On All Things Being Given Us With Christ

Adapted From A Sermon By

John Newton

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

(Romans 8:32 ESV)

In Romans 8:32 the Apostle Paul sets before us one of the most comforting truths in all Scripture: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

John Newton, once a slave-trader and enemy of God, later found in this verse the very foundation of his hope. In this adapted sermon, Newton unfolds the boundless generosity of the Father: because Christ has been given, every blessing—temporal and eternal—is already secured for those who are in him.

May the Lord open our hearts to receive this glorious assurance this morning.

People have argued in many ways and made many mistakes about the things of God. Too often, when opposing groups are fighting, truth gets hurt by both sides and helped by neither. Religion, which people claim causes our many arguments, is sometimes not involved in them at all; that is, pure and clean religion, that wisdom which comes from above. It shows its divine source because it is "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere," James iii.

Religion is a serious and personal matter. It grows out of a right knowledge of God and ourselves, a clear sense of the great things he has done for fallen man, a firm belief or at least a solid hope that we belong to his favor, and a deep love for him who first loved us.

It means we give ourselves and everything we have fully to God. We keep him always before us as the one we desire most, the one who sees all our actions, and our only safe place and hope in every trouble. Finally, we let the goodness God shows us become the reason and pattern for how we treat other people. We love them, pity them, help them, teach them, bear with them, and forgive them whenever we have the chance, because we ourselves need these same things and receive them from our heavenly Father.

The two great goals it leads us toward, and constantly urges our soul to pursue, are communion with God and becoming like him. Since we cannot fully reach either one in this life, it teaches us to long for a better life to come. It helps us pull our thoughts and desires away from temporary things and fix them on that eternal state where we trust our deepest desires will be fully satisfied and the work grace began in us will be completed with glory.

This is the religion of the gospel. This is the life and teaching of our Lord, and the writings of his apostles point us to it. We have an excellent summary of the whole matter in this eighth chapter to the Romans. It describes the condition, attitude, daily practice, privileges, and unshakable security of a true Christian. Every verse is full of comfort and instruction. Any single verse could easily provide material for whole books. In particular, our verse this morning may be called the gospel of the gospel. It gives us a complete and full summary of everything truly worth knowing and hoping for.

Let us take the words just as they appear and consider a few practical thoughts and applications that come naturally and directly from reading them.

1. From the words, "who did not spare his own Son," we may see in one view the wonderful goodness and the strict severity of God. His goodness was so great that when man had become unable to have any happiness because of sin and deserved every kind of misery, when man could not restore himself or receive the smallest help from any power in heaven or on earth, God did not spare his only Son. In his unmatched love for the world, he gave him who alone was able to repair the damage.

Every gift from God is good. The blessings he gives in ordinary life are very valuable. That he should keep life going and supply that life with food, clothing, and many comforts for people who had lost everything by their rebellion was wonderful. But what are all those lesser blessings compared to this greatest gift of the Son of his love?

Abraham had given many proofs of his love and obedience before God told him to offer up Isaac on the altar. Yet God seems to set all that earlier obedience aside as small in comparison with this final act of duty: "now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me," Gen. xxii. Surely we also must say, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." But all comparison falls short. Abraham was bound by duty and gratitude. His offering was not a free choice but came by the clear command of God. For us the mercy was neither asked for nor deserved. "In this is love, not that we have loved God;" on the contrary, we were enemies to him and in rebellion against him; "but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins," the sins we had committed against himself.

Now, ought not this love to receive a response from us? Is it not the best thing to be able to say with the apostle, on solid grounds, "We love him, because he first loved us?" Should it not be our constant question, "What shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits?" especially for this gift which is both the highest point and the source of all the rest? If we remain cold and unmoved by this amazing proof of divine love, and if our hearts are not grieved and humbled by our own lack of gratitude, then we truly are ungrateful and insensitive indeed.

The justice and severity of God show just as clearly as his goodness in these words. As he did not spare giving his Son for our sakes, so when Christ came in our nature, took up our cause, and was charged with our sins, even though he was the Father's well-loved Son, he was not spared. He drank the full bitter cup of God's anger to the last drop. He carried all the shame, sorrow, and pain, all the trouble of body and mind that would otherwise have fallen on us. His whole life, from the manger to the cross, was one long period of humiliation and suffering, John xviii. Look at him in the world: despised, insulted, and chased even to death by unreasonable and wicked men; mocked, struck, spit upon; and finally nailed to the cross.

Consider him in the wilderness, (Luke iv.) handed over to the power of the devil and attacked by his temptations. Look at him in the garden, (Luke xxii.) and say, "Was ever sorrow like his sorrow, with which the Lord afflicted him in the day of his fierce anger?" How terrible that agony must have been which caused his sweat to become like great drops of blood. Look at him finally on the cross, (Matt. xxvii.) suffering the most painful and shameful death. He hung between two thieves, surrounded by cruel enemies who made fun of his suffering and was mocked by everyone who passed by. Listen to his painful cry, which shows an inner distress greater than anything mentioned yet: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

The apostle Paul reminds the Galatians that through his preaching among them Jesus Christ had been "publicly portrayed as crucified," Gal. iii. May God open our eyes to see a meaning we have never noticed before in that serious statement, " tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil," (Rom. ii.) for the punishment that belonged to the sins of all who will stand at the last day on the right hand of God came together and rested on Christ, the Lamb who takes away sin. That heavy weight was not lifted until he, victorious in death, declared, "It is finished," John xix.

Let us not think of this as something to consider only with our minds. Our lives and our precious souls are involved in it. Let us learn from this how fearful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God, Heb. x. The apostle Peter (2 Peter ii) warns those he wrote to by the terrible examples of the angels who sinned and of the old world. There he uses the same words as in our text: "He did not spare them." That means he punished them fully. He did not give them any relief at all. This is a common way of speaking in which much more is meant than is actually said. How much more then can we say, if God did not spare his own Son, "what shall be the end of those who do not obey the gospel?" 1 Peter iv. If the holy Jesus was treated this way when he was only counted as a sinner by imputation, where will the unrepentant and the ungodly stand? "If these things were done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Luke xxiii.

The punishment of sin in the soul in the life to come has two parts: the wrath of God in all its terrible effects, pictured by unquenchable fire, (Mark ix.) and the constant pain of a guilty conscience, shown by a worm that never dies. Our Lord went through the first part, but the second could have no place in him because he was completely perfect and without sin. Yet if the thought of only one of these made him deeply troubled and sorrowful beyond words, what terror must both together bring to the wicked when they hear and feel their final sentence?

May we have grace to think seriously about these things so that we may run for safety to the hope set before us, to Jesus Christ, the only sure refuge from that coming storm which will sweep away all who do evil like a flood, Isa. xxiii.

II. Here is a clear picture of how evil sin really is. We can see the painful results of sin all around us. Sin stands behind all the hard work, sickness, pain, and sorrow that weigh down the whole world. Sin often turns a man into a source of fear and trouble for himself and for everyone around him. Sin creates fights and chaos in families, in cities, and in whole nations. Sin has guided the armies of conquerors who brought destruction and horror everywhere they went. Those men ruined more in a few days than anyone could rebuild in many years, and they simply proved how dangerous sin is. Because of sin, fire and burning sulfur fell on a whole land. Because of sin, a great flood wiped out the entire world. Because of sin, powerful beings were thrown out of heaven and are now held in chains of darkness until a worse judgment comes. Yet none of these events, not even all of them together, show us the true weight and damage of sin as clearly as these words do: "He did not spare his own Son."

III. Here we also see how valuable the human soul is. We usually decide how much something is worth by the price a wise person who really understands it is willing to pay. The soul of a man mattered so much to God, who created it, that when it was heading toward endless ruin, he did not spare his own Son, but freely gave him up as the payment to set us free. Two things especially show why the soul matters so much to God.

i) First, the ability he gave it. He made the soul for himself, able to know him, serve him, and enjoy him. Because of this, the soul cannot find true happiness in anything less than God. Nothing can satisfy a being except reaching its true purpose.

ii) Second, the endless life he gave it, which goes far beyond time and the physical world. Even the greatest being, if it lived only for a single day, would not matter much. At the same time, living forever would mean little to a creature that could only chase the things animals chase. But in the soul of man we have both the ability to experience complete happiness or terrible suffering, and that forever. This makes the soul something worth the greatest effort from heaven itself.

For this reason, there was open interaction between heaven and earth until the Word of God came in the likeness of sinful flesh. In our nature he met and defeated the enemy of our whole race. Everything that has happened in the worlds of providence and grace since the beginning has served this one great purpose, the rescue of the soul that never dies.

Is this true? Then how can so many of us live with no sense of our true worth? How can we push aside the plan of infinite wisdom and risk those souls for small, worthless things, when nothing less than the blood of Christ could buy them back? It is impossible to over-stress how serious this is. Heed these warnings against the deceitfulness of sin. Do not let your hearts get caught up in the empty things of this world. Those things will either let you down while you are still alive or you will have to leave them behind when you die. You are going to enter a world you cannot see and do not know, where none of the distractions and activities you now use to fill your time will be there. You find even a few hours of free time hard to handle. Have you thought about how you will manage an eternity?

You stand on the edge, and everything around you is uncertain. Every day you see someone you know taken away, people who seemed as likely to live as you do. You do not know if you will be next. It is possible that this very night your soul will be required of you. In just a few hours you could stand in the presence of the God you have shown so little desire to please. And in that situation, can you keep playing games with life as if you had no worries, like a lamb already chosen to be killed the next day? It is hard to understand. How completely the god of this world has blinded the eyes of so many. How terrible your situation will be in death if only death can open your eyes.

IV. Lastly, these words show us that the salvation offered in the gospel is completely certain. God himself gave up his own Son for us all. He declared himself well pleased with him as our guarantee the moment he began his work. God also showed that he accepted what his Son had done by raising him from the dead and welcoming him into heaven as our advocate. Now, if God himself is for us in this way, who can be against us? If the one who has the only right to judge us chooses to declare us right with him, who can bring any charge against us? If Christ died for our sins, rose again for us, and now intercedes for us, who can condemn us? There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.

And that is not all. Everything we need has been fully provided. We can reason as the apostle taught us in another place: If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Or, as the words before us put it, He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? He has taught us to pray and has given us his own promises to claim when we ask.

This leads us to the second part of the text. But before we move on, it is right to add two cautions so that no one misunderstands what has already been said.

First, we should remember that all of this is a free gift. He gave his Son. He gives all things with him. The gospel leaves no room for any merit on our part in any way. There was nothing in us that moved God to act, unless our misery may be considered that. Our rescue, in its beginning, its progress, and its completion, must be credited to grace alone. And anyone who wants to boast must boast only in the Lord.

Second, we should notice the exact words the apostle uses. He does not say absolutely for all, but for us all. That means those who are described in the earlier part of the chapter, who are led by the Spirit of God, who walk not after the flesh, who are delivered from the bondage of corruption, who have liberty to call God Abba, father, and prove their relation by following him as dear children. Christ is the author of eternal salvation to those only who obey him. It cannot be otherwise, since one main part of that salvation is to deliver us from our sins and from the present evil world, to purify us from dead works, to serve the living God. Do not be deceived, God will not be mocked. Whatever a man sows, that shall he reap. He that sows to the flesh shall, even though Christ has done and suffered so much, and actually all the more because of it, of the flesh reap corruption.

The text has declared that God did not spare his Son for our sakes. It then draws this clear conclusion: how will he not also with him graciously give us all things. Here we should notice first that the words all things must be understood as those things that are truly needed and good for us. Many of the things we want fall into the category where Jesus said, you do not know what you ask. In those cases the best answer we can receive is no. For the blessings God has promised without condition, such as pardon, grace, and eternal life, we cannot pray too earnestly or too clearly. But when it comes to everyday things in this life, we should be careful to ask only with full submission to what God wills.

It is true that the promises cover the life that now is as well as the one that is to come. Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or life or death, or things present or things to come, all are ours if we are Christ's. But God has kept the exact way and timing of these things in his own hands. He gives them in the way that best fits our different personalities, abilities, and situations. And it is good for us that he does it this way. If we were left to choose for ourselves we would ruin ourselves quickly. We are like children who eagerly reach for things that would hurt them and refuse good medicine simply because it tastes bad. In the same way we often chase after things with great desire and worry. If we actually got them they would harm us deeply or even destroy us.

We also often fight with impatient and shortsighted determination to avoid or escape the hard things God allows in our lives. Yet he appoints those difficulties for kind and merciful reasons. They correct our pride and empty self-importance. They give us chances to exercise and strengthen our faith. They pull us away from the world. They teach us to depend on him more closely. And they stir up our longing for a better home with him.

Again, God has promised to freely give us all things. But he has not promised to follow the exact measure of our unreasonable and short sighted wishes. In the same way, he has not limited himself to a specific time or manner when giving his gifts.

The blessing we seek, even if it is not completely wrong, may not be the right time for it right now. In that case, the Lord will hold it back until he sees that it will give us the comfort and satisfaction he intends for us. Then we shall be sure to receive it.

Sometimes he withholds it to encourage us to pray with more passion and persistence. Sometimes he does this to make it even more welcome and valuable when it finally comes.

In the same way with how he gives it, we ask for one good thing and he gives us something else that is just as good. When we look at everything, we see that his choice was the best one.

This is what David acknowledges: "In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul.," Psal. 138. David asked for deliverance from trouble. The Lord gave him strength to bear it. And he says his prayer was fully answered.

The apostle records a similar case. He asked the Lord three times (2 Cor. xii.) for the removal of that trial which he calls "a thorn in the flesh." The answer he received was, "My grace is sufficient for you." Such an assurance was more valuable than the deliverance he sought could be.

Sometimes we seek a thing in a way of our own, by means and instruments of our own devising. God blocks our weak plans so that he may give us the pleasure of receiving it immediately from himself.

It would be easy to say more about this. Let it be enough to know that our concerns are in his hands. He does all things well. And he appoints all things to work together for our good.

From this last part, understood in this way, we can draw many useful lessons. We will conside three and then close.

1. First, since we are told that God freely gives us all things, let us learn to see and acknowledge his hand in everything we have and in everything we experience. When Jacob was returning to Canaan after a long absence, the fear of his brother Esau led him to divide his family and possessions into separate groups. Comparing his present situation with the poor condition in which he had been driven from home twenty years before, he breaks out into this act of praise: " I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies!" How sincere and how encouraging was this reflection. And afterwards, when his brother Esau asked him about his sons, he said, They are "the children whom God has graciously given your servant."

Such a deep and lasting conviction that the most high God orders and rules all our concerns would spread light and beauty over everything around us. To see every comfort in life as a sign and proof of the divine favor toward us would turn all our possessions into something precious and give real value to things that others might think ordinary. This is more than just a nice idea. It is the truth. "The hairs of our head are all numbered," Matth. x. The eye of divine providence watches every sparrow in the field. We cannot properly call any part of our lives small, because even the things that seem most ordinary often lead to events we consider very important.

On the other hand, to discover the wisdom and goodness of our heavenly Father even in the darkest times of trouble and pain, to see that all our trials are appointed to us in exact number, weight, and measure, that nothing happens by chance, nothing without a purpose, nothing without support, and nothing without a planned benefit, what a strong help these truths must be to the soul. Take away these truths and a person becomes the most lonely, helpless, and miserable being in the world, always wanting what he does not have, always anxious about what he does have, suffering under what actually happens and fearing what might happen. He faces thousands of unseen dangers yet cannot even protect himself from the obvious ones.

Even if there were no life after this one, it would still be in our best interest to live a truly consistent life of faith in order to make the most of this life. How unhappy people must be for whom the thought of an ever present God feels like a burden they try in vain to escape. But let us learn to acknowledge him in all our ways, and then he will direct and bless our paths, Prov. iii.

2. Second, since all we have is the gift of God, let this teach us to be content in whatever state we are in. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask him, Matth. vi. The earth is his, and everything in it, Psal. xxiv. His goodness is equal to his power, and the text gives us clear proof of this. He has already given us more than ten thousand worlds.

Are you poor? Be satisfied with what the Lord has appointed for you. It would be just as easy for him to give you large estates as to give you the bread you eat or to keep breath in your body. But he sees that poverty is best for you. He sees that prosperity might ruin you. Therefore he has appointed you the honor of being like your Lord in this way. When your Lord was on earth he had no place to lay his head, Matth. viii.

Have any of you lost a dear friend or relative whose life you felt was bound up with your own? Be still and know that he is God, Psal. xlvi. It was he who gave you that friend. His blessing made your friend a comfort to you. Though the stream is now cut off, the fountain is still full. Do not struggle like a wild bull in a net. The Lord has many ways to turn your mourning into joy.

Are any of you sick? Remember how the compassionate Jesus healed diseases with a word when he was here in the flesh. Does he not have the same power now? Does he not have the same love? Has he, in his exalted state, forgotten his weak members here below? No. He still feels with us. He is touched with a feeling of our weaknesses. He knows our frame. He remembers we are dust, Psal. ciii. It is because sickness is better for you than health that he visits you in this way. He dealt the same way with Lazarus, whom he loved, John xi.

Therefore, resign yourselves to his wisdom and rest in his love. There is a land where the blessed people will no more say, "I am sick," Isa. xxxiii. And there all who love the Lord Jesus shall soon be.

Are any of you tempted? "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.," James i. You need no other reason to be content, or rather to rejoice and be very glad. "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him" Heb. xii. Whether it is poverty or losses, in body or mind, in your own life or in another’s, it is all appointed by God. It will work out for your great benefit if you are among those that love him.

3. Third, since it is said that all things are freely given us in and together with Christ, let us give all diligence to make our calling and election sure. Let us know for certain that we belong to him and share in his work as mediator. Then we are forever safe.

The Lord Jesus Christ was sent from God on a merciful errand to a lost world. He did not come empty. He is full of all blessings that fit every person, reach every time, and last through all eternity. Make it your main concern to know him and to please him. Study his word. Call on his name. Attend his ordinances. Follow his teachings. Seek to know him as the only way to God, the way to pardon, peace, and close fellowship with God here, and to complete happiness hereafter.

When once you can say, "My Beloved is mine," and you count all that is his as your own, "and I am his," because you have given yourself to him without holding anything back, then you will be happy. You must be happy. You will share in all his attributes and perfections that he can share with us. His wisdom will be your strong tower. His care will be your constant protection. His love will be your continual comfort. "He will give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways," Psal. xci.

In times of difficulty he will guide your decisions. In times of danger he will fill you with comfort and "keep you in perfect peace" when others shake with fear. He will bless your daily provisions, your possessions, and your families. Your days will pass happily as you do your Father’s will and receive fresh signs of his favor. At night you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

When troubles come, for these too are the fruit of love, you will see your God close at hand, "a very present help in trouble." You will find your strength increased according to your trial. In due time you will come out purified like gold from the furnace, ready to praise your great deliverer. Everything you meet in life will bring you benefit. And death, which ends the hope of the wicked and makes thousands turn pale at its name, will for you be the entrance into a new and endless life.

He who tasted death for you and made it holy for you will lead and support you through that dark valley. You will close your eyes on the things of time and open them the next moment in the joyful presence of your reconciled God. You who a moment before were surrounded by weeping, helpless friends will instantly be carried away to join that glorious song, "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing," Rev. v.

Thus "Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD," Psal. cxxviii. "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor," Esth. vi.