What Does "If God Be for Us" Really Mean? Romans 8:31

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, again, good to have everybody in this afternoon, and we always like to let our television audience understand that we're just an informal Bible study. We've got various denominations represented, and we ourselves do not try to temper or trumpet any particular organization. We are totally independent, and I like it that way because then I'm free to teach as I feel the Holy Spirit has instructed me to teach it. And as I've said so often in this program, I'm not here to run anybody else down or to try to disagree with them, but we're just going to open the book, and my constant reference is what does the book say? It doesn't matter what a denomination says. It doesn't matter what any other group may say. It doesn't matter what I say. The thing that counts is what does the book say? And so this is all we attempt to do, and of course, we always like to make our television people welcome. And so many of you have written, it's just like you're sitting right out there in the back row here in the studio, and that's the image that we like to put across. We always like to remind our folks that we do have past programs available on video, as well as in the little printed page, the little books, and we trust that they get them on the screen, that if you're interested, you'll write to us or call us, and we'll make sure that you get these things. Also, the studio has presented us with a cake today. We have just finished five years of broadcasting, and we're beginning our sixth year. I mean, this is unreal. And as I have to tell so many folks out in television, when especially they ask about some of the things that are in our original announcement, especially the closing one, we're going to have to change that, I guess. I said, well, no, look, we never dreamed that we'd ever branch beyond Tulsa. We never dreamed we'd be on longer than six months, but here we are now covering a good part of the nation. Had a call last night, clear up for Northern Canada, had another call from Canada one day last week, and so it is. It's exciting how the Lord is just expanding our ministry. All right. Now then, for the task at hand, let's go right into where we left off, and that will be in Romans chapter 8, and I hope our folks aren't getting tired of hearing Romans 8, but it is such a tremendous chapter. I just call it the gemstone of Scripture, and that's what a lot of the response has been, how they're enjoying this series of studies in the book and the chapter 8 of Romans. All right, let's just drop into verse 30 where we finished in our last program, and where Paul now writes, "...moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Now, way back when we started our study in the book of Romans, I think back in chapter 1 in verse 16, when I was explaining the word salvation, that one of the things that God accomplished on our behalf, as a result of our salvation experience, was not only that we were justified, and sanctified, and forgiven, and baptized into the Body, and all these other things, but I thought the one word I used that maybe somebody would have given me a little flack, but they didn't, and that was, I claim, that God also glorified us. Now I know that we as believers do not walk around on this planet with a halo around us. We do not walk around exuding some kind of an angelic presence that would indicate that we've been glorified, but yet here we have already in this verse, repeated again, that not only have we been justified, we have been glorified. Now there's only one way to explain that. Our fellow man doesn't see it, but who does? God does. And so every time God looks upon the believer, remember, He doesn't see Lesfeldic, He doesn't see you in particular, who does He see? Christ Jesus. Now then, we get a little picture of Christ's glory there on the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter, James, and John had the opportunity of seeing Him literally glorified in their presence. And He took on such a glory that even His clothing just radiated the very glory of heaven. Now then, what I like to say comes out of this verse, since God says we're glorified, we can't see it on each other, but God sees it when He looks on us. And He sees us as not only justified and all these other things, but also we're glorified. That should be enough to excite the most blasé of believers, to think that God has already glorified us, and He sees us as He sees Christ in all of His glory. Now of course as you go back up into this verse, verse 30, we just had time in the closing moments of our last program, this word predestination as we've dealt with it before, and we'll be dealing with it again, how that God before anything was ever created, knew the believer and where He would be in God's Body of Christ. And so this is one of the teachings I know that has thrown a curve at a lot of people, that God in His foreknowledge chose us in Christ before anything was ever created. And then you'll remember in my closing remarks in our last program, I put it on the board that, yes, we have all these verses, whosoever will may come. Christ tasted death for every man. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 that if He died for all, then we're all dead. Now who does that include? Well, the whole human race. He didn't die just for this small percentage who have become believers. He died for every man, woman, and child that has ever been born into the family of Adam. And that's that part of Scripture. But setting against it, as I said last time, we have all these verses that say you were chosen before the foundations of the world. You cannot come to God unless He calls you. Now we can't reconcile those two facets or those two doctrines because it's beyond us. So after last time's taping, after I just closed the program, remember I put the little drawing on the board that as we're going down the river of time and in that family of the human race, there's that constant invitation to enter the door that says, whosoever will may come. And then you remember I said when we go through that door, what's on the other side? Chosen from before the foundations of the world. Now that's hard for us to reconcile. Well as I was telling Dr. Bellamy the other night, after I got home after that taping, it always happens, I happened to pick a book up by a tremendous Bible scholar in the early part of the century, and he was dealing with that same thing. And he put it this way, and I just had to feel I had to share it even with our television audience. He said, these things may to us sound contradictory. On the one hand you've got whosoever will may come. Over here you've got that you were chosen by an act of God. How are you going to reconcile them? Well I think he had the answer. If this is what God says, you believe it. You don't try to argue with it. You don't try to reconcile it. If this is what God says, leave it there. That's what God says. And let Him try to settle what we think is that great controversy. The theologians are still arguing. And so I like that. Yes, chosen from before the foundation of the world. But on the other hand, whosoever will may come. And don't ever lose sight of that. Because you see, if you get too taken by either one of these, you're out in left field. But you reconcile both of them together. That as the human race moves down through time, every individual has that opportunity of choice. But on the other hand, they cannot choose unless God calls them. And He elects them. All right, now let's move on. So whom He called, He justified. Whom He justified, He glorified. And now verse 31. Oh, what a tremendous verse. And I just have to bet that most people who read their Bible just skim right over this verse and don't even realize what an impact it should make on us. Look at it carefully. What shall we say then? Now whenever Paul asks something like that, what's he referring to? Everything that he's written before. See he's just building and building and building. And we start at Romans chapter 8 with that tremendous statement. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. And so we have that assurance beginning with the very first verse, and he keeps building and building until now he gets to this place, and look what it says. What shall we say then to these things if God be for us, who can be against us? Now I want you to look carefully at your particular translation or your particular Bible. And I think that without any, whatever, you're all going to notice that there are some words in here that have been added by the translators. They're italicized. And in the first part is, if God be. Isn't the word be italicized? Sure it is. It's been added by the translators. And as you go a little further in the verse, the can be is italicized. Now leave them out. Once in a while it's better to leave it as it was in the original. And this is the way I'm going to teach it tonight. What shall we say to these things if God for us, who against us? Fantastic, isn't it? If God for us, who against us? Now the first thing we think of in a verse like that is that God is promising that nothing can happen to us if we're a believer. No, no, that's not what it means. Because let's just look at the Scriptures. Turn with me honey to 2 Corinthians, I think it's chapter 11. Now here the apostle Paul, who I feel was probably the greatest servant that God ever had of the human race. As I said a few weeks ago, I think he even surpasses Moses a little bit. But look what this man went through for the sake of the Gospel, and yet the very same man who wrote, if God for us, who against us. And yet look what he had to go through. You got it? 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Now let's just drop into verse 24, and you'll see that of the Jews five times I received 39 licks with those catenine tails, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, that is, as the Jews killed people with stoning, three times I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep, in journeyings often, usually on foot, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, that is, in the city, in the wilderness, in the sea, and in perils among false brethren, weariness and painfulness, and watchings often, hunger and thirst, fastings often, in cold, nakedness, besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care or the concern of all the churches, those assembly of believers. And I thought he just wrote back in Romans, if God for us, who against us. You see what I'm saying? Too many times we as modern day believers have got the idea that just as soon as we become a believer, everything is going to be a bed of roses. You're going to have two Cadillacs in your garage, and you're going to live in the biggest home in town, and you're just going to live sumptuously. That's not what he means, and never has. Let's look at another series of verses, let's go back to Hebrews chapter 11 again, and let's drop down to verse 34, and now this isn't talking about wicked people, this isn't talking about backsliders, this is talking about God's choicest believers. Even though they were back in the Old Testament economy, that doesn't make that much difference. It's the same God. All right, now look what happened. Verse 34, they quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword. So what does that mean? Somebody was after them. Somebody was out to take their life. Out of weakness they were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, or the unbelievers. Then verse 35, now here we're going to see a little bit of the other side of the coin. Women received their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance. In other words, they were being tested, and they probably could have escaped it by just simply renouncing their faith. But they didn't, and I don't know how many of you have ever read the Fox's Book of Martyrs. If you've never read it, you ought to. The believers in the early church day, they went through horrible persecutions, but they never flinched. Once in a while one would, but for the most part they never flinched. They went to their death singing hymns, just like Paul and Silas back there in Philippi. And I always have to remind my classes, that the human race has gotten along pretty well for the last 200 years, where we've experienced the rights and so on and so forth that democracy has given us. But listen, there's no guarantee of it. Even we in America may suddenly find ourselves someday under these same types of persecutions. But here's where we have to rest, that regardless of what comes, God's for us. Who's against us? Even though they may touch the flesh, even Jesus said that. Don't worry about those who can hurt the body. What you have to be concerned about is He who can hurt the soul, and of course that's in the realm of the Spirit. All right, read on again. Verse 35, "...Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection." Verse 36, "...Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, beatings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment." Hey now, wait a minute. God's for us? Then how do they get away with this? Well you see, the thing that really counts is the eternal. It's the realm of the Spirit, and here's where we have to rest assured, that even though the powers that be may even steal with us, afflict our flesh, we could find ourselves in prison. Don't ever think it's utterly impossible. We could find ourselves suddenly with famine on our hands. It doesn't take long. You know I shared with my class a while back, the world's grain supply is never more than something like 100 or 90 days, and if ever there is a sudden complete loss of a new crop, the world's going to be in a tough situation for food. So don't ever think that these things can't happen. They can, and especially as we approach the end time and these things are going to be coming on us faster and faster. Now then if you'll come back with me to Romans chapter 8. So as you read these promises, God for us, who against us? It's to rest assured that regardless of what someone or what the powers that be may do to the flesh, they can never touch that invisible eternal part of us. That is in God's hands. And after all, what's this life? And we're going to see another verse that points that up in just a little bit. But nevertheless, never lose sight of this promise that God is for us, and consequently nothing can be against us. Now verse 32 gives the reason. Why can God make such promises that if He is for us, who can be against us? What do we rest on? The next verse. He, that is the God that we're dealing with up here in verse 31, He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. Now I think I've stressed it many times since we've been teaching these classes on television, that Paul never writes to anyone but believers. So when he uses this pronoun us, he's talking about himself and his fellow believers. He's talking to us as believers. I'm going to see if I've got time enough. Turn with me a minute to 1 Thessalonians, because we just did this last night, so it's fresh on my mind, where you can see the difference between Paul speaking or writing to believers and his reference to the unbeliever. Ordinarily when he says us and we, he's talking about himself and believers. Never does he include the unbeliever. All right, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Actually we have to look at a few verses in chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians, let's look at chapter 4, and let's drop down to verse 17. I think, honey, it will be enough to show what I want to have the people see. That here in 1 Thessalonians 4, he's talking about himself and believers, and of course we always refer to these verses as the rapture of the church, this being caught up to meet the Lord in the air. All right, then you come down to verse 17, just to show you the pronoun usage. Then we, see he's including himself with the other believers, then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, that is the other believers in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now then you come down to chapter 5, and we look at the other side of the coin, and that is those who will not be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. It's the unbelieving world. Now pick it up in chapter 5, and let's just start at verse 1. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night, that is, when Christ will come in wrath and in judgment. Now verse 3, for when we, no, now what's the pronoun, they, you see the difference? In the account in chapter 4, he's dealing with the believers, and when we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. But now he comes down in chapter 5, and he's dealing with those who have been left behind, the unbelievers, and so now the pronoun switches to they. And when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they, the unbelieving world, shall not escape. That's the best example I can give in all of Paul's writings, how that when he writes to us as believers, the pronoun is us and we. And very seldom does he allude to the unbelieving world like he does here in chapter 5. Everything he writes is for us as believers. Now back to Romans chapter 8 for a few moments, and that time I guess is just about gone. So everything that he's been teaching now in the book of Romans, and especially here in chapter 8, is resting upon this one fact. That the God of all creation, the God of glory, the God full of majesty and power, the God who could have with just a wink destroyed the whole human race, He could have destroyed the planet, but He did not. And instead He let those Roman soldiers nail Him to that Roman cross, and put Him to death. And God didn't do a thing to stop Him. Now that's what He's meaning here in this next verse, that He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up of His own volition. It wasn't that God lost control, not at all. This was all predetermined before anything was ever created, that Christ would go to that cross. And so everything rests on it. Again I've got to remind people, because someone showed me something last night that really disturbs me, and I know whoever wrote it meant well. But he was trying to lay out how to be saved, and of course that would be a member of one of my classes, and so he knew better. And he said, now look, this is what they're telling people how to be saved. Now what they said was alright, it wasn't that what they said was diabolically wrong, but again it was what they do not say. Throughout that whole little format of how to be saved, there was not one word about the cross. There was not one word about His death. Not one word about His resurrection. Now you see they're bypassing the Gospel, and nothing thrills me more than a little note I got on a Christmas card here just a couple of weeks ago. Well that dates the program, doesn't it? Well anyway, and in his Christmas card he said, how thankful I am that I got into your class, and for the first time in my life, and he'd been in church all his life, and I heard the Gospel. What had he heard? That Christ died for him, and that He rose from the dead in power, and majesty, and glory, all for us, and people aren't hearing that anymore. And I don't care if whatever may happen, I'm not going to stop, because this is the Gospel, that Christ died, was buried, and rose again. Now come back again to the verse, I just can't overdo it, I know I can't, that God could have spared His Son, He could have just put an end to all of it, but He didn't, because He had foreordained that He had to die for the sins of mankind, and He did die. Again I think we've got a moment or two, let's turn over to Philippians, because I don't want anyone to say, well you're just taking this from one verse, one portion of the Scripture. Look at Philippians chapter 2, we've got one minute, Philippians chapter 2, dropping down to verse 5, 6, 7, and 8, I don't know if we've got time to look at all four of these, but Philippians chapter 2, maybe they can put all those verses on the screen, from 5 down through 8, where Paul says, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, I'm going to skip verse 6 for sake of time, verse 7, but He made Himself of no reputation, now who made Him that way? He did, the Sovereign Creator God that Jesus Christ is and was. He made Himself of no reputation, took upon Himself the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, OK, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, OK, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you, and be sure to tune in next time, for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.