Sovereign Grace for Suffering Saints

Romans 8:28-30 Introduction

Romans 8:28–30 ESV

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.

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you were in charge? If you could control every circumstance, what would life be like? As a child, I used to wish I could have control of the world. But as I’ve grown up, I realize I don’t want that responsibility. The weight and burden of ruling the universe is WAY above my pay grade!

As Christians, we would probably organize our lives in such a way that we wouldn’t suffer at all. Rather, we would want things to be easy. If we were in charge, everything would probably go our way.

But that’s not how God has orchestrated the universe. He allows and uses suffering to shape and mold our us. Our trials come, and we have to trust Him in the midst.

FCF: Suffering makes life feel out of control. It reminds us that we are not in control, no matter how much we may want to be.

Main Point: In our suffering and trials, the Sovereign grace of God is our confidence.

Transition: Even when we and our circumstances are out of control, God never loses control. He is steady even when everything else is chaotic.

I. In God’s Sovereign Plan, All Things Work Together for Our Good (v. 28)

Context: Romans 8:28 is a continued thought from v. 27 where the Spirit prays for us according to “the will of God.” Paul’s next thought in v. 28 is that the will of God is always for the good of those who love Him.

How do we “know” all things work together for the good of God’s children?

The Bible: There are numerous examples of God’s plans working for the good of His people. We can see the lives of Abraham, Moses, Job, Peter, and even Paul.

Specific example: Joseph — sold by his brothers, wrongfully imprisoned. Yet after his suffering, he was raised up to be the 2nd highest authority in Egypt. He would rescue his brothers and his nation.

Note his words in Gen. 50:20: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”

The lives of believers around us: There are believers in this room who have faced serious trials that God turned to good. They tell their story of how God strengthened their faith through their trials.

Personal Experience: As believers, we all know that we have faced trials that God used for our good and the good of others through us.

We may then wonder: “How can some of the things we suffer be for our good?” Does this mean that bad things are good?

The passage doesn’t say all things are good. When tragedy strikes, we don’t have to pretend that it is good or that we morbidly enjoy bad things.

Illustration: It was evil that David lay with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. But God took that sinful situation and used it for good as He sent us a Savior through the line of David, including Bathsheba. The sin wasn’t good but the outcome worked together for good.

Paul is reminding us of the goodness of God. Even in the worst of times, God is still good. And He is good toward His people in those moments.

One of the toughest temptations satan hit us with is the tempation to question God’s goodness. When we feel this, we have to always run back to this truth: God is good.

A resounding truth for God’s people in suffering is this: “The Lord is good.”

All through the Psalms we read about the goodness of God. In the prophets, we are reminded that even in His just wrath and consequences for sin, God is good to those who take refuge in Him (Nah. 1:7).

We are also reminded that good comes to the children of God.

Our passage uses two phrases: “those who love God” and “those who are called according to His purpose.” These are synonyms for God’s children.

The promise of God’s goodness comes to those who belong to God—those who have called on the name of Jesus! You are not ever going to be forsaken or forgotten by God.

This is faith and salvation language: If you love God, it’s because you have placed your faith in Christ alone as your hope for salvation.

Note: Paul is not saying you need to love God perfectly in order for Him to be good to you. Rather, he’s assuring every believer facing trials that their trial won’t be the last word. Good will come to those who hope and wait with patience (v. 25).

Application: We need to continually build a theology of the goodness of God in our hearts.

Read and re-read stories of God’s providence in Scripture/books.

Sing good songs about the goodness of God.

Memorize scriptures affirming God’s goodness.

Meditate on God’s goodness regularly, especially in trials.

II. By God’s Sovereign Grace, We Are Sustained from Beginning to End (vv. 28–30)

From the earliest pages of the Bible, we see God pursue people:

When Adam and Eve sinned, God sought them out.

God pursued Abraham and chose him to be the father of a great nation.

God loved Israel, heard their cries, and adopted them as His “firstborn son” (cf. Ex. 4:22).

God sought David to be His king while he was still leading sheep in the field.

There are many more examples, but all through the Bible we see God set His love, protection, and favor on people who had done nothing to deserve it.

Deuteronomy 7:6–8 ESV

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Isaiah 41:8–9 ESV

But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”;

This pursuit of people is the foundation of our salvation! God set His love and affection on His people from before the beginning of time. And ALL by His grace and for His glory!

In our passage, Paul gives us insight into this mysterious work of God. We are called according to His purpose. Throughout the NT, purpose often refers to God’s eternal plans. Several times it is mentioned directly with relation to salvation.

Calling is to summon someone. In other words, God had you in His plan, and He sent for you and drew you in.

God’s effective call brings us in. The Spirit gives us eyes to see and ears to hear, and the gospel makes sense all of a sudden.

Illustration: How many times did you hear the gospel before the light came on?! What made the difference? It wasn’t the music, the fog machine, or the preacher. It was the Holy Spirit!

Paul then shows us the “golden chain” of salvation. He shows us the work God does to save us. He takes us all the way back to before the beginning of time:

Those Whom He foreknew:

Foreknowledge doesn’t just mean He looked into the future and saw what would happen. He wrote the story!

Foreknowledge means He had close, deep love for and knowledge of us before anything was ever set in motion.

Examples:

Galatians 1:15 ESV

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,

Psalm 139:13–16 ESV

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

Predestined means to decide beforehand, or predetermine. Every child of God was created with the purpose and plan to be conformed to Christ.

God chose us, in love, to become like Christ before time ever began to be conformed to Christ’s image (Eph. 1:5).

This was also for the glory of Christ: That He might be the firstborn among many brothers. This carries a twofold meaning: 1. Christ is the oldest of all His brothers (He has existed eternally) and 2. He is the most prominent Son in the family of God. God has made Him the King and ruler of the Kingdom of heaven (Col. 1::15-20)

In other words, God desired a big family, and the only way to achieve this was to set His love on sinners and make them like Christ.

Those He predestined He also called.

We’ve already discussed this, but when God calls the ones He chose, they come. His Spirit gives us new hearts and eyes that can see, know, love, and appreciate God.

John 6:37 ESV

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

John 6:44–45 ESV

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

Those whom He called He also justified.

Justified means to be declared righteous and put in a right relationship with God.

When God draws you to faith and you call on Jesus’ name, you’re declared righteous because of the work of Christ on your behalf! You’re no longer at odds with God—you’re His child and His friend!

Those whom He justified He also glorified.

Notice that everything else is past tense, but glorification hasn’t happened yet. Paul is certain that if you’re called, you’ll be glorified.

Look back at v. 18. He’s tying it all together—glory is the bookend of this whole section.

Glorification is the final step of our salvation. When Christ returns to get His people, we will either meet Him in the sky or be raised to an imperishable, eternal body.

Paul keeps returning to this theme to give us great hope!

Application: Rest in the Sovereign grace of God when you’re suffering.

If God started the work, you can rest assured that He will finish it! (Phil. 1:6).

If God has written your story before the ages began, you can’t mess it up, and neither can your trials! (Isa. 46:9–10 remind us that God declared the end from the beginning and it will be accomplished!).

If God is sovereign over our salvation, we can trust that we will be ready to see Him face-to-face when our day comes. The trials may be what He uses to prepare us for it!

If God knew and loved you before you were formed, He won’t remove His love from you in the day of adversity. He loves you!! He loves you!!

If God’s sovereign grace came and sought you, you can know for sure that there is no condemnation for you in Christ Jesus!

Conclusion: Paul took us to the depths of God’s sovereign grace to show us the depth of His love for us!

Ephesians 3:17–19 ESV

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

If you want next level confidence in your trials, remember God’s eternal plans and purposes for your life. He didn’t set His love and grace on you only to turn His back and run away when things get tough! No! Just the opposite! He did it so you could have confidence and great hope in Him today.

As a church, we are going through some trials right now! But none of it is in vain! Not one second of it. God gave us this passage this day to give us hope!

None of this happens outside of His control. He is not shocked by our trials. And even if our suffering takes us to the grave, we are still between foreknown and glorified!