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“To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day.” (2 Timothy 1:2, 3). I pray that you are doing well, and that you can say, with Paul, that you serve God with a pure conscience. It is extremely important to serve God without violating our conscience at any time. This is the ideal given to us in the Scriptures as the standard for the Christian life.

If God Wills

by Lynnford Beachy

(The following article was transcribed from a sermon I preached at the 2007 West Virginia camp meeting. You can listen to this sermon by downloading it from our website, or by contacting us and requesting the 2007 WV camp meeting sermon entitled “If God Wills.”    Editor)

I read something recently that challenged me. Jesus said, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” (Matthew 5:38-41). The part of this scripture that challenged me was where Jesus said, “resist not evil.” I thought about where James told us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he shall flee from you.” (James 4:7). And Peter wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8, 9).

James and Peter said that we should resist the devil, but Jesus said we should not resist evil. The devil is certainly evil. This may seem contradictory, but Jesus was saying that we should not resist evil things that happen to us. If evil things come your way don’t try to fight against them, just submit. Jesus said, if somebody hits you on the right cheek you should turn the other cheek. That would be hard to do. Jesus said if somebody takes your shirt give him your jacket also. Give him more than he tries to take. If someone compels you, forces you, to walk a mile it says walk with him two miles. Resist not evil.

This is hard for us, it is contrary to how we naturally would act. With God’s Spirit in us that is the way we will be. That is the way Jesus was. When He was captured by the Jews, and led to the cross, did He resist? Did He try to run away? No! He let it happen. When they pulled His hands down to nail them to the cross, did He pull them back? No, he resisted not evil. The Bible says, “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7). This is the way Jesus says He wants us to act.

When Jesus was about to be crucified Pilate said unto him, “Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?” (John 19:10). Notice how Jesus answered: “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.” Do we have that same attitude? Do we know that whatever tribulations and trials we are going through only happen because God allows it?

People questioned where Jesus came from, and He replied, “Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.” (John 7:28-30). The reason they didn’t lay hands on Him even though they wanted to, was because His hour was not yet come; God had not allowed it at that time. Do you believe that is true in your life? There is nothing happening to you right now except the Father knows that your hour has come for that particular thing. He examined it before it came your way. He knows what you are going through, and that you can handle it, with Christ in you.

A lot of times we think, “I’m the only one who is going through this, my trial is worse than anyone else’s trial.” You may be the only one going through it exactly the way you are, yet it is likely that many have it worse than you. God knows exactly what you are going through. He examined it before it ever came your way to make sure you could handle it before He let it pass. Did you know that God is that way? He filters everything before it comes your way.

Joseph’s trials

Think about the story of Joseph. His brothers hated him and wanted to kill him, but sold him as a slave instead. I am sure he went through many hardships and trials in Egypt, and finally was thrown into prison for something he didn’t even do. Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes for a moment. How would you feel? Would you wonder where God is in all this? If Joseph would not have gone into that prison, he would not have become the ruler of Egypt. There were many things that had to be organized in a certain way to allow that to happen? If he hadn’t gone to the prison; he wouldn’t have met the butler and the baker and be able to reveal the meaning of their dreams, and Pharaoh would not have asked Joseph to explain his dream nor make him ruler over Egypt. All of these circumstances had to happen for Joseph to become leader of Egypt as a way for God to provide food for his family so they could survive the seven years of famine.

I am sure God could have worked all of this out a different way, but God planned it in this way. When Joseph finally met his brothers again, and they thought that he may do them harm, Joseph said, “God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:7, 8).

Do you know that when a hardship comes God allowed it? Can you say, with Joseph, it was God who sent me here; It was God who allowed this to happen? Not that He puts evil or hardships upon us, but that He will not allow anything to come upon us unless He knows we are ready for it, and has a plan in place to work it out for good. “For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,...” (Lamentations 3:31-34).

Job’s trials

Think of Job! Do you remember the conversations that went on behind the scenes before his trials took place? God asked Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” (Job 1:8-11). God told Satan that he could do certain things to Job, but he couldn’t go beyond what God allowed. Then Satan came back and said (I am paraphrasing), “Just let me go a little further,” and God said, “Okay, you can go a little further, but don’t touch his life.” Do you think God does that for you? Do you think there is a protocol that nothing can come your way except God allows it first; except God weighed, and tested it, and made sure you were ready, before He let it come your way?

Some of you are going through some real difficult things. You have it rough, but you can be sure, absolutely sure, that it didn’t come your way without God testing it first. God knew that you could take it; God knew you were ready for it, that is why it didn’t happen last month or last week. He prepared you for this.

One day the mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, petitioning Him, “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.” (Matthew 20:21-23)

James and John said that they were ready to drink of the cup Jesus drank of. They really weren’t, and we know this from the Bible. The Bible says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15). They had a love for supremacy; they had a constant battle about who is going to be first, who is going to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven? (Matthew 18:1) The disciples had these things in them. Is that of God? No! That is the love of pride, selfishness, and the eagerness of power. This is not of God. So we know there was a problem in them and they weren’t ready to go through what Jesus was about to go through. They said sure, we are ready, we can go through it. Jesus said you shall indeed drink of the cup that I am drinking of and shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. He wasn’t talking about a cup of tea. He was talking about the cup of suffering that He was about to go through at the cross and in Gethsemane.

When Jesus was in Gethsemane, He went to His Father three times, pleading, “Take away this cup from me.” (Mark 14:36). This is the cup He was talking about. He said, “Take this cup from me, nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42). He submitted to His Father. His will was not to go to the cross. If it was He would not have asked the Father to do something else, to get Him out of the situation. He said I would rather go some other way, but then He always submitted, “thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:42). He knew this couldn’t have come upon Him except the Father had allowed it. So He left it up to God, knowing and trusting that He was going to work it out. He was saying, “Whatever comes my way even though it looks dark; it looks like I cannot get through this, there is no light at the end of the tunnel; I know that God is going to take care of it.” Can you know that? Can you be confident that God will take care of you no matter what you are going through? Trials are hard, but God is greater. “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4).

The three young Hebrews

When the king of Babylon threatened to throw the three young Hebrews into a fiery furnace, they said, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” (Daniel 3:17, 18). God honored them. Maybe they had thought, “The Lord is going to do something to keep us from going into that fiery furnace, but they get closer and closer, and then they are thrown into the midst of the fire. Where is God now? He sent His Son to be with them right there through the trial. I often think of that “Footprints in the Sand” poem. When you think God is furthest from you He is nearer to you than at any other time in your life.

Another example is Paul. He said, “There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Whenever you are the weakest God is the strongest in your life. We have an example of that with Christ. The darkest hour of His life was when He was in the garden and at the cross. In Psalm 18 the Bible says that the Father came down to be by His Son, which caused an earthquake and great darkness. To His Son, this signified that God had forsaken Him, and He cried out, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me.” (Matthew 27:46). Have you ever felt that way? Everything was telling Jesus that He was forsaken by His Father, but His Father was right beside Him. Isn’t that amazing?

The same is true with you. When you think you are forsaken God is right there beside you. He hasn’t left you; He promises, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5). That is a promise and He cannot lie.

All of us have many times gone through trials, and yet we are still here, aren’t we? Somehow God got us through all of them. Paul wrote about God, “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.” (2 Corinthians 1:10). This is all encompassing. We do not have to despair no matter what we are going through. We might feel that we are at the end of the rope, we’ve gone through too much, how can we go on any longer? God is faithful, and God knows exactly what you are going through, and He has weighed it beforehand; he has checked it out to make sure that it will not pass and get to you unless you are ready for it.

One of my favorite promises is found in 1 Corinthians 10:13. God promises here, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” No matter what it is that is coming upon you right now turn to God. God says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” (Psalms 50:15). That is another promise. The Bible is loaded with promises.

He promises He is not going to let anything come your way except you can bear it. A lot of people think, “The Devil made me do it.” The Devil didn’t make you do it. The Devil arranged things in such a way to encourage you to fall, but it was you who fell. God made a way of escape, and that way is Christ. Don’t call upon something else, it won’t work.

The disciples on the sea

When the disciples were on a boat in the sea a terrible storm came up and it looked certain that they would die. Where did they put their trust? Their oars, their knowledge! They were seamen, they knew what to do in a storm. They put their trust in what they could do , and doing everything they could, they finally came to Jesus, woke Him up, and informed Him that they were going to die soon, pleading for help, saying, “Lord, save us: we perish.” (Matthew 8:25). Jesus replied, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25).

Your faith and trust must be in God because if you turn to anything else it will fail. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” (Psalms 146:3). You must not put your trust in yourself, but in God.

When the disciples faced the storm they did not turn to God first; they turned to what they could do, and it was failing. Jesus asked, “Where is your faith,” It was in what they could do. Is that where your faith is, in what you can do? There is only one place to turn in the time of trouble that will help, God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

You might not understand, like Job, why you are going through what you are going through, but you can be sure that God has good intentions, and a good reason for allowing it to come your way. Job was better off after his experience than before. There were lessons that he needed to learn, and he learned them.

We are all going through troubles but a trial is a blessing in disguise. It is an opportunity waiting to happen. Solomon wrote, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5). You may not understand why this is happening. What possible good could come out of this? Why did this happen? It doesn’t matter whether you know or not, God knows. God tested it before it came your way. Can you trust in a God like that; someone who loves you that much? He knows what you are going through and He knows how it is going to work out, you don’t have to worry about that.

The Bible says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:28-31). The answer is nobody, not Roman soldiers, nothing can be against you. It is all going to work out for good. Even those Roman soldiers, that evil which was coming upon Christ, Christ didn’t resist it because He knew there was a plan involved. There was something good that was going to come out of it, so He didn’t resist. He let it happen and that is what He tells you to do. Whatever is coming upon you, don’t fight against it. That is what Jesus said. If someone comes and hits you in the face don’t go run and hide. He says, “Turn the other cheek.” That would be hard to do. That is what Jesus did. When it came to Him, He practiced what He preached.

Paul continued, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). Notice why he brought this up. This is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible because it shows how great God loves us, so much that He gave His own Son. Then it says if He is willing to do that you can be sure that He is willing to give everything else up for you. He is not going to stop anywhere. He has already given up what was most dear to Him; He is not going to hold anything back. “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalms 84:11).

Continuing, Paul wrote, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? 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? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 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 8:33-39).

Does he say difficult things are not going to happen? They might come your way, they might be on your doorstep right now. But he says they are not going to separate you from the love of God. They cannot! Do you believe this? Do you know this, that God has a plan in all of this! Christ yielded His will to God, because He knew that whatever God had for Him is right, is good, and is the best thing that can happen. Do you believe that?

Whatsoever is not of faith is sin

All sin is a result of disbelief. If you sin, you do not believe that God’s way is the best. You believe that you can do something better. That your way is going to provide you with more happiness, or make things work out better. Sometimes you might tell a lie to make things work out better, you think, but it always works out worse in the long run, every time.

By choosing your own way, you are demonstrating where your faith is. Where are you putting your confidence? Is your confidence in God or is it in your own way? If you do it your way you are going to wind up in trouble. God says, in effect, “I wish you wouldn’t do this, I wish you would choose my way, but if you want it your way, go ahead, have a king. Whatever it is, do it your way, but you are going to have problems. I wish you would do it my way. I wish you could just trust in me because my way is right.” God’s way is the only way, there is not a better way.

Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (1 Peter 1:3-8).

The trial of your faith is more precious than gold. It might be difficult to go through, but what you get in the long run is best, it is more precious than gold.

The Bible says that Job was perfect. Do you think there was any flaw at all in his character? There must have been. If you read through the book of Job you know that it starts out excellent. When troubles came his way his answers were great. It says, “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1:22). The testimony at the end of the book is a little different. Elihu rebuked him for some of the things he said, and finally God Himself rebuked him.

Job basically said, “If God were a man I would go and reason with Him. I would go tell Him that what He is doing is wrong.” He didn’t say it exactly like that but that is basically what he was saying. He was complaining about what he was going through. That attitude was in Job before God ever allowed this trial to come his way. But Job could not see it; nobody could see it, except God. There are a lot of things in our lives that we cannot see. Sometimes others can see them better than we can, but God wants us to see them. The trials that we go through do not create evil in us, they only manifest the evil that is already there. If it is not there then trials just demonstrate that it is not there. In Job’s case there was something there that he obviously had to deal with. At the end he was better off than he was at the beginning of the book, even though it looked unexplainable why this was taking place.

You can be sure, friends, that whatever you are going through, in the end you will be better off for it. When you come to the end of your life, you are going to look back and say, “I am glad that God did things the way He did.” You may not understand it now, but you can be sure that God’s way is the right way.

Later Peter wrote, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” (1 Peter 4:12). Don’t think something strange is happening to you, that nobody else is going through. Elijah said “I only, am left,” but God said there were seven thousand that have not bowed the knee to Baal. (1 Kings 19:14-18). God said others are going through trials too, some may be more severe than yours. No matter what, Christ went through even worse. Christ knows what you are going through and He knows how to get you out of it. He is not going to allow anything to come upon you greater than you can bear.

Let’s continue in first Peter. “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God…” (1 Peter 4:13-19). Do you suffer in any other way? Is it God’s will that you are suffering right now? Did He allow it to happen? Not that He forced it upon you, but He allowed it, He weighed it before it came your way. And it couldn’t be there except it was the will of God. God allowed this to happen and if you can accept and believe that, your trials will go much easier. The Bible says that we have to go through a trial by fire, but you will come forth as gold. Gold might be dirty, and filled with dross, but when it goes through the fire and comes out the other side, it is better off. It is more pure and God knows this. He will get you through your trials. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations,…” (2 Peter 2:9). Did God know before you went into temptation and trials? He did! God knew exactly what was going to happen to you and He knew exactly how to get you out of it before He let it happen. Praise the Lord for that!

Whatever you are going through now, and I know many of us are going through hard times. None of this could have happened except God made sure that you could take it, that you could go through it, and that you would come through better off because of it. God knows this. Can you trust Him for that? Commit the keeping of your soul to him who is faithful. Amen.

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Waggoner on Romans
The Gospel in Paul’s Great Letter   (Part 17)    by Ellet J. Waggoner

(We are continuing a series of articles commenting on Paul’s epistle to the Romans. We pray that they will be a blessing to you.    Editor)

Summary of Romans 1-8—In the first chapter we have the theme of the epistle put in a few words, the gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation. It is to both Jew and Gentile, and has been made known to all through the works of God. The condition of men who have refused to learn of God is then described.

Chapter 2 shows us that at heart all are the same; that all are to be judged by one and the same standard; and that knowledge and high profession do not in themselves recommend any one to God. Obedience to God’s law is the only mark of an Israelite indeed and an heir of God.

Chapter 3 emphasizes the preceding points, and especially that there are no obedient ones. “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20). But there is nevertheless hope for all, because the righteousness of the law is put within and upon all who believe in Christ, so that a man is made a doer of the law by faith. One God justifies both Jews and Gentiles alike through faith. Faith is not a substitute for obedience to the law, but insures the doing of it.

In chapter 4 we have Abraham set forth as an illustration of righteousness gained by faith. We learn also that faith in Christ’s death and resurrection is the only way by which to inherit the promise to the fathers, which promise embraced nothing less than the possession of the earth made new. The blessing of Abraham is the blessing that comes by the cross of Christ. And since the promise to Israel was only the repetition of the promise to Abraham, we learn that Israel consists of those in every nation who gain the victory over sin through the cross of Christ.

Abounding love and grace, and salvation through the life of Christ, may serve as the barest outline of chapter 5.

New creatures in Christ may serve to bring to the mind of the faithful reader the main thought of chapter 6. It sets forth death, burial, resurrection, and life with Christ.

In chapter 7 we learn how close is the union between Christ and believers. They are married to him, so that they are “members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” The struggles by which freedom is secured from the first husband, the body of sin, are vividly portrayed.

The eighth chapter, the crown of the book, describes the blessings of the free-born son of God. The hope of future immortality is the actual possession, through the Spirit, of the present life and glory of Christ. Those who are in Christ are predestined to eternal glory. And thus we are brought to…

The Shout of Triumph; a Glorious Persuasion—Romans 8:31-39

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? 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? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 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.”

Everything for Us—The apostle has asked, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” The answer must be, “No one.” God is greater than all, and none can pluck anything out of His hand. If he who has power to make all things work together for good is for us, then it is certain that everything must be for us.

But the question often arises in the minds of people, “Is God really for us?” People often wickedly charge Him with being against them; and even professed Christians sometimes think that God is working against them. When troubles come, they imagine that God is fighting against them. Now that question is forever settled by one fact, and that is, that God is He who gives Himself for us, and who justifies.

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s own chosen? Shall God, who justifies them? Impossible. Well, God is the only one in the universe who has the right to lay anything to the charge of any; and since He justifies instead of condemning, we must be free. We are free if we believe it. Whom does He justify? “The ungodly.” That leaves no doubt but that He justifies us.

And what about Christ? Will He condemn us? How can He, when He gave Himself for us? But He gave Himself for us, according to the will of God. (Galatians 1:4). “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17). He is risen again for our justification, and He is at the right hand of God for us. He interposes Himself between us and the death that we have deserved. Then there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.

“But,” says one, “Satan comes to me and makes me feel that I am such a sinner that God is angry with me, and that there is no hope for me.” Well, why do you listen to him? You know his character. “He is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44). What have you to do with him? Let him accuse all he will; he is not the judge. God is the judge, and He justifies. Satan’s sole object is to deceive men, and allure them into sin, making them believe that it is right. Be sure, then, that he never tells an unforgiven man that he is a sinner. God does that by His Spirit, in order that the guilty man may accept the pardon that He freely offers.

The case then stands thus: When God tells a man that He is a sinner, it is in order that the man may receive His pardon. If God says that a man is a sinner, then He is a sinner, and ought to acknowledge it, but “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7). And this is true, no matter who tells us that we are sinners. Suppose that Satan tells us that we are sinners; we do not need to parley with him, or to stop a moment to discuss the question; we can let the accusation go, and comfort ourselves with the assurance that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.

God doesn’t condemn even when He convicts of sin; and nobody else has any business to condemn. If they do condemn, their condemnation does not amount to anything. Therefore there is no condemnation to those who trust the Lord. Even Satan’s accusations may serve as encouragements to us; for we may be sure that he will never tell a man that he is a sinner, so long as that man is in his power. Since God is for us, everything is for us.

Everlasting Love—“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.” (Jeremiah 31:3). Since this is so, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” His love is everlasting, and knows no change. And His love is for us; therefore nothing can separate us from it. Our own deliberate choice can reject it, but even then His love continues the same; only we have in that case removed ourselves from it. “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful; he can not deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13).

Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, separate us from the love of Christ? Impossible, since it was in those very things that His love for us was manifested. Death itself cannot separate us from His love, since He so loved us that He gave Himself to die for us. Death is the pledge of His love. Sin, that separates us from God, does not separate us from His love, for “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). “Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21—ASV).

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37). It must be so, since everything is for us. Since Christ suffered hunger, and distress, and peril, and even death itself, in order that he might deliver us, all those things are for us. It was through death that He gained the victory for us; therefore even in death we gain an overwhelming victory. Those whom Satan persecutes even to death, gain the greatest victory over him. That which seems to be a victory for Satan, is his most crushing defeat.

Behold what a wonderful provision God has made for our salvation! It is easy enough to see that if Satan did not trouble us at all, we should be saved. If our enemy would leave us entirely alone, we should have no trouble. So on that side we are safe. But he will not leave us alone. He goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Very well, God has so ordered it that even his attempts to destroy us help us along. Death is the sum of all the ills that Satan can bring upon us, and even in that we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

A Good Persuasion—“For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15). “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” (Hebrews 3:14). Our faith is the victory. God alone is our strength and salvation. Therefore our strength consists in confidence in Him. “Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 27:5).

The apostle Paul had been “in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.” (2 Corinthians 11:23). He says: “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” (2 Corinthians 11:24-27). Surely he is one who can speak with the authority of great experience. Hear, then, what he says:

“Neither death, nor life, nor angels, 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, 39).

No Fear for the Future—Only to those who wilfully reject the love of God is there “a fearful looking for of judgment.” (Hebrews 10:27). Christ says to us, “Be not therefore anxious for the morrow.” (Matthew 6:34—ASV). He does not desire that we should have our minds filled with fear and anxious forebodings. Some people can never be at rest, even under the most delightful circumstances, because they are afraid that something terrible will happen by and by. Now it makes no difference what may come, since neither things present nor things to come can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are assured that things to come, as well as things present, are ours. (1 Corinthians 3:22). Therefore in Christ we may sing: “Let good or ill befall, It must be good for me, Secure of having Thee in all, Of having all in Thee.”

(To be continued)

(This article was taken from a series of articles printed in The Signs of the Times from October, 1895 through September, 1896. Some editing has been done for this publication.    Editor)

Upcoming Meetings in Your Area

Here is the currently-planned 2007 itinerary for Lynnford Beachy:

New Aug. 11    Bemidji, Minnesota, contact Bob Talios, 352-219-8503.

Aug. 17-19    Red Lodge, Montana, contact George Kerr, 406-446-1414.

New Aug. 21-23    Arlee, Montana, contact Marlene Swartz, 406-726-0549.

Aug. 24, 25    Eureka, Montana, contact Colette Konschuh, 406-889-3242.

New Sep. 8    Wenatchee, Washington, contact Eldon Noyes, 509-782-3192.

Sep. 15    Ontario, Oregon (in a prison), contact Lynnford Beachy, 304-633-5411.

Sep. 28-Oct. 1    Rainier, Oregon Camp Meeting, contact Kristen Dreyer, 503-556-4190.

New Oct. 7-14    Evangelistic Series in Riverton, Wyoming, contact Andy Whitehurst, (307) 851-3630.

Between these meetings we will be available to visit people in their homes and to have additional meetings. If you would like to host meetings in your area, please contact Lynnford Beachy at (304) 633-5411.

Many of these meetings will be broadcast live by telephone conference. Often we will be broadcasting at seven o’clock Friday evening, eleven o’clock Sabbath morning, and Sabbath afternoon and evening at three and seven o’clock. (These are local times for wherever I am scheduled to speak. Some meetings will not be broadcast depending upon unavoidable circumstances.) To listen to these sermons in the US call: 605-475-8590, You will be prompted to dial the room number: 5225823. In Austria call: 0820 4000 1574, Belgium: 070 35 9989, Spain: 0902 886 051, Switzerland: 0848 560 195, Ireland: 0818 270 034, Italy: 0848 390 175, France: 0826 100 277, Germany: 01805 00 7649, Australia: 61 283 078 824, UK: 0870 738 0763, Netherlands: 0870 001 932. These sermons will also be broadcast over the Internet via Skype.com. You can dial directly using Skype at: +990008275225823. (When you use Skype, it is a free call from anywhere in the world.)

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