Knowing Heaven’s Case (Romans 8:33-34)

Paul is reminding his readers about some of the blessings that are certain and sure and about which Christians need to think in order to enjoy spiritual comfort. He uses the method of question and answer and such a method would have been a very helpful one for them to use themselves when thinking about biblical doctrines. The doctrines that he mentions in verses 33 and 34 are familiar ones, so they are not difficult for Christians to reflect on as far as information is concerned, although they may have aspects that require more concentration in order for believers to get maximum profit.

Moreover Paul here is using language from law courts about guilty persons being accused of wrongdoing. We are used to the concept of innocent until proved guilty when a person is on trial. Here the evidence means the individuals accused are all guilty and the accusers have no doubts about their claims. The accused deserved to be punished severely by the judges. The judges here are God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, both of whom will judge righteously.

There are three details that I think are worth mentioning before we look at the doctrines Paul mentions. The first is that Paul is describing elements of spiritual warfare. We can see this is the case from the next question and answer detailed in verses 35-39. When we looked at verses 31 and 32, which are his first question and answer, we saw that Paul was concerned about the tactics of spiritual opponents, including those of the devil. We can say the same about the questions in verses 33 and 34. Spiritual warfare is a reminder that we have to be serious in the Christian life. After all, there are only two postures in this battle – we are either standing or falling, or if we wish to change the illustration we are either going forwards or backwards. Yet we should also remember that here Paul provides a strategy for dealing with spiritual attack. Instead of losing our heads in the heat of the battle, we should ask ourselves important questions about aspects of salvation.

The second detail to observe is that the remedy is the same for all Christians. We could imagine a new Christian thinking it is too hard to know these doctrines and we can imagine a person who has been saved for years imagining that he has to move on to something new. It is not hard for new Christians to learn basic doctrines – to suggest that it is says something about the Teacher. The Christians that I have known who were converted from non-Christian backgrounds never had a problem finding out how and why they had been converted. It was all now wonderful for them and they were eager to discover as much as possible. I have known older Christians who stopped thinking about those basic doctrines and in the process developed a bad memory of spiritual truths. Of course, the word for that outlook is backsliding. Others venture into areas that are little more than spiritual speculation and which don’t provide spiritual help. Instead all Christians have to think about the same basic truths in order to experience spiritual strength and comfort.

The third detail I would mention is that Paul wants his readers to know what is happening in heaven while they live on earth. We can understand why they should be perturbed by what was happening around them, with opposition and other expressions of antagonism becoming more visible. It is wise to look around and become aware of our situations, but it is wiser to look up and focus on what takes place in the presence of God. Ignorance about what is taking place there will not affect our security adversely, but it will affect our sense of comfort. So Paul exhorts us to look up.

Think about the God who justifies (v. 33)

The doctrine of justification is one of the first doctrines we understand as believers. We learn that God accepts us as righteous because of what Jesus did. Each of us is under condemnation, and that for two reasons. One is that we have failed to obey God and the other is that we have disobeyed God. We are responsible to give him a perfect life, which we cannot do because of our sins, and we are responsible to pay the penalty for our sins, which we will do in a lost eternity. Both these problems have been dealt with through the life and death of Jesus. And when a sinner trusts in Jesus his perfect life is imputed to that sinner as his righteousness, and the sinner is forgiven his sins because Jesus satisfied the justice of God when taking the place of sinners.

Paul here leads his readers to think about the God who justifies. What can be said about him as the justifier? First, he is pleased to do it. The Lord takes pleasure in all that he does, and the sense of divine delight when justifying a lost sinner is marked by infinite joy. Imagine how we feel when accused by the devil or by our conscience because of our sins. What can we do, because we know we are guilty of them? One response we can make is to think about the joy of God the Father at that moment of justification. That is what he thought with regard to everyone whom he has justified.

Then we can think about the fact that he has pardoned us particularly – all our sins have been forgiven and not one of them has been overlooked. People are worried today because the memory of computers can hold details of activities that those individuals do not want others to discover. God knows everything about everyone, and therefore when he pardoned our sins his knowledge was involved. When he says that he will remember our sins no more, he knows what he is speaking about.

And we can think about the fact that when the God who was pleased to justify us, even although he knew all our sins, has also pardoned us permanently, then we should have a sense of security when under attack for our sinfulness. It is never an excuse for our sins to know that we will be pardoned, but it is a real source of comfort to know that he has pardoned us. Of course, it is important to distinguish between God acting as a judge and acting as a Father. With regard to him being a Father he will chastise us for our sins, and those chastisements will be painful as he works to restore us to family fellowship. Yet, while recognising that reality we can still know comfort from knowing that the Judge has pardoned us permanently if we are believers in Jesus.

Think about the risen Christ (v. 34)

We have another divine Person to consider when under spiritual attack and that is the ascended Saviour. Paul here focuses on the priestly office of Jesus and mentions his sacrificial death and his heavenly intercession. We can observe briefly the points that Paul makes about Jesus.

First, there is the reality of his death. Why did Jesus die? The answer to this question can be stated as that he died in order to make it impossible for any who trust in him to be condemned. Although he was not guilty of any of our sins, he was held accountable for them. So, on the cross he took our place and experienced the condemnation due against his people. So in the spiritual battle, when we are condemned for our sins by our spiritual enemies, we should recall that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.

Second, there is the reality of his resurrection. Why was Jesus raised? Several answers could be given to this question, but as far as us being condemned is concerned, his resurrection is the proof that his work on the cross was sufficient to deal with our sins. If what he did on the cross was insufficient for dealing with our sins he would not have been raised by the Father on the third day. So when our spiritual enemies suggest that our sins are open to the punishment we should look at the evidence for the sufficiency of his work, and the permanent evidence is his resurrection.

Third, there is the reality of his enthronement, which is what his meant by the reference to the right hand of God. The right hand of God is a place on the throne of God and not a space beside it. Why was Jesus enthroned? As with the previous points several answers could be given. Yet with regard to our response to ongoing condemnation by our spiritual enemies one reason why Jesus was enthroned was ‘to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins’ (Acts 5:31). So if we should be accused or condemned by others before the throne of God we are to look to the One sitting there whose ongoing ministry involves providing the appropriate response for sin.

Fourth, Paul reminds his readers that Jesus is interceding for them. What does Paul mean by the intercession of Christ. Calvin in his comments on this verse reminds us that ‘we must not measure this intercession by our carnal judgment; for we must not suppose that he humbly supplicates the Father with bended knees and expanded hands; but as he appears continually, as one who died and rose again, and as his death and resurrection stand in the place of eternal intercession, and have the efficacy of a powerful prayer for reconciling and rendering the Father propitious to us, he is justly said to intercede for us.’

The intercession of Jesus is hard for us to grasp, but then so is every aspect of his heavenly existence as the Mediator. Here are some details for us to remember.

He has been exalted as the God-man, so both his natures are involved. While his human nature has been glorified, it is not deified, so still and always will have limitations. While his divine person has united a human nature to his person, his divine nature has not been reduced in its capabilities in any way.

What we can say is that the omniscient mind of the divine Father knows fully the omniscient mind of the divine Son and always responds appropriately to the desires of the Son for his people.

We can say that providence, with all its outworkings, is the Father’s answer to the intercession of his Son. At the same time, the Son is in charge of providence because he is head over all things for the benefit of his body the church. The Son is on the throne as well as the Father.

When we are accused of sin, we look to our Mediator in heaven and observe that he will never cease to be our effective Advocate because his wounds always require our permanent forgiveness.

Our response

The first aspect of our response is to consider what I will call spiritual logic. What is our response when we sin? Often it is a claim that somehow we will do better the next time. Yet we will not, and the fact is that we can be accused all the way along our earthly journey. We need to learn spiritual logic and always remind ourselves of our justification by the Father and of the fourfold activity of Jesus on our behalf.

The second aspect of our response is to develop what I will call spontaneous love. Take this example – who does a wife expect to defend her? The one who loves her, of course, her husband. As Christians we should automatically look in love to the Father and the Son because we know about their consistent interest in us.