This is Pastor Ron Crisp, and we welcome you to the Monday edition of the Sounds of Grace radio broadcast. Well, yesterday was my favorite day of the week, the Lord's Day. We had a good time here at the First Baptist Church of Independence, Kentucky, but now this is Monday. Maybe you have the Monday blues. But you know, our Christianity needs to stay with us through every day of the week. And the things that we learn on Sunday, we're to take them out in the world and be witnesses for our Savior. The Sounds of Grace broadcast is brought to you by the First Baptist Church in hopes that it'll be a blessing to you day by day, that'll help you to remember the things of God and help you to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. During this week of broadcast, we're going to begin by looking at one of the great verses of the Bible, Romans 8, 28. Many of you could probably quote that verse of scripture. It goes like this, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. It was some time ago that I was in the presence of an individual who is totally incapacitated. They were not able to rise from their wheelchair. And this was a younger adult person with children. And I couldn't help but reflect upon what a tragedy that was and what a terrible circumstance that would seem to be to find oneself in. Of course, that caused me to think about this wonderful promise of the Word of God that all things work together for our good. That led me in my contemplation and meditation upon this verse to bring a message on this subject to the First Baptist Church of Independence, Kentucky. That's one of the reasons why you as a Christian person need to be a member of one of the Lord's churches. You need to be present every time the door is open. As we go through the dark valleys of life, we need someone continually reminding us of the promises of the Word of God and expounding the great truths of the Bible to us. But these broadcasts this week will give us the content of that message that I brought to the First Baptist Church some time ago. Now, we that are Christian people have many promises in the Word of God. And each one of these promises bring wonderful consolation to our hearts. I think of the promise in Romans chapter 8 and verse 18. There the Apostle Paul said, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Now, you know, that's a great promise. That's a great consolation Paul says the troubles that I have in this life and folks Paul had many troubles He knew what it was to be persecuted. He knew what it was to suffer poverty He knew what it was to be misunderstood and talked about he knew what it was to carry heavy burdens and yet Paul could say that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." What a wonderful promise that is to the children of God. We think of many of God's people as they've gone through times of affliction. They've continually reminded themselves, it will not always be like this. We have a home in heaven. As the Lord said, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And so those of us that are Christians, we often console ourselves with the fact that we have a home in heaven, that we're looking for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. What a wonderful consolation. We think of many of the great Negro spirituals written back during the time of slavery. And most of them had to do with heaven. As those godly people, many of them were afflicted. They thought about heaven and they thought about their future home with the Lord. And so it is in this life. We often remind ourselves that we may be sick now, but one day we'll have a glorified body. One day we'll be in heaven. Our eyes may be filled with tears, but the day is coming when all tears will be brushed away from our eyes by the Lord himself. But I want you to notice something. Romans 8.18 is a great promise. I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. But as great a promise as our hope of heaven and future glorification is, yet it is not all that God has promised us. And the hope of the Christian needs to go beyond just that of Romans 8, 18, that one day we'll be in heaven, one day we'll be out of the presence of all these troubles and trials. You see, dear friend, I think that the promises of God reach the high point in Romans 8 and verse 28. Verse 18 tells us that one day we'll enjoy the presence of God and the things that we suffer in this life will seem so small. Oh, but how much further than that Romans 8, 28 goes. For it tells us that not only will we one day enjoy the presence of God, but even the sufferings and even the trials of this present life work for our good. For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Oh, how much complaining we do. And yet the scripture says, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. When we fall into troubles and trials, we tend to feel sorry for ourselves. We tend to feel that the Lord doesn't love us. And yet James said, brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this is the trying of your faith. Work with patience. but let patience have her perfect work that she may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. And so you notice that the Bible writers continually remind us that the troubles of this life work for our good, not just Paul, but all of the Bible authors. We know that Peter said, the trying of your faith is much more precious than of gold that perisheth. The Lord Jesus said that when men revile you, when they say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, rejoice, jump for joy. It is very important. that the child of God not only knows that he has a home in heaven, it's important that the child of God goes beyond just being able to say, well, even though it's difficult down here, one day I'll be in the wonderful kingdom of my Lord. But it is important that the child of God can go beyond that and that he can say, yes, and even the trials of this life work for my ultimate good. You see, we must be persuaded of the goodness of God's providence towards us. Why do men complain? Why do so many times Christians complain? And you know, if you're a child of God and you're completely honest, there's times when you'd have to say in your heart, even though you wouldn't express this publicly, You become a little bit irritated with the Lord. You don't feel like he's treating you just quite right. And you wonder why other people seem to prosper and to have it easier than you do. And you see, it's very important for our Christian joy, very important for our testimony to those around us, that we feel in our heart that even though we're going through difficulties and trials, that God has a good purpose for these things. And that in fact, he is working these things for our good. And so that's the promise of Romans 8, 28, that all things work together for good to them that love God. And that's the promise that we want to begin to expound this week. Well, I have given a lot of thought to this wonderful promise. As I mentioned, the circumstance and seeing this person crippled and in a wheelchair, it made me ask myself, what is Romans 8, 28 all about? What is the Lord really saying there? Why is it that all things work together for our good? Well, for the first time, I thought I ought to pay some close attention to the context. In other words, you see, the book of Romans is a very orderly epistle. Paul is expounding in an orderly manner the great truths of salvation. And the high point, the apex of the book of Romans is Romans chapter 8. And in Romans chapter 8 he proves that all things indeed do work together for the good to them that love God. And so we want to notice in Romans chapter 8 why Romans 8, 28 is true and how God causes it to be true in our lives. And so let's look in Romans chapter 8 and notice the why of Romans 8, 28. First of all, let's begin and read verse 23 through verse 27. Now notice, the apostle Paul here is speaking about the groaning that we as Christians have in this life because we're still in this old sinful body. And he says, And not only they, talking about the physical creation, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for what a man seeth, why yet doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Now, in verse 26, the Bible says that the Spirit, referring to the Holy Spirit, helpeth our infirmities. We do not know what we should pray for, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now, this brings us to the first why of Romans 8.28. Why is Romans 8.28 true in the life of the Christian? And the first reason is because of the power of prayer. Now, you might say, Brother Ron, I'm not following Paul. I don't understand exactly what he means when he says the Spirit itself makes an intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Well, dear friend, here's what Paul is saying to us. You and I as Christian people many times do not know what we should pray for. We do not know what's really good for us. You know, if God answered every prayer that we prayed in our own flesh, we'd all be driving a gold-plated Cadillac. It'd never rain or one person be praying for rain, the other person would be praying that it wouldn't rain. You can imagine the discord that would come into the universe if God heard every prayer that was prayed. Sometimes we come into a position of trouble and we say, Lord, get us out of this trouble. But you see, God placed us in that trouble for a very good purpose. And he's going to bring about spiritual growth through this trial that we go through. I think of Paul when he was suffering with a thorn in the flesh. He said, I besought the Lord three times to remember this thing, to remove this thing. And yet the Lord came to him and he said, no, I'm not going to remove it, Paul, but my grace is sufficient for you. And so you and I, we oftentimes don't know what to pray for, but you see those that are truly saved, even though we still live in the sinful body, even though this body has not yet been resurrected and made perfectly in the image of the Lord Jesus, yet glory of glories, the spirit of God lives within us. In this precious person of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, he makes intercession for us. He acts as our lawyer. You see, a lawyer may intercede for his client in two different ways. He may go before the bench and in his own person tell the judge reasons why the client should be exonerated or before his client takes the seat to give testimony, he may tell his client what he himself should say. This is the manner in which the Holy Spirit intercedes for us as we pray. The Spirit of God places in our heart what we ought to pray for. You say, well, brother Ron, I can understand that. But what is meant here when it says the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered? Well, you see, dear friend, we don't go around expressing throughout the day audible prayers. There are times when we as Christians stop to pray. But continually through the day, the Spirit of God is working in the life of those that are truly saved. And there are groanings, there are desires, a greater desire for purity, a desire to grow, a desire to glorify the Lord. And all of these desires, these groanings that come from the heart of the Christian are produced by the Holy Spirit. You say, oh, God wouldn't understand a groan. I want to tell you something, dear friend. Those of you that have little children, when that little child falls down and hurts itself, it may be too young to speak. And all that may come forth from those lips is a groan. But that says plenty to you. And when the Spirit of God working in our hearts as Christian causes us to groan out to God, desiring greater holiness, the Lord hears and He understands. We'll continue these studies tomorrow. And until then, this is Pastor Ron Crisp. This is Pastor Ron Crisp, and we welcome you to the Tuesday edition of the Sounds of Grace radio broadcast. If you haven't written us here at the Sounds of Grace broadcast, we'd love to hear from you. If the broadcast are a blessing to you, or you'd like a recording of any week's broadcast, then you just drop us a line and let us know. All of your correspondence is a real encouragement to us. We hope you'll call someone, let them know that the Sounds of Grace broadcast is on the air. As you know, we're studying this week the great promise of God's Word, Romans 8, 28, that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Maybe you know someone that would really be benefited and blessed by these studies. Now, we mentioned yesterday that there are many promises in the Word of God. Romans 8, 18 gives us a wonderful promise. Paul says, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. And certainly every true Christian has the attitude that even though we go through troubles and trials and illness and setbacks down on this earth, we know that one day we have a home in heaven and that in the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ that it'll be wonderful. Just as one of the old songs we used to sing, won't it be wonderful there? That's a great hope that we have. But we mentioned that the promises of the Word of God go beyond even that. That Romans 8, 28 tells us that not only will we one day be so blessed and happy that the troubles of this life will seem like nothing, But while we're presently going through these troubles, we should remember that God is working all of these things for our good. Now, we were looking at the why of Romans 8, 28. How is this so? How does God bring it to pass? Why can we believe such a promise as that? And we were noticing that Romans chapter 8 is actually the high point of the book of Romans. And Paul is there proving in that chapter that all things do work together for our good and explaining how that that is so. We've noticed that the first why of Romans 8, 28, the first reason Paul gives why this is so Because of the power of prayer in verse 26 and 27 of the 8th chapter, Paul said, Now because this may be difficult for some to understand, I'll spend a few more moments on it today, even though we covered it yesterday. All people that are truly saved pray. Now, those of us that are saved and live in this world, we still live in these old sinful dying bodies. We live in the presence of a sin-cursed earth. And often in our heart, there is a groaning, there is a desire, even though we may not be expressing these things in audible prayer. Yet there's a groaning and a desire to be more like the Lord. We're not satisfied. As David said, I shall be satisfied when I awake with I likeness. We're not satisfied with our Christian walk. We want to be closer to the Lord. We want the Lord to come back. We want to be the kind of people the Lord would have us to be. And so there are times when we bow the knee and in audible language, we talk to our heavenly father. But many times during the day when we don't have time to bow our knee or we don't have the opportunity to speak to God in audible language, yet still these desires are being produced in our heart. We want to be more like our Savior. And so these groanings come forth from our heart and these are incited or produced in our heart by the Holy Spirit. Well, you see, God searches And He knows the mind of the Spirit. And you know, the only prayers that God answers are the prayers that He has produced in us and the prayers that He has directed us in through the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, one of the titles of the Holy Spirit is the spirit of prayer and supplication. Why, if you and I just began to pray in the flesh, we'd all be praying for a million dollars and this and that, and we'd end up destroying ourselves. But God's precious Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, those of us that are saved, and He directs us in our prayers. You might say, well, Brother Ron, How can God understand a groan? If I don't have time to get down on my knees and to actually pray in audible language, how can the Lord understand these desires that don't even voice themselves in audible words? Well, dear friend, as I used the illustration yesterday, Sometimes one of our little children may be brokenhearted, or he may fall down and hurt himself. He may be too young even to speak. With those cries, those little groans, they speak very eloquently to our ears. And the Heavenly Father, He knows our hearts, and He knows what is the mind of the Holy Spirit who lives in our heart. And when the child of God is busy working, and yet in his heart the Spirit of God is working, and even though he can't bow the knee to pray, yet these desires are coming from his heart that he would be more like Christ, that God's will would be done in his life. Oh, you see, God hears those groans, and he knows what they mean, and he answers. God rules the universe through the prayers of his people, And we believe that one of the reasons that Romans 8, 28 is true in the life of those that have been born again and truly love God is because the Spirit of God is in their heart and He knows what to pray for. He knows what the will of God is. He knows what's best. And so He's praying. How many times in my life I've had to say to myself, I don't know what to pray for. Oh, but I'm thankful that there's one who lives in me that does know what the will of God is. He knows the secret things and so he makes intercession just like the lawyer who advises his client as to what to say when he comes before the judge. So the Holy Spirit places it in our heart, the right desires, the right wants, and even in audible prayer many times, the right request and words to pray to our Heavenly Father. And so, thank God, the power of prayer is one of the reasons why Romans 8 and verse 28 is true. Another reason that Romans 8, 28 is true is because God has a purpose of grace towards those that are His. Now, let's go on. a little further in our context. Romans 8 and verse 28 says, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Now, often, we hear ministers quote this precious portion of Scripture, this precious promise of the Word of God. But, you know, just about as often, they stop there, and they don't go on to read the context. But Paul goes on in verse 29. He says, For... He's going to explain to us one of the reasons why Romans 8, 28 is true. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified." And so God's eternal purpose of grace is one of the reasons that Paul gives why all things work together for the good to them that love God. You see, dear friend, if you are saved by the grace of God, it was no accident. But Paul says that our salvation was according to God's foreknowledge. And those that he foreknew, and that has to do with his eternal love, those that he foreknew, he predestinated them to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. And those that are predestinated to be like Christ, He calls them by the Word of God and by the work of the Holy Spirit to Himself. And those that He calls, He justifies. And those that He justifies, He will one day glorify. Oh, salvation is no accident, but it was planned from eternity to eternity. It encompasses all the means with the end. God, who has planned to make us like Jesus Christ, He also calls us and justifies us and one day finishes out His plan and glorifies us. Oh, you may not understand God's great purpose of grace. You need to be in a church where God's electing grace is preached, where the whole counsel of God is preached. But I'm going to tell you something, dear friend, regardless of how much you understand, you need to know this, that one of the reasons that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called, notice, according to His purpose, Because your salvation was not an accident. It was according to the purpose and plan and eternal love of Almighty God and These five links in our salvation for knowledge predestination calling justification glorification These are unbreakable if you have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ, you will be glorified if God has called you by his grace, then you did repent and come to Christ and were justified and If you were predestinated to be conformed to the image of God's Son, He did call you. And if you were one of those that were predestinated, it's because you were one of those whom God foreknew or foreloved. And so that's one of the reasons why Romans 8, 28 is true. Well, Paul doesn't stop there. He goes on, and in verse 31, he gives us another reason why all things work together for the good of his people. In verse 31, he says, what shall we then say to these things if God be for us? Who can be against us? Isn't that a wonderful statement? If God before us, who can be against us? What can you say to a statement like that, Paul says, if God before us? Why, there's no one that can oppose us. Dear friends, I have three children and just as you love your children, I love my children very much. And more than anything as a parent, I want what is best for them. I don't want what's always easiest for them. I don't want always what's most pleasant for myself. But I want what's best for them. But you know, this is the problem I have. And if you're a parent, you understand what I'm talking about. Even though I want what is best for them, I don't always have power to bring it about. But oh, wonder of wonders, God has the power. That's why Paul could say, what shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Oh, I'm for my children. but I'm limited in power and they may still be opposed by circumstances or by enemies. There may be times when I'm not present to help them when they need help. But what a friend we have in Jesus, our everlasting Savior. He's everywhere present. He has all power. And those that He loved, those that love Him, those that are called according to His purpose, because He has all power, He can work all things for their good. What a God! What a Savior, how we ought to praise Him. And so that's one of the reasons why we believe that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. But you know, Paul didn't stop there. He went on in verse 32, and he gave us another reason why all things work together for our good. In verse 32 of Romans chapter 8, He said, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? You know, I think of the wonderful love of God. that he sent his son into the world to die for my sins. Now I'll have to confess, I'm just like you. There's times when troubles come into my life. There's time when unexpected bills and trials, and there's times when I'm not liked and I'm talked about. There's times when I grow discouraged, just like any other human being. And sometimes when those things are going on, I'm tempted to feel that maybe the Lord's not being very good to me. I'm tempted to feel that the Lord's not thinking about me. But you see, then I remind myself that God loved me so much. that He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross, hearing His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us, and sent His only begotten Son to die on Calvary's cross for us. And when I remember that Jesus Christ came and died for me, when I remember that the love of the Father towards me was so great that He'd give His only begotten Son to die for me, then I know that the Lord wouldn't allow anything to come into my life That's not good for me, but in fact, through Jesus Christ, whom he sent to die, he gives me every good thing. I'm blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. We'll continue these studies tomorrow and until then, this is Pastor Ron Crisp. This is Pastor Ron Crisp and we welcome you to the Wednesday edition of the Sounds of Grace radio broadcast. Let me remind you that tonight is prayer and Bible study here at the First Baptist Church. We'll be gathering together at 730 for a time of prayer. Bible study. We'd encourage you to come out. Don't just sit home on Wednesday night and watch the television, but come out and do something that will benefit you spiritually, something that will help you to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. As you know, this week on the Sounds of Grace broadcast, we have been studying the why of Romans 8 28. We've noticed that one of the greatest promises in the Word of God is the promise that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. We're thankful that we have the other promises of God's Word. We think of the promise of heaven. Oftentimes when we're going through troubles and trials, we rejoice in the fact that it won't always be like this, but that one day we'll be in heaven. But dear friend, Romans chapter 8 and verse 28 gives us a promise that goes beyond that. A promise that even when we're in the midst of trials, not only can we say that one day we'll be out of these troubles, but Romans 8, 28 promises us that if we are one of God's children, that these present troubles are working together for our good. That's why the apostle Paul could say, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. That's why David in the Old Testament could say, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. You see, David wasn't just expecting to go to heaven, but he knew that the mercy of God was going to be with him every day that he lived here on this earth. He didn't know what troubles. that he would have to follow and go through but he knew that God was working things for his good. Now we've been looking in the context of Romans chapter 8 at the why of Romans chapter 8 and verse 28. We notice first of all that all things work together for the good of God's people because of the power of prayer. This is especially mentioned in verse 26 and verse 27, where it talks about the Spirit of God making intercession for us, how we don't know of ourselves what we should pray for. But the prayers and the groanings that the Spirit of God produces in our heart are according to the will of God, and so God hears and answers. We notice in verse 29 and 30 that our salvation was no accident, but that one of the reasons that all things work together for our good is because our salvation was according to the purpose and plan of Almighty God. Then we notice in verse 31 that great statement, if God be for us, who can be against us? Every one of us that is any kind of parent at all would have to say that if we had the power, we'd work out everything for the good of our children, not always for their ease or their comfort, but for their ultimate well-being. Well, God is our parent. We're all children of God by faith in Jesus Christ, all of us that truly know the Lord, and He does have the power, and He does have the love that causes Him to work all things for our good. And then as we closed in yesterday's broadcast, we were noticing verse 32, that all things work together for our good because of the gift of God. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? And of course, Paul's logic goes as this. If God loved you enough to send his only begotten son into the world to die for you, is there any lesser blessing that he would withhold from you? You know, sometimes a Christian may whine and feel that God is not treating them well, and maybe it's because they have a little debt. Maybe it's $50, and they have to pay this debt, and they don't seem to have the money, and they feel like, why isn't God listening? Doesn't he care? Dear friend, when we're tempted over some little matter to feel like that, we ought to ask ourselves this question. If God loved us so much that he would send his precious only begotten son into this world to die for us, Do you think that the God of the universe who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, do you think that he's going to hold back on some little thing? And we ought to immediately say, no, God will meet my needs and the trials that I go through, he allows them because he has a purpose. Those things are going to work for my good. Dear friend, God could place a million dollars in your hand easier than he spoke this universe into existence and that was no trouble to him at all. And yet the things that you go through, you go through because God loves you enough. Not always to consult your comfort and your ease and what you think you know is best, but God loves you enough to do what is really best for you and to bring into your life things that will help you to grow and help you to pray and help you to understand the trials that others go through. God works all things for our good, not all things for our immediate comfort and all things for our immediate supposed happiness, but God works things for our ultimate good. And when we think that he gave his son to die for us, we have no trouble at all believing that. Now another reason that Paul gives why we believe that God really works all things for our good is because of our security as believers from sin. In verse 33 and 34, Paul says, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Paul could say that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose, because he knew that those that were saved by the grace of God, that no one could lay anything to the charge of one of God's elect because Christ had died for them, Christ had been buried for them, Christ rose again the third day from the grave for them, Christ ascended back to the right hand of the Father for them, and He presently makes intercession for us. And when a Christian sins, it's remembered in heaven because of the presence of Jesus Christ there making intercession for us that he paid for that sin. You know, I'd like to ask a question to those of you who do not believe that by the grace of God we are secure. I'd like to ask you this question. How can you believe Romans 8 and verse 28? How could you believe that all things work together for our good? How could it be said that all things work together for a man's good if that man may end up in hell? But the Apostle Paul said, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. It's not we that justify ourselves. But when we come to believe on Jesus Christ, we're justified by the grace of God. We're justified through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one that keeps us. He's the one that sends a spirit to work in our hearts so that we'll not depart from Him. He's the one who keeps us by the power of God through faith. And so because of the security that we have from hell and from sin, all things work together for our good. And then last of all, all things work together for our good because of the immutability, the unchangeableness of the love of God. Oh, notice these wonderful words beginning in verse 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword. As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God. which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Oh, we live in a generation that knows nothing about the love of God. We see these little smiley faces, smile, God loves you. I want to tell you something, dear friend. If you don't know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior today, you don't have anything to smile about. The love of God is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. But all this wonderful love of God, it's greater than men could ever tell. This little puny, impotent, changing love that is preached in pulpits today is not the immutable, unchangeable, eternal love of a sovereign God that the Bible tells us about. This love of God that we read about in the New Testament is not impotent, but it can save its objects from the deepest hell. It can keep us in the most trying circumstances. This love was so great that it sent a Savior into the world. It sent the Spirit of God to live in our hearts. And Paul says that through this love we are more than conquerors. What can separate us from the love of God? Contribulation. can distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. All these things happen to the child of God. In fact, in verse 36, Paul quotes a verse out of Psalm 44, where it says, For thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Oh, what terrible things Christians can go through. But do these things separate them from the love of God? No. In fact, Paul says, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. In fact, Paul went on to say, I'm persuaded that neither death nor life, nothing in death and nothing that happens in this life can separate us from the love of God. Nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers. That could be the devil. That could be a false angel. That could be any demon. And yet Paul says none of these things can separate us from the love of God, nor things present, nor things to come. Not anything that's happening in your life right now, nor anything that will happen in your life can separate you from the love of God. nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I'll tell you, dear friend, why all things work together for the good of God's people, because they are the objects of His immutable, unchanging, and great love, a love so great that He would send His Son to die, a love so great that He would send His Holy Spirit into this sin-cursed earth to live in the hearts of His redeemed, a love so great that it is from eternity to eternity. Oh, what a wonderful love of God. And when you wonder why Romans 8, 28 is true, you remember what note Paul closed on, the love of God. Let's just review a moment. Why is Romans 8, 28 true? Why is it that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose? Well, according to verse 25 through 27, it's because of the power of prayer. According to verse 29 through 30, it's because of the purpose of God's eternal grace towards His people. According to verse 31, it's because of God's power. According to verse 32, it's because of the gift of God. According to verse 33 and 34, it's because of the security that we have from sin. And according to verse 35 through verse 39, it's because of the immutability, the unchangeableness of God's love. Now, dear friend, we want to move on. I trust that we've come to see why all things work together for the good to them that love God. We want to look now at something that's a little sad. It really is sad if you don't know Jesus Christ, and that is the limitation of this promise. I want you to notice that Romans 8 and verse 28 does not apply to all men. In fact, within this verse, we have the limitation. The Bible says, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose. Now, according to this statement, all things work together for the good of only one class of people. Those who love God, and of course we know who those are, they're those that have been born again. Everyone that loveth is born of God. It's this new birth that produces the love of God in our heart. And then those that are the called, according to His purpose. This is God's effectual call of grace. And so this promise is not to all men. I tell you how many times you're in the presence of the lost and some tragedy will happen and They'll say it'll work out for the good, but dear friend Let me close our lesson today by saying this if you do not know Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior if you have not been born again It will not work out for your good until tomorrow. This is pastor on crisp Sounds of Grace is sponsored by First Baptist Church of Independence, Kentucky Good morning. Welcome to another edition of the Sounds of Grace, the radio voice of First Baptist Church of Independence, Kentucky. Their church is located at 11659, that's 11659 Madison Pike, just south of the Simon Kitton High School in Independence, Kentucky. Sunday services are at 10 a.m. for Sunday school, morning worship at 11, evening services at 6, Wednesday night prayer and Bible study at 730. You're welcome when you can. Now, here's your host, Pastor Ron Crisp. This is Pastor Ron Crisp, and we welcome you to the Thursday edition of the Sounds of Grace radio broadcast. Why don't you call someone at this time and let them know that the broadcast is on the air? We're presently studying that great promise of God's Word, Romans 8, 28. where the scripture states that we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose. Now we've noticed the why of Romans 8 28. Why is it that all things work together for our good? Well Paul gives us the answer to that question In Romans chapter 8, there he discusses the power of prayer. He discusses God's purpose of grace and salvation. He discusses the power of God which operates for the good of His people. He mentions God's gift of His only begotten Son. And of course, his logic there is that if God would give His precious Son, then He would withhold no lesser thing from us. He also mentions the security that we have from sin as God's children. And then, of course, the immutability, the unchangeableness of God's love. And those are wonderful things that we have to think about, and they certainly all go together to assure us that all things do work together for the good to them that love God. But we've come now to something that's not quite so pleasant, and that's the limitation of the promise. You know, when I was a child, we used to sing a little song, every promise of the book is mine. Well, now, I'm not so sure that that's always true. When we read the Word of God, we must find out to whom the promise belongs and what the conditions are that are on it. Now, to whom does this promise that all things work together for the good, to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose, to whom does this promise belong? Well, of course, the obvious answer, and we see it right in the verse, is that this promise belongs only to those that are children of God. You see, the average unsaved individual, when tragedy strikes in his life, often he'll say, well, I believe that it'll work out for the good, or surely it'll be for the better, or someday we'll understand. These are very common expressions, and yet they're wrong. All things do not work together for the good to them who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You say, well, brother Ron, where did men come up with these ideas that even if they don't know Christ as Savior that things work for their good? Well, I believe that here's where the misunderstanding comes from. Men seem to know, they seem to intuitively understand that the great God of the heavens is in charge and that He is working things after His purpose. In fact, in Ephesians 1, verse 11, we're told that God worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Now, as hard as that is for even those of us that are Christians to understand, yet I think that that is believed to a degree by many people that are not saved. They know that God is in charge of this universe. And so, when tragedy comes, they know that there is a purpose. Now, dear friend, when the Bible says that God works all things after the counsel of His own will, it does assure us that nothing happens without a purpose. Everything that God lets happen will ultimately bring glory and honor to Him, and it will ultimately bring good to His people. But you see, when an unsaved person, because he knows that nothing can happen apart from the purpose of God, and because he knows that God has a purpose even in the bad things that he permits to happen, God's not the author of sin, but he does permit things that are not good to happen. And the unsaved person knows that God has a purpose, but he wrongly assumes that things will work out for his good. Now, dear friend, if you're listening to the Sounds of Grace broadcast today and you do not know Jesus Christ as Savior, I want to tell you this as lovingly as I know how. I want to say this to you as a warning, that if you die without Jesus Christ, all things in your life will have ultimately worked out to the glory of God. But it will not work out to your own personal good. You know, the Bible teaches that God's grace is glorified in the salvation of the vessels of mercy. And that His power and His long-suffering are manifested even in the destruction of the vessels fitted before unto destruction. And so if you die without Jesus Christ, God will be glorified just the same. But it will not work out for your own personal well-being. In Matthew chapter 26 and verse 24, we have a verse which to me is one of the most frightening, one of the most sobering statements in the Word of God. These words were spoken by Jesus Christ concerning Judas Iscariot, the apostle that betrayed Him. And in Matthew 26 and verse 24, He's talking about Judas going out from the Last Supper there to betray Him. And He said this, "...the Son of Man goeth as it is written of Him, But woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It had been good for that man if he had not been born." Now do you see what I've been talking about illustrated in that verse? It was the eternal purpose of God the Father that Jesus come into this world and die. And Jesus Christ did come into this world. He was betrayed. He was sold for 30 pieces of silver. He was crucified. All of that was prophesied in the Old Testament. It was according to the will of God. God permitted it to happen. God brought glory to Himself and good to His people out of the death and out of the betrayal of Christ. But did it help Judas? Did everything work out for Judas' good as an individual? No. The Lord said, the son of man goeth as it is written of him, but woe unto that man by whom the son of man is betrayed. It had been good for that man if he had not been born. Now, dear friend, once again, if you're listening to the Sounds of Grace broadcast today and you don't know Christ as Savior, I want to tell you something. I want to say it again. If you die without Jesus Christ, God will be glorified. God is glorified in the salvation of His people, and His justice and His wrath and His power are glorified in the damnation of the lost. If you die without Jesus Christ, God will be glorified, but it would have been better for you as an individual if you had not been born. Oh, how that ought to make you think about the things of God. How that ought to make you ask yourself, are you ready to meet God? You know, many of the parables of the Lord Jesus, we think of the story of the rich man that said he's gonna tear down his barns and build greater barns. And the Lord said, thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee. Every man who dies unprepared to meet God is a fool. Every man living on this earth today who is not ready to meet God is a fool. And if you die without Jesus Christ, It would have been better for you that you never would have been born. You say, oh brother Ron, what about the love of God? Don't we see the little smiley faces everywhere that says smile, God loves you. I want to tell you something dear friend about the love of God. Romans 8, 29 says the love of God is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. If you're not in Christ, if your sins have not been washed by His blood, if you've not been covered in His righteousness, then you'll have no part in the eternal love of God. He's been good to you. There's a sense in which God loves all His creatures and takes care of them. But the eternal, immutable, special, saving love of God, you'll have no part in that. You die without the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, this is the dilemma of modern pastors. You know the Pastors and New Testament times they didn't have this problem that we have today You know, back in those days, not everybody claimed to be a Christian. And when a person who didn't know Christ died, I guess the priests of the pagan gods had their funeral, whatever type of funeral it was. But you see, in modern America, we refer to this as a Christian nation. Everybody thinks they're a Christian. And even those who have never repented of their sins and trusted Christ, yet when they die, they want the preacher to come and preach their funeral. The family wants to hear some good things and some encouraging things said. But I want to say this, dear friend, if a man dies without Jesus Christ, there's not one good thing that we can say about him. We can preach to those that are living the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can comfort them with the wonderful promises of the gospel. And we can instruct them and warn them that they can come to know Christ and have a home in heaven. But once a man goes out of this world without Jesus Christ, he's forever cut off from the love of God and from the mercy of God and from the hope of heaven. That's one thing you need to be very sure of. And so if you die without the Lord Jesus, it would have been better for you that you had never been born. Old people, they say, oh, I don't want to be a Christian because it costs me a little pleasure. Well, dear friend, first of all, to be a Christian is to have greater joy than the world knows anything about. but my to take a few of the sinful pleasures and to trade them for Jesus Christ, to trade them for the forgiveness of sins, to trade them for heaven, and then it have to be truly said over your corpse one day it had been better for him that he had never been born. Well now, to whom exactly does the promise of Romans 8 28 belong? Well, we know that it belongs to those that are God's children, but let's just stop a moment and notice how God's children are described in this portion of Scripture. Romans 8, verse 28, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Now, notice how God's children are described. They're described two different ways in this Scripture. First of all, it says that all things work together for the good to them that love God. Well, who is it that loves God? The only people in this world that all things work together for the good of is those that love God. But who are they? Well, dear friend, The only folks in this world that love God are those that have been born again by the Spirit of God. You know, the Lord Jesus said, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And one of the things that happens when we are born again is that we come to love God. The Scripture says in 1 John, everyone that loveth is born of God, for God is love. And when God saves us, He places His love in our heart. You know, Paul said in one place, if any man love not the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema. If you don't love God, if you have never been born again, If that change has never taken place in your heart, whereby you've had to repent of your sin, and repent of the fact that you didn't love God, and such a change has taken place in you that the Bible refers to it as a new birth, and you can say, now I love the Savior. Now He's first in my life. If that change has never taken place, then Romans 8, 28 does not belong to you as a promise. And you cannot say that all things work together for your good. But then notice how Paul goes on further to describe those to whom this promise belongs, to them who are the called according to his purpose. You say, well brother Ron, Who are the called according to God's purpose? Well, Paul goes on to explain in verse 29 and verse 30. He mentions the five links in God's eternal salvation, foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification. He says in verse 30, moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called. You see, predestination, that was God's purpose. Whom He did predestinate, them He also called. And whom He called, them He also justified. He just didn't invite them, but He called them to Himself and justified them. And then notice, and whom He justified, them He glorified. Those that are justified by faith in Jesus Christ are certain of ultimate salvation. They're certain of being glorified and made in the image of Jesus Christ at His coming. And so the called, according to His purpose, are those whom God has chosen from before the foundation of the world. And one day in God's appointed time, the gospel comes to them. But it just doesn't come to the ear. But it comes to them in power and in the Holy Ghost and much assurance. And they're brought to repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This is how Paul explained the calling. He was writing to the church at Thessalonica. in 1st Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 5 he had these words to say about those who the called according to his purpose 1st Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 4 and 5 He said knowing brethren beloved your election of God for our gospel came not unto you in word only But also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance I want to ask you this question before we close the broadcast today Have you been called by God? You say, oh brother Ron, how do you know? Well, the Bible says, make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you shall never fall. You know that you've been called if the gospel of Jesus Christ has come to your heart and power. You've been convicted of your sin. You've been brought to repent. You can say, Brother Ron, I may have heard the gospel a thousand times, but one time I heard it and I really heard it. And I came to repent of my sins and trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If you can say that, then you've been called according to God's purpose, and that promise belongs to you. This is Pastor Ron Crisp, and we welcome you to the Friday edition of the Sounds of Grace radio broadcast. We want to remind you that this coming Sunday, the Lord's Day, we'd like to invite you to come out and visit with us here at the First Baptist Church of Independence, Kentucky. Sunday school starts at 10 o'clock and we study the Bible verse by verse. We have a class for all ages. Morning worship is at 11 and then we'll meet once again at 6 o'clock in the evening. If you are a child of God, It's the revealed will of God that you be present and assembled with one of the Lord's churches when they meet together for Bible study and worship and fellowship. If you want to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, you need to be somewhere where you can serve the Lord in a responsible and in a Christian manner. And then if you're listening to the Sounds of Grace broadcast today and you're not a Christian, Dear friend, the scripture says, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. More than anything else, you need to be in a church where you can hear the gospel faithfully preached, where someone will be faithful to your soul, where someone will tell you the things of the word of God. And so we invite you to come out and listen to the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's our prayer that you might come to know him as Lord and Savior. As you know, on the Sounds of Grace broadcast this week, we've been studying that wonderful promise of God's Word, Romans 8, 28. For we know that all things work together for the good, to them that love God, to them that are the called, according to His purpose. There are several things that we've noticed about this promise as the week has progressed. We've noticed the why of Romans 8, 28. that in chapter 8, in the context there, Paul explains why all things were together for good. We've noticed that it's because of the power of prayer, because of God's purpose of grace, because of God's power, because of God's gift of His only begotten Son, because of the security that God's children have from the condemnation of sin, and because of the unchangeableness of God's love. We also noticed in yesterday's broadcast the limitation of the promise. Sadly many unsaved people think that the promise belongs to them. But the scripture doesn't say all things work together for the good to them that do not love God. But it says all things work together for the good to them who do love God. A description of those who have been born again. To them that are called according to his purpose. And we talked in yesterday's broadcast what that statement meant the called according to his purpose and how it referred to the effectual working of the Holy Spirit in the heart of God's elect as they hear the gospel and are brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We want to go on today and notice some other things about the promise and of course we'll conclude our study of Romans 8 28 with today's broadcast. Let's notice first of all the extent of the promise. Paul said All things work together for the good. My, how amazing that is, all things. Not just the good things, not just the religious things, but Paul said all things work together for the good. You know, that's why Paul could say, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. That's why James could say, brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. That's why David could say, not knowing the future, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Even though the Christian may go through fiery trials, we know that the trying of our faith is more precious than of gold that perisheth. And so Paul said all things, all things, there's no limitation. Oh, I tell you how many times we as Christians, something will happen in our life, something wonderful, and we'll rejoice and we'll say, oh, this works for my good, this is such a good thing. But then troubles or trials or persecutions come into our life, and we're downcast and downhearted, and we think, oh, things are not turning out the way I'd like them to, and we forget that Paul said all things. You say, Brother Ron, what does that mean, all things work together for the good to them that love God? Now listen very carefully, dear friend, and I'll explain. It's very important that you understand this. Paul did not say all things were good. No, we live in a world where there's a lot of things that are not good. Satan is not good. Sin is not good. Death is not good. In fact, the Bible says that death is the last enemy. So many things are not good. Paul did not say all things are good. Paul said all things work together for good. There's a lot of difference between that and saying that all things are good. I think of the so-called Christian science religion. I remember one time I was in Detroit. Visiting door-to-door and an elderly lady invited me in and she said well, you're a young minister I'd like you to read some scripture to me. Well, I opened the Bible to a portion of scripture I thought she would enjoy and I began to read and she said I don't like that Well, I turned to another portion of scripture and begin to read she said again. I don't like that And I turned to another portion of scripture and began to read. And she said, I don't like that. Well, I was becoming rather frustrated by that time. And I finally said to her, I said, why don't you like these portions of the scripture? And she said, every portion of scripture that you've read had the word sin or the word death in it, and I don't believe in those things. Well, I was dumbfounded. I said, what do you mean? She said, I'm a Christian scientist, and we believe that death and sin and pain and sorrow are only figments of our imagination. They really don't exist. Well, now, dear friend, that wasn't what Paul said. In fact, that is not the teaching of God's Word at all. Sin is real. Death is real. Pain is real. Tears are real. Paul did not say all things were good. Paul said all things work together for the good. You see, dear friend, it wasn't a good thing when Judas betrayed Jesus Christ. It wasn't a good thing when the Roman soldiers nailed him to the cross. It wasn't a good thing when they spat upon him. It wasn't a good thing when they pressed that crown of thorns upon his precious brow. It wasn't a good thing when he cried out and said, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It wasn't a good thing when that blood poured out of that precious son of God who was murdered by a sinful man. But, oh dear friend, it worked for our good. It worked for our everlasting salvation. It will take us to heaven. How many times in life I've gone through deep valleys and troubles, and you know they weren't good, but they worked for my good. How many times I've had people hate me and talk about me, and it wasn't good. But you know what? It worked for my good. In fact, the Lord Jesus said, when men persecute you for my sake, rejoice and jump for joy, for great is your reward in heaven. Oh, dear friend, we live in a world full of things that are not good. but they work for our good. That's what Paul is saying. That's what he meant when he said, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. He didn't mean that the things that you're going through are good, but he said you can rejoice because even though these things are not good, God will take them and he will work them and use them for your good. Oh, if you can get a hold of that, it'll give you a song in the night. If you can get a hold of that, it'll cause you to sing into midnight hour, even like Paul and Silas did when they were in jail, when they were manacled to that old dungeon. It'll give you sunshine when the sun's not shining. It'll give you happiness. It'll give you peace in your heart when things around you don't seem to be going too well. Yes, dear friend, the Lord said all things work for our good. He didn't say all things were good. He said all things work for our good. Troubles work for the Christian, you know Paul or Peter said the trying of our faith is more precious than of gold that perishes James assures us that it's through diverse temptations that we are spiritually perfected and that we grow spiritually The chastisements they work for our good perplexities, you know so many times In this life, I know that God has the answer. I know that God knows what's going on, but I don't have the answer. And I don't know what's going on. And even the great apostle to the Gentiles, the apostle Paul, he said that often he was in perplexities. But dear friend, even when you and I are perplexed, we have this peace of mind that we know God's not perplexed. He knows what's going on and he has a purpose. I've often said this. Somebody will come and say, oh brother Ron, why did this happen? Or maybe a loved one will die and they'll say, why did God permit this to happen? And so many times I've answered like this. I've said, you know, I don't know why, but I'm content and I'm satisfied because I have a God who does know why. And if God knows and if God has a purpose, then I don't have to know. I can just trust in Him. Dear friend, all things work together for the good. Oh, I think of death. You know, the most horrible thing in this world is death. It's the last enemy to be conquered. And it's my hope and my prayer that Jesus Christ will come while I'm still alive, that rather than die, that I'll be translated, that I'll be caught up to meet him in the air. But I want to tell you something. If the Lord doesn't come in my lifetime, I'm going to have to meet the grim reaper. I'm going to have to die. I'm going to have to meet the last enemy. But you know what? As bad as that is, God will work it for my good, because death will usher me into the everlasting kingdom of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Oh, I tell you, the Apostle Paul said to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. The greatest evils that we can think of on this earth work together for the good to them that know God. You know, I want to say something that may shock you. And in saying this, it has to be understood in the light of everything that I preached and not taken out of context. But you know that there is a sense in which even sin ultimately works together for the good of those that are saved. Now, before you turn the radio off, you give me just a moment to explain that statement. Those that are saved by the grace of God don't love sin. In fact, Jesus Christ came into this world to save us from our sins. And John, he said, be not deceived. You know, the unrighteous man is the man that doesn't know God. The man who practices sin, the man who lives in sin, the man who delights in sin, that man is no Christian. But here's what I mean. The Bible says that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Because I've been born again, I'm sorry that I've ever sinned. I'm sorry that God had to send His Son in the world to die for me. I'm sorry that I would sin and become worthy of death and hell. But do you know that even the sin that I've committed has been worked by God for my good? that He sent His Son to die on the cross for me? You say, well, Brother Ron, if you'd never sinned, Jesus Christ wouldn't have to die for you, and you could have been in the presence of God just as you were. Yes, but you know, the Scripture says that where sin abounds, grace did much more abound. And do you know that the position that I have as a redeemed sinner is greater than the position that Adam had before he ever sinned? Oh, dear friend, Before Adam sinned, he was in the Garden of Eden, and he walked with God. But I am a sinner, but Jesus Christ has come to die for me, and one day I'll be in heaven. Not the Garden of Eden, but heaven. And I'll walk with God, and I'll have a new and glorified body. And you see, Adam, he could sin, he had that possibility, and he did sin, and he fell. But in heaven, I'll be secure throughout eternity. I am more safe in Jesus Christ than Adam was in his original purity and innocence. That's what Paul meant when he said that where sin did abound, grace did also much more abound. Now you don't misunderstand me. No true Christian loves sin. In fact, a Christian is somebody that's repentant of his sin, somebody who has wanted and prayed for Jesus Christ to save him from his sin. But there is a very real sense in which even sin, as terrible as it is, Through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and through the salvation that we're told about in the gospel, that even sin is worked by God for our ultimate well-being and grace ends up abounding far more than sin has ever done. Oh, I tell you, when Paul said that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose, he meant what he said. Finally, dear friend, If you're listening to the broadcast and you're a Christian, this wonderful promise ought to enable you to hold your head up through the troubles of life and be a good testimony to the watching world. And if you're listening to the broadcast today and you're not a Christian, may God impress upon your heart that the only way that your life, the only way that the things that happen to you will truly work for your good is if you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Until Monday, this is Pastor Ron Crisp.