if you would turn to Romans 8 and we're going to read for this
place an extremely familiar piece of scripture Romans 8 verse 28 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. 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. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called. Whom he called them
he also justified and whom he justified them he also glorified
I'm just gonna stop right there What I want to preach this morning
I've entitled them that love God Them that love God And I want
to make about four statements here at the beginning, five. For me, and I believe for you,
and for anyone who actually understands a little bit of this scripture,
this is one of the most glorious statements in the scripture.
This is one of the most compassionate statements in the scripture.
And this is one of the most comforting statements in the scripture.
And why do I say that? Well, that's because it is one
of the most gracious statements in the scripture. And at the same time, as all
these things, glorious, compassionate, comforting, gracious, This is
also one of the most divisive statements made in the scriptures. By divisive I mean, I don't mean
that it causes division. What I do mean is that this statement
manifests, makes known, explain that there is completely, totally
a division between the people of God, between them that love
God. and them that don't love God. Now that might seem to be a lot
of different things for three verses, but there's actually
a lot more here than we'll ever get into. Not in the time allotted,
let's put it that way. But this, by Paul, the apostle,
was clearly, clearly meant to be a comforting statement for
those that love God. for those that know God. This is a comfort to them. It's
not a comfort to anyone else. But that's what this statement
is clearly given for because the Apostle Paul clearly knows
we need comfort in this world. In this world ye shall have tribulation. Now it goes and it comes and
it's worse for some than others and it's worse in this way and
it's that way for another. But no matter the circumstance,
this scripture is to be a comfort for them to love God. And I believe
that's why he wrote this. Paul knew a bit about tribulation.
Paul knew quite a bit about tribulation. But he also clearly knew that
we needed comforting and he goes out of his way to comfort his
brothers and sisters in Christ. It starts off, and we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are called according to his purpose. We know. There's a separation already
there. We know. Just by using this ordinary,
everyday phrase, Paul's already set forth a serious truth. Everyone
doesn't know. We know. What's that mean? Well, it means they don't, whoever
they are. And it means we do. We know. He's already being exclusive
and inclusive and exclusive at the same time. Because very clearly, well, if
you ever quoted this scripture to someone or had them read it,
you'll find out most people don't know what it means and don't
like it. But we do know. There is a we and there is a
not we. Paul writes it. The writer of this book, Paul,
the apostle, he's certainly part of that we, because he's the
one writing it. This book is addressed, all right. Verse seven of chapter one, to
all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called saints. You can leave that little 2b
out if you want to. It says called to be saints,
but that's in italics. But they are called saints, grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who this book was addressed
to. In this particular chapter, he uses the word brethren, talking
to his brethren. That's who the we is. Them who are the called according
to his purpose. Paul wants to include these who
know these things and are to know these things Paul and the called Saints the
called of Jesus Christ are the we written of here in Romans
chapter 8 Verse 12 it says therefore brethren we are debtors not to
the flesh to live after the flesh and For if ye live after the
flesh, ye shall die. But if ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, we cry, Abba, Father. We that cry Abba Father are we
that know that all things work together for good to them that
love God. Paul, would you get me a bottle
of water? I'm sorry, I forgot. And I include us now. If you've
been brought by the spirit to receive the spirit of adoption,
the adoption of sons, thank you, sir. Because those are led by the
Spirit of God. They are. They are, present tense,
the sons of God. So that's the we. What do we
know? All things work together for
good. Like I said, this is nothing new. This is hopefully very familiar. And in this case, I certainly
believe that all things actually means all things. From a human
perspective, looking at it, good things and bad things. That's
from our perspective. Because that's the way I look
at things. You understand? I don't consider a broken arm
a blessing from God, usually. Although it is. I consider it
a bad thing. I don't consider a car wreck
a good thing. But when I consider what that
car wreck kept me from doing, or where a place it kept me from
being, it might have been a wonderful thing. But this is the point
Paul's saying, it doesn't matter whether we think it's good or
it's bad. All things work together for
good. It doesn't say all things are good. It says they work together
for good. There's those brothers that sent
Joseph. Tried to kill him, he told them. You meant it for evil. God meant it for good. He didn't turn it into good.
He didn't turn it into good. He meant it for good. Joseph
was exactly where Joseph was supposed to be and his brothers
were still accountable for putting him there. But Joseph forgave them because
they had put him exactly where God wanted him. They meant it for evil, God meant
it for good. I told you this, I think, before,
I'm sure. I heard a fellow preaching on
the radio one morning, and it's a primitive Baptist, and he was
preaching from this scripture. And he was preaching that all
good things work together for good to them that love God. Well,
that's true. But wow, what, yeah, what a great
blessing that is that good things work together for good. I think
that's the definition of good things. That's not what Paul
says here. He doesn't qualify that part.
He says all things work together for good. And guess what? That means, you know, the deeper
spiritual meaning of that means that all things work together
for good to them that love God. I mean, it's no surprise And
even if you say all good things work together for good, there's
no grace there. That's just common sense. Well or uncommon sense,
depending upon how you want to look at it. I saw a cartoon the
other day. And it was a fellow in one of
those goofy costumes. And he said, my superpower is
common sense. He said, it's so rare that anybody
has any that it is a superpower, it seems like. It doesn't matter whether we
think it's good or we think it's bad. That's our comfort from
here, from Paul the Apostle. All things work together for
good to them that love God. The division has never been in
the things or the circumstances. Some things may show this division,
manifest the division, highlight, spotlight the division, but the
things never make the division. It's all things work together
for good. All things. I don't know. Is there such a thing
as a neutral thing? It doesn't matter. It's all things. Is this for everyone? No. No. No. No. I mean, that would be a wonder
statement if Paul just wrote that. All things work together
for good. But he qualified it after. There's a separation here. There's always a separation between
the people of God and not the people of God. There's always
a separation between those who are called according to his grace
and those who have not been called, even if they're elect. Even if they're elect, there's
a difference. Election is not salvation. Walter
was preaching on that this morning on the radio. Walter, you were
awful staticky this morning. I'm blaming the atmospheric quality.
So I didn't get to hear a lot of it. or at least not clearly
until I went in the car. But that's the point. There's a difference between
those who are the called out, brought in, children of God,
and those who have not been called in. We were just like the children
of wrath even as others. We were just like them. We were
not the children of wrath, but we were just like them. We were lost dead in trespasses
and in sins, and if you don't know Christ These statements
will mean nothing to you Them that love God Do you see
how specific that statement is say I'm not making a distinction
Paul just saying there is one Paul's not making the distinction.
He's just telling us that there is one. Because just the simple fact
that he has to say, there are those, them that love God, tells
us also that there are those who do not love God. There's
a separation here. Do you qualify? Do you qualify? Do you love God? If you do, then
all things work together for good. That's the way this statement
is. That's the way this statement goes. Because the Bible is completely
and totally clear. It is not natural for man to
love God. That is not the act of a natural
man. Man as he is born. The light shines and the light
shines in the darkness. But the darkness, being darkness,
does not comprehend it. The darkness doesn't get it,
can't get it, won't get it. There's got to be a reason that
man doesn't see the light, doesn't love the light, doesn't come
to the light. Well, there's a reason, all right. John wrote it in 319. He says, and this is the condemnation,
that light is come into the world. And men love darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil. There's a reason men love darkness. I mean, that's the reason, excuse
me. They don't love God, they love the darkness. They don't
love the light. That's what it says, it's not,
oh well, we love the light too, but just not as much as the dark.
No, no, no, no, no, no. It says they love darkness rather
than the light, in the place of the light, instead of the
light. They didn't want the light because the light would make
their deeds manifest that they were evil. That's what John goes
on to write. That's what it says. You mean
the natural man avoids the light? Whenever he can. Whenever he
gets a chance. If ever there was an ostrich
burying its head in the sand, that would be man as he is born
naturally. The darkness can't conquer the
light. The darkness can't overcome the light. But men can deny the
light with every fiber of their being. They can avoid the light
wherever they can. They stay away from this place
in droves. We've had people come here and leave. You understand? If there's any light for the
natural man, It's an anathema. He hates it. He hates the light. He won't come to it because he
loves the darkness. Jesus Christ spake unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. Just in case you weren't
sure who we were talking about. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness. Shall have the light of life
He is the light of the world the light of the world is a person
The light is a person So when men love darkness rather than
light men love darkness rather than Christ That's what the point
is that's what the point is They don't even want to talk about
it much less have this man reign over Not this man as he is. We're coming upon a time of year
when there's going to be creches and mangers and light bulbs in
the back of the barn. And everything's going to be
lit. And usually in Princeton, they do have one live manger
scene with people standing around holding shepherd's crooks. I stay away from that, too, like
the Christmas parade. I go around. And it doesn't hurt
my feelings if I have to go three or four blocks out of the way.
Because I like to avoid that sort of stuff because it makes
me mad. They'll want to have a baby in the manger, but they
won't have the light of the world. They'll love the baby Jesus,
but they don't want him that's sitting at the right hand of
his father. And his father, it says, is going to make his enemies
his footstool. And guess what? What the father
says he's going to do, he's going to do. And it doesn't matter
whether we like it or not. That's going to happen just as
much as his resurrection, just as much as his crucifixion and
his resurrection and his offering to the father of his precious
blood. He said he was the light of the world and he is the one
that the darkness couldn't comprehend. You can't love God without loving
Christ. You can't know God without knowing
Christ. What does that mean about those
whom Paul was writing about who love God? It means that they
are them that love Christ. Ephesians 5 and 8 put it this
way, for ye were sometimes darkness. We used to be there. If you're
honest with yourself, you know where you were, you know what
you were, or you're not here. In Romans 8, something changed
or you don't know. Because either something changed
or it hasn't. But he wrote that we were sometimes
darkness. But now, Are ye light in the
Lord? He didn't stop there either.
Walk as children of light. The darkness couldn't comprehend
the light. They couldn't love it because
they loved darkness in the place of the light. That is our natural
state. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned." The natural man cannot even receive
the things of the Spirit of God. Isn't that a strange statement? See, I've been around free will
Baptists and people who preach free will. They think the natural man can
receive the things of the Spirit of God and that's how they become
alive. By their receiving, by their
prayers, by their bowing, by their coming to the front of
a church. The only way we can receive the
things of the Spirit of God is from the Spirit of God. But that's
not natural. That's not the natural man. That's
the new man. That's the new nature. That's
the gift from God. The natural man does not change
because of anything he does. He changes because of what God
has done to him. Excuse me. He cannot believe
them, for they are foolishness unto him." They're not foolishness,
but they're foolishness unto him. The natural man thinks they
are. But some do love God. Paul wrote
it down. Well, he also gave us the answer.
Who are those that love God? They are the called. That's what it says. who are
the called according to his purpose, according to his purpose. And
I can't go anywhere thinking about the called without going
to Acts 239. Well, 238, and then Peter said
unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and
to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as
the Lord our God shall call." His call. The called according
to his purpose. Those whom God has called believe,
repent, and have dwelling in them the Holy Spirit. They are
those who have been born from above, born of God, and believe
the gospel of His dear Son, because He is the one, Christ is the
one, to whom we have been called. For whom He did foreknow, He
did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified,
and whom he justified, he also glorified." I'm not going to
spend a great deal of time on that because Walter did a wonderful
thing about that just a couple of weeks ago when he was talking
about the church from Ephesians 1. But my point here is You go
from those that he called, the called according to his purpose.
You see, for whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate. To be conformed. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, then he also called. And whom he called,
then he justified. And whom he justified, he also
glorified. This is all the same bunch of people. There isn't anybody being added
in the middle. There isn't anybody being added on at the end. These
are them that are the called. And then he tells you how you
got called. What happened? And for those who think that
God only predestinates events, it says he predestinated us.
OK? God only foreknows events, what
you would do, or what this would have. No, he foreknew us. Understand this is all personal
It has to do with this the work of his dear son And the father
is extremely concerned with the results of the work of his one
and only begotten son It's important to him and We are important to
him in Christ because of Christ and only because of Christ The exact same people from the
beginning of this statement to the end. It's all about the same
people, those who have been called. The call. Now, the world will
not have this. This glorious statement of grace
and comfort. See, this whole statement, there's
only one active part in here for us. for men. And all it says is, them that
love God. We had nothing to do with the
predestinating. We had nothing to do with the
foreknowing. We had nothing to do with being conformed. We have
nothing to do with being called, justified, or glorified. All of those works. And it does
say them all in the past tense. But those are all the work of
God. All it says about us is that we are them that love God. And we can't even take credit
for that. This is a glorious, compassionate,
comforting, gracious statement for some. But those outside of
this description, them that love God, that's the description.
are ignored completely. Coming up this way, we were listening
to one of those sermons by Dr. Jones, and he used a word which you
don't normally hear in Christian circles. He said, we are to be intolerant. He was talking about one Lord.
In Ephesians 4, we are to be intolerant about certain things. Now, we are to be very tolerant
of each other. But as far as the gospel is concerned,
as far as Christ is concerned, we are totally intolerant. Mark them which make a division
among you. Mark them which speak contrary
to the doctrine which ye have received. It's just a strange thing for
me to hear a preacher say, we need to be more intolerant. Well,
he was dealing with some of the ecumenical stuff in the day.
At that time, they were calling it the World Congress of Churches.
He said, away with it. And I agree. There is only one Lord, one faith,
one baptism. That's all. And we have one gospel,
and right here, if you don't fit the character right here
of them that love God, Paul right here is right now not writing
to you. There's a distinct separation between those who have been called
into Christ and those who have not. And like I said, this has
got nothing to do with election. You may be elect. I don't know,
but right here it don't matter. Them that love God are the called
according to His purpose. No one else. And like I said,
we can't even take credit for that. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. God is love. And he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,
because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear
in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect
in love. 1 John 4, 19 says this, We love him because he first
loved us. I can't even take credit for
loving God, Mason. It's not a natural thing. It's
not a natural thing. I still have that old nature
in me that loves darkness rather than light. But thank God by
his grace, I love Him. I have been given that new nature. This is talking about converted,
believing sinners. And it's all the work of God,
even the part that them that love God, is because He first
loved us. We can't take credit for any
of it. We owe Him, rightfully, And we need to acknowledge rightfully
His work in our salvation, or His salvation, from beginning
to end. And those that love Him will. They will. Walter said it this
morning. If God gives you life, you're
going to believe His word. If God gives you life, you're
going to come to know Christ and to love Christ as he is Lord
Jesus Christ. And all things work together
for good for them that love God who are the called according
to his purpose. Our heavenly father, thankful,
thankful, Not thankful enough, but we are thankful for everything
you've done for us, to us, and in us. And it's all been because
of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord, for your grace,
your mercy, your compassion, and your comfort that you've
given us in your word about your son, our Lord, in whose name
we pray.