If you will, let's open our Bibles
again to Romans chapter eight. As we were singing that last hymn,
I could not help but think, I hope all of us here tonight realize how blessed we are, how
blessed we are here in this congregation. this group of God's people to
sing and worship Him and to study His Word. How blessed, how very
blessed we all are. Romans chapter 8, beginning tonight
with verse 28. I want to get back into preaching
from this letter of Romans. I can't remember for sure where
I left off. So I thought tonight this would
be a good place to start again. Romans 28 through 30. 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. And whom he called,
them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. I cannot think of any three verses
that contain more soul comforting truth to the people of God than
what we have in these three verses. I want to call our attention
first of all to the word purpose in verse 28, the very last word,
purpose. Now we see that the translators
have added the pronoun his, but it's obvious that this refers
to God, to God's purpose, God's gracious purpose. And listen
to these other four verses of scripture that speak to us about
God's purpose. And let me ask you this. Can the God that you worship,
can his purpose be frustrated? Think about that. Can the God
that you worship, the God of the Bible, Can his purpose be
frustrated? Not if you worship the God of
the Bible. He purposes, and his purpose
comes to pass. In the next chapter, in Romans
chapter nine, the apostle wrote, for the children being not yet
born, speaking of Esau and Jacob, the
children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might
stand. Ephesians chapter one and verse
11, after the apostle goes through that long list of blessings that
God has blessed his people with, being predestinated according
to the purpose of him, who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. And again, in Ephesians 3 in
verse 11, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in
Christ Jesus, our Lord. And then lastly, in 2 Timothy
1 in verse 9, who hath saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. This is God's gracious purpose
laid out to us in these three verses tonight of saving sinners. And we're going to look at verse
28 first by itself and then briefly at the other two verses. The
first, God's purpose includes all things working together for
good to his people, 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. One of the writers said that
this verse might be thought of as a climax. as a climax to the
wonderful things that the apostle had said here in this chapter,
the way the scripture's been divided up. In verse number one,
he tells us, there's therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the spirit. Then in verse nine, he tells
us that God the Holy Spirit dwells in every believer, every child
of God. And third, that God's children
are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, in verse 17. And then fourth, that these present
sufferings, or the sufferings of this present time, in verse
18, He said, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us. And number five, they will dwell
forever in the new heaven and the new earth. and glorified
bodies, in verse 23. And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves,
grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of the body, that is, the resurrection of the body. And then in verse 26, the apostle
tells us that God the Holy Spirit who lives in us helps our infirmities,
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the
Spirit himself, God the Holy Spirit himself, maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. God the Eternal Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ ever lives at the Father's right hand making
intercession for us. And God the Holy Spirit lives
in us also making intercession for us. And then as a climax,
and we know, and we know all things work together for good
to those who love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. Think about this question. How
do we know this? Paul makes a statement here.
How do you and I know this? That everything that happens
in your life, everything is working together for good, for everyone
who loves God and is called according to his purpose. How do we know
that? Well, we know it, first of all,
because Paul When he wrote this, he's writing under divine inspiration. Remember, he said, all scripture
is given by inspiration of God. In other words, Paul didn't just
sit down and think about this and decide to write this down.
He, along with all the writers of the scripture, were inspired
by God the Holy Spirit. And look with me, if you will,
in 2 Peter chapter 3, just a moment. We see here the Apostle Peter,
he equates in this passage, he equates the writings of the Apostle
Paul with the Old Testament scriptures. In other words, what Peter said
here is what Paul wrote is scripture, just like Paul wrote the books
of the Old Testament, or Scripture. In 2 Peter 3, verses 15 and 16,
he said, An account that the longsuffering of our Lord is
salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also, according
to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you, as also
in all his epistles speaking in them of these things, and
which are some things hard to be understood, which they that
are unlearned and unstable rest, as they do also the other scriptures
unto their own destruction." In other words, Peter, he also
being inspired by God, the Holy Spirit, writes and says that
the scripture, the writings of Paul are the inspired word of
God. All scripture is given by inspiration. So that's one way we know this,
because the word of God tells us. Because the word of God here
tells us, for we know that all things work together for good
to them who love God, to those who are the called according
to his purpose. We know this by the scripture,
but how did Paul know this? How did Paul know this? He includes
himself, doesn't he? He said, we know, we, we know. Well, we might answer, well,
this was revealed to Paul. And that's true. It was revealed
to Paul, this wonderful truth. It was revealed to Paul. But
also consider this, Paul knew the scriptures. He knew the Old Testament. He
studied at one of the greatest rabbis as far as learning is
concerned, Gamaliel. Paul was born in Tarsus. He wasn't
born in Palestine. He was born in a very prosperous
city, but like every Jewish family, they sent their children or their
sons, I should say, they sent their sons to school to learn,
but they also sent them to a trade school. It was emphatic that
every man, every man child, that he be taught some trade. Now Paul's trade was he was a
weaver. He was a tent maker. But he also
was sent to Jerusalem as a young man to set at the feet of Gamaliel. He knew the scripture. He was
born, no doubt, Paul was born with an exceptional mind. He was. I remember reading one
time In one of Dr. Lloyd-Jones's messages, this
is a program he said had been on the BBC Broadcasting, British
Broadcasting Company, that of the four greatest minds in the
Western world, and one of those was the Apostle Paul. He was
blessed with a great mind, there's no doubt about that. He knew
the word of God. He knew the scriptures. And don't
you know that he knew the story of Joseph? When he said, we know
that all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to his purpose. Don't you know
that he knew the story of Joseph, that he knew what Joseph told
his brothers? You meant it for evil, but God
meant it for good. Yes, and that's just one example
in the Old Testament. Look with me in 1st Samuel chapter
30. He knew this scripture as well
as that about Joseph telling his brothers, you met it for
evil, what you did. And it was a, it was a trial. There's no question about that
for Joseph. being sold into slavery like
he was, taken away from his family, and living all those years apart
from his father and his brothers. But yet, in the end, he was able
to tell his brothers, you meant it for evil. But there's someone
above you. There's someone that has overridden
What you purposed, and that is God. And he meant it for good,
to save much people. Here in 1 Samuel, if you will,
and verse 30, when David comes back with his men and they find,
verse six, Then Asaph called David and said
unto him, surely as the Lord liveth, thou hast been, and let
me get here, chapter six, 30. And David was greatly distressed,
for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all
the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his
daughters. But David encouraged himself
in the Lord. You know the story, how they
had left their families and gone off to battle. And when they
got to the battle, the Philistine Lord said, we don't want him.
We don't want him and his men with us because in the battle,
he may turn and fight for Israel. And so they send David and his
men back home and they come to the city and find it's burned
and all of their wives and children are taken away. And people were
so discouraged, they spoke about stoning David. But now, wait
a minute. God had anointed David to be
king. God's purpose could not be frustrated. No doubt that's one of the ways
that David here encouraged himself in the Lord, knowing that his
God, our God, The God of the Bible, the God and Father of
the Lord Jesus Christ is sovereign, that he rules over all. And not
only that God is sovereign, but that God's purpose for David
was that he sat upon the throne of Israel, that he ruled God's
people. And God's purpose is not going
to be frustrated. No doubt he used this also to
encourage himself in the Lord. And you know the rest of the
story there. They recovered their wives and
their children and all of their goods and not one of them was
missing. All things work together for
good to those who love God. Paul knew that. Paul knew these
examples from the Old Testament. Didn't Paul also know from his
experience that all things work together for good? Think of his
life. The apostle Paul had seen God
work in so many great ways in saving sinners, taking the gospel
to city after city where we see God blessed his ministry and
churches were raised up. That doesn't mean that he had
a life of ease, does it? We know at one time he was taken
out of the city and the only reason they stopped throwing
stones at him, they thought he was dead. They thought he was
dead, so they left off throwing stones at him. And yet, brethren
gathered around him and he stood up and continued preaching the
gospel. He knew what it was to be beaten.
He knew what it was to suffer shipwreck, to be out in the depths
of the sea in the darkness. When he says himself in Acts,
all hope, all hope was gone that they would be recovered, that
they would be saved. And yet they were. Why? Because
God purposed and he told Paul, when he called him there on the
road to Damascus. God had purposed that he stand
before the Roman authority, preach the gospel in Rome. Yes. You know what, we are prone,
at least I am, we're prone to call some things good providences
and some things bad providences. But Paul says here, all. All
things, all things that we call good, all things that we call
bad providences. Ultimately, they all work together
for good. And do you know there's only
one way? There's a lot of religious people,
they love to quote this verse. They do, because it's a precious
truth. But the only way this verse can
be so is that God be absolutely sovereign in all things. If he's not sovereign in all
things, there's no way that he can make sure all things work
together for good. When he said to those that love
God, and are called according to his purpose. Actually, he's
saying what the Apostle John said when he wrote, we love him
because he first loved us. This statement here, verse 28,
this wonderful promise is true of those whom the Holy Spirit
makes aware of their sinfulness, of their need of Christ, and
they embrace Him as their Lord and Savior. Now let me say a
few words about the next two verses. God's gracious purpose
includes what has been called a golden chain. One chain, one
link of the chain is an eternity past, and one link of the chain
is an eternity to come, eternity future. Five links in this chain. Four knowledge, predestination,
calling, justification, and glorification. Let me say just a few words about
each one of these words. Four knowledge. I want you to
notice in your Bible, if you will look with me again, for
whom he did foreknow. It doesn't say for what he foreknew. Now that's very important because
you know how people deceive others about this matter of election.
They say, well, God foreknew what men would do. In other words,
he foreknew their actions. He foreknew that they would accept
Jesus, so he elected them. But this verse and that verse
in 1 Peter doesn't speak about actions, God foreknowing actions. It speaks about God foreknowing
people. For whom he foreknew. for whom he foreknew. It's not
action, but rather people. Someone might say, well, but
doesn't God foreknow all people? Doesn't God's foreknowledge include
all people? God foreknows all people as far
as knowing of them, knowing about them, knowing everything about
them. Yes. But there's some people
he foreknows in the sense that he sets his love upon. He sets his love upon them. And he did so according to his
sovereign purpose. Look with me in 2 Timothy just
a moment. In 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 19, Paul mentions in verse 17 two
men that were causing problems He said in verse 18, who concerning
the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past
already, and overthrow the faith of some. These men, with their error,
teaching that the resurrection had already taken place, were
able to overthrow the faith of some. In other words, some who
profess to be believers, they became unbelievers by the error
of these two men, what they were teaching. Nevertheless, nevertheless,
the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord
knoweth them that are his. The Lord knoweth them that are
his, those that he foreknew. Now the second word is the word
predestinate. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate. Predestinate to what? To be conformed to the image
of his son. Now I don't see how, I don't
see how anyone who claims to be a Christian could find fault
with predestination when we read that God has predestinated some
to be conformed to the image of his son. Isn't that what we
want? Isn't that what we desire? To
be like Christ? Isn't that what all so-called
Christians profess to want, to desire? To be like Christ? Sure it is. But you put that
word predestinate in there, and no, no, no, no, no. Predestinate to be conformed
to the image of His Son. Some see this as only referring
to the day when we receive a new body, a new body that is fashioned
like unto His glorious body. They would limit this to what
Paul says in verse 23. And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we groan
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption
of the body. But I believe it means more than
that, that beginning at salvation, when a person is truly saved
by the grace of God, That person is predestinated to be conformed
to the image of God's Son. When we become partakers of the
divine nature, and that every believer does, in regeneration,
we become partakers of the divine nature. And look with me in 2
Corinthians just a moment. In 2 Corinthians, Chapter three,
in verse 18, he says, but we all,
that is all believers, all of God's children, we all with open
face beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are changed. You see that changed, into the
same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the
Lord. Predestinated to be conformed
to the image of his son. And I believe that work begins
in time when a person is born again. I remember reading this
illustration years ago A man was traveling, I believe, in
Arkansas, and it was a hot day, and he stopped at a country store
and went inside to buy himself a Coca-Cola. And he noticed at
the counter there, there was a figurine. There was more than
one, but he saw one that was of an elephant. And he picked
it up, and he looked at it, and he thought, well, I've never
seen work quite like that. It is so good. He commented to
the man who owned the store, And the man said, well, the man
who carved that set him outside. And he went out there and he
said, did you carve this? He said, yes. How did you do
that? He said, well, I just take a
block of wood and cut off everything that didn't look like an elephant.
You know, God starts to work in our lives, too. And though
we can't see it, I understand that. None of us can. And if
we judge ourselves, we always think, I don't see that in my
life. But others see it. Others see
that you're not the person you were before the Lord saved you. You've been worked on. And you're being worked on. And
one day you will be conformed to the image of God's Son. The third word is the word called,
and the important thing here in this text is to see the word
them, T-H-E-M, them. Moreover, whom he did predestinate
them, he also called. And whom he called them, he also
justified. and whom he justified them, he
also glorified." Here's this golden chain in the saving of
a sinner. And not one link in this chain
can be left out. And everyone that the Lord predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his son, each and every one
of them will be justified, will be called, And yes, one day we'll
be glorified. You say, well, why does it say
this in the past tense? Glorified, that's past tense.
We haven't been glorified yet. Well, as far as God is concerned,
you have. And nothing's gonna change it.
And every one of the them, there's no falling away. There's no being
saved today and lost tomorrow. No, everyone that God predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his son, them he also called,
or just, them he also justified, them he also called, them he
also glorified. God's purpose cannot be frustrated. Wouldn't want to, would we? We
wouldn't want to. Well, I'm going to ask the man,
if you will, to come at this time.