“Blessed Assurance” ( Romans 8: 31-33, MOUNCE ) by Carley Evans

The most straightforward and simple statement of Fanny J. Crosby’s “Blessed Assurance” is Paul’s statement to the church at Rome:

³¹ What (tis) then (oun) shall we say (legō) in response to (pros) these (houtos) things? If (ei ·ho) God (theos) is for (hyper) us (hēmeis,) who (tis) can be against (kata) us (hēmeis?) ³² He (pheidomai) who (hos) did (pheidomai) not (ou) spare (pheidomai·ho) his (idios) own Son (hyios,) but (alla) delivered (paradidōmi) him (autos) up (paradidōmi) for (hyper) us (hēmeis) all (pas,) how (pōs) will he (charizomai) not (ouchi) also (kai,) along with (syn) him (autos,) graciously give (charizomai) us (hēmeis ·ho) all (pas) things? ³³ Who (tis) will bring a charge (enkaleō) against (kata) God’s (theos) elect (eklektos?) It is God (theos) who (ho) justifies (dikaioō).

And if there is any doubt, look at Paul’s delineation of “these things.” The things that he (and we) are responding to are:

1) The glorious freedom of the children of God

2) Our adoption into the family of God as His children

3) The Holy Spirit helping us in our weaknesses and interceding for us, knowing God’s will for us

4) God using all things together for our good, so that we are conformed to the image of our Creator

5) Finally our predestination, calling, justification and ultimate glorification

Therefore Paul says there is now no condemnation.

“It Is Jesus Christ” ( Romans 8: 31-34, WYC ) by Carley Evans

“If God be for us, who is against us?

³² Which also spared not his own Son, but betook him for us all, how also gave he not to us all things with him?

³³ Who shall accuse against the chosen men of God? It is God that justifieth,

³⁴ who is it that condemneth? It is Jesus Christ that was dead, yea, the which rose again, the which is on the right half of God, and the which prayeth for us [the which and rose again, the which is on the right half of God, the which prayeth for us].”

I admit I’ve never noticed this before – that Paul asks, “Who accuses those whom God has chosen? Who is it that condemns?” And then immediately answers, “It is Jesus Christ, the one who died and rose again and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, who prays for us.”

Jesus condemns us by His death. If there was no condemnation, then He would not have needed to die.

And He justifies us by His resurrection. His resurrection destroys the condemnation.

Therefore, “if God be for us ( the One who was against us ), who now is against us?”

No one.

No one.

No one.

If this doesn’t make your heart soar, nothing ever will.

“At Peace With God” ( Romans 3: 26, HCSB ) by Carley Evans

What is God’s righteousness which “has been revealed?” (Romans 3:21) God’s righteousness is demonstrated “in His restraint” as “[He] passes over the sins previously committed.” (Romans 3:25) “For while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:2) Therefore, God’s righteousness is demonstrated as “[He] presents [Christ] as a propitiation through faith in [His Son’s] blood.” “[God] is righteous and declares righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26) And so we see “[we] are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24)

God restrains Himself now that Jesus has taken the sins of the world upon the crucifixion tree. And God declares righteous those who put their faith in Christ’s finished work.

If our righteousness — and therefore our inheritance — come through adherence to law rather than through faith, then “faith is made empty and the promise is canceled.” (Romans 4:14) “The promise is through faith, so that it may be according to grace.” (Romans 4:16) “[Jesus] was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:25) “Therefore, since we are declared righteous by faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)

“Deprived Of Divine Splendour” ( Romans 3: 23 – 24, NEB ) by Carley Evans

“For all alike have sinned” — not some, but all. “And [all] are deprived of the divine splendour,” separated from God the Father by that very sin. “And all are justified by God’s free grace alone.” The grace of God — although free — is priceless and the only requirement for justification.

That we attempt to add to God’s grace is a huge waste of energy and time. “What room is left for human pride? It is excluded. And on what principle? The keeping of the law would not exclude it, but faith does. For our argument is that a man is justified by faith quite apart from success in keeping the law.” (Romans 3:27-28)

In addition to this principle,”God’s act of grace is out of all proportion to Adam’s wrongdoing.” (Romans 5:15) “The gift of God is not to be compared in its effect with that one man’s sin; for the judicial action, following upon the one offence, issued in a verdict of condemnation, but the act of grace, following upon so many misdeeds, issued in a verdict of acquittal.” (Romans 5:16)

We are acquitted. The judge has struck the gavel and declared us ‘not guilty.’ “The conclusion of the matter is this: there is no condemnation for those who are united with Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

“The Richness Of His Grace” ( Ephesians 1: 7, HCSB ) by Carley Evans

“We have redemption in [Christ] through His blood.” Yes, our redemption is through Christ’s blood, and not through the Law, not through our good deeds, not through our own efforts. Rather, we are given “the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavishes on us with all wisdom and understanding.” (Ephesians 1:7-8) Christ’s grace is the cause of our redemption; this grace which He continues to “lavish on us.” Imagine the richness of the love a mother lavishes on her newborn baby — a pale reflection of the love and grace Christ lavishes on us “with all wisdom and understanding.”

And “the gift is not like the trespass.” “Where sin multiplies, grace multiplies even more so that, just as sin reigns in death, so also grace reigns through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (Romans 5:15, 20-21)

“What are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31) “Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies.” (Romans 8:33) “Who can separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35)

“He Himself Is The Remedy” ( 1 John 2: 2, NEB ) by Carley Evans

“My children, in writing thus to you my purpose is that you should not commit sin. But should anyone commit a sin, we have one to plead our cause with the Father, Jesus Christ, and He is just. He is Himself the remedy for the defilement of our sins, not only our sins only but for the sins of all the world.” (1 John 2: 1 – 2)

Yes, we sin. And, sin defiles us. But, a greater truth exists: Jesus is the remedy for our sin and defilement. Both are destroyed on the Cross.

“God’s act of grace is all out of proportion to Adam’s wrongdoing,” writes Paul. “For the judicial action, following upon the one offense, issues a verdict of condemnation, but the act of grace, following upon so many misdeeds, issues a verdict of acquittal.” (Romans 5: 15, 16)

Acquittal, a verdict of not-guilty, is the gift of Jesus Christ to those who believe.

“The conclusion of the matter is this: there is no condemnation for those who are united with Christ Jesus, for in Christ Jesus the life-giving law of the Spirit sets you free from the law of sin and death. What the law can never do, because our lower nature robs it of all potency, God does: by sending His own Son in a form like that of our own sinful nature, and as a sacrifice for sin, He passes judgment against sin within that very nature, so that the commandment of the law finds fulfillment in us, whose conduct, no longer under the control of our lower nature, is directed by the Spirit.” (Romans 8: 1 – 4)

God’s Spirit within us directs us. “Thanks be to God! In a word, then, I myself, subject to God’s law as a rational being, am yet, in my unspiritual nature, a slave to the law of sin.” (Romans 7: 25)

The only rescue, the final remedy is Jesus.

“If we claim to be sinless, we are self-deceived and strangers to the truth. If we confess our sins, He is just, and may be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every kind of wrong; but if we say we have committed no sin, we make Him out to be a liar, and then His Word has no place in us.” (1 John 1: 8 – 10)

“The Lord’s Standard” (Proverbs 21: 2, NEB) by Carley Evans

“A man may think he is always right, but the Lord fixes a standard for the heart.”

A person justifies his acts to himself. For example, if you are running late to an important meeting and many are waiting on you, is it right to run a red light if there are no cars coming in either direction? Some say, ‘Yes.’ Others say, ‘No.’ Some are just bewildered, knowing they’d consider running the light.

Whatever you decide, you justify your decision to yourself as the correct one. Otherwise, if you are like most people, you won’t do that which you’ve decided is wrong. In order to commit an illegal or immoral act, you must first decide it is ‘not so bad,’ ‘the correct or better thing to do in this situation,’ or ‘okay because everyone else is doing it.’

You see yourself as being in the right.

“But the Lord fixes a standard for the heart,” writes Solomon. Jesus knows that it is what comes out of the heart that defiles a man. And, unfortunately, a person’s heart is deceitful above all things, says Jeremiah.

God’s standard is high; fixed so high we can not attain to it. We must place ourselves under the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ where God’s mercy overshadows us. Here we are justified not by ourselves, but by God Himself. Rejoice! I say again – Rejoice!

“He Turns His Ear” (Psalm 116: 1 – 2, HCSB) by Carley Evans

“I love the Lord because He hears my appeal for mercy. Because He turns His ear to me, I call out to Him as long as I live.”

God is merciful. God’s mercy triumphs over God’s judgement. His mercy triumphs over judgement because of His Son’s sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection. Christ’s shed blood covers our sins so that God is able to be merciful to us.

God tells us that among people “there is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All turn away; all alike are useless. There is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3: 10 – 12) Since everyone “falls short of the glory of God,” everyone is “justified freely by [God’s] grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3: 23, 24)

We are “declared righteous” when we “have faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3: 26) Through Jesus’ work, God “hears [our] appeals for mercy.” God is able to “turn His ear to [us].” He is able to be merciful to us, who are sinners saved by grace.

“End Results, Not The Means” (Titus 3: 4 – 7, KJV) by Carley Evans

Who saves us?

We are saved by “God, our Savior.”

When are we saved?

We are saved “after the kindness and love of God, our Savior” appears.

Why are we saved?

We are saved “not by works of righteousness which we do, but according to His mercy.”

How are we saved?

We are saved “by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which He sheds on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior.”

What is the result of our salvation?

When we are saved, we are “justified by His grace;” and we are “made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Here — in three verses — Paul gives us the who, when, why, how, and what of salvation. Another result of our salvation — which Paul mentions prominently — is that we “who believe in God must be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.” (Titus 3: 8)

And again, he writes: “And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3: 14)

Good works and fruitfulness are the end results of our salvation, but they are not the cause of our salvation. The causal factor in our justification is God’s mercy and grace, His love and sacrifice for us, which He plans before time begins and brings to fruition on the Cross and in His resurrection and through His giving of His Holy Spirit.

“The Free Gift” (2 Corinthians 5: 14 – 15, HCSB) by Carley Evans

Paul is convinced that “if one dies for all, then all die.” The One who dies is Jesus Christ. Since He dies for all, then we who live because of Him “should no longer live for [ourselves].”

In Christ, we are “new creation[s].” (2 Corinthians 5: 17) In Him, we are “the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

The righteousness of God comes “through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all sin and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift.” (Romans 3: 22 – 24, ESV)

Our salvation is a gift. And, this gift is free as Paul repeatedly proclaims: “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many die through one man’s trespass, much more has the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abound for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brings condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.” (Romans 5: 15 – 16)

Paul is not concerned with being redundant, and so encourages us with this truth: “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6: 23, ESV)