SEVEN INCONTESTABLE QUESTIONS
John W. Bramhall
A PERSONAL TESTIMONY
The writer of this message has enjoyed the assurance of salvation
over sixty-seven years and testifies to the blessedness of its
truth.
The good Shepherd has said--"I give unto my sheep eternal
life; and they shall NEVER PERISH". (John 10:28) For every person
who trusts Christ as his or her Saviour, to "perish" is an
absolute impossibility! "They are not only saved, BUT SAFE!" The
prayer of the writer is that the joy of this precious truth will
be the possession of every reader. "For these things are written
that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life"--1 John 5:13.
November 1981
SEVEN INCONTESTABLE QUESTIONS
What a triumphant climax the Spirit of God renders at the close of
the great doctrinal section of Romans! It is unsurpassing in its
ascription of glory and praise to the God of all grace Who has provided
salvation for us!
The magnitude of the Gospel's power is revealed, in
its deliverance from sin's penalty, from sin's indwelling power and
ultimately from sin's presence! Though profound in revelation, yet the
simplest saint can echo the words of another when asked what lessons he
had learned in his Christian experience. He replied-- "First, I
learned that I have never done anything good in my life; second, that
I could never do anything good; and thirdly, that Christ has done it
all!" These three truths are precisely taught us in the doctrinal
section of the Roman Epistle, from chapter one to chapter eight.
Then follows the climactic song of worship in Romans 8, verses 31
thru 39. It is introduced by Paul with a leading question, saying--
"WHAT SHALL WE SAY TO THESE THINGS?" The "things" referred to are
undoubtedly the perfect salvation God has provided through His beloved
Son, as taught in the preceding chapters. It is in response to this
leading question that the apostle presents seven indisputable questions
that no being, whether celestial, terrestrial or infernal, can contest!
"IF GOD BE FOR US WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?" - As a believing sinner,
how can I ever doubt the blessed fact that the Gospel has revealed,
that GOD IS FOR ME!
He has justified me; He has brought me into His
eternal favour; He enables me to overcome the power of indwelling sin;
He has assured me of entering into eternal glory! All this He teaches
me in the doctrinal part of the Roman letter. My salvation is a work
that is done entirely by God Himself, whereby He bestows upon a
believing sinner who puts his and her trust in the finished work of
His Son, eternal life NOW; with the assurance that He will bring me
into eternal glory later! Then, WHO CAN BE AGAINST ME? Not even my
greatest adversary and all his hosts of evil! (Eph. 6:11-13). The
fact is incontestable!
"HE THAT SPARED NOT HIS OWN SON, BUT DELIVERED HIM UP FOR US ALL,
HOW SHALL HE NOT WITH HIM FREELY GIVE US ALL THINGS?" - If God gave HIS
BEST for me, will He not give me the rest? He looked even beyond the
Cross, to the glory that I will some day share with His Son. "If
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ" -
Romans 8:16.
Is Christ not "the appointed heir of all things?" -
Hebrews 1:2. The Father, in bestowing His Son, knows of no way to
withhold the rest from me - Ephesians 1:3. To give me the rest is
small, in comparison to giving me His Beloved Son! Heaven was emptied
of its greatest treasure when the Son was given, to make me rich! - 2
Corinthians 8:9. This fact is also incontestable!
"WHO SHALL LAY ANYTHING TO THE CHARGE OF GOD'S ELECT?" - This is a
legal expression, meaning to place a charge of guilt against me before
God's throne. Satan would do so, if he could! Demons would do so, if
they could! Men also would attempt to, if they could! But the
question suggests that there is NONE to accuse me, a justified sinner
who has believed on Jesus (Romans 3:26); not even my great Adversary!
To him God says - "THE LORD REBUKE THEE, IS NOT THIS A BRAND PLUCKED
FROM THE BURNING?" - Zachariah 3:3. Again, this fact that none can
accuse me is incontestable!
"I hear the accuser roar,
Of ills that I have done;
I know them well and thousands more,
JEHOVAH FINDETH NONE!
Sin, Satan, Death press near
To harass and appall;
Let but my risen Lord appear,
Backward they go and fall"
"GOD THAT JUSTIFIETH?" - Will HE accuse me? Omit the italic words
"it is", added by the translators. The statement can be given as an
interrogative question. Will the JUDGE WHO forgave me my sins turn
around and condemn me again? NEVER! Has He not said "their sins and
iniquities will I remember NO MORE!" - Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 10:17.
His decision to justify me because I Have believed on Jesus, His Son,
is FINAL AND IRREVOCABLE! PRAISE HIS NAME! Surely with joy I
confidently sing-
"Tis the promise of God full salvation to give, Unto him who on
Jesus, His Son, will believe. Hallelujah! 'tis done, I believe on
the Son; I am saved by the blood of the crucified ONE!"
"WHO IS HE THAT CONDEMNETH?" - Can anyone re-open my case before
God's eternal throne? Has not God said to me - "There is therefore now
NO CONDEMNATION to them which are in Christ Jesus"? - Romans 8:1. Do
not the words of Jesus speak with highest authority when saying -
"Verily, verily I say unto you; he that heareth my word and believeth
on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life" - John 5:24. That
there is now no condemnation is an incontestable fact, praise the Lord!
"No condemnation! O my soul,
Tis God that speaks the word.
Perfect in comeliness art thou-
In Christ, thy glorious Lord.
No condemnation! - precious word!
Consider it, my soul,
Thy sins were all on Jesus laid,
His stripes have made thee whole."
"CHRIST THAT DIED?" - Again an interrogation. Will HE condemn me?
NEVER! He is a four-fold protection for me. Yes, I have done
offenses; I do not deny it. BUT- HE DIED for them! Do I need "life"?
Yes; but HE is "risen again" for me. "I am saved by HIS life" above -
Romans 5:10. Do I need a representative before God's throne? Yes
indeed! and HE is in the chief place of authority for me - "at the
right hand of the throne of God". For my transgressions and failures
I need an Advocate and I have ONE (1 John 2:1,2). He "liveth to make
intercession for me". Then how can He condemn me after He has saved me?
The fact is
incontestable! It is impossible! Not only SAVED, BUT SAFE!
"WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST?" - The apostle then
recites ALL the possible experiences of trials that can happen. My
troubles may hang like a heavy cloud over my head, but the proof of His
unchanging love is His very word, not my experience, which may
sometimes seem to disprove His love. Through every kind of testing
"we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us". In all
adversity, not my strength, but in His strength I will conquer. The
very one act of love when He died for me and rose again, is the source
of unconquerable strength!
Then the apostle's eye looks through all time, all space, through
all worlds, and in the most sweeping language declares his persuasion
that there is nothing "able" to break the golden chain of love that
binds the heart of God to His own. His language embraces every
conceivable adversary in the universe, declaring none "shall be able to
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord".
He loves me in "death" and He loves me in "life"; and life can
sometimes be more trying than death! Nothing in space above, nor
depth beneath, nor "any other thing" can separate me from His love.
When God the Father gave His Son for me, He gave me IN HIM all the
love He felt toward His beloved SON! Oh what love! This fact too, is
INCONTESTABLE!
Seven questions, possessing facts that are irrefutable!
HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOUR IS JESUS OUR LORD! The preceding sections
of Romans may seem dry and doctrinal; but at the end is demonstrated
the vital connection between doctrine and love! "Behold, WHAT LOVE!"
J.W. Bramhall Radio Fund, Inc.
2309 Commonwealth Ave.
Charlotte, NC 28205
HELP FOR NEW CHRISTIANS
OK! New Christian...What Now? | Bible verse for every letter of the alphabet.| Church History Summary.| The Christian Message.| Election. | Is Hebrews 6 a warning? | Seven Incontestable Questions. | Ironside: Agnosticism. | Issues Of The Heart - J. MacArthur. | Natural Laws and God's Laws. | Possession: The Devil Made Me Do It! | The Preisthood Of All Believers. | Why Jesus? | Knowing Why You Believe - Evidence - Bible. | Discussions With Unbelievers. | Inerrancy. | What Does It Mean To Be A Christian? | First Adam; Then Eve; then what? | What Will People Think? | Perfect For All Time. | Jesus Is Lord. | Spiritual Strength And Power. | The Biblical Calendar Of History. | Studying Your Bible. | Computer Analysis Of The Books Of The Bible. | Early Christianity - Is The Record Sound? | The Bible - The Most Popular Book. | Credentials Of The Bible. | Doomed - to Hell. | Faith And Works In The Plan Of God. | Others Can But You Can't. | Impositions - giving to God and by God. | Why Did Christ Die? | The Successful Christian - #1. | The Successful Christian - #2. | Is It What We Say Or What We Are? | Forty-day Bible Study. | Is Baptism Necessary For Salvation? | How To Overcome Sin - Charles Finney. Death. | Why We Reject This Version. | How Does God Keep His Promises? | Radical Genesis Evangelicals.
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