THE ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE ELECT
Romans 8:32‑34
The Bible does not teach the eternal security of believers. So stating the doctrine of eternal security has left the truth open to misunderstanding. It does teach the eternal security of some believers, but not all believers. It teaches the eternal security of only the believers who place their faith in Christ alone for salvation. And these do it with the kind of faith that persists through whatever happens. Really a better and more Biblical way would be to speak of the eternal security of the elect. The elect are those God has chosen for Himself. The evidence that a man has so been chosen of God is that He places His faith in Christ alone for salvation.

The abuse of this doctrine is obvious. Some have claimed that everyone who makes a profession of faith is going to heaven regardless. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many professors of faith will be condemned at the last day. True saving faith is so much more than a profession. It is commitment of one's whole person to Jesus as Savior and Lord. Especially it trusts the work of Christ to take care of your sins. All are agreed that condemnation in the end will be based on sin. Unless a man can be sure that his sins have been adequately cared for, he has no basis for any consideration of eternal security.

This is the very thing that makes the elect safe for eternity. God has taken care of their sins forever. This great truth is set forth in this outburst of joy in our text. The words are just flowing forth from the heart of the Apostle. They do so in a series of questions. We will consider the first two of these questions in this message.

THE ELECT ARE ETERNALLY SECURE BECAUSE THERE IS NO ONE TO CHARGE THEM
If the thing that keeps men from going to heaven is sin, does eternal security mean that we are sinless? If so, then no one could ever be secure; indeed, no one would ever go to heaven. Nothing is more obvious than the truth that all have sinned, and are still sinners. What is the basis of our security then? It is this‑‑God has dealt with our sins so that they can never be used against us in the court of heaven.

After setting forth the gracious deed of the Cross, in which God spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, Paul asks a question. "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?" To lay a charge is a legal act. It is to go into a court and make a legal accusation or charge against someone. The ultimate court in which the issue of sin and our entrance into heaven is to be decided is the court of God. God Himself is the Judge. The question concerns who might lodge a charge against us in the court of God.  The implication of the question is that there is no one to present any charge against us.

The assertion that follows is the reason that no such accusation can be made against us; "It is God that justifieth." Already we have learned from this epistle to the Romans that to justify means to declare righteous. Already we have learned that on the basis of the death of Christ upon the Cross for our sins, God freely declares as righteous all of those who come to Him in faith. This involves the complete forgiveness of all their sins, and the giving to them of the acceptable righteousness of God. God is the one who does this. This is not something man does for himself. We could declare ourselves to be righteous, but it would be a vain gesture. All of the evidence would be to the contrary, But if the Judge Himself declares us to be righteous, who can bring a charge against us?

The One whose judgment you must pass to enter heaven, to be accepted in courts of the redeemed, is God. If this Holy God, on what He considers to be a just basis,  declares you to be without sin, to be righteous, to be acceptable in His sight, then all is well. For anyone to attempt to lay a charge against us would call into question the decision God has already rendered. It would be calling on Him to reverse a prior action. Will God reverse a decision, and pronounce a man to he guilty, that He has already declared to be righteous? Will God reverse His decision, and send a man to Hell that He has already pronounced acceptable for heaven? Such a thought is unthinkable of the God who changes not. For Him to make such a decision would mean that He had come to the conclusion that the basis upon which He made His first decision was inadequate. It is helpful to remember that He never declared us to he righteous on the basis of our being good or sinless, but on the basis that the death of His Son was adequate for all our sins, and that we had come to the place that we had our faith in His Son alone for our salvation. The glorious truth is that we are eternally secure because there is no one to bring any charge against us to bring about our condemnation.

THE ELECT ARE ETERNALLY SECURE BECAUSE THERE IS NO ONE TO CONDEMN THEM
This great assertion that there is no one to lay a charge against us leads to the next great basis for security. It is stated in the form of a question. "Who is he that condemneth?" To condemn is to pass sentence. This word is used of condemning persons to death and destruction in the New Testament. Already we have noticed that such passing of sentence ultimately rests in the hand of God. However, the New Testament suggests that God the Father has delegated such condemnation to God the Son. It seems that the last sentence of condemnation will be handed down by Christ Jesus our Lord. This may explain the reason that the Apostle answers the question the way he does. Can we be sure that Christ will not condemn us in the end? Can we be sure that He is really for us? Four great facts of the Gospel are cited as evidence.

First, Christ is the One who died for us. Christ is the One who willingly presented Himself in our behalf to experience the death of the Cross. When dealing with the question of salvation, you must never wander far from the Cross. This is the basis of all that God does for us. The Christ with whom we deal is the Christ who died for us.

Second, but even more than that, He is the One raised from the dead; this is an important fact in the Gospel declaration. This fact is important because it gives clear evidence that God the Father has accepted the sacrifice of His Son for our sins, His coming forth from the grave in victory was the Father's way of saying to us, "I accept what He did for you." The fact is also important because it gives us a living Savior. We do not need a dead Savior. We need One who lives to be our life right now.

Third, this risen Christ is right now at the right hand of God in the heavens. The first two facts deal with history, but this deals with the present. This very Christ is even now in the most honored and exalted position one can ever know. He is just now sharing in the sovereign rule of this whole universe with God the Father. He is at‑the right hand of God. He is right now, right at this very moment, in that blessed position. This surely puts Him in a position to use His influence for us.

Fourth, the climax is saved for last. This Christ who is enthroned at the right hand of God is now making intercession for us. The word means to approach someone, to make petition to them, to intercede, to make an appeal. The One making the appeal, presenting the petition, is Christ. The supplication is made to Holy God. The supplication is made in our behalf. Could you ask for anything better? If you had a case coming before a judge, how would you like to have the very judge before which you were going to appear as your defense attorney as well? In the glorious situation that is ours before God, this is exactly the case. The Judge of this universe has taken our case to be our defender. Even just at this very moment Christ Jesus is representing us so wondrously before God in the heavens.

Let me summarize the situation that makes the elect eternally secure. Before the elect can ever be condemned, God will have to reverse a judgment He has already made. God has already declared us to be acceptable on the basis of the work of Christ in our behalf upon the Cross. Such a possibility is really impossible. God knew the whole story when He made the decision and the act of justification. In addition to this, before the elect can ever be condemned the redemptive work of Christ will have to be proven inadequate. Our going to heaven never did depend upon the adequacy of our works. It has always been dependent upon what Christ did upon the Cross. Does anyone want to suggest that at some point in the future what He did may prove to be inadequate, that what He is now doing is not enough? Our situation is that actually there is no one to charge us and no one to condemn us. God is for us in Christ.

Underlying all of this is a basic assumption we must not overlook. This applies only to the elect, those God has chosen for Himself. You can identify these by the way they trust Christ alone for salvation and the manner in which their hearts seem to be set on God. They are the ones who "love God". They have responded to His great deed of love in a commitment of faith and devotion of love through the influence of the Divine Spirit in their lives. These are the ones that are safe forever.