Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. And we'll be looking at verse
28 this evening. Romans 8, 28. And the title of the message this
evening is, It's All Good, It's all good. Romans 8, 28, it 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 purpose. It's all good. Now these, there
are many. who will look at this verse,
who will read this verse of Scripture as a source of comfort in times
of suffering and grief, in times when they are sick or
when someone has died, and they'll say this, Well, all things work
together for good. And they'll leave it at that
as some kind of comfort for themselves. They'll say, Well, it's all good.
I've heard that. I go into Thornton's there down
over by my house and I get my coffee in the mornings and same
group of guys are in there and that's one of his sayings. It's
all good. It's all good. They say everything's going to
work out all right. Everything's going to be just
fine. Everything's going to pan out
in the end. It's going to work out in the
end. That's the saying of a lot of people. They hold that to
be really true. They hold that to be a faithful
saying. But listen to me, this scripture is not for everyone.
Did you hear that? This scripture is not for everyone.
All things work together for good. Now that's true to a certain
group of people. That's not true for everyone. I know this, God says, say ye
to the righteous, it shall be well with him. Now does that
mean it's well for everyone? No, it's only well for the righteous. It will not be well for the wicked. The Lord will destroy the wicked.
The Lord hates the wicked. And it won't be well for them.
And so here in this verse, a lot of people will take this verse
and say, well, all things work together for good. But I tell
you, that's not to all people. They take this verse out and
they use it somewhat like a lucky charm. They'll take this verse
out and they'll spit it out and they'll rub it and they'll pet
it like a lucky rabbit's foot. They'll take out a rabbit's foot
out of their pocket and say, well, all things work together for
good. But notice that this is not for
everybody. All things work together for
good to who? To them that love God. to them who are the called according
to his purpose. The apostle here gives us two
characteristics of the person, of the same person, that everything
works together for good for. Two characteristics. They love
God and they are the called according to his purpose. These two characteristics
of love For God and called according to His purpose are both found
in one person, a true Christian. A true Christian. A true believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only to those who believe on
Jesus Christ alone, as all their salvation, may have this verse
for themselves. Only those who are called by
the Holy Spirit through faith in the blood of Christ, only
those who are regenerated and given a new heart, a new life
in Christ, may claim this as a promise. And you may say, if
you are a believer in Christ, true, you love God. Why? Because He first loved you. Because He called you according
to His purpose. He called you to what? To life
and faith in Christ. You believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Have you been born of the Spirit
of God? Then you have this. We know We
know. Who knows? Everyone who loves
God, who is called according to His purpose, knows this. We
know this. It's all good. It all works together
for good. To who? To us. To us. But this verse is not for everyone. Listen, there are many false
teachers gone out into the world to preach a false gospel, a false
Christ, and whose followers are lovers of themselves, covetous,
boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, without natural affection, truth-breakers, false accusers,
incontinent. That means they have no self-control.
Fierce, despisers of themselves, despisers of that which is good,
traitor, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God. You see, these, these are not
the ones that God has this verse for. Notice, these all that I just
mentioned here are over in, actually in 2nd Timothy. They're in 2nd
Timothy chapter 3. Paul says of these false religionists,
he said they have a form in verse 5 of 2nd Timothy 3, he says,
having a form of godliness. These religious, false religious
people have a form of godliness. Those who follow and believe
a false gospel, a false Christ, truly are very religious people. They are outwardly godly in the
eyes of men, but truly in their hearts, all
of this sin remains. So then, what is the outward
evidence of their vain and empty religion. Paul says they have
a form of godliness. Here's the evidence. But they
deny the power thereof. They deny the power thereof. All false teachers and professors
of faith, false faith, appear to be good on the outside in
outward deeds of charity and piety. What's the proof then? If you can't tell, what's the
proof? The proof is they deny the power
thereof. They deny that salvation is a
work of God alone. All false religion professes
to be saved by God through Jesus Christ, but in their doctrine
In their preaching, they deny the power of salvation. Their salvation is not completely
dependent upon Jesus Christ, but rather a cooperation. A cooperation between man and
Christ. Well, Christ did all He can do,
and now then you must fill in the rest. You must finish the
work. We know this, the Apostle says
in Galatians, if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you what?
Nothing. Nothing. False freewill works religion
declares that Jesus' offering for sin was universal for everyone
without exception. But for His blood to be actually
powerful to redeem anyone, they must exercise their free will. They must somehow finish the
redemption work by some religious work that they do or ceremony. This is the Baptist of our day. They say, well, you have to,
Christ did, He died for everyone, you just have to make it effectual
by your faith, by your exercising of your free will and believing
on Him. Church of Christ say, well, you
need to believe on Him and be baptized. The Catholics say,
well, you need to believe on Him, you need to go to confession,
you need to take of the Lord's Supper, and there's a litany
of things and ceremonies that must be accomplished in their
religion. Presbyterians say, well, you're
saved by grace, but you've got to finish this by obedience to
the law. That's what most Reformed religions believe, that you're
saved by grace, but they add the law. They point you back
to the law. The Scriptures, my friends, are
very clear concerning this matter of salvation. Salvation is of
the Lord. From start to finish, beginning
to end, salvation is completely the work of God alone. Completely
the work of God alone. It belongs to God and He gives
salvation to whomsoever He will. This is the gospel. This is the
gospel message. Consider the lie of universal
atonement, which they say means Christ died for all men without
exception. Consider that this means that
they believe. Ask them if they believe this.
You have friends and neighbors who believe this lie. You ask
them if they believe Christ died for everyone without exception. And then ask them if they mean
that he died for those people in hell. If they are consistent in their
doctrine, they must say yes. They will say yes. I've had them
say yes. And then ask them this question,
if they died for everyone in hell, did they... everyone in
heaven that's saved, are they saved because of the death of
Christ? If they're consistent, they'd
have to say no. What then does the death of Christ
and their religion have to do with salvation? Nothing. Nothing. Consider that the message of
universal atonement is nothing more than a lie because it denies
that the power of salvation belongs to God alone. to the blood and
righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is the great lie of false
religion. That salvation rests in the power
of men's doing. And as a result of this lie,
men who are naturally proud become great boasters of their free
will. Great boasters of their power. Ephesians tells us this is why
faith is a gift of God's grace. For by grace you are saved through
faith, and that faith is not of yourselves. It, faith, is
a gift of God, not of works. Why? Lest any man should boast. That's why. That's why faith
is not of you. That's why faith is a gift of
God's grace. Because if it was of us, we would
boast in it. We would boast in it just like
they do. And because they would boast
in it because of their decision for Christ, they suppose, then Christ wants them to live
happily, healthy, and wealthy, and prosperous in this world.
That's the result of all freewill works religion. It ultimately
ends in thinking that God is here just to dispense goodness
and kindness and no suffering. They don't believe. Anyone who
believes free will and false free will works religion, they
take it to the next level. And if you've deserved God's
favor by your decision, then you deserve only God's goodness
and no suffering. No suffering. These proud boasters,
they take this passage then to mean that God does not want them
to suffer. They say, smile, God loves you.
All is good. Don't worry about it. Everything's
fine. I wonder, you know, sometimes
I think some of y'all made a, said something about putting
one of those bumper stickers on the ark. Smile, God loves
you. Everything's all right. It's
all good. You suppose they would be believing that? No. No. Who's it good for? It was only
good for those who were in the ark. It wasn't good for everyone
else. It ended very badly for everyone
else outside the ark. But God's saints, His church,
the scripture in our text says that we know We know. What do we know? I tell you what,
I know very little. And the more I grow in grace,
it seems the less I know. But I know this, salvation is
of the Lord. I know this. We know this. We know that salvation is not
a result of our cooperation with God, but is completely and absolutely
of the free and sovereign grace of God. We know that. We know
that. Not only do we know that according
to the Scriptures, we know that by experience. When we talk about the depravity
of man, we're not talking about a doctrine that is to educate
a man's mind. We know it as an experience. I know what I am by nature. We're like that blind man. who
the Lord healed and they brought him before the Sanhedrin they
said these people were the elevated men of their day and he said
look I don't know anything I know this I was blind but now I see
that's what I know that's what I know and I know
this that only God could do that that blind man knew that didn't
he knew he said this is this has never been done before in
the world God did this. He knew that. He gave no credit
to Himself. He gave no credit to Himself.
Neither do we. We know that salvation is a result of God's sovereign
election of those that He has loved with an everlasting love. I know that. You see, I love
God because He first loved me. When did He begin to love me? I tell you, if God ever began
to love me, then He changed. You get that? If He ever started
to do something, then He changed. You see, God is the same yesterday,
today, and forever. Behold, I am God. I change not. This is how God could say this,
behold, I am God and there's none beside me. It's as though
God looked around to this way and that way and He said, you
know what, there's no God over here and there's no God over
here besides who? Besides me. I'm it. I'm the only
God here. There's no God beside me declaring
the end when? From the beginning. From the beginning, from ancient
times, the things that were not yet done, saying, my counsel
shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. I'll tell you what,
I know this, that's God. I know this, I don't know much,
I know this, that's God. That's God. Our God, when the
psalmist was asked, where's your God? Well, our God is in the
heavens. And He hath done what? Whatsoever
He hath pleased. We read concerning the twin sons
of Isaac how that God was pleased to show his sovereign election
in that before these children were born, neither having done
good nor evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand. It is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. Did you get that? These children
not yet being born. Neither having done good or evil,
God said, I love Jacob and I hated Esau. Now we know this. Consider this. In our experience of love and
hatred, we always have to have a cause. All right? We say our love's unconditional.
There's no such thing. There's no such thing. I love
my son. And I say I love him unconditionally. Well, that's not true. Because
I love him because he's my son. It's a condition. I love him
because he's my son. And if somebody comes in and
were to kill my son, and then I would say, I hate that man
that killed my son. You see, I would have a reason,
a cause to hate. But I tell you that God has neither
cause or reason in the person to either love or hate. Do you
get that? God, in his own sovereignty,
purposed to love one and not the other, to hate the other.
He didn't love Jacob because of any goodness in Jacob. And
I tell you, he didn't hate Esau because of any evil in Esau. Now you wrap your mind around
that. I can't. I can't. I know it's true because God
said it's true. I know it's true. The book tells
us it's true. God loved Jacob willingly, and
willingly he hated Esau according to his own sovereign decree and
purpose. And according to his own sovereign
hatred and rejection of Esau, God displays his holy justice
and eventually his hatred for sin. And now, as God is purposed
to save, how has God purposed to save His elect? All that He
purposed to save, we know this, He purposed to save by Jesus
Christ. We know that. We know that. The Scriptures tell us that in
Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 1, It says, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He had
chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children, how? By Jesus Christ
to Himself. Why? According to the good pleasure
of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein
He hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of His grace." This was always God's purpose, that those He
loved, He would save by Jesus Christ. The elect, the loved of the Father,
were by grace put in union with the Son, and he willingly became
their surety." What does that mean, surety? I have a wonderful definition
on my wall. It was written by my daughter.
I think she wrote it several years ago. in a Sunday school
class. They had talked about assurity.
So I know you can understand this. She understood it. She
put it up there. She put the definition up there.
It means responsibility. Responsible. Jesus Christ was
made responsible for all His elect. I want you
to see the example of this given in Genesis. Go over there. Look
at this, what Judah did for Benjamin. You remember that it's in Genesis
43. You remember how that Jacob,
now Pharaoh, had his brothers come looking for wheat in that
famine, and he had kept one of them, and he sent his brothers
back to get Benjamin. And Jacob said, I'm not giving
Benjamin. I'm not letting him go. I've
already lost his brother. I'm not going to lose him. And in chapter 43, and look at
verse 8, And Judah said to Israel his father, Send the lad with
me, and I will arise and go, that we may live and not die,
both we and thou, and also our little ones. I will be a surety
for him. of my hand shalt thou require
him. If I bring him not back to thee,
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever."
Do you get that, what a surety he is? He said, if I don't bring
him back, you put the blame on me. Now then, when he gets there
with Benjamin, look at chapter 44. Look at this, this is beautiful. Chapter 44, and look at verse 30. This is
after Joseph had put the cup in Benjamin's, and they accused
Benjamin of stealing. And I mean, that was a capital
offense. He was going to die. And so here
Judah, being the surety, goes before Joseph. Goes before Joseph
and he's begging for him. And he says, Now therefore, when
I come to thy servant, my father, and the lad be not with us, seeing
his life is bound up in the lad. Did you get that? Jacob said,
If you don't bring Benjamin back, I'm going to die. Do you know
what God said to Christ? He said, if you don't bring back
your people, my glory will die. Do you not see how the glory
of God is wrapped up in the salvation of His people? And it shall come to pass when
he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die. And
thy servant shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant,
our father, with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became
surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not again
unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever. Do you see then that Jesus Christ
became solely responsible for all of the salvation of the elect
and the glory of God is wrapped up in His success? Is in His success. The glory
of God is bound up in the success of Christ. Consider then the
blasphemy of free will works religion that says He was not
successful. It's blasphemy. They count the work, the blood
of Christ as an unholy thing, a common thing that's just done
for everybody. That's not so. Consider that if Christ were
to lose one that the Father gave Him, He would bear the blame
forever. God forbid any of God's saints
should give any heed to these vain babblers of universal atonement and free
will works religion, for they appear godly on the outside,
but inward are blasphemers, which who deny the power of salvation
that it belongs to God in sovereign grace through Christ. They deny
that the blood of Christ actually redeems anyone. Let me ask you, do you believe
on a successful Savior? Do you confess from your heart
that salvation is a complete work of grace? I know this because I myself
am a hopeless, hell-deserving sinner. And if God give me what
I deserve, hell is my portion. But thanks be to God for His
grace that sent His Son to die in my stead. To take my sins and lay them,
impute them upon the Son of God and He suffered for them. He died for them under the justice
of God. And God, seeing that He had put
away our sin forever, raised Him from the dead. And I'll tell
you, when God, in the appointed time, sent His Holy Spirit to
us who believe, and He quickened us, and He gave us life, and
we believe on Him, we trust Him. He is the foundation, the sure
foundation for our souls. I tell you, if you are a complete
sinner in need of a complete Savior, I tell you, fall down
before the feet of Jesus Christ. You should fall down and worship
Him. You should believe on Him. And
I tell you that God will save you. The Spirit and the Bride
say, Come. And He that heareth says, Come. Don't you know that that's the
same message? The Spirit's message and the
bride's message and he that heareth all have the same message. Come!
Well, who's to come? Those that are a thirst. Let
him that is a thirst come. and drink of the water of life
freely. Freely. Blessed are they which
do hunger and thirst after what? Earthly things? No. Blessed are they which hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Do
you need righteousness? Oh, then come, come and drink. You that are thirsty for righteousness,
thirsty for salvation, come. You're thirsty for the peace
of God, forgiveness of sins by the blood of Christ. Come and
welcome and drink. I'm still drinking. I still drink. I'm drinking even tonight by
faith. I believe on him. I trust him.
And by this, I refresh my soul. It refreshes my soul to drink
by faith. That He is all my salvation.
This is the Christ upon whom I rest my soul and drink freely. And I tell you, if you're thirsty,
come. Not thirsty for this world, but thirsty for Him. Thirsty
for salvation. Come to Christ. How do you come? Come with nothing.
Isn't that how we come? With nothing? I come with nothing
but my sin. I come empty. And that's the only way to come.
If you come with anything, it's impossible for you to receive
salvation. You can't receive salvation.
You come with something. Remember, Jesus said it is impossible
for those that are rich to enter into the kingdom of heaven. He's
not talking about money. He's talking about rich in righteousness.
If you're rich in self-righteousness, you can't come. If you're rich in ability, you
can't come. You must be bankrupt. You must
be empty. He said, come you buy wine and
milk with what? Without money, without price. It is only the poor and bankrupt
sinners that come to Christ for mercy. And you know what? You come that way and you'll
go away full. You come that way and you'll
go away with everything. Everything. You remember those
two that prayed the Pharisee and the Publican? The Pharisee
came rich in righteousness, and he went away what? With nothing.
The Publican came full of sin, empty of righteousness, and went
away what? Justified. How do we come? As sinners, begging for mercy
at the feet of Christ. And you know what we go away
with? Everything. We go away with this. We know that all things work together
for good. To who? To them that love God,
to them who are called according to His purpose, who believe on
Him, who believe on Jesus Christ. Know this, you who believe on
Him, all things work together for your good. Does this mean you'll be without
suffering? No. All things work together for
good. Not all things are good. All things work together for
good. Your suffering, the sin of man,
your sin, the sin of others, the goodness of others, the kindness
of others, whatever, God works it together and turns it to good. For who? For you. Jesus said, you will suffer in
this world. They will hate you. That's what
he said. You can bank on it. You can guarantee, I guarantee
you they'll hate this message. The world hate this message,
and they'll hate you for declaring it to them. And if they can, they'll make
you suffer. But that's all right. It's all
good for you. It's all good for you. Remember
that if God purposed to save you, If Jesus Christ accomplished
your salvation and the Spirit of God has sealed you and given
you life and faith, how then shall He not freely give you
all things? I remember this closing. Don Fortner He was talking to
his son-in-law, future son-in-law then. And Don was sitting at
the table and he started rolling out his keys. And he said, here's
a key to my house. Here's a key to my car. Here's
my safe deposit box. And he said, well, what are you
giving me this for? And he said, I've given you my
daughter. All these other things are nothing. She's my most prized
possession. If God has given you Christ,
how shall he not freely give you all things that are good
for you? I tell you what, winning a million
dollars would not be good for me. That would be not good. I recognize
that. I freely do. If it was, I'd have
it. If it's not, I won't. And I yield to my Father's wisdom. Believer, yield to your Father's
wisdom. Take this scripture because it's
yours. All things, all things work together for your good.
And if God be for us, Paul says, who can be against us? Who? I pray that God would bless this
to your hearts. I pray that he give you peace and comfort. If
you believe, and if you don't, I ain't got no peace for you,
except you come to Christ, except you believe, except God come
and give you life. There's no peace for you. I pray
that he would. I stand will be dismissed in
prayer.