Romans 8:28

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
• Hymn — Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty (#163)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Heidelberg Catechism — Lord's Day 26, Questions 69–71
• Hymn — Sing Hallelujah, Praise the Lord (#106A)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Romans 8:28-30
• Sermon
• Hymn — Not What My Hands Have Done (#435)
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Sermon Title: God at Work for Your Comfort

Scripture: Romans 8:28-30

I. God's Determination for Your Good

A. Romans 8:28 is among the most beloved and most misused verses in Scripture — it is not a vague slogan open to general use B. The "we" who know something is limited to two descriptions: those who love God and those called according to his purpose — elect believers

1. That any sinner should love God is remarkable; by nature we are lovers of self and sin, born depraved
2. Love for God is not natural; it is the fruit of God's own work in a person C. God's call is both potent (effectual) and purposeful — never a vague scattering, always according to his eternal purpose
3. Ephesians 1:11 — God works all things according to the counsel of his will
4. The Westminster Confession: God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass D. "All things work together for good" means ultimate, eternal, spiritual good — not earthly comfort or health-and-wealth
5. The "all things" include hard things, evil things suffered, highs and lows, dry seasons and fruitful seasons
6. James 1:2-3 — trials produce steadfastness
7. Romans 5:3-4 — suffering produces endurance, character, and hope
8. God works all things together toward our conformity to Christ — stripping us of self-reliance and driving us to him

II. God's Disposition in His Grace

A. Verses 29–30 open with "for," grounding and confirming verse 28 — Paul now reveals more of who God is and how he works B. "Foreknew" (Greek: proginōskō) carries more than mere prior cognition

1. The Hebrew concept of knowledge (yada) involves intimate, personal, caring knowledge — Genesis 4:1; Exodus 2:24-25
2. John Murray: "to know" in Scripture often means "to set regard upon, to know with particular interest, delight, affection, and action" — practically synonymous with love
3. To interpret foreknowledge as God merely observing future faith puts all the weight of salvation on the sinner and contradicts the whole tenor of Paul's argument C. Those whom God foreknew are those whom God fore-loved — his love is eternal, particular, and self-originating
4. Deuteronomy 7:6-8 — God's love for Israel was not based on their size or merit but solely on his own sovereign love and oath
5. Jeremiah 31:3 — "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you"
6. 1 John 4:19 — we love because he first loved us D. God's predestination flows from his fore-loving — those he eternally loved he eternally ordained to be conformed to the image of his Son

III. God's Design Toward Your Glorification

A. Romans 8:29–30 presents the golden chain of salvation — every link is the active work of God himself, not of the sinner

1. The Shorter Catechism: the Spirit applies redemption by working faith in us; effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit; justification and adoption are acts of God's free grace; sanctification is the ongoing work of God's free grace B. The rhythmic structure of Romans 8:29-30 traces God's blueprint: foreknew → predestined → called → justified → glorified
2. The end goal is conformity to the image of Christ — the firstborn among many brothers
3. Paul summarizes his entire apostolic ministry as "until Christ is formed in you" (Galatians 4:19)
4. Paul is not exhaustive — some links are omitted — but the point is the God who is sovereignly at work at every stage C. "Those whom he justified, he also glorified" — Paul uses the past tense for a future reality (prolleptic use), signifying absolute certainty
5. John Murray: the past tense is "prolleptic, intimating the certainty of its accomplishment"
6. 1 John 3:2 — when Christ appears we shall be like him
7. Unlike a traveler whose destination is not guaranteed, the believer's glorification is certain — God speaks of it as already accomplished D. Application: through daily battle with sin, weakness in prayer, and suffering in a fallen world, God is at work for the believer's good, surely bringing to completion what his love purposed from eternity