If you have your Bible, you can open the Romans chapter 8,
Romans chapter 8. We are in week 6 of Romans 8,
all of Christ for all of life, all of Christ, for all of life,
than this is not particularly A Mother's Day sermon, right?
It's just you've been here long enough to let the Giroux to let
the do dry out. So then, you know, that we do
not arrange our preaching schedule, according to Hallmarks
calendar. All right.
So, breathe, easy mothers. I don't intend to beat you over
the head today or to overly celebrate, you either.
So but I intend to encourage you from the scriptures.
The Bible has greater instructions.
Greater help greater encouragement.
It's some mothers and non-mothers than any afternoon
Hallmark movie with the glass of wine can do for you promised.
All right. So I intend to encourage you
with the word of God today. We're going to examine verses 28
through 30 of Romans chapter 8. Romans 8:28 through 30.
And these verses here is what we see.
This is the main point. I want to give to you today and
you can write this down. If you're taking notes,
admittedly, it's a bit lengthy. All things work together for the
Eternal good. All things work together for the
Eternal good. I want you to note that word
Eternal, there of those who love God and are called according to
his purpose, all things work together for the Eternal good of
those who love God, and are called, according to his
purpose, and everybody said, amen.
Amen? See, it's not a Mother's Day,
sermon specifically, right? Yet this is not mean that a
mother will not find great instruction in its great help.
Great encouragement from from this passage to be crystal clear
though, so that we're all on the same page as we begin today.
I believe this sermon is for everyone of us, I believe these
encouragement sore for you. Whether you are a man or a
woman, a boy or a girl. Today, like these things are
glorious truths, mid for you to take.
Hold of, and to believe with all of your heart, mind and
strength. Amen.
Which stand your feet. Now, as we read God's word, I'm
going to start in verse one today, even though our text is
28 through 30 because I think it's worth getting the context
of everything that's happening. As we look at what is the
foundation for all of these glorious blessings.
These privileges that Paul has laid out for us in verses 1
through 27. And so, beginning in verse 1,
there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit of life has set you free.
Free in Christ Jesus. From the law of sin and death
for God has done what the law weakened by the flesh.
Could not do I sending his own son in the likeness of sinful
flesh? And for sin, he condemned sin in
the flesh. In order that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk, not
according to the flesh, but according to the spirit for
those who live, according to the flesh, set their minds on the
things of the flesh. But those who live, according to
the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit for to
set the mind on the flesh is death.
But to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace, for
the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.
For does not submit to God's law.
Indeed, it cannot those who are in the flesh, cannot please God,
you however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if, in
fact, the spirit of God, dwells in you.
Anyone who's does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong
to him, but if Christ is in you all, although the body is dead
because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness,
if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in
you, he who raised Christ Jesus from.
The dead will also give life to your mortal bodies, through his
Spirit who dwells in you. So then Brothers, we are debtors
not to the flesh to live, according to the flesh for if
you live, according to the flesh, you will die.
But if by the spirit you put to death, the Deeds of the flesh,
you will live for all who are led by the spirit of God are
sons of God for you, did not receive the spirit of Slavery to
fall back into fear but you have received the spirit of adoption
as Sons by which or by whom sorry we cry, Abba Father The
spirit himself Bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God. And if children then heirs Heirs
of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer with
him in order that we may also be glorified with him verse 84.
I consider that the sufferings of, this present time are not
worth comparing with the glory. That is to be revealed to us for
the creation Waits with eager longing.
For the revealing of the sons of God for the creation was
subjected. Ejected to futility, not
willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope, that
the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to
corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the
children of God. For.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in
the Pains of childbirth until now.
And not only the creation, we ourselves who have the first
fruits of the spirit groan inwardly as we.
Wait, eagerly for adoption as Sons, the Redemption of our
body. For in this hope we were saved.
Now hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes for what he
sees. But if we hope for what we do,
not see we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the spirit helps us in our weakness.
For we, do not know what to pray for as we ought.
But the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings
too deep for words and he who searches Hearts knows, what is
the mind of the spirit because the spirit intercedes for the
Saints, according to the will of God.
And we know that for those who love God, all things work
together for good. For those who are called
according to his purpose. For Those whom he foreknew.
He also predestined to be conformed, to the image of his
son in order, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. And Those whom, he predestined,
he also called, and Those whom he called, he also Justified,
and Those whom he justified, he also glorified.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God, let me pray
for Heavenly Father, we thank you for today.
Thank you for your word and this time we have now in it, holy
spirit, we ask that you would guide us direct our hearts
direct. Our minds to see to believe to
understand these truths and build our lives into fruitful
organisms for the kingdom and the glory of Christ alone.
It's in the name of Jesus. We pray.
Amen. Amen.
You may be seated. Before I get into the content of
this text that I wanted to remind us of the context, I
wanted to draw our attention to that which is why we read all of
those versus just now. But Paul is building toward his
closing argument which is more doxology than arguments and
we'll see that next week, but in verses 28 through 30, he
striving to ground the hope of Christians that we see all
three. Throughout verses 1 through 27,
he's grounding those hopes. Those privileges that Christians
know in the Providence and the sovereignty of God, it's an
argument that he strengthens and next week's passage as well.
He goes on to explain why you can believe what you see today
with next week's passage. So some summaries of the truths
that we've observed so far in verses 1 through 4.
We established that in an act of astounding Grace, God condemns
sin in Christ setting. A free from condemnation and
free to live lives according to the spirit of God and verses 5
through 11. We said that that same Spirit
which we've received the one that has set us free.
Grants us live and peace at the Spirit enables our minds to be
set on the things of the spirit. We are able to walk.
According to the spirit of God and verses 12 through 17.
We saw that God by his Spirit bestows on his people life.
But he adopts them as his own children and he appoints them to
be co-heirs with Christ. Then in verse 18, the focus
transition to the sufferings that we must endure with Christ.
So that we saw in verse 17 if we were going to be glorified with
Christ also and so in verse 18 we saw that the key to Christian
suffering verses 18 through 25. The key to Christian suffering
is to keep your eyes on future glories.
See if your eyes on the hope of Evan and then last week we saw
that the holy spirit in verses 26 or 27 is our Advocate and
prayer. He's a help to us.
He is and he's carrying literally our prayers to God and
he is working. God's will in us, as a result of
those were dangers prayers by faith.
In Christ, what we have seen then is that we have everything
we need for life and godliness, truly.
It is all of Christ for all of Life, by faith in.
See, the God has graciously, the God is utterly transforming your
life. He's giving you the spirit as
your helper, in all things unto the transformation of your life.
So that as our Tech shows today, you would be conformed to the
image of God's own son. These are supremely glorious
truths. Any one of which could cause you
to stand up and dance a jig if you weren't so Baptist, right?
Yet when we suffer, we are tempted to doubt the goodness of
God's plan. For us when we go through
hardship, when we go through suffering, when we go through
pain, we are tempted to doubt whether or not God could
actually work together. All things for the good of his
people. We wonder is this true which
brings us to the content of today's passage?
Because last week we saw that the spirit is taking our prayers
to the Lord. He's working the will of God in
us but you might still be tempted to say, yes.
But I suffer Somebody read those verses for you, again, that
we're looking at now and we know that for those who love God, all
things work together for good, for those who are called
according to his purpose. For Those whom he foreknew.
He also predestined to be conformed, to the image of his
son in order, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. And Those whom, he predestined,
he also called, and Those whom he also, Those whom he called he
also Justified and Those whom he justified, he also glorified I
want to show you that in verse 28, you have another statement
of truth. It's another privilege of the
believer, similar to the Privileges.
We've been seeing. It's all of these things that
you've received as being in Christ.
Again, all of Christ for all of life.
This is another privilege that all things work together for
your good because you love God and are called according to his
purpose. It's a great privilege that we
have, but in verses 29 and 30, what he's doing is laying out
the foundation on which all All of those truths.
All of those privileges must stand.
It's the truths. There of God's predestiny,
things to work in this fashion. I would like to issue to you a
pastoral statement if you will. It's vitally important to
remember. When you read God's word, you
are reading what you are reading.
Is divinely breathed by God through the spirit to men.
Meaning it's inspired by God. It's sufficient because it is
from God. It is infallible because it has
its root in God, it cannot fail, it is inerrant because God never
airs. Amen.
And so to his word, never airs, God.
Spoke these things, by his Spirit, to these biblical
writers for the edification of his people.
And so, therefore, these words, all of them, every word from
Genesis 1:1 to the end of Revelation.
Elation. Is spoken written down for your
edification. They are trustworthy and true.
In other words, these are not Paul's words.
While Jesus may have said something different, It is not
Paul's words, why Peter may have wrote something else.
These are not Paul's word. While Moses may have wrote
something. That would be contrary to what
you read. Everything works together in the
scriptures to to explain to us to show us to reveal to us God's
truths. These are not opinions of man,
devoid of God's truth. These are not just mere
meanderings of a mind, written down that look wise.
They are wise because they come from God himself.
This is the very word of God. And if we are unsure about what
they say, if we were uneasy about the words that he uses,
then we need not find fault in the text, we need find fault in
our own hearts and Minds. We must seek the Lord, in
prayer. We must ask the spirit to help
us in our weaknesses. It's good for us to check any
man-made presuppositions at the door when we come to the
scriptures. Amen.
Romans 8:28 and we know that for those who love God, all things
work together for good, for those who are called according
to his purpose. So we've seen a great deal of
privileges afforded to the saints of God in this.
Glorious chapter of Romans questions and scoffing and
mockings may arise. Anyway.
Neither from outside, or from, within your own heart and mind.
Yeah, the spirit intercedes for you in trouble, the spirit
intercedes for me and my trouble.
But to what benefits because I'm still suffering greatly.
Or someone might look at you and say, you can say the spirit
intercedes for you, but I can observe your life and its marked
by suffering great suffering. So what benefit is the spirit of
God, why don't you just abandon him as Jobs wife would have
encouraged joke to do. You might hear things like bad
things, seem to happen to good people and good things seem to
happen to bad people. If all things work together for
good, for those who love God, how can this be?
Might be a question, a scoff. A mock that comes your way.
But what Paul describes is the greatest privilege of God's
people that sits atop all other Privileges and that is that all
things are working together for good.
And so first, I want you to observe the character of these
people. It's not all things work
together for the good of all people.
It's for who, for those who love God, they love God right there.
They're over wounds with great. Actions for and deep loyalty
towards God as their Chief good. As their highest in, he is
supreme above every other being. They love him, they are devoted
to him. It is your love for God.
That makes every Providence in your life sweet and profitable.
Now, word on Providence. Providence is according to James
chapter 5 providence's, the merciful and compassionate work
of God in every moment of Our Lives.
It's the Mercer, merciful and compassionate work of God in
every moment of Our Lives. And so what we're saying is
there are no Maverick moments. You understand what I mean?
There are no Rogue moments. There are no Rebel moments every
moment. Every millisecond is the working
together of all things for a glorious Eternal good.
According to God's wise counsel alone, everything works to that
end, it must Because God is God. Those that love God, make the
best then of all that he does. And they take all the comes
their way in faith that he loves them and he means good for them.
Everything The second thing we see about these peoples, not
only that they love God, and that the character of these
people set their called, according to God's purpose.
He calls his people and they come to him, he calls them
according to his purposes and they come to him just as Christ
describes as the shepherd and the Sheep who hear his voice and
John chapter 10. He says all who are sheep, hear
the voice of the shepherd and they come to him and we do not
deserve the call by any Merit of our own.
We have not worked on to this. We have not hyped ourselves up
to be looked on as beautiful and lovely.
And so God says well, I'll take that one or two hype.
Ourselves up and says look how unlovely he is.
I'll take that one like picking a puppy at the pound.
This is not adoption. Thatthat's.
Not that it's not that kind of adoption.
This is adoption. According to the love of God,
the loving call of God on someone's life to come and to be
his child, we don't deserve the call but his call is effectual
through his own gracious purpose.
I'm s what we want to observe. Here is the privilege of the
sites, all things work together for good for them.
It's a privilege of those who love God, that all things are
going to work together for good. Now, I want you to have in mind
the Eternal good so that mean that everything and every moment
looks good in that moment though.
There are terrible tragedy. There are terrible things that
happen to us that don't look good in the moment, but we must
trust that that is according to the providential plan of God for
our lives and it is working together for good even when we
can't see it. Everything that God carries out
every action. Every moment, every millisecond
that comes into our lives. And every single day is
according to the Eternal good plan of God, which is meant for
the good of his people. The glory of his own great name,
these two go hand-in-hand for when his people enjoy the
splendors of his Providence. For when his people see that he
is amazing, that he is all inspiring.
Even in great distress has even in great sufferings, they will
then magnify his name in all the Earth.
We see that God is good. We magnify this good God.
And so he works all things together for the good of his
people, those who love him. Those whom he loves according to
his providential purpose, so that his people will know his
goodness and magnifies night. Now in this way, God's people
Truly Come to do with the psalmist describes in Psalm 34
Verse 8 where he says taste and see that the Lord is good take
refuge in him and find him to be a good reference.
Huge. It's a tasting and seeing as you
trust the Lord and his providential plans for you.
You taste and see that he is good.
All the Providence of God belongs to us, merciful
Providence has afflicting providence's personal
providence's public Providence. Is there are all for our
Eternal, good weather suffering or blessings.
They are good. Those things are good, which do
your soul, Eternal, good. Do you understand what I'm
saying? If it's a suffering thing that
comes to you. From the providential hand of
God than it is meant for your Eternal good.
And so anything that comes to you for the good of your soul is
could amen. It's good under that end.
And so this was a realization that Patricia and I had an
October went on vacation. We're sitting out back this
little cabin and Pigeon Forge and we're drinking coffee in the
morning, reading the reading our Bible.
And so, we're just over right out of months.
Just just passed from when he's pass and we're reflecting on.
And we're just leaning into the Lord as much as we can praying
singing. And this moment was really a
defining moment, I think, for me and probably for Patricia as
well, and our pursuit of the Lord amid these things.
What we saw, what I what I came to understand.
I guess what the Lord showed us in this moment is that if all
things work together for good, for those who love him, then
whinnies death is good. That's a hard thing to admit.
It's a hard thing to trust the Lord for, but carry that a bit
further, what we're saying is that it was more good for
Patricia and I, and for our family, and for you all and for
our faith. And for our Eternal good, it was
more good for when he too passed and to remain with us.
That's what we're saying about. God's merciful loving
Providence, as right, nothing thoughts, him.
Nothing changes his plans. Nothing nothing can can stop
those things from happening, so, if he's working together all
things for the good of those who love him and are called
according to his purpose, then I must see that all that comes to
me is the ultimate good and therefore you can rejoice as
James says in trials and afflictions not rejoicing over
the Affliction, you're not rejoicing over the loss of life.
You're not rejoicing over the loss of a Daughter and a sister
and a granddaughter and a friend or not rejoicing.
In that necessarily rejoicing that God is good, no matter
what, and that he means good for you and all of these things.
Now, one always hold myself up as a hero of the faith.
I am not, I have liked much Faith through all of this but
that was one moment where I can still to this day.
Look back and say that's a truth.
I need to hang on to When I summon my faith is felling when
I'm questioning. Yeah.
But God is, if you're working together, all things are good.
I don't understand this. If I'm questioning that that I
looked back to that moment and I say, wait a minute, it's for
good. Also, It's for good too.
I don't know all the ways yet, but it's for good also and then
it's a tough thing to understand.
And so, every Providence is doing something unto Eternal
good for you. This is what we're saying, they
may be breaking you away from sin.
They may be bringing you nearer to God.
They may be weaning, you away from the world, they may be
fitting you, they are all sitting you for heaven.
Every Providence is fitting you for heaven.
We know this because Paul says all things work together for
good. And he's already grounded the
good in the Eternal good. He's already grounded the good
and previous verses in the Eternal glories to come right
for. You will share in the glories of
Christ provided you suffer with him.
Also, there's Eternal good to come even though there will be
bad moments now. But these are all from the
providential hand of God, meant for your good, Like a Surgeon,
who cuts and stitches back. He's working on to the
patient's. Good.
So does God work all things together for our good?
Even if he has to cut away something and Stitch something
back together? He's working for our good.
Remember, all of this is not according to the providence's
themselves. It's not according to the
moments themselves, the moments are nothing apart from the hand
of God, who is working those moments together for something,
right? Apart from his power, and his
grace, they're just moments. Right?
And if we think they're just moments than we might, as well
be fatalist. If we think they're just
moments, we might, as well become determinist.
We might as well think that God is distant from us and that he
has nothing to do with every moment of our lives.
But I refuse to serve that God because the Bible doesn't
describe that God, the Bible describes.
The God, who is intricately involved in?
Intimately involved in your life and every single moment of the
day. Weather in The Taking of things
or the blessing of things. He's good.
Is good and we any means for you to know this.
Paul says we know this It's to be known with certainty.
This is why I told you earlier that what you're reading is the
word of God. It's not the opinion of a man
who was, you know, caught up in some spiritual excitement.
This is a man who has devoted to the word of God who is
experienced much hardship and he's riding this saying.
I know this and we can know this God wants you to know this which
is why pins it in. God breathed scriptures for you
but you can also note as you test God in it as you trust him
in it. You'll know it in your own
experience as well but God is working together.
Good for you. All things work together for the
Eternal good of those who love God and are called according to
his purpose. Now foundation in believing this
Our foundation and believing this is what has long been
called the Golden Chain of redemption children on your
coloring sheet. You have the golden chain of
redemption. Romans 8:28 through 30.
And we know that for those who love God, all things work
together for good. For those who are called
according to his purpose. For Those whom he foreknew.
He also predestined to be conformed, to the image of his
son in order, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. And so, you see the ultimate
good. There Christ is the son.
You are being as ones. Have been adopted for known
predestined, you were being conformed to the image of the
Sun. So that Christ might be the
Firstborn among many brothers so that there will be a multitude.
In heaven. One day, singing the Praises of
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
And Those whom he predestined, he also called, and Those whom
he called, he also Justified and Those whom he justified, he also
glorified his chain again, verses, one through Twenty
Eight. Men are statements of Truth.
The Privileges of the believer in verses, 29 through 32, serve
as the foundation on which all of these truths stand and that
Foundation is laid in the predestination of God.
We receive these privileges and our covenant with Christ were
founded in his blood. Which comes to us by grace
through faith, according to Ephesians 2:8, but they are
founded in the wise counsel of God which eternally secures the
time, the entire work for his people.
All that God is doing in your life, is eternally secure in God
because he's the one doing the work and so this is good.
What this means is that Christ is not labor, in vain Christ did
not die on a cross. In vain Christ.
Did not rise again in vain. He Has not exercised.
His lordship over all creation, even now in vain There is a
people of God, reserved for the Son of God as a bride to be
enjoyed for eternity in the new heavens and new earth.
This is sure. And this is what we are seeing
here. In these verses, these verses
have long been referred to as a Golden Chain of redemption.
Those whom he foreknew, he predestined Those whom he
predestined, he called Those whom he called he justified
Those, whom he justified, he glorified each link, then his
interest intricately connected to the leaks before and after
them if you remove any He one of these links, it becomes a shaky
chain. It becomes a shaky hope that you
have a hope really that you cannot stand on its more of
that. Hope like that when you cling to
like, I hope this works out for me as you jump out of the
airplane and prepare to pull the Chute, right?
You're hoping that thing works but that's not the sure and
steady hope that the Paul's been describing here.
What he's been describing is something that you could take to
the bank as we talked about, right?
It's something that you can bet your life on.
It's guaranteed for you, it's reserved for you in heaven.
It's kept Incorruptible and undefiled by anything in this
life and so it's yours because God holds it.
It's in his hands. He works it together and if you
remove any one of these things, You are left to say, well, this
might work out for my eternal good, but I'll have to wait and
see. And that's no hope at all.
That's no Comfort at all. Whether you lose a daughter and
you have to say, well, this might be good.
There's no comfort in that. I just told you, what comforted
Us in that moment was seeing in Scripture, that God means all
things for good. That's comforting.
That's comforting because I can trust that God is.
Sure and steady, everything that God designed for Glory,
everything that he designs for Glory and happiness, is the end
goal, everything that he has a waiting us, he decrees by his
own purposes, to Grace, and Holiness, as the way to get that
in. So he's working in Us by Grace,
making us, holy unto the image of Christ.
So that we enjoy the happiness of God, the blessedness the
joyfulness of being in Christ's what Christ says, if you will
Bay me, John 15. If you will obey me, my joy will
be in you and your joy will be complete.
It'll be full So, you have a happiness now in your Holiness
and that Holiness is working to unto you.
And eternal, good in which you will be glorified with Christ,
forever, his glory, Your Glory, as we saw in John 17, just as he
prays there in John 17, a few weeks ago.
Father, restore to me the glories that I had with you
before the foundation of the Earth.
And then he prays later, I have given my glory to them.
Right? It's his glory is your glory.
He's wanting you. He's saving you unto this
experience that you'll know the glory of God as if it were your
own. And then he Paul writes here,
Those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed, to
the image of his son. Everything that God designed for
Glory and happiness, is the end goal.
He decrees in this, by his purposes, right notice the text
doesn't say Those whom he foreknew to be holy.
It's not saying he Those whom he foreknew to be holy.
That's this understanding as some would hold out that God can
look through because he's God, he can look through the
corridors of time and he can see who will be holy and so he
chooses them. Well, no, that's, that's wrong
because it doesn't say that if you leave out the word
predestined and you could argue that, but that's not what it
says. It says, Those whom he
predestined to be holy Those, whom he predestined to be
conformed, to the image of his son.
Those are the ones who for nude and so is cow.
Counsel is his own. His wisdom is his own as
Providence belongs to him. They do not waver with the fell
with a frail and fickle will of men he's not waiting on your
bidding. They are sure.
God's foreknowledge is best understood in light of his love
for his people. He chooses to love each.
One of us, he's lucky his love for us is the same as his owning
us as his children. We were adopted because he chose
to do so therefore we love him. And that's what we see in verse
28. We love him.
Those who love him. That all things work together
for good. We love him because he chose us
to be his children as we've seen in previous Passage. 1st John
4:19 says, we love because he first loved us.
And first Peter 11 through to Peter, the Apostle, Peter opens
his book. This way, he's riding to a bunch
of Christians and a bunch of different areas in the
dispersion, he says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those
who are elect Exiles of the dispersion according to the
foreknowledge of God. So, they're elect Exiles
according to the foreknowledge of God, the father in The
sanctification of the spirit for the obedience to G4, obedience
to Jesus Christ. And for sprinkling with his
blood, May Grace, and peace, be multiplied to you.
So he attributes this as a work of God as well.
And so Those whom he foreknew those, he predestined to be
conformed, to the image of a son Holiness is consistent being
conformed to the image of Christ.
When we call God, holy, we are saying that he's altogether set
apart. When we say that it is our one.
Let me start here. First, the Bible says for you to
be holy as God is Holy It's command from God for you to be
holy as God has held that. That means you don't get out of
Holiness by saying. Well, this is just the way God
made me. No God didn't make you sinful
and messed up, right? But that is how you are because
of the fall, but God Is recreating You, by his Spirit to
be conformed, to the image of his own son.
He's redeeming everything about you.
You don't get to look at Holiness and say, well, this is
just me, I'm just an angry bitter person.
I just easily upset by things, I'm just whatever.
I got, I just lost, you know, just I just love women, you
know, like, you don't get to say those things.
You don't get out of Holiness because you think that your
sinfulness is too great Christ. Died to save you from your sins.
If you think your sinfulness is great.
What you're in effect saying is that Christ's death is of no
effect for your life. What a terrible place to be.
Well, we know that he died, we know that he rose again.
We know that we have the spirit of God in us as we read in
previous verses Romans 8:13 she put to death the Deeds of the
flesh. According to the spirit is alive
in you, you will walk according to the spirit, right?
So there is work to do but Holiness is becoming like
Christ. It's to Behold The Glory of
Jesus Christ for so long and so well and and to continue looking
at him and when you take your gaze away, it's to repent and to
turn back into look at Christ again and say he is my example.
He's my Mark, he's the affection of my life, he is what I long to
behold, I will Look at him unto psyched if ocation I'll be
Sanctified as I Behold Him. That's what Paul says in 2nd
Corinthians Chapter 3 beholding The Glory of Christ.
We are transformed from one degree of glory to the next.
And so Christ is the image of the father.
We were told that he is the exact imprint of his nature.
And here what we are told is that we are the image of Christ,
we're supposed to be we are being worked into made into
shaped into the image of Christ. We have the spirit of Christ if
we are meant to walk and to live as Christ, did we ought to Bear
our sufferings patiently as Christ.
If You see it's by the work of God for us in Christ Jesus that
we have the image of God restored to us and God's
likeness renewed upon us. This is how he's molding and
shaping us into the image of Christ.
It's by faith in Christ. It's by all of his work through
crisis by saving us from our sins in crisis, by putting his
Spirit on us because of the work of Christ.
Everything comes down to Christ, doing the work, and God using
the work of Christ. By the spirit of God to
transform us into the image of Christ.
It's Christ Christ, Christ through, and through That's what
salvation and sanctification and glorification are about their,
about praising the name of Jesus.
They're about looking unto him. And so we cannot conform
ourselves to Christ rather. We give ourselves to Christ and
that happens it takes rise in us because God has given us to
Christ. You understand that like you
don't want you don't have desires for Christ except that
God has given you to Christ already.
He works it in you and insu in doing so he predestines you to
be conformed to the same image of his son.
This is how, you know, if you were yet called by God beside,
you know, if you were yet in the faith family, are you being
conformed into the image of Christ?
Do you desire? Do you desire Christ?
Do you desire to put off sinfulness and to be holy as God
is? Holy does your love for God?
Reflect the sun's love for God. I don't mean perfectly.
We'll never do it perfectly. I just mean, is there any
remnant of such Desires in you? Is there any examples of such
Desires in you? If so, then you are a brother or
sister to the firstborn among many brothers.
He has preeminence in all things.
He is the head of the family of God.
He deserves all honor and praise and glory due.
His name, and praise be to God. For seeing fit to call us as
Sons and Daughters to himself in Christ.
Jesus, he is Christ, is the Son of God.
And so we are now the children of God through God's gracious,
adoption, it may seem that there are only a few children of God,
right? You might look around the world.
Look at the news. News and think, man, there are
just a few children of God in this world.
Well, if you look at any one day or any one place, or any one
time, it might seem that way. However, when all the children
of God come together on the last day, it will be a multitude.
That John says in his Revelation ID, that is too great to number.
A multitude that is too great to number a people from every tribe
tongue and Nation called, by God, to be his children and
co-heirs with Christ, when God takes Abraham out and out of his
tent and into the dark lit night.
He tells him to look into the sky and to Number the Stars, if
he can What she could not do. And he tells him.
So will the Nations be blessed in you?
There's this will be your people.
And we know that we are in Abraham if we have faith in
Christ. Amen.
We are numbered among Israel. If we have faith in Christ, I
don't mean Israel. The current Nation.
I mean, Israel, the people of God in the Old Testament, were
numbered among those whom were reading on now.
Those whom he predestined, he also called, and Those whom he
called, he also Justified everyone that is affectionately
called by God will be justified. This means they are declared
free from the debt of sin, which is death, Romans 6:23, the wages
of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ. Our Lord you are accepted, you
were adopted, I should say as righteous through Jesus Christ.
Second Corinthians 5:21 for our sake.
He made him to be sin who knew no sin.
So that in him, we might become the righteousness of God, our
sin on him was laid. Amen.
His righteousness on us was Laid in John chapter 6, as Jesus is
describing himself as the bread of life and anyone who will eat
of him will have eternal life. He says this, he says all that
the father gives me will come to me.
Your effectually called, you are Justified.
All that the father gives me will come to me, and whoever
comes to me, I will never cast out John 6:44.
No one can come to me, just a few verses later.
No one can come to me. Unless the father who sent me
draws that person and I will raise him up on the last day.
Glorified right? You see it there.
I mean, Jesus teaching in John chapter 6, The the calling the
justification, the sanctification and the
glorification of the believer, John 6:47, truly, truly just a
few verses later, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal
life, whoever believes in Christ as Lord, and Savior has eternal
life. Amen.
Boo. Because of the work of the
father and calling us to himself through Christ.
We are free from the guilt of every sin.
We have committed your free from the guilt of every sin.
You've committed or will commit. No sin, can condemn you Romans
8:1 right there is therefore now no condemnation for those who
are in Jesus. So for all who believe in Jesus
Christ, the Declaration is made. The Declaration is final.
It will not be reversed. We are no longer criminals and
Heavens cork. We are owned and loved as God's
children. His favor is on us as it is on
his own son. Blessed, are you who have had
your sins erased by God's forgiveness, none or justified
in this way except those whom God calls to himself, those who
will not hear the call of the Gospel?
We remain under guilt and wrath but to all who will repent of
their sins and believe in Christ Jesus, as Lord this day they
will be saved and they will receive eternal life.
Those whom he justified, he also glorified the power of our sin
is broken and God's calling us. The thing that keeps you from
coming to Christ, is the power of your sin over.
You, you are a slave to sin. Your slave to sin, you're dead
in your trespasses and sins. Ephesians 2, 1 3, 3 sets.
But the power of sin is broken when God calls you.
The guilt of sin is removed when God justifies you.
Everything. This is what this means.
Now, there, everybody pay attention to everything, which
stands in the way of you, receiving the glory of Christ,
your sin, and your sinfulness, your guilt of sin.
Everything was stands in the way of Glory has now been removed by
God's calling you and by God's justifying, you praise the Lord.
There's nothing that stands in the way between you and the
Lord, nothing can hinder your soul.
So from reaching Glory, if you believe these things you believe
that Christ is Lord notice here that glorified is in the past
tense, so it just gets better. It was better than a while.
Man was that guy's eye anyway, whatever.
Billy something, the commercials, right?
And wait, there's more right notice that glorified is in the
past tense. That you're not yet glorified
Paul riding this wasn't yet glorified.
The people he's riding to he expects.
They're going to read it so they're not yet clarified,
right? It's in the past tense.
It's a thing which is already been accomplished in eternity
future. God is saying through Paul here.
Your glorification is certain yes it's spoken of as oh I've
already done it. God has saved us.
God has called us with a high and holy calling in his loving
and providential purpose. He accomplishes the salvation of
his people. When Christ was Sent in Matthew
chapter 1, we read that he will be called Jesus because he saves
his people from their sins, but there wasn't a mission with no
with no Victory inside. It wasn't a mission that was
just like well we roll the dice here and see if this works.
God talking to the sun, you can see it in heaven, right?
Like I'm going to send you down, the people are going to reject
you real bad. Like they're going to nail you
to a cross. They're going to kill you.
And then we'll just see all right.
This is all I know to do. We'll just see if this works
out. No.
No, no, no. The atonement of Christ is
definite for his people. But it's not lacking, it's not
lacking, right? He dies, because there was a
people already predestined by The Calling of God to become the
people of God. People who were going to be
Sanctified and glorified a people who were going to be in
heaven, ones that John lays eyes on us as man.
It's a number two. Great to count.
The multitude is large and its people from every tribe tongue
and nation in there. Singing the Praises of God It's
sure Those whom he justified. He also glorified.
There's nothing about that. That you would say, no, it's
past tense, it's done. Its accomplished.
This is what he longed for this is what God was doing in Genesis
chapter 3. When he looks at the serpent he
says I'm going to put enmity between you and the woman.
Well, the seed of the woman. You'll bruise his heel but he
will crush your head. God knew this is why he calls
Eve. The mother of all living it's
not simply I mean it is that she's a woman and that is women
are made to be motherly. Absolutely.
But it's even further than that right?
It's it's that she was going to be the mother of all living
according to God. What was the pronouncement of
the Judgment death? In the day that you eat of it,
you will surely die, Eve will be become the mother of all living.
Was that me? It's going to be the mother to
all who place their faith in Christ in a sense, right?
Christ is going to come. He's going to make a way for all
to, to be made, right to be redeemed from their sins
Justified freely glorified, right?
She's the mother of all living in that sense that she was going
to that through her seed was going to come Christ.
The head. Crusher, amazing, nothing less
than this satisfies. The purposes of God, this is
what he means. When he wants to show the
glories of a redemption in full, he means for us to see that
there is a real people of God, just as there was always a
remnant of Israel and all the dispersions, and all the
Captivity Tsar was always a Remnant who would repent and
return to the Lord. So, is there a remnant of the
church? There's a remnant of God's
people. Who will dwell in heaven with
him and his so all that he does for us all that he does in US
Works unto this great end of glorification.
Are God's people, chosen. Yes, unto salvation.
Are they called if so does unto his kingdom and Glory?
Are they born again? It is unto an Incorruptible
inheritance. Are they Afflicted?
Well, it's working for them and exceeding and eternal weight of
Glory. So you could things for 16
through 18. We do not lose heart though.
Our outer self is wasting away. Our inner self is being renewed
day, by day. For this life.
Momentary Affliction is preparing for us, an eternal
weight of Glory beyond all comparison.
As we look not to the things that are seeing, but the things
that are unseen, Seen for the things that are seen are
transient, but the things that are seen, are things that are
unseen are eternal. All things, all things work
together for the good, the Eternal good of those who love
God and are called, according to his purpose.
I want you to notice we're Hope rest.
The author of all of these works is the same.
The author of every one of these is the same.
It's not Paul, it's not you, it's not your grandmother went
to church, all right, it's God. That's God.
What we see here is that God predestines God calls, God
justifies God, glorifies his people.
And if he's doing the work, you can have sure, hope because he's
doing the work, you have sure. Hope our created Wills are so
fickle. We don't know what we want from
day to day. Created powers on this Earth are
so feeble compared to God. They're not all powerful, they
may have power, but they're not all powerful. if our submit, if
our Salvation depended on our will or on some created Power,
and we would be doomed. But God himself undertakes, the
work of Salvation, from beginning to end.
It is his work so that we might constantly depend upon him so
that we might constantly subject ourselves to his providential
care of our Lives even when we go Kicking and Screaming into
it. In doing so.
Promise. From the scriptures.
And from my own experience, you will taste and see that.
God is good. You'll taste and see that.
He is good. When we ascribe all praise and
glory to his great name, It's because you have tasted and seen
that he's good. And we will one day, along with
the multitude of saints in Heaven cast every Crown Before
the Throne of Christ, declare him righteous and holy declare
him, lovely and perfect. Declare ourselves unfit, for
such a great king, and Kingdom, these truths of Romans 8 must
serve. They must serve, it's the
greatest chapter in the Bible. They must serve as a mighty
encouragement to your faith and your hope in these truths, we
see that God's ways and works are perfect from beginning to
end. He's working together for the
good of all who love God and are called according to his purpose.
It's working together. All things for the good of all
who love God and are called according to his purpose.
Amen, you stand to your feet. Let's prepare to receive the
Lord's Supper this morning. Go ahead and bite the ushers to
come forward. Only give you a couple of
instructions about the Lord's Supper here.
First of all, if you are a believer in Christ Jesus,
whether you're a member here or not, you're a believer in the in
Christ. Baptized.
Hot then we invite you to receive the Lord's supper with
us today. There is on the tray, any gluten
free peoples. There's a gluten-free option,
that's marked. So, make note of that, and I'm
going to invite the worship team to sing.
Now going to bite you to worship the new song called day by day
and sing the words of it. And then I'll come and lead us
in worship. Let me say this real quick and
the Lord's Supper, there are two great promises and I want you to
think about these things. As you see, As you examine your
own heart and mind, as you prepare to receive the Lord's.
Supper you confess your sins now.
There's two great promises for you to remember as you trust
that God is working all things together for the good of those
who love him and are called according to his purpose.
The first is this Christ died for Sinners.
That's what the Lord's Supper showing us.
That there was a real broken body.
There was a real event where blood was spilled for the
Forgiveness of the sins of God's people and when you eat and you
drink, you're saying, I'm feasting on Christ.
I'm trusting in this new covenant in his blood.
And then the second grade truth to help us see that he's working
together. All things for good is that he's
coming again. He's coming again, Paul rides at
the end of his instructions on Lord suffered that as long as
you as often as you eat and drink this, eat this bread and
drink this cup you proclaim, the Lord's death until he comes.
Christ is coming for you. Heaven is coming for you.
It's there. It's sure you will be glorified.
So eat and drink today and Faith, repent of your sins and
Eden drank take of the Lord in faith today.
But sing