“Security in Sanctification”
By Pastor Rich Paradis
Romans 8:26-30
There
is a caution to be shared when looking at passages that we have “some”
knowledge of. That caution is taking what you “know” and allowing it to get in
the way of what is in the text upon further investigation. We have heard some
of the words and phrases of this passage before; “interceding with groaning”,
“foreknowledge”, “predestined”, “called”, “justified”, and “glorified”. These
words and phrases do make up the body of the passage before us, but let’s not
jump to conclusions about what the entire passage says. That’s why we study and
look closely together. Remember, the entire section before us today is
connected to previous thoughts and will give us reason to hope and the truths
to hold on to so that a believer’s hope is more than just wishing.
Words that appear often in this
text:
He /
His = 13
Spirit
= 3
Called
= 3
Some words that need defining:
Foreknew
– To have knowledge beforehand (Acts 26:5, Romans 8:29, 11:2, 1 Peter 1:20, 2
Peter 3:17)
Predestined
– To foreordain or appoint beforehand (Acts 4:18, Romans 8:29, 30, 1 Cor. 2:7,
Ephesians 1:5, 11)
Conformed
– To have the same form as another, similar, conformed to (Romans 8:29,
Philippians 3:21)
Firstborn
– The first of the dead that was raised to life; with that added suggestion of
the supreme rank by which he excels these other sons
Called
– Those who have received the invitation to salvation (1 Corinthians 1:9, 7:20)
Justified
– To declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or as one ought to be (Romans
4:2, 5:1)
Glorified
– To exalt to a glorious rank or condition. Bringing Christians to a heavenly
dignity and condition (John 7:39, Acts 3:13)
I.
The
Holy Spirit Provides Security For The Believer
Romans 8:26-27
a. As we begin this passage, we must
remember that which is before it so that we can catch the context. In our
previous section, we saw that God Himself subjected the earth to a “futility”.
That futility is mentioned to us in Genesis 3:17-19, where the earth was
subjected to difficulty in yielding crops, etc. The curse of the Fall did not
just affect mankind; it also affected the ground around mankind. The hope of
this futility was that mankind would not depend on this cursed earth for their
sustenance, but would turn to God and depend on Him instead. But for now, both
mankind and the earth are said to be “groaning”, waiting for the time when both
the earth and mankind will be redeemed. That “hope” is what we are holding on
to as we see both people and the earth seemingly falling apart before our eyes.
b. Verse
26 opens with
the phrase “in the same way”. In the same way as what? In the very same way
that we call upon hope when things are out of our hands and sin and brokenness
are seemingly winning, we can also call upon the Holy Spirit of God in these
times as well. The Holy Spirit that we read of in Romans 5:5 is our resource
for all the days of our lives, not just the ones that are difficult.
c. But the verse before us tells us
that the Holy Spirit is resourcing us during difficult days, just like the hope
that is in related to the eschatological future that each of us have because we
are in Christ.
d. Have you ever been so overwhelmed
by things that you didn’t even know what to pray? That is the scene here. There
are times, according to this verse, when we don’t even know how to speak to
God. But in those times, we don’t have to know what to say. Why? Because the
Holy Spirit does!
e. Does this strengthen your hope?
It should! To know that you don’t have to know, or do, or say the right things
before you can receive the help of your Heavenly Father should be an incredible
encouragement to you.
f. But how does the Holy Spirit do
it? Verse 26b and 27 help us out
here. He groans too! But He doesn’t groan like the earth and like mankind,
lamenting and looking forward to another time. He groans in a way that only the
Triune Godhead can. These groanings are too deep for the languages that we
speak. This is not “speaking in tongues”. Speaking in tongues is a spiritual
gift given to some, not all believers, for the building up of the body of
Christ. But again, note who is doing the “groaning”. It is the Spirit, not us.
And further evidence that this is not “speaking in tongues” is the fact that no
spiritual gift is given to everyone. The gifts are distributed to believers individually
at His discretion. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)
g. But what else does this passage
say that can of incredible encouragement to us? This passage offers an
incredibly intimate picture of the relationship of the Godhead. It says that as
the Spirit does this interceding on our behalf, even as He groans, there is no
breakdown in communication because He who searches the heart (God, the Father;
Psalm 139) knows exactly what the Spirit is saying, because He would only
intercede for us based on the will of God, that each of us be in relationship
with Him.
h. Is that encouraging truth or what?
WOW!! God is interested and at work for my good…
II.
The
Father and the Son Also Provide Security For The Believer Romans
8:28-30
a. In Verse 28-30, we have some of
the meatiest theological verses that we have encountered thus far in the book
of Romans. We have heard these things before, and we have feelings about their
content, but let’s consider them in light of the context that we have been working
through.
b. The context is security and
provision during the difficult times in our lives. Sanctification (the greater
context of this section) is aided, in fact provided for, in the blessed Holy
Spirit who intercedes for us during those trying times. He does and will
continue to do this only in God’s will; that is with the knowledge of knowing
exactly what the Father desires for us and through us and what will draw us
nearest to Him in relationship.
c. Let’s look at some words closely in Verse 28 as we begin to gain insight into this important passage:
i.
Who
is doing the work? God
ii.
What
are “all things”? This is the key to understanding the passage as a whole. “All
things”, according to the context of the passages seems to be a general term
for those things that while adverse in themselves are turned to “good” by the
sovereign operation of God on our behalf.
iii.
What
is “good”? Again, in the context of the passage, “good” seems to be those
things that help to “conform us to the image of His Son”.
iv.
Who
are the benefactors of this work? There are two answers to this question
provided by the text; from the human side it is those that love Him and from
the divine side it is those that are called according to His purpose.
d. So what do we have when we put
these thoughts together? We have a thought that looks something like this: God
is at work, taking those things that would ordinarily dishearten or even break
those that love God and are His and sovereignly using them to shape us so that
we can be even more like Christ, the very goal and example for our
sanctification.
e. In Verses 29-30, we see salvation in all of its glory. It is critical
that we see that God gets the glory for the entire work before us. Again, we
ask some important questions as we begin trying to understand it:
i.
Who
is doing the work? God
ii.
What
is the work? The work of salvation
iii.
What
are the details of the work?
1. “For those who He foreknew, He
also predestined…” – There are those that believe that the word “foreknew”
means that God knew in eternity past those that would by faith become His
people. There are also those that think that this knowledge goes beyond just
knowing what they would decide; it also is a statement of love and purpose that
goes beyond knowing the decisions only to actually knowing the person and
choosing them in His grace, not due to any credentials of their own. This
predestination is to the believer’s ultimate destiny…
2. “to become conformed to the image
of His Son…” – This is the ultimate destiny of those that are His! There will
not just be one Son in the family! There will be many who will through adoption
be in the family…
3. “so that He would be the
firstborn among many brethren…” – And their example and their role model will
be Jesus. He will not only hold the position of role model, He will hold the
highest place of honor in the family of God!
4. “and these whom He predestined,
He also called…” – In between the start and the finish of God’s plan are three
steps: calling, being justified, and being glorified. Those that are in this
family are called, not just invited. We are called by God Himself into the
family…
5. “and these whom He called, He
also justified…” – Remember, the work of a peaceful reconnection with God is
His! He made that restored relationship possible by the death and resurrection
of His Son. (Romans 5:1)
6. “and these whom He justified, He
also glorified. – Ultimately, those that are His will be glorified, that is taken
to a place (heaven) and a condition where the very presence of sin and its
affects will be gone from the believer’s life.
f. So in the work of God in
salvation, we again see an encouraging help in times of trouble that is… He
will ultimately get the glory!
III.
An
Application For All Of Us
a. As we continue in our sanctification,
we can be assured that His perfect plan includes both our good and His glory!
Hallelujah!!
