If God Be for Us… (Part 1 of 2)

When we follow Christ. There is no guarantee the journey will be an easy one. We can count on obstacles and challenges today on Truth for Life weekend. Alastair beg explains that when God is on our side. There is nothing that can block our way.

Alastair has titled this message. If God be for us.

Romans chapter 8 and verse 31 what then shall we say in response to this. If God is for those who can be against us. He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for is all, how will he not also, along within graciously give us all things. Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen. It is God who justifies.

Who is he that condemns Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us, who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword as it is written, for your sake we face death all day long we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thanks be to God for his word. We pray before we turn to the Scriptures together. We thank you Lord for the privilege of gathering and freedom of being able to open our Bibles, we pray now that you will grant to us the grace needed to think of right to understand, to believe, to obey you apply your word lookout on the prospect of the week. That is before us.

Here are so God as we come to you in your son's name and for his sake. Amen. I don't watch very much television or tall because I don't like most of it and I don't like commercials and also because many of the programs have such a lack of resolution to them that I don't know where I am. I am a simple soul and I confessed this morning to a certain nostalgia when I think for example of Perry Mason. Now there was a program the longest running TV detective series in the 1950s and 60s concerning this fictional character who was successful, every single week in defending his client. I don't ever remember watching a program when his client was not set free. The individual had usually been put on trial for murder and if you ever watch those programs are. You will recall that the land always to the closing argument which inevitably brought resolution and brought freedom and you can go to your bed quite contentedly after that. Because, after all. Writer triumphed over wrong light that shone into the darkness, and so on. Unlike so many of the perplexing things that are offered up to us today whereby confusion, rain. I begin that way because in some senses, these concluding verses of Paul in Romans eight represent his closing argument in a masterful way.

Unlike Perry Mason. Paul isn't establishing the innocence of the believer, but rather he is demonstrating that the believer is set free because another has borne the punishment that we desire is a vital distinction in Perry Mason, the attorney was able to secure a verdict of not guilty in the case of the Christian.

The verdict is guilty. How then made a guilty go free. Answer because another has borne the punishment that we, the guilty deserter and Paul with an impressive logic that is akin to his legal background establishes this truth for us as he draws things to a close. He has pointed out that in Christ we have a new identity. Verse one of the chapter.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ is not writing or suggesting that we are set free from condemnation willy-nilly that everybody is now been set free because Jesus existed and died on the cross. Everybody is automatically forgiven nobody say he saying that the identity of the believer is in Christ. That new identity reveals itself in an you mentality and back in verse five, for example, he points out that those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. In other words that's their mentality. Prior to that, before becoming a Christian. Our minds were said on what our nature desires new identity. You mentality you mentality new destiny and that is why this chapter is framed on the outset by no condemnation and in the conclusion, with no separation and the glory of it is in this that God purposes to complete the work which is grace begins when a person becomes a Christian, a new Christian will almost inevitably ask sooner rather than later. I understand what Jesus has accomplished for me on the cross and I realize that I have begun. If you like the race of the Christian life. But I I'm not sure that I'm ever going to be able to run this marathon all the way through to the finishing today and it is then that we want to turn that young believer here is she to the Bible, and perhaps even the Romans chapter 8 or maybe to Philippians chapter 1 in verse six, where Paul affirms the same truth in writing to the Christians in Philippi.

You remember that verse being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. And so what he's doing here is encouraging his readers to think by the time he gets to chapter 12, he is encouraging them to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. In other words, this whole new way of thinking about things must characterize the life of the Christian and contrary to the suggestion that is fairly routine that a Christian is somebody who has lost her mind or a Christian is someone who can only embrace these truths if they're prepared to sacrifice their mind. The New Testament is saying no. The Christian is the one who is making use of their mind and so he is arguing on the strength of what is already said verse 31 what then shall we say in response to this in response to what in response to all that is preceded in. He has just gone through this glorious section that we saw last time concerning the electing love of God. The call of God, the foreknowledge of God the work of predestination justifying his people and glorifying them in Christ. And so it is that he says because all of this is the case I want to now bring my closing argument to you by asking a number of basic questions and by making some bold declarations. We won't get to the bold declarations indeed will only get to a couple of the questions this morning. I want to say again to you how important it is for us to think how vitally important it is for us to realize that our minds matter that our minds matter from the psalmist. We have read for as this morning. The guards who are no guards or tall they cannot see they cannot hear they cannot speak and those who worship those guards become like them and I don't want to anticipate tonight very much but I stood on Monday with a friend in this amazing Hindu temple, towering over the landscape of Delhi and watched as person after person came and lead holding little shrines of the monkey God or of the elephant God or of Krishna guards that the Bible says cannot see, cannot hear cannot speak in the very mindlessness is in direct contrast to what we find when we read the Bible.

Don't let anybody tell you that the key to the Christian life is somehow in disengaging your mind, it is faith seeking understanding and we may come to the Scriptures rigorously and continuously and with our questions and we may discover that God answers them according to his purposes, so look then at the second half of verse 31 years. His first great question.

If God is for us who can be against us.

If God is for us who can be against us.

If the God who calls us and justifies us is on our side. Then one can come against us to unsettle us.

The psalmist put it in this way, if the Lord had not been on our side. Then our enemies would have prevailed against us and all the way through the Old Testament as I'm going to show you in a moment. You have this recurring theme. If God is for us, then the opposition which inevitably comes against us is ultimately of no account. It is not irrelevant. It is not on real, but what Paul is arguing for here is a kind of thinking that will give to us as we seek to follow Jesus and believe the Bible, it will give to us a sense of proportion or a sense of perspective we sung again this morning about the fact that the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the right teachers run into it and are safe. Yesterday morning at our elders meeting, not because we are here this morning in terms of our study about somewhat arbitrarily we read together yesterday morning as a group from some hundred and 44 and some hundred and 44 begins as follows. Praise be to the Lord my walk, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me get all those all those nouns of strength and of my victory in the power.

Then he says all Lord, what is man that you care for him, the Son of Man that you think of him.

Man is like a breath. His days are like a fleeting shadow she was doing. Calvin said we cannot understand ourselves. It is impossible to understand humanity without first, we have engaged in a devout using of the Godhead. That's how we put it, and after a devout musing upon the Godhead. We may then descend to a consideration of ourselves see how counterintuitive that is the 24th century Western culture. 21st-century culture says no, we must first consider ourselves and if we have any time left over that we can give some consideration to God or whatever that might mean no you are therefore I am. You will return. I am transient you are the creator.

I am the created one you are carrying. I am your subject, you are Lord I bow before you see how important it is that we understand that when the Bible speaks in terms of God not speaking of a cosmic principle is not speaking of a notion of spirituality that is inside of laws that we have our own God or that we are somehow God that is a Hindu greeting to one another. Another one I give to you, but namaste namaste agreed one another as we come and go in there say I worship the God in you.

I worship the God in you are sick. I worship Yahweh the creator of the ends of their you have your own little God he's in you.

I worship well, if you've only got your own little God in you and you read this verse and you try and make sense of it, you are up a veritable golden tree. If God be for us, who can be against us know we talk about the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run into it and are safe. Let me illustrate this in the Old Testament just for a moment or two and I hope I won't tax your patients.

In doing so is the way my mind works. As soon as I was thinking about this I it took me back to lots of Sunday school stories and I'm so grateful for Sunday school. I'm a big fan of Sunday school teachers. I'm so thankful for all the work they're doing right now with our children.

Even as I speak because I am the beneficiary of the work of others who did things and bore my wriggling nonsense Sunday by Sunday in order to teach me the Bible.

So let me just take you a couple of places numbers chapter 13 Numbers 13 the story of the exploration of Canaan on the part of the spies that were sent up by Moses, God has told Moses that the Israelites are going to possess the land of Canaan and because they're going to possess the land of Canaan. He would like some people to go up and do a reconnaissance mission the people go up and do the reconnaissance mission in verse 26 they come back and give their report.

They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community of K – in the desert (and essentially this is what they said the majority report was this. It's a very nice place in ice.

There's no question that I have some nice stuff. It's a nice place but there's a real big problem in the real big problem is that the people who are there are really big. They are giants and their cities are fortified and frankly, while we were there we felt like grasshoppers, and indeed in comparison to them. We look like grasshoppers so the majority report on the committee of the reconnaissance committee is nice place, nice idea when only we are to go in this or that you go to characters. One is called Caleb and the others call Joshua what's wrong with these characters. Then Caleb verse 30 silence the people before Moses and he said we should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. Why did he say that because of Romans chapter 8 verse 31 but he didn't know Romans chapter 8 verse 31 while he knew the principal he distant know the verse because the verse didn't exist, but Caleb understood if God said he has this place for the Israelites. Then, he has this place for the Israelites, therefore, although these people are, as the majority group has reported, we should certainly go up because we can certainly possess it. Because if God be for us, who can be against us.

He has perspective in a St. Bernard Giants you are seeing is not fortified.

He says yes it is and eventually our Sunday school teacher given to us in a song. Some of your of my vintage and you know the song and you should be thankful that you do the rest of usually disappointed that you never had the benefit of it went like this 12 men went to spy in Canaan. 10 were bad and to were good sides are good. What did the then we have the binoculars that came out. What did they see to spy in Canaan.

10 were bad and to were good son saw the Giants big and tall, some saw the grapes and clusters fall and to saw that God was in it all. True said if God be for us, who can be against us and not denying the existence of the trouble they're not denying the reality of the fortification. There simply saying one plus God is a majority, and that runs the whole way through the Old Testament, let's go from numbers into Joshua will do just another one Joshua chapter 11 you have to do this on your own because I we don't have the time to do this but Joshua 11 begins with the story of all these people all the Hittites parasites, Jebusites, Hivite started it it it did it when you read the Old Testament like that in your reading through the Bible is why people keep reading about all this was what is what what is what is the purpose of this is to show the insurmountable challenge that faced the people of God. The writer is not just loading up his SC is it where he is bringing to bear upon the mind of the reader. The fact that verse five all these kings joined forces verse four they came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots and our huge army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. In other words, we are a big problem here. A huge problem. You might say their six the Lord said to Joshua. Do not be afraid of them because by this time tomorrow I will handle all of them over to Israel slain you are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots is just a passing gaze so we needn't camp here. We can camp here, but you will notice the juxtaposition between the sovereignty of God in the fulfillment of his purpose, and the activity of man in the fulfillment of his purpose. I will hand them all over to Israel slain, it does not then say Joshua told the people.

Okay were all going have a siesta and lie down in the grass and wait for this to happen no, I will hand them over slain, and you will hamstring their horses, God accomplishing his sovereign purpose and using his people in the accomplishment of continuing our series called life in the spirit listening to Alistair Begg Truth for Life weekend. If you missed any of the previous messages in this series, you'll find them online at Truth for Life.org and while you're on our website. You can also browse through the full library of Alister's teaching or subscribe to the Truth for Life daily devotional it comes to completely free. The daily readings arrive in your email inbox each morning, making it easy to access from your smart phone or your tablet each reading encourages you to reflect on a passage of Scripture refreshing your heart in God's word as you begin your day. You can sign up quickly and easily@truthforlife.org/subscribe.

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