Romans 8:33-34 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies.… This — I. SUPPOSES THE FACT OF HIS DEATH. His death is not to be disparaged; none can appreciate it too highly. It is the highest expression of love the universe ever witnessed — the highest homage to truth, rectitude, and order that the Divine government ever received. It was a death-blow to all past dispensations; it rang in the new era of eternal mercy. But great as is His death, the great thing is implied in His resurrection. There could not have been a real resurrection had there not been a real death. II. DEMONSTRATES THE WONDERFULNESS OF HIS DEATH 1. Its absolute voluntariness. He who could rise from the dead by His own power could have avoided death. His rising proved that He had power to lay down His life and take it up again. 2. Its supernatural character. Only a few of the millions that have died have ever been raised to life; only One ever rose by His own power, and that was Christ. The supernatural resurrection shows the supernatural death. It is the resurrection, therefore, that gives a meaning to Christ's death. 3. The moral purpose of His death. The great end of His death was to give spiritual life to humanity, and this His resurrection ensures. He is alive, to carry on by His gospel and His Spirit the great work of man's spiritual restoration. Conclusion: Let us think rather of the risen than of the dead Christ. Alas, the modern Church generally lives rather on the gloomy Saturday, when Christ is in His grave, than on the bright Sunday when He appeared to His disciples — the blessed Easter of the world. (D. Thomas, D.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.WEB: Who could bring a charge against God's chosen ones? It is God who justifies. |
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