Romans 8:29-30

I think that's right.

So, I'm going to read verses 28 to 30, but this morning we are particularly looking at

verses 29 and 30 as we continue in our series through this chapter.

The Apostle Paul says this, 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.

Who is in control?

Who am I, and where is my life going?

Those are perhaps three of the most basic and profound human questions that we all ask ourselves

at one time or another.

But I think if we're honest with ourselves, many of us aren't quite sure how to answer

those questions.

And so, we live with an underlying sense of anxiety.

Some of us live with anxiety about our past, maybe because of trauma or rejection that we've

experienced, maybe because of failures that we fear will come back to haunt us, or we might

even look back on our past successes, but we feel like they're never quite enough.

There's always something more that we need to be working on, striving towards in order to

prove to the world that we're still worthy of recognition.

Some of us live with anxiety in the present.

We live in a world that's rapidly changing.

If you can remember, 10 years ago, no one owned a smartphone.

Now we feel like we can't live a moment without them.

And we live today with the fear of missing out.

We try to stay constantly connected, but ironically, we're becoming lonelier than ever.

Since the 1980s, the percentage of American adults who say they're lonely has doubled from

20 to 40 percent.

And perhaps it's not a coincidence that the percentage of Americans diagnosed with anxiety

disorders has steadily increased as well in the same time period.

We have anxiety about the past, about the present, and even as we look toward the future, whether

it's anxiety about our career, about our health, about our children, about aging parents and

relatives, about what kind of legacy we'll leave behind, about death, and what comes after.

Is there anything we can say with confidence about the future?

You know, in this morning's passage, the Apostle Paul sounds a ringing note of assurance in the

midst of our anxieties.

Paul acknowledges in this chapter that we face afflictions, present sufferings, that we have

weaknesses internally and emotionally, physically, spiritually, that we live in the midst of a world

that groans under bondage to corruption and decay.

But Paul says there's one thing of which we can be confident, that God is steadily carrying out His

eternal purpose in the lives of everyone who loves Him.

Last week, we looked at verse 28, a wonderful verse where Paul says that all things work together

for good, under God's providence for the good of those who love Him.

And the second half of that verse reminds us that everyone who loves God has also been called

according to God's purpose.

In verses 29 and 30, open a window, give us a glimpse behind the curtain into God's unchanging

purpose from eternity past through the present age and to eternity future.

There are five verbs in verses 29 and 30 that form an unbroken chain.

Two of them refer to God's purpose from eternity past, foreknown and predestined.

Two of them refer to God's purpose as it's carried out in the present age, called and justified,

and one of them refers to God's purpose that stretches into eternity future, glorified.

Now, before we look at each of these verbs in turn, I want you to notice that the subject

of all five verbs is the same, God.

And the object of all five verbs is also the same, those.

It doesn't say that God foreknew one group of people and then decided to predestine a different

group of people and then called half of those and justified a few of those and glorified somebody

else.

No.

It says, those whom God foreknew, He also predestined and called and justified and glorified.

God's purpose is carried out consistently, steadily, unswervingly from eternity past through

the present age into eternity future.

And in the end, we'll see that that's why we can find rest from our anxieties.

That's why we can be assured, we can be confident in God's unchanging love.

That's why we can persevere to the end with steadfastness, because God is steadfast in carrying

out His purpose.

One commentator put it this way.

He wrote, in order to show the branches, that's us, that they are indeed to blossom and bear fruit,

Paul demonstrates in these verses, that the tree is securely planted and well-rooted.

So, that's what we're going to consider this morning, the tree on which we depend,

of God's steady and unchanging purpose from eternity past through the present age and into

eternity to come.

Now, the last two weeks, we focused on God's work in the present age, the Holy Spirit helping

us in our weakness through prayer, and God working all the things that we experience in

our life together for our good.

The two weeks before that, we looked at the future, about the hope that we have for the

redemption of our bodies and the renewal of all creation.

So, I'm going to spend the bulk of our time today on the first point, God's purpose from

eternity past, and then more briefly address how that carries out in the present age.

And the future, simply because we've addressed those aspects in some other sermons recently.

But they're all connected from God's purpose from eternity past to eternity future.

So, first, first point, God's purpose from eternity past.

Those He foreknew, He also predestined.

Oh boy, here we go.

Right?

These two words, foreknowledge and predestination, have been the subject of much controversy and

some confusion in the history of the church.

Now, to give you a bit of a sense of my background, I was brought up in a church that for the most

part ignored or ridiculed the idea of predestination.

Not that ugly idea.

Then I came to college and started attending another church that strongly affirmed predestination,

and one of the pastors even basically told me that if I couldn't agree with their view

on predestination, I shouldn't become a member of their church.

So, for about nine months during my sophomore year of college, I was inwardly obsessed with

predestination.

I couldn't figure out what to make of it.

It kept me up at night, turning the concepts over and over in my mind with no satisfying resolution.

It bothered me even at church.

I found it hard to concentrate in worship and during sermons because my mind would go there

and the wheels would start spinning and never really gain traction.

But I told hardly anyone because I thought surely no one else can relate to such an esoteric

struggle.

Now, as a side note, if you are wrestling with some kind of doubt or question or temptation

or besetting sin, and if you think that no other Christian can ever relate to what you're

going through, that is always a lie from the devil.

Don't believe it.

Don't isolate yourself from the body of believers and fight your battles all alone.

God's given us each other, and He sustains us by His grace through our fellowship with one

another, imperfect as we are.

Now, one of the things that was actually helpful, one of the ways that God did work through the

body of Christ in my life at that time, was a few of us had started going to the homeless

shelter and talking with people there about Jesus.

You might think, what in the world does that have to do with predestination?

Well, it didn't help me figure out predestination, but it got me out of my own head.

And that's a blessing to any Yale undergraduate.

Amen?

Every once in a while at least.

Talking with the people in the homeless shelter reminded me of the gospel that I'd always known,

that Jesus Christ died for sinners, and that His blood was sufficient to save and powerful

to transform anyone who would come to Him in faith.

So, let me say this.

The doctrines of foreknowledge and predestination are not the forefront of the gospel message.

Okay?

They're not the key above all else to understanding the message of the Bible.

There's no book of the Bible whose main theme above everything else is God's foreknowledge

and predestination.

In the drama of Scripture, they're more like backstage realities, things that are well known

to the director but aren't in clear and full view of the audience.

And yet, we occasionally get a glimpse into them in Scriptures like these.

And this Scripture, like every other one, is given for our good.

So, let's dig in.

Verse 29.

Foreknowledge.

Sometimes this word can mean simply knowing about something ahead of time.

And so, some people have said God's foreknowledge refers to God knowing in advance who will choose

to believe in and obey Him of their own accord.

So, in other words, the verse would mean those whose faith and obedience God knew about beforehand,

those ones He predestined to glory.

So, in that view, God's predestination depends completely on our free choice.

It's all up to us.

But there are problems with that view.

For one thing, it's just not what the verse says.

The verse doesn't say those whose faith God foreknew or those whose obedience God foreknew.

It says those whom God foreknew.

God foreknew people, not choices or actions.

When this verse says God foreknew us, it doesn't just mean God knew something about us.

It means that long before we were born, He knew us in an intimate and personal way.

He committed Himself to us and set us apart for Himself.

And this is how the word is used in many other places in Scripture.

Romans 11 verse 2 says,

Romans 11:2

God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.

In the Old Testament, God said to the prophet Jeremiah,

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.

It doesn't just mean I knew about you.

It doesn't just mean I knew you would exist one day.

It means I've chosen you and called you.

I set you apart to be a prophet to the nations.

Jesus Himself actually uses the same language of being known by God

in a rather scary warning at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus says that some people who call Him Lord but never obey Him

will one day hear Him say to them,

I never knew you.

Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

He's saying, I never knew you.

In other words, I never enjoyed a genuine, personal, intimate relationship with you

and you with me.

In many places in the Bible, to know someone means to be intimately related to them,

to know them inside and out.

The Hebrew word to know is sometimes used to describe the exclusive intimacy

shared by a husband and wife who have promised themselves to each other in love.

So, when it says God foreknew His people from eternity past,

it's as if a parent is talking to their child and saying,

son or daughter, long before you were conscious,

long before you were born into the world or adopted into our family,

even before you were conceived in the womb,

you were wanted.

We wanted you.

We sought you out.

You were foreknown and foreloved.

When you became part of our family,

we gave you our name,

our family name.

Not as a crown for your achievements,

not as a response to your performance,

not for a probationary period of time to see how you turn out,

but to say that you belong

because you were foreknown and foreloved.

That's what God says to every one of us.

I knew you before the beginning of time,

before you were aware of me,

before you,

certainly before you chose me.

You were foreknown,

pre-loved,

from eternity past.

And that's what God says to every one of His children

who's been adopted into His family

through faith in His Son.

Paul goes on to say,

those whom God foreknew,

He also predestined.

Now, for some of us,

when we hear the word predestined,

we think of the idea of fate.

But these are not the same thing.

Fatalism means living in a world

where your destiny is determined by the stars

or by something else that's impersonal

and ultimately random.

Biblical faith is living in a universe

that is ruled by an ever-present

and living and purposeful

and personal God.

Fatalism says,

whatever will be, will be.

So, it doesn't really matter what I do.

And in the end,

I'm not really responsible for what happens.

But that's not what the Bible says.

The Bible affirms both

God's complete sovereignty

and human responsibility.

It's not an either-or,

it's both-and.

So, let me give you a few examples.

Look in this chapter,

look at verse 23.

In this verse,

in the middle of the verse,

it says,

we ourselves,

we groan inwardly

as we wait eagerly

for the redemption of our bodies.

But then look down at verse 26.

The end of verse 26,

it says,

the Spirit,

the Holy Spirit of God Himself

intercedes for us

with groanings too deep for words.

Now, when you put these two verses together,

what is it saying?

It's saying,

the groanings that come

from the very depth of our own heart

are simultaneously the groans

produced by the Holy Spirit of God

who dwells within us.

Or you can look ahead

to Romans 9 and 10.

Now, Romans chapter 9

Romans 9 · chapter mention

emphasizes God's sovereignty.

If you look at Romans 9, verse 18,

Romans 9:18

it's about as strong a statement

as you can get.

God has mercy on whomever He wills,

and He hardens whomever He wills.

But then if you go on to chapter 10,

chapter 10 emphasizes human responsibility.

If you look at chapter 10, verse 13,

it says,

everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

The end of the chapter, verse 21,

He says,

God's speaking to His people,

saying,

all day long,

I've held out My hands

to a disobedient and contrary people.

God's sovereignty over everything

and human responsibility.

They're two hands,

and they're not chopped off from each other.

Two hands part of the same body.

Or consider another example,

2 Corinthians 8, 16 and 17.

Paul says this.

He says,

Thanks be to God

who put into the heart of Titus

the same earnest care I have for you.

And then he goes on and says,

For He not only accepted our appeal,

but being Himself very earnest,

He is going to you of His own accord.

So, Paul says,

in one verse,

God put it into the heart of Titus

to do what He's doing.

And in the second verse,

he says,

Titus is going to you of His own accord.

And that's not a contradiction.

See, the Bible puts both of these things together.

N.T. Wright puts it this way,

Christian faith is wholeheartedly

and responsibly answering the call

of a sovereign God

with love, gratitude, and obedience

that comes from the depth of our own being

and is simultaneously experienced

as a response to a sovereignty,

a compulsion even.

Now, some of you might say,

but I just don't see how both of these things

can be true at the same time.

It just doesn't…

I can't put it together in my head.

It doesn't make sense.

But consider this.

In the natural world,

in the physical universe,

we see paradoxes

that we cannot fully resolve.

Yet, they are undeniably real.

For example,

physicists tell us

that light is both a wave

and a particle.

Now, it's very difficult,

right?

It's very difficult to explain,

and I think even the PhD students

in physics can affirm this,

it's very difficult to explain

how both of those things

are true at the same time.

But it's very well established

that they are both true.

If you study quantum mechanics,

it just makes your head spin.

It's not what anyone

would have come up with

on their own.

But it's reality,

strange as it may seem.

And if the physical universe

that scientists can study

and examine operates

in ways that are counterintuitive

and hard, if not impossible,

for our human minds

to fully grasp,

how much more mysterious

and unfathomable

and glorious

are the ways

of an infinite God

as God interacts

with His creation.

You know,

if you think about

nearly every major

Christian doctrine,

it contains some mystery.

The Trinity,

one God

in three persons.

Jesus Christ,

completely God,

and yet He became

completely human

at the same time.

And the interplay

between God's

complete sovereignty

and our human responsibility.

And when we probe

the depths of these

biblical teachings,

it's meant to lead us

to awe-filled worship.

That's where Paul goes

at the end of Romans 11

Oh, the depth

of the riches

and wisdom

and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable

are His judgments

and how inscrutable

His ways!

For who has known

the mind of the Lord

or who has been

His counselor?

Who has ever given

a gift to Him

that He might be repaid?

For from Him

and to Him

and through Him

are all things.

To Him be glory forever.

Amen.

You know,

every time the Bible

talks about God's

predestination,

His sovereign choice

of us before

the foundation

of the world

is for one of three purposes.

First,

it's to promote

gratitude

and praise to God.

So, Ephesians 1

says,

God chose us

in Christ

before the foundation

of the world

that we might be

to the praise

of His glory,

that we might

praise Him

for His amazing grace,

that He has lavished

upon us

from eternity past.

Second,

it's to promote

humility.

That's one of the main

emphases of Romans 9.

Romans 9.20 says,

Who are you,

O man,

to answer back to God?

Will the clay

say to the potter,

why have you made

me like this?

It humbles us.

The third purpose

is to give assurance

to suffering believers,

and that's actually

the main purpose

of this text

in the context

of the middle

of Romans 8.

The whole section

is talking about

our present suffering

and our future glory,

and so verses 29 and 30

are meant to reassure us.

They're meant to reassure us

in the midst

of our suffering

and looking to Christ

that He's on our side

and He's for us

and we can trust Him.

And He's been there

all along.

To know that we are

predestined by God

means to know

that our lives

have a destination.

Isn't that what's

in that word,

predestination?

It means we have

a destination

that we're going to.

The Greek word

is prohorizo.

It's where we get

the word horizon.

It's a word that's meant

to focus our attention

on the goal,

the destination

that God has set out

for us

in the second half

of verse 29

tells us what that is,

to be conformed

to the image

of His Son.

Pastor Nick talked

last week

that this is the good

that verse 28

is talking about

when it says,

all things work together

for good.

What's that good?

It's that we

become more

and more

like Jesus Himself.

He is the pattern,

the imprint,

the glory,

everything the human race

was originally intended

to be.

And we who believe

in Him

and belong to Him

are being shaped,

polished,

melted down,

smoothed out,

sculpted,

framed,

cast into that

master design.

This has been

God's plan

and purpose

from eternity past.

Now,

I want you to think

for a moment

about the process

of creating

a work of art.

Because it says

that that's what

God is doing

in conforming us

to the image

of His Son.

It's the image

of creating

a work of beauty.

Creating a work

of art is messy.

Have you ever

walked into

an art studio

with a bunch

of works in progress

that looks neat

and tidy?

No!

But the artist

has a purpose

in mind,

right?

Despite the apparent

madness and chaos.

And God is not

above working

through

apparent madness

and chaos

to produce

His masterpieces.

Second,

creating a work

of art is intense.

Think about

glass blowing

or wood turning

or sculpture making

or anything

where you have

to use a blowtorch

on metal.

Not for the faint

of heart.

Sometimes God

brings us

through fiery trials

trials that feel

intense

through painful

experiences

not to destroy us

but to refine us

and to make us

into something

unimaginably beautiful

that we would

otherwise

never become.

Third,

it's time-consuming.

Think about a painting

on a large canvas.

Last summer

before last,

my family went

to a museum

in Ohio

that contained

a circular mural

265 feet long

by 10 feet high

chronicling the history

of the Anabaptist movement.

It was entirely

the work

of one man

from Germany.

It took him

14 years

to do the background

research,

to plan out

the sequence,

and finally

to paint the mural.

And he did it

all by himself

the whole way.

Now think about that.

It's messy,

it's intense,

and it's time-consuming.

Brothers and sisters,

here's the point.

The life and work

that God

has set before you

may be

all those things.

It might be messy.

Your life

might feel

chaotic

and

just

disordered

right now.

It might feel

intense

and painful.

It might be

just long

and drawn out.

A time-consuming

journey.

But here's what

this verse is saying.

It's saying,

long ago,

God made

a plan.

And long ago,

God envisioned

the glorious

destination

that He is

leading you

towards

every day

by His Spirit.

His purpose

from eternity

past is that

you might

come to be

one of His

masterpieces,

reflecting

the beautiful

image

of His Son,

Jesus Christ.

That you might

be one of

Christ's brothers

or sisters

forever.

That He might

be the firstborn

among many.

Another way

you can think

about this

is God's

purpose from

eternity past

was to have

a big family.

Now,

God always

had a perfect

family.

The Father,

the Son,

and the Holy

Spirit.

They were one

happy family

from all

eternity,

full of

love and

glory and

power and

wisdom and

mutual understanding

and mutually

indwelling,

utterly complete

and unbroken,

not lacking

anything.

But God

didn't just

want a perfect

family,

He wanted

a big one.

He intentionally

chose to open

His home to a

vast multitude

of children.

Not temporarily,

but forever.

forever.

And oh,

that was a

costly choice.

Because God

the Father,

to make us

His children,

had to send

His one and

only Son

into this

world,

to rescue us

from sin

and death

and the devil

that we had

gotten ourselves

into.

And the

eternal Son

of God,

Jesus Christ

Himself,

suffered and

bled and

died to make

us His

brothers and

sisters.

brothers.

Talk about a

brother who

will sacrifice

for you,

who would

die for you.

You have

one.

And now God

the Father has

sent His very

own Holy Spirit

into each of

our hearts

to assure us

that God is

really our

Father,

that He will

never leave

us nor forsake

us,

that despite

all the

rejection we

might have

experienced

and all the

trauma that's

in our past

and all the

craziness we

might have

gone through,

that we can

trust this

God.

Forever and

ever.

God's the

ultimate adoptive

parent.

And He has a

glorious destination

for every one

of His children

who've been

adopted through

Christ.

Forever.

That's God's

purpose from

eternity past.

But second,

we see that God's

purpose continues to

be carried out in

the present age.

Those He

predestined,

He also called,

and those He

called,

He also

justified.

Second Timothy

1.9 says a

similar thing,

God saved us

and called us

to a holy

calling,

not because of

our works,

but because of

His own purpose

and grace,

which He gave

us in Christ

Jesus before

the ages began.

Again,

it began before

the ages,

and it's now

carried out in

the present age.

What does it

mean to be

called?

Again,

Pastor Nick

talked about

this last week

when Paul talks

about being

called according

to God's

eternal purpose.

He's not just

talking about

being invited

externally,

He's talking

about being

awakened

internally

to the truth

through the

conviction of

the Holy Spirit

brought into

a saving

relationship

with Jesus

Christ.

If you look

at Romans 4,

Romans 4:17

verse 17,

it says,

God gives

life to the

dead and

calls into

existence the

things that do

not exist.

Isn't that

amazing?

when God

calls us,

we become

a new

creation in

Christ.

He breathed

life into

us where

previously we

were spiritually

dead and

unresponsive

to God.

Some of you

have experienced

this very

distinctly.

You can point

to a time

in your own

life.

You can look

back and

remember a

time when you

wanted nothing

to do with

God.

You hated

God.

You were

indifferent

toward Him.

You just

wanted to be

your own

God.

Or you were

trying to use

God for your

own purposes.

Rather than

let Him use

you for

His.

And then

one day God

through His

Word called

you to

Himself.

Maybe it was

through a

sermon that

you heard,

maybe a

scripture you

were reading

that jumped

off the

page to

you,

maybe a

Christian

friend or

even a

stranger who

shared the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

with you,

and whatever

the means,

God awakened

you that

day, and

you realized

your spiritual

need, and

you saw the

beauty and

sufficiency of

Jesus Christ

dying on the

cross for

your sins,

covering them

with His

blood, rising

from the dead

victorious, and

He poured the

love of God

into your

heart through

the Holy Spirit,

and now you

don't just

believe that

God is out

there somewhere,

you love Him

because He

first loved

you.

You've been

called.

Now, not

every one of

us can pinpoint

a moment when

that happened.

Some of us

can't remember a

time when we

didn't believe in

Jesus Christ as

our Savior and

Lord.

God called us to

Himself before

we even knew

what He was

doing.

And that's a

wonderful testimony

too.

Sometimes we

know it's

happened, but we

can't quite identify

when, right?

Some days the sun

rises with brilliance

and glory, and

other days it's

behind all the

clouds.

But either way, a

new day has

dawned.

Paul says in

Romans 1, verse 6

Romans 1:6

and 7, you are

called to belong to

Jesus Christ.

Loved by God and

called to be

saints.

That word means

God's holy people.

You're called to

belong to Jesus and

to be His holy

people in the

world.

That's what it

means to be

called by God.

And Paul goes on,

those he called,

he also justified.

To be justified by

God means to be in

right standing with

God, to be forgiven

of our sins, that God

will never hold them

against us anymore.

That we're declared

righteous in His sight.

This is the main

theme of Romans 3 and

4.

If you read those

chapters, it talks

all about being

justified by God's

grace through faith

in the Lord Jesus

Christ.

And chapter 5 says

the result of being

justified by faith in

Christ is we have

peace with God.

That we stand in

God's grace and we

rejoice in the hope

of God's glory.

Have you experienced

those things?

the peace with God

knowing that your sins

have been forgiven and

paid for.

The hope of God's

glory, God's grace to

sustain you and help you

stand in the present

day.

This is how God carries

out His eternal purpose.

By calling people to

belong to Jesus and

justifying them through

their belief in Jesus.

Have you experienced

this?

Have you been called and

justified?

Have you come to believe

in and belong to Jesus

Christ?

Maybe for some of you,

you haven't.

You say, I don't yet

really believe in Jesus.

Well, let me ask you,

why not?

What is there that is

holding you back from

fully entrusting yourself

to Him?

Maybe you're just starting to

learn what Christianity is

all about.

That's great.

Start by reading through

one of the New Testament

Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke,

or John.

Maybe talk about it with a

friend.

Keep coming to church.

We want to help you

understand what Christianity

is all about.

It's ultimately about who

Jesus is and what God has

done through Him for us.

Maybe you have questions

or objections or concerns

that you need to work

through.

If you haven't already read

Tim Keller's book,

The Reason for God,

I highly recommend it.

Now, he has another one

that's very thought-provoking

called Making Sense of God.

Those are excellent resources

if you want to read

something that goes into

some depth.

But maybe you're mostly…

Maybe you've worked

through some questions.

Maybe you've been coming

for some time,

and if you're honest

with yourself,

you're mostly persuaded

that Jesus probably was

who He said He was.

That, yeah, He probably

really was the Son of God,

but there's something else

that holds you back

from committing to Him.

What is that?

Is it fear of being ridiculed

by others

or disapproved of by others?

Is it pride?

I mean, every Christian

has to let go

of the air of being

totally self-sufficient.

Because isn't that at the heart

of what it means

to be a Christian

is to admit that you're not?

Is it reluctance

to embrace the cost

of following Jesus?

There's always a cost.

It may look different

for each of us.

Let me challenge you

to ask,

what is holding me back

from fully trusting Jesus?

And to address

whatever that is.

You see, if you have come

to believe in Jesus

and belong to Jesus,

that is not an accident.

You've entered into

a much bigger story

than you can imagine.

God's own story

that stretches

from eternity past

to eternity future.

God's purpose

and plan for you

and for every believer

in Jesus

began in eternity past.

His purpose will continue

into eternity future

beyond the farthest horizon

that your eye

can now glimpse

or your mind imagine.

To use a very imperfect analogy

of what this means

to be called

and justified

and brought into

God's eternal purpose,

imagine that you get

a check in the mail

for $10,000

along with a note

that you're receiving

this check

because you've been included

in a distant relative's will.

And your immediate reaction is,

wow, how generous.

I can pay off some debts,

I can stash some in savings,

I can buy a couple of things

that our family needs,

and then the next month

another check arrives

for the same amount

from the same source.

And the next month,

and another,

and another,

and then you learn

that this relative

has set up a college fund

that will provide

for all your kids' education,

and they've left you

a vacation home

in the Adirondacks.

You thought the first check

was pretty good.

An undeserved favor

from a generous

and thoughtful relative

who thought of you

in advance.

But now you see

that it was only

one small part

of a much larger inheritance.

Only one small link

in a chain of kindness.

And that's what Paul's saying

is true,

spiritually speaking,

of every believer in Jesus.

When you first come to Jesus,

there's joy,

and you experience

some of His blessings.

And then Paul's saying,

but there's even a larger,

longer chain of God's kindness

and His thoughtfulness

from eternity past

to eternity future

that you've come into.

Do you see that?

Have you begun

to glimpse

God's steady

and eternal

and loving purpose

for you?

It goes from eternity past

through the present age,

and finally we see

it goes into eternity future.

Those He justified,

He also glorified.

Now the puzzling thing

about this word glorified

is that Paul's talking

about something

that hasn't happened yet.

And that's very clear

from the rest of verse 18,

for example.

Paul says,

I consider the sufferings

of this present time

are not worth comparing

with the glory

that is to be revealed to us.

He's talking about

the future glory

when Jesus comes again

and we'll be glorified with Him.

But he uses

the same verb tense

he's used

for every other action

in this chain of events.

In Greek,

it's called the aoris tense.

It's used to speak

about a completed action.

Now what's the point?

Paul's not using…

it's not a grammar mistake.

The point is

God's promises

for the future

are as real

and as reliable

as if they had already

taken place

in history.

You can be as certain

of them as you can

of things

that have already happened.

God is not…

because God is not

limited by time

just as He's not

limited by space.

And so Paul can speak

of our future glorification

as a completed work

even though we have not

yet experienced it.

God's purposes

are eternal,

steady,

and sure.

And even if we can't yet see

how they're all

going to work out,

God can guarantee it.

One commentator

described this passage

as a golden chain

of interconnected

divine actions

leading to a climax,

our glorification,

a series of divine initiatives

snowballing toward fullness,

a steady drumbeat

of God's unshakable purpose.

What God undertakes

will ultimately come to pass.

God will complete

the work He has begun.

God will complete

that's our confidence.

That's our assurance

in the midst

of everything within us

and everything around us

that makes us anxious

and afraid

and complacent

and discontent.

Paul says,

look to God's

eternal purpose.

Now,

these verses

are not saying

that our faith

or our obedience

are irrelevant

or unnecessary.

Paul speaks a lot

about faith

in Romans 1-4

and a lot about obedience,

putting sin to death,

walking in the Spirit

in chapters 5-8.

But Paul wants

to remind us here

that in the end,

our salvation

and the destiny

of all creation

is not ultimately

in our hands.

It's not ultimately

dependent on us.

God is God

and His sovereign purpose

won't be thwarted.

Salvation comes

from the Lord.

You see,

if our salvation

ultimately depends

on how strong

or how pure

or how enduring

our faith is,

then we will either

vastly overestimate

our capabilities

and fall into pride,

or we will despair

of ever reaching

the goal

that God has set

out for us.

To find assurance,

we need to rest

in God's eternal

and steady purpose

in His unfailing

love and faithfulness.

When we look down

below us

and see that the tree

to which we are connected

through Christ

is steadily planted

and well-rooted,

then we can continue

bearing fruit

and not constantly

be anxiously

looking around,

worrying that the tree

is going to fall over

in the next storm.

You see,

it's with this assurance

we can face

all the sources

of our anxiety.

We can face

our past

and know that our past

does not define us.

We can rest secure

because we have

a heavenly Father

who has foreknown

and foreloved us

from before time began.

We can face

our present weakness,

our present sufferings,

and know that through them

God's refining us,

even when it's messy,

even when it's intense,

and even when it's

a long journey

because He's leading us

toward the destination

that He has set out

for us in Christ.

And we can face

the uncertainties

of the future

knowing that God's plans

and purposes

for the future

are as certain

as if they had

already happened.

Brothers and sisters,

God's eternal purpose

in Jesus Christ

is steady

and strong.

Let's pray.

Our Father,

we thank You

for this window

into Your purposes

from eternity past

through the present age

into eternity future.

Father,

we pray,

Lord,

that as we

prepare to come

to the communion table

that we would cast

our anxieties on You,

that we would know

that You care for us,

that we would know

that You are faithful

to Your promises,

that we would be able

to rest assured

in Your good purpose

for us.

Strengthen us

that we may love You

with all of our hearts,

that as we depend on You,

that our lives

might bear fruit.

Lord Jesus,

You said to Your disciples,

You did not choose me,

but I have chosen You

and appointed You

to go and bear fruit,

fruit that will last.

Lord, help us

to bear fruit

for Your kingdom

with our lives.

trusting in Your

mercy and grace.

Pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.