himself is the judge. And anyone who tries, he will find the same answer that God gave to Satan in Zechariah 3, verse 2. "The Lord rebuke thee." You have no standing. You have no right to sin. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day and we ask Thy blessing and Thy help. May we praise Thee for Thy so great salvation and glorify Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Incontrovertible Verdict of God

Summary: God's verdict of justification cannot be overturned, altered, or challenged because it is a legal act performed by God Himself as judge.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God's verdict is incontrovertible. That is, it cannot be overturned. It cannot be altered. It cannot be controverted. It cannot be changed.' (196.8-205.3s)

Salvation as God's Sovereign Work

Summary: Salvation is entirely of the Lord, not based on human effort, decision, or goodness. Assurance must rest on God's election and justification.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Salvation is not a work of man, it's a work of God. Assurance is not a work of man, it's a work of God.' (1037.5-1045.0s) and quotes Jonah 2:9, 'Salvation is of the Lord.'

The Legal Nature of Justification

Summary: Justification is a judicial declaration of righteousness, not merely forgiveness. It involves imputation of Christ's righteousness and removal of sin's condemnation.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'Justification is a legal act. It is a judicial act. It is a verdict from the judge... Justification is a declaration of a right standing in relationship to the law.' (2195.1-2229.0s)

The Accuser's Lack of Standing

Summary: No one can bring a charge against God's elect because they lack legal standing in God's court; God is the judge, lawgiver, and justifier.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'They have no standing. They have no right to be there... It is God that justifies.' (2057.8-2115.3s, 2195.1-2198.0s)

The Danger of Humanizing Salvation

Summary: Relying on human decisions, feelings, or goodness for assurance leads to instability; true assurance is grounded in God's unchanging work.

Evidence: Weaver illustrates with the jail inmate who trusted a decision but lived in sin, and the pastor who relied on feelings and soon left. (889.4-1012.8s, 2896.8-2983.3s)

The Completeness of Justification

Summary: Justification covers all sins—past, present, and future—because Christ died for sins not yet committed, and God's verdict is final.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'How many sins had you committed personally before Christ was crucified? None... Christ died not just for past sins, but for future sins as well.' (3141.2-3201.9s)

Key Arguments

Paul's use of 'God's elect' is intentional to ground assurance in God's choice, not human action.

Summary: Weaver argues that Paul deliberately uses 'God's elect' instead of 'believers' or 'Christians' to emphasize that salvation depends on God's sovereign election, not human decision or goodness.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'Why did he not write, Who shall lay anything to the charge of him that believeth on Jesus?... Why did he say, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?' and explains it is to counter humanized salvation. (662.4-717.4s)

The legal context of 'charge' shows that no accusation can stand in God's court.

Summary: Weaver demonstrates that the word 'charge' (ekkaleo) is a legal term used in Acts for formal accusations, and since God is the judge and justifier, no accuser has standing.

Evidence: Weaver cites Acts 19:40, 23:28-29, and 26:2,7 to show the legal usage, and concludes, 'They have no standing. They have no right to be there.' (1206.3-1556.5s, 2057.8-2060.0s)

Justification is a forensic declaration that includes imputed righteousness.

Summary: Weaver argues that justification is more than pardon; it is a positive imputation of Christ's righteousness, making believers legally righteous before God.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God not only forgives our sins and pardons us, but God imputes to us a positive righteousness which is in Jesus Christ alone.' (2372.3-2380.0s) and references 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Believers are dead to the law's condemnation through union with Christ.

Summary: Using Romans 7:1-4 and an illustration of a dead criminal, Weaver argues that the law cannot condemn those who are in Christ because they have died to its penalty.

Evidence: Weaver illustrates, 'What can the law do to him now? Nothing. He's dead.' and applies it to believers' freedom from condemnation. (2693.9-2856.4s)

Assurance based on feelings or experiences is unstable; doctrine provides unshakable assurance.

Summary: Weaver contrasts the pastor who relied on feelings and soon left with the stability that comes from knowing the doctrine of justification.

Evidence: Weaver recounts the pastor saying 'I feel, I feel, I feel' and predicts his departure, then states, 'If you know the truth from God's Word... you can't be moved.' (2896.8-3040.9s)

Justification covers all sins, including future sins, because Christ's death was for all time.

Summary: Weaver argues that since Christ died before any believer committed personal sins, His atonement covers future sins, and justification is complete.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Christ died not just for past sins, but for future sins as well. And when God justifies us, He justifies us from all sins.' (3141.2-3201.9s)

Scripture References

Romans 8:28-33

Context: The primary text of the sermon, read at the beginning and expounded throughout.

Matthew 24:24, 31

Context: Cited to show that believers are called 'the elect' by Jesus.

Luke 18:7

Context: Cited to show God avenges His own elect.

Colossians 3:12

Context: Cited to show believers are called 'the elect of God.'

Titus 1:1

Context: Cited to show Paul's apostleship is according to the faith of God's elect.

1 Peter 1:2

Context: Cited to show believers are elect according to God's foreknowledge.

1 Peter 5:13

Context: Cited to show a church is called 'elected together.'

2 John 1:1, 13

Context: Cited to show individuals and churches called 'elect.'

1 Thessalonians 1:4

Context: Cited to show Paul knew their election of God.

2 Thessalonians 2:13

Context: Cited to show God chose believers from the beginning.

Jonah 2:9

Context: Quoted to emphasize that salvation is of the Lord.

Mark 10:18

Context: Referenced to show that only God is good, countering humanized salvation.

Romans 3:10

Context: Alluded to in stating 'there is none good, no, not one.'

Acts 19:35-40

Context: Cited to show the legal use of 'called into question' (ekkaleo).

Acts 23:28-29

Context: Cited to show the legal use of 'accused' (ekkaleo).

Acts 26:2, 7

Context: Cited to show Paul was legally accused (ekkaleo).

Revelation 12:10

Context: Referenced to identify Satan as the accuser of the brethren.

Isaiah 33:22

Context: Cited to show God is judge, lawgiver, and king.

Genesis 18:25

Context: Quoted to affirm God as the Judge of all the earth.

Romans 3:24-26

Context: Cited to explain justification through redemption in Christ.

Historical References

Billy Graham crusade

Context: Weaver recounts a jail inmate who claimed assurance based on going forward at a Billy Graham crusade, illustrating the danger of trusting a decision rather than God's work.

Greenville County Jail, Greenville, South Carolina

Context: Weaver shares a personal story of preaching in this jail and encountering a man charged with murder who claimed to be a Christian based on a past decision.

Founding fathers of the United States

Context: Weaver notes that the three branches of U.S. government (executive, judicial, legislative) were derived from Isaiah 33:22.

Important Quotes

God's verdict is incontrovertible. That is, it cannot be overturned. It cannot be altered. It cannot be controverted. It cannot be changed.

Significance: This quote encapsulates the central thesis of the sermon: the finality and unchangeable nature of God's justification.

Salvation is not a work of man, it's a work of God. Assurance is not a work of man, it's a work of God.

Significance: This quote emphasizes the divine origin of salvation and assurance, countering human-centered views.

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies.

Significance: The key verse of the sermon, repeated to highlight that no accusation can stand against God's justifying act.

Justification is a legal act. It is a judicial act. It is a verdict from the judge.

Significance: This quote defines justification in forensic terms, crucial to understanding why God's verdict cannot be challenged.

Christ died not just for past sins, but for future sins as well. And when God justifies us, He justifies us from all sins, even those He knew that we would commit, even as Christians.

Significance: This quote addresses the completeness of justification, covering all sins and providing full assurance.

Discussion Questions

Why does Paul use the term 'God's elect' in Romans 8:33 instead of 'believers' or 'Christians'?

Context: Weaver argues that this term grounds assurance in God's sovereign choice rather than human action.

How does understanding justification as a legal, judicial act affect our assurance of salvation?

Context: Weaver explains that justification is a verdict from God the judge, making it unchangeable.

In what ways do we 'humanize' salvation, and why is that dangerous?

Context: Weaver gives examples like relying on decisions, goodness, or feelings, which can change.

What does it mean that Satan is the 'accuser of the brethren,' and how does he accuse us today?

Context: Weaver mentions Satan accuses through our conscience and through other people.

How does the illustration from Zechariah 3 help us understand justification?

Context: Weaver uses the vision of Joshua the high priest to show God removing sin and clothing with righteousness.

Why can the law no longer condemn a believer, according to Romans 7:1-4?

Context: Weaver explains that believers have died to the law's condemnation through union with Christ.

How should we respond when our own conscience or others accuse us of sin?

Context: Weaver says to point to God's justification and the accuser's lack of standing.

Does the doctrine of justification give license to sin? Why or why not?

Context: Weaver clarifies that true conversion produces a desire to please God, not to sin.

Applications

Ground your assurance in God's work, not your feelings or experiences.

Summary: Weaver urges believers to rely on the objective truth of justification rather than subjective feelings, which are unstable.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If you trust in your feelings, if you trust in your experiences, you can be shaken. But if you know the truth from God's Word... you can't be moved.' (3013.8-3040.9s)

Answer accusations by pointing to God's justifying verdict.

Summary: When accused by Satan, others, or your own conscience, respond that God has justified you and no charge can stand.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The only way you can answer them is this. You have no standing to accuse me before God. It is God who justifies.' (3041.0-3089.7s)

Understand and embrace the doctrine of justification for spiritual stability.

Summary: Weaver emphasizes that knowing the doctrine of justification is essential for handling doubts and accusations.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'You better understand the doctrine of justification.' (3041.0-3045.0s)

Rest in the completeness of Christ's atonement for all sins.

Summary: Believers should not fear that future sins can undo their justification, because Christ died for all sins.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'Christ died not just for past sins, but for future sins as well. And when God justifies us, He justifies us from all sins.' (3141.2-3201.9s)

Reject human-centered views of salvation.

Summary: Weaver warns against basing salvation on human decisions, goodness, or church membership, as these can fail.

Evidence: Weaver illustrates with the jail inmate who trusted a decision but lived in sin, and says, 'We've humanized salvation.' (889.4-1012.8s)

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:12:48Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T02:21:54Z

Clean Transcript

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 15

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Romans chapter 8, and let's begin reading there with verse 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. 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. What shall we then say to these things? If God be 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?
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Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? 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.
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Now, we've been on Romans 8:28 and the following verses for the last three or four months, and I started off with verse 28 and we finally worked our way down to verse 33. And I want you to remember, especially those who are just here today and trying to catch up some, I want you to remember that I told you that verses 28 through 30 stated the truth positively. And then verses 31 through 39 state the same truth negatively. What the Apostle Paul is doing is he sets forth the truth positively in verses 28 through 30, and then he handles objections or challenges to the truth that he's laid out there. Now, may I remind you that we've dealt just recently with verse 31 on the fact that God is invincible because he says, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"
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In other words, this then is considered a challenge to God's power. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" So God is invincible. No one can overthrow God. No one can defeat God. God is omnipotent. And then in verse 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?" Here is the truth that God's grace is inexhaustible. So the challenge comes around: "Well, what if God's grace runs out, or what if God refuses to be gracious to us?" And Paul said that's an absolutely ridiculous argument, for if God has done the greater for us, if God spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? So very clearly then, Paul deals with the fact that God's grace is inexhaustible.
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Now today we come to verses 33 and 34. And I'm only going to be able to deal with verse 33.
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Now, I want you to understand that this point is that God's verdict is incontrovertible. That is, it cannot be overturned. It cannot be altered. It cannot be controverted. It cannot be changed.
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Now, we're dealing with verse 33. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies."
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Now, I want you to understand that the Apostle Paul, in reality, demonstrates the truth that God's verdict is incontrovertible in two ways. Number one, in verse 33, he considers the possibility of someone bringing a charge against us. I will explain this today. He asks, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" And then secondly, in verse 34, which we'll begin dealing with next Lord's Day, he considers the possibility of someone somehow condemning us or proving that we're in a state of condemnation. But today we're going to be dealing primarily with verse 33, and that is of someone bringing a charge against us. So let's begin, first of all, by noticing in verse 33, point number one, Paul's classification. Notice, if you would, verse 33, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Now, I want you to note and pay strict attention to Paul's classification. Note the title
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given to the people of God. It is "God's elect."
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Now it is important that we emphasize this truth because you're going to see that this truth is crucial to the apostle's argument in just a moment. Now the Scripture teaches us that God does indeed have an elect people and He calls them that. Let me show you. I want you to hold Romans chapter 8, but look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew 24. And let's begin there with verse 24. Matthew 24, and verse 24. Note what the Scripture says, Matthew 24, verse 24.
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"For there shall arise false Christs,
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and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." So he says, if it were possible, indicating it's not, they should deceive the very elect. Look in verse 31, "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." So once again, the people are called God's elect. Look in Luke 18, verse 7. Luke 18, verse 7. Luke 18, verse 7. Our Lord says, "And shall not God avenge His own elect, who cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?" So he asks, "And shall not God avenge His own elect?" So each time they have been called God's elect. Look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3, note if you would please verse 12. Colossians 3, verse 12.
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Here the Apostle Paul writes, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." Notice he says, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God." Look in the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 1.
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Now I'm showing you this to prove that this title, this classification, is given to God's people over and over. Notice Titus 1 and verse 1, "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness." Now, he says, "according to the faith of God's elect." Look in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 2. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 2. Hear the Word of God says, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."
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"Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied." Elect according to the foreknowledge of God. Then if you look in 1 Peter 5 and verse 13, 1 Peter 5, verse 13. He says, "The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son." Then if you will turn to 2 John, 2 John chapter 1, of course there's only one chapter there, but 2 John 1 and verse 1. "The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth." Now, he calls her the elect lady. Look in verse 13. "The children of thy elect sister greet thee." So he's talking about entire churches, and he's referring to them as the elect.
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Now, if you'll turn back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 1. And note, if you would please, verse 4. 1 Thessalonians 1.
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Here Paul simply says, "Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God." And then in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, he makes this statement: "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."
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Now, I read these passages just to demonstrate the fact that God does have an elect people, people that He has chosen and therefore they are called God's elect. Now, if you look back in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8, and let me ask a question. Why did the Apostle Paul use, in verse 33, this term, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Now, it is true that the word elect and especially the term "God's elect" summarizes the teaching in verses 28 through 30. That is true. It is also true that the word elect or its equivalent occurs 73 times in the New Testament alone. It is the same way of saying that God has a peculiar people, which is a term that Peter uses. And then the Scripture says that we are His peculiar possession. So it really doesn't matter in one sense of the word if you talk about God's peculiar people or God's peculiar possession or God's elect. Basically, that is one and the same. But why is it that Paul wrote, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?"
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Why did he not write, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of him that believeth on Jesus?" Or why did he not write, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of Christians?" Why did he say, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Why?
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Now, let me give you some truths this morning, and I hope that you're going to understand not only what I'm going to share with you now, but when I begin to tie this together at the end. Why does Paul emphasize that we are God's elect? Let me tell you why. Because one of our main problems in grasping the concept of salvation, one of our main problems in grasping the assurance of salvation is the fact that we humanize it.
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Now listen to me carefully. There is no such thing as a humanized salvation in reality. It's a misnomer. Because only God can save. I'll quote it later, but I'll quote it now as well. Jonah 2:9, the Scripture says, "Salvation is of the Lord." And in reality, there is no such thing as a humanized assurance of salvation. But that's basically what we do. We try to humanize salvation.
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For instance, we refer to Christians as good men. Well now, God's people ought to be good men. But you remember, our Lord said in the book of Mark, "There is none good, no, not one"—or He says in Romans 3, "There is none good, no, not one." And then when the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10 came to Jesus and said, "Good Master," Christ said, "Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God." So what Christ was saying there, if I'm good, I'm God. And if I'm God, you don't come running into My presence demanding something of Me. By the way, our word "good" comes from the word "God." But we understand what we mean when we say, "Well, Doc is a good man," or "Chester is a good man." We even refer that to ourselves, but the truth of the matter is, good men can do bad things. See? And sometimes good men become bad men.
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And what have we just done? We've just humanized salvation by saying, "Well, he's a good man." But good men can change. Now, if a good man does bad things, let's say he does not become a bad man, but he does bad things. What happens to the salvation or what happens to the assurance of salvation? Because you see, your assurance was based on what you did or what you did not do, and so your salvation.
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Sometimes we refer to Christians as those who've made a decision. "Well, he's decided for Christ." We know Scripture never uses that phrase. That's one that we've humanized and institutionalized and made up. But let me ask you something. If someone just simply decided for Christ, what's to keep him from deciding to go against Christ? What's to keep him from undeciding? You see what I'm saying? I may have told you this in time past, but here's a good illustration.
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I was preaching in the Greenville County Jail in Greenville, South Carolina, and the jailer was a friend of mine. And he told me, he said, as I walked in that night, he said, "Johnny, I got a good one back there for you." And he was a man that they were holding in jail who had murdered his wife and his mother-in-law. And so I walked back there to preach and they let all the prisoners out in the bullpen. And this one guy stood back up against the wall and listened, all the other men were up front.
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And so after the message is over, this one man who'd been charged with murdering his wife and mother-in-law came up to me and said, "That was a good message, preacher." He said, "These men in here really needed that." I said, "And you didn't?" He said, "No, I'm already a Christian." I said, "Aren't you in here charged with murdering your wife and your mother-in-law?" "Oh, yes. Yes." I said, "Well, how do you know that you're a Christian?"
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He said, "Because I went forward at a Billy Graham crusade and made a decision." I said, "Sir, I've got news for you. The Scripture says, you know, that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." I said, "Now somebody's lying and I don't think it's God." And that doesn't mean a murderer can't be saved. But you see, here's a man that made a decision, quote unquote, but evidently he decided against God because he turned around and did exactly what God said not to do.
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So what we've done is we've humanized salvation. So we say, "Well, he's a baptized individual" or "He's a member of such and such church." What have we done? We've humanized salvation. Well, what if that someone breaks his baptismal vow? What if that someone refuses to keep the church covenant? You say, "Well, this person is willing to come to Christ." Well, what if he wills to go away from Christ?
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You follow what I'm saying? What we've done is we've humanized, and most of our questions arise from the fact that we have humanized God's salvation and we've humanized assurance. Salvation is not a work of man, it's a work of God. Assurance is not a work of man, it's a work of God. That's why I said in Jonah 2:9, "Salvation is of the Lord."
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Now this is exactly Paul's argument in verse 33, and I'll get to it later, but look at the latter part of verse 33. He said, "It is God that justifies." It's not man. It's not anything that man does or anything that man says. It's God who justifies. What is Paul saying? Paul is saying salvation is of the Lord. It's God who justifies. Justification, salvation is not in our hands. It's in God's hands. It's not based upon our works. It's based upon the work of God. It's not in our acts, our deeds, our will, our work. It's in God. It is God who justifies. If we desire to honor God and to give Him glory and walk in the assurance of salvation, we cannot and must not humanize salvation, and we must remember that we are God's elect, that we are God's peculiar people, that we are God's particular possession.
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In other words, we've got to learn to think in biblical terms. Now, why did he say, again, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" I've given you partially the answer. Let's notice not only Paul's classification, but notice secondly, Paul's challenge. He asked in verse 33, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" So Paul then is challenging the objectors. He's challenging the critics. Now, I want you to understand that Paul's challenge here is a legal one. And what Paul is doing is he's presenting the challenge in the form of an illustration of a case being tried in a court of law.
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So picture, if you will, please, that we're in a courtroom. Here is the judge. Here is the jury. Here's the people. Here's a prosecuting and a defending attorney. And the Apostle Paul stands up and he asks this question: "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" I'm calling on anyone, says the Apostle Paul, that can come up and bring a legal charge against one of God's elect. Now, the word "charge" is very important. It is the word ekkaleo. And it literally means to bring into account, to accuse, to incriminate, to call into question.
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Now I want to show you, I want you to turn with me to several passages. I want you to see the other places where this word is used, and in every instance it is used in a legal framework. Look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19 and verse 40. Acts 19. And note, if you would please, verse 40. You remember, Paul was overthrowing the work of the silversmiths because he was preaching against idolatry. And the silversmiths said, "Man, Diana's the great one." And they got this great convocation together and they were hollering, "Great is the goddess Diana," etc., etc.
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And of course, it was an unlawful assembly. So, in verse 40, the—in fact let's begin reading with verse 35, "And when the town clerk"—so here's the appointed city official—"and when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, 'Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?'
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"Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another. Go to law."
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"But if ye inquire anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. For we are in danger to be called into question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse." Now when he says in verse 40, "we are in danger to be called into question," literally he's saying we're in danger of being accused. We're in danger of being incriminated. We're in danger of being brought to account for this day's uproar. In other words, it is a legal term. It is a legal matter. What he's saying is charges can be brought against us. We have held an unlawful assembly.
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Now, look in your Bible, Acts chapter 23. Acts 23, beginning there with verse 28. Acts 23, verse 28.
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Paul, of course, is the subject here. Claudius Lysias, the captain, has rescued him. He's writing a letter to Felix, the governor, and he says this in Acts 23 and verse 28, "And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, that is the Jews accusing Paul, I brought him forth into their council." Then he says, "Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds." Now the word "accused" in verse 28 and the word "accused" in verse 29 is exactly the same word as "charge" in Romans 8 in verse 33. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Who shall accuse them? Who shall bring a matter before a court of law? Look in your Bibles, Acts 26, verse 2, and then verse 7. You'll see it again. Paul says, "I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews." In other words, they've laid a legal charge against Paul.
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That's why he's before King Agrippa. Look in verse 7. "Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused"—that is, I'm indicted, I'm incriminated, I'm brought into account—"of the Jews." So every time this word is used, it is used in a legal context.
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Now, it's important to comprehend that when Paul says in Romans 8 in verse 33, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" it is a challenge in relationship to a legal verdict. We're talking about a courtroom now. The Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 12 and verse 10 that the devil is the accuser of the brethren. Now, how does he accuse the brethren? Well, there are two ways, basically. Number one, he can accuse us in our own consciences. For instance, when you do something and maybe you do it without thinking and it's wrong, and the next thing you know, something says, "And how can you be a Christian and do that?" Or "How can you be a Christian and say that, or act like that, or have an attitude like that?" And then your own conscience condemns you. So in one sense of the word, that is one way that he accuses us. Another way that he accuses us is by using other people. Sometimes the other people are even Christians. And when he uses other people, then those people are acting as junior counsel to the devil.
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In other words, they are in league with him. They're operating in the prosecutor's department.
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Now, the old children are saying something. And this is all getting back as to why Paul used the term, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" He did not say, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's Christians?" or "Who shall anything to the charge of him that believeth in Christ?" Why? Because this is strictly a legal matter and the answer is not dependent upon my works. It's not dependent upon my belief. Are you listening? It is dependent upon an act, a work, a choice, a verdict of God and of God alone. And so this challenge is in God's court and in God's court of law. Now what Paul is doing is he is using a form of ridicule to show the absolute preposterousness of anyone bringing a legal charge against any of God's elect. You have ridicule in the courtrooms of man all the time and God uses this through the Apostle Paul to show how utterly preposterous it is for anyone to try to lay anything to the charge of God's elect.
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Look back to verse 31 just for a moment. Watch this. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"
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Now let me ask you a question. What would you think of here I stand and behind me or beside me or with me is the omnipotent, sovereign God of the universe. And here are three people, or a dozen people, or a whole world for that matter, that have arrayed themselves against me. Here's my question. What could they possibly do to me if God is protecting me? What's the answer? Nothing. Why? Because no one can overthrow God. No one is more powerful than God. God is omnipotent. He is the all-powerful One. And so what he's using is ridicule and one central word in this argument when he says, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"
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What good would it do anybody to be against us? Now, it's the same type of argument in verse 33 when he asks, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies." What is he saying? You've got to consider for anyone to bring a charge against God's elect, he has to be in God's courtroom with God as judge using God's law.
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Now, as you would laugh someone out of existence, literally, for fighting against God, and you would say that's the most foolish man, he's ignorant, he's stupid to fight against God. So Paul is saying it's the same amount of foolishness for anyone to think that he's going to approach the judge of the universe in His law and in His courtroom and bring a charge against one of God's elect. Let me show you several things that you need to consider. First of all, man's relation to God is a legal one, and God's dealing with man has always been through covenant. A covenant is a legal document. I don't care if you talk about the covenant of works with Adam or the Abrahamic covenant,
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or the Davidic covenant, or the Noahic covenant, or the eternal covenant, which we have in Christ according to Hebrews 13:20. God's relationship with man has always been a legal one. It has always been through covenant. And a covenant is a legal document.
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Secondly, listen to me, God Himself has ordained the law which governs His relationship with men through the covenant. The law was promulgated by God. The law was ordained by God. The law was delivered by God. The law was given by God, as we shall see later. The law was enforced by God. God is the one who made the law. So God says my relationship with man, number one, is always on legal terms, and I have given a law in which my relationship with man shall be maintained. Thirdly, God is the administrator of His law.
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Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Romans 8, but turn to Isaiah 33 and look at verse 22. Here's a verse you need to memorize. Isaiah 33, verse 22. This is the passage from which our founding fathers derived the three branches of our government, the executive, the judicial, the legislative. In Isaiah 33, verse 22, the Bible says, "For the Lord is our judge." There's the judicial branch. "The Lord is our lawgiver." That is the legislative branch. "The Lord is our king." That is the executive branch. "He will save us." Now what is God? God is king, yes. God is lawgiver, yes. But God is judge. So all three offices are bound up in God. That's why Abraham asked in Genesis 18 and verse 25, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
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So God then has a relationship that number one has always been on legal terms. Number two, God has written and given His law which regulates those terms on which He will have intercourse with man. Thirdly, God has always been the administrator and the judge of that law. And fourthly, any charge brought by anyone must be brought in terms of God's law. Now, folks, let me tell you, any charge brought by anyone must be brought in terms of law. This is true not only in God's law, it is true in man's law. Suppose I go up to the court when it's in session, and let's just suppose the judge said, "Does anyone have any business with this court? Let him speak now."
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And I raised my hand and he said, "Yes." And I approached the bench and I said, "Your Honor, I want you to have Russ arrested and imprisoned." The judge says, "Why?" "Well, I don't like him." "You don't like him?" "Yeah, I don't like him. I don't like his attitude. I want you to put him in prison and throw away the key." The judge would say, "Bailiff, would you escort this man out of my courtroom? He's crazy." I can't have Russ arrested because I dislike him, or I can't have him blessed by the court because I like him.
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You see what I'm saying? Why? If I go to court against Russ, it must have a legal claim. If there is no legal claim, I have what is known as no standing. I have no right to be there. Because I have no valid, legal, lawful claim that would put me in that court of law.
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Now, why is it the devil, nor anyone else, can bring a charge against any of God's elect? They have no standing. They have no right to be there. I'm going to show you why in just a moment. Now, let me show you something else that happens in the courtroom. Let's suppose there is a legal battle going on and Chester is over here fighting for what's right. And man, he's doing a good job and everybody says, "Yeah, boy, Chester's got him." And all of a sudden, the prosecuting attorney comes up and says, "Your Honor, there's something Mr. Taylor overlooked."
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"You will find this in Rule 4A, Subsection 1, Subsection B, Subsection 3, and Subsection 4Q," or whatever. And lo and behold, there it is. And everything that Chester has done has gone down the tubes because of one little rule of law way down in the book somewhere that he had not seen. It can never happen in God's court of law like that, for God wrote the law, God knows the law, and God is the one that enforces the law. So Paul is asking, "Who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect?"
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He's saying nobody can, because they're not going to have any standing. Let me show you why. Look back at Romans 8 in verse 33 at Paul's conclusion. Not only his classification, not only his challenge, but his conclusion. Look in verse 33. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies."
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Now I want you to remember, a few weeks ago I brought three messages on justification. I hope you remember that justification is a legal act. It is a judicial act. It is a verdict from the judge. Please remember this. Justification is more than forgiveness. Justification is more than a pardon. Justification is a declaration of a right standing in relationship to the law.
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Now, before I go any further, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Romans 3 and 2 Corinthians 5. Let me just reiterate something. Romans 3, and then 2 Corinthians 5. We'll go to Romans 3 first, and let's begin reading there with verse 24. Romans 3 verse 24. Watch carefully, Romans 3 verse 24. "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Now, note that phrase, "being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past." See, we do have remission of sins through the forbearance of God, "to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Now, how can God be just when He justifies a sinner?
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Because every one of us have sinned, we have violated His law, and we deserve death. And the answer is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. The reason God can be just is because God sent His Son to be a substitute. And that substitute not only died in our place, in our stead, but that substitute also worked out a perfect righteousness which is now imputed or given or charged to our account.
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It's a legal term again. Watch it. "For He hath made Him"—for He, God the Father, hath made Him, that is God the Son—"to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." So justification then is not merely negative, it is also positive. God not only forgives our sins and pardons us, but God imputes to us a positive righteousness which is in Jesus Christ alone.
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Now, let me show you one of the most beautiful illustrations of this in the entire Bible. I want you to turn back to the book of Zechariah, which is right before Malachi. Zechariah chapter 3. Zechariah chapter 3 and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch carefully. Zechariah chapter 3 verse 1. "And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord." Watch. "And Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, 'The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee.'"
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"'Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?' Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, 'Take away the filthy garments from him.' And unto him he said, 'Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.' And I said, 'Let them set a fair mitre upon his head.' So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by."
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And I'll go back to verse one. "And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord," that is, before our Lord Jesus, "and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him."
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Now, the Hebrew word "resist" literally means to attack or accuse. So here is Joshua standing before the Lord, and here is Satan right there standing to attack, or accuse, or indict Joshua. Watch verse 2. "And the Lord said"—that is the judge said—"The Lord said unto Satan, 'The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee.'" Watch, "'Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?'"
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That is, "Is not this one a mighty log? Is not this one that I have chosen?"
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Now who is doing the rebuking? It is God Himself. Why? Satan has no standing. He has no right to bring a charge against Joshua. You say, "Oh, but look, Joshua has filthy garments." Verse 3. Yes, he does. But guess what happens? God said, "I have forgiven thee, I have pardoned thee," and He takes away his filthy garments. And what does He do? He clothes him with righteousness.
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And He puts the mitre upon his head. Here's an absolutely perfect picture of what God does for us in justification. God removes our filthiness, our vileness. God clothes us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And then He looks at us, and then He looks at the law, because we've now kept the law perfectly in Jesus Christ, and God says, "Justified." More than forgiven, more than pardoned, imputed with a perfect righteousness.
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Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to Romans 7. Romans 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Paul writes, "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?"
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Now he gives an illustration to prove that. "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man."
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Now let me just tell you. The Apostle Paul is not teaching on marriage and divorce at this particular point. He is teaching something far more important. What is it? Look down in verse 4. "Wherefore"—here's the conclusion based upon the illustration that he just used about the woman being bound to her husband as long as she lives or as long as he lives. But if the husband be dead, she's freed. Note verse 4, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." Now, wait a minute. What does he mean when he says that we have become dead to the law by the body of Christ? Does that mean that we can now go out and steal and kill and fornicate? Well, of course not. What does it mean when it says that we are dead to the law? It means we are dead to the law as far as condemnation is concerned.
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The law can no longer condemn us. Let me give you an illustration. Let's suppose a man walks through that door and shoots Ed right between the eyes and kills him. And all of us are horrified. We identify the man. Maybe we wrestle him down and catch him. The sheriff comes and arrests him. There is a trial. He's found guilty of murder in the first degree. He's sentenced to death in the electric chair. And here he is, back in prison now, waiting for the day that he's appointed to die. And a month before he's to be executed, he drops dead of a heart attack. Now would you please tell me what the law is going to do to him? Are they going to keep him in that cell for another 30 days and then finally drag him out piece by piece, put him in an electric chair and go ahead and execute him? Are they? No. What can the law do to him now? Nothing. He's dead. You follow me?
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Now, how can God's law condemn us if God has justified us, and we are not under that condemnation, but we're now in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, there can be absolutely no condemnation. Why? Because we're dead to that condemnation, and we're alive in Christ. Look in your Bibles, Romans 8 verse 1. Here it is again. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Do you get that? There is no condemnation. Now, look in Romans 10 and verse 4. Romans 10 and verse 4. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Now, how is Christ the end of the law for righteousness? Because I don't keep God's law to make me righteous. Christ has already kept it for me and I'm righteous in Him. You see what I'm saying? I now have a perfect righteousness.
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Now, let me make some applications and try to tie things together. First of all, I want you to understand the importance of doctrine. There's so many people going around today that try to say, "Well, doctrine is not important." Doctrine is important. Many people live by their feelings. They live by their experiences. Here's to give you an illustration. I heard about a pastor who had resigned his church or was going to resign.
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And at this particular time, we had a Bible Institute and I had seven or eight different young men who were studying for the ministry, and I was always trying to find places for them to preach. So I stopped at this church, and I went in and talked to the pastor. I knew him. I said, "Brother, I understand that you've resigned or that you're going to. And I was just concerned if the church needed any pulpit supply, I've got some young men that could take care of it while they locate another pastor." And here's what the pastor said to me. "Well," he said, "I was going to resign.
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But I feel like now that this is the place for me to be. And I feel better now than I've ever felt before. And I feel like we're going to have a good work here. And I feel like we're going to do great things." Well, I said, "Well, thank you. I just wanted to offer help." And I turned around, walked out, got in the car. And Alice said, "What did he say?"
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I said, "He'll be gone in 30 days." And he was. You know how I knew that? "I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel." Folks, let me tell you something. Feelings do not count. It's the Word and the will of God that counts. If that man had said, "It is God's will that I stay here based upon His Word," I'd have had a different attitude. You see, I have people say, "Well, I feel saved today." Well, wonderful.
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What if you wake up in the morning with a stomach ache and a virus and diarrhea and a headache and a temperature of 104? Do you feel saved then? No, you don't. "Well, I had an experience last year." Well, you'll forget that experience. In fact, the devil can give you experiences himself. Your own flesh can give you experiences. If you trust in your feelings, if you trust in your experiences, you can be shaken.
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But if you know the truth from God's Word and you say, "Here I stand, God help me, I can do no other," you can't be moved. So that's why Paul is saying, you better understand some doctrine. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies." You better understand the doctrine of justification.
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Secondly, how in the world do you handle accusers? How in the world do you handle your own conscience when your conscience begins to condemn you? The only way you can answer them is this. You have no standing to accuse me before God. It is God who justifies. You cannot alter. You cannot overthrow. You cannot change. You cannot reverse His verdict. It is incontrovertible. It is God that justifies. Not man. Not my conscience. It's God.
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Now, let me cover one other thing. If you understand the doctrine of justification, you understand that we have been justified not from one sin, but for all sin. So many people get confused on this. They say, "Brother Weaver, I understand how God can forgive me and justify me of my past sins, but what about my present sins or even the sins I might commit in the future?"
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That's a pretty good question. Well, let me ask you one. How many sins had you committed personally before Christ was crucified? None. You weren't even alive. You weren't even around. Which meant Christ died not just for past sins, but for future sins as well. And when God justifies us, He justifies us from all sins, even those He knew that we would commit, even as Christians. So, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? No one. Why? It is God who justifies.
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Now, very clearly, this does not give us a right to run out in sin. And God's people are not going to do that. I've heard people say, "Well, Brother Weaver, if I believed that, I'd live any way I please." Well, that's true. And if you've really been converted, you're going to live the way that pleases God, and that's going to please you. But if you want to run out and sin and disobey God and get into all kinds of wickedness, you've never been converted to begin with. Something's wrong with you.
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But you see, the truth is, we've been justified. And no one can have a legal right to incriminate us before God's court according to God's law. For God Himself is the judge. And anyone who tries, he will find the same answer that God gave to Satan in Zechariah 3, verse 2. "The Lord rebuke thee." You have no standing. You have no right to sin. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day and we ask Thy blessing and Thy help. May we praise Thee for Thy so great salvation and glorify Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:12:48Z

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 15

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, John Weaver expounds Romans 8:33, focusing on the incontrovertible nature of God's verdict of justification. He explains that Paul's use of the term 'God's elect' is crucial because it grounds assurance not in human effort or decision, but in God's sovereign choice and legal act of justification. Weaver argues that no one can bring a charge against God's elect because God is the judge, lawgiver, and justifier, and any accuser lacks standing in His court. The sermon emphasizes that salvation is entirely of the Lord, and believers can have unshakable assurance because their standing depends on God's work, not their own feelings or works.

Opening

Introduction and Review of Romans 8:28-32

Weaver reviews the series, noting that verses 28-30 state truth positively, while verses 31-39 handle objections. He recaps verse 31 (God's invincibility) and verse 32 (God's inexhaustible grace).

Paul's Classification: 'God's Elect'

"For there shall arise false Christs,

Scripture Reading — Titus 1:1

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness."

Now, he says,

Scripture Reading — Titus 1:1

"according to the faith of God's elect."

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:2

"Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."

Now, if you'll turn back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 1. And note, if you would please, verse 4. 1 Thessalonians 1.

Why Paul Uses 'God's Elect' Instead of Other Terms

Paul's Challenge: A Legal Courtroom Illustration

Now, look in your Bible, Acts chapter 23. Acts 23, beginning there with verse 28. Acts 23, verse 28.

Paul, of course, is the subject here. Claudius Lysias, the captain, has rescued him. He's writing a letter to Felix, the governor, and he says this in Acts 23 and verse 28,

Scripture Reading — Acts 23:28-29

"And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, that is the Jews accusing Paul, I brought him forth into their council."

Then he says,

Scripture Reading — Acts 23:28-29

"Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds."

Scripture Reading — Revelation 12:10

Now, it's important to comprehend that when Paul says in Romans 8 in verse 33, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" it is a challenge in relationship to a legal verdict. We're talking about a courtroom now. The Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 12 and verse 10 that the devil is the accuser of the brethren. Now, how does he accuse the brethren? Well, there are two ways, basically. Number one, he can accuse us in our own consciences. For instance, when you do something and maybe you do it without thinking and it's wrong, and the next thing you know, something says, "And how can you be a Christian and do that?" Or "How can you be a Christian and say that, or act like that, or have an attitude like that?" And then your own conscience condemns you. So in one sense of the word, that is one way that he accuses us. Another way that he accuses us is by using other people. Sometimes the other people are even Christians. And when he uses other people, then those people are acting as junior counsel to the devil.

The Accuser's Lack of Standing

Look back to verse 31 just for a moment. Watch this. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 33:22

"For the Lord is our judge."

There's the judicial branch.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 33:22

"The Lord is our lawgiver."

That is the legislative branch.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 33:22

"The Lord is our king."

Paul's Conclusion: 'It is God that Justifies'

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:24-26

"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Now, note that phrase,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:24-26

"being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past."

See, we do have remission of sins through the forbearance of God,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:24-26

"to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

Now, how can God be just when He justifies a sinner?

Dead to the Law and Alive in Christ

Applications: Doctrine, Assurance, and Handling Accusations

Romans 8:28-39 Series - Part 15

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	450791723
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Assurance, Providence, and Life in the Spirit: Romans 8:28-39
Genre	Sermon
Date	1999-09-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 169: Romans 8:28-39 — Chapter 15
Source Timed Segments	82

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review of Romans 8:28-32: Weaver reviews the series, noting that verses 28-30 state truth positively, while verses 31-39 handle objections. He recaps verse 31 (God's invincibility) and verse 32 (God's inexhaustible grace).
Paul's Classification: 'God's Elect': Weaver emphasizes that Paul calls believers 'God's elect,' a title used throughout Scripture (Matthew 24, Luke 18, Colossians 3, Titus 1, 1 Peter 1, etc.) to denote God's chosen people. This classification is essential to the argument.
Why Paul Uses 'God's Elect' Instead of Other Terms: Weaver explains that Paul uses 'God's elect' to counter the humanization of salvation. Assurance based on human decisions, goodness, or feelings is unstable; true assurance rests on God's sovereign election and justification.
Paul's Challenge: A Legal Courtroom Illustration: Weaver presents Paul's question as a legal challenge in a courtroom. The word 'charge' (ekkaleo) is a legal term meaning to accuse or bring to account, as seen in Acts 19, 23, and 26. Paul challenges anyone to bring a legal charge against God's elect.
The Accuser's Lack of Standing: Weaver argues that Satan and other accusers have no standing in God's court because God's relationship with man is legal, God is the lawgiver and judge, and any charge must be based on God's law. Since God justifies, no charge can stand.
Paul's Conclusion: 'It is God that Justifies': Weaver explains that justification is a legal, judicial act—a declaration of righteousness based on Christ's imputed righteousness. He cites Romans 3:24-26, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Zechariah 3 as illustrations of God removing sin and clothing believers with righteousness.
Dead to the Law and Alive in Christ: Weaver uses Romans 7:1-4 and an illustration of a dead criminal to show that believers are dead to the law's condemnation. Romans 8:1 and 10:4 confirm that there is no condemnation for those in Christ, who is the end of the law for righteousness.
Applications: Doctrine, Assurance, and Handling Accusations: Weaver stresses the importance of sound doctrine over feelings, explains how to answer accusers by pointing to God's justification, and clarifies that justification covers all sins—past, present, and future—without giving license to sin.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Paul's use of 'God's elect' is intentional to ground assurance in God's choice, not human action.

Weaver argues that Paul deliberately uses 'God's elect' instead of 'believers' or 'Christians' to emphasize that salvation depends on God's sovereign election, not human decision or goodness.

Weaver asks, 'Why did he not write, Who shall lay anything to the charge of him that believeth on Jesus?... Why did he say, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?' and explains it is to counter humanized salvation. (662.4-717.4s)

The legal context of 'charge' shows that no accusation can stand in God's court.

Weaver demonstrates that the word 'charge' (ekkaleo) is a legal term used in Acts for formal accusations, and since God is the judge and justifier, no accuser has standing.

Weaver cites Acts 19:40, 23:28-29, and 26:2,7 to show the legal usage, and concludes, 'They have no standing. They have no right to be there.' (1206.3-1556.5s, 2057.8-2060.0s)

Justification is a forensic declaration that includes imputed righteousness.

Weaver argues that justification is more than pardon; it is a positive imputation of Christ's righteousness, making believers legally righteous before God.

Weaver says, 'God not only forgives our sins and pardons us, but God imputes to us a positive righteousness which is in Jesus Christ alone.' (2372.3-2380.0s) and references 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Believers are dead to the law's condemnation through union with Christ.

Using Romans 7:1-4 and an illustration of a dead criminal, Weaver argues that the law cannot condemn those who are in Christ because they have died to its penalty.

Weaver illustrates, 'What can the law do to him now? Nothing. He's dead.' and applies it to believers' freedom from condemnation. (2693.9-2856.4s)

Assurance based on feelings or experiences is unstable; doctrine provides unshakable assurance.

Weaver contrasts the pastor who relied on feelings and soon left with the stability that comes from knowing the doctrine of justification.

Weaver recounts the pastor saying 'I feel, I feel, I feel' and predicts his departure, then states, 'If you know the truth from God's Word... you can't be moved.' (2896.8-3040.9s)

Justification covers all sins, including future sins, because Christ's death was for all time.

Weaver argues that since Christ died before any believer committed personal sins, His atonement covers future sins, and justification is complete.

Weaver says, 'Christ died not just for past sins, but for future sins as well. And when God justifies us, He justifies us from all sins.' (3141.2-3201.9s)

Scripture References

Romans 8:28-33: The primary text of the sermon, read at the beginning and expounded throughout.
Matthew 24:24, 31: Cited to show that believers are called 'the elect' by Jesus.
Luke 18:7: Cited to show God avenges His own elect.
Colossians 3:12: Cited to show believers are called 'the elect of God.'
Titus 1:1: Cited to show Paul's apostleship is according to the faith of God's elect.
1 Peter 1:2: Cited to show believers are elect according to God's foreknowledge.
1 Peter 5:13: Cited to show a church is called 'elected together.'
2 John 1:1, 13: Cited to show individuals and churches called 'elect.'
1 Thessalonians 1:4: Cited to show Paul knew their election of God.
2 Thessalonians 2:13: Cited to show God chose believers from the beginning.
Jonah 2:9: Quoted to emphasize that salvation is of the Lord.
Mark 10:18: Referenced to show that only God is good, countering humanized salvation.
Romans 3:10: Alluded to in stating 'there is none good, no, not one.'
Acts 19:35-40: Cited to show the legal use of 'called into question' (ekkaleo).
Acts 23:28-29: Cited to show the legal use of 'accused' (ekkaleo).
Acts 26:2, 7: Cited to show Paul was legally accused (ekkaleo).
Revelation 12:10: Referenced to identify Satan as the accuser of the brethren.
Isaiah 33:22: Cited to show God is judge, lawgiver, and king.
Genesis 18:25: Quoted to affirm God as the Judge of all the earth.
Romans 3:24-26: Cited to explain justification through redemption in Christ.

Historical References

Billy Graham crusade: Weaver recounts a jail inmate who claimed assurance based on going forward at a Billy Graham crusade, illustrating the danger of trusting a decision rather than God's work.
Greenville County Jail, Greenville, South Carolina: Weaver shares a personal story of preaching in this jail and encountering a man charged with murder who claimed to be a Christian based on a past decision.
Founding fathers of the United States: Weaver notes that the three branches of U.S. government (executive, judicial, legislative) were derived from Isaiah 33:22.

Important Quotes

God's verdict is incontrovertible. That is, it cannot be overturned. It cannot be altered. It cannot be controverted. It cannot be changed.

This quote encapsulates the central thesis of the sermon: the finality and unchangeable nature of God's justification.

Salvation is not a work of man, it's a work of God. Assurance is not a work of man, it's a work of God.

This quote emphasizes the divine origin of salvation and assurance, countering human-centered views.

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies.

The key verse of the sermon, repeated to highlight that no accusation can stand against God's justifying act.

Justification is a legal act. It is a judicial act. It is a verdict from the judge.

This quote defines justification in forensic terms, crucial to understanding why God's verdict cannot be challenged.

Christ died not just for past sins, but for future sins as well. And when God justifies us, He justifies us from all sins, even those He knew that we would commit, even as Christians.

This quote addresses the completeness of justification, covering all sins and providing full assurance.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why does Paul use the term 'God's elect' in Romans 8:33 instead of 'believers' or 'Christians'?

[Context]

Weaver argues that this term grounds assurance in God's sovereign choice rather than human action.

[Question]

How does understanding justification as a legal, judicial act affect our assurance of salvation?

[Context]

Weaver explains that justification is a verdict from God the judge, making it unchangeable.

[Question]

In what ways do we 'humanize' salvation, and why is that dangerous?

[Context]

Weaver gives examples like relying on decisions, goodness, or feelings, which can change.

[Question]

What does it mean that Satan is the 'accuser of the brethren,' and how does he accuse us today?

[Context]

Weaver mentions Satan accuses through our conscience and through other people.

[Question]

How does the illustration from Zechariah 3 help us understand justification?

[Context]

Weaver uses the vision of Joshua the high priest to show God removing sin and clothing with righteousness.

[Question]

Why can the law no longer condemn a believer, according to Romans 7:1-4?

[Context]

Weaver explains that believers have died to the law's condemnation through union with Christ.

[Question]

How should we respond when our own conscience or others accuse us of sin?

[Context]

Weaver says to point to God's justification and the accuser's lack of standing.

[Question]

Does the doctrine of justification give license to sin? Why or why not?

[Context]

Weaver clarifies that true conversion produces a desire to please God, not to sin.

Applications

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