Do you know that there's a kind of wrath that is hanging over your head? It's abiding wrath. That if you die without Jesus Or he comes back. You become the object of that wrath. That's certainly not God's plan for you.
He wants you to have eternal favor. He wants you to have your sin forgiven. He wants to declare you a righteous one, a saint. He wants to place the Spirit within you that you might have a new nature and be in Christ, that you might become a new creation. Uh Welcome to Search the Scriptures.
The Bible Teaching Ministry of Dr. Carl Broge. Senior pastor of Community Bible Church, Today is part 3 and the conclusion of Pastor Carl's sermon entitled, If God be for us from the book of Romans chapter 8. Verses 31 through 33 as we conclude today's lesson. Dr.
Brogie affirms that no one can bring a viable accusation against a true believer. God is the only one who justifies us. And if he has declared us righteous, then any opposition or accusation is powerless. Believers are secure in God's judgment. and cannot be condemned.
Let's join Pastor Carl now. As he concludes. And so the instruction from the Lord is very specific. Take your son, your only son, he's the only son of promise, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains. I will tell you.
This verse teaches that Isaac can't be offered up just anywhere, but on one of the mountains of Moriah, I will show you. Do you know where that place is? You go to Israel, you stand on the Mount of Olives, and we look across the Kidron Valley. And we look at that golden dome board. build 600 years after Jesus.
And of course, every Jew believes that that's the place. where Abraham offered Isaac. Even the Muslims believe that. Of course, they don't believe it was Isaac that Abraham offered, but Ishmael. Look, the Quran and the Bible both can't be true.
What else happened on that land in that same area? When there was a plague, David had to stop the plague. And when he made the sacrifice, the plague was stopped. In that same area, Solomon is instructed to build the temple. Listen to these words: 2 Chronicles 3.
Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. Where? On Mount Moriah. Where the Lord had appeared to his father David at the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite. Moriah was a place where thousands upon thousands upon thousands of sacrifices were made, all picturing the innocent, sinless blood of the Lord Jesus that was yet to come.
And a short distance from Moriah would be built a city. the city of Jerusalem. In Mount Moriah. On the mountains of Moriah, when you go to the end of Moriah, you come to a place called Gogatha. Here's a picture.
of what it looked like in the first century. It was a Picture of a skull. That's an older picture, and many of you have gone there, and depending on your angle, you can really see the skull. And it's not by accident. That Jesus was not crucified in the spot Abraham and the temple.
was built, but outside the city. Why? Because that's what God dictated in the Scripture.
So you go outside the city of Jerusalem, you go outside that first century wall, and this is what you come to. The place of the skull. Listen to what. God said in Hebrews 13, for the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin and are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gates.
So you go outside the gate. By the way, there's another place. that people say Jesus was crucified. It's called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and I always bring people there because it's a great historical spot, but it's not where Jesus was crucified. is not even on Mount Moriah.
And in every type without exception in Scripture, God is always consistent to fulfill the details of the type. And Isaac, the book of Hebrews, tells us in the 11th chapter is a type, he is a picture of the Lord Jesus. John will write these words in John 19:17. They took Jesus, therefore, And he went out bearing his own cross to the place of a skull. The other word skull is cranion in Greek and Latin, it's calveria.
And so the translators of the 1611 King James called the place Calvary. Why? Because they're trying to identify the place in the reader's mind, and so it's a good translation. But you go into some countries of the world and they don't even know what you're talking about. That's from the Latin Bible.
But they brought him to the place of cranion, the skull, which in Hebrew is called Galgotha, which means skull.
So, the Lord Jesus, of course, tells us that Abel was the very first prophet. That's New Testament revelation, and that's important in light of the kind of sacrifice he gave. And you don't know that from the Old Testament, but you learn it from the New Testament, and the book of Hebrews underscores it as well. But we learn in the book of Genesis that the first one who's ever called a prophet of God. Is this man Abraham?
And so he prophesied in the mount of the Lord, it will be provided. What will be provided? The Messiah's death on a cross. And so when a first century reader read Romans 8.32, that God did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, what was popping off the pages of Scripture was the exact wording from Genesis 22 in their Greek Bible. Listen to what Peter says in Second Peter 1:3.
He reminds us that his divine power, God's divine power, has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. If God didn't spare his own son, but will give you all things. Will he not also take care of your needs? Whether it's in this process of sanctification or the trials you're going through today. And the answer is yes.
Now, sometimes Christians say, but couldn't God take away our salvation? No, he can't do that. There are people who say, well, God's so disappointed you, He's taken the salvation away. That's heresy, my friend. Number one, It would require a divine failure on God's part.
He just affirmed, He, God the Father. Has secured this salvation from its calling to its glorification. It would require not only a failure on the part of God the Father in what He is described as doing in your salvation, it would require a failure on the part of God the Holy Spirit. Listen to what Paul said to the church at Ephesus. In him, in Christ, you also.
After listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you have to hear the gospel before you can believe it. You don't have to know a whole lot of theology, but you have to know you're bankrupt, you can't earn salvation, that only the death and resurrection can save you. That's the gospel. Having also believed, what happened? You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge, as an earnest, as a down payment of our inheritance.
With a view to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of His glory. Jesus taught in John's Gospel when he comes to live inside of you. He's there forever. And so Paul will say in Ephesians 4, do not grave the Holy Spirit of God by whom you are assailed for the day of redemption. And so, for you to lose your salvation, the Spirit of God would have to unseal you.
He would have to leave you, and the Scripture teaches he will never leave you. And not only would it require for you for God to retract salvation, a failure on the Father's part and the Spirit's part, it would require a failure on the Son's part. Listen to these words in John 6, verses 37 to 30, really 40. All that the Father gives me shall come to me. And the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.
For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of the Father. Who sent me that of all he has given me, I lose nothing? But raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father.
That everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him, you hear the gospel, you behold the sun, you see him as crucified, as Paul says to the Galatians, as he preached the gospel long after he was literally crucified. You behold the sun, you believe in the sun. And the promise is, you may have eternal life, and I myself, with no leakage, will raise you up on the last day. He is giving an irrefutable promise to those who come to him. Listen, he said, I came here to this planet.
Not to do my will, but the will of the Father. And the will of the Father, without exception, is every single one, losing absolutely none that beholds and believes the Son, will be raised up on the last day. And so for God to retract your salvation would make Jesus a liar. Do you want to call him a liar? I hope not.
Not only would you be calling him a liar, you'd be calling him a sinner, because if he's a liar and he's not doing what he said to do, that he promised to do, then he's a sinner. And not only is he a liar or a sinner, he can't do what he promised, he's weak. Listen, most people. When you talk about once saved, always saved, which is what we're describing this morning as it's popularly summarized, and they say you can lose your salvation. They haven't really thought through that in light of the statements of Paul and all the writers of the New Testament.
And what Jesus himself said, to say you can lose it, you're calling God weak, a liar, and a sinner, and I don't think you want to do that. He is making an unequivocal promise that all that has been given will be raised up on the last day. And again, God is not going to fail, and it would create all this consternation within the Trinity itself. The Son would need to change the Father's will. The Father, where do you have to get God the Holy Spirit to unseal us?
The son would have to stop interceding for us, who makes habitual, continual intercession against those who will accuse us. He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all. Will he not also with him freely give us all things? Absolutely.
Now let's come to the third declaration, the third of five. We've got two more.
Next time is important. You don't want to miss it. We have no viable accusation. There's no effective opposition. There's no potential deprivation.
And we have no viable accusation. Notice the next question he asks here in verse 33. Who will bring a charge against God's elect? Against God's people. You could paraphrase it.
Who is qualified to bring a charge against the child of God? Who can possibly accuse a true believer?
Now, if the question stood alone, there might be many voices that would raise an accusation. Maybe your conscience would condemn you. Maybe the devil who, according to Revelation twelve and verse ten, Without ceasing, makes accusation against God's people. Maybe he would bring an accusation. We might even have someone who'd point the finger and say, look at that guy.
He is inconsistent today. Today he's a hypocrite. But there's no viable accusation that can be sustained. Why? Because God is the one who justifies.
The Supreme Judge of the Supreme Court of the universe has declared you righteous, and no one can undo that, whatever the accusation may be. The Father says, He has trusted my Son, I've received him, I have imputed the Son's righteousness to him, I have put the Spirit as my down payment that what I began, I'm going to complete, and no one can accuse him. That's the grace of God, and I hope that doesn't bother you. It should strengthen you. The writer of the Hebrews says: your heart should be strengthened by grace.
Now I've been asked many times on the Bible line.
Well, can someone Lose their salvation by committing some horrible sin, and they'll name different sins of one kind or another.
Well, to begin with, the people who ask that, or the church or denomination that will teach that, does not really understand the depravity of man and who it is that took the initiation in our salvation. If we were dead in our trespasses and sins and had nothing in ourselves to respond, and if the initiative began with God, no one can come to the Father unless the Father draws him. If you understand that we love him, why? Because he first loved us. Then you can understand that God will not allow some sin to cancel out this great salvation that He.
Started.
Sometimes people ask me, well, okay, I agree there's not some sin I can commit. But what if I want to return my salvation? I say, I'm not interested anymore. You know, we've seen this in the last several years, even some national preachers. who've renounced the faith.
and walked away from Christianity. Again, the person who thinks he can return his salvation either has forgotten or has never learned. That again, we came because God first sought us. But how do you explain these people who seemingly return their salvation?
Well, Jesus put it this way. In the parable of the sower, it's found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Luke gives the most complete explanation on one of the soils, the seed that was on rocky soil. Listen to these words: those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. These have no firm root.
They believe for a while, and in time of temptation, they fall away. There it is. They say they believed, now they lost it. Look, every time you see the word believe, it's not always in reference to conversion. The demons believe.
and tremble. Believe in the Lord Jesus. That is a different usage of the word. These are people who intellectually acknowledge certain facts. But they have never with the heart, for with the heart man believes unto righteousness.
And so you see them coming to church as Jesus said it would happen. They know all the right. word Yeah. I become a Christian. I want to be baptized.
I want to be a member. They come with this newfound enthusiasm with joy. They go up like a rocket and they crash. Like a rock. Why?
Because it wasn't real. We once had a dog named Jenny. My daughter, Grace Anna, named her. After One of her close friends at the time, which in hindsight I'm not sure was a compliment. Um She was an outdoor dog, and in this part of the country, you know, you can do that.
I think that's the way God intended it. And we would give her a bath. And when she reached the point where you petted her and your hand got dirty. You knew she needed a bath.
Now we were not being neglectful, understand this. We just understood that to some degree giving her a bath was counterproductive because as soon as you washed her and cleaned her, she would go back out into that mud marsh and roll around. And she, I think, liked the smell of mud marsh better than she did of some perfume shampoo. I mean, that dog was totally depraved. It was a reprobate dog.
But listen. Unless a person, and you couldn't do anything to fix that dog. And one day the Lord took that dog home to be with himself. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah.
Unless your nature is fundamentally changed, and only a birth from above can do that. You may for a time change But it won't last. That's Peter's argument. Do you remember it? He's dealing with these false prophets who know all the right words.
They're in the church. They're teaching the church. And then they apostasize. Why? Because they never had salvation.
And he says, it has happened to them according to the true proverb. A dog returns to its own vomit. And a sow after washing returns to wallowing in the mire. There are people who, when they get saved, they're no different than a female pig, a sow. They're cleaned up on the outside, like you might present a pig at the state fair.
But that pig is still a pig on the inside, and when she comes home, she loves to go back and get in the slop and in the mud. And there are people who say they are saved, but they're like a dog. And when a dog gets something sour on its stomach, it will throw it up, it will regurgitate it. And then they'll look at the vomit and say, well, wait a minute, that's a hot meal, chopped suey. And, you know, they go and they eat it.
You say, that's disgusting. I want you to feel Peter's disgust. That's what he's saying. It has happened to them according to the true proverb. A dog returns to its own vomit.
A sow after washing returns to wallowing in the mire. A dog was cleaned out on the inside, but he remained a dog. The sow looked better on the outside, but she remained a pig. They had the same nature. And unless you have a new birth, Unless you have the nature as being one of God's children where you are deemed a sheep.
Nothing happens, and so Peter in 2 Peter 1:4 speaks of a true believer who has escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. True believers have a new nature that produces a new appetite for the things of God. John describes it in this fashion. He said, Of these false teachers, they went out from us. But they were not really of us.
How do we know? For if they were of us, if they had really been truly born-again people, if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. That's called perseverance. You're not saved by persevering, but if you are saved, you will persevere. They would have remained with us, but they went out so that it might be shown that they all are not of us.
Please understand a true believer. can never possibly undo what God has done. If you have it, you can't lose it. If you lost it, you never ever had it to begin with. We speak about eternal life.
We don't say to people, would you like to hear about the gift of temporary life? Would you like to learn more about eternal insecurity? Preaching the word of God that God saves us forever and ever. Who will bring a charge against God's elect? Nobody.
God is the one who justifies.
Now, how are we going to apply this? Let me suggest three applications as I close our time. Number one, if you've been saved, then you're experiencing just a foretaste of the blessings to come. Just a fortace.
Now, I probably need to spend more time on it, but I won't because I've done it enough. You know, I'm not teaching what Kenneth Copeland and the Joel Olsteins and the Joyce Myers are saying. They say, well, God wants to make you rich and wealthy and This is your best life now and Well, I suppose it is your best life now if you're not going to heaven. But the things that God is working together for your good. Are there spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ?
And sometimes we are in times of deprivation. Paul can say that he learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, of having both abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. The all things pertain to life in godliness and to this security of salvation. Think your way contextually through this.
He has just said in verses 16 through 18: The Spirit Himself testifies with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him.
So that we also may be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. He told us in verse 23 that we're awaiting the completion of our adoption. When our bodies are redeemed. In verse 28, how it's all moving towards an objective where everything is working together for good.
Namely, verse 29, that you might be glorified and conformed to the image of Christ, that the Lord Jesus might be. have first place. that he might receive glory in your life. We have just the pledge. Today, we have just a down payment of fortas.
of things to come. We're just enjoying the hors d'oeuvres. The rail mill is still in front of us. Second. If you've been saved, then you should above all others In this world, be grateful.
Well, of all other people, you ought to be a grateful person. Suppose I had a son, an obedient son, or suppose you did. And you had some employee who ripped you off. who rebelled against you. committed a crime worthy of prison.
And somehow you did everything you could to Save his life one day, you and your son. And he realizes what you did for him. Would that servant be ungrateful? I would certainly hope not.
Well, we're not making this up. We're talking about the one who gave everything. And we're ungrateful.
Well, sadly, sometimes we are. That's the argument of 1 Corinthians 10. That's why God hates grumbling. He hates our whining and complaining instead of the giving of thanks. That's why we have the Lord's table.
That's why we'll be gathering on Wednesday, and you should come whenever we have the Lord's table if you're physically able. Like Paul, we need to carry the death of Christ around in our person that our heart might be filled with gratitude and praise. Thirdly, if you've not been saved, then you should be fearful. You should be fearful. Why?
Because you're under God's wrath. In that great third chapter of John's Gospel. He will conclude by saying, He who believes in the Son has life. He who does not believe, the wrath of God abides on him. Do you know that there's a kind of wrath that is hanging over your head?
It's abiding wrath. That if you die without Jesus, Or he comes back. You become the object of that wrath. That's certainly not God's plan for you. He wants you to have eternal favor.
He wants you to have your sin forgiven. He wants to declare you a righteous one, a saint. He wants to place the Spirit within you that you might have a new nature and be in Christ, that you might become a new creation. And you may feel like you're on the outside this morning, you're not even at the banquet table, you can be. Because of what God did.
But listen, if God did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all, neither will he spare you. If you ignore him. or you reject him. You should be fearful. Because you will come under his eternal wrath.
Now, our Father, you said the beginning of wisdom. is to fear you. But thank you in another sense that perfect love casts out all fear because where there's a sense of fear, you said there's punishment. But you have burned out your wrath and punishment that I deserve. On the Lord Jesus, your word says you're propitiated, your anger is appeased.
May we be a forever grateful people.
So grateful for this unchanging grace. Help us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. I pray today for someone listening here in Gray's and Graniteville live streaming. They're listening on some radio station somewhere in the country, maybe on the internet, but they're unsure of their salvation. Help them to see by your Holy Spirit that this is a finished work.
That you did it all. And you have asked them to believe your word, that whosoever will may come. that whoever will call on his name will be forever saved. Help someone, Father, in childlike faith to humble themselves. to simply ask for your gift of righteousness.
Help them to say, Lord Jesus. Save me. And may we who have crossed that line Have hearts that are filled with gratitude and praise. And ready to open and share with people who need to hear. We ask in Jesus' name.
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