Romans chapter 8, and this morning
we'll be looking particularly at the last part of 28 and down
through verse 31. Scripture says, And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to His The title of the message
this morning is The Comfort of God's Eternal Purpose. The Comfort
of God's Eternal Purpose. What is the purpose of God revealing
this eternal purpose to His people? Is it not to settle our hearts? to give us such comfort and assurance
of our salvation. This is the reason why God has
opened, as it were, the portals of eternity to such time-bound
creatures as we are. He's opened His Scripture which
reveals His eternal purpose. And here it is, to those who
are called according to His Now listen, all who are called
by the Holy Spirit to faith and life in Jesus Christ are saved
according to the eternal purpose of God. Scripture here comforts
us in times of trouble. It says we know that all things
work together for good. To who? to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose. Now this calling
is not just an outward calling of the gospel. The outward calling
of the gospel should be preached to all men. The gospel of faith
and repentance should be preached by men who are called of God. For we know this, faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." God has chosen
preaching the gospel of Christ to be the means by which He calls
His elect. This is the means. The means which the world and
those who are perishing call foolishness. We know that this
means is the power of God unto salvation. Why? We've experienced
it. I know it because I've experienced
it. It's true. It's real. This is why I preach
it because I know it to be true and real. Yet this verse is a promise that
all things work together for goodness and peace. This is the
promise of God to you who are called, who believe on Christ. God says in Jeremiah 29, He says,
I know my thoughts, I think towards you. Are you skeptical as to
what God thinks about you? God says, I'm not going to leave
this up to your imagination. I'm going to tell you what my
thoughts of you are. Peace. He said, my thoughts are of peace
and not evil. Not evil. This promise then is given to
all who are called by the Holy Spirit. We experience this because
we were dead in sins. We were blind and in darkness
concerning the righteousness of God. We didn't know what the
righteousness of God was and we didn't know how to get it. We were like the Pharisees. We
went about in our ignorance. Trying to establish our righteousness. How? By works. By decisions. By traditions. That's how we
were. We were all this way. We were
all by nature this way. But God in grace hath commanded
the light to shine out of darkness. The darkness of our heart. God
commanded the light to shine out of darkness. have shined
in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. We were in darkness and the Spirit
of God, as he says in Genesis, moved upon the deep. And God said, let there be light. And what happened? There was light. There was no
debate. God did not debate with the darkness. He did not reason with the darkness. He said, let there be light,
and there was light. That's what He said to us in
our soul. He said, let there be light,
and there was light. There was no debate. There was no opposition. I like
this. We were opposed to God, but truly
when He said, let there be light in my soul, there was no opposition. There was light. The gospel we
heard so many times either in disgust or disinterest. We were disinterested in the
gospel at one time. We had heard it so many times,
our hearing became dull, our consciences that were pricking
us, we filed them down to where they didn't even hurt us anymore.
And it just didn't mean anything. Until when? Until God in power
came and gave us life. That's when it meant something.
You see, sin, when God came, sin became real to me. It was
not some philosophical question anymore. It was a reality. Depravity was not just a doctrine,
it was an experience. I was depraved. I was dead. I was exposed before God and
naked. And then comes the message. Flee
to Christ. This is the message. Flee to
Christ. Run to Christ. I was once secure without a hiding
place, the songwriter said. But thus the eternal counsel
ran, and almighty love said, Arrest that man. I felt the arrows
of distress and found I had no hiding place. Ere long I heard, the mercy's angel form appeared
and led me on with gentle pace to Jesus Christ, my hiding place. The message became real to me.
I needed a refuge and the gospel showed me where to find a refuge. Behold, I lay in Sion a stone,
a precious stone, a tried cornerstone. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Christ is the foundation stone
laid of God for sinners. He is a tried stone of God, tried
of God, tried of Satan, and tried of men, and found precious. Sure! A sure foundation. And it was the righteous, sinless
Son of God who was delivered up by God for our sins. For what the law could not do,
and that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. condemned
sin in the flesh. Upon Christ God hath laid the
iniquity of us all. Upon Christ God poured out His
vengeance and said, I have seen the travail of His soul and I'm
satisfied. And the victory of His death
was seen in His resurrection. Because all sin that the Father
had imputed to Christ was fully paid. Therefore, God raised Him
from the dead. This was no longer a philosophical
question to me. This was a reality. Christ is
risen. He is risen from the dead because
He had no more sin. Sin was gone and God raised him
up, ascended, caused him to ascend and sit down on his rightful
throne in heaven. This is the gospel. Is that the
gospel you've heard and believed? That's a power of God. And we who have believed this,
listen to me, you are saved. Saved? Saved. You are saved. Now this faith,
this faith, we know this, was no mere act of human decision. This was no act of intellect. But it was a gift of God's grace. We know that the scripture says
this in Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 and verse 8. For by grace you are saved through
faith and that. What is that? That's faith. Not
of yourselves. It is, faith is a gift of God,
not of works. Why? Lest any man should boast. This is why faith is of grace. Because if we were not of grace,
we would have somewhat to boast. We would have somewhat to boast.
But we know this, that faith comes by spiritual life, and
that life is the effectual, irresistible work of the Holy Spirit. Why
are we willing? Why are we willing to come to
Christ? Because in the day of His power,
He has made us willing. The Scripture says in Psalm 110,
verse 3, that His people, thy people, Christ's people, shall
be made willing. in the day of his power. This
was the promise of God to Christ. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. Get this, no man is willing to
come to Christ by nature. Our Lord Jesus tells us this
so plainly you can't mistake it. He said no man can come unto
me except the Father which has sent me draw him. No man has
the ability to come. Except what? Except God draw
him with irresistible grace. And this is the will of the Father.
I love this. This is the will of God. That
of all which God hath given Christ, They all shall come to Him. This is the will of God. Why
is it that you've come? Why is it that you have heard
this gospel and believed? Why is it real to you and not
to others? Because God has willed it. That's
why you are called. You are called according to the
will of God. And by His one offering, by Christ's
one offering, He hath perfected forever, the Scripture says.
Who? Who did Christ perfect when He
died? Whose sins did He redeem? Them that are sanctified. Sanctification is, it means,
sanctified means to be set apart, made holy unto God. Not those that sanctify themselves,
not those that make themselves holy, but those made holy by
the eternal purpose of God. Believer, lay hold upon this
for such comfort. You lay hold on this and you
grab hold with both hands of faith and don't let go. All things
work together for your good. All things. How do I know this? Because all
things previously have worked together for my good. All things
have previously worked together for our good according to the
eternal purpose of God. Now consider, you were called
to believe on Christ because God purposed you to believe on
Christ. Even as God has given you to
Christ, He has predestinated you to salvation. A man emailed
me this week and asked me about this. He had read an article
concerning election unto salvation. And there was someone that was
disagreeing with him, and it's very simple if you just read
the Scriptures. In 2 Thessalonians, it tells
us that election is unto salvation. In 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse
13, the Scripture says, But we are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
chosen you to salvation. Is that not plain enough? He
hath chosen you to what? To salvation. And then He gives
the means through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth. That's the means God has chosen.
But God chose us to salvation. Our salvation, believer, was
not a random act. It was not a random act, it was
a specific purpose. Salvation. The salvation of sinners
is on purpose. I've told you this story many
times, but it is one worth repeating. A Methodist woman came to a gospel
preacher and said, I know that there's a difference between
my religion and your religion. And she knew more than most people.
She knew the difference was this matter of election. She said,
you believe in election and we believe in will. And she asked
the man, what is election? And the man wisely replied, Did
God save you on purpose or by accident? And she immediately snapped and
said, well, on purpose. He said, that's election. That's
election. God saves his people on purpose. On purpose. 1 Timothy 1, 9, Who
hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose. If God ever gives you the gospel,
it'll be wrapped up in this purpose. His purpose. The gospel is according
to His purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. This calling from death to life,
we know is not according to will. John says this in John chapter
1 and verse 12, he says, "...and as many as received Him." Have
you received Him? Do you embrace Him? Does your heart sing out with
joy concerning the blood and righteousness of Christ? Have
you received Him by faith? Oh, what a blessing it is to
receive Him. But how is it that you've received Him? Which were
born not of blood, not because your mama or daddy is a Christian,
not because your grandma is a Christian, no, not according to the will
of man, not because someone else willed you, and not according
to the will of the flesh, not because you willed it so, but
of God. That's why you were born again.
You were born again on purpose. God purposed it. And that's why
it's so. There was no merit in us, only
merit for hell. But God called us to life and
faith according to His own purpose and grace. Why then should God call such
sinners? Why then should God call such
rebels and not call others who would most definitely we would
account better than ourselves. The only answer that the scripture
gives is because he would. Because he would. In Deuteronomy
7, he tells Israel, which was a type of the church, he says,
I loved you not because you were the greatest number of people,
because you were actually the smallest. The Scripture just plainly says
He chose them because the Lord loved them. That's it. This is
as far as we can go. And when was this purpose of
grace given? Before the world began, child
of God. Before our existence, God decreed
that we should be saved. He purposefully gave us in free
grace to His Son. And Jesus Christ was forever
our guarantee of salvation. Guarantee. The elect Savior of
God, to whom all the elect were given. So then from the time
of creation, consider now that all things have worked together
for your good. From the time that God began
to create, Everything from that time forward
began to work for your good. Adam's sin was evil. There's
no doubt about that. Death passed upon all men and
that's a tragedy. But what Adam meant for evil,
God meant for good. You see, even before you were
in Adam, God had already given you another representative. Christ. Christ Jesus the righteous. This
was the hidden mystery of God from the beginning that is now
made manifest. This is made manifest by the
Spirit of God through preaching of the gospel. The natural man
cannot receive the spiritual things of God, for they are foolishness
to him, the scripture says. But we speak the mystery of the
hidden wisdom of God, which was ordained before the world began,
which he had prepared. Prepared. Your salvation was
prepared. As it was purposed, so did God
prepare all things to make it happen. He prepared all things. What fools are men who would
twist the Word of God for the glory of man? Those who suppose
salvation is left up to man's will or works To make the blood
of Christ effectual, they defile the sacrifice. They make it no
good, of no use. But the gospel of God's purpose
and salvation gives all the glory to who? Who receives all the
glory for this salvation? God. God. Therefore, you who
are saved, rejoice and rest. For if God has purposed your
salvation, it is sure. God hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and absolutely sure. Although my house be not so with
God, My salvation is absolutely cemented in Christ, anchored
in Christ from eternity. We should rejoice in this eternal
purpose, believer, because God's purpose cannot be defeated. Now
this is good. This is good news. Believers
take comfort and assurance in this Not in our works, not in
our merit, but in the purpose of God that cannot fail. Go over
to Isaiah 46. Read it with me. Read it with
me concerning God's purposes. Isaiah 46 and verse 9. Remember
the former things of old. For I am God and there is none
else. I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from
the beginning. And from ancient times of things
that were not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I
will do all my pleasure. Look down in verse 12. Hearken
unto me, you stout-hearted that are far from righteousness. That's me. He's talking to me. Sinners. I bring near my righteousness,
it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry.
And listen, I will place salvation in Zion. For who? For Israel, my glory. Oh, believers, see this, your
salvation is so entwined with the glory of God, they can't
be separated. If God fails to save one for
whom Christ died, His glory fails. We know that ain't gonna happen.
We know that ain't gonna happen because God says it won't happen. Go over to Isaiah 45. Isaiah
45 and verse 22. Look unto me and be ye saved
all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else.
I have sworn by myself. When he could swear by none higher,
he swear how? By himself. The word has gone
out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return unto me,
that every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely shall
one say in the Lord, I have righteousness. Well, who says that? Who says
I have righteousness? Only Christ says that. Only Christ
is righteous, even unto Him shall men come. And all that are incensed
against Him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed
of Israel be justified and shall glory. Does that sound iffy to
you? Any of that sound iffy? None of that's iffy. Everything
is sure. It's sure. The Lord shall save
and justify all the seed of Israel. I'll ask you, do you glory in
such free grace? Do you glory in Jesus Christ
alone? This is the work of God according
to his eternal purpose, that Christ should redeem you, that
the Spirit should quicken you and call you to faith in Christ. Go back to your text and look
at verse 29. For whom He did foreknow, He
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. See that the Apostle
is not speaking of God's omniscience of all things in providence. Rather, he is talking, when this
word foreknowledge is used, of God, it is always in reference
to people, to persons. So then it's not what God foreknew,
but rather who? You who are saved, you were foreknown
of God. And thus, You were foreloved. You were loved with an eternal
love. Do you get this? That God in
eternity, there was never a time that God has not loved you. There
is never a time now that God is not loving you. And there
shall never be a time in the future in which He shall not
love you. He was always loved you. He said, I have loved you with
an everlasting love. Therefore, because of my eternal
purpose, because of my eternal love, with loving kindness have I drawn
thee. Is that not so? Is that what
He's done to us? He's drawn us with that loving kindness, effectual
love and mercy. Purpose of God in loving us and
predestinating us. What was this to be? What was
He going to do by this? He was going to conform us to
the image of His Son. This was God's purpose to make
you in the image of His only begotten Son. In other words,
to make you holy. To make you holy. That's what
God's purpose is. God's purpose in grace was to
make you holy. The holy perfections of Christ
obtained as our representative, God has purposed to give them
to you. John says this, It doth not yet appear what we
shall be. And I'll tell you, it doesn't
appear that I'm righteous. I know that. I see that more
than you do. Although in Christ I truly am as righteous as God's
Son. This was the decree of God from
all eternity. This is what Christ has accomplished. Therefore now consider the glory
of our Savior who died for us who is the firstborn among many
brethren. He was the first begotten Son
of God, and we are begotten of God. He is the first begotten
from the dead, and He has raised us from the dead. And He is the
first ascended into glory, even so shall all those God purposed
be ascended into glory, and finally forever saved. Moreover, whom
he predestinated, them he also called, and whom he called, them
he also justified, and them he justified, he also glorified. All of those are in the past
tense. Those who God purposed to save. In the purpose and mind of God,
it was done from eternity. It was done. Was there ever any doubt in the
mind and heart of God that you would be called, justified, and
glorified? And yet I know this, believer,
you have doubts about all of those. How many times have we doubted
our calling? How many times have we doubted
God's justification? And how many times did we say
in our hearts, surely he can't bring me to glory. And yet God
speaks as though these things were already done. Because they
were. When God purposed, and I even
use that word loosely, when, because it was eternity, when
God purposed this, it was already done. Somebody taught me a little Latin. It's the only Latin I know. Dictum
factum. Said, done. That's it. This is the purpose of God, that
you should be conformed to the image of God. Now then, if God
be for us, who can be against us? You knowing now the purpose of
God. seeing it accomplished in the
death of his son and in your calling, how shall he not then
with him freely give us all things? May God comfort your soul with
this.