"If God is for Us" (4)

[Romans 8:31-34]

Look at Romans 8:33: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?…” When we think about “God’s elect,” when did God choose them? Romans 8:29 tells us that God predestined them. That is, God chose us before the foundation of the world, in eternity past. Look at Ephesians 1:4: “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…”. So, who are the ones that God has chosen?

They are those who are conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God (Rom. 8:29). And this Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, not only died but also rose again (v. 34). Furthermore, He ascended and is seated at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19; Heb. 10:12), interceding for us (Rom. 8:34).

As those chosen by God, we must follow the example of Jesus. All our desires and prayers should be to become more like Him [New Hymnal 452, "The Desire of My Heart"]. We should not only follow His death but also His resurrection. Moreover, as those chosen by God, we should also follow His ascension, His sitting at the right hand of God, and His intercession for us. This is the life of those chosen by God. How is our life now? Are we living as those chosen by God?

The lyrics of verse 4 of New Hymnal 463, “I want to be a believer,” should be our sincere prayer:
“I want to be like Jesus, sincerely, sincerely,
I want to be like Jesus, sincerely, sincerely, sincerely,
I want to be like Jesus, sincerely, amen.”

What is the purpose for which God chose us before the foundation of the world? The purpose is for Jesus Christ to be the "firstborn."
Look at Romans 8:29: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
For Jesus Christ to be the firstborn, there must be “brothers.” And these brothers are all those who have been chosen by God. We are all brothers of Jesus. When we go to heaven, we will call Jesus "Brother" and have fellowship with Him.

So, who would dare accuse the brothers of Jesus? (v. 33) No one will be able to do so! Those whom God predestined, whom He chose before the foundation of the world to be conformed to the image of His Son and to become Jesus’ brothers—who would dare to accuse us? No one can do it.

However, Satan opposes the chosen ones of God and accuses, charges, and brings accusations against them.

In Zechariah 3, we see the fourth vision that the prophet Zechariah had among the eight visions. In this fourth vision, Satan is seen opposing and accusing the high priest Joshua (v. 1). The reason Satan accuses the high priest Joshua is because, although he was the high priest, he stood before the angel wearing filthy clothes, like a burnt stick pulled from the fire, and was a person without hope (vv. 2-3). Therefore, the Lord, who chose Jerusalem, rebukes Satan (v. 2) and commands those standing before Him to "take off his filthy clothes," and says to Joshua, "See, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes" (v. 4).

So, God forgave all of Joshua's sins, and how could Satan accuse him? He absolutely could not.

In the Bible, in Luke 23, we see a scene where the crowd rose up and brought Jesus to Pilate to accuse Him (vv. 1-2). Their accusation was that Jesus "was misleading our people, forbidding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and claiming to be the Christ, a king" (v. 2). Pilate, the Roman governor, directly interrogated Jesus, but said, "I find no fault in Him" (v. 4), "I have found no reason for death in Him" (v. 14), and "I have found no basis for a charge against Him" (v. 22). [Even Herod said that there was nothing in Jesus' actions that warranted a death sentence (v. 15)].

Nevertheless, the crowd insisted loudly, demanding that He be crucified, and their voices prevailed (v. 23). As a result, Jesus, who was without sin and did not know sin (2 Cor. 5:21), and who had been foreknown by God (the ones He loved beforehand, Rom. 8:29), had been predestined (the ones He chose before the foundation of the world, v. 30). He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21) and bore all of our sins on the cross, dying in our place.

Therefore, God, through the blood of His only Son Jesus Christ (Rev. 19:13), removed our filthy clothes (Zech. 3:3-4) and clothed us with white robes (Rev. 7:13) or clean, bright linen garments (Rev. 19:8, 14).

God, who did not spare His Son, but gave Him up for all of us (Rom. 8:32), foreknew us (loved us, v. 29), predestined us (chose us), called us, justified us, and glorified us (v. 30). So, who can dare accuse us? (v. 33) Absolutely no one! Jesus, who knew no sin, was accused in our place, forgave all our sins, died on the cross so that all our sins might be forgiven. We have been saved, have become like Jesus, and are now His brothers. So, how could Satan dare to accuse us? He absolutely cannot!