“IF GOD BE FOR US”
“IF GOD BE FOR US”
“IF GOD BE FOR US”
Everett Ferguson
It was with a mixture of pride and humility that I accepted the invitation to speak on this occasion— pride, because of the great responsibilities attendant with such an opportunity as this. I pray the Lord that the things said will help the church to do more work in the future. In Romans the eighth chapter we have many words of comfort and assurance for the Christian. Paul begins that chapter with the statement that there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. He defines the ones in Christ Jesus as those that mind the things of the Spirit and not the things of the flesh. Then he. declares that it is by the Spirit of God in our hearts that we cry, “Abba, Father.” Next we are assured that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed. Verse 28 contains the great promise, “We know that to them that love God, all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.” The climax of the chapter is introduced in verses 31, 32. “If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?” In connection with this verse I always think of Php_4:13, “I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.” Our attention is then challenged with the questions, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect” and “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” In tribu-lations, in persecutions, in life, in death—“in all these things we are more than conquerors.” My soul rejoices with every reading of this great chapter. And the key thought is expressed in verse 31, “If God be for us.” To that idea we want to direct especial attention. The best commentary on this last paragraph of Romans 8 is the story of the spread of the early church throughout the world. That story provides history with its most thrilling chapter. How a religion whose first adherents were poor and ignorant fishermen captured the imagination of the cultured Greek world, how the followers of a lowly citizen of a despised race preaching a gospel of humility and love overcame the proud Romans, how persecution fanned the fires of evangelism, how the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church—it’s an amazing story! The early Christians were indeed more than conquerors ! Their faith overcame the world; their hope sustained them with blessed promises; and their love carried them to the ends of the earth and melted the hearts of stone. But that chapter of history would never have been written if God had not been with them.
I am here this afternoon to tell you that we can do the same thing today, for the same reason—because God is with us! We can win the world for Christ! Immediately I hear an objection, “But they had miraculous gifts, and we don’t.” In answer to that, I ask you to think with me for a moment concerning what their message was. They taught that a poor Jew (a member of a despised and subject race), rejected by his own people, a Jew crucified (the death reserved for the lowest and vilest of criminals), that such an one was the Son of God! No wonder the cross was a stumbling-block, a scandal to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks. It would be comparable to my going into the deep South preaching that a Negro (and they would call him a “N Word”) lynched for treason or some such crime was the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Do you think I would get any kind of hearing with a message like that? Preposterous! I would be run out of town, if not stoned like Stephen and Paul. And you think we have a hard time selling the gospel! From a purely human viewpoint, they had to have miracles! But look what we have today that they didn’t have:
(1) We have the benefit of 1900 years in which the leavening influence of the gospel in one form or another
has been at work. Nineteen hundred years have blotted out the scandal of the cross.
(2) We have methods of communication that greatly facilitate the preaching of the gospel—Radio, Television,
and the printing press.
(3) We have means of transportation that can carry us from one continent to another in a matter of hours.
(4) But above all else, as did the early church, we have God on our side!
God has two ways of accomplishing his purposes. He can work through either supernatural laws or natural laws. The former we call miracles, which are a departure from the present ordinary course of nature. They were necessary at one time to certify the revelation. However, God works through the latter, that is, natural laws, now. From our human viewpoint we would consider miracles the greater work. Hence, let me say, “If God can do the greater work, he can do the lesser.” It is a reflection on the power, wisdom, and providence of God to reason that because we do not have miracles we are handicapped in doing the Lord’s work. Let us not doubt that God can work as effectively one way as the other. He can “work all things together for good,” that is he can overrule the affairs of men for the accomplishment of his purposes.
I am sure that I don’t have to convince this audience that God is for us. I am confident that you give at least intellectual assent to that truth. But I may have to say something to make that truth a real, living, vibrant principle of action in your lives. When Avon asked me my subject and I answered, “If God be for us,” he replied, “What I want to know is why is that ‘if’ in there.” And Avon had a point there; this is something about which there is no doubt. In the Greek this is a first class conditional sentence, or one in which the condition is determined as fulfilled. The condition is stated as a fact. It might be rendered, “Since God is for us.” God is, indeed, for us; he spared not his own Son. Since he has done that, is it not reasonable to conclude that he will freely give us all things? Would it not be unreasonable to assume otherwise? Hebrews 13:5 quotes from Deuteronomy 31:6 the promise, “I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee.” As a manifestation of his being with us and for us, God has given us many advantages in doing the work of the church. Although we do not have miracles, when we consider all that God has placed at our disposal for doing his work, we should be ashamed of not having accomplished more. In a few minutes over at the church building Wesley Reagan will be speaking on “What do ye more than others,” emphasizing that with superior blessings we have produced more inferior results than our religious neighbors. Without infringing on his subject, I want us to consider some of the blessings God has provided for our use, because these things are an essential part of God’s being with us. They can all be summed up in the one word—Poiuer\ The Christian life is a life of power. 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness, but of power, and love, and discipline.”
(1) We have the power of faith. Matthew 17:20—“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Dr. Stanley Whitacre brought me some mustard seeds from Palestine this past summer. They are extremely tiny. I could lose several under my finger nail. But they produce one of the larger plants of Palestine. An equivalent exercise of faith coupled with God’s grace enables us to do above our ordinary ability. This verse is modified, of course, by other gospel statements, but too often we modify it until we rob 'it of its meaning, too often we modify faith until we rob it of its power. In Matthew 13:58 concerning Jesus’ ministry around Nazareth we read, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” The clear implication is that if faith had been present, many mighty works would have been done. Faith produced mighty works. Faith will produce mighty works, though of a different kind, in our own lives. “I can do all things in him (or through (him) that strengtheneth me.”
(2) Again, we have the power of prayer. “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7 f). “The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working” (James 5:16). Prayer moves the hands that move the world. There is power in prayer.
(3) Again, we have the Power of the Word. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” The gospel we preach is dynamite unto salvation. It is a powerful message we preach. It is powerful to the transforming of the lives of individuals. The only power in the world that will change a sinner into a saint is the power of the gospel. “The weapons of our warfare are not of flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). We have in the gospel a message that is the answer to the world’s longings. It will satisfy the hopes and dispel the fears of every man. If we believe this, we can sell the gospel. You realize that the good salesman must believe in his product. However, if we don’t believe in the power of our message, we just don’t know it very well. The gospel will stand every test; it will bring peace and joy to the believer. God has put power into the gospel—powerful motives to its acceptance and the power to sustain us in the Christian warfare. Luke 1:37 teaches, “For no word from God shall be void of power.”
(4) Again, we have the power of the Spirit. We have not only the instrument of the Spirit, the Word, but also the Spirit himself. Among the promises associated with baptism in obedience to God is the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Acts 5:32). Then 1 Corinthians 3:16 states: “Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” That indwelling is nothing mysterious, but the presence of the Spirit is still there to guide, strengthen, encourage, and intercede. His role in the life of the Christian is one of the main subjects of Romans 8. And the Spirit is always associated with power in the Bible. Power is one of his most distinguishing attributes. Notice Micah 3:8 : “I am full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and of judgment and of might to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.” Romans 15:3 : “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.” Although we may not have the miraculous power of the Spirit, we still partake of his power.
(5) Again, we have the power of Christ. “I am with you always even unto the end of the world,” he assures us. Galatians 2:20 is very meaningful—“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.” Yes, Christ lives in us; his power radiates through our lives.
(6) Which is all to say, we have the 'power of God. We can all exclaim with Jeremiah, “Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for thee” (Jeremiah 32:17). Surely, if the Creator of the universe is for us, none can be •against us! We do indeed have power to do his will. My brothers and sisters, if God is for us, if the power is with us, we can win the world for Christ! even as the early church did. I know this because if God is for us, certain 'important things follow.
(1) We need not be anxious concerning material things. Hebrews 13:5 —“Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me?” Matthew 7:9-11 reads: “Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask bim a loaf, will give him a stone, or if he shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Knowing that God will provide for our material needs, we can concentrate our energies on the spiritual.
(2) Second, there is no limit to the good that we can do. Remember Paul’s words, “I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.” I can do all things—that are good, of course. I am convinced that we have set our sights too low in the Lord’s work. “He who builds beneath the stars builds too low.” If we were depending solely on ourselves, we could not do much. But our work is ‘‘in him.” He strengthens us for the task. We excuse ourselves by saying that we have so few numbers, so little ability, so little wealth, and so little influence. However, realizing that is [the first step to succeeding, for “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.” But let us not forget that God can use and multiply that which we have. As God used David’s skill with the slingshot to win a great victory for his people in the long- ago, so in all ages God has used insignificant things for great purposes. 2 Corinthians 8:9 is a verse that has grown in meaning with every reading to me, “And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.” Our efforts will accomplish much for it is God that “worketh in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Php_2:18). The church at work is nothing more than God working through us. And if God works with and through us there is no limit to the amount of good we can do.
(3) Next, if God is for us, there is no doubt about the outcome. Ultimate triumph is assured. Romans 8:37 declares, “We are more than conquerors.” Tribulation, anguish, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword may be ours; but we will conquer. “This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith.” The outcome is sure; the victory is certain.
(4) Finally, if God is for us, there is no reason to hold back. The church has done much work. What we have done with so little means should convince us that we can! All that has been accomplished, however, is but a drop in the proverbial bucket. I do not say that to disparage the things done. I thank God daily for the progress of the gospel. But certainly we haven’t done enough to be complacent about the situation when the whole continents of Asia and South America have hardly been touched. Many in this audience are college students, young like myself. For their especial benefit I say this—a large measure of the work that has been done in the last decade by way of evangelizing the world has been done by youth. God has often used youth—Joseph, Ruth, Daniel, Timothy—young men and women. If God is for us, we can accomplish much in our youth. There is no reason to hold back. We have the zeal and the energy to give; and our faith and devotion to the letter and the spirit of the word of God can compensate for much that is lacking in wisdom and mature experience. Our text verse also poses the question, “Who can be against us?” Can man? Psalms 118:6 quoted in Hebrews 13:6 asks in return, “Jehovah is on my side (or is my helper) ; I will not fear: What can man do unto me?” We have nothing to fear from man, who can only kill the body. Can Satan of the spiritual hosts of wickedness avail against us? Romans 8:38 f replies, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Satan’s powers are limited. When God is for us, who can be against us?
I’m not saying that winning the world will be easy; the Devil is still powerful. The gospel is demanding and many will think it too hard. But our greatest need is for more faith—the kind of faith that produces activity. I wish to inspire in your hearts and mine a firm conviction that “we can.” One of the prime reasons we haven’t done more for the Lord has been a fear of failure—a fear stemming from a feeling of inadequacy. To counteract this, we need a firm belief that God is with us—helping us, blessing us, prospering us. That faith will produce activity —powerful activity—soul saving activity. It will be difficult—but “if God be for us, who can be against us?” If God is for us, we can concentrate on the spiritual knowing that he will care for us; if God is for us, there is no limit to the good we can do; if God is for us, there is no doubt about the outcome, we cannot fail; if God is for us, there is no reason to hold back. The significance of all this is that if God is for us we can take the world for Christ.
I have deliberately saved until now a few words of a more practical nature. Before God is for us, certain things must be true of our lives. God is with, in a providential way, only those who are his people, his children. Children partake of the nature of their parents; so in the spiritual sense, to be children of God we must partake of the divine nature. The two principal qualities of God’s nature are holiness and love. “But like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living” (1 Peter 1:15). Holiness carries with it the idea of separation from sin. To be children of God, for God to be with us, we must preserve our body and minds from the stain of s'in. Also, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:8). To be partakers of the divine nature we must have that “will to do good” to all men. These ideas of holiness and love undergird the other things essential to claiming God’s providential assistance.
First, we must have faith— “for without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing unto God.”
Second, we must be true to the Book— true in faith, doctrine, and practice. Both in word and in manner of life we must follow the divine pattern. 2 John 1:9—“Whosoever goeth onward and abid- eth not in the teaching of Christ hath not God, but he that abideth in the teaching hath both the Father and the Son.” If we ever cease to be true to the Book we will have no more mission in the world, no reason to exist as a distinct body. If we ever cease to be true to the Book, we will fail. In the third place, if God is to be for us, we must be preaching the gospel. The church at work is primarily an evangelistic church. Before Jesus gave the promise of being with us always, he gave the command to “go and make disciples of all the nations.” As long as we are engaged in that work of teaching all nations we can be assured that God through Christ is working with us. But if we are not going and teaching, we have no assurance of the presence of Christ with us. When we cease to preach we begin to die. When the early church thought there were no more worlds to conquer, and sat down to debate the fine points of the-ology, ritualism developed and apostacy set in. When the early church lost its evangelistic fervor, it suffered from a hardening of its theological arteries. There will always be a work for the church to do. When we believe that God is with us, we will not hesitate to hand out that tract or say that word to a friend. Finally, if God is to be for us, we must completely consecrate our lives to him. A half-hearted effort will not do the job. “So because thou art lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). We must be on fire for the Lord; we must lay our bodies on the altar of God’s service as a living sacrifice—willing to spend and be spent in behalf of souls. If we build a life of faith, a life true to the book, a life of evangelism, and. a life of dedication on the foundation stones of holiness and love—God will be with us, individually and collectively. And God and one man constitute a majority in any battle. Of course, God is himself omnipotent, but he has chosen to work through human instrumentalities. That’s where the one man comes in. He has committed the treasures of the gospel to earthen vessels. A high honor has been bestowed upon man, but with it goes a fearful responsibility. Of ourselves, we would fail. But God has not left us alone. The church at work is nothing more than God working through individuals. And if God performs the work, • we are assured of success. “For it is God who worketh in you to will and to work according to his good pleasure.” For “I can do all things in him that strength- eneth me.” For “if God be for us, who can be against us?”