“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.”
(Romans 8:33)
To be counted among God’s elect is a privilege that cannot be measured, a mercy no man can deserve, and a title no man can earn. It is bestowed by God alone, freely, sovereignly, and irrevocably. The apostle asks, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” Not because the elect are faultless in themselves, but because their faults are covered by the righteousness of Christ. Election is God’s shield on His people, and justification is His divine declaration that no accusation shall stand.
This truth is made abundantly clear in Romans 8: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” “He that spared not his own Son,” and “who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” are all bound up in God’s electing love.
Yet the doctrine of election offends the pride of the natural heart. Why would God choose Jacob and not Esau? Why one and not the other? The Word gives the answer plainly: “that the purpose of God according to election might stand” (Rom. 9:11). God’s choice is not reactionary; it springs from His eternal counsel and not from the will or worth of man.
Every spiritual blessing we enjoy in Christ rests on this electing grace. Paul says we are “blessed… with all spiritual blessings… according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:3–4). The grace that justifies, sanctifies, adopts, and glorifies flows from His divine will. In Adam, all are fallen, guilty, and condemned. God may justly leave all or mercifully save some. The choice is His alone.
The blood of Christ, that precious atonement,[1] was poured out according to the Father’s decree. Angels sinned, and no Savior was sent for them. Yet for men, a Lamb was appointed. Not because men were better, but because it pleased the Lord to magnify His grace in this way.
How then does the blood come to be applied to any soul? The Spirit applies the merits of Christ to those whom the Father has chosen, and none other. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth,” (John 6:63). Why does He quicken one and not another? Because the Father has elected one and not the other. That is the simple, staggering, and humbling answer. And because God chooses whom He will, election glorifies the Giver and humbles the receiver. It exalts His grace and silences our boasting.
Our response to this truth can be nothing short of gratitude and worship. We can only echo Paul: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom. 11:33).
Contemplations:
- God chose me. I tremble to even write it. I know what I am, what I was, and what I would be if left to myself. There is nothing in me that God should choose me. But He did. That fact silences every accusation, for no devil can accuse what God has justified. I must never lose the wonder of that.
- Christ will never lose me. The love of God that chose me is the same love that keeps me. Christ intercedes for me. He died for me and He lives for me. Nothing can separate me from that love. The cords of divine election cannot be snapped. They are forged in eternity, fastened by Christ’s blood, and held by the Spirit’s power. This is my security.
- Election kills pride. When I begin to think of my obedience, my repentance, my faith, and I feel tempted to boast, I am reminded that none of it would exist apart from God’s choice. I love Him because He first loved me. Every grace I possess is rooted in His will and not my own. This truth silences my pride and fuels my worship.
- Eternity will magnify election. Even in heaven, I will not say, “I chose Christ.” I will say, “He chose me.” The saints are robed in white not because of their works, but because they are “redeemed… by his blood” (Rev. 7:14). Christ will be the light of that place forever, and election will be the theme of our praise forever.
Prayer (Thanksgiving):
Lord my God, how can I begin to thank You for what You have done? You chose me… a sinner, a rebel, a dead soul unworthy of the least of Your mercies. You chose me in Christ before the world began. You wrote my name in Your book not for anything in me but because it pleased You to love me.
If Your choice had rested on my obedience, I would have perished in guilt. But You chose to set Your love upon me in Christ, and in Him I stand. The blood of Your Son has covered me, cleansed me, and secured me. You did not choose to save angels, but You chose to save me. That love is staggering. I thank You with every fiber of my being.
When I reflect on the justice I deserved, I am overwhelmed by the mercy I received instead. I should be under wrath, but Your love did not leave me in my fallen state. You laid my guilt on Christ. You gave me His righteousness. You covered me with a robe of righteousness, white and without spot. I cannot repay You, but I will praise You.
Thank You for eternal life. Thank You that no charge can be laid against me, that no devil, no accuser, no sin can sever what You have sealed. Thank You that in life, in death, and through eternity, I belong to You, not by chance nor by effort, but by Your sovereign grace.
And even when I stand before You in glory, with holiness perfected, I will still be covered in the righteousness of Christ. That covering will never be taken away. It will always be the ground of my acceptance, the reason for my joy, and the glory of my eternity.
Christ will shine forever, and I will stand beneath His light, chosen, cleansed, and crowned. Not because of me, never because of me. Always because of You.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References for Romans 8:33:
Isa. 50:8; Luke 18:7; Matt. 24:22; Rom. 8:1; 1 Peter 1:2; John 5:24.
[1] “Oh! there is never, never such affliction of soul for sin as when you see the great atonement. Let me invite you to hate sin to-night, you pardoned ones. Take care to do it. And you unpardoned ones, rend your hearts, but not your garments, and turn unto God with afflicted spirits, and say, “Lord, through the precious atonement of which I have heard so much to-night, blot out my sins!” C. H. Spurgeon, “The Day of Atonement,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 60 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1914), 165.
