Who Is He That Condemneth?

by David J. Stewart
January 2017 | October 2019

Romans 8:34, “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.”

       I love this precious passage of Scripture! The Bible asks a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question has an obvious answer, but the questioner asks rhetorical questions to lay emphasis to the point. The implied answer is that NO ONE CAN CONDEMN US!!! Do you know why they cannot condemn us? The Holy Bible tells us in our text verse from Romans 8:34... BECAUSE CHRIST DIED AND IS RISEN!!! That's The Gospel. Jesus DIED, was BURIED and three days later, He bodily RESURRECTED from the dead (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). But wait there's more, we read in Romans 8:34 that Christ is at the right hand of God, WHO ALSO MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US! That is so beautiful and encouraging!

My friend, even if the whole world condemns you!—even if every court system in the world condemns you!—even if you are found guilty and sentenced to multiple life-terms in prison, or the death penalty!—THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION TO THEM WHICH ARE IN CHRIST JESUS!!! Romans 8:1a, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus...” Psalms 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” I love that truth! You can get on a jet plane and travel east forever, and there will never be a time when you are going west. The same is true if you travel eastward. But you can only go so far north until you'll be headed south. And contrawise, you can only go so far south until you'll be headed north again. EAST AND WEST NEVER MEET! And likewise, if you've placed your sole trust in Jesus Christ as your sin payment, then your sins have forever been separated from you. Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

“You know the greatest difficulty and hindrance today, is not that people are not good enough. The great hindrance is they're not bad enough, to be saved!” —Pastor J. Vernon McGee, a beautiful quote the MP3 sermon, Why The Gospel Is Not Preached Today

A Christian's Happiness in Heaven Depends On How He Lived On Earth

The Bible makes clear that not all believers will enjoy Heaven the same. I have a wonderful 128 page book in front of me by Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) titled, “WHEN A CHRISTIAN SINS.”

“Some people suppose that every sinner who goes to heaven will have the same joy and happiness. But that is not true. In Revelation 20, we find that sinners who go to hell are judged, every man according to his works, according to the things written down in God's books. The torment of unsaved people in hell will differ, each one according to his opportunity and according to his sin.

Likewise, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that not all Christians will enjoy the same position and have the same honor and responsibility and blessing in heaven. It is true that each one who trusts in Christ has the same salvation and goes to the same heaven. But beyond salvation there will be rewards for Christians according to their service, and Christians must give an account for their sins. Let no Christian think that he is getting by with his worldliness, his sin, his disobedience, his carelessness about soul-winning.
 

THE CHRISTIAN MUST MEET HIS DEEDS, GOOD AND BAD, AT CHRIST'S JUDGMENT SEAT

Read with me the shocking passage of Scripture in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10:

Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Here we know why Paul worked so hard, why he endured such persecution, gave up home, family, good name, ease, honors, in order to win souls. He was laboring to be acceptable to Jesus Christ!

...Do not explain away the plain statements of the Scriptures. The Christian is still to come face to face with his past. I know that the Christian has his sins forgiven as far as the destiny of his soul is concerned. It is true that all his sins are laid on Jesus and paid for on the cross. But God is still against sin. And up in heaven no Christian will think it did not matter that he sinned. Every Christian will find how terrible are the results of his sins. He will face what he has done, whether it be good or bad.

....Do not confuse salvation and rewards. Salvation is free. Those who trust in Jesus Christ and are born again already have salvation. But those whose works please Christ will receive a reward for them when they face the dear Saviour in heaven.

But many, many Christians will see how useless their lives were. Not a soul did they win to meet them in heaven! Not a thing did they do to bring glory to Christ through the endless ages! Such people will suffer loss at the judgment seat of Christ in heaven.”

SOURCE: Evangelist John R. Rice, When A Christian Sins, pp. 60-66; Sword of the Lord Publishers; Copyright 1954.

Amen! I've heard many Christians and preachers teach that believers won't have to give account in Heaven for their sins, but that is only partly true. The Christian who sins will answer for it, if not in this life, then certainly in eternity. Not all believers face their sins in this life. I know believers who've hurt other people, and seem to have gotten away with it. God will hold them accountable at the Judgment Seat of Christ. 2nd Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” Carefully notice that the Holy Bible does not say we will give account for our “SINS”; but rather, for the “GOOD OR BAD” done in the body.

Jesus Christ bore the weight of our sins upon the cross of Calvary. He suffered the penalty of our sins, so we wouldn't have to in Hell forever. Yet, the Bible teaches that we still have to “give account” as believers for the decisions we make throughout our life. What saith the Scripture? Romans 14:10-12, “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Please pay careful attention to what the Scripture warns—if we judge our Christian brother or sister, condemning them for their sins, shunning and shaming them, making them feel guilty for forsaken past sins—we are sinfully elevating our self in the place of God. In particular, the Bible warns not to “SET AT NOUGHT THY BROTHER.”

Pastor Jack Hyles said: “The Christian army is the only army in the world that kills its wounded!” That is sadly very true! A person can fall into sin and leave a church, and then try to come back later on, but the people in the church won't receive them back. That is why a young wayward youth named, Todd Moffat, commit suicide at the First Baptist Church of Hammond many decades ago. Pastor Jack Hyles tells this heartbreaking story in his beautiful and needful sermon called: “If Thou Should Mark Iniquities, Who Could Stand?

“Don't let the Pharisees scare you off! ...Brother, as long as you live and breathe, God has something that you can be and do! The Devil is the one who'll make you feel unworthy, and he'll use his little demons to help you! ...If God should mark iniquities, none of us would be worthy! But if God doesn't mark iniquities, all of us are qualified. God doesn't have anything to use but sinner!” —Dr. Jack Hyles, If Thou Should Mark Iniquities, Who Could Stand? (MP3)

Only Effective Soul-Winners Will Shine in Heaven

What will it matter if you witness to thousands of people during your life, but nobody ever came to Jesus Christ, because you didn't make the Gospel plain enough for people to understand? It's the CLARITY of the Gospel that makes it easy for people to believe and get saved!!! Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” Notice that to “shine” in eternity you must turn many people to Christ's righteousness. This speaks of God's imputed righteousness, which is the only way to be saved (Philippians 3:9). Granted, 1st Corinthians 3:6-9 teaches us that God giveth the increase. Whether a man sows or reaps, their rewards will be the same, but if the shallow plan of salvation that you are teaching isn't clear, then people WON'T be saved.

Obviously, not all believers will SHINE in eternity. Soul-winners here on earth, who lead many souls to Jesus Christ, will be greatly loved and admired by those people in Heaven. Wouldn't you greatly love, appreciate and adore the person who led you to eternal life, by faith in Christ Jesus? Why sure you would! I believe this is why effective soul-winners will shine in Heaven.

Notice that I said “effective.” I heard an independent Baptist missionary last year boast that throughout his lifetime, he has led 200,000 souls to Christ. If that be true, praise God!!! However, I have learned that many soul-winners are just wasting their time—dishing out a 1-2-3, follow-me, pray-along-with-me-to-be-saved, type deal. But they've never truly won anyone to Jesus Christ!!! May I say, kindly, you DON'T get saved by praying a prayer. You'd be SHOCKED if you knew how many churchgoers who profess to be saved, don't have a clue what “the Gospel” means. If you were to ask them “why” they think they'd going to Heaven, they'll say something like, “I'm trusting Jesus” or “I asked Jesus into my heart” or “I prayed a prayer.” NONE of these constitute the Gospel!!!

“People have just enough religion to be miserable!” —Pastor Dwight L. Moody

Do You Remember How You Got Saved?

1st Corinthians 15:1-2, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” In other words, you've got to know what you're believing in to be saved. Notice that the Bible says we must “KEEP IN MEMORY” how we were saved. Otherwise, how can you say that you're saved, if you don't know what you're trusting in? The Bible says you've BELIEVED IN VAIN!!! Many people profess to believe in Christ, but they have no idea what they are believing in. This describes 90% of churchgoers today who profess faith in Christ. If their life depended on it, they couldn't tell you what they're trusting in to get to Heaven. The apostle Paul plainly preaches, “THE GOSPEL,” by which we are saved if we understand what we are believing in. What must we understand?

It Doesn't Matter How You Got There (a precious life-changing MP3 sermon by Pastor Hyles)

First, you must know that you are a needy sinner in God's sight (Romans 3:19; 1st John 1:8-10), and that there is a penalty for sin, which is death (Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:8). You need to know what you're being saved from. If you're not a hell-deserving sinner, then why would you need a Savior? You need to know that Christ died on the cross in your place, to pay for your sins. You also need to know that Christ was buried. And then finally, you must know and believe that Christ bodily raised up from the dead three days later. This is “the Gospel” according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4. The Bible teaches in 1st Corinthians 15:2 that if you cannot remember how you got saved, you're not saved, because you have believed in vain. How can you be saved if you don't even know what you're believing in? Believing in Jesus is not the Gospel. You must believe in the crucified, buried and risen Son of God to be saved. John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

“God doesn't need a brilliant mind, He needs a voice!” —Dr. Jack Hyles, I Am A Voice! (MP3)

All Believers Still Sin

Psalms 106:6, “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.” King David had sinned horribly, conspiring to commit murder after impregnating a soldier's wife in an adulterous fling. Many of God's blessings departed from David. Sorrow became the norm in David's life. What evils David had done in secret, became openly known throughout the whole kingdom of Israel. David's neighbours avoided him in awkward fear. Some cast stones and dust upon him. David's enemies had a hey day! Yet, David realized that God's opinion was the only opinion that mattered at all! Psalms 51:4, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” This is exactly what Romans 8:34 teaches us, that is, no one can condemn us except God, and there is NO CONDEMNATION to those who have been washed in the sin-cleansing blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1; 1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 1st Peter 1:18-19). Thank God for the blood of Jesus!!!

“The Devil will make you guilty about your past... You're not worthy to serve God, but neither is anybody else worthy to serve God, and so God's gotta have unworthy people serving Him... That's one reason why we should do everything we can to salvage people.” —a beautiful quote from the MP3 sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles titled, “If Thou Should Mark Iniquities, Who Could Stand?

It is important for every Christian believer to understand and always remember that, is we do choose to sin, God's grace will abound that much more, so that we can NEVER lose our eternal life or position in Christ as His redeemed child of God...

Romans 5:20, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

Isn't that precious? It sure is friend. Remember, we are not saved by our own righteousness, but by the imputed righteousness of God through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

“Church is a place where people should be able to hurt out loud. And I should be there to put my arms around those who are willing to hurt out loud.” —Evangelist Les Ollila, from the MP3 sermon, The Judgment Seat Of Christ

God's Harshest Judgment is Reserved for Those Who Deal Harshly With Sinners

The Bible's definition of a “hypocrite” is someone who considers another person a bigger sinner than them self. ...

Matthew 7:1-5, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”

As we just read in the Holy Bible, God doesn't want us to berate, belittle, malign, attack, judge (condemn), degrade, criticize and continually throw someone else's past in their face, lest God deal the same hurtful and rotten way with us. There should be a desire in every Christian (God's unconditional love) that wants to forgive the mistakes and sins of others. Proverb:19:11, “The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.”

Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr.“When a person is condemned and goes to Hell, you don't go to Hell because of what you did. You don't go because you lied, you cussed, you drank, you smoked, you drugged; you don't go because you're a homosexual lesbian, adulterer; you don't go to Hell because of what you did, you go to Hell because of what you didn't do! You go to Hell because you did not believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God! You go to Hell and you are rejected, and have God's judgment on you, because you refused to realize and embrace Jesus for Who He is!” —Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr., a truthful quote from the MP3 sermon, Have You Been Born Again?” | MP3 | More MP3 Sermons By Pastor Jenkins Sr.

I am not saying that crimes ought to be ignored as if they hadn't happened. We ought not look the other way when a crime has been committed. However, if that person has been brought to justice and have repented, who are we to condemn them for the rest of their life? To do so brings the judgment of God. In America, once you mess-up your life, people will try to keep you down permanently. The world will drive you to the ground and keep you there if you let them. The Christian ought to focus on the forgiveness that is obtained through the blood of Christ's cross, which supersedes all else. Proverbs 24:16, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” God wants the Christian to RISE UP, knowing that you have been forgiven in Christ. I believe this is exactly what is meant in Hebrews 10:22, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” END

Redeeming The Time

“If there's anybody in the Bible that God had disdain for, it was those that had disdain for other sinners!” —an awesome quote from the MP3 sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles titled, “If Thou Should Mark Iniquities, Who Could Stand?

You don't find happiness looking for it; you stumble over it on the road to duty.

1st Peter 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”

A man with two watches never really knows what time it is; And a man with two Bibles never really knows what the Word of God is!!!

Psalms 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

“Every word in this Bible is inspired by God almighty!”
—Dr. Jack Hyles (a great quote from the classic sermon, “
A Friend At Midnight”)

“The only inspired Words of God are in the King James Bible!”
—Dr. Jack Hyles (an awesome quote —Dr. Jack Hyles (THE REAL BATTLE!”)

“And brother, any time anybody ever casts any reflection upon the accuracy and the inspiration—verbal inspiration—of this Bible, I'll guarantee you he was inspired by the demons. I'll guarantee you! I don't care if he's got a 'reverend' in front of his name. I don't care if he has a clerical collar on. I don't care what school he's been to. He's of the Devil if he says that the Bible is not verbally inspired by God! —Dr. Jack Hyles, a great quote from the awesome MP3 sermon titled, “Satan's masterpiece.”

BATTLE OF THE AGES
(MP3 by Dr. Hyles, “The King James Bible crowd is going to come out on top!”)


Ye Must Be Born Again!

You Need HIS Righteousness!

Believe The Gospel