In this sermon, the speaker focuses on Romans chapter eight and its central message of safety or salvation for Christians. The chapter begins and ends with the themes of no condemnation and no separation. The speaker emphasizes that Christians are safe from God's condemnation. The sermon poses the question to the audience, "Are you safe?" and highlights the uncertainty and dangers of the world. The speaker encourages listeners to grasp the truth of their safety in Christ and live it out in praise and glory to God.

Now I do not have a statement or a verse or even a few verses by way of a text this evening, but a chapter, and not just a chapter of 39 verses, but Romans chapter 8. You will therefore not need me to tell you that we are not going to look at many statements in it. But my justification for turning your minds to this chapter is because of the central truth which it contains and which pervades all of its statements. A truth, a message, which it is essential for us to grasp at this present time and live out in praise and glory to God in these dark days in which we live. What I am therefore going to try to do is to hold that truth before you and to pick out from this chapter a few expressions which relate to it, which underline it and explain something of it and enforce it upon us. Now let me put the truth to you by way of a question. And the question is this. Are you safe? Are you safe? That may take you a little by surprise. Because perhaps hearing the opening words of the question, I've just put, are you, you are expecting another word to complete the question. A word that is not all that dissimilar to the word safe. And certainly a question with which many of you, I imagine, are more familiar than the one, are you safe? In the context of public worship and in open air preaching, it's this other question that is more frequently put. And we'll come to it in a moment. But still, let's stay with this one. Are you safe? The question, of course, may surprise you for another reason. Namely this. That you cannot give as immediate and as strong a reply to it as you could to the other question which it resembles. After all said and done, this isn't a safe world. We aren't living in safe times. And to be asked whether we are safe or not at least makes us pause, makes us think. Because we wonder whether we could ever give a reply to it that resounds with certainty and confidence and unabashed assurance. Perhaps you have keys in your pockets. Well, we have keys not just so that we can get into places and into things, but so that we can keep others out of them. Perhaps in addition to keys, you have codes in this computer ridden edge and your most precious things related to systems that you've devised. Perhaps even your house is fitted with alarms against invasion by burglars. It's an uncertain world that we live in. Are your premiums paid up? Perhaps you've got an extra loading on them that gives you the guarantee of new for old if you should lose something, if people should break in and steal. Or perhaps even you have a special health insurance that would make it unnecessary for you to wait on the normal list for surgery if that were to be required. That's the kind of world that we live in. I'd better stop or perhaps you'll be leaving and wondering whether you actually locked the house before you left or locked your car before you left and I'll lose some of the congregation. But ours is a security conscious edge. The world is an insecure place. No man knows what tomorrow may bring forth. Indeed the very bodies in which we live remind us from time to time that the health that we take for granted so often isn't to be taken for granted. The breath that we've been drawing with such ease doesn't come to us as easily as once it did. We're all in the process of aging and we face new situations and new challenges and demands that we can't respond to. Our minds aren't as flexible. Our bodies aren't as adaptable. And over us all hangs the possibility. No more than possibility. But for many such a frightening possibility has constrained them to all manner of activity. The possibility of a nuclear holocaust. Are you safe? What a foolish question you may think. How is it possible to be safe in a world such as this? The most that we can hope for, the most that we can say perhaps is this. Well, we've taken as many precautions as we can and we're as safe as it is possible to be. As safe as we can make ourselves. As safe as we can render our possessions. And that's the most that we can say in reply to the question as to whether we are safe. Because complete safety, we imagine and even may be utterly convinced is absolutely impossible. Well, now let me change the question to the one that you are more familiar with, I imagine. Are you saved? To that question, I hope many of us, indeed why not all of us, can give an immediate reply. Not thoughtlessly, but with confidence and assurance that we are saved by the grace of God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ and by the power of His Holy Spirit working within us. If you can't say that, then in God's goodness and mercy may He bring you to say it before the end of this evening. We're more familiar with that question. We know the answer to it. We can at least say that there is such a thing as salvation. We may have our doubts about complete security and complete safety, but we know that there is such a thing as salvation. We know we need to be saved from certain grim realities. Saved from sin. Evil in its Godward dimension. For evil isn't just what a man or a woman, a boy or a girl commits against himself or herself. Evil doesn't merely have a horizontal dimension and social consequences. Evil is against God. Sin is the proper term for it. Against thee. Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. We need to be saved from sin. We have offended God. We've transgressed His law. We've slighted His goodness and His mercy. In addition to that, we are under sin's foul bondage. We cannot free ourselves from its baneful power and its pervasive sway over our lives. Our minds are affected by it so that we cannot purge our minds, our emotions of disorder. Our wills are dominated and enslaved. We need to be saved from bondage to sin. We need to be saved from sin's tremendous curse. For there's a penalty hanging over those who commit iniquity. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. We need to be saved from the wrath of God, which is the ultimate consequence of sin. What sin deserves? God's settled, avowed, unchangeable antipathy and hostility against sin in all its shapes and forms. We need to be delivered from sin within. We need to be delivered from sin over us. We need to be delivered from sin against us. We need to be delivered from the wrath of God on account of our sin. We need to be saved. The consequence of it is declared in Scripture. The wages of sin is death, by which is not just meant physical death. That's the least of it, my friend. The very least of it. The death which is the condign penalty for sin, what sin deserves is banishment from God forever. And yet not total expulsion from the reality of His presence, but a banishment from every comfort that stems from Him, from all the blessedness that He exudes and bestows. A banishment from life. A banishment from joy and a banishment from peace. And a subjugation of us under His displeasure, body and soul forever and ever. So that though we are without His life, we are conscious of His wrath. The wages of sin is death forever and ever. Not annihilation nor extinction. We need to be saved from that. If you know that much by way of truth, not theory, truth, then surely you know the rest. That there is only one name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. The blessed Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself. There is no other Savior. Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He that is Jehovah, that's what the J means in Jesus. Jehovah saves, Jehovah will save His people from their sins. None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. There is no other Savior and there is only one way to Him, which is to repent of our sins, by which is not meant that we cleanse ourselves, but guilty, vile and helpless and ungodly, unable to do a thing for ourselves, we turn from ourselves and go to God as we are in all our guilt, in all our defilement, in all our lostness and despair, and cast ourselves in faith upon His mercy and His promise to cleanse and His promise to deliver and to redeem and to free from sin's tremendous curse and shame through Jesus Christ. That's how Jesus Christ alone, repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I imagine that I'm telling you nothing you don't know, but are you saved? Have you repented? Have you believed? Have you done so for yourself? Because if you haven't, you will never ever be safe. Never ever. Your bank balance may be safe. Your safety deposit box may be safe. Your house may be safe. But you are not safe. Nor will you ever be. You'll live your life in great peril and danger. And you'll never ever be safe until you're saved. And when you're saved, you will be totally and utterly and eternally safe. Are you saved? Are you safe? Though there's a distinction in the terminology, there's no distinction in the theology. But there may be. There may be a distinction in your mind and heart. There may be someone here tonight who can say not only, and yet may be plagued with a thousand and one doubts and fears and may hesitate and even be unable to say in answer to the question, are you safe? Yes, I am. Because I'm saved. My friend, listen to God's word tonight. You can go out of this building not only knowing you're saved, but knowing what you ought to have known before which is implicit in knowing that you're saved, that you're safe. Can you imagine a Savior worth believing in who can't safeguard you? It's not only literary nonsense, verbal contradiction. It's a failure to understand greatness and glory and fullness of the gospel. He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by him. To the uttermost. However numerous are frailties, however great are difficulties, however wayward we are, and I'm not saying that to encourage you to be wayward, but just to underline this, that our salvation rests in a Savior, not in us. And if you're not yet saved, it could well be that all that you think of in terms of being saved is being saved from hell. That's in it, my friends. And don't mock it. That's more than enough by way of a reason for you to repent and believe. More than enough. But there's more than that. And you need more than that. Not only can you not escape hell if you don't believe, you can't be safe in life either if you don't believe. You, like us, need a living Savior for now, for tomorrow, for all the days of your life, as well as for eternity. Now in this chapter, that's the theme. Safety or salvation. They're synonyms. And you know how the chapter begins, I'm sure. And you know how it ends. No condemnation. No separation. What a beginning. What an ending. No condemnation. No separation. There are two aspects of the safety of the Christian. There's a third that I'll come to later. Let's look at this first of all. The safety of the Christian in relation to Romans 8 verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Do you know what that means? It means this, my friends. That the Christian is safe from God. Does that surprise you? If it does, why does it surprise you? You don't have this foolish notion, do you? That you don't need to be afraid of God? That's utter folly. That's great ignorance. That's immense delusion. Yet so many suffer under it and labor under it. And here is one great aspect of the Christian safety. That he or she is safe from God. Now, we all need to be rendered safe from God. Why? Because of who He is. And because of what we are. Those who don't think they need to be rendered safe. Ask them who God is and they'll tell you. God is love, they'll say. You ask them, what are they? They'll say, oh, well, though there are things wrong with us, we're good at heart. No wonder they don't fear God. There's no need for those who are good at heart. To fear the kind of loving God that people foolishly believe in. But the moment you and I set the record straight in our thinking. And say to ourselves, God is holy and I'm a sinner. That's a different situation altogether. Isn't it? Then, we can begin to appreciate that we do need to fear Him. And if we're saved, we can begin to rejoice that we're safe. From a sin-hating God. Though we still sin. Do you remember what our Lord Jesus Christ said? He said on one occasion to His disciples and those who were with Him. Fear not them that kill the body. But after that, have no more that they can do. I will forewarn you, He said, whom you shall fear. Fear Him. Who after He has killed the body. Has power to cast both soul and body into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear Him. What is it that we fear? Who is it that we fear? Isn't it the case? That what we fear and whom we fear. Are all related to this life. We fear what can happen to us in this life. We fear those who can affect us in this life. We fear what we can lose. We fear what we can experience. We fear what we can be inflicted with. Fear not them that kill the body. And after that, have no more that they can do. I wonder whether you've thought from time to time. Of the terrible sufferings that people endure. At the hands of others. That's bad enough. It's too bad. But then there comes a point at which. The power of the most malicious ceases. And no more that they can do. Fear not them that kill the body. But after that, have no more that they can do. Fear Him rather. Who after death has power. Here's someone who ought to be feared more than any other. The power of men ends at death. The power of God doesn't. By that I mean of course, ends at your death. Ends at my death. He has power over us. After we have died. And power not just over our bodies, but over our souls. There are those who have been able. And they are not only Christians. There are those who have been able to maintain. Great dignity and fortitude. At the hands of those who have inflicted the most bestial treatment upon them. They have inner resources, a strength of character. Great personality. And so, even though they have suffered in body. They have not suffered in mind. Ah, but God has greater power than that. Fear Him who after He has killed the body. Has power to cast both soul and body. Person, mind. As well as body. And are not at times the torments of the mind greater than the torments of the body? Can we not be well in body, sound in wind and limb? And yet our minds can be distracted. And what would we not give? For peace of mind even though our bodies may be wracked with pain. God has power over soul and body. And will express His power. In casting soul and body into hell. Don't mock hell my friends. It isn't just the ultimate weapon in the preacher's armory. It ought never merely to be used in that way. It's the most awful thing, place, state. Ever. Don't go there. Avoid it. There's a way to escape. Hell isn't extinction. Hell is conscious alienation. Banishment from God. Subjugation to His holy intense displeasure. Hell means the recollection and remembrance of all our sins. Of every occasion when we've slighted His mercy. We'll regret the life we're now enjoying in hell. Don't go there. God has power to send you there. Man has no power to send you there but God has. After that He has power to cast both soul and body into hell. And we all ought to face up to this. None of us should say to himself or herself tonight, It's alright, I'm safe. I want to ask you this. On what grounds do you think you're safe? Why do you think that you're going to escape hell? Unless you are in Jesus Christ. There's no escape from it. There is therefore now no condemnation to them. Who think they're good. Who think their future can atone for their past. No. To them who are in Christ Jesus. No other way. No other means of deliverance from the wrath to come. The day of judgment is drawing near. When the dead, small and great. Important and unimportant. You and me and all who have ever lived and ever will live. Shall stand before God and the books will be opened. And everything will be laid bare. Our deeds. Our words. Our thoughts. Our desires. Our secrets. The day shall declare it. The omniscient. God who is aware of everything. Will bring it all to light. And he will bring to bear. His holy sin hating majesty. Upon all that is disclosed. And on the basis of fact and reality. On the basis of what people have been. A verdict will be pronounced. And a punishment. Will commence. What a blessing it is to be safe from him. You know if the Christian safety only consisted in this. Wouldn't you be a Christian? But it consists in more. But this is enough. Do you remember the great picture that we have. Of the safety of the Christian. In the old testament. In the book of Exodus. The terrible night. Of the last plague. Brunia. The angel of death. Was to pass over the land of Egypt. The first born of man and beast. Was to die. But in the houses of the children of Israel. There would be peace. And safety. Why? For sacrificial blood. In the lintel and on the door post. And we are told this. And this is what we read. But on the very night. When a cry would go up from the land of Egypt. Such as had never been uttered. Or heard before. A cry that was symbolic of the cry at the last day. Fall on us. Cover us. Hide us. From the face of him that sits upon the throne. And the wrath of the Lamb. The night when such a cry would be heard. Against the children of Israel. Not a dog would bark. Now I don't know what you think of dogs. Some of us don't mind them. Others of us are terrified of them. But really you know. A dog's bark isn't much to be afraid of. Particularly if the other end is wagging. But what is the bark of a dog. In comparison to the cry of the lost. Yet. Against us. Not even a dog would bark. Complete. And utter security. Safe from God. How? There is therefore now no condemnation. To them who are in. Christ. Jesus. That's the place of safety. It's only because of him. And only because we are in him. That we are safe from God. Why? Only him. And only because we are in him. For this reason. That only he dealt with. The reason that exposes us to the wrath of God. There would be. No hell were there no sin. And there's no safety. Were there no salvation. And there's no safe salvation. Where sin has not been dealt with. And it was dealt with. By Jesus Christ. And in Jesus Christ. And dealt with totally and utterly and satisfactorily. His perfect life. His submissive death. Sacrificially. Offered to God. God's wrath fell on him. He paid the penalty. He bore our sins. Past, present and to come. No other did it. He could not do it except. By way of offering himself. To the offended God. And bearing the penalty of that offended God. Which bit into the soul as well as the body. Of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. My God. My God. Why hast thou forsaken me? Amen. God will not twice demand. First at my bleeding surety's hand. And then again at mine. He was forsaken. I won't be. He was punished. I won't be. There's safety from God. He bore our sins. In his own body. On the tree. And he endured all the curse. And all the wrath. That the sin hating God. Had to pour on sin. God spared not his own son. But delivered him up. For us all. And there is now. Safety from God. For sinners. For sinners. Who trust in Jesus Christ. There is therefore now. Not then. You don't have to wait to come to glory. To enjoy the safety my friend. You can know it now. And you can know now that there is. No condemnation. To them who are in Christ Jesus. Now none. What glorious words those are. Why? Because the verdict. Was passed. And the punishment fell. And all the sins were borne. And all the law was honored. And it's because of that. That you and I tonight. Trusting in Jesus Christ. Can know that we are safe. And can say now. The terrors of law. And of God. With me can have nothing. To do. My Savior's obedience. And blood. Hide all. My transgression. From you. Are you safe from God? Even though you now know. That you're still a sinner. What a wonderful blessing. We don't say tonight do we? We're safe from God because we're sinless. We are safe from God because we have a Savior. Who dealt with all our sins. Once and for all. And forever. And when you and I sin. And we shouldn't. And we needn't. And we. And wound our Father's loving heart. We still do not come under condemnation. There is therefore now. No. Condemnation. We're safe. From God. And to Him. Be the praise. But there's another aspect of our safety. And it's this. That we're safe in God. This is the other side of the coin if you like. But. It needs bringing out. Not only safe from God's wrath. But safe in God's love. Of course we'd never be safe from His wrath. Had He not loved us. But it's possible you know for us. To fail to realize this. That we are safe in His love. He's not just delivered us from the wrath to come. And then. Left us as it were. In a kind of neutral position. In which we are not under His wrath. But. We are not under anything else either. And we're. Open to every kind of influence. And our position is uncertain. And. Ambivalent. We are safe in His love. It was because. He loved us from before the foundation of the world. That He sent His Son. To die for us. There would never have been. Deliverance from wrath. Had God not loved. His people. From before the foundation of the world. We are therefore safe. In His love. This is how the chapter ends isn't it? For I am persuaded that neither death. Nor life. Nor angels nor principalities. Nor things. Nor powers. Nor things present. Nor things to come. Nor height. Nor depth. Nor any other creature. Anything in the whole of creation. Nothing. Is able. To separate us from the love of God. Which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. He set His love upon us. In Jesus Christ. From before the foundation of the world. To beyond. Its existence. Beyond its duration. And throughout time. This is what is being asserted here. The love that is being spoken of. Isn't your love? It isn't mine. It's not our love to Him. If that were the case. Immediately we would have to say. There is no such thing as. Total safety. Or at least we would have to say. We cannot with absolute certainty say there is. Because we know what it is. For our love to blow hot and cold. We know what it is at times to look within. And wonder whether there is the least true love. To the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That isn't what's being spoken of. It's His love. To us. Not ours to Him. The Old Testament says. He will rest in His love. His love isn't like it was in mine. It's solid. But vital. It is unchangeable. But versatile. I have loved Him with an everlasting love. A love that will never change. This means of course. That He will never cease to love us. Whatever we may find in ourselves. More than that. He will never cease to love us. What He sees in us. A way sand out. An anxious care. Mercy. Is all that's written there. Sin is in your heart. He is holy. And yet you and I need not fear. That He will turn from His love to us. That He will say to us. You oughtn't to be like that. Here you are in the Aberystwyth Conference again. You've been here before. Are you any better? Any different? No you're not. Therefore I'm not going to love you anymore. That's an utter impossibility. Ah, that's what the devil suggests. But that's contrary to the truth of what God's word declares. It's an everlasting love. With which He has loved us. It took its rise in His own heart. He didn't say I'm going to love so and so. Because they're going to be good. He didn't say I love them as long as they're good. He said I am going to love them in Jesus Christ. Because I love them in Jesus Christ. Forever. And forever. With everlasting love. He holds you. He sees in you. He'll still love you. He won't say. He won't think. Ah, I'll only be able to continue to love them. By overlooking that. Because what He sees in us that displeases Him. He remembers Jesus Christ more. In His own body. On the tree. Nothing is able to separate us. And He lists some things. Which have a separating power. Death has a separating power. It comes between the soul and the body. It comes between a loved one and a loved one. It comes between us and this earth. It cannot come between us and the Lord's love. It's utterly impossible. Life has a separating power. We can be utterly lonely. We can feel so downcast and forsaken. He still loves us. We can feel so ashamed and so green. He loves us. We may be unable to face another. Unable to face ourselves. Cut off from every kind of peace and assurance. He loves us. And He'll never cease to do so. And not only are our sins unable to separate us from His love. But Satan is unable to do so as well. Neither principalities nor powers. Nor the present nor the future. Nor height nor depth. We're in time. We're in space. We're in this earth. We're in this world. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Can make Him alter in His love toward us. We're safe in His love. Safe from His law. And safe in His love. There's another reason for believing in this Savior, isn't there? Before you were to finish there. I wonder whether you'd feel that you still had certain reasons. Or grounds for doubting. Or hesitations about believing in your complete and utter security. Because of Jesus Christ. I remember visiting an old saint once who had just been given serious news. Bad prognosis. He said to me, I'm not worried about the past or the future. The past has been dealt with. My future is safe. The bit in between that troubles me. Listen. No condemnation. No separation. No opposition. If God be for us, who can be against us? That's the other element. In your safety and security. When the apostle was moved to write those words, if God be for us, who can be against us? He wasn't trying to pass a confidence trick. He wasn't speaking in the language of the cults. Which say, there's no such thing as sickness. It's all in the mind. Listen to it. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation. Or distress. Or persecution. Or famine. Or nakedness. Or peril. Or sword. As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. No, he says. No. Nay. It's not like that. We aren't sheep for slaughter. We aren't victims of circumstances. We aren't under the power of change and uncertainty. That isn't the true situation at all. God be for us. In all these things, we are more than conquerors. Through him who loved us. What he's saying to you and me, my friends, is this. Yes, there are all these things that are against us. And we're inadequate. As well as exposed to many of them. But in the truest sense. In the ultimate analysis. Not one of them. Nor all of them. Can touch our safety. We are as safe as if they didn't exist. Because God is for us. And we know that all things work together for good. To them that love God. To them who are called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew in love, he did predestinate. To be conformed to the image of his son. Whom he predestinated, he called. Whom he called, he justified. Whom he justified, he glorified. There's God's great solid purpose. And nothing can hinder it. Nothing can thwart it. Nothing can frustrate it. Whom he justified. Past tense. Them he also glorified. Past tense. It's as certain and sure as what's past. In spite of all that's between us. And our actual experience of it. There are two things that the apostle mentions in the main. In these verses. Which can come under this heading of opposition. I've mentioned some of them to you. The first we can call affliction. For I know that the sufferings of this present time. Our path is through suffering. Suffering for the cause of Christ. Suffering because we are part of the fall. We were in our forefather Adam when he sinned. Decay and death came into the world as a result of sin. The creation is deranged and subject to disorder and decay. We ourselves are declining. The sickness and disease that can invade the body. The powers of the mind begin to wane. We are all subject to affliction. And affliction can be heavy. Intense. Prolonged. Seemingly unendurable. But we are as safe as if we were. Hail and hearty. We are as safe as if there were. No world that hates us. We are as safe as if there were no Satan. To oppose us. The afflictions of this present time. They exist. But there is someone working them together. For our good. To make us more like the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of God and our only Savior. Nothing. Though waves and storms go over my head. Though friends forsake and all be gone. It doesn't really matter my friends. It doesn't really matter. In the light of this great fact. But there is someone working it all together for his glory. For our good. And we are in his hands. We are not imprisoned in circumstance or fate. The one who loves us is at work for our good. Afflictions can't deprive us of our safety. They oughtn't then to deprive us of our joy. One final thing. Not only are afflictions against us. And yet they are not against us because God is for us. Accusations are against us. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God we elect. It is God who justifies. We have an accuser. And we give him many reasons for accusing us. We sin so often, so frequently, the same sins. Time and time and time again. And he accuses us to the Father. My little children says, John, these things write I unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have. But we haven't. We can lose a lot by sinning, can't we? We can lose our peace. We can stain our testimony. But do you know there is one thing you can't lose by sinning? If you are a child of God, you can't lose your advocate. We have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ the righteous. How important it is that he is righteous. Why? Well, how could he stand in the presence of God himself if he weren't? No, how could he stand in the presence of God for others if he weren't? Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins. You see the situation is this. That when Satan accuses us to the Father because of our sins. Jesus Christ represents us. And he doesn't need to do anything to continue to render us completely safe. Why? Well, he did it long ago. When Satan says, so and so broke this commandment today. Holy, condemned. Jesus says, I kept that commandment for that person all my life. And I bore all the penalty because of its being broken. And that's the situation my friends. All our sins were borne by him. All God's laws were kept by him. All the penalty was visited upon him. And Satan and his accusations must fall to the ground. Because of Jesus Christ the righteous who died. He rather is risen again. Who is even at the right hand of God. Who also makes intercession for us. Are you safe? Are you saved? If you've not trusted in Jesus Christ, I beseech you. Don't say to yourself, you're safe. You're not. Nor will you ever be. Until you believe on him. But if you believe on him, don't dishonor him by doubting whether you're safe or not. Things future, nor things that are now. Nor all things below or above can make him his purpose for go. Or sever your soul from his love. No condemnation. No opposition. No separation. On you go. Believing. Joyful. Humble. Thankful. Unto him who saved us. Be the glory. Amen.