“If God is for us” (4)
[Romans 8:31-34]
Look at Romans 8:33 – “Who will bring a charge against God's elect? …” When we think of the “God’s elect” here, when did God choose? Romans 8:29 says that God foreknew. In other words, God chose before the creation of the world, before all things existed. Look at Ephesians 1:4 – “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, ….” So, who are the people God has chosen? They are those who has become conformed to the image of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). Here, the Son of God, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, not only died, but rose again (v. 34). Not only that, but He is the One who ascended into heaven, and sat at his right hand of God (Mk. 16:19; Heb. 10:12) to make intercession for us (Rom. 8:34).
As God's chosen ones, we must imitate Jesus. The subject of all our wishes and prayers should be to be like Jesus. We must imitate not only the death of Jesus, but also His resurrection. As the elect, we must also imitate the ascension of Jesus into heaven, His sitting at the right hand of God, and His intercession for us. This is the life of those who are chosen by God. How is our life now? Are we now living as those chosen by God? The lyric of the hymn “I Want to be a Christian” verse 4 should be the subject of our earnest prayer: “Lord, I want to be like Jesus In a my heart, in a my heart, Lord, I want to be like Jesus In a my heart. In a my heart, In a my heart, Lord, I want to be like Jesus In a my heart. Amen.”
For what purpose did God choose us in advance (before the foundation of the world)? Its purpose is that Jesus Christ be the firstborn Son. Look at Romans 8:29 – “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” For Jesus Christ to be the firstborn, he must have brothers. Those who were chosen by God beforehand are the brothers of Jesus. We are all brothers of Jesus. When we all go to heaven, we will have fellowship by calling Jesus Christ “brother”. Therefore, who dares to accuse the brothers of Jesus? (v. 33) Never can! Those whom God predestined, God chose before the foundation of the world to resemble Jesus and become His brothers. Who would dare to accuse us? Never can!
However, Satan opposes those whom God has chosen, accusing them. In Zechariah 3, the fourth of the eight visions the prophet Zechariah saw appears. In the fourth vision, Satan opposes and accuses the high priest Joshua (v. 1). The reason Satan accused Joshua the high priest was that he was the high priest, but he was like a burning stick snatched from the fire (v. 2), a hopeless man, dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel (v. 3). Therefore, Jehovah, who had chosen Jerusalem, rebuked Satan again and again (v. 2) and said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes” (v. 4). In this way, God forgave Joshua of all his sins, how could Satan bring charges/accusations/against him? Never can! d
In Luke 23, there is a scene where all the crowds get up and drag Jesus to Pilate and accuse him (vv. 1-2). They accused Jesus, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king” (v. 2). So, Pilate, the Roman governor himself, interrogated Jesus himself, but “I find no basis for a charge against this man” (v. 4), “I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him” (v. 14) and “I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty” (v. 22) [Herod also said that “he has done nothing to deserve death” (v. 15)]. Nevertheless, they urged with a loud voice to ask for a crucifixion, and their voice prevailed (v. 23). As a result, God made Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin on behalf of us (2 Cor. 5:21), whom God foreknew (he loved) (Rom. 8:29) and whom he predestined (we who were chosen before the foundation of the world) (v. 30) and Jesus took on all our sins and died on the cross for us. Therefore, God took away our dirty clothes (Zech. 3:3-4) and clothed us in the white robes (Rev. 7:13) or in fine linen, bright and clean (19:8, 14) through a robe dipped in blood of the only begotten Son Jesus Christ (v. 13).
Since God, who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all (Rom. 8:32), we whom He foreknew (loved) (v. 29), whom He predestined (chosen), whom He called, whom He justified, and whom He glorified (v. 30), who dares to accuse us (v. 33) No one can! Because Jesus, who knew no sin, was accused on our behalf and died on the cross to forgive all our sins, all our sins were forgiven, and we have been saved to become like Jesus and His brothers. How can Satan dare to accuse us? Never!