Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones (1899-1980), the great Welsh Preacher, is probably best known for his lengthy sermon series on the epistle to the Romans. It has been published in 14 volumes. He preached 72 sermons on Romans 8 alone. In his commentary on the 8th chapter of Romans, he says that this chapter is “the brightest gems of all”[1]. It is a great chapter on Christian assurance. This subject and chapter is a tonic for our souls, and that is why we are taking our time to savour its contents.
Assurance (Jesus loves me this I know!) is a vital component of spiritual health for all Christians. When you are secure in your faith and in God's love for you it moves you from fear-driven performance to joyful obedience.
Assurance is important when you experience the inevitable attacks of the devil
and when you go through personal struggles, because your faith is rooted in Christ who
has overcome the world.
This chapter begins with, “no condemnation” and ends with “no separation.” God is so good!
·
Rom. 8:1-4. Here we find the governing thought of
this chapter: “There is therefore now no
condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.” In Romans 7 Paul showed us the real struggle
between the righteous demands of the law and our inability to keep it. This can be a very depressing problem. It easily robs us of joy and assurance. Who will
deliver us from our sin? Thanks be to God – Jesus our Lord! Therefore, we must learn to look to Him- continually! In this we are helped also by the indwelling Holy Spirit by reminding us of the work of Christ: “the
law of the Spirit of life has set us free in Christ Jesus from the law
of sin and death”. When this has happened we can grow in the grace and the knowledge of God, even though we still must contend with indwelling sin.
·
Rom. 8: 5-11 shows the difference between the
Christian and non-Christian. A Christian has their mind set on the things of
the Spirit. The product is life and peace and the hope of eternal life. The non-Christian
has their mind on the things of the flesh. They are hostile to God; they do not
and cannot submit to God’s law.
·
Rom. 8:12 – 17 shows us that Christians, by the help of the Holy Spirit can
live differently to the world. A Christian
is an adopted son/ daughter of God. Belonging to a new family they are not
dominated by the spirit of slavery that makes them fall back into fear, but
they are enabled by the Spirit of adoption to lean on God, their heavenly
Father in the inevitable trials of life.
·
Rom 8:18 – 30 reminds
us of the reality of suffering in a fallen world.
Our focus must not be on the suffering . It must be on the glory to be
revealed. In this, Christians in their
weakness have the help of the Holy Spirit. He intercedes for them with groanings too deep
for words. And His prayers on their behalf are understood and heard by the
Father – A wonderful assurance!
This brings us to 8:28-30. These three verses provide us
with profound encouragement. This is one
of the most quoted passages in Romans.
ROMANS 8:28-30
1.
8:28a Everything is
ordered by God for our good
Even our sufferings! This is our context. “ALL things work together for good!” All things? Yes, everything! Before we consider this strong assertion, we need to understand what Paul is not saying.
- Paul is not saying that all things which happen to believers are good in themselves. There are things that happen to us which are not good. There are evil things that others do to us which are not good. There are choices we make that are not good!
- What Paul is saying is that God can use the evil things done to us, even our own poor choices, for our ultimate good.
- The comforting thought is this: We are not in the hands of an almighty devil; we are not in the hands of an evil world; we are not even finally in our own hands and of our bad choices, which can be very painful. We are in the hands of a good God. He is able to work all things for good in the life of the believer.
This needs to be seen in context of Rom. 8:26,27.
What has Paul just said?
He has said that the Holy Spirit helps us in our times of weakness. These are times when you have no words to pray. If you are in that position, then Paul has another word of comfort for you!
- Not only do you have a certain future hope when this difficult life is over
- Not only does the Holy Spirit intercede for you when you can’t pray
- But it is also true that God uses every event (even the messy ones) in your life to work for your ultimate good.
He begins with this statement, "And we know that for those who love God ALL
THINGS work together for good”. We
know! We may not like to know this,
but if you love God, then you know that He is with you in whatever happens … a death; a severe illness of a loved one; the
reality of recurring marital problems; problems with rebellious children; job
retrenchment, and even some worse things.
How can God be in this? How can these things be for good? We don’t always know, and often it is very hard to see…even for a long time. But we know that God is not the Originator of sin. We also know that God is able to bring good out of evil. Just think what God did on the cross. God turned a cruel cross into victory.
Can He
turn your cross into victory? It is
often hard to see…
This is where faith in the Word of
God and the God of the Word becomes a Christian’s source
of hope. A Christian is one who is loved by God (we shall see this now in 8:29,30) and who loves God., even in suffering and times of trial. In God's economy there is no wasted suffering. It may be painful, and it may appear
meaningless at face value, but it isn’t, because God remains your Father and
you His beloved adopted child, and as such He is committed to your welfare, even in the valleys of life.
2. 8:28b This is a promise for believers alone!
“For those who love God…”. This is a word of comfort for Christians. We
cannot use these words to an unbeliever whom you are visiting in hospital. It belongs to those who love God… those who are
called according to His purpose (the same thing). And the reason they love Him is because He
has called them.
3. 8:29,30 God’s persistent love for His children
This is so big! Our life in Christ is in the hands of omnipotent love- whatever our experience!
- Paul says that there is no event in life that God doesn’t use for the good of believers (8:28a).
- God’s promise is for believers alone (8:28b)
- And now Paul shows us God’s glorious saving purpose from the beginning to the end (8:29,30). His involvement in the life of His children is all encompassing. It extends through their life in this fallen world with all its trials and tribulations. It continues until they are glorified, and back with Him in heaven. This is so big! This is the golden chain of salvation - an unbreakable, five-link sequence of God’s redemptive work. And Paul put’s it like this: Those God foreknows and predestines, these he also calls, justifies, and ultimately glorifies - this is the golden chain of salvation. What mighty assurance we find here!
a.
God foreknows His
children. "For those whom He
foreknew…". Some have thought that God foresaw that we would choose
Him, and therefore, based on our choice, He chose us. That is not biblical. God’s
choice of us never rested on our love, our works, or our decision. God‘s
choice of us rests in His love for Jesus, His Son, to whom He has given a
people, a church (ekklesia),a bride. As
such Jesus dies for those that the Father has given Him out of the world (John
17:2,6,9,10,24). IN HIM we are
loved by the Father. We are blessed in the beloved. (Eph 1:6)
b.
God has predestined His children to be conformed to the image
of His Son. God’s foreknowledge forms the
basis of our predestination. Christians are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. They want to be like Jesus in His moral perfections.
They want to be holy as He is holy. They want to share in His glory. Paul also says here that He would be the
firstborn among many brothers. We will share in the glory of our older
brother! He is the first fruit of the resurrection. When He appears we will be like Him! (1 Jn 3:2)
c.
Predestination is
followed by the calling: While our predestination occurs before the
beginning of time, our calling happens in time.
When you become a Christian, you hear the call of Jesus to come and
follow (e.g. Matt. 1:18-22; Lk. 5:27,28). This call is irresistible,
because it is the voice of the Good Shepherd. It is the voice of Home.
d.
Calling is followed by justification: Justification is the legal
declaration by God that a sinner is righteous i.e. not guilty. God does this by
imputing the blood of His Son Jesus to the sinner's account. Jesus our Lord was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Rom. 4:25). There is now no condemnation (Rom. 8:1) Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies (Rom. 8:3)
e.
Justification is followed by glorification. This happens after death, when we, like Jesus
following His death, will be clothed in our resurrection bodies. The text here reads in the past tense, "And you have been glorified." He speaks of it as if it has already happened.
It is as good as done.
CONCLUSION
When we consider the big picture, then all our losses and crosses, all suffering, all unfairness, all our bad decisions, all sin against us, everything.... becomes bearable. Therefore we must persevere. We must be patient. We must know that this temporary life, with all its hardships and sufferings is just that: temporary. And in the meantime, we must know that our Father in heaven is not going to exempt us from doing life with all its complexities. But He will make sure that we have more than sufficient grace to manage our challenges- many of which will be expressed in groanings, which the Holy Spirit bears on our behalf to the throne of grace.
But, everything will ultimately work for
good, and we know this finally and especially when we shall stand in His presence clothed in our glorified bodies!
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