For some reason I can't explain, I know St. Peter won't call my name. I remember hearing that song on the radio one day. And maybe you've heard of that picture before that you're at the pearly gates, and it's like, why should you get into heaven? And St. Peter's there taking a survey of why should I let you in here and this person was singing, like they already knew they weren't going to go to heaven. And so, there's this question like, How does somebody get to Heaven? And what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life? And that's what we want to talk about this morning? What is the right answer to that question? How does someone have salvation? How do they know where they're going when they die? And then really, we don't just want to answer the question theoretically, we want you to answer the question, do you know that you're going to heaven? Do you know where you're going to go when you die? And so, I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me to Romans chapter 8, verses 33 and 34. Because these two verses are meant to give you assurance of your salvation. In fact, we're in this part of Romans chapter 8, really, the whole chapter has been to give us confidence that the Spirit is in us, give us confidence that we are God's people. And especially these last few verses here, that all these rhetorical questions meant to help us see that we are God's people, He has loved us in Jesus, nothing can separate us from that love. Nothing can condemn us because we are in Christ. And so, I want you to leave here this morning with assurance that you would know that you are going to be with Jesus forevermore. And so that's what we're going to see in just two verses, Romans 8:33-34. And out of respect for God's word, I'm going to ask if we would all stand up for the public reading of Scripture. And I would ask you to put any distraction away and give these two verses your full and undivided attention because this is the word of God. This is Romans, chapter eight, verse 33.
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
That's the reading of God's word, please go ahead and have your seat. And if you can remember what's going on here in Romans 8, Look back at Romans 8:31. He asked a question, “What then shall we say to these things?” And then he just asks many different questions, kind of in this climax of encouragement here at the end of Romans 8. And so, you can see the two questions here that we look at who's going to bring any charge against God's elect or God's chosen ones? And then the second question in verse 34, “Who is to condemn?” Okay, well, if you were not going to go to heaven, if you were not going to be in the presence of God, if you were going to be condemned, or if you were going to be accused and sent away cast out from God's presence, who could cast you out? If God is the one who justifies, who can send you a way to condemnation? If Jesus Christ has already done the work for your salvation? That's what these two questions are getting at. They're getting that this fear that people might have of what's going to happen when I die? And how do I know that I'll be led in for sure, we'll know. Let's actually like who could bring a charge against you or who could condemn you if God has declared you righteous in heaven, who could say anything different than what God has already said about you? That's what our text is saying. And this is great for us. Because when it says here in Romans 8:33, and the answer to this question of who's going to bring a charge against you, they can't speak against you, because it is God who justifies. That idea of God justifying that's been a theme in the entire Book of Romans. And because it's been a while since we've really been going through Romans, and we've been going through Romans now for over a year as a church. This is a great time for us to just review. Why did Paul write the book of Romans? Why is the book of Romans like distinctive from all of Paul's letters? Why are we spending so much time as a church going through the book of Romans together?
And so, if you've got a handout, there's one there in your bulletin, if you do want to take some notes here this morning, you can see we've got the question “Why did Paul write Romans?” Let's just make sure that we review this. Go back to Romans chapter 1 with me for the answer, alright. It's always so important whenever you're studying any book of the Bible, remember, the Bible is not one book. The Bible is many books. It's the library of God. And when you're reading all the different books, it's important that you know who wrote the book, and what was their intent? What is the author's original intent? That's how you're going to come to the right interpretation of Scripture. That's basic hermeneutics, one on one basic Bible interpretation is who wrote this? Why did they write it? And so, you can see here in Romans 1, Paul introduces himself in verse 1. And immediately he's getting into the gospel. The guy can't even get through the greeting without giving the gospel there. And he says in Romans 1:7, “it's to those who are in Rome.” And then he says in Romans 1:8, how thankful he is for them and their faith. And everybody all over the world knows about this church in Rome. And then look at Romans 1:9-11. “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—.”
So, he has this desire to go to Rome and see these people, but he has not been able to, he has been delayed, and he's about to go to Jerusalem where we know he's going to get arrested, and it's going to be a long time before he makes it to Rome. And so, in Romans, because he wants to go there, but he's not able to, he decides to take his teaching about the gospel; he wants to go encourage the people who already believe; he wants to go preach the gospel in the city of Rome. That's what he goes on to say there all the way through Romans 1:15. “I'm eager to preach the gospel.” But since he can't go there, he puts his teaching in a letter.
So, let's get that down for our answer: “Paul was not able to go, so he wrote them his teaching on the gospel.” That's why we have the book of Romans. And that's why the book of Romans is different from Paul's other letters. Because in his other letters, he's usually been there with the people, and he's writing a follow up letter. Or somebody else planted the church, and he's writing to follow up on a work that's already been done. Maybe it's somebody he's even discipled, and he's writing a letter to them. Personally, most of Paul's letters are follow-up letters. But this is actually an introductory letter containing Paul's actual teaching. He didn't go to teach them in person, so he taught them via correspondence. And so, that's why Romans is unique out of all of Paul's letters, because this is like if you got to hear him teach if he came to your city, if he was at your church, and you got to go to Paul's masterclass on the gospel, that's what the book of Romans is. And that's what he says in verse 16, when he really starts getting into his content. Look at Romans 1:16. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” I want to tell you the gospel. This is good news. This is how you're going to be saved. And then he has a specific focus here in Romans 1:17. “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” So, he wants to tell us how we can get righteous, how we can be in a right standing between us and God. And that's through a response of faith. And so, this idea of God declaring you righteous, that's what it means to be justified. That becomes a main theme in the book of Romans.
Go over to Romans chapter 3. And let's just review some of the key statements that we looked at. Now. It was a long time ago when we looked at these things, like a year ago, so let's just make sure they're still fresh in our minds. In Romans 3:20, we came to a big conclusion. And he was talking about sin here in the first part of Romans and how when people reject God, God will give them over to their sin. And then some people look at other people's sin, and they feel very judgmental towards those people. And they feel like they're right compared to other people who are wrong. And he called those people hypocrites, you're judging others and you do the same sins yourself. So, he went after the people who've been given over to sin. He went after the self-righteous people who think they're good. And he came to this conclusion in Romans 3:24, “By works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight.” Based on what you do, based on all of your works, you will not be able to get right with God. Nobody. God's not saying that anyone is righteous based on what we do. There is no self-righteousness. But then you can see in verse 24, this is now here the contrast, the good news, that even though we have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:24, “We are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation, as an atoning sacrifice.” Someone took the righteousness of God, the judgment of God for sin, someone already took that, and that's Jesus Christ, and he redeemed us by his blood. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that God might be just, and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. So, God, he's going to judge sin. But here's the awesome thing. God judged sin on Jesus, those who look to Christ by faith, yeah, now instead of being judged for your sin, Jesus was already judged for your sin, so you can now be justified, you can now be declared righteous based on the blood of Jesus Christ. And so, we see, justification is a gift that God gives. God's the one who gives us a righteousness not our own. God gives it to us. And it's based on what Jesus did when he died in our place and took the judgment that we deserved.
And so go over to chapter 4 where we saw Abraham was the example of someone who believed and then was counted as righteous. And Genesis 15:6, where it says that about Abraham, and he used that when maybe you remember Romans chapter 4 was all about. Abraham's faith. And in fact, it says in Romans 4:5, “To the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” It's not based on what you do. So, let's just go back to St. Peter at the pearly gates, which, by the way, is not how it's going to go, right. I mean, you're not standing in front of St. Peter, you're going to meet your maker, you're going to stand before God. God has appointed someone who's going to judge the living and the dead. And God has shown us who this is, by raising Him from the dead. You're going to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus, he's going to judge your life. Jesus, he's got the keys to death and Hades. Jesus is going to decide exactly what is going to happen to you. And it's saying, if you, when you get there with Jesus, if you're trusting in any works that you have done, you will not be found righteous. But if you're trusting in the work that Jesus has done, God will have already declared you righteous. That's how it's going to go. And so, I just want to be real clear about what it says here in Romans 4:5 to the one who does not work because many people when I asked them, he told me the story of how you got saved. Hey, tell me about your salvation. Tell me your testimony. A lot of people these are answers I hear here in Huntington Beach at this church. I hear answers like, well, I started going to church in 2012. That's a regular answer that I hear. I just asked them, how did you get saved and they start telling me about when they started going to church. I remember if somebody once emailed the church and they said, hey, one of the people from your church strives to talk to me about salvation. I don't need anybody to talk to me about salvation. I've already read the Bible four times. That's what they said. Don't talk to me about salvation. I've already read the Bible. So, they're saying, I don't need to know anything else. I've already read. Like, I go to church, I read the Bible. A lot of people when you ask them, hey, what's your story? They start telling you about things that they have done. You get the answer regularly. Well, I'm trying to be a good person. I'm trying to be a good dad, I'm trying to be a good husband. I'm trying. I'm trying not to hurt anybody, and just live my own life like that is going to somehow and by my works, by anything that I've done, I'm going to somehow get there with God. And it says very clearly here. No, it's not by what you do. It's by your faith in what Jesus has done. Look at the end of the chapter of Romans 4:23. But the words “it was counted to him,” referring back to Abraham, the words that was counted to him were not written for his sake alone. But for ours also, it will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus, our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Yeah, the people who will be justified people that God will declare righteous are those who realize I can't do it, but I see when Jesus died, he died from my sin. When Jesus rose, he offers me a new life. And I'm not putting any trust in what I've done. I'm putting my faith in Jesus. Can I get an amen from anybody on that?
So just be careful when this question comes up, because it does come up, because it's a real thing that's going to happen. And on some level, people know that and they even sing about it on the radio, they were going to stand before God, hey, we're going to meet our maker, hey, there's going to be some kind of judgment at the end of this life. And when you hear yourself or anyone else start referring to things you did, as to why they should go to heaven, that should immediately cause us pause. Because it's not based on anything we've done. It's based on us transferring our trust from what we've done, to trusting in what Jesus has done for us. And then it says right there in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,” since justified is God declaring us righteous since then, so you could say, therefore, God has declared us righteous, because we put our faith in Jesus. So, we now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, then Romans chapter 5 began this discussion of what is it like now, as a justified person? Where is this hope that you have this peace, that you have this love that you have, and how you can be dead to sin. And so, we've been learning how to live out our faith ever since Romans 5:1.
But now if you flip back to Romans chapter 8 with me, see, now he's bringing this idea of justification back up here in his climax, because he wants us not just to know that we've been justified in the past, but he wants us to look forward to the day when we're going to be in that situation where it's like, well, could somebody bring a charge against us? Would we be condemned? Like on that day of final evaluation, what's going to happen? He wants us to have this assurance, this overwhelming confidence that it is God who justifies. Like, I'm not, and I see, this is what I'm concerned about is a lot of people, if you ask them, Are they saved? They'll be like, oh, yeah, God already saved me in the past. Okay, great. Well, then, are you ready to die? And they act like they're two different questions. They're only one, they're the same question. So this is the problem is a lot of people think you have been justified, meaning something that happened in the past, you have been justified is not something in the past, it's actually something passive, you have been justified means God has done something to you, you didn't do anything to get justified. God declared you righteous, not based on anything you've done, he did it all on the basis of what Jesus Christ did on your behalf. And so, if God has declared you righteous, you shouldn't be like, yeah, that's in the past. Now, I'm just living my life. No, you should be thinking on the day that I get there on the day that I stand before the Lord, that I will be known as righteous because of what Jesus Christ did for me, because God has declared me righteous. That's what he's saying here in Romans 833, when he's saying it is God who justifies; God has done all the work, you have done, none.
So, if we want to have assurance, let's get this down for point number one: “You’ve got to have 0% confidence in what you've done.” 0% confidence in what you've done. If you want to know 100%, that you're ready to stand before Jesus, you have to be putting all of your faith in Jesus Christ, his death, and resurrection. If you're still thinking, well, I did this, or I did that or on that day that I did this. If you're pointing back to anything you did, then you're not going to have 100% confidence before the Lord because your justification is not based on anything you did. Your justification is 100%, based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Can I get an amen from anybody on this?
And I want to say this to our church, I'm even saying, don't walk around being like, well, I repented, or I believed that's how I know that I am going to go and be welcomed into heaven. And look, repentance and faith is something we talk about a lot here at the church because it's the biblical response to the good news of the gospel. Jesus didn't die for your sins, so you would keep living in it. You need to repent of your sin. And Jesus didn't rise from the dead, so you would doubt him. You know you need to put your faith in him. You need to trust in him. There is a response when you hear the gospel, to turn from your sin and to transfer 100% of your trust into Jesus and what he's done. That is important, but that's not why you're going to heaven. So, you’ve got to just separate what you've done from what Jesus has done. When I was an early believer, I was so blessed to be a kid who grew up going to church. I was so blessed to be a kid who had Christian parents who read me the Bible and told me the gospel of Jesus. And so, I was able to believe in Jesus at an early age in my life. And I remember being fired up as a new believer for Jesus. But then this thing would happen, even though I was genuinely like repenting over my sin, and I really believed in the Lord Jesus, I would still sin. And I would find myself like giving into peer pressure, or I would find myself thinking this thought that I knew I shouldn't think and then I would feel so bad when I sinned. And then I would be like, oh, no, I still sinned, even though I believe in Jesus. Am I really even saved? And I would start to go down this path of doubt. And I'd have to be like, well, if I'm still sinning, did I even repent of my sin? Or if I'm not acting like bold for Jesus, do I really believe in Jesus? And I would get caught up in all of these doubting thoughts. And, and I had to realize, yes, it was important for me to understand repentance and faith, and make sure I had responded that way. But I was not going to find assurance of my salvation in my own repentance and faith, I was only going to find assurance of my salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, and what he had done for me. And so, it couldn't be based on my perfect obedience or how I was doing before the Lord. No, my righteousness is not my own. It has been given to me. And it's already done. It's already based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that's what I'm trusting. And so, if you're doubting, and you're wondering, wow, I had this sin, am I really saved? Well, you're not going to have assurance over analyzing yourself, and what you do. Assurance comes from a full confidence in Jesus and what he's done. In fact, we want to get down to 0% confidence in anything that I've done. I'm not saved because I grew up in this family, I'm not saved because I went to this church. I'm not saved because I anything, if I'm at the pearly gates, why should I get in? Hey, don't ask me if I should get in, ask Jesus if I should get in, because he's the one who decides if I come in or not. And he's the one who did all the work for me to get in here anyways; it's not even my question to answer. Jesus is the one who has answered the question for me. And I'm going to go with his answer. See, his blood speaks a better word than anything. I'm going to say. Jesus has already paid for my sin. Jesus has already satisfied God's wrath on my behalf. Jesus has already established a perfect track record of 100% obedience that God has graciously given to me and declared me righteous. And if God in heaven has declared me righteous, there is nothing that can happen on earth. There is nothing the accuser that Satan or any demon in the spiritual realm, there is no one that can speak against God, if God has justified me. That's what's going to happen for all of eternity. And so, God is the one who declares us righteous. And this is such good news because the judgment of God, God's justice, the fact that God has to make everything right, that's who he is. When you first hear about God's justice, it's very scary, because you're not right. And so, you realize that you would be deserving of judgment. But once you know that Jesus already took that judgment for you, and Jesus already died in your place, see, then instead of being afraid of God's justice, because it's going to judge you, the perfect love of Jesus casts out any fear of judgment. And now God's justice is not actually going to come against you in judgment. God's justice is actually now working for you. Because God is just, and he has poured out his judgment on Jesus, and Jesus, he paid it all, it is finished, he paid it in full. And so because Jesus already took the righteous judgment of God, and by justice, now you can be forgiven. In fact, when we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to what everybody, forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus already took God's justice for me. So now God's justice demands that I be forgiven.
What an amazing concept that God's righteousness has now been revealed to me, that I am now right with God on the basis of my Lord Jesus Christ dying in my place. And so, I don't want to have no confidence in me. And I want to have 100% confidence in Jesus. And notice that's right where it goes in the next verse, verse 34, who is to condemn, like, who's going to cast you out? Well, let's just remember Jesus is going to be the one judging and Christ Jesus. And it gives you four things right here to think about Jesus. If you were to have a thought of condemnation, a thought of accusation from the enemy, a thought of doubt about yourself. Here's four things that he wants to give us. Christ Jesus is one, the one who died; two, more than that, who was raised; three, he's at the right hand of God; for he indeed is interceding for us. Like, who's going to come and condemn you when you’ve got Jesus dying for you, rising to give you new life, rising for your justification. He's at the right hand of God, and he's there ready to intercede for you? He's on a 24/7 standby availability, ready to get your back, and claim you as one of his people, and defend you at any moment of time? Wow, who could? Because the question here isn't to really get us thinking about the enemies or, or other people who might accuse us, or the devil accusing us the question it really here is meant to get you to think, hey, has God already said you're righteous? Has God already said you're one of his people? Well, who's going to speak against God? That's what the argument of this text is.
And I think it's from Isaiah 50. If everybody could grab your Bible and turn with me to Isaiah, chapter 50. I think this is a passage that Paul might be referring to, he might have this passage in mind when he's asking these questions. Here in Isaiah 50, we've got what we call one of the Servant Songs of Isaiah, I don't know if you're familiar with the prophet, Isaiah. But there are several passages in chapters 40s and 50s of Isaiah, where they are from the perspective of a suffering servant, the most famous of these being Isaiah 53, where we see this man of sorrow. So, there's this idea of a servant who's going to come in the name of the Lord. And sometimes you actually get it like it's from the servant’s perspective. And that's what you have here in Isaiah 50:7, it's like Jesus, it's like even when he hasn't come yet, when here's just a prophecy about Jesus, but it's like, it's from Jesus's perspective. It's like Jesus is telling us what he thinks here in Isaiah 50:7. And Jesus is saying, “But the Lord God helps me therefore I have not been disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.” And that could be what Luke is referring to in chapter 9, when he says that Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, even though Jesus knew he was going to die on the cross. He set himself to do it, why? Isaiah 50:8-9, “He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.”
See, it's kind of like, hey, does anybody want to speak against me? Does anyone have a charge against me? Does anybody want to come condemn me? Well, good luck with that, because God helps me and basically who's going to be able to declare me guilty when God has already declared me righteous? And so, if Jesus, who is perfect, who is righteous, if his confidence is coming from the fact that the Lord is with him, then that's definitely where our assurance, our confidence needs to come from. We need to be like, hey, if God has already justified me, nobody else can say anything else. Nobody else can speak against what God has said. And if Jesus has already done the work to make me righteous, well, then who's going to speak against the finished work of Jesus Christ? In fact, Jesus is the one who's going to be my defense, who's going to be my advocate, Jesus will speak up and claim me as one of his own people, Jesus, on that day, when we get to stand before the Lord, we're looking forward to hearing him say, Well done good and faithful servant, Jesus is going to be the one giving us the answer. We're not going to have to say something to him. He's going to speak for us. And so that's where our confidence is going to come from.
So, I think these two questions in Romans 8:33-34. I think that's a reference to what Jesus said in Isaiah chapter 50. Now go back and let's go through these four things that it gives us here in verse 34, four specific things that we should be able to bring to mind about our Lord Jesus Christ, to increase our confidence and give us assurance of our salvation.
And So, point number two, coming here from verse 34 is” “We want 100% confidence in what Jesus has done.” 100% confidence in what Jesus has done, you're not going to find assurance over analyzing your own life, you're going to find assurance when you put your mind on the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's where you're going to find assurance for your salvation. That's what you're putting your faith in. And so that's what he gets into here, who's going to condemn you when Jesus has already done all of this for you, or is even doing this for you right now. So, the first one is Christ Jesus. And really what we have here in verse 34, is the gospel, right? We just want to acknowledge here are the three essential elements of the good news. One, you got to know who Jesus is, he's the Christ, that means Messiah, that means the anointed one, the chosen and Holy One of God. And what did Jesus do? He died in the place of sinners on the cross. Then what did he do the third thing, on the third day, he rose up from the grave, and see when this good news, when the good news becomes old news, then that's bad news for you, my friend, when it's like when the gospel becomes something that happened 2000 years ago, or when the gospel becomes something that you believed in years ago in your life, that's going to lead to you kind of losing fire in your faith. And if you look at the believers who are going through the motions, it's because the Gospel’s become old news to them. If you look at the believers who are on fire and moving forward in their faith, it's because the gospel is the present reality that they're living in the Gospel, is the passion for why they believe they can live today for Jesus, the gospel is the message they want to share with everybody else, they're ready to see somebody else get saved by the gospel, you look for the on-fire believers, there are always people thinking of the gospel in the present tense, and they're people looking forward to the future, their forward-facing, looking with faith, thinking the gospel it as it has saved me, yes, it's my power today. And it's the reason I'm going to be able to stand before Jesus with full assurance on that day.
They're looking forward based on the gospel. So please, if the gospel is old news, if this is me, talking about Jesus being the Christ, who died in your place, and rose to give you victory forevermore, if you're like, Yeah, I don't need to hear about that. No, you do need to hear about that. That is what you're hoping. And that is what you're standing on. That is the foundation that everything else in your life is being built on, is what Jesus did on your behalf. And, and it has such future implications. That's really what Romans eight is really looking forward. It's really giving you this confidence to face the future in the gospel. Yes, you might already be saved by the gospel, but you have not yet experienced the fullness of that salvation. Go to Hebrews chapter 2 with me. And here's where I see a regular contradiction. Look at Hebrews, chapter 2. You ask people at church, Hey, are you saved? Oh, yeah, I'm saved. And it's almost even like, How dare you ask me that question. Of course, I'm a saved person. I'm here at church. Okay, great. Well, now, guess what, we got some really bad news, you've got this medical diagnosis, you've only got this long to live, you're going to die. And the person who will be like, of course, I'm totally saved, then you tell them they're going to die. And now wait a minute, I'm not sure about all of this. No, they're one and the same question. If you're really saved, then that is confidence facing death. That's what salvation should look like. Not that we're looking forward to dying. Dying is something very serious. Dying is a part of the curse, it's a part of the fall into sin, the wages of our sin is death. I'm not saying you want to die. I don't want to say anything light about death, but I'm looking past death.
So, one of the great things that I've gotten to experience here at the church is there have been people who have gotten a medical diagnosis, that they only have such an such amount of time to live. And really, let's just make it very clear here today, it is only a matter of time for every person in this room. If you live long enough, you're going to die too. It's common for every single one of us. And a lot of times people live their whole life like they're not going to die. And then like, it's not something they need to even prepare for. And then they get the reality check that no, I am going to die. In fact, now I can see I have a limited amount of time that I'm going to live. And sometimes God really uses that and an awesome way to bring someone to church to open up their mind to the Gospel. And now they become interested in God and his Son Jesus, and what is going to happen after this life? And how do I know where I'm going to go? And so sometimes God is so merciful and gracious that he uses that devastating diagnosis. That time is short, God has used that. I've gotten to see people get saved because they knew their time was short, and God used it to open up their eyes to see their need for Jesus Christ because they didn't have a good plan for death. And nobody no doctor, no politician was telling them they were going to help them when they died. Only one promise that he could help them with death that he was “the resurrection and the life and that everyone who believes in me, even if he dies, he will live.” That's what Jesus said. Jesus is the only friend that you can have on the other side of this life. So, here's what I've gotten to see, I've gotten to see people who knew they were going to die. And by the time that they actually did die, they no longer thought they were going to die. They thought they were going to live. One of the most beautiful things I've been able to see here at the church, and I've been able to see that with multiple people, and they came in here, and they had this fear that I'm going to die. And I don't know what's going to happen to me, and I'm not ready. And then I got to be there when that person died. And they were looking me in the eyes and they weren't afraid of anything at all. Because they didn't think they were going to die. They thought things were about to get better because they were going to go into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so one of the implications of Jesus dying, look what it says here in Hebrews 2:14-15, it says, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” Jesus came to die. And when he died, he defeated the power of death. Satan had deceived Eve, you will surely not die, no, when they sinned. That's where death came from. The wages of sin is most certainly death. But when Jesus died, when the righteous one died in our place, he defeated Satan, he destroyed the power of death, so that everyone now who believes in Jesus, we don't need to be afraid to die anymore. Can I get an amen from anybody on this?
Okay, I don't know if you've been blessed to go to the funeral or a memorial service for somebody who lived like they really believed in Jesus. In fact, they lived like they believed that Jesus died for them. And Jesus rose for them in such a way that everybody who stands at their service and gives a eulogy, they all talk about this person's faith. It's remarkable when somebody really lives like they believe in Jesus, even family members and friends of their who don't believe in Jesus, we'll be able to see how clearly they did believe in Jesus. And if you've been to one of those services, like it's sad, you miss your friend, you miss your family member who died, but by the end of the service, like people are singing worship songs, by the end of the service. I mean, I was just at a funeral, and one of my brothers in Christ is coming walking up to me saying, that's one of the most encouraging things I've ever been to because I know where that person is. And I know I'm going to be there someday soon. And wow, that was powerful. It's like death has been defeated. See, that's how we're supposed to be thinking as people who really believe that Jesus died in our place, and Jesus rose again. If you're a believer in Jesus, that should look like a confidence, facing death.
Let's get this down. There are three dashes there under 100% confidence in what Jesus has done. Number one: “Don't fear death, when he is alive.” Don't fear death, when Jesus is alive. Jesus is ready to welcome you in. Jesus has already defeated death for you. Jesus has already promised you resurrection and eternal life forevermore. Jesus, he died, but behold, he is the living one, and he's alive forevermore. And you're not going to see St. Peter at some gates, you're going to see the Lord Jesus in all of his glory right there in front of you. And he's going to welcome you in. That's what's going to happen. So, you don't need to be afraid of dying. That's the moment you're going to meet the Lord. And so that should be real faith, a 100% confidence in what Jesus Christ has done on the cross to pay for your sin, and what Jesus Christ has done in the empty tomb to rise again. If you're really trusting in Jesus, that should affect the way you face the future. Your faith is always looking forward. Your faith is what is in what you have not yet seen. That's what faith is. Faith is trusting in God for the things that you can't see, like what's on the other side of this life. Christians should be people who are not afraid of death. Am I talking about you? Do you have that assurance? Yeah, I'm not afraid of dying because I know the one who already died for me. I'm not afraid of dying because I've got my friend waiting for me on the other side. I remember Jonathan Edwards, that famous American preacher on his deathbed, he is quoted as saying, “Where is Jesus my never failing friend?”
See, death is just me getting to see Jesus. This is what death is. So, I'm not afraid of that, because I know he already did that for me. Now, go with me to Ephesians chapter 1, because one of the things that Romans 8:32 does is it doesn't just talk about the death and resurrection, it talks about where Jesus is right now, at the right hand of God. So, notice how when he describes the death, he describes the rising on the third day, he continues along with it. And so, he puts where Jesus is where we should all be seeing Jesus right now at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Look at how it says it here in Ephesians 1:20-23. It says here in Ephesians 1:20, talking about God's power. God's power, his great mind “that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
So, see, the resurrection really leads right into the exaltation of Jesus that Jesus is given the name that is above every name, and what is the highest name that anyone can be given. It is the name of Lord and Master, of boss, the King of all kings, he has authority. It says here in verse 21, “far above all,” so if Jesus has shed his blood for you, if Jesus has claimed you to be one of his people, if Jesus is standing before the Father, the Father has already declared you righteous, and Jesus is saying, yeah, they're righteous, because I shed my blood for them. I died in their place, I paid for them, and I paid for them in full. So, if Jesus is saying, you're one of his people, well, who can speak against Jesus? See, I mean, the United States of America, the government, any other nation, I mean, nations of the world, they can come against Christians, they can condemn Christians, they can accuse Christians, they have no authority compared to Jesus. What about Satan and the rest of the demons? What about the authorities in the spiritual realm? That's what it's talking about here. When Jesus is above the rulers, the authorities, the powers, the dominions that's talking about in the spiritual realm. And demons have some level of authority. Satan, he's the god of this age. He's got some kind of power to do, any of them have any power compared to the Lord Jesus Christ? No, they flee from the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the accuser can't come and stand against you. He can't bring a charge against you. He can't come and condemn. You know, we saw that in Zechariah, chapter 3, when the high priest Joshua was there, and his robes were filthy. And here comes Satan ready to accuse. Look at this high priest. He's not qualified to be the high priest. What does Jesus say to Satan, “I rebuke you, Satan.” Satan has to shut up when Jesus is speaking. Because Jesus his authority is above all, let's get this down for our second dash. Don't fear the accuser when he, Jesus, has authority, don't fear, the accuser. Nobody can say anything to the one who's at the right hand of God. See, when you sin, and don't go back and think, well, am I doing all the right things to be saved? No, in 1 John 2:1-2 it makes it very clear that when we sin, we have an advocate. We have someone who stands in our defense, someone who was the propitiation for our sins, someone who satisfied God's righteous judgment for what we have done. And Jesus is willing to be our defense attorney in the heavenly courtroom, and nobody's ever winning a case against Jesus. He's been exalted to the right hand, he is far above anybody, if you feel like other people are accusing you, if you feel like Satan's out to get you and accuse you, no one can speak against you when Jesus speaks for you. Jesus, after he got resurrected, he was exalted above all other above every name that is named. And the reason it's telling you that is it wants you to know if Jesus has the ultimate authority in heaven and on earth, if all authority has been given to him, and Jesus says something about you, then no one can contradict Jesus.
Now I really want you to go back to Hebrews with me to chapter 7, verse 25. And I want to end with this because it says that Jesus indeed, he's interceding for us. We've talked about this recently here in Romans 8, this idea that Jesus is our high priest, that Jesus is now mediating between us and God. Jesus, he's making sure that we're operating in a relationship where we have a right standing with God. And this is a present-day reality. Jesus is right now at the right hand of the throne of grace. And you can go in prayer, you can go into the heavenly courtroom, you can go before the throne. And when you go and pray in the name of Jesus, Jesus, he brings you before the Father, he claims you as his own. That's why we pray in the name of Jesus because we're not coming to God based on anything we've done. We're coming to God based on what Jesus has done for us. And so, in the name of Jesus, we approach God and Jesus, he intercedes for us. And you will always find the grace to help you in your time of need. When you go to God in Jesus’ name, Jesus is interceding for you. And it's an insane that here and in Hebrews 7:23, because here in Hebrews, he's trying to say what we have in Jesus today, in the New Covenant is so much better than what Moses and the Israelites had originally with the Old Covenant, because they used to have these high priests who would go between them and God go into the holy place on their behalf. And it says here in Hebrews 7, verse 23, “the former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office.” Yeah, we had a problem with those priests back in the day, they kept dying was the problem with those priests, right? Well, that's why if you were alive, this guy would have been the high priest for so many years. And then this person would have been your high priests. And when that high priest on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, when that high priest went into the holy place and offered the sacrifices and lit the incense, and then they came out and everybody knew God's right with us, or we're in a right standing with God. That must have brought great assurance, great security to everybody. The high priest did what he's supposed to do. God received the sacrifice. Everything's right between us and God. But see, there was always this like, well, my high priest is now dead. And now there's this new one, there was always this turnover among the high priests. And now it's saying, Jesus, he's our High Priest today. And look at verse 24. “He holds his priesthood permanently.” Jesus, he is right there at the right hand of God, and Jesus is going to continue forever. And then it says this, I hope this verse will really encourage you, it's a it's a parallel passage to Romans 8:34. It says in Hebrews 7:25, “consequently, he” Jesus “is able to save to the uttermost, those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
I think that sometimes if we, if we're honest, sometimes we're living like Jesus came for us in the past when he died and rose again. And Jesus, he's going to come again, in the future, we hope we think. But sometimes we live like it's kind of up to us right now to figure it out in the in between. And this is saying, hey, do you realize that Jesus is alive right now today? Do you realize that Jesus, he has authority at the right hand of God right now, today? I mean, look at that line, Jesus is always living to intercede for you. What an amazing thing to realize that the all authority, resurrected Lord of heaven and earth is just waiting for you to talk to him. He's ready to intercede for you. He wants you to know you have that right standing with God, and you have full access to the heavenly storehouse and all the riches of grace. Look at this phrase here, Jesus is able to save you to the uttermost to all the way. Uttermost is like all the way to the end, all the way to the completion, to the perfection. In Greek, there's this word I really love. It's this word telos, and that's a part of this word here tell us it's like the happy ever after ending. It's like the fullness of everything that we've been building up for. And Jesus, he is able to save you all the way to the telos, all the way to the end to the uttermost. It says he didn't just save you in the past. He's not just going to help you get through today, Jesus, he's able to save you to the very end. That's how he's going to do it. And so see, when I'm doubting, and I'm like, well, I don't know about me. And maybe you feel like you've done a sin and the guilt and the shame of this sin. You just feel like your sin is so bad, that it's very heavy upon you and you just wonder, will I really be forgiven for that sin? Or maybe you feel like I don't know if other people can relate to my sin, and I think my sin is kind of unique and maybe there's this doubt and there's this really bad feeling about your sin. Do you realize that what you're saying, if you think too much about your own sin, what you're going to end up saying is that Jesus does not have the power to save you from that sin. What is greater? Is your sin greater? Or is the death of Jesus greater? What is greater? Is your sin unique? Or is the resurrection of Jesus more unique? See, what's really the power in your life? Is your sin more powerful? Or is the gospel of Jesus God's power to save you from your sins? See, we’ve got to be careful because sometimes we might be trying to be honest about our sin, and we might be taking our sins seriously. But if we're not careful, we might let our doubts lift our own sin greater than the fact that Jesus is able to save you. Like whatever your sin is, however bad you think it is. Jesus paid it in full, his righteous blood covers your sin. And so, he is able to save you to the uttermost.
So, let's get this down for our third dash: “Don't doubt yourself when he is able.” Don't doubt yourself when he is able to save you to the uttermost. I had a lady at our church last night after the service. She says, hey, when I die, I want “saved to the uttermost on my tombstone.” That's what she said. And I was like, Yeah, that's a good idea. And then her husband was like, it's all just saved to the max because I think he was trying to save money on the letters maybe, right? Maybe he was doing the Hawaiian Pidgin translation there, save to the max forever, right? save to the uttermost right? Now, this is the idea. Like I believe Jesus could save me from my sin. But he can't save me all the way to the end. No, that doesn't make sense. He's able to save you, he's living to intercede for you. He's at the right hand of God with all authority. See, I remember when I realized as a as a responsible husband, as a dad, as a man, as I started thinking about the fact that someday I would die. One of the things that I was inspired to do was get life insurance. And this is something I would recommend to every man in just in case you die, you want some money set aside for your loved ones. And so, I called AAA to make sure that I had some life insurance so that my family would be taken care of if I died. I want everybody here to know that you've got AAA life insurance if you believe in Jesus Christ, because Jesus is alive right now. Jesus has all authority over your soul, and Jesus, he is able to save you to the uttermost. And so, you should have assurance that if you were to die, everything has been taken care of by Jesus Christ. That is an assurance that we want everybody here knowing 100%.
And so, we're going to take some time right now, to celebrate communion to remember that it's not based on us, it's based on his righteous blood and his body that he sacrificed. So, if you could pull out those elements that were hopefully there on your chair, or in the back of the chair in front of you. And we're going to take some time to remember that my salvation is not based on anything about me. But my salvation is based on 100% what Jesus has done, and that's where my assurance comes from. And so we're going to sing a song before the throne of God above, we have a high priest, we have a strong and perfectly great high priest whose name is love, who always lives to intercede for me. What good news we have in Jesus Christ, what confidence that should give us and if you're here today, and you're realizing that you are putting your confidence in something that you've done, maybe you realize that your testimony would be I go to church, or I read the Bible, or I do these good things are maybe your testimony is even like so focused on your repentance and faith. You think it's up to you to save yourself. And you've been overthinking that. If you realize you've never really transferred your trust from you to Jesus, and what he's done, then you don't need communion. You don't need this reminder. You need to make sure that you have stopped trusting in yourself, and you have put all of your faith in Jesus. And maybe today is the day that you could experience assurance for the first time. Because you really do transfer your trust to Jesus. And if you have doubts, if that's something that you want to talk about, I'd love to talk to you anytime I'll be here after the service. Compass Connect is out there. They would love to talk to you as well. We don't want you walking out of here with doubts. We want you walking out of here thinking wow, why would Jesus save a sinner like me? I'm so glad that he did. And I'm so confident that Jesus is alive right now in claiming me as one of his own at the right hand of God and that Jesus is able to make sure that I'm standing there before him. And Jesus is going to say to me “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I know I'm going to hear those words from Jesus. That's what we want you thinking. So let me pray for you right now.
Father in heaven, we just want to thank you that we get to go through Romans Chapter 8, what encouraging words, what great questions to realize, no one could bring a charge against us. No one could condemn us, because you have justified us. Because based on what Jesus has done, because he already died and satisfied all of your justice, he already rose to offer everyone new and eternal life. He's at your right hand right now, interceding for all of us here today as we pray this prayer to you. And so, Father, we thank you so much for the assurance that we can have, because before your throne, above in heaven, right now, we have Jesus making a plea for us. We have a high priest, one who continues forever, one who's able to save us to the uttermost, to the max. And we're so thankful that we can have assurance in your son Jesus. So as we sing this song, God, we just pray that you would remind us all as we get ready to take communion all together after this song. We just pray that right now here today, you would remind us of the Good News of the Gospel that it wouldn't be old news to anybody here. But it would be the news that's on my heart today. That Jesus Christ loved me so much, he died in my place, that he lives for me right now, and he's always ready to intercede for me. And then I can know when I die, I can know where I'm going. Because Jesus is going to welcome me home. Father, please give us that assurance of our salvation based on your son Jesus. We pray this in his name. Amen.