| Salvation by Grace Alone | |
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| Salvation by Grace Alone | |
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Primitive Monitor, September 1924 The Eighth Chapter of Romans
In Romans 8:33, the apostle says, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justified." Here it is plainly stated that God justifies the elect. It has been asked, "How can man be just with God?" Justification is a sweet and glorious subject. Only God can justify in reality. It means more than forgiveness. We are all reckoned as guilty, and guilty is the verdict. To clear the guilty before God in our salvation is to justify.
In our courts one may be brought in before the judge with the charge of crime on him. After being tried the judge may find no cause of crime and thus give him his freedom. Then it is said he is justified from crime or the charge, but in this the man was not found guilty. If he had been found guilty, it would be in the power of the judge to forgive him, but how could he justify him? Impossible. But God can justify the guilty or the ungodly, Romans 4th chapter, 5th verse. When the governor of our state sets a man free, as is the case on Thanksgiving day at the penitentiary, he is said to be pardoned. While the governor can forgive and pardon the criminal, yet he cannot justify him. He is just as guilty after getting his pardon and freedom as he was before. Now when God justifies a sinner he stands before Him as if he had never been guilty or committed a single sin. He therefore, by his justification, stands innocent before God. Paul, in speaking of Christ says "who was delivered for our offense and was raised again for our justification," Rom. 4:25. Now as Christ took our sins upon him, bore them in his own body on the tree, he made complete satisfaction for them. Thus we are absolved from them, and justified; therefore, be was raised because of our justification. This is manifested to us in regeneration, so by faith we can enjoy it and thereby have peace with God through Jesus Christ. We are brought to love God for this. His love had been bestowed on us; love has warmed our cold hearts and found its way into our affections. Now Paul, in the 35th verse says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Here he mentions seven things which some might suppose would be the most likely to separate us from his love. If these cannot, nothing else will. Now not being satisfied with these seven, knowing the objector would rise up and teach apostasy, he adds, "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities; nor powers; nor things present, nor things to come, nor heighth nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Here the apostle makes mention of ten more, and they have no effect in a separation of one from the love of God. If all these cannot, pray tell us what can? An old saint, a poor woman, who had no home, on being asked where she lived, replied: "I live in the eighth chapter of Romans-that begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation." The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Submitted by Elder David Montgomery • Previous |
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