I've been pondering a passage from our pastor's message this morning from Romans 8. Verses 33 and 34 ask a couple of questions.Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?Who accuses us? Who condemns us? Our pastor discussed three who do--non-believers who think we're hypocritical, fellow-believers who are hypocritical along with us, and the Chief Accuser who wants God to know that we're hypocritical and unworthy of His love and concern.
Who is he that condemneth?
Non-believers accuse Christians because they have higher standards for us than for themselves. They believe we should walk the talk. We should. Non-believers don't understand us, that we are made of clay, just as they are. They accuse us of failure because we do fail. They accuse us of hypocrisy because we are hypocritical. We are. They are. It's human. And yet there's a statement that follows the accusation question in verse 33--It is God who justifies. God redeems. Without Him we stand guilty as charged. He redeems us from ourselves and our sins and our weaknesses and our failures.
It's understandable that non-believers accuse us, but fellow-believers accuse us as well. We are all weak and faint--the accused and the accusing. We are sometimes accused incorrectly, sometimes correctly. Yet, if our hearts were truly known, we would stand even more accused. We can be thus accused only by our outward actions or omissions, but in the heart there is so much more to be weighed in the balance. I am grateful that what is in my heart can be forgiven--for it is God who justifies.
The Chief Accuser brings our names before God day and night, yet he will be cast down (Rev.12:10). I'm not concerned about Satan's accusations of me before God. God is just, and it is He who justifies.
I would add another accuser to the list. Myself. When I am the center of my focus I evaluate all my actions and all my motivations. I don't know the full extent of the ways of my heart, but I know that there's much there that I don't like. It's when I begin to dwell on my weaknesses that I raise my own personal accusations--to myself and to God. It's easy to grow weary with ourselves. It's easy to paralyze the value we could be to those around us because we feel the weight of unworthiness. The Chief Accuser is glad of this.
We can be accused, but who condemns? That question in verse 34 is followed by another redeeming statement and another question. "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Not non-believers or fellow-believers, or Satan himself. Not even ourselves.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 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 (Romans 8:38).
