Romans 8:28-30

Well, good morning. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

!

Romans 8, 28-30. Let's briefly put our attention on verses 26 and 27 and then we will press on.

Our third point for last week's sermon was, the Spirit groans for glory.

Verse 26 and 27 say,

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

For we do not know what to pray for as we ought,

but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit,

because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

So verse 26 begins,

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

Paul says,

Likewise, just like the creation groans for glory,

which was the first point, verses 19-22,

and Christians groan for glory, verses 23-27,

the Spirit groans for glory as a help to us in our present weakened state.

God the Spirit, with groanings too deep for words,

prays to God the Father on our behalf.

The communication between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit,

and the need for their communication is a grand mystery for us.

But it happens nonetheless.

And Paul is communicating something of this mystery to us here for our comfort.

For the Christian, those who hope for what we do not see,

verse 25, namely, our adoption as Son,

the redemption of our bodies,

this thing we call our glorification,

we wait for it with patience,

by the power of the Spirit who intercedes for us,

when we don't know what to pray,

and He always, as God,

prays according to the will of God.

So we can be sure that the intercessions of the Spirit

are answered with the power and presence of our Trinitarian God.

Now, this is as brief as I think I can be concerning these two verses,

and maintain faithfulness to the great comfort that they should bring us.

But that is the point.

That is where Paul has been driving us to,

as we live in the in-between,

the already and the not yet.

The Spirit groans for glory,

our glory,

and He groans on our behalf.

So don't underestimate the significance of this truth.

Whether you feel it to be true,

or experience it to be true,

if you are in Christ,

it is true.

The Spirit of God

prays for your hopeful,

patient perseverance

in the faith.

We have such an advocate with us

as we live in these days.

Which brings us

to today's text.

I'm sorry if that was too brief for you,

but I really want to spend some time

on verses 28 through 30.

So before I read it,

let me remind you, beloved,

that this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory

and our good.

And so we would all do well

to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

And we know

that for those who love God,

all things work together for good

for those who are called

according to His purpose.

For those whom He foreknew,

He also predestined to be conformed

to the image of His Son

in order that He might be

the firstborn among many brothers.

And those whom He predestined,

He also called.

And those whom He called,

He also justified.

And those whom He justified,

He also glorified.

Now Paul begins verse 28

with the phrase,

And we know.

We join with creation

and the Spirit

in groaning for glory

with hope and patience.

And then Paul says,

And we know.

Every other world religion

sets the locus of salvation

on the adherent,

their devotion,

their affections,

their works.

Christianity is altogether different.

If you are a Christian,

then you place all of your confidence

not on yourself,

but on God's gracious working

on your behalf.

We are saved by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in the personal work

of Jesus Christ alone.

What is it that we know?

Let's consider this confidence

that Paul says we have.

This confident knowledge

in the following three points

that emerge from today's text.

So, number one,

we'll consider our confidence

in God's providence.

Number two,

our confidence in God's purpose.

And number three,

our confidence in God's plan.

Bonus points for alliteration

this morning.

Number one,

our confidence in God's providence

we see in verse 28.

Right?

And we know

that for those who love God,

all things work together

for good.

Before I say anything

on this point,

I want to first define

the word providence.

It's likely a word

that you have heard before.

It's not a word

that we find in our text,

although it's an idea

that is found here.

Providence is God's

purposeful sovereignty.

God is sovereign,

which means that

he is the ruler of everything

and that he possesses

the power to rule

over everything.

It's a statement of him

as a being.

God is sovereign.

Job expresses this reality

in Job 42.2

where he says,

I know you can do all things

and that no purpose of yours

can be thwarted.

There's the sovereignty of God.

I know that you can do all things

and that no purpose,

now here's his sovereignty

in action,

in providence,

can do no purpose of yours,

can be thwarted.

God powerfully reigns.

He is sovereign.

And in verse 28,

we see God's sovereignty

expressed providentially.

It has purpose.

Right?

It's not aimless,

but it is aimed at

something

for

a people.

God's providence

is always

active

on behalf

of his people.

Notice that Paul

qualifies in this verse

a particular

people.

It's

those

who

love

God.

In verse 23,

he called Christians

those who have

the first fruits

of the Spirit.

Here he says,

those who love God.

If we can recall

all that Paul has said

in this letter thus far,

this phrase

should not surprise us,

although it may

because it's been a while

since we've studied

the rest

of the letter.

In Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5:10

verse 10 and 11,

Paul says,

says,

if while we were

enemies,

we were reconciled to God

by the death of his Son,

much more now that we are

reconciled shall we be saved

by his life.

More than that,

we also rejoice in God

through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have now

received

reconciliation.

You see there,

this idea,

we who were once

haters of God,

his enemies,

have,

by Jesus' death

and life,

been made

those who rejoice

in God,

those who love

him.

I hope and pray

this morning

that you are

one of those

who love God,

that his character

and his ways

are desirous

to you.

You have affections

for God.

I hope and pray

this morning

that you have

the confidence

to say,

and we know,

because what we know

is a precious,

precious truth.

It's an incredible

thing to know

all things

work together

for good.

Now,

Paul does not say

that all things

are good,

but he is saying

unequivocally

that God

providentially

accomplishes

his purpose

through the means

of all things.

And this is a

comprehensive

statement.

When Paul says

all things,

he means

all things.

And we need

not question

this.

And we know

all things

work together

for good.

If you are

a Christian

and anything

and everything

that happens

in your life

is being used

of God

for your

good.

All of

the joys,

the sorrows,

the pain,

the tragedy,

all of the

positive

prognoses,

all of the

negative

prognoses,

all of the

successes,

all of the

failures,

all of the

gains,

all of the

losses,

all things.

Let's not

forget that

God is

working good

in the good

matters of our

lives.

We are really

ready to

forget that.

But this

truth finds its

particular comfort

in the troubling

matters of our

lives.

That's where

we find

Paul's mind,

right,

considering the

trouble that this

life will bring

us as followers

of Jesus

Christ.

I want to

read to you a

hymn that you

may be familiar

with called

God Moves

in Mysterious

Ways.

It's a hymn

about providence.

It was written

by a man named

William Calper,

an 18th century

British poet,

a joy to read,

I commend him

to you,

and a man

who dealt

with chronic

depression the

entirety of his

life,

wrestled often

with the

assurance of

his faith.

I know that

he attempted

suicide at

least once.

Depending on

who you read,

there may have

been some

other occasions

for it.

And he

penned this,

it happens to

be in your

hymnals,

hymn number

88, if you

care to look

at it now or

at some other

time.

Listen to what

he wrote.

God moves

in a mysterious

way, his

wonders to

perform.

He plants

his footsteps

in the sea

and rides

upon the

storm.

Deep and

unfathomable

minds of

never-failing

skill, he

treasures up

his bright

designs and

works his

sovereign will.

Ye fearful

saints, fresh

courage take

the clouds

ye so much

dread, are

big with

mercy and

shall break

in blessings

on your head.

Judge not the

Lord by feeble

sense, but

trust him for

his grace.

Behind a

frowning

providence, he

hides a

smiling face.

His purposes

will ripen

fast, unfolding

every hour.

The bud may

have a bitter

taste, but

sweet will be

the flower.

Blind

unbelief is

sure to

err and

scan his

work in

vain.

God is

his own

interpreter, and

he will

make it

plain.

God

sovereignly,

providentially

works for

our good

in all

things.

Remember

that Paul at

the end of

chapter 7 has

expressed anguish

in his battle

against his

flesh.

He has

acknowledged that

we will suffer

in this life

in chapter 8

and verse

17.

He has

given to us

perspective in

chapter 8

and verse 18

where he

says,

For I

consider that

the sufferings

of this

present time

are not

worth comparing

with the

glory that

is to be

revealed to

us.

He's going

on to talk

about the

groaning of

creation and

ourselves and

the spirit

longing for

all things

to be made

new.

And now

he gives

to us this

confident

comfort in

verse 28.

all things

work together

for good.

But what

is this

good?

Some people

use this

idea as a

pleasant

platitude that

leaves people

guessing at

what the

good might

be.

Kind of

floated out

there.

Well, God

uses things

for good and

then we spend

time looking

for the good

whether we're

in the midst

of the

suffering or

we try to

look back

on the

suffering and

often it's

hard to

find.

Paul doesn't

leave us

wondering.

He doesn't

leave us

guessing.

He again

qualifies the

recipients of

God's providence

as those who

are called

according to

his purpose.

What purpose?

If we're

reading carefully,

this purpose

must be the

good that he's

referring to

and we

don't need to

guess at what

God is doing

providentially for

his people.

So we have a

confidence in

God's providence.

We also see

secondly our

confidence in

God's purpose.

Notice this in

the last half of

verse 29.

He said,

those who

before knew,

he also

predestined,

what?

This is the

purpose,

to be

conformed to

the image

of his

Son in

order that

he, the

Son, Jesus

Christ, might

be the

firstborn among

many brothers.

What is

God's purpose

as he works

providentially in

our lives?

That we

would look

more and

more like

Christ to

the praise

of Christ.

Note with

me the

phrase to

be conformed

to the

image of

his Son.

God says

to Israel

in Leviticus

19 and

verse 2,

you shall

be holy

for I,

the Lord,

your God,

am holy.

And the

law emanates

from this,

showing us

what it

means to

be holy.

It's

something that's

asked of

God's

people.

Peter cites

this verse

in 1 Peter

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse

16 to

make the

very same

point.

We are

to be

like God

in holiness,

but how

is this

possible?

By being

conformed

to the

image of

his Son

who is

God.

The author

of Hebrews

in chapter

1 verse

3 says,

Jesus is

the radiance

of the glory

of God

and the

exact

imprint

of his

nature.

Progressively

becoming

like Jesus

by the

power

of the

Spirit.

This is

how we

keep this

command.

You can

note

chapter 8

verses 2

through 11

is all

about this

active

sanctifying

process

in our

lives,

moving us

from one

degree to

another

of glory,

of holiness.

So God

providentially

uses all

things in

our lives

to bring

about our

holiness.

This is

the point.

This is

what he's

at work

doing.

This is

that purpose

that Paul

refers to.

He is

persistently

pressing

in this

direction

because he

loves us

and he

means for

our lives

to glorify

him.

It is

his

providential

purpose in

your life

if you

belong to

him and

he will

not fail

to accomplish

his purpose

for you.

I hope

we can

join with

Paul

this text

and elsewhere

like Philippians

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse 6

where he

writes to

the Philippian

Christians,

I am sure

of this,

that he

who began

a good

work in

you

will bring

it to

completion

at the

day

of Jesus

Christ.

He says

there,

I am

confident

and I

know

that he

who began

the work

will

definitely

complete

the work.

But the

high aim

of your

Christlikeness

is not

ultimately

you.

You

certainly

receive

benefit

as you

grow

in

holiness.

But notice

the higher

point that's

going on

here.

In order

that

Jesus

might be

the firstborn

among

many

brothers.

Firstborn

is used

figuratively

here to

refer to

the position

of

privilege,

preeminence,

or supremacy.

Commonly

used in

this way

in the

scripture.

So,

we are to

look more

like Christ

in order

that Christ

might be

privileged,

preeminent,

supreme.

Another

place,

Paul writes

this,

Colossians

Colossians 1:15

chapter 1

verse 15

and following

Jesus

Christ

is the

image

of the

invisible

God,

the

firstborn

of all

creation.

Certainly

Paul doesn't

mean there

that he

was

created,

no.

He's

preeminent,

he's

supreme,

he's

privileged

above

all

creation.

For

by him

all

things

were

created

in

heaven

and

on

earth

visible

and

invisible

whether

thrones

or

dominions

or

rulers

or

authorities

all

things

were

created

through

him

and

for

him

including

us.

And

he

is

before

all

things

and

in

him

all

things

hold

together

and

he

is

the

head

of

the

body

the

church

he

is

the

beginning

the

firstborn

from

the

dead

that

in

everything

he

might

be

preeminent

for

in

him

all

the

fullness

of

God

was

pleased

to

dwell

and

through

him

to

reconcile

to

himself

all

things

whether

on

earth

or

in

heaven

making

peace

by

the

blood

of

his

cross

so

we

are

to

be

conformed

to

the

image

of

a

son

so

that

Christ

will

be

magnified

so

God

works

all

things

together

for

good

the

good

that

we

would

look

more

and

more

like

Christ

to

the

praise

of

Christ

what

an

absolute

comfort

this

is

we

have

our

perspective

aimed

where it

needs

to be

right

when

we're

thinking

rightly

everything

that

comes

our

way

all

of

the

troubles

of

this

life

are

meant

to

bring

about

a

greater

good

for

us

to

the

glory

of

Christ

this

momentary

life

right

this

present

momentary

suffering

that's

not even

worth

comparing

with

the

glory

that

is

to

be

revealed

to

us

when

all

of

the

details

of

this

difficult

life

press

down

on

you

you

will

need

this

comfort

perhaps

you

have

already

needed

it

perhaps

you

need

it

now

I

guarantee

in

your

life

you

will

need

it

press

on

in

pursuit

of

Jesus

Christ

you

will

suffer

in

this

world

what

do

we

do

when

we

suffer

we

need

a

robust

theology

of

suffering

and we

found

such

richness

here

in

Romans

8

for

those

times

I'm

grateful

across

the

years

just

by

grace

becoming

committed

to

verse

by

verse

exposition

of

the

Bible

working

through

and

seeing

people

sent

out

from

here

going

places

getting

terribly

ill

overseas

coming

back

to

us

suffering

great

loss

and

having

people

say

thank

you

for

teaching

me

to

suffer

and

don't

think

that I've

suffered

in the

way

that

many

people

have

suffered

and

so

you

ask

the

question

well

how

have

I

done

that

and

it's

just

that

we've

taught

the

Bible

and the

Bible

teaches

us

how to

suffer

and to

suffer

well

J.I.

Packer

once said

this is

on the back

of your

bulletin

this morning

if you

ask

why is

this

happening

no light

may come

and I just

want to

insert

at that

point

I think

specifically

why is

this

happening

is what

he means

why is

this

happening

no light

may come

but if

you ask

how

am I

to

glorify

God

now

there

will

always

be

an

answer

so

we

have

reason

to

have

confidence

in

God's

providence

and

confidence

in

God's

purpose

working

all

things

that

we

would

look

more

like

Christ

for

the

praise

of

Christ

and

we

should

have

confidence

in

God's

plan

so

we'll

see

this

at

the

beginning

of

verse

29

as

well

as

verse

30

verse

29

the

first half

says

for

those

whom

he

foreknew

he

also

predestined

goes on

to say

to be

conformed

to the

image

of a

son

and

verse

30

and

those

whom

he

predestined

he

also

called

and

those

whom

he

called

he

also

justified

and

those

whom

he

justified

he

also

glorified

now

there

are

some

hot

words

in

these

two

verses

they're

words

that

many

pastors

don't

touch

too

hot

to

handle

words

that

have

been

highly

contested

vastly

ignored

and

grossly

misunderstood

before

I

proceed

to tell

you

that

the

words

foreknew

and

predestined

mean

just

that

I

want

to fix

your

attention

on

why

Paul

is

using

these

words

to

communicate

these

truths

as we

study

the

Bible

we

have

to

study

the

Bible

in

its

context

it's

altogether

possible

to

believe

something

to be

true

and

to

believe

it

wrongly

it's

also

very

possible

to

see

something

taught

and

because

you

can't

reconcile

it

with

other

things

to

reject

it

as

true

so

the

context

always

matters

greatly

Paul

here

is

not

trying

to

pick

a

theological

fight

he

is

not

working

to

open

up

some

soteriological

debate

in fact

he

is

going

to

spend

chapters

9

10

and

11

working

out

the

implications

and

answering

the

objections

to

the

truth

stated

in

verses

29

through

30

there's

a lot

of

ink

spent

on

the

thing

that

he's

saying

right

here

in

verse

29

and

verse

30

he

is

going

to

go

to

great

effort

to

defend

these

doctrines

why

contextually

just think

for a

moment

why

why is

he

pressing

these

truths

God's

sovereignty

in our

salvation

to the

forefront

right now

it's because

he wants

to root

our

confidence

in our

future

glory

in

God's

plan

God's

God's

word

and so

we can't

ignore

what it

says

we

can't

just

pass

over

it

because

it

makes

us

uncomfortable

it's

not

there

for

that

it's

there

for

our

comfort

and so

Paul

says

for

those

whom

he

foreknew

he

also

predestined

another

place

he says

it

this

way

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1

and

verse

4

the

father

chose

us

in

the

son

before

the

foundation

of

the

world

that

we

should

be

holy

and

blameless

before

him

this

word

foreknew

is a

compound

word

that

means

more

than

simply

knowing

something

before

on

its

surface

that's

what

it

seems

to

be

communicating

but

it's

more

than

that

because

the

Bible

uses

the

idea

of

knowing

someone

in

terms

of

special

intimacy

Paul's

picking

up

that

language

in

this

compound

word

right

an

example

Old

Testament

Genesis

4

and

verse

17

Adam

knew

his

wife

Eve

they

became

one

flesh

right

elsewhere

Matthew

New

Testament

example

chapter

1

and

verse

25

right

Mary

became

pregnant

having

not

been

known

right

loving

intimacy

Paul

is saying

that God

has a

predetermined

love

for those

he plans

to call

his

own

and

this

is a

vast

truth

and it

is one

that should

be altogether

humbling

!

and bring

about

great

gratitude

for God's

loving kindness

towards people

who deserve

hell

who have

been his

enemies

who have

no good

possession

of

ourselves

and yet

God

in his

loving

kindness

has

saved

us

those

he

foreknew

he

also

predestined

and this

word means

to mark

out a

point

or determine

beforehand

the result

for every

person

who belongs

to God

so he

foreknew

us

and he

set us

on a

course

right

a

definitive

result

that would

come to

pass

in our

lives

it is

not

possible

to dance

around the

meanings

of these

words

and stay

faithful

to the

text

I know

they raise

a ton

of

questions

Paul

knows

that they

raise

a ton

of

questions

and they

are

questions

that should

be

wrestled

with

for sure

we should

ask the

questions

and we

should

go to

the text

to find

the answer

to the

questions

and we

should

settle

in

when all

of the

complexity

doesn't

quite

get

solved

for us

I hope

that you

will

engage

with

Paul

as we

study

the

next

three

chapters

it will

take

some

time

to be

sure

in the

meantime

I hope

you ask

lots

of

questions

we can

talk

much

about

this

but

we

cannot

deny

that if

we are

to have