Nobody is the answer.
God is the reason.
I have been listening to John Piper’s series on Romans for the last year and a half, and I am just over halfway through the series. That may sound like a long time, but consider that it took Dr. Piper nine years to preach through Romans. I listened to a sermon on the below verse this morning and was inspired to share what God’s Word says and what Dr. Piper expounded:
Romans 8:33 – Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
Why is “Nobody” the answer?
This is one of those questions where Paul doesn’t answer the question explicitly but leaves the discourse to answer the question for us.
So can anybody bring a charge against God’s elect? And what does it mean to bring a charge?
It essentially means an accusation. Paul is using the courtroom/legal analogy here, as he often does (more on that later). So to bring a charge is to make an accusation that requires defense. Can one bring a charge against God’s elect… meaning those who are truly saved?
Well, yeah. They can accuse you. They can say all kinds of things against you… they can run you into the ground. So why do I say “nobody?”
Because they cannot pin it to you. There is no accusation that the enemy or anybody can make against you, if you are elect, that will stick… that will bring a conviction.
They are just empty attacks.
What charge?
What kind of charge are we talking about? Why would we worry about someone accusing us… of what? And why would Paul answer with “It is God who justifies?”
I believe Paul is talking about justification here (among potentially other things). Paul is encouraging believers – the elect – that nobody can charge you with not being justified, because God is the one who justifies.
Take heart, new Christians, that you have been bought by the blood of Christ and you are now His.
Take heart, mature Christians, that you are preserved by the blood of Christ and you are being conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
You do not need to work for your salvation.
I say this because the enemy will surely come to you and charge you.
He will accuse you.
He will say “you are not truly justified. You are a wicked person and you need to do more. You need to do good things… or else God will not love you.”
But you are justified. God has predestined you before you ever existed (Romans 8:29-30). And just in case I am not being clear, that means that there is nothing you can do to earn your salvation. God has done all the work… in the predestining… in the atoning… in the calling… it is all God.
It Is God Who Justifies
Last, I want to emphasize one final thing that Dr. Piper said. Back to the court analogy that I mentioned earlier: say your accuser comes to you and says you are not justified and the judge agrees. Or maybe he doesn’t. Either way, it ends up in the appellate courts and a long battle ensues. Do you need to worry about the final determination?
Of course not! It is God who justifies! He is the final judge… the Supreme Court! No matter what anybody under heaven or earth might think or say to or about you, God is the Supreme Judge, and He has the final say on your salvation.
It is God who justifies. O Glory Hallelujah!
