Sermon from Pixley UB

"He Did Not Spare His Own Son"

Romans 8:28-32

Some truth leaves us almost speechless. Romans 8:28-30 left Paul almost speechless. All things work for your good – God sees to it, because he foreknew you, predestined you to glory with Christ, called you when you were dead in trespasses and sins, justified you freely by his grace through faith alone, and is now glorifying you little by little until the day of his coming when it will be consummated with a body like Christ’s glorious resurrection body.

This leaves Paul almost speechless. Almost. He says, "What, then, shall we say in response to this?" I hear Paul saying two things here. I hear, "It is hard to find words to express these things." And I hear, "We must find words to express these things." When Paul says, "What then shall we say to these things?" his answer is: We must say it again in another way. We must find different words and say it again. That’s what he does when he says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" That’s what he has been saying all along. But he must say it another way.

And so must we. If you have shared the gospel with a person many times, you must say it again, say it another way. We must teach another lesson, preach another sermon, write another letter, sing another song. "What then shall we say to these things?" We will say them another way, over and over again till we die, and then to all eternity. They will never cease to be worthy of another way telling “the old, old story”.

How does Paul say it this time in verse 31? He says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" And his point is to sum up what has gone before: God is for us, and therefore no one can be against us. God foreknew us in love, predestined us to sonship, called us from death, declared us righteous, and is working in us to conform us to the likeness of Christ until we are glorified on the day he returns. How can we say that again? We will say, "God is for us."

How precious are those two words, "for us." To see it from the other side: there are no more fearful words in the universe than the words, "God is against us." If God is against us; what hope is there? Only the prospect of an eternity under the wrath of God. We live forever with God against us or with God for us. And all who are in Christ may say with almost unspeakable joy, "God is for us!" He is on our side.

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). God is entirely for us, and never against us. None of our sicknesses, none of our broken cars, none of our marital strife, none of our lost jobs, none of our wayward children is the punishment of an angry God. If we are in Christ God is for us, not against us, in and through all things – all pleasure and all pain.

To say it still another way, "Who can be against us?" "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The answer Paul expects when he asks that question is, "No one can be against us." To which we are prone to say, "Really?" What does he mean by that? Verse 35 says that there will be trouble and hardship and persecution and sword. Verse 36 says that Christians are being killed all day long, they are counted like sheep to be slaughtered. Paul said that. So what does he mean, "Who can be against us?" He means no one can be successfully against us.

The devil and sinful men can make you sick, can steal your car, can sow seeds of strife in your marriage, can take away your job, and rob you of your child. But verse 28 says, God works all those things together for your good if you love him. And if they finally work for your good, the designs of the adversary are thwarted and his aim to be against you is turned into a Christ-exalting benefit. If God is for you, he does not spare you these things. But he designs good where the adversary designs evil (Genesis 50:20; 45:7). The things that are against you he designs to be for you. No one can be successfully against you.

What an impact this should have on our lives! We should not be like the world if these we believe this. Most of the world chooses its lifestyle because it fears sickness and theft and terror and loss of job and a dozen other things. But the follower of Jesus remembers that the Lord said, "The pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:32-33). God will give you what you need.

So stand and share the gospel. Take risks for the kingdom of God. And say to even those who would take your life: "Do what you must, but in the end all your words and all your injury can only refine my faith, and enlarge my reward, and send me to paradise with the risen Jesus Christ." O how different we will be if we believe that God is for us and no one can be against us!

And now what shall we say to that? What will the apostle Paul add to that? He will say it yet another way. He will say it in a way now in verse 32 that not only promises no successful adversaries, but also promises total, overflowing, never-ending generosity from God; and all that on the rock-solid basis in the death of his Son for sinners. "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

There is a Latin term for the style of argument Paul uses here, but my Latin is so bad that I’d just mess it up. So I’ll use the English term: it’s an argument from the greater to the lesser. The hard to the easy. From the almost insurmountable obstacle to the easily surmountable obstacle. Since he did not spare his own Son – that’s the great thing, the hard thing, the insurmountable obstacle to our salvation – delivering over his Son to torture and scorn and death. If that can be done, then the lesser thing, the easy thing will surely be done: his freely giving to us all that Christ bought for us – all things!

Let’s look at it piece by piece. First, the phrase "his own Son." Jesus Christ was not a man whom God found and adopted to be his son on earth. Jesus Christ is the pre-existent, co-eternal, non-created, divine image of the Father in whom all the fullness of deity dwells (Colossians 2:9). Romans 8:3 says that God sent “his own Son in the likeness of sinful man." In other words, the Son existed before he became human. This is no mere prophet. This is God the Son.

And when verse 32 calls him "his own" Son, the point is that there are no others and that he is infinitely precious to the Father. At least twice while Jesus was on earth God said, "This is my Son, whom I love" (Matthew 3:17; 17:5). In Colossians 1:13 Paul calls him "the Son he loves." Jesus himself told the parable of the tenants in which the master’s servants were beaten and killed when they came to collect the fruit. Then Jesus said, "He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved" (Mark 12:6). One son is all the Father had. And he loved him deeply. And he sent him.

Many of you are fathers of sons. You can testify with me that there is no love like the love of a father for a son. Don’t misunderstand. I love my wife. And I love my daughter. And I love you. And I don’t mean the love of a father for his son is better than these loves. I mean, it’s different. There is no love like the love of a father for a son.

The point of verse 32 is that this love of God for his one and only Son was a massive obstacle standing between him and our salvation. It was almost insurmountable. Could God, would God, overcome his love for his Son and deliver him over to be lied about and betrayed and abandoned and mocked and flogged and beaten and spit on and nailed to a cross and pierced with a sword like an animal being butchered. Would he really do that? Would he hand over the Son of his love? If he would, then whatever goal he is pursuing by doing that could never be stopped. If that obstacle were overcome, every obstacle would be overcome.

Did he do it? Paul’s answer is yes, and he puts it negatively and positively: "He did not spare him, but gave him up." In the words, "he did not spare him," we hear the immensity of the difficulty and the obstacle. God did not delight in the pain or the dishonor of his Son. This was an infinitely horrible thing for the Son of God to be treated this way. Sin reached its worst in those hours. It was exposed for what it really is – an attack on God. All sin – our sin – is an attack on God. A rejection of God. But God did not spare his Son this treatment.

Instead "he gave him up." This is the most momentous phrase in the whole of scripture, “He gave him up.”

The Bible says Judas betrayed him (same word) (Mark 3:19), and Pilate handed him over (Mark 15:15), and Herod and the Jewish people and the Gentiles conspired against him (Acts 4:27-28), and that our sins handed him over (1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:4; 1 Peter 2:24). It even says Jesus delivered himself over of his own free will (John 10:17; 19:30). But Paul is saying that in and behind and beneath and through all these human betrayals and conspiracies, God was delivering his Son to death. "This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross" (Acts 2:23). In Judas and Pilate and Herod and Jewish crowds and Gentile soldiers and our sin and Jesus’ submission, God delivered over his Son. Nothing greater has ever happened. Ever.

And what shall we say to this? If God gave his own Son up, then . . . What? Answer: “How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” If God did not withhold his Son, he will not withhold any good thing from us. This is the final fulfillment of Psalm 84:11, "No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." This is the foundation of 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, "All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos, or Cephas or the world or life or death of the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." This is the guarantee of the promise of Ephesians 1:3, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." This is the securing of the promise of Jesus in the words, "Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’. . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you well" (Matthew 6:31-33).

Since he did not spare his own Son, but delivered him over for us all, he will, with absolute certainty, give us all things with him. Really? All things? What about "trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword" (Romans 8:35)? What about all pain and frustration and loss we experience in this life?

Here is a quote from an old Puritan from 350 years ago, John Flavel:

“‘He spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not with him freely give us all things?’ How is it imaginable that God should withhold, after this, spiritual [things]or temporal [things], from his people? How shall he not call them effectually, justify them freely, sanctify them thoroughly, and glorify them eternally? How shall he not clothe them, feed them, protect and deliver them? Surely if he would not spare this own Son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one sigh, one circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that ever he should, after this, deny or withhold from his people, for whose sakes all this was suffered, any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them.”

God always does what is good for us. If you believe that he gave his own Son for you, this is what you believe. And all of the Christian life is simply the fruit of that faith. Look to Christ. Look to the love God. Live in love. And do not be afraid.



	"He Did Not Spare His Own Son"
	Romans 8:28-32
	Some truth leaves us almost speechless. Romans 8:28-30 left Paul almost speechless. All things work for your good – God sees to it, because he foreknew you, predestined you to glory with Christ, called you when you were dead in trespasses and sins, justified you freely by his grace through faith alone, and is now glorifying you little by little until the day of his coming when it will be consummated with a body like Christ’s glorious resurrection body. This leaves Paul almost speechless. Almost. He says, "What, then, shall we say in response to this?" I hear Paul saying two things here. I hear, "It is hard to find words to express these things." And I hear, "We must find words to express these things." When Paul says, "What then shall we say to these things?" his answer is: We must say it again in another way. We must find different words and say it again. That’s what he does when he says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" That’s what he has been saying all along. But he must say it another way. And so must we. If you have shared the gospel with a person many times, you must say it again, say it another way. We must teach another lesson, preach another sermon, write another letter, sing another song. "What then shall we say to these things?" We will say them another way, over and over again till we die, and then to all eternity. They will never cease to be worthy of another way telling “the old, old story”. How does Paul say it this time in verse 31? He says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" And his point is to sum up what has gone before: God is for us, and therefore no one can be against us. God foreknew us in love, predestined us to sonship, called us from death, declared us righteous, and is working in us to conform us to the likeness of Christ until we are glorified on the day he returns. How can we say that again? We will say, "God is for us." How precious are those two words, "for us." To see it from the other side: there are no more fearful words in the universe than the words, "God is against us." If God is against us; what hope is there? Only the prospect of an eternity under the wrath of God. We live forever with God against us or with God for us. And all who are in Christ may say with almost unspeakable joy, "God is for us!" He is on our side. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). God is entirely for us, and never against us. None of our sicknesses, none of our broken cars, none of our marital strife, none of our lost jobs, none of our wayward children is the punishment of an angry God. If we are in Christ God is for us, not against us, in and through all things – all pleasure and all pain. To say it still another way, "Who can be against us?" "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The answer Paul expects when he asks that question is, "No one can be against us." To which we are prone to say, "Really?" What does he mean by that? Verse 35 says that there will be trouble and hardship and persecution and sword. Verse 36 says that Christians are being killed all day long, they are counted like sheep to be slaughtered. Paul said that. So what does he mean, "Who can be against us?" He means no one can be successfully against us. The devil and sinful men can make you sick, can steal your car, can sow seeds of strife in your marriage, can take away your job, and rob you of your child. But verse 28 says, God works all those things together for your good if you love him. And if they finally work for your good, the designs of the adversary are thwarted and his aim to be against you is turned into a Christ-exalting benefit. If God is for you, he does not spare you these things. But he designs good where the adversary designs evil (Genesis 50:20; 45:7). The things that are against you he designs to be for you. No one can be successfully against you. What an impact this should have on our lives! We should not be like the world if these we believe this. Most of the world chooses its lifestyle because it fears sickness and theft and terror and loss of job and a dozen other things. But the follower of Jesus remembers that the Lord said, "The pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:32-33). God will give you what you need. So stand and share the gospel. Take risks for the kingdom of God. And say to even those who would take your life: "Do what you must, but in the end all your words and all your injury can only refine my faith, and enlarge my reward, and send me to paradise with the risen Jesus Christ." O how different we will be if we believe that God is for us and no one can be against us! And now what shall we say to that? What will the apostle Paul add to that? He will say it yet another way. He will say it in a way now in verse 32 that not only promises no successful adversaries, but also promises total, overflowing, never-ending generosity from God; and all that on the rock-solid basis in the death of his Son for sinners. "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" There is a Latin term for the style of argument Paul uses here, but my Latin is so bad that I’d just mess it up. So I’ll use the English term: it’s an argument from the greater to the lesser. The hard to the easy. From the almost insurmountable obstacle to the easily surmountable obstacle. Since he did not spare his own Son – that’s the great thing, the hard thing, the insurmountable obstacle to our salvation – delivering over his Son to torture and scorn and death. If that can be done, then the lesser thing, the easy thing will surely be done: his freely giving to us all that Christ bought for us – all things! Let’s look at it piece by piece. First, the phrase "his own Son." Jesus Christ was not a man whom God found and adopted to be his son on earth. Jesus Christ is the pre-existent, co-eternal, non-created, divine image of the Father in whom all the fullness of deity dwells (Colossians 2:9). Romans 8:3 says that God sent “his own Son in the likeness of sinful man." In other words, the Son existed before he became human. This is no mere prophet. This is God the Son. And when verse 32 calls him "his own" Son, the point is that there are no others and that he is infinitely precious to the Father. At least twice while Jesus was on earth God said, "This is my Son, whom I love" (Matthew 3:17; 17:5). In Colossians 1:13 Paul calls him "the Son he loves." Jesus himself told the parable of the tenants in which the master’s servants were beaten and killed when they came to collect the fruit. Then Jesus said, "He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved" (Mark 12:6). One son is all the Father had. And he loved him deeply. And he sent him. Many of you are fathers of sons. You can testify with me that there is no love like the love of a father for a son. Don’t misunderstand. I love my wife. And I love my daughter. And I love you. And I don’t mean the love of a father for his son is better than these loves. I mean, it’s different. There is no love like the love of a father for a son. The point of verse 32 is that this love of God for his one and only Son was a massive obstacle standing between him and our salvation. It was almost insurmountable. Could God, would God, overcome his love for his Son and deliver him over to be lied about and betrayed and abandoned and mocked and flogged and beaten and spit on and nailed to a cross and pierced with a sword like an animal being butchered. Would he really do that? Would he hand over the Son of his love? If he would, then whatever goal he is pursuing by doing that could never be stopped. If that obstacle were overcome, every obstacle would be overcome. Did he do it? Paul’s answer is yes, and he puts it negatively and positively: "He did not spare him, but gave him up." In the words, "he did not spare him," we hear the immensity of the difficulty and the obstacle. God did not delight in the pain or the dishonor of his Son. This was an infinitely horrible thing for the Son of God to be treated this way. Sin reached its worst in those hours. It was exposed for what it really is – an attack on God. All sin – our sin – is an attack on God. A rejection of God. But God did not spare his Son this treatment. Instead "he gave him up." This is the most momentous phrase in the whole of scripture, “He gave him up.” The Bible says Judas betrayed him (same word) (Mark 3:19), and Pilate handed him over (Mark 15:15), and Herod and the Jewish people and the Gentiles conspired against him (Acts 4:27-28), and that our sins handed him over (1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:4; 1 Peter 2:24). It even says Jesus delivered himself over of his own free will (John 10:17; 19:30). But Paul is saying that in and behind and beneath and through all these human betrayals and conspiracies, God was delivering his Son to death. "This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross" (Acts 2:23). In Judas and Pilate and Herod and Jewish crowds and Gentile soldiers and our sin and Jesus’ submission, God delivered over his Son. Nothing greater has ever happened. Ever. And what shall we say to this? If God gave his own Son up, then . . . What? Answer: “How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” If God did not withhold his Son, he will not withhold any good thing from us. This is the final fulfillment of Psalm 84:11, "No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." This is the foundation of 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, "All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos, or Cephas or the world or life or death of the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." This is the guarantee of the promise of Ephesians 1:3, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." This is the securing of the promise of Jesus in the words, "Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’. . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you well" (Matthew 6:31-33). Since he did not spare his own Son, but delivered him over for us all, he will, with absolute certainty, give us all things with him. Really? All things? What about "trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword" (Romans 8:35)? What about all pain and frustration and loss we experience in this life? Here is a quote from an old Puritan from 350 years ago, John Flavel: “‘He spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not with him freely give us all things?’ How is it imaginable that God should withhold, after this, spiritual [things]or temporal [things], from his people? How shall he not call them effectually, justify them freely, sanctify them thoroughly, and glorify them eternally? How shall he not clothe them, feed them, protect and deliver them? Surely if he would not spare this own Son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one sigh, one circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that ever he should, after this, deny or withhold from his people, for whose sakes all this was suffered, any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them.” God always does what is good for us. If you believe that he gave his own Son for you, this is what you believe. And all of the Christian life is simply the fruit of that faith. Look to Christ. Look to the love God. Live in love. And do not be afraid.