This week on Things Unseen we've been thinking about one of the greatest passages in the New

Testament, Romans chapter 8 verses 31 to 35, and we've been particularly thinking about

the fact that the questions Paul asks all begin with the personal pronoun who, when we

might expect the impersonal pronoun what? It's not what can be against us or what charge

can be brought against God's elect, it's who, who? And now there's a third question,

and once again it's not what can condemn us, it's who, who can condemn us. Now at first

sight with this question we might think that Paul is simply repeating himself. After

all that doesn't seem to be much difference between an accusation of guilt and condemnation,

does there? Many of us feel condemned the moment anyone accuses us, but there is a difference.

The accusation is that we're guilty of something. The condemnation is the result of being

found guilty. It's about the sentence that follows the verdict. It's about the imprisonment

that results from being found guilty. And this is intriguing, isn't it? Because if Paul

has already said that no accusation against us can stick when God has justified us in Christ,

why does he need to bother talking about condemnation? Well here's the answer I think. Logically

that may seem to be true, but spiritually it isn't always like that, isn't? Precisely

because our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

We saw yesterday that he fails to bring in a verdict of guilty in the court of heaven

because God justifies us in Christ, we have complete righteousness in Christ. But the

fact is that we still stumble and fall in our Christian lives. We may be justified

before God, but we're not fully sanctified. In fact, we're still very conscious of our

sin and guilt. And some of us at least are very easily drawn by the evil one to focus

on that sin and guilt. He delights to stimulate us to feel that we're failures. And when

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