Text:  Romans 8:31-39

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In all these things, we are supremely victorious…

I am writing this sermon at my father’s bedside in room 22 at Petaluma Valley Hospital.  It’s Friday. Karen was just here all night.  She is very tired.  I don’t expect us to be here with dad much longer.  Let me explain why.  My father lies before me barely breathing. His last breath seems right around the corner.

My dad is dying before my eyes.  Yet here come these words that seem anything but true at a time like this: Probably crazy to many in this world.  In all these things, we are supremely victorious…

But this is exactly the kind of time when we need such words. When everything might seem lost, sad and hopeless.  This is the time when we need our Lord to come and lift our sunken spirits with his Word.

Otherwise, we could end up believing what was painted on a wall by an American soldier in Afghanistan.  His year in that boiling pot of fear, death and suffering  drove this soldier to write in his bitterness:.  God hates us all forever.

The devil wants us to believe that.  He wants to get us alone, isolate us from our brothers and sisters in Christ, and drive us to despair.  He wants to convince you that there is no way God could love you.  There is no way God could care for you.  There is no hope. Just look at your life.

This Word is like a Kevlar vest to guard our hearts when life gets tough.  It’s like a warm shower for our souls when we’ve been shivering in life’s coldness.  And that is this:

In Christ, God is for us.
I.  Look what he gave up for you
II.  Look what he says about you
III.  Look what he has attached to you

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this?  What Paul writes to us here harks back to what he just said.  A few weeks ago the vicar preached on these wonderful truths.  That from eternity God chose to make you the object of his love.  In your life, he acted on that choice by calling you to faith in Jesus. And someday he will bring you to the blessed goal, the hope he has promised us in Christ.

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all… You  learn a lot about a relationship by what someone is willing to give up for another.  If our moms or dads were any kind of parents they gave up a lot for us.  Their sacrifice said a lot about their love for you.

This morning we heard about Abraham and Isaac.  We met a father who loved his son, his only son.  Abraham also knew that God had promised that through this son would come a Savior for all nations and yes his Savior.  But now God asked him to give up his son, to sacrifice him.  We learn a lot about Abraham’s heart for the Lord when we see him make his way to Mt Moriah, gather the wood and raise his hand.

But what God did not permit Abraham to do, God did for you and me and all people.  Think about it. Last week we heard God the Father say on that Mount of Transfiguration.  This is my Son, whom I love. But follow Jesus and where does he go?  To a cross where the Father would give him up to suffer and die.  Why?  You know.  For our sin.  For our lack of love.  For the many times we have baptized our lives with guilt.  Yet who dies.  Who suffers?  Yes in Christ, God is for us.  Look what he gave up for you!

So when you find yourself in one of life’s pits and can’t seem to see over the top, answer Paul’s question:  how will he not also, along with [Christ], graciously give us all things? In other words,  look up dear Christian. Look up to Jesus’ cross. Look what he gave up for you.   If God was willing to do even that for you, if his grace is that rich,  do you think he’s going to hold back anything you really need?

Now Paul has us think of a courtroom.  What do you usually find there?  There is an accuser.  There  the one accused.  And there is someone who then decides guilt or innocence.

God’s word tells us:  it is appointed for a man once to die and then to face the judgment. So a courtroom awaits us. A verdict too.  And our Maker is the judge.  That prospect can frighten us.  But this Word assures us.  In Christ, God is for us.  Look what he says about you.

In God’s court, it would be very easy for someone to bring charges against us.  Think of what we owe to God and think of what we give him.

This past week as I’ve sat with my I dad, I couldn’t help but think.  Sooner or later I too am going to die. I too am going to stand before a God who knows all.  More than once my conscience pointed its accusing finger my way.  To things in my life of which I am ashamed.  To the grief I gave my Mom and Dad and thus to God,  the sins of my youth.  And the sins that leap up in my heart now just when I think I’m doing good.   Yes, in God’s court, it would be very easy for someone to bring charges against me – and you.

But listen again to these words:  ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  We have a conscience that shakes its finger in our face and accuses us of guilt. The devil accuses us before God.   But when all is said and done whose voice will be heard?  Whose voice will count?  God’s.  And what do we know?  In Christ, God is for us.  Look what he says about you! He has justified you.  He has declared you and me innocent.

How?  Why?  We know we are not innocent.  Far from it.  But Jesus was in every way.  He gave that life for you and paid the price you owed.  And then he was raised to assure you, it is finished.  It’s a done deal.  You are forgiven.

And here Paul puts this icing on the cake.   There is someone else in that courtroom by your side.  Jesus, your brother and God’s Son.  And what is he doing?  With all authority in heaven and earth, he speaks for you.  What a friend you have in Jesus.

Yet we know how things can seem.  There is a pastor in Iran under a death sentence.  This husband and father can be put to death at any time and for what?  For being born to a Muslim family and then believing in Christ.  How might that seem?

How might it seem to us when life takes a turn that hurts.  It might seem that God has cut you loose.  It might seem he couldn’t care less.  It sure could have seemed that way to Paul.  If anyone knew tough times, it was he.  He knew shipwreck and being without food.  He suffered beatings and jail time and finally death for preaching the gospel of Jesus.  If anyone had reason to feel abandoned by God it was the man who penned these words..  But here again he helps us to say:  In Christ, God is for us.  Look what God has attached to you.

You’ve seen it.  Meant to be a joke.  Sometimes a poor one.  There’s a sign attached to the back of someone’s shirt. Well God has attached something to you. It’s no joke. It’s a priceless treasure.  He attached it to you at your baptism when your sins were washed away.  His love.

But then those things come that can make us wonder.  The cancer, the broken heart, the depression. I don’t see anything that resembles God’s love there.  So we assume it’s gone.  But it’s not.  It’s not.  But don’t take my word for it, take God’s. It convinced Paul.  ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So here I sit in at my father’s bedside.  His time seems very near and I know my grief is not far behind.  Here is the man who with my mother helped me learn how to walk.  Thanks dad for that and so much more.

Well we need to learn how to walk as God’s people.  To walk by faith in God’s Word and not by what we see and feel.  I still am learning that.  How about you?  Let’s learn together.  To walk on knowing that in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For in Christ, God is for us.  Amen.

Text: Mark 9:2-9
After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

⁷ Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

⁸ Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

We Get a Glimpse of Jesus’ Glory
I.  His divine nature is revealed (vv. 2-3)
II.  He’s the Savior we’ve needed (vv. 4-9)

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ,

A couple weeks ago I told you about my classmate Paul and his wife Ruth who was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the 28^th week of her pregnancy. Because their son John was born so prematurely, he was quickly taken from them and brought to the neonatal intensive care unit. They knew they would see him again, and that it would be for a more substantial period of time. But for now, they caught just a glimpse of their young bundle of joy.

Today we celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus. Here we get a glimpse of Jesus’ glory. There’s more to come, but for now we get just a glimpse. But there’s a lot to be seen in just this glimpse. We first of all see as His divine nature is revealed. And then we see that He’s the Savior we’ve always needed.

I. [His heavenly nature is revealed.] It has been six days, so almost a week, since Jesus asked His disciples who people say He is. The disciples gave a few different answers, but then Peter gave the right one: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”[1] Jesus commended Peter for His answer but then He gives them some shocking news. He is on His way to Jerusalem for the last time. He will suffer and die there. It’s written in prophecy throughout the Old Testament, but this was Jesus’ first direct foretelling of it. Peter’s reaction was not good. He took Jesus aside and we read that he rebuked, or strongly criticized, Jesus. Jesus replied by telling Peter, as well as the rest of the disciples, that there must be a cross before His glory.

Again, that happened almost a week before the events in today’s text. Jesus is on His last journey to Jerusalem, and this will be the big one. This will be the one where He dies. It’s appropriate for us to look at this right now because we are about to begin the season of Lent. And that, in a way, is our journey to Jerusalem, to the cross where our Lord will die. And yet, before we do that, we see what Jesus shows His disciples, a glimpse of His glory. So that, even when He’s on the cross, we remember who is in control.

So we have Jesus, Peter, James, and John ascending a mountain. We’re not sure which mountain it is, it’s not important. But they’re going there to pray. The disciples are getting a little sleepy when suddenly something catches their attention. Shaking the sleep from their eyes, they see that Jesus is actually transfigured before them. The word “transfigured” comes from the Greek word for metamorphosis. Where do we hear the word “metamorphosis”? Well, when a caterpillar wraps itself in a cocoon and emerges as a butterfly, we call that metamorphosis. It’s a complete change. The caterpillar changes from a slimy little one-color worm into a beautiful, multicolored insect that can fly.

In a similar way, Christ completely changes His form. He sheds His human “wrap,” if you will, and His divine nature shines forth. Some people say the disciples were hallucinating or that it was the way the sun shone on Jesus’ face. But it wasn’t anything like that. The form of our Lord was actually changed… even His clothes showed His glory. We read that they became “dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.” This was an “out of this world” experience.

Martin Luther once spoke of a worm that covers the fishing hook and hides the hook from the fish’s eye. He said that, in the same way, the humanity of Christ covered his deity and hid it from people’s eyes. That was the case for all 33 years of Jesus’ life before His resurrection from the dead… except for this brief glimpse. With this brief glimpse, Christ displayed something that few others on this earth have beheld… His glory, the glory of God. Moses, who appears here, had actually been the last one to see God’s glory 1500 years earlier! So this glimpse was indeed a great blessing!

But why was it significant? Well for them, first of all, they were about to see what appeared to be the utter defeat of Christ on the cross. They could certainly benefit from this visible proof for strength in those times. And after He rose, and showed Himself to them, they would have great use for this testimony as they witnessed to the world about Jesus. What could embolden them more than this awesome site of seeing the Son of God in all His glory! They were eye witnesses of it!

And for us… hearing the eye witness account of our Savior’s transfiguration encourages and strengthens us, too, as we fulfill the Great Commission. Even though the pages of Scripture are completely littered with the miracles and the Words of Jesus, here we actually SEE Him in glory as the Son of God. It’s not just implied that Jesus is God; He actually shows Himself to be God.

And so we see Jesus pull back the veil of His humanity, be it ever so briefly, so we can see His glory. For this short time, we see all the glory of the Godhead that is contained in Christ! And it’s so comforting to see because He’s not just God, but He’s the God who saves us!

II. [He’s the Savior we’ve needed.] Where do we see that here? Well we see Moses and Elijah there, right? Speaking with Jesus. This wasn’t just for theatrical value. These men represent all that Jesus would fulfill. Remember how in Jesus’ Day, the Old Testament (which at that time was all of Scripture) was called the Law and the Prophets? Well Moses was the giver of the Law, and Elijah was the best known of Israel’s prophets. So we see Jesus with the Law and the Prophets, talking about His approaching death… the fulfillment of Scripture. But why would this King of Glory die?

It’s because the world needs to be reconciled to God. Back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve sinned and created a rift between God (and His glory), and us. You could say that a giant chasm was created between us. And our relationship with Him was ruined. And we can’t just blame it on Adam and Eve because we’ve all contributed our own countless sins to this chasm. Every time we’ve followed Eve’s lead and tried to make ourselves into God. Every time that I do what I want so that I feel better, regardless of what God says, I’m contributing to that chasm.

And because of this chasm and ruined relationship, no human can help but be frightened when they’re in the presence of God, or even angels. Think about how every time that an angel appears to someone, the first thing they have to say is, “Don’t be afraid.”

Here we have a similar situation, though to a greater degree. The disciples witness God’s glory and Mark records that Peter didn’t really know what He was saying here because he was frightened! Finding themselves in God’s glory, these disciples realize what any of us would hopefully realize… that we are completely unworthy of a God who is so glorious.

Despite the fact that these disciples are frightened, this is an amazing site to see! And so Peter does note that it is good for them to be there. They are witnessing divine glory. It’s the glory that befits the King and Savior of the world!

They hear the voice of God the Father speak from heaven and identify Jesus as that one for us, just like He did at Jesus’ baptism. This is His Son, our Savior. The One who would fulfill all of the Old Testament prophecies. The One who would die and close the rift and chasm between us and God. Jesus is the one who will fix that relationship. And because we see that Jesus is God, we know that His sacrifice is sufficient to cover the sins of the world. The difference between the declaration God the Father gave at Christ’s baptism, and the one He gives here is that this time He adds that we must listen to His Son. The disciples couldn’t just stare at His glory; they also had to listen to His Word, just as we do. Faith comes from hearing the message,[2] right? God the Father here puts his stamp of approval on everything Jesus says. Listen to Him who is the way, the truth and the life.

Suddenly the disciples come to their senses and they no longer hear a voice, they no longer see Moses and Elijah, they’re left with just Jesus. And that’s all they, or we, need. Through faith in this God-man, and this God-man alone, we know we are saved eternally. We know we can say to the death that stalks us… and to our guilty conscience.  We know we can say to the devil who wants us to doubt God’s love and forgiveness.  “Be quiet.  I have a Savior and his name is Jesus.” He lived and died so that my relationship with God might be repaired, and so that I can look forward to an eternal life of glory beyond the grave.

In the same way that my friends Paul and Ruth can look forward to much more than a glimpse of their little John, we can look forward, with certainty to much more than a glimpse of Christ’s glory. We will see Him, fully glorified, in heaven. And, as the apostle Paul assures us, our lowly bodies will also be glorified like His.[3]

Jesus and His disciples descend the mountain. As they do, He commands them not to tell others what they have seen. As with the other times that He gives this command, it’s because people (even these disciples) still have wrong ideas about the kind of Messiah He is. They think He’s a political savior and if their fellow Jews catch onto this idea, it could actually be counterproductive to Jesus fulfilling His mission on the cross. So He tells them not to tell others what they have seen until He’s risen from the dead.

The beauty for us is that we know that He has indeed risen from the dead. And He’s given us the opposite command. Not that we are to keep the Good News of our Savior a secret, but that we are to go and make disciples of all nations.[4] And what a joy it is to spread the good news of our Savior who we know is so glorious! Here we have the eye witness accounts to prove it!

And so we see a glimpse of our Lord Jesus’ glory. But it’s a sad, anti-climactic story if that’s all we ever get to see. Fortunately for us, as believers in Christ, we have much more than a glimpse of His glory to look forward to. We can look forward to seeing Christ in all His glory one day in heaven, and in sharing in that glory. Until then let His transfiguration be your strength and your hope, just as it was for these three disciples. Knowing that we have such a glorious Savior, we follow where He leads until the day we get to live with Him for eternity. What a glorious day that will be! Amen.

Text:  Psalm 32:1-5

Why do you begin your service that way?  It’s so negative.  I don’t like that part of your worship. Ever heard that?  I have.   Ever thought that about the way we usually begin our worship?  By confessing our sins, our sinfulness?

Well you know what?  We shouldn’t like it.  It shouldn’t be easy to say to the One who made us, who provides for us, who gave his own Son to suffer and die for us, I have sinned against you.

Yet maybe it has become easy for us — at least to say the words we are about to say.  Maybe at times our confession has become something else.  Kind of a shrug your shoulders ritual where the words roll of our lips but hardly speak from our hearts.

Today we hear the inspired words of King David who wrote this psalm.  It’s one of a number of psalms we call penitential, that is a psalm of repentance.  Of course, when we think of David it’s easy to say, no wonder.  That guy really sinned.  He had a lot to confess.  No wonder he was so happy to be forgiven.

But if that’s our reaction, we’re missing the point.  This is not just about David.  It’s about each of us here.  For how have we come today?  How do we come every time we gather.  Trailing a trash bag behind us.  A bag that contains all kinds of things.  Unkind words to those we are supposed to love, lousy attitudes, ingratitude, impatience, anger, lust to name a few.

With this psalm the Holy Spirit urges us to come to God confessing our sin.  But here with David, the Spirit shows us so much more.  This is the great thing we see today in this Word.  The blessedness…

O the Happiness of God’s forgiveness

There are Christians who believe that if you are a true Christian, you can never fall away.  If King David were here, he would tell us something much different.  About himself.  He did fall away like some of us have at times in our lives.  The tawdry details of David are in 2Samuel 11.   One night, up on the roof of his palace, he spotted a woman bathing. She was beautiful. David wanted her even when he found out she was married.  He had to have her for himself even if it meant conspiring to have her husband killed.  He did that.  And then he flaunted his sin by bringing Bathsheba into his palace.

Then we come to chapter 12.  We hear how the Lord’s prophet courageously confronted the King.  He showed him his sin and David confessed it.  But what we don’t see is that a year went by in between.

During that year it may have seemed to many, that things were going good for David.  After all, David was in his palace.  There servants attended him.  He lived in luxury, doing whatever he pleased and there he was surrounded by a bevy of gorgeous women.  It might have seemed that David’s sin, his guilt, was no big deal.

But read this psalm.  Read psalm 6 and you learn the real story.  In stubborn silence, David was wasting away. Listen to him describe it:  ³ When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. ⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.  David’s guilt would not leave him alone.  He couldn’t sleep.  His body ached. And he was dog tired like we might be on a hot summer day. All symptoms of something far worse. A soul weighed down, burdened with guilt hemorrhaging inside.  A soul in stubborn silence, keeping its distance from God, wasting away.

And we are no different.  We waste away when we live in our own stubborn silence.  When we refuse to open  that trash bag of our lives and admit to God what we’ve put there.  For guilt is a terrible thing.  And yes counselors may be able to help us push back against those guilty feelings.  But they can’t take away the guilt for what we’ve done or failed to do.  They can’t remove the threat of God’s judgment.

So David warns us here.  Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding… You or I may not have four legs but there have been times when I have born a close resemblance to a mule.  I foolishly went on in my own stubborn silence.  Don’t,  David says.  .Instead as we see here:  confess your sins and enjoy the freedom of God’s forgiveness.

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” That didn’t happen by itself you know.  The Lord sent his prophet Nathan to bring David back to his senses. Who is your Nathan?   It’s easy to resent that Christian who shows you your sin.  It’s easier to kill the messenger than listen to the message.  It took a lot of courage for the prophet Nathan to confront his King.

But that he did.  And it convicted David’s heart.  The Holy Spirit broke down that wall of stubborn stony silence.  And now David confessed, I have sinned against the Lord.  And here David must have marveled.  How can this be?  For right on the heels of his confession came this: The Lord has taken away your sin. (2Sam 12) Of course, we Christians today need not be surprised.  We know that parable told by our Lord Jesus.  How a father waited anxiously for his son’s return.  That son who had made such a mess out of his life.  But what did that son find when he returned?  A father so very ready to forgive his son.

That father represents our Father in heaven. God the Father who sent his one and only Son to this world. He made it possible for David to hear.  He made it possible for us to hear every time we come confessing our guilt:  The Lord has taken away your sin.

David can hardly contain himself here.  ¹ Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ²Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

That first word blessed hardly conveys the joy David then knew.  O the happiness of sins forgiven. Happy is the man. Happy is woman who truly knows what God has done.  Listen to how he meets us.

Our sins are forgiven.  Literally it means, lifted.  He has lifted the guilt from you.  He no longer sees it.  As far as the East is from the West so far have I removed your transgressions from you.

And we know where that trash went from our bulging bag.   Away from us to God’s own Son on a cross.  Look at that cross and know the Lord has taken away your sin.  O the happiness of sins forgiven.

O the happiness of sins now covered.  Sometimes it’s really hard. Someone offends us so that every time we see that person we think back to what they did or said.  Well in countless ways we have offended God.  But how does God meet us when we confess our sins?  They are covered.  Covered with something that is yours in Christ.  His righteousness. His good and perfect life.  You know the kind of life we fail to live.  Our life is now covered with his goodness. That’s what God sees.  O the happiness of sins now covered.

It’s the happiness of sins that the Lord will not count against us. In another psalm, we are reminded, if you O Lord kept a record of sin, O Lord, who could stand? None of us.  We’d perish.   But how did God meet this guilty sinner named David?  Just as he meets us.  If we confess our sins, he promises to forgive us.  He promises not to drag those things out that now make us ashamed.  And why?  In  love, Jesus stood in our place.   In love. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us.   O the happiness of God’s forgiveness in Christ.

So bring that trash bag that we keep filling.  Admit what’s in it here before the Lord.   And I realize.  It’s no fun.  It’s doesn’t make me feel good to look at the contents of my bag.

But listen to one who has know it both ways.  He speaks to you in this psalm.  King David.  He speaks to you from this pulpit. Your pastor.  One who has wasted away in stubborn silence.   It’s no good at all.  Better to Confess your sin and enjoy the freedom of God’s forgiveness.  Think about it.  In Christ, He gives you the right to set that bag down and leave it behind. O the happiness of God’s forgiveness.

Text: Romans 8:28-30
²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Want to See the Blueprint for Your Life?
I. It’s all for your good (v. 28)
II. It begins and ends in eternity (vv. 29-30)

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ,

People often ask me the difference between the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which Living Word in Petaluma is a member of, and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which Christ Lutheran in Windsor is a member of. Both synods teach and believe the same things about God, the Bible, and salvation. The only difference, really, is in their backgrounds. The Wisconsin Synod is German in background, and the ELS is Norwegian.

They each also have their own unique history. A defining feature of ELS history occurred way back in the 1880s when there was no ELS, just the Norwegian Synod. Another occurred in 1917, when the church body that would become the ELS broke off from the Norwegian Synod. Both of these significant events centered on the doctrine of election. This is a teaching that is very easily misunderstood. But it’s also a teaching which is full of comfort for the Christian when understood correctly. Its roots are found in the verses we look at today. Want to see the blueprint for your life? Here it is. It’s all for your good. And it begins and ends in eternity.

I. [It’s all for your good.] But wait. How can God’s blueprint for my life be for my good? Life can be so difficult. We saw this in the Old Testament lesson from Job this morning. Earlier in this same chapter of Romans, chapter 8, Paul discusses how difficult life can be, especially for Christians. And we see it in our own lives.

It’s not easy when we face financial difficulties, is it? When we barely have enough money to scrape by. It’s not easy when we face relationship problems, whether it’s marriage difficulties, or our relationships with friends, family members, or co-workers. And the worst problem we have is the sin that we all face all day, every day. When we sin we hurt ourselves, we hurt those around us, and most importantly, we hurt our relationship with God. And this leads to eternal punishment.

Paul writes that “God works all things for the good of those who love Him.” But sin causes us to doubt that this even applies to us. Because of the sin that we’ve committed countless times, we’re left to ask ourselves, “Have I really loved God?” We’ve acted unlovingly towards Him and our neighbor countless times. And so can this possibly apply to me?

And yet, having faith, this comfort is for us. The doubt which I just mentioned is a trick of the devil. The verse says that “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” He works all things for the good of those who are called according to His purpose. In other words, those who have faith in Christ as their Savior..

Let’s look at Joseph in the Old Testament. His brothers sold him into slavery. How many of us can say we’ve had that horrible experience? I mean, my brothers and I didn’t always treat each other the very best, but we certainly never sold each other into slavery! And then he gets there, gets a good job with Pharaoh’s captain of the guard, and the captain’s wife falsely accuses Joseph of coming on to her! So he ends up in prison! Talk about a rough life! And yet he had faith. And God was working everything for his good. God helped him to eventually rise in power to become the most powerful person in Egypt behind Pharaoh. And then God used him to help people all over the Middle East who were struck by a famine. God used the difficult situation for the good of Joseph, the good of his family, and the good of the whole Middle East. And really, He used that situation even for our good. Because of Joseph, the line of our Savior Jesus was preserved.

But Joseph went through years of difficult times for him to realize why things were happening the way they were. Sometimes it takes us years to realize why we go through the difficult things that we do. And sometimes we never see why it is. Remember Job in the Old Testament? He lost his whole family, all his possessions, and was infected with painful sores? As far as we’re told, he never found out why that was. And yet how many countless people today, and in the thousands of years since it was recorded, have found comfort in that account? But Job never saw that. The point being that we don’t always see the reason we go through tough times. But we hold, in faith, to what Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says to us. God works all things for our good… for the good of those who love Him.

This is a great comfort for the Christians. I have a friend and classmate who is in his last classroom semester right now. His wife is 28 weeks pregnant with their first child, but this past week it was discovered that she has a form of stomach cancer. So this evening they are planning to induce her. God willing she will give birth to a healthy 28 week old child, but shortly thereafter will begin chemotherapy. That’s a tough situation! When her husband Paul wrote an update email this past week, he closed it with this passage. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.”

What a comfort that is! To know that everything in our lives is happening for our good and for the good of God’s kingdom. Recently, I had a different friend who was going through some tough times and made the comment that “Eventually everything will be okay.” But here’s Paul’s point. No matter how difficult life gets, no matter what you’re going through, everything is okay right now. Everything is working according to God’s plan, according to His blueprint for the world. We just can’t see that whole blueprint right now. We only see the tiny time and place that we’re in. If we could see God’s whole blueprint, we’d have a different perspective. So Paul unrolls the blueprint and offers us at least a little insight into God’s plan for the world, and for us. And it stretches from eternity to eternity.

II. [It begins and ends in eternity.] Before the creation of the world, God knew you. And He didn’t just know you in some vague sort of way, like how we know some of those people at our big family reunions. He knew and knows us intimately. Even to the point where He knows how many hairs we have on our heads.[1] Most importantly, God knew, from before time began, that we would be called to be His children.

And Paul writes that “For those God foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” Predestination is a word we don’t hear too often in everyday life. It refers to the Bible’s teaching that God elected Christians from eternity. He “destined” us to hear the Gospel of Christ, to believe it, and to receive all of its blessings. Some church bodies say God predestined some to heaven and some to hell. This leads to the idea that God gets the glory for salvation, but also the blame for condemnation. This says more than the Bible does… especially since it says that “God wants all men to be saved.”[2]

Other church bodies say that He elects some people because He knows they will “choose” Him. This doesn’t blame Him for those that reject faith. But it also doesn’t give Him all the credit for those who are saved. This belief makes faith a good work, and a cause of salvation. This was actually the issue in the two controversies that the ELS faced a hundred years ago.

Meanwhile, Lutheranism just holds to what the Bible says. The word “predestination” occurs 6 times in the Bible, and they are all used in reference to God’s plan, or purpose, of salvation. God predestines “the elect” to heaven. Grace is freely offered to all. Unfortunately, because of the hardness of the sinful human heart, some reject it. For those who are not saved, it is their own fault. Christians have the same sinful human heart, but by God’s grace, we are blessed with faith which receives that salvation.  At some point, this doesn’t all make perfect sense to the human mind. But, as Martin Luther says, we take off our little hats, and admit that we can’t comprehend all of God’s ways.

We focus on the fact that, completely by the grace of God, we’ve been called by the Word of God, by the Holy Spirit, to faith. We’re called to believe in the greatest gift we’ve ever been given… the gift of innocence. To believe that Jesus Christ did indeed live a perfect life and die an innocent death… for my sins. And by faith in this message, we are declared innocent, not guilty, in God’s sight. That’s what it means to be justified. Having been called to faith, we’re called to “conform to Christ’s likeness”—to follow and serve Him, to bring glory to His name, and to become like Him (like Christ). And we’re called to be glorified, like our brother Christ.

And that’s the final piece of the blueprint that Paul gives us. “Those He justified, He also glorified.” The word “glorified” is past tense. God has promised it, it is as good as done. We share in God’s glory right now through faith. We are empowered by the Word here on earth and we have a sure foundation in Christ, by faith in Him. And while we still do encounter these difficulties in life, as I mentioned before, we live with the sure guarantee that our glory will be fully realized in heaven. There we will live in perfection for eternity.

Is there any doubt that this applies to us? No. Not as long as we keep our eyes focused on Christ in faith. We know that God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.[3] Are we included in all people? Yes we are. So He wants you and me to be saved. We can also be sure that Christ has done everything needed for our salvation. In another of his epistles, Paul writes, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”[4] Christ has done everything for us. Believing this, Jesus tells us that “no one can pluck us from the Father’s hand.”[5] So we focus, not on ourselves, or on our own good efforts to get to heaven… but on God’s promise. He wants us to be saved, He sent His Son who died for us, and nothing can now pluck us from His hand.

And as Paul writes just a couple verses after our text, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”[6] Because God has chosen us from eternity, has provided our salvation in the gift of His Son, and has called us to faith, we know that all things in life work for our eternal good.

Want to see the blueprint for your life? There it is. It starts way back before the beginning of time when God decided to create you and bring you to faith. Then He created the world, time began, and He set in motion His plan to save you. 2000 years ago God sent His Son to earth. And Jesus Christ carried out every part of His mission which means that our sins are forgiven and heaven awaits us. Now you’ve been born and are living. At times, life can be difficult, but God’s working it all out… for you. And someday it’ll be your time to pass from this life into the next. And there your story will continue forever and ever. And it will be perfect. The perfect happy ending that never ends. Keep your eyes on the big picture, on the big blueprint. And when you can’t see why it’s going the way it does, trust God that He knows what He’s doing, because He does. He has a much bigger plan than we can ever possibly see or imagine. And it’s all for you, from eternity to eternity. Praise be to God on High! Amen.

[1] Luke 12:7
[2] 1 Timothy 2:4
[3] 1 Timothy 2:4
[4] Ephesians 2:8-9
[5] John 10:29
[6] Romans 8:32