We continue our primer on Romans chapter eight. And today we will prim our way through verses 26 through 30. In the same way, the spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should. But the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings unutterable, and he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. And these whom He predestined, He also called. And these whom He called, He also justified. And these whom He justified, He also glorified. Amen. It is my intention to cover verses 26 to 30. since this is a primer. You know, these are some of my favorite verses in all of the Bible. And you know what happens when the preacher gets to some of his favorite verses. So I hope you brought a snack. If you're justified by faith in Christ, your heavenly Father wants you to have full assurance that you are His, that you are accepted in Jesus Christ, and that you are His child forever. I wholeheartedly believe that that God's desire for every one of His children is that they would indeed have full assurance of faith and their position in Christ and God's grace. I've come to think that there's something that is fundamentally perverse about always preaching sermons that try to undo assurance. The Spirit of God can undo assurance where assurance needs to be undone all by himself. And I don't need to work at it. When you get to Romans chapter eight, you get to a most incredible, powerful, life changing passage of Holy Scripture that is designed to give us pillars of assurance so that we live in the full confidence that we are God's and he is ours. When we go through this life and we're perplexed, and conflicted and when our hope wanes. The Holy Spirit intercedes. When our life seems like it's out of control and our hope begins to ebb away, God reminds us that he has a purpose for our good. When our faith is weak, And our and our hope burns low. God reminds us that he will indeed complete the work which he started. That's Romans 8, 26 to 30 in a nutshell, Romans 8 is to God's children, the guarantee of grace. Romans eight tells us in no uncertain terms that for every one of those who are truly justified in Jesus Christ, who belong to God, that it is all of grace from the beginning to the middle to the end. And in this section, we see three glorious pillars of assurance for those who are justified in Jesus Christ. The first pillar is this, the intercession of the Holy Spirit, verses 26 to 27. Now, you might notice you have a new American standard, that there is a connective term and it is this in the same way. And so when you read that word, that expression in the same way, one word in the Greek text, you have to ask yourself in the same what way? What is the connection? What is the relationship? Because Paul is obviously making a correlation or relationship. And I think the relationship goes something like this. In verses 18 to 25, the apostle has taught us the hope and the expectation of future glory is sustained in this present suffering, even in the midst of our groans. And so here we are, we've grown under the present suffering, but we have hope and expectation of future glory that is sustained for us so that we look forward to the future glory, which doesn't compare to our present sufferings. And so the whole idea is, is in the midst of present sufferings, hope and faith are sustained for future glory right now. And I think what Paul is saying is that in the very same way, likewise, the Holy Spirit sustains us in the midst of our weakness, just like hope and expectation of future glory sustains us in our present groaning and suffering. So the Holy Spirit actually sustains us right now in our present weakness. And Paul says some amazing things in verse 26. He says first that the Holy Spirit actually helps us. He aids us. He assists us in our weakness. And then he says this for this is why he has to help us for we do not know what to pray. We do not know how to pray according to God's will that that's the idea. And then Paul says, but the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. With speechless groaning. Now, if we think that we always know what to pray. then we have not reckoned with the results of remaining sin in our hearts, as Paul teaches us in Romans 7, 14 to 25. The reality is, is that as we live in the tension between the already and the not yet, as we live with the present painful reality that that which we want to do, we don't do, and that which we hate, we end up doing. If we lay hold of a wretched man that I am, who will deliver me? And you begin to realize that there remains within us the sin principle that works contrary to everything that God is doing. It is the great opposer of grace and the spirit. Then you have to realize, you have to acknowledge that even when we have words to pray. That we're still ignorant and weak. And sinful. How in the world could we ever say, I have prayed as I ought and I prayed what I should pray. And so our own weakness in this present age gives us an uncertainty when we pray. Notice there's a parallel. We suffer from weakness. We don't know what to pray as it is fitting. Verse 27, according to the will of God. The believer does not have confidence in his own words. The believer doesn't rush into the throne room of grace with his list of prayer requests and how to pray according to the will of God and say, God, I've got it all figured out, you need to listen to me. It is actually when we're on our knees in the presence of God in the throne of grace that we should feel the weakest of all there with boldness to be sure because of the blood bought right that we have to be there. But they're ignorant and weak for sure. How many of you know exactly every day what to pray concerning God's will? I don't. I've got a list, I pray through a list, and then there are certain things that are confronting me, and I don't know how to pray about those things. Why don't I know how to pray about those things? Because I'm weak, because I'm ignorant, because I'm sinful. And then Paul says, in the midst of that sense of uncertainty in the presence and faith of God, as you're making your petitions known, You have to understand that when you get to that point where you say, God, I don't know what to say and I don't know how to say it and I don't know how to pray. Paul says in the midst of that uncertainty, which can be shaking to our faith. He says, don't let it be shaking to you because the advocate who dwells within you actually is interceding on your behalf with groanings without words. Now, you ask, what does this sound like? What does this look like? Well, I don't think it's tongues. There's a reason why I don't think it's tongues. Because the term is with groanings without speech. OK, in other words, what happens is as we're in the presence of God, whether we're blathering on ignorantly. Which may describe most of our prayers. or whether we are speechless, not knowing what to pray. Paul says there is a spiritual dynamic that takes place by the Holy Spirit who is actually interceding on our behalf with unutterable, speechless groans. And so this is what the picture looks like. The believer has longings, inexpressible longings to know and to do the will of God, right? If if you're a child of God, there is something in your heart that yearns to want to know and to do the will of God. Yes, to know God's revealed will as best as we can. But we also want to know what God would have us to do, particularly in our own specific circumstances. And we have those longings, we have those desires. And yet, because we're beset with weakness. The Holy Spirit, who lives inside of us, takes those longings, takes those desires and articulates them as our intercessor to the father in such a way that they are holy and acceptable to him. Now, how does that happen? I don't know. I don't know how it happens, because verse 27 says it's a part of divine communication. Notice the one who searches the hearts, verse 27, who is that? That's God, the father. That's one of the titles of God in the Old Testament, the searcher of hearts, so the one who searches our hearts. examines our hearts, sees our longings as he searches us, and what happens is, as our Father searches our hearts, knows our desires, knows our longings, knows our inexpressible yearnings, The Spirit of God takes those, forms them according to the mind of God, because the Spirit knows the mind of God, because the Spirit is God, and the Father and the Spirit who dwell in us actually communicate with each other in a way that the Father knows the mind of the Spirit, and the Spirit always prays according to the will of God. So the question is, do I always pray according to the will of God? And the answer is in my humanity, the answer is a resounding what? No, but as the spirit of God intercedes for me, the answer is infallibly yes. Reading through David Brainers journals. You read Brainerd and you realize here's a man who in all of his weakness and in all of the vicissitudes of his own faith as he goes back and forth, here's a man who knew God in a way that I think very few in this room would know God. But you read Brainerd's journals and he goes from elation in praying and sensing God's help to a sense of despair because of his own sin and the vainness of his own life. And he goes back and forth, back and forth. And as I was reading through some portions this morning, I thought, I wonder if David Brainerd knew the full assurance that even in his weakness, even in his vicissitudes of faith, did he have the assurance that the spirit of God was taking all of those things and presenting them to the father in a way that was perfectly acceptable to the father and perfectly according to his will. Tom Schreiner summarizes this point for us beautifully. He says the main point of the paragraph, therefore, emerges Believers should take tremendous encouragement that the will of God is being fulfilled in their lives, despite their weakness and ability to know what to pray for. God's will is not being frustrated because of the weakness of believers, it is being fulfilled because of the spirit, because the spirit is interceding for us and invariably receiving affirmative answers to his pleas. The deepest longings, the groanings of our heart are to accomplish the will of God and the spirit Paul teaches us is carrying out those desires via his intercessory ministry. And then he says this. We can see how nicely this fits together with the next verses where Paul teaches that all things work together for good and that God has designed all things so that we are conformed to the image of his son. No wonder all things are working out for our good. The spirit is effectively praying for us. So the will of God will be accomplished in our lives. So, believer, As you wrestle with God, as you as you're as you're in the throne room of God, in the presence of God, and you don't know what to pray, you don't know how to pray. By the way, if you think you always know how to pray, then you haven't reckoned with Romans 7, 14 to 25 yet. And so when you feel beset by weakness and ignorance and sinfulness, Paul is saying to us, take comfort. You not only have an advocate in heaven seated at the right hand of the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. You also have an advocate who lives inside of you and intercedes on your behalf when you are dumbfounded and in chaos and know not what to pray. And then Paul gives us the mother of all promise. Verse 28. And we know. If these were normal circumstances and not primer circumstances, I would preach a whole sermon on and we know. All right, now notice the parallel. What does Paul say in verse 26? We do not know. Verse 28, and we do know. Anybody ever serve in the military? OK. See, some of you look like you've served in the war between the states. Yes. Now, if you are just a regular infantryman. Or maybe a little higher, everybody that serves in the military is on a need to know basis, right? OK, right, Chris. OK, and you there are certain things you don't need to know, but there are other things that you need to know. Now, think about this for a second. Evidently, in the divine economy, you don't need to know always what to pray. But. What we do know. Is that God causes all things to work together for good. And so the apostle says, we don't always know what to pray, but what's really important is not that you know what to pray, because the spirit of God intercedes for you to do the will of God. But what is really important that you know is that God is always in control. Notice there's three parts to this verse that are absolutely profound and powerful. The first is all things work together for good. Now, that does not mean that all things are pleasant. Or all things are comfortable. or all things are convenient for us. That is not the concept. If you take Romans 8.28 to mean that God has promised you a happy life, then you'll miss the whole impact of the truth. It is God himself who gets to define what is good. And in this text, good is ultimately conformity to the image of Jesus Christ. That's the ultimate good. And so what Paul is saying is all things work together for good. That is all things. That is all circumstances in our life that assist our salvation. God takes all of those things and maneuvers them around in such a way that the ultimate goal of conformity to Christ is reached, and so the believer lives in full confidence knowing that all things equals both this present suffering, verse 18, all the good things of life, all the bad things of life, all the happy things of life, all the sad things of life, all the difficulties of life, all the trials of life, God is in complete control over each and every one of those circumstances, from broken relationships to healthy relationships, from healthy bodies to broken bodies. You name it, God is sovereignly in control of all of those things so that He is maneuvering and shifting and directing things so that the ultimate good, your conformity to the image of Jesus Christ, is what is finally accomplished. This is not. Some Pollyanna view of life. You get hit by a truck and say that must have been good. This is not some stoic view of life. Keep a stiff upper lip because it's ultimately good. What Romans 828 does is it tells us that God is working all things for an ultimate good purpose. And so the grand Old Testament example ends up being Joseph. And so do you think when Joseph's brothers conspired to first kill him and then make a little money off of him and sell him into slavery, do you think, as he felt the hatred and venomous bitterness of his brothers, that he said, hey, don't worry, be happy. It's got to be good. Do you think that as Joseph is on a slave block, being sold as a slave, here he was, one of the sons of the richest men in the ancient Near East, and now all of a sudden he's being sold into slavery. Do you think that as Potiphar, the head of Pharaoh's secret security, do you think that as he's sold into slavery and the money's put down and he's examined to see if he's a physically fit specimen, that he's thinking, hey, this is good. Do you think that when he is in prison or do you think that when he is falsely accused of raping Potiphar's wife and goes to prison for something that he didn't do, that he said, wow, this is awesome. All of those things were painful things. Do you think that when he interprets the baker's and the cupbearer's dreams, and he says, remember me, and they go off and forget him, and he rots in prison for a few more years, do you think while he was there, he was simply saying, hey, this is okay? The point. And Joseph understood the point. Genesis 50, 20, he says to his brothers, what you intended for evil. God. Salvaged for good. You know, your Bible is better than that. What you intended for evil, God intended for good. And so Joseph could see being sold into slavery, being thrown into prison, all of those things of his life that were dark and truly painful things actually were intended by God for a greater purpose of good. And that's what Romans 8.28 tells us. That's what Romans 8.28 is designed to do. It is designed to imprint upon the believer's heart that no matter what we go through in this life, no matter what pain we experience, no matter what trials that we endure, all things are working together for an ultimate good purpose according to God. John Murray says, not one detail. works ultimately for evil to the people of God. In the end, only good will be their lot. Now, notice this is not just an umbrella statement, God's working everything for good. It is a qualified statement. And in fact, in the Greek text, this is the first expression for those loving God. Everything is working together for good for those loving God. And in fact, Paul puts this in the emphatic position in the statement, and it describes the disposition of the justified towards God. The justified love God because God has justified him. The justified love God because he sent His son for them, the justified love God, whereby the spirit or whereby the spirit they cry out, Abba, Father. And so this is qualified. God's not working out everything for good for everybody in this room. Think about that. God's not working out everything for good for everybody in this room. God's working all things for good for those who love him. Now, Paul gives a second description, which is the third part of the verse for those who are literally the called according to purpose. And so here's a further description of those for whom God is working everything for the good. And notice what Paul does. If Paul would have just said, God's working everything for the good for those who love Him, then in a sense, God working everything for the good for those who love Him would be predicated upon people's love for God. But what Paul does is he removes the description, in a sense, from the human emphasis and the actions of men, i.e. loving God, to the sovereign work of God, so that they are the called according to his purpose. In other words, God is working out all things for the good, certainly for those who love God. But who are those who love God? They are the ones who have been called according to God's purpose. And so the idea is God has effectually called them unto himself for his sovereign purpose. So Paul would write Timothy at the end of his life. God has called us with a holy calling. Not according to our work. but according to his own purpose and grace, which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. And so here we have the mother of all of God's promises. The connection goes like this. When you're praying and you don't know what to pray, it's OK. When you're confounded about what the will of God is for you, it's okay. The Spirit of God is articulating your earnest groanings to God in such a way that He is interceding for you according to the will of God. And therefore, believer, have the confidence that God really is taking all of the circumstances of your life. If you love God, if you are called according to His purpose, God is working out all of the details, all of the circumstances of your life, to ultimately do something in you that is called good. One of the anchors to your faith will be the unswerving confidence that God is absolutely sovereign, the Lord of human pain, And that because of Jesus Christ, He is for me. And therefore, Romans 8.28 is true. I do not know how in the world an open theist, that's somebody that thinks that God doesn't know what's going to happen in the future, otherwise known as an idiot, Sorry, hon. She tells me not to do stuff like that, but I can't help it. I don't understand how in the world somebody who thinks God doesn't know the future or let's even back it up a step. Somebody that doesn't think God has planned the future. Can have any confidence that Romans 828 is always going to be true. The only way Romans 8.28 is always going to be true and all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose is if indeed God is absolutely, comprehensively, universally, absolutely sovereign over everything. And it is in that confidence that we hold on to Romans 8.28 as the heart and soul of God's promise to us. You mean to tell me even the bad things I've done? Even those things God's working out for my good? Let's talk about the bad things you've done. Are we responsible for the bad things we do? Yes. Does God hold us morally culpable For bad thoughts, words and deeds? Yeah. Will I have to give an account before God one of these days? Yeah. Can I hold on to that without loosening my grip at all? And also say, Father, I believe that you are so committed to me in Jesus Christ that you even take my sins and my failures to ultimately conform me to the image of Jesus Christ. We better be able to say that we better be able to say, God, you're actually taking all things. And I really believe that means all things. And I don't know how you're doing this. I don't know how, but I know what your word says. And so every time I stub my toe on furniture that you just moved instead of cursing you and appraise you. Right. That's what it's about. And so you you live life by clinging to. I don't know how Romans 828 is going to be true in this circumstance or in that situation. But you live life holding on to the promise with all of your heart, with all of your strength. And sometimes Sometimes when you are in the depths, and when you are confused, and you are befuddled, and you are spiritually upside down, and you don't know basically what way is up, there are times where you've got to take Romans 8.28, grab hold of it with all of your might, and even say to God, God, I don't know how this is going to work out for the good, I don't know how this is going to contribute to my conformity to Jesus Christ, but I don't need to know. All that I need to know is not how, but that. And so William Cowper. Who was in a mental institution twice. Wrote right before his second Admission into what they used to call an asylum. Wrote these words. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. For behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. It's Romans 8, 28. Here it is again in different words. His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain. God is his own interpreter and he will make it plain. So how do I know that everything that's going on in my life is going to work out ultimately for what God defines as good? Verses 29 and 30. The golden chain. The salvation. Versus twenty nine and thirty. Give us the theological framework. For the promise of verse twenty eight. In other words, Paul says Roman day twenty eight is true. And now I'm going to tell you why it's true. And he unfolds for us in two verses, some of the profoundest theology that you will ever read in the Apostle Paul. And it goes like this for. Little word. No, it's a big word. God works all things together for good, for those who love him and are the called according to his purpose, because. Those whom he foreknew. Those whom he foreknew, this word means that you take special knowledge of someone. You can't read this verse by saying those who God knows, believe those whom God knows will believe he knows. That that absolutely defies the idea of the concept of to know in scripture. In fact, when it says that somebody knows somebody, the idea is of an intimate knowledge of that person. In fact, the verb no in Hebrew is often used as a euphemism for marital intercourse. Adam knew his wife and she bore a son. That does not mean Adam walked into the house and said, oh, you're Eve. And she went, oh, I'm pregnant. It is not simply to foresee notice something else, and I could go on about this for a long, long time, and I'll try to restrain myself. Notice it does not say what God foresaw or foreknew, but those whom he foreknew. It's not just simply that God looked through the corridors of time and said, oh, Josh Harmon's going to believe. I foreknow him. The Old Testament concept of covenantal love is imported here, just as it is in many other places in the New Testament with the word for no. So that in Genesis 18, 19, it says that God knew Abraham. And you know how most English Bibles translate it. God chose Abraham. Why? Because to know him is to love him is to choose him. Israel in this three to Israel out of all the nations of the earth, I have known again, I have chosen set my love upon, set my affection upon and chosen for my self. And so the idea is to be foreknown, is to be foreloved, which is to be chosen by God. Who does God? have pre-sight of from all eternity? Everybody. Who does he foreknow? Those upon whom he puts his sovereign, gracious, electing affection. Those whom he foreknow, that's link one, he predestined. When I read my Bible, I don't read the word predestined as a bad word. I read it as a great word, as a glorious word, a hope filled word. Notice what Paul says, those whom he foreknew he predestined. Predestination is God's plan for those whom he has chosen. And what is God's plan for those whom he has chosen to conform them right there in the text, to conform them to the image of Christ? And so God chooses for Himself an innumerable mass of humanity. He knows each one by name. He knows them, He chooses them, He elects them, He loves them, and then He establishes their eternal destiny, which is ultimate conformity to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Do you know what happens when God says, OK, look at this. Look at this lost in Adam rebellious lot of humanity. I'm going to choose him and her and him and her and him and her. God says, I'm going to take them in whom the image has been spoiled and defiled. And I am going to start a reclamation project. I'm going to start restoring the ghetto. I'm going to take those who have spoiled all that they had in me and shattered the image in which they were made. And I'm going to start a restoration project. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to restore them to the image in which they were originally created, which is ultimately Colossians 3.10, the image of Jesus Christ. God did not save you simply to rescue you or exempt you from the fires of eternal hell. God saved you and redeemed you ultimately to conform you to the image of his own son. So that. He would be the first born among many brethren. Firstborn, the preeminent one. Jesus will forever be the uniquely begotten Son of God. Jesus will be forever the eternal Son who is one with the Father. We will never, in a sense, share in that unique inter-Trinitarian relationship between the Father and the Son. But what happens, Paul says, is that God actually is taking us and reforming us, reshaping us so that we are restored to the image of Jesus Christ, so that in heaven there will be the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and He will be the firstborn among all whom He has redeemed. And if you are there on that day, it will be for one single solitary purpose. It will be because of Jesus Christ and because you benefited from His work as Son and Savior. This is, in a sense, the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant in Christ. All the families of the earth are blessed. They gather around the table of God. And there's Jesus, the exalted one, the first born among many brethren who have been conformed to the image of their elder brother. Third link of the chain called. Those whom he foreknew and set his love and affection upon called them or elected them. These he predestined for a certain purpose. And those whom he predestined for a certain purpose, he then called. And so what happens is when you get to the third link in the chain, that which God has done in eternity past now starts to come to fruition by invading time and space. And so the call that is God's effectual call, which is effective in bringing us to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of you wrestle with this question. How do I know I'm elect? How do I know God has chosen me? Peter says. Be diligent, brethren, to make your calling and election sure. In the order of salvation, what comes first? Calling or election? Election. But Peter says, make your calling and election sure. Why? Because election belongs to the secret counsel of God in eternity past, and the only way it comes to fruition is by being called. So, how do you know that you are among God's elect? You have been called. How do you know you've been called? Because the call to do what? If you are effectually called by the Spirit of God, what happens? There you are, dead in trespasses and sins. The Spirit of God comes, taking the word of truth, the gospel, and he makes it effective in our hearts. opening up our blind eyes, taking out a heart of stone, putting in its place a heart of flesh, opening our eyes, making us alive to the things of God so that the call to follow Christ, the call to believe the gospel is made effective in our lives so that we do what? So that we believe. And so how do you know you've been called? You believe. You have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You're turning from your sins. That's how you know you've been called. It's God's work, but it manifests itself in us believing. Fourth. Chain link in the chain and those whom he called, he did what? He justified. Now, we've spent all this time on justification, and the idea is very simple. Once you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, what is the first thing God does for you? He justifies you. So there's actually a beautiful, logical progression. God foreknows us, sets his love and affection upon us, chooses us, then predestines us, then in time and space effectively calls us. We come to faith through that effectual call. At the moment of faith, then God does something else for us, which is what? Justify us. Which means that he pardons all of our sins, imputing them to Jesus Christ, judging them in Jesus Christ and imputing to us the perfect, acceptable righteousness of Jesus Christ so that we are declared not only not guilty, but forever righteous in Jesus. And so that's what God does. For those whom he calls who respond in faith and then on the basis of their faith, he justifies them. Therefore, having peace, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Fifth link. And those whom he justified. What's your Bible say? What did your Bible say? It's OK to talk in church. He glorified. It's puzzling. Why is it puzzling? To the past tense, he glorified. Huh? This could be a real bummer unless you understand, you ready? Grammar. Okay. It's true. Tuesday night, Grace Christian Academy had an assembly right here. We had third graders doing algebra and they were doing grammar and they come up and they analyze these sentences. Like, this is a predicate nominative. And I'm sitting there going, I wanted to go praise the Lord. These kids know a predicate nominative, linking verb, direct object, object of the preposition, declarative sentence. These kids are going to read their Bibles better. Right now. Aorist tense, past tense, these he also glorified. And anybody want to make the claim they've already been glorified, the answer is Probably not. In fact, it struck me while we were singing. That this last week. Bob Edwards turned 91 years old. I hope Jesus returns before I turn 91. All right. But if he doesn't. I want to have. A mind like Bob's at 91. Right. And then I thought, Bob, 91. Wow. I mean, by anybody's calculations, that's old. Right. I mean, 91. A lot of people don't even make it to that. Right. And then I thought, and Brian Shepard turns 21 today. Man, it seems like a long time ago that I was 21. I thought, 21, 91. In the scope of this life that God has given us and from the perspective of this side to glory, what separates 91 from 21 ultimately will be half a blip on the screen. Right. For us, time goes faster and faster and faster. downward slide goes faster than the uphill chug, right? Celebrating my birthday and Gavin comes up to me and he says, Pastor, now that you're 40, that means you're middle aged, right? Like, yeah, it's like, yeah. And you know what? This life is going to be over before all of us know it. This life is going to this life is a vapor. This life is so short, it goes by so fast, and there is something about it that actually is kind of scary, especially if you don't know Jesus Christ. Paul does not say. Those who may justify the also glorify because our glorification has already happened. That's not true. But the point I'm making is that one of these days, our glorification is closer than we realize. But the dawning of our redemption is closer now than when we first believed. There is going to be a few more breaths, a few more endeavors, and then it's all over. But what Paul is saying is, listen, there is a chain that God is forging. Notice what's interesting about each of these five links. Each of these five links are completely removed from human activity. What is important in the chains, in the links, is what God is doing. And when he gets to glorification, which is the last stage, which is the consummation of our redemption, the consummation of our salvation, why Paul puts it in the Aorist tense is simply this. It parallels what is known in Hebrew Bible as the prophetic perfect. That is, a future event is so certain to happen that the one speaking about it can speak of it as if it has already happened. This is, for those of you who love Greek, this is a proleptic heiress that is speaking about something in the heiress tense, in the past tense that is yet to come based on the certainty of its event. And so the reason Paul puts it in the heiress is because this chain from foreknowledge to glorification is all the work of God. And because it is the work of God, it is immutable and unthwartable and unchangeable and absolutely, completely certain. So if God has begun the good work in you, just as sure as he has begun it, he will complete it. What would happen if you didn't believe that? What would happen if you had a theology that said. God started it and then handed the baton to me. I'd figure out a way to sharpen the baton and fall on it. That's not it's not good news. It's not good news to say that God started it and now you get to finish it. That's not good news. What's good news is to say grace, beginning, middle and grace, beginning, middle and grace all the way. Work of God from the beginning to the middle to the end in this passage, there is a glorious. Particularity. To see the particularity, what you need to do is you need to read it backwards. Those whom he glorified. Certain group of people of whom their glorification is so certain that it can be said in the past tense, that is those who what? Who make it to heaven. The glorified are those whom God has done what? Justified. And the justified is the same group as those who have been called and the called are the same group who have been predestined and the predestined are the same group that have been foreknown. And so if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. You can be absolutely confident of Romans chapter eight and verse twenty eight, why? Because God, who foreknew you before The world began is the God who will complete that work. It is his work. The devil cannot thwart it. We cannot foil it. The world cannot unhinge it. It is the work of God. And so. Tom Schreiner says again, the major objective of this text should be reiterated here. Believers are assured that everything works together for good, because the God who set his covenantal love upon them, predestined them to be like his son, called them effectually to himself, justified them, and will certainly glorify them, and therefore all of the sufferings, all the afflictions of this present era are not an obstacle to our ultimate salvation, but rather means by which that salvation will indeed be accomplished. So, beloved, we're saved, Romans 8, 24, in hope. Remember, hope that's seen is no longer hope. And so we live in this life by faith. We walk by faith, not by sight. And the reality is, is that sometimes, as we sang in None Other Lamb, our faith burns low. And when you live a life in which you are hoping in unseen things, there are times when our hope burns low. There are times in this life, if we're honest with ourselves, where we are perplexed, where we are always beset by our weakness. There are times in this life where it seems that trial after trial after trial has been meant to do nothing but to but to detach us from our faith in the living God. There are times where things happen in our lives that are completely inexplicable to us, and God does not Tell us why. And there's something inside of us that wants to know why and God says you don't need to know why, but what you do need to know is that I am working everything together for good. There are times where it seems as if hell itself has set all of its power against us, and it seems that our assurance is shaken down to its very core, and we wonder, will I continue to believe? Will I continue to trust? Will I continue to walk with Jesus? Will I continue to want to obey? And Paul says right here, when we are at our lowest, When we are at a loss, it is the Spirit of God in us who intercedes for us. And so it's okay to be perplexed. It's okay to not know what to pray, because we do know that God is working all things out for our good. And so Romans 8.28 comes as a vitamin B shot to our assurance, and God pumps it into our arm. And our assurance is reinflated because we have a confidence that the eternal, immutable, sovereign purposes of God will never be thwarted. And if he has chosen me from all eternity, called me in time and space, I feel I have a pulse. I do believe I want to know God. I want to walk with God. Then I have the confidence that the one who began the good work in me will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. So, the justified have every reason to be fully assured. You're the children of God. The Spirit prays. You have an unshakable promise. And God has predestined us for a purpose. What can mere man do to us? It's really easy to take a text like today's, take that golden chain of salvation, think about the links, marvel at the theology of the text. And it's good. It's good to marvel at theology. But if you stop at Romans 8, 29 and 30, Just as a theological point of interest. Or worse, just theological point of debate. And you miss the power of the text. If you want to go out and argue about foreknown and called and all that, and if you want to just like that obviously can't be true. Or you go, yeah, that's really true, I like that. Like when he preaches on those things, if it just stops at some theological point of interest and doesn't, in a sense, trickle down to real life, then then there's no power in it. There is no power in it. God has revealed these things to us so that we apply them to our circumstances today. And our trials today. and our weaknesses today. God wants us to go out of here with the unshakable confidence that no matter what I'm going through right now today, no matter what my weakness, no matter what my sin, no matter what my circumstance, that God is for me, the Spirit prays for me, I have an unshakable promise, and I am a part of God's eternal purpose, and that does not change because it depends not on me who can will or run, but on God alone who has mercy, and that is designed to infuse our faith with utmost confidence in God. And so trust not the Lord with feeble sense. But trust him for his grace. For behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. Let's pray. Father, thank you for faith building words. Thank you for the oxygen mask of Romans 8, 26-30. And Father, we pray particularly this morning for those who are going through the trials of their life. We pray that they lay hold of this text and this text would lay hold of them. And they'd leave with renewed confidence. Father, we pray for those that don't know you today. We pray that you'd call them today. Make them yours today. Father, we're so thankful that we don't have to engage in human manipulation to get people into your kingdom. We thank you, the salvation is of the Lord. So, Father, whether you give or whether you take away. We pray that in light of Romans 8, 26 to 30, we would all be able to say blessed be the name of the Lord. Amen.