The Key to Our Security
Title: The Key to Our Security
Part: 17 of 27 Romans Series
Reading: Romans 8:26-32
Introduction
And if you've got a Bible with you, I'm going to read some verses from the Book of Romans 8. I'm going to read from verse 26 down to verse 32. Those of you who have been here in recent weeks will know we've been going through the book of Romans for a little while and we're coming to a very rich section this morning where in verse 26, Paul writes,
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
That's as far as we're going to read. I heard about a father and his son who are walking out one night and as they're walking along, the son said to his father, “Dad, how far is the moon from the Earth?”
And the father said, “I don't know son, I don't know the answer to that question.” They walked on a bit further and the son said, “Dad, how many miles is the moon across?” The Dad said “I don't know. I never found that out.
They walked on a bit further and the son said, “how far is the nearest star to us?” His dad said, “I've no idea. I just don't know that kind of stuff.” And after a while, the boy said, “Dad, I hope you don't mind me asking you all these questions.”
And the father said, “Not at all son, you don't learn anything if you don't ask any questions.” Well, it's good to ask questions and Paul asks some key questions in this section of Romans 8, and he leads you and me to come up with the answer to them.
I want to point them out to you, there are a number of questions — I am picking out three of them. One is in verse 31 chapter and verse 31, the middle of that verse, Paul says, If God is for us, who can be against us?
The reality is, of course, all kinds of things can seem to be against us. But to what effect? The second question is in verse 33, he says, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? And the reality is there are all kinds of charges and condemnation that comes against God's people.
But to what effect? And the third question is in verse 35, he says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And the reality is that there are many things that seem to separate us from the love of Christ.
Paul lists a few, he says, shall trouble, shall hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sores — all these might seem like threats to us — but to what effect? And I want to look at these questions and in doing so, discover something of the security of the stability and even the serenity that you and I may know in the midst of seeming hostility and conflict.
Now I need to make a confession, when I began to prepare this message earlier in the week, my intention was to look at all three questions this morning. But they have grown, and I am only going to deal with the first one this morning, that's all we'll have time for.
Question 1 – If God is for us, who can be against us?
And that first question is here in verse 31, if God is for us who can be against us? And in so doing I want to talk about the key to our security in a world where lots may seem to be against us.
Now these verses I read to you this morning consist of a string of verses, are often quoted, often out of their context, taken out of their context and quoted — and that's not illegitimate — but I'm going to put them all back into context this morning.
That's the safest and the best way to interpret scripture. And in answering this question, if God is for us who can be against us? we've got to go back a couple of verses to understand why he asks the question in the first place.
Let me take you back to verse 28. Verse 28 is a well-known verse, and it says this, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.
Now that's a very reassuring verse that many of us are familiar with. Probably many of us are more familiar with the King James version. It's a well quoted verse. King James version says, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.
And if you're like me, you've probably found yourself in situations where things are seemingly gone wrong and you simply pluck out this verse quoted and everything feels okay again, because all things work together for good.
So, on a lighter level, if you miss a plane, you say to yourself, “Oh, well, all things work together for God. Maybe the plane I should have caught is going to crash” and something inside you almost hopes it does just to prove the point and you're going to be safe because you missed it.
Or somebody else is diagnosed, maybe with some serious disease, life threatening disease, and we say, well, all things work together for good to those who love God. And so, okay I don't like it, but it all works for good, we think to ourselves.
And the idea behind this first, the popular idea is that all kinds of things happen in your life where the good or bad, but don't panic about them because God is behind all these things, and they're all for ultimate good, which God is bringing about in our lives.
So, when some of your friends are in trouble, we send them a card and right on the bottom. Romans 8:28 All things work together for good. But, it's a big but, is this the right understanding of what Paul is saying in this verse?
We have to ask the question, what is the subject of the verse? If you read the King James version, it says, we know that all things work together for good to those that love God. They're the subject of the sentence is things.
All things work together. Things are the key; things work for good. Things come from God. That would be the understanding of the King James rendering of that. But I want to be so bold as to suggest to you that is not a good translation.
In fact, it isn't a good translation. In the Greek texts — and of course, Bibles are translations from the original Greek in which it was first written — the word things in Greek is not an active word, it's a passive word.
Things don't work. In the Greek text things are not the subject of the sentence because things are passive. The subject of the sentence, in fact, is God. Now the NIV, the new international version, does a better job where it says and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been caught according to his purpose.
So, the subject is not things. The subject is God. Now you say, what is the difference? The difference is very significant because the popular understanding of that verse would indicate that things that come into our life, no matter what they look like, whether they're bad or indifferent or good, behind them is the will and purpose of God.
a)Satanic Sources of Evil
But that actually is probably not the case. The case is that there are things that come into your life that are bad because they are satanic in origin maybe they are evil in origin.
But the point is, no matter what things we become exposed to, God works for good the things themselves may be bad things, the things themselves, maybe things that should be resisted and fought. But in them, God works for good. And I would illustrate this to you, in fact, Verse 28 begins with the word and, and we know I was taught never to begin a sentence with the word, and because it's a linking word, it connects what's gone before with what follows.
It's a connecting word. And what has gone before, Paul is talking about the Holy Spirit, who helps us in our weaknesses where we think we don't know how to live, how to behave, how to act.
The Holy Spirit helps in our weakness. We don't know how to pray; he says in our intercession. The Holy Spirit intercedes with groans that words can't express and we get our motivation wrong and the spirit searches our minds.
He says that we intercede in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God, the subject of the earlier verse is God, the Holy Spirit, and it remains God in this verse and the God who helps in our weakness that God who intercedes or gives us what to pray for is the God who works for good.
You see, there are bad things, we've got to be realistic about this. There are bad things that happen to us. There was a bestselling book a few years ago written I believe by a Jewish rabbi it was called ‘Why bad things happen to good people.’
I haven't read the book, but bad things do happen to good people. Paul himself talks in this book of Romans about bad things, and he identifies three sources of things that come into your life. There is, first of all, a satanic source of evil that will affect every one of us in this room.
In Romans 1:13, the beginning of the book, Paul says to these Romans, I plan many times to come to you, but I've been prevented from doing so until now. They do not tell us why he's been prevented from going to Rome.
But later on, another case when he wrote to the Thessalonians, he said to them and 1 Thessalonians 2:18, we wanted to come to you, certainly I Paul did again and again, but Satan stopped us.
Now says Paul Satan has stopped me doing what I was wanting to do, to come to you. Because Satan can get involved in your life. He can attack you. He can prevent you in all kinds of ways.
Now, of course, we have to be careful we don't have a dualistic understanding of the universe where there's good on one side and evil on the other. God on one side, Satan on the other and they're fighting it out.
But thankfully, God is a bit stronger than the devil and he's going to win. That isn't how we view the universe. God and Satan are not similar at all. God is the creator, Satan is created. When God created the angelic beings that it speaks about in scripture, there was a hierarchy amongst the angels.
There were cherubim and seraphim and angels and archangels, and there was a supreme angel called the Morning Star the brightest light in the night sky — and angels are referred to as stars often in scripture — and his name was Lucifer, which means the morning star.
Now he can in this position and in his pride, he sought to be equal with God and God cast him out of heaven. And he was thrown to the Earth, and he's busy. He got in the way of Jesus.
He tempted him in the wilderness, sought to divert him there. Paul says, He's impeded me. He's stopped me going where I wanted to go. Paul talked on one occasion about a thorn in his flesh. Now he doesn't tell us what the thorn is flesh was, it could have been anything, but I suspect it was something physical.
But he describes it. He says it's a messenger from Satan sent to torment me. Now, Pauls says there's something in my life and it comes from Satan.
It's designed to torment me, so you read this 2 Corinthians 12, Paul did the obvious thing. He prayed and said, “Lord, take it away from me.” And you would expect a God to say, “Yes, Paul, it's satanic I'll take it away.”
But he didn't. He said, No, my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in your weakness. And Paul says, therefore, I'll boast about my weakness and whereas he began saying, take it away.
He ended up saying, I rejoice in the fact that Satan attacking me is an opportunity for God to do something good. And it's true that Satan attacks. I've heard it stated on more than one occasion that the events of September eleven, 2001, were a work of God judging America.
Now, these are American preachers who I heard say this, two of them. Nobody outside of that country has the right to make that kind of statement, but to people who are Americans. But God doesn't do evil things like that, God doesn't orchestrate that kind of tragedy and death and carnage and grieving.
Whatever else is true, the cause behind that event was evil, you can be sure of that. But the point is this in all things God will work for good. The things may be bad, the things may be evil.
And so whenever we are thrown off guard and say this is an absolute tragedy, it's all just going to be bad, we can say, Lord, I want to thank you. This did not come from heaven. This came from hell. But in it, you can work for good.
b)Human Sources of Evil
There are human sources of evil, Paul tells us also in the book of Romans, you remember back in the early chapters, he talks about the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppressed the truth by their wickedness, etc.
You see the explanation for all the evil in the world is not satanic. A lot of it is human. Because another thing that's not true of Satan is true of God, is God is in all places all the time.
Satan is not in all places, all the time. Satan goes to and fro around the Earth we're told, he is limited. But evil still takes place, we know he has his fallen angels, demons that operate with him. But human nature is itself corrupted.
You remember that when Paul went back to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey instead of being welcomed by the Christians in Jerusalem. There are many of them who had picked up rumors about Paul being anti-Jewish, anti the law of Moses, and they were intent on preventing him further in his travels.
And he ended up becoming arrested in Jerusalem, sent down to Caesarea kept in jail for two years. Then he was shipped to Rome that took the best part of a year.
His boat sank several times. He ended up spending the winter in Malta, having been shipwrecked arrived in Rome. And when he got to Rome, he spent two years under arrest in Rome. Put together, that's five years. That’s Paul's life.
And when he wrote his letter to the Philippians. From prison in Rome, he settled in Philippians 1:12. I want you to know brothers, what has happened to me. Although the background behind it, I'm adding this now.
The background behind it, we know was human evil motivation and intention. I want you to know what has happened to me. Has served to advance the gospel as a result has become clear throughout the whole palace guards and for everyone else, I am in chains for Christ.
Now listen, Paul wrote this book to the Romans that we are looking at on his way back to Jerusalem — his intention hinges on coming to Rome — He never went to Rome the way he was intending to.
All his plans were thrown out. But he says to the Philippines, “Hey, don't panic about this. Yeah, I know. Back in Jerusalem, there are some Christians whose gossip led to my arrest. I know that I know I've wasted humanly five of the prime years of my life. I know that humanly. But don't panic because in all things, God works for good”
“And I'll tell you something you Philippians,” he says. “Right here in this Roman prison, there have been chaining me to a captive audience every day eight hours at a time, I don't know how long the shifts were. And it's known throughout the whole palace guard, I'm in prison for Christ.”
“Not only that,” he says at the end of Philippians. “The Saints and Caesar's household send you greetings.”
Why are there saints, that is a church the Christians and Caesar's household send you greetings. Why are there Christians in Caesar's household? I'll tell you why. Because Paul is in Caesar's prison. Did God put him in Prison?
c)Natural Sources of Evil
No, it was evil intent. But don't panic. God will work had a good purpose in an evil context. There are satanic sources of evil. There are human sources of evil, and there are natural sources of evil as well. You see, look again at Paul and his own experience.
When Paul used to travel, his boats normally sank. Why do they sink? Well, the engineering skills weren't quite up to 21st century standards, so they didn't have the kind of securities we'd take for granted, but there were bad weather, natural resources.
It wasn't that God sank his boats “So well I think Paul needs a bit of fun, so I'll think is boats and have him swim for a day and a night” because he was a day and a night in the open sea on one occasion, he tells us.
They're natural causes. He speaks in Romans 8 about the creation groaning in pain, that's back in verse 22. The whole creation is fallen, and so we're going to be part of that. four years ago, I had a heart attack, and it changed my life, and the reason the explanation, my heartache is quite simple.
It's a genetic fault in my family line. My maternal grandfather died in his forties of heart failure. He had three brothers. They all died in their forties of heart failure. Fortunately, the advances in medical science means I don't have to die in my forties.
But I remember once after my heart attack sitting talking to somebody, and he said, “Why do you think God gave you this heart attack?” I said “God didn't give me this heart attack. Oh, do you think Satan gave you this?”
“How to know Satan didn't give me this heart attack? Well, who gave you this heart attack? I said my grandfather did. It's his fault. And before him, his father, before him, however far he goes back.” And my cardiologist told me that if I'd been investigated when I was a teenager, they would have predicted I would have had a heart attack eventually.
But I just never had a check-up until I had my heart attack, so I never knew the best way to live, ignorance is bliss. But there's no behind the scenes subtlety to this, it's a purely natural, predictable element.
And that's I my children will be checked up early to make sure it doesn't happen to them. Because we can predict certain possibilities. And so, the natural sources of the world is fallen. And you and I are going to be subject to all of these.
We're going to know satanic evil. We're going to know human evil. We're going to know natural events that are evil. The avalanche that took place in British Columbia tragically ended the lives of seven teenage students is a natural event, sadly.
And these things happen. But what do we do when these things happen? Be they satanic, human or natural? We can rest in this security that in all things, the things may not be from God. But what is true is in all things God works for good.
Now, let me point out you, two important criteria that are attached to this, one is a human criteria, one is that divine criteria. Let me read the verse again. Verse 28, we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him.
Human Criteria
That's a human criteria. This applies to those who love him. And then he says, and those have been called according to his purpose. That's the divine criteria being called according to his purpose. Not to our own purposes or our own agendas.
We're on God's agenda and called to his purpose. Let me just comment on these for a moment, the human criteria. You see, this is not a carte blanche promise that you can take to anybody in any situation, say, “Well, you know, it's a mess, but God will work for good.”
He will work for good, provided you are letting him. How did you let him? By being among those who love God and embraced by that statement, to love God, is the submission of our lives to God, the recognition of God's wisdom and sovereignty and power in our lives.
And to those who love God, this is the condition we may live with this security as another verse, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:12. I know whom I have believed, he said, and I am persuaded — Listen to this — I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day.
What is he persuaded that God is able to keep, God is able to keep that is God it look after what I've committed to him. What about the things I have not committed to him? He has taken no responsibility to keep.
You see, God is committed to keep to look after to preserve what I commit to him. What I don't commit to him he has not undertaken to keep. Let me just read this if I commit my money to a bank, they undertake it to keep it for me and they will take full responsibility for it.
If I do not commit my money to the bank and instead, I hide it under my mattress. The bank will take no responsibility, of course they won't. If I put my money in the bank and the bank is robbed, the bank will refund me because they have undertaken to keep what I have committed to them.
But if I put the money under the mattress in the bank and I get robbed, the bank will have no interest because I've not given it to them in the first place. You see, God will keep what we commit.
God will preserve what we have given and this promise, we know that in all things God works for, the good is to those who love him. That's why this morning, if you don't know Jesus Christ and a personal living way, you've not come into a relationship with him, you have none of the securities that belong to the child of God.
It is conditional, but there is a defined criteria that I want to talk about, he says, we know in all things, God works for the good of those who love him and who are being called according to his purpose.
Well, what are his purposes. What exactly is the good that corresponds to his purpose in our lives? You see, I can talk about things working together for good. When life is made more comfortable for me, that by my reckoning is good.
Divine Criteria
But is there a Paul is talking about? What is his purpose for being called to according to his purposes? Well, again, we must interpret this in its context. And we read on the next verse 29 and usually verse 28 is detached from verse 29 and verse 29 usually stands alone as something detached from verse 28.
But Verse 29 says this, having said, we know in all things God works for the good of those who love him who are being called according to his purpose for those God for knew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son.
This is the ultimate purpose, says Paul the ultimate good to which we have been called is that we're conformed into the likeness of his son. So, when things happen in your life and things happen in my life that may not be comfortable, there must be a good God.
Working for good is not making me comfortable, necessarily. God working for good is using this to make me more like his son. Which sometimes is a very uncomfortable process. It's knocking the rough edges; it's smoothing the rough territory.
Now, let me comment on this word predestined, which is here in the text and which I am sure by whatever means I try to understand this I will fall out with somebody. But that's okay, just don't hit me. Just wait to get to heaven, then you will find out I was right.
I already have people lining up after the first service to get me on this one. This is an explosive word. What does it mean? The word predestined, it occurs only twice in the New Testament here and in Ephesians chapter one.
And let me say, first of all, the word predestined is not a statement about the past where you came from or how you came to be where you are. It's a statement about the future, where you're going. The word pre-destined is related word destination.
Your destination has been assured to be predestined. You see, sometimes we take this first and we apply it backwards, we applied back in and into being predestined something about the past, but the word itself is a word about the future.
Let me just read this. I once boarded a wrong plane in Dallas and Texas. I didn't know you could board wrong planes and get away with it, but I did. By mistake, I was flying from Portland to New York City, and I was routed via Dallas, and then I was connecting in New York, on to London, back to England.
And my incoming flight from Portland was a little bit late, and I got off the plane and I knew my departure gate was gate 22 and I went to Gate 22. That's a 22 and a 22 A. And there was a line I joined the line, gave my boarding card.
They tore it off and I got on the plane, sat in my seat. And the aircraft left the gate, went out to the runway, and before we began to go down the runway, the captain came on and said to us, among other things, are flying time to Oklahoma City is one hour and 50 minutes.
I turn to the lady sitting next to me and said, “Did you hear what the captain said?” She said, “What? I wasn't listening.” I said, “He said our flying time to Oklahoma City is one hour, 50 minutes,” she said.
So, I said, “We're not going to Oklahoma City, we're going to New York City is four hours and 50 minutes.” she said. “You think you're going to New York City?” I said, “I've got a ticket to New York City.”
She said, “Not on this plane. You ain't.” I said, “Where is this plane going?” She said, “This plane's going, where the captain's going and where I'm going. Oklahoma City one hour, 50 minutes.” So, I pressed the button, the flight attendant and down the aisle, and I said, I think I'm on the wrong plane.
You should have my boarding guys said, you're on the wrong plane. So, at the front, the plane stopped and then she came back down. The plane stopped me, said the other. The New York plane has left its gate.
We can do nothing about it now, I'm afraid you have to go to Oklahoma City and then we'll get you on from there. Well, the lady sitting next to me could have said this. You are now predestined to go to Oklahoma City.
Now I'm in the plane, I'm going to Oklahoma. So that's when the plane is going to be predestined to go to Oklahoma City. It says nothing about how I got on the plane in the first place. Nothing about where I came from originally.
That's why, on the two occasions speaks of being predestined to speak for those who are in Christ. Not those who are not in Christ, those who in Christ, if you're in Christ, you're predestined to something, theres a goal.
There's an objective to your being a Christian. And it's far, far bigger than just getting your sins forgiven so your conscience is clear, it's being moulded into the image of Christ.
Incidentally, it was a great thing to have done, because in Oklahoma City, they were so apologetic that they hadn't spotted when I gave my boarding card, I was on the wrong flight because actually it was 22 A I'd got on and 22 was the New York flight. They upgraded me to first class and flew me back to England first Class.
So, I tried to do it again. That doesn't work if somebody else has the same seat on that first time they just happened to have an empty seat on that flight. But the point is this. Predestination is not how you become a Christian, it's what’s going to happen to you now that you're a Christian.
You're predestined to be conformed in the image of his son and the good God is going to work in your life, the good from God's perspective, the good according to his purpose is not that life is going to be easy and comfortable.
The reality is for many people, it just isn't. But he's going to produce the character of his son within his. You see, there may be in the rough and tumble of life, things that come that have satanic sources, things that have evil human sources, things that have natural sources, but there's never panic in heaven as they come against us, as they have done ever since the fall.
God in his marvellous wisdom and power, moulds us through them to the image of his son. How does he do it? Verse three, the next verse, first 30, it says.
And those he predestined, he also called those he called; he also justified those he justified; he also glorified. Here's the process, says Paul. They are those he called. And by the way, that's what he says in verse teenager being called according to his purpose.
Those who been called according to his purpose. How is he going to get you into the image of his son? Well, says Paul, I've already been telling you throughout the book of Romans, he just reviews what he's already told us.
You're going to be justified. That's the theme of the first half of Romans. To be justified has to do with their position before God is, although by nature, we are sinners, by nature we are fallen when we come to the cross of Jesus Christ and recognize that he was our substitute, meeting the just demands of a holy God.
And we've talked about that. And we acknowledge our need, and I say, and we forgive and we're not just forgiving, we are justified, we are declared to be righteous to the point as Romans eight opens and verse one, there is no condemnation of those who in Christ, your past is dealt with.
Your past is gone, your past is healed. You're justified. He’s called you, and it's about those who call the on purpose, you're being called, it's what you've been predestined to. You've been justified. And then you're glorified. Glorified is the end product.
The word glory is a word which speaks of God's character. To be glorified is to be fully conformed to his moral character. Now, some of you might say, if you're informed about these things, we have to talk about, being justified and glorified is to miss out the third the middle ingredient, which is what we call being sanctified. The word sanctified means to be being made holy.
It's a process by which we are progressively conforming into the image of Christ. So not only we speak of being justified, that's a past tense event of being glorified as a future tense event, but as being sanctified as a present tense process that we're in right now.
And you say why doesn’t Paul include that there. But I want to suggest that he does include it implicitly here, because to be justified is to begin the process of sanctification. Once you have been justified before God, God now sees you and me as his workshop, whereby in this life that's been given to me, I am going to mould the character of my son.
So, to be justified is to begin the process of sanctification and to be glorified is to complete the process of sanctification of being sanctified. So, it's implicit here, but this is the journey.
That God is going to work out his good purposes and his good purposes have to do with taking ordinary people like you and me guilty as by nature we are, fallen as by nature we are, forgiving us, cleansing us, justifying us and dwelling us by the spirit and putting us on the road to being glorified.
And everything that hits you in your life will become an instrument by which God will work towards the good bringing about his purpose, to which he has called you and he’s called you to be like Jesus.
And who he is going to make you. It's going to come. And no matter what circumstance you face, no matter what hostility you may encounter, no matter what opposition you may be in the midst of, you are predestined to be conformed in the likeness of Christ, and now of course, you can mess that up down here on Earth, you can delay that process and you can live in what the New Testament calls a carnal state.
Where you are, your position is, that you're out of your sin into Christ, but your condition is that you are back wallowing in the muck, and you can do that as a Christian.
And you'll never be satisfied when you do, of course. Or you can say, Lord, I'm working together with you, that you bring about this purpose. And so that's why having made those statements that the Holy Spirit meets us in our weakness.
He intercedes in ways that we don't know how to and, in all things he God, works for the good of those have been called according to his purposes. What are his purposes? You're predestined to be conformed to his son. How does that happen?
Well, those he's predestined, that’s you and me, if you're a Christian have been called. He's already said called according to his purposes. You're on the road, you've been justified, you're going to be glorified. In the meantime, allow God to accomplish his work.
Answer – If God is for us who can be against us?
And so, the next statement Paul makes is then if God is for us, who can be against us? Logical question. If nothing will ever overwhelm me, that is bigger than God and his sufficiency to work in that situation.
And who's going to be against me because God is for me. God is for you. The answer, of course, is if God is for us, no one can be against you effectively. Because the end result, even of their attacks, even of their evil intent will be moulded a little more like Christ through it.
And in verse 32, he says he who did not spare his own son but gave him up, first of all, how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things. And in the gift of Jesus Christ to indwell us and as we mould into his likeness, we find in Christ, he graciously gives us all things.
The more you're like Christ, the more satisfied you become, the more you're moulded like Christ, the more complete you know yourself to be, the more you're moulded like Christ, the less you're hankering for other things, because he will graciously give us all things, he says in giving us Christ.
Are you conscious this morning, maybe this past week that there are some things against you, some people against you, in some circumstance against you? 95% will probably have to say “Yes, I'm aware of that. Yes, I'm anticipating Monday morning, I'm going to battle again, yes, this week I'm anticipating some tension and conflict because that's the way it's been.”
But in all things, God will work to bring about his purpose. And so, I want you to say this week, if God is for me, if I, I'm going to paraphrase it, who cares about who's against me? If God is for me, who cares about the fact that my body is falling apart?
I am finding life tough. Of course, we have to be realistic about all these things, but who cares ultimately? Because if God is for me, I'm secure and safe. I am on a road whereby I am predestined and everything's going to be okay.
Is that true for you? It's part of being a Christian, you know that you enjoy that and you're secure in that.
Closing Prayer
Let's pray together. Father, we are grateful this morning that nothing frightens you, nothing causes you to draw your breath.
Nothing scares you. Nothing surprises you. Nothing shocks you. And when these things happen to us. We pray Lord Jesus. We turn our focus to the only one in whom we find real security to God himself. In Jesus name, amen.
Title: The Key to Our Security
Part: 17 of 27 Romans Series
Reading: Romans 8:26-32
Introduction
And if you've got a Bible with you, I'm going to read some verses from the Book of Romans 8. I'm going to read from verse 26 down to verse 32. Those of you who have been here in recent weeks will know we've been going through the book of Romans for a little while and we're coming to a very rich section this morning where in verse 26, Paul writes,
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
That's as far as we're going to read. I heard about a father and his son who are walking out one night and as they're walking along, the son said to his father, “Dad, how far is the moon from the Earth?”
And the father said, “I don't know son, I don't know the answer to that question.” They walked on a bit further and the son said, “Dad, how many miles is the moon across?” The Dad said “I don't know. I never found that out.
They walked on a bit further and the son said, “how far is the nearest star to us?” His dad said, “I've no idea. I just don't know that kind of stuff.” And after a while, the boy said, “Dad, I hope you don't mind me asking you all these questions.”
And the father said, “Not at all son, you don't learn anything if you don't ask any questions.” Well, it's good to ask questions and Paul asks some key questions in this section of Romans 8, and he leads you and me to come up with the answer to them.
I want to point them out to you, there are a number of questions — I am picking out three of them. One is in verse 31 chapter and verse 31, the middle of that verse, Paul says, If God is for us, who can be against us?
The reality is, of course, all kinds of things can seem to be against us. But to what effect? The second question is in verse 33, he says, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? And the reality is there are all kinds of charges and condemnation that comes against God's people.
But to what effect? And the third question is in verse 35, he says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And the reality is that there are many things that seem to separate us from the love of Christ.
Paul lists a few, he says, shall trouble, shall hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sores — all these might seem like threats to us — but to what effect? And I want to look at these questions and in doing so, discover something of the security of the stability and even the serenity that you and I may know in the midst of seeming hostility and conflict.
Now I need to make a confession, when I began to prepare this message earlier in the week, my intention was to look at all three questions this morning. But they have grown, and I am only going to deal with the first one this morning, that's all we'll have time for.
Question 1 – If God is for us, who can be against us?
And that first question is here in verse 31, if God is for us who can be against us? And in so doing I want to talk about the key to our security in a world where lots may seem to be against us.
Now these verses I read to you this morning consist of a string of verses, are often quoted, often out of their context, taken out of their context and quoted — and that's not illegitimate — but I'm going to put them all back into context this morning.
That's the safest and the best way to interpret scripture. And in answering this question, if God is for us who can be against us? we've got to go back a couple of verses to understand why he asks the question in the first place.
Let me take you back to verse 28. Verse 28 is a well-known verse, and it says this, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.
Now that's a very reassuring verse that many of us are familiar with. Probably many of us are more familiar with the King James version. It's a well quoted verse. King James version says, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.
And if you're like me, you've probably found yourself in situations where things are seemingly gone wrong and you simply pluck out this verse quoted and everything feels okay again, because all things work together for good.
So, on a lighter level, if you miss a plane, you say to yourself, “Oh, well, all things work together for God. Maybe the plane I should have caught is going to crash” and something inside you almost hopes it does just to prove the point and you're going to be safe because you missed it.
Or somebody else is diagnosed, maybe with some serious disease, life threatening disease, and we say, well, all things work together for good to those who love God. And so, okay I don't like it, but it all works for good, we think to ourselves.
And the idea behind this first, the popular idea is that all kinds of things happen in your life where the good or bad, but don't panic about them because God is behind all these things, and they're all for ultimate good, which God is bringing about in our lives.
So, when some of your friends are in trouble, we send them a card and right on the bottom. Romans 8:28 All things work together for good. But, it's a big but, is this the right understanding of what Paul is saying in this verse?
We have to ask the question, what is the subject of the verse? If you read the King James version, it says, we know that all things work together for good to those that love God. They're the subject of the sentence is things.
All things work together. Things are the key; things work for good. Things come from God. That would be the understanding of the King James rendering of that. But I want to be so bold as to suggest to you that is not a good translation.
In fact, it isn't a good translation. In the Greek texts — and of course, Bibles are translations from the original Greek in which it was first written — the word things in Greek is not an active word, it's a passive word.
Things don't work. In the Greek text things are not the subject of the sentence because things are passive. The subject of the sentence, in fact, is God. Now the NIV, the new international version, does a better job where it says and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been caught according to his purpose.
So, the subject is not things. The subject is God. Now you say, what is the difference? The difference is very significant because the popular understanding of that verse would indicate that things that come into our life, no matter what they look like, whether they're bad or indifferent or good, behind them is the will and purpose of God.
a)Satanic Sources of Evil
But that actually is probably not the case. The case is that there are things that come into your life that are bad because they are satanic in origin maybe they are evil in origin.
But the point is, no matter what things we become exposed to, God works for good the things themselves may be bad things, the things themselves, maybe things that should be resisted and fought. But in them, God works for good. And I would illustrate this to you, in fact, Verse 28 begins with the word and, and we know I was taught never to begin a sentence with the word, and because it's a linking word, it connects what's gone before with what follows.
It's a connecting word. And what has gone before, Paul is talking about the Holy Spirit, who helps us in our weaknesses where we think we don't know how to live, how to behave, how to act.
The Holy Spirit helps in our weakness. We don't know how to pray; he says in our intercession. The Holy Spirit intercedes with groans that words can't express and we get our motivation wrong and the spirit searches our minds.
He says that we intercede in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God, the subject of the earlier verse is God, the Holy Spirit, and it remains God in this verse and the God who helps in our weakness that God who intercedes or gives us what to pray for is the God who works for good.
You see, there are bad things, we've got to be realistic about this. There are bad things that happen to us. There was a bestselling book a few years ago written I believe by a Jewish rabbi it was called ‘Why bad things happen to good people.’
I haven't read the book, but bad things do happen to good people. Paul himself talks in this book of Romans about bad things, and he identifies three sources of things that come into your life. There is, first of all, a satanic source of evil that will affect every one of us in this room.
In Romans 1:13, the beginning of the book, Paul says to these Romans, I plan many times to come to you, but I've been prevented from doing so until now. They do not tell us why he's been prevented from going to Rome.
But later on, another case when he wrote to the Thessalonians, he said to them and 1 Thessalonians 2:18, we wanted to come to you, certainly I Paul did again and again, but Satan stopped us.
Now says Paul Satan has stopped me doing what I was wanting to do, to come to you. Because Satan can get involved in your life. He can attack you. He can prevent you in all kinds of ways.
Now, of course, we have to be careful we don't have a dualistic understanding of the universe where there's good on one side and evil on the other. God on one side, Satan on the other and they're fighting it out.
But thankfully, God is a bit stronger than the devil and he's going to win. That isn't how we view the universe. God and Satan are not similar at all. God is the creator, Satan is created. When God created the angelic beings that it speaks about in scripture, there was a hierarchy amongst the angels.
There were cherubim and seraphim and angels and archangels, and there was a supreme angel called the Morning Star the brightest light in the night sky — and angels are referred to as stars often in scripture — and his name was Lucifer, which means the morning star.
Now he can in this position and in his pride, he sought to be equal with God and God cast him out of heaven. And he was thrown to the Earth, and he's busy. He got in the way of Jesus.
He tempted him in the wilderness, sought to divert him there. Paul says, He's impeded me. He's stopped me going where I wanted to go. Paul talked on one occasion about a thorn in his flesh. Now he doesn't tell us what the thorn is flesh was, it could have been anything, but I suspect it was something physical.
But he describes it. He says it's a messenger from Satan sent to torment me. Now, Pauls says there's something in my life and it comes from Satan.
It's designed to torment me, so you read this 2 Corinthians 12, Paul did the obvious thing. He prayed and said, “Lord, take it away from me.” And you would expect a God to say, “Yes, Paul, it's satanic I'll take it away.”
But he didn't. He said, No, my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in your weakness. And Paul says, therefore, I'll boast about my weakness and whereas he began saying, take it away.
He ended up saying, I rejoice in the fact that Satan attacking me is an opportunity for God to do something good. And it's true that Satan attacks. I've heard it stated on more than one occasion that the events of September eleven, 2001, were a work of God judging America.
Now, these are American preachers who I heard say this, two of them. Nobody outside of that country has the right to make that kind of statement, but to people who are Americans. But God doesn't do evil things like that, God doesn't orchestrate that kind of tragedy and death and carnage and grieving.
Whatever else is true, the cause behind that event was evil, you can be sure of that. But the point is this in all things God will work for good. The things may be bad, the things may be evil.
And so whenever we are thrown off guard and say this is an absolute tragedy, it's all just going to be bad, we can say, Lord, I want to thank you. This did not come from heaven. This came from hell. But in it, you can work for good.
b)Human Sources of Evil
There are human sources of evil, Paul tells us also in the book of Romans, you remember back in the early chapters, he talks about the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppressed the truth by their wickedness, etc.
You see the explanation for all the evil in the world is not satanic. A lot of it is human. Because another thing that's not true of Satan is true of God, is God is in all places all the time.
Satan is not in all places, all the time. Satan goes to and fro around the Earth we're told, he is limited. But evil still takes place, we know he has his fallen angels, demons that operate with him. But human nature is itself corrupted.
You remember that when Paul went back to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey instead of being welcomed by the Christians in Jerusalem. There are many of them who had picked up rumors about Paul being anti-Jewish, anti the law of Moses, and they were intent on preventing him further in his travels.
And he ended up becoming arrested in Jerusalem, sent down to Caesarea kept in jail for two years. Then he was shipped to Rome that took the best part of a year.
His boat sank several times. He ended up spending the winter in Malta, having been shipwrecked arrived in Rome. And when he got to Rome, he spent two years under arrest in Rome. Put together, that's five years. That’s Paul's life.
And when he wrote his letter to the Philippians. From prison in Rome, he settled in Philippians 1:12. I want you to know brothers, what has happened to me. Although the background behind it, I'm adding this now.
The background behind it, we know was human evil motivation and intention. I want you to know what has happened to me. Has served to advance the gospel as a result has become clear throughout the whole palace guards and for everyone else, I am in chains for Christ.
Now listen, Paul wrote this book to the Romans that we are looking at on his way back to Jerusalem — his intention hinges on coming to Rome — He never went to Rome the way he was intending to.
All his plans were thrown out. But he says to the Philippines, “Hey, don't panic about this. Yeah, I know. Back in Jerusalem, there are some Christians whose gossip led to my arrest. I know that I know I've wasted humanly five of the prime years of my life. I know that humanly. But don't panic because in all things, God works for good”
“And I'll tell you something you Philippians,” he says. “Right here in this Roman prison, there have been chaining me to a captive audience every day eight hours at a time, I don't know how long the shifts were. And it's known throughout the whole palace guard, I'm in prison for Christ.”
“Not only that,” he says at the end of Philippians. “The Saints and Caesar's household send you greetings.”
Why are there saints, that is a church the Christians and Caesar's household send you greetings. Why are there Christians in Caesar's household? I'll tell you why. Because Paul is in Caesar's prison. Did God put him in Prison?
c)Natural Sources of Evil
No, it was evil intent. But don't panic. God will work had a good purpose in an evil context. There are satanic sources of evil. There are human sources of evil, and there are natural sources of evil as well. You see, look again at Paul and his own experience.
When Paul used to travel, his boats normally sank. Why do they sink? Well, the engineering skills weren't quite up to 21st century standards, so they didn't have the kind of securities we'd take for granted, but there were bad weather, natural resources.
It wasn't that God sank his boats “So well I think Paul needs a bit of fun, so I'll think is boats and have him swim for a day and a night” because he was a day and a night in the open sea on one occasion, he tells us.
They're natural causes. He speaks in Romans 8 about the creation groaning in pain, that's back in verse 22. The whole creation is fallen, and so we're going to be part of that. four years ago, I had a heart attack, and it changed my life, and the reason the explanation, my heartache is quite simple.
It's a genetic fault in my family line. My maternal grandfather died in his forties of heart failure. He had three brothers. They all died in their forties of heart failure. Fortunately, the advances in medical science means I don't have to die in my forties.
But I remember once after my heart attack sitting talking to somebody, and he said, “Why do you think God gave you this heart attack?” I said “God didn't give me this heart attack. Oh, do you think Satan gave you this?”
“How to know Satan didn't give me this heart attack? Well, who gave you this heart attack? I said my grandfather did. It's his fault. And before him, his father, before him, however far he goes back.” And my cardiologist told me that if I'd been investigated when I was a teenager, they would have predicted I would have had a heart attack eventually.
But I just never had a check-up until I had my heart attack, so I never knew the best way to live, ignorance is bliss. But there's no behind the scenes subtlety to this, it's a purely natural, predictable element.
And that's I my children will be checked up early to make sure it doesn't happen to them. Because we can predict certain possibilities. And so, the natural sources of the world is fallen. And you and I are going to be subject to all of these.
We're going to know satanic evil. We're going to know human evil. We're going to know natural events that are evil. The avalanche that took place in British Columbia tragically ended the lives of seven teenage students is a natural event, sadly.
And these things happen. But what do we do when these things happen? Be they satanic, human or natural? We can rest in this security that in all things, the things may not be from God. But what is true is in all things God works for good.
Now, let me point out you, two important criteria that are attached to this, one is a human criteria, one is that divine criteria. Let me read the verse again. Verse 28, we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him.
Human Criteria
That's a human criteria. This applies to those who love him. And then he says, and those have been called according to his purpose. That's the divine criteria being called according to his purpose. Not to our own purposes or our own agendas.
We're on God's agenda and called to his purpose. Let me just comment on these for a moment, the human criteria. You see, this is not a carte blanche promise that you can take to anybody in any situation, say, “Well, you know, it's a mess, but God will work for good.”
He will work for good, provided you are letting him. How did you let him? By being among those who love God and embraced by that statement, to love God, is the submission of our lives to God, the recognition of God's wisdom and sovereignty and power in our lives.
And to those who love God, this is the condition we may live with this security as another verse, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:12. I know whom I have believed, he said, and I am persuaded — Listen to this — I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day.
What is he persuaded that God is able to keep, God is able to keep that is God it look after what I've committed to him. What about the things I have not committed to him? He has taken no responsibility to keep.
You see, God is committed to keep to look after to preserve what I commit to him. What I don't commit to him he has not undertaken to keep. Let me just read this if I commit my money to a bank, they undertake it to keep it for me and they will take full responsibility for it.
If I do not commit my money to the bank and instead, I hide it under my mattress. The bank will take no responsibility, of course they won't. If I put my money in the bank and the bank is robbed, the bank will refund me because they have undertaken to keep what I have committed to them.
But if I put the money under the mattress in the bank and I get robbed, the bank will have no interest because I've not given it to them in the first place. You see, God will keep what we commit.
God will preserve what we have given and this promise, we know that in all things God works for, the good is to those who love him. That's why this morning, if you don't know Jesus Christ and a personal living way, you've not come into a relationship with him, you have none of the securities that belong to the child of God.
It is conditional, but there is a defined criteria that I want to talk about, he says, we know in all things, God works for the good of those who love him and who are being called according to his purpose.
Well, what are his purposes. What exactly is the good that corresponds to his purpose in our lives? You see, I can talk about things working together for good. When life is made more comfortable for me, that by my reckoning is good.
Divine Criteria
But is there a Paul is talking about? What is his purpose for being called to according to his purposes? Well, again, we must interpret this in its context. And we read on the next verse 29 and usually verse 28 is detached from verse 29 and verse 29 usually stands alone as something detached from verse 28.
But Verse 29 says this, having said, we know in all things God works for the good of those who love him who are being called according to his purpose for those God for knew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son.
This is the ultimate purpose, says Paul the ultimate good to which we have been called is that we're conformed into the likeness of his son. So, when things happen in your life and things happen in my life that may not be comfortable, there must be a good God.
Working for good is not making me comfortable, necessarily. God working for good is using this to make me more like his son. Which sometimes is a very uncomfortable process. It's knocking the rough edges; it's smoothing the rough territory.
Now, let me comment on this word predestined, which is here in the text and which I am sure by whatever means I try to understand this I will fall out with somebody. But that's okay, just don't hit me. Just wait to get to heaven, then you will find out I was right.
I already have people lining up after the first service to get me on this one. This is an explosive word. What does it mean? The word predestined, it occurs only twice in the New Testament here and in Ephesians chapter one.
And let me say, first of all, the word predestined is not a statement about the past where you came from or how you came to be where you are. It's a statement about the future, where you're going. The word pre-destined is related word destination.
Your destination has been assured to be predestined. You see, sometimes we take this first and we apply it backwards, we applied back in and into being predestined something about the past, but the word itself is a word about the future.
Let me just read this. I once boarded a wrong plane in Dallas and Texas. I didn't know you could board wrong planes and get away with it, but I did. By mistake, I was flying from Portland to New York City, and I was routed via Dallas, and then I was connecting in New York, on to London, back to England.
And my incoming flight from Portland was a little bit late, and I got off the plane and I knew my departure gate was gate 22 and I went to Gate 22. That's a 22 and a 22 A. And there was a line I joined the line, gave my boarding card.
They tore it off and I got on the plane, sat in my seat. And the aircraft left the gate, went out to the runway, and before we began to go down the runway, the captain came on and said to us, among other things, are flying time to Oklahoma City is one hour and 50 minutes.
I turn to the lady sitting next to me and said, “Did you hear what the captain said?” She said, “What? I wasn't listening.” I said, “He said our flying time to Oklahoma City is one hour, 50 minutes,” she said.
So, I said, “We're not going to Oklahoma City, we're going to New York City is four hours and 50 minutes.” she said. “You think you're going to New York City?” I said, “I've got a ticket to New York City.”
She said, “Not on this plane. You ain't.” I said, “Where is this plane going?” She said, “This plane's going, where the captain's going and where I'm going. Oklahoma City one hour, 50 minutes.” So, I pressed the button, the flight attendant and down the aisle, and I said, I think I'm on the wrong plane.
You should have my boarding guys said, you're on the wrong plane. So, at the front, the plane stopped and then she came back down. The plane stopped me, said the other. The New York plane has left its gate.
We can do nothing about it now, I'm afraid you have to go to Oklahoma City and then we'll get you on from there. Well, the lady sitting next to me could have said this. You are now predestined to go to Oklahoma City.
Now I'm in the plane, I'm going to Oklahoma. So that's when the plane is going to be predestined to go to Oklahoma City. It says nothing about how I got on the plane in the first place. Nothing about where I came from originally.
That's why, on the two occasions speaks of being predestined to speak for those who are in Christ. Not those who are not in Christ, those who in Christ, if you're in Christ, you're predestined to something, theres a goal.
There's an objective to your being a Christian. And it's far, far bigger than just getting your sins forgiven so your conscience is clear, it's being moulded into the image of Christ.
Incidentally, it was a great thing to have done, because in Oklahoma City, they were so apologetic that they hadn't spotted when I gave my boarding card, I was on the wrong flight because actually it was 22 A I'd got on and 22 was the New York flight. They upgraded me to first class and flew me back to England first Class.
So, I tried to do it again. That doesn't work if somebody else has the same seat on that first time they just happened to have an empty seat on that flight. But the point is this. Predestination is not how you become a Christian, it's what’s going to happen to you now that you're a Christian.
You're predestined to be conformed in the image of his son and the good God is going to work in your life, the good from God's perspective, the good according to his purpose is not that life is going to be easy and comfortable.
The reality is for many people, it just isn't. But he's going to produce the character of his son within his. You see, there may be in the rough and tumble of life, things that come that have satanic sources, things that have evil human sources, things that have natural sources, but there's never panic in heaven as they come against us, as they have done ever since the fall.
God in his marvellous wisdom and power, moulds us through them to the image of his son. How does he do it? Verse three, the next verse, first 30, it says.
And those he predestined, he also called those he called; he also justified those he justified; he also glorified. Here's the process, says Paul. They are those he called. And by the way, that's what he says in verse teenager being called according to his purpose.
Those who been called according to his purpose. How is he going to get you into the image of his son? Well, says Paul, I've already been telling you throughout the book of Romans, he just reviews what he's already told us.
You're going to be justified. That's the theme of the first half of Romans. To be justified has to do with their position before God is, although by nature, we are sinners, by nature we are fallen when we come to the cross of Jesus Christ and recognize that he was our substitute, meeting the just demands of a holy God.
And we've talked about that. And we acknowledge our need, and I say, and we forgive and we're not just forgiving, we are justified, we are declared to be righteous to the point as Romans eight opens and verse one, there is no condemnation of those who in Christ, your past is dealt with.
Your past is gone, your past is healed. You're justified. He’s called you, and it's about those who call the on purpose, you're being called, it's what you've been predestined to. You've been justified. And then you're glorified. Glorified is the end product.
The word glory is a word which speaks of God's character. To be glorified is to be fully conformed to his moral character. Now, some of you might say, if you're informed about these things, we have to talk about, being justified and glorified is to miss out the third the middle ingredient, which is what we call being sanctified. The word sanctified means to be being made holy.
It's a process by which we are progressively conforming into the image of Christ. So not only we speak of being justified, that's a past tense event of being glorified as a future tense event, but as being sanctified as a present tense process that we're in right now.
And you say why doesn’t Paul include that there. But I want to suggest that he does include it implicitly here, because to be justified is to begin the process of sanctification. Once you have been justified before God, God now sees you and me as his workshop, whereby in this life that's been given to me, I am going to mould the character of my son.
So, to be justified is to begin the process of sanctification and to be glorified is to complete the process of sanctification of being sanctified. So, it's implicit here, but this is the journey.
That God is going to work out his good purposes and his good purposes have to do with taking ordinary people like you and me guilty as by nature we are, fallen as by nature we are, forgiving us, cleansing us, justifying us and dwelling us by the spirit and putting us on the road to being glorified.
And everything that hits you in your life will become an instrument by which God will work towards the good bringing about his purpose, to which he has called you and he’s called you to be like Jesus.
And who he is going to make you. It's going to come. And no matter what circumstance you face, no matter what hostility you may encounter, no matter what opposition you may be in the midst of, you are predestined to be conformed in the likeness of Christ, and now of course, you can mess that up down here on Earth, you can delay that process and you can live in what the New Testament calls a carnal state.
Where you are, your position is, that you're out of your sin into Christ, but your condition is that you are back wallowing in the muck, and you can do that as a Christian.
And you'll never be satisfied when you do, of course. Or you can say, Lord, I'm working together with you, that you bring about this purpose. And so that's why having made those statements that the Holy Spirit meets us in our weakness.
He intercedes in ways that we don't know how to and, in all things he God, works for the good of those have been called according to his purposes. What are his purposes? You're predestined to be conformed to his son. How does that happen?
Well, those he's predestined, that’s you and me, if you're a Christian have been called. He's already said called according to his purposes. You're on the road, you've been justified, you're going to be glorified. In the meantime, allow God to accomplish his work.
Answer – If God is for us who can be against us?
And so, the next statement Paul makes is then if God is for us, who can be against us? Logical question. If nothing will ever overwhelm me, that is bigger than God and his sufficiency to work in that situation.
And who's going to be against me because God is for me. God is for you. The answer, of course, is if God is for us, no one can be against you effectively. Because the end result, even of their attacks, even of their evil intent will be moulded a little more like Christ through it.
And in verse 32, he says he who did not spare his own son but gave him up, first of all, how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things. And in the gift of Jesus Christ to indwell us and as we mould into his likeness, we find in Christ, he graciously gives us all things.
The more you're like Christ, the more satisfied you become, the more you're moulded like Christ, the more complete you know yourself to be, the more you're moulded like Christ, the less you're hankering for other things, because he will graciously give us all things, he says in giving us Christ.
Are you conscious this morning, maybe this past week that there are some things against you, some people against you, in some circumstance against you? 95% will probably have to say “Yes, I'm aware of that. Yes, I'm anticipating Monday morning, I'm going to battle again, yes, this week I'm anticipating some tension and conflict because that's the way it's been.”
But in all things, God will work to bring about his purpose. And so, I want you to say this week, if God is for me, if I, I'm going to paraphrase it, who cares about who's against me? If God is for me, who cares about the fact that my body is falling apart?
I am finding life tough. Of course, we have to be realistic about all these things, but who cares ultimately? Because if God is for me, I'm secure and safe. I am on a road whereby I am predestined and everything's going to be okay.
Is that true for you? It's part of being a Christian, you know that you enjoy that and you're secure in that.
Closing Prayer
Let's pray together. Father, we are grateful this morning that nothing frightens you, nothing causes you to draw your breath.
Nothing scares you. Nothing surprises you. Nothing shocks you. And when these things happen to us. We pray Lord Jesus. We turn our focus to the only one in whom we find real security to God himself. In Jesus name, amen.