Hi, Passionate Youth Reaching Out, today is Tuesday, August 9, My name is Grant and this is StartUp, helping you start your day with an upward focus. In today’s passage, we see Paul offering up another persuading argument to help Christians to be assured of their salvation.

Romans 8:33–34 (HCSB)

33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies. 34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.

Paul wants for the Christians to understand that their salvation through faith in Jesus is secure, and protected by God.  He asks the question, “Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect?”  When Paul uses the word elect, he talking about the people that are chosen by God.  We might say in answer to that question, who would even have the courage and boldness to accuse anyone who is chosen by God.  We might want to think twice about making accusations against our Christian brothers and sisters.

But there is an accuser who throughout history has had no problem bringing complaints against God’s people. This accuser is the devil, and his accusations against us are valid because they are based on our sinfulness.  But his accusations against us are thrown out of the courts of heaven.  They are thrown out because the judge has declared us to be vindicated of our sins because of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.  He suffered God’s wrath against sin so that we could be saved from that wrath.  He suffered in our place.  Now when the devil accuses us before God, God simply says that the punishment has been paid, that we are his children, and that nothing can separate us from his love.

The next question Paul asks is “Who is the one who condemns?”  Paul is using a future tense for the verb condemns, which means he is talking about a condemnation that is yet to come.  When we stand before God, and the story of our life is reviewed, will God condemn us?  Paul answers the question by saying that it would be up to Jesus to condemn since he is the ruler of this world.  And if Jesus died for us so that we could be made clean, why Jesus go against his own work and then condemn us?  Of course, he won’t do that, which is exactly the point that Paul is getting at.

If God has saved you from your sins, your are his now and forever.  Satan’s accusations will be thrown out.  Jesus our ruler and judge will declare us righteous based on his work, and we will have an eternity with God.

Challenge

My Challenge for you this week is to make a list of the forces that you are aware of that are coming against you in life.  Because we know that God is stronger and greater than these forces, go to God in prayer, believing that his power is more than enough to bring about his victory in your life.  Then trust it all to him, and whatever the outcome may be, know that God will use it for your good.

Invitation

Our next youth event is this Thursday, August 11 from 6-9 o’clock.  We are having a Barbecue, Instagram Scavenger Hunt, and a Water Fight.  The cost is $3.  Plan to come and invite a friend.  You should bring a towel, you might want to even bring a change of clothes.

Thanks for listening to today’s StartUp, you can find all of the details about our youth group online at hbcyouth.ca.  We are also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, all of the social media links are available at hbcyouth.ca .