Whenever brother Maurice Montgomery
found out that I was moving to New Jersey, somebody told him,
and he said, oh, that's great, ain't it? Well, I'm so happy to be here
in person. I say it that way because Wednesday
nights, generally, my family and I, we'll watch Brother Todd
or Brother Gabe Stoniker. And then since you guys are an
hour behind, we'll flip over and watch you on the live stream. So I feel like I've been here,
but just not in person, you know, so it's good to be here. Let's
turn to Romans chapter eight. I'm going to preach from a passage
that every believer finds great comfort in. And this is one of
our favorite passages. We're all familiar with it. 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. And whom he called,
them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us? I like how this passage starts
with the word and, and we know. In addition to all the great
comforting things that Paul told us in this chapter, no condemnation,
the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free
from the law of sin and death. The Spirit quickens us so that
we don't have to look to our flesh at all or depend on our
flesh at all. The Spirit bears witness with
our spirit that we're children of God and if children then heirs
and join heirs with Christ. The Spirit even teaches us how
to pray and makes us pray according to God's will. And we know in
addition to all that, We know all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them with a called according
to his purpose. We know this. We know it because
we see it in God's word. We can we can read in God's word
how God is sovereign to bring things to pass according to his
purpose. We know it in the court of our
conscience because God has taught us in our hearts. And we know
this by experience. The scripture says we glory in
tribulations also knowing tribulation work with patience and patience
experience and experience hope and hope make it not a shame
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. We know
this. We know this. Let me sum it up for you. We
know that God is holy and powerful and wise. to work all things
together in providence to save his people exactly according
to his eternal purpose. First of all, providence is God
working what God purposed from eternity. Providence is God working
His eternal purpose in everything that comes to pass. That's what
we read here in verse 28. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. All things includes everything. Everything. That means our fall
into sin and into death in Adam. That didn't surprise God. That
was not something that took God by surprise. That was purpose
from the beginning so that God could glorify the last Adam by
whose obedience we're made the righteousness of God. Affliction,
temptation, desertion, betrayal, all things are worked together
for the good of his people. whether it's good or bad, whether
it's happy or sad, whether it's great or small. I want to say
this respectfully and sympathetically. I know any believer that is suffering,
whatever we're suffering at any time, it's nothing compared to
what we've done to our God and how we've sinned against him.
And yet what he's doing for us, even if we suffer, is for our
good. It's for our good to wean us
from this world and to point us to him and teach us that he's
all our salvation. It's always for our good. And
that's our spiritual good he's talking about. It may not appear
to us that it's for good, but we're kind of short-sighted,
aren't we? But everything God is doing,
it's for the spiritual good of his people. You hear preachers,
you know, who say that when somebody's poor or they're in some kind
of trial, then they don't have enough faith. That's the problem.
No, that's not the problem. God has poor people in this world
that he made poor. God has people who have disease
that God gave the disease. God has people in this world
who suffer trials and afflictions and persecutions, even death.
And God gave it to them. We're called not only to believe
on him, but to suffer for his namesake. The Lord God is a sun
and a shield. The Lord will give grace and
glory and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk
uprightly. It's always for our good. There
shall no evil happen to the just. Think about that statement. Sometimes
it appears like evil is happening to the just, but it's not. It's for our good because no
evil shall happen to the just. That's God's promise. You think
of everything that happened to Joseph. Joseph's brothers rejected
him. His own family rejected him.
Threw him in that pit. And then they sold him into slavery. He gets taken off way down in
Egypt, thrown in jail, and then he ends up being exalted to be
Pharaoh's second in command. And what did he say? He said
to his brothers, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for
good. Every bit of that was for the
good of Joseph and for the good of his family. Adam plunged the
whole human race into sin. And yet we're told in Romans
5, Adam is a figure of him that was to come. Just like Adam represented
all his people and by his disobedience made us sin, Christ represented
all his people and by his obedience made us righteous. The worst
act in human history. We all like to, every generation,
I think, thinks that we're living in the worst time that's ever
been. But the worst act that ever happened in human history
is when we crucified the Lord of glory. And yet the scriptures
tell us that God was working all things together for good. all things together for good.
He said both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and
the people of Israel were gathered together. He's working all things
together for good, wasn't he? To do whatsoever thy hand and
thy counsel determined before to be done. One of my favorite
verses of scripture. is the Psalm that says, Surely
the wrath of man shall praise thee, and the remainder thereof
shalt thou restrain. Doesn't that comfort you? If
it comes to pass, and it's wrath from man, and all the wrath is
from us, it's from sinners. But if it comes to pass, it's
glorifying God. And there's a lot more that could
come to pass, but God won't allow it. Because it doesn't glorify
him. God is working all things together
for good. But now listen, he's only doing
this for a particular people. He says he's doing this to them
that love God, to them who are the called, the sinner who passes
his entire life, hates God, hates Christ, hates his gospel, hates
his people. God is not doing anything for
that man. He didn't interrupt him. He gave
the man what he wanted. The man wanted his will, and
he gave it to him. But for all those who God interrupts
and arrests and draws to him, God is working good. It says
there, to them that love God. And if he left it there, everybody
would apply that to themselves. Because everybody in this world
says, oh, I love God. Men love the God that they imagine. They love the God that needs
them to help them out. But what about this God? He qualified
who it is that loves God. They are the called of God, the
ones God calls. We have to have God to call us. We have to have God to put a
new heart within us and put love within our hearts or we won't
love God or our brethren. This is of God. Well, how is
it that God works all things together for the good of his
people? How is it that this is so? Look at the end of verse
28, according to his eternal purpose, that's how. It's according
to his purpose. There's no such thing as chance
or fate or luck. We should just erase those from
our vocabulary. There's no such thing as that.
Everything that comes to pass in providence is according to
God's eternal purpose. Everything. Let's look at Isaiah
14 together. Verse 24 says, the Lord of hosts
has sworn. He's sworn. Now this, he can
swear by no greater. He's sworn and he says, surely
as I have thought. There's the purpose of God. As
God has thought. As I have thought, so shall it
come to pass. As I have purposed, so shall
it stand. Look at verse 27. For the Lord
of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And his hand
is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? Have you and I
ever thought of anything and it come to pass? It doesn't matter
what I've ever thought about or planned or purposed and it
come to pass. It's never come to pass perfectly. There's always something I would
have done a little different, you know. Not God, whatever God
purpose, he brings it to pass. Exactly. Well, look at this purpose
of God. This is his purpose. This is
God declaring the end from the beginning. This is God before
the world was made. It says whom he did foreknow.
It doesn't say what it says, whom he did foreknow. God's foreknowing is not God
foreknowing that some would believe on him. If that were so, we wouldn't
need the rest of this verse. God wouldn't have to predestinate
us and God wouldn't have to call us if he foreknew who would believe
on him. But God in eternity past foreknew
his people with an eternal, everlasting love. He knew his people as his
choice people. He foreordained his people to
eternal life. The scripture says of Christ,
verily, he was foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but manifest in these last times for you. And that word foreordained
is the same word in our text, foreknown, foreordained. God's
purpose involved determining our end from the beginning. That
was God's purpose. He determined our end, our destination
from the beginning. He says, whom he foreknew, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. Believers love predestination
because it gives our Lord Jesus Christ all preeminence. That's
the purpose of it. That's the purpose of it, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Colossians 1.18
says he's the head of the body, the church, who's the beginning,
he's the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have
the preeminence. And this is God's purpose in
predestinating us to be conformed to his image, that he might have
all preeminence. that we might come to him in
glory in him alone. That's his purpose. And we've obtained something
due to that, too. It says, and in him we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Before the world was made according
to God's purpose, It says here in verse 30, moreover whom he
did predestinate them he also called. Now, I want to remind
you that he's talking about God's purpose. He's talking about an
eternity, what God did. The word called here means named. It means made to bear a name. God called all his people from
eternity. He made us bear his name from
eternity in Christ Jesus. before as yet we ever came forth.
Look at 2 Timothy, you're very familiar with it, but maybe there'd
be somebody that's not. Let's look at 2 Timothy chapter
one. It says here, God had saved us
and called us with a holy calling. This is the calling we're talking
about, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Before the world began. Look
at Galatians 4. We see it again over here. He
said in Galatians 4, verse 4. When the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the
law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive
the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, he
had already called us before he called us. Because you are
sons, he sent forth the spirit of his son into your heart. He
had already called us before he called us. Since he purposed
it, I love to think about this, that God is able to work all
things together for good to bring his people under the sound of
the gospel and at his appointed time, send forth the Holy Spirit
and give us life. If God can do that, we shouldn't
worry about anything else. If he can take a rebel and bring
that rebel under the sound of his gospel and give him a new
heart, and bring him down to the feet of Christ and we shouldn't
worry about anything else at all. And the sure certain result is
we come to him through faith in Christ crying, Abba, Father,
Abba, Father. He said, Peter said, it's all
so that you should show forth the praises of him who had called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In time, he
not only called us in his purpose, but in time, he works that purpose. He calls us effectually to him. And he always succeeds in it.
He always succeeds in it. Now, when you read these things,
are you noticing how that it's God who works everything? When
you read this passage, there's nothing in here that we're working.
God's working it all, from his purpose in eternity to bringing
it to pass in providence. God's doing every bit of it.
It's he, he, he, he. He's doing it all. Verse 30,
it says, in whom he called, them he also justified. Them he also justified. Whenever God in eternity when
he blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ, according as he chose us in him. Part of those spiritual
blessings were being justified because the Lord Jesus Christ,
the scripture says of him, that he's the lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. Whenever our Lord Jesus entered
into covenant to come forth and shed his blood and justify his
people, God never looked to us. He looked to Christ. And in the
Lord Jesus Christ, right then, he became the lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. and there was no possibility
that it wouldn't come to pass. No possibility whatsoever. God
says, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient
times the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel
shall stand. I will do all my pleasure. Calling a man from a far country,
the execute of my counsel from a far country. You know who Cyrus
pictured? our Lord Jesus Christ. He called
him to execute his counsel from a far country. God said, I've
spoken it, I'll bring it to pass. I've purposed it, I'll do it.
And he trusted Christ. He put the whole thing in the
work of our Redeemer, in the hands of our Redeemer, the whole
work. And the Lord Jesus Christ He's been accomplishing this
work ever since. You know, when you read the Old
Testament and you come across scriptures and God is speaking
with a sinner, the scriptures tells us there's one mediator
between God and man. It's the man, Christ Jesus. He's
the one talking. He's the one that has been working
this work from the beginning. ever since the beginning. So
because he did this in eternity, in the fullness of time, he came
forth to do whatever God's hand and counsel determined before
to be done. He came forth and he did this,
and he shed his blood on Calvary's cross, and he justified everybody
for whom he died. He redeemed us, he put away our
sin, and he justified his people on the cross. And in time, when
he does call us, he reveals in the court of our conscience that
he's justified us. Makes us to know that we're just
before God. You think about what that means.
You know, that means not only can you never break the law,
you have never broken the law. Isn't that amazing? Men will say, well, that'll lead
sinners to sin. You can't preach that. That won't
lead sinners to sin. Do you see what we're saying
here? Do you see what God is telling us? How surely and certainly
he works in the heart of his people and works all things together
for his people. His people aren't going to take
advantage of that and sin because God's working in them and he's
not going to allow it. People who want to sin might
take advantage of it, but not God's people. He makes us to
see we're just before him. Look at this last thing. It says, in whom he justified,
them he also glorified. This one gives me a little trouble. I can just wade a little bit
in this because I don't know much about this. But I do know,
let's look at John 17. I do know this took place in
eternity. John 17, 5, when our Lord was
praying to the Father, he said, Now, O Father, glorify thou me
with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was." That glory he's speaking about here is the glory
of being the only mediator. It's the glory God gave to him
when he trusted his whole work into his hands and glorified
him as being the only one who would work out this salvation
for his people and reconcile his people to God and bring us
to God spotless without blame. He glorified the son. And we were in him when he did
that. All his people were in him when he glorified the son
and all his people were trusted to the son. And in the purpose
of God, he glorified us even then. And then Christ came forth
and he worked all this work for his people. And one day we're
going to be glorified together with him. We're going to be conformed
to his image. And we're going to be made in
his likeness perfectly, perfectly. He's begun the work by creating
in us a new man that's of his creating. Scripture says, put
off the old man with his deeds, which are corrupt according to
the deceitful lusts. And the Spirit of God makes us
put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness. We put on this new man. This
is a work of Christ. It's not a work of us. He gets
the glory for this. But when we get the glory and
you don't read anything either of that new spirit, nothing has
to be done to it. When you die, you go directly
to be with the Lord. Nothing has to be amended or
corrected or fixed on it because it's created anew by Christ.
You go to be with the Lord and then we'll have a new body. We'll
drop these bodies of death like we've always wanted to since
God called us, and we won't have this plague of sin anymore, won't
have this old nature, won't have these broken bodies. We'll have
a new body, perfectly conformed to the image of Christ. I don't
know what that'll be like, but it's gonna be good, I know that.
It's gonna be good. Well, when we look at these things,
brethren, we should realize that we don't have anything to worry
about. We really don't. We don't have
anything to make us doubt. Our God is really in the heavens.
He really is doing whatsoever he pleases. I went to a bank
whenever we were trying to buy our building, and I messed up. I went to a banker who was religious. And he started quizzing me about
our church. And he wanted to know what committee
is watching over the elders, and what committee is watching
over me, and all these things. And I said, we don't have any
of that. And he said, well, who keeps
people in line? I said, God does. I said, you
know, the scriptures say God is actually working in his people
and he makes his people will and do his good pleasure. That's
what he does. And he just couldn't grasp that,
could not grasp that. But it's true, brethren, that
this religious world does not believe that God is working in
his people, both the will and do of his good pleasure. They
don't believe that. Whenever, whenever Paul said there, work
out your own salvation. If you go back and look right
before that, in the chapter right before that, he spoke of all
your affairs. And that word affairs is the
same word as translated salvation. What he's saying is, is in all
your affairs with one another, work out everything in all these
affairs with fear and trembling, knowing God's right there in
your midst. He's in your brethren. He's in
your midst, and he's the one working both the will and do
of his good pleasure. I can't get mad at somebody. I can't get upset with my brother.
God's working. He's working. He's working. I
can pray for him, and I can trust God to work in him, but there's
no need to worry, no need to doubt, because God's going to
work his good pleasure. You can bank on that. The Spirit
of God guarantees us this, that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to God's purpose. Amen. Thank you. Amen.