Introduction

The point: Do not have a dread of condemnation based on being out of touch with biblical reality, like a drunk man in an air raid.

This analogy describes a man who feels no fear during an air raid because he is drunk and out of touch with reality, illustrating how many people lack dread of condemnation due to ignorance of biblical truth, not true assurance.

the fallen son of Adam. I say there are perhaps few questions, if any, that are more profound in the realm of true religious concern than that question, how does a man come to the place where he fears no condemnation and has true, solid reasons for not having that fear? Not like a man. Not like a man who's half drunk during an air raid and thinks he's down in the Bahamas somewhere basking in the sun.

1:58 - 2:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: To grasp the weight of Paul's question, Martin first expounds the preceding context of Romans 8:29-30, detailing God's ultimate goal of conforming His elect to Christ and His…

A woman complains that the minister spent too long on the context, wearing her out before the main sermon. Martin uses this to express his hope that his contextual explanation will instead whet the appetite for the main text.

She said, well, the most important thing is that I'm not going to tell you what I know. She said, well, the minister spent so long spreading the table, I was worn out by the time the food was served. What she meant was he spent so much time laying the groundwork for the opening up of the text that when he actually got to the text, she had very little left of mental energy. Rather, I hope our dealing with the context will be like a few sips of a choice wine that set all the enzymes going, and then your appetizer, whether it was shrimp cocktail or something else, that all it will do is make you ...

4:53 - 5:24 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: To grasp the weight of Paul's question, Martin first expounds the preceding context of Romans 8:29-30, detailing God's ultimate goal of conforming His elect to Christ and His…

This analogy describes the context as a 'few sips of a choice wine' or an 'appetizer' that makes one appreciate the 'main course' (the text itself) more fully, rather than wearing them out.

She said, well, the most important thing is that I'm not going to tell you what I know. She said, well, the minister spent so long spreading the table, I was worn out by the time the food was served. What she meant was he spent so much time laying the groundwork for the opening up of the text that when he actually got to the text, she had very little left of mental energy. Rather, I hope our dealing with the context will be like a few sips of a choice wine that set all the enzymes going, and then your appetizer, whether it was shrimp cocktail or something else, that all it will do is make you ...

4:53 - 5:24 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If God is for us, who is against us? Oh, do you catch something of the pulse beat of the Apostle's heart and his mind in this beautifully structured argument?

A little boy, knowing bullies await, walks confidently through his neighborhood because his large, strong older brother is with him. This illustrates the believer's confidence against spiritual enemies when God is 'for us'.

Who can conquer when God is with us? Like the little boy that knows he's got to walk through the area of his neighborhood where the bullies hang out. And one is there always throwing stones. And another one's always there throwing sticks.

13:52 - 14:08 Read in full sermon