Sermon Index
July 27, 2014
Sometime, a long time ago, when I was in Sunday School, the memory verse of one Sunday was Romans 8:28. It soon became my favorite Bible Verse, and it still is. 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.
In Sunday morning worship, this Bible passage is read once every three years. Since it is my favorite passage, I feel I have to preach on it, or rather, I feel I get to preach on it. I ask myself each three years if God is still working for my good in everything that happens in my life. I ask myself if I do indeed love God. And I ask again if I have been called according to the plan of God.
The first words are And we know. It does not say "We believe" or "We hope" or "We think," but, "We know." In other words, St. Paul did not write here about some theological speculation, but rather he spoke about his experience. It was Paul's experience in life that God had been working in his life. That does not mean that Paul's life was "all peaches and cream." He had suffered a lot, he had been misunderstood and slandered, he had been arrested and jailed and beaten, and he knew his weaknesses. And yet, he knew -- not just felt -- that God was working in his life for his good. He had experienced that God had taken the bad things in his life and had brought from them something good. Let me just give one example: Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem because the Jews were jealous of his ministry, but in that way Paul was sent to Rome where he could proclaim the Gospel in the Capital of the Empire.
Our knowledge is different than Godfs. God has foreknowledge, he knows the future. We only have hope for the future because we do not know what will happen. We have faith and trust because we know the past. We know how God has helped us and made things good for us in the past. We know the promises of God. But mostly, we know the love of God. And therefore, we know that the situation we are in right now is according to the plan of God, and that is good.
The next words are in all things. Both the good things and the bad things, in my right decisions and wrong decisions, in my proper actions and in my foolish, bad actions; whether I am well or sick, rich or poor, strong or weak; whether I am a good boy or a sinner: in all things, we know the love of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good. I am not always sure what is the good, but I know what the best is. The best, of course, is to know the love of God, to know Christ, to know Salvation. In the midst of all the bad things of this world that happen in our lives, we never lose the best. We never lose Salvation. Even when things are very good in our lives, God still gives us something better, God still gives us the best, he gives us his love.
This love of God is for those who love God. Of course, we love God because he first loved us. God loved us who have been called according to his purpose. The Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel. He has enlightened us with his gifts. He has kept us in the true Christian faith. (Lutherfs Small Catechism, Article 3 of the Creed). This is the miracle of faith. If anyone ever asks you if you have seen a miracle, tell them gYes.h Tell them you have seen the miracle of faith, the faith in your own heart that believes in Jesus as your Savior. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
We are told that this is according to his purpose. What is the purpose or plan of the Holy Spirit? The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to make us Holy though faith. The purpose of faith is that we might have Salvation. This is pure love. We have not been saved just so that we can be good little boys and girls. We have been called so that we can be sons and daughters of God. The next verses, Romans 8:29-30 tell of this purpose this way. 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. In other words, the purpose of all this predestination and calling and justification and glorification is to show the love of God to his children.
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When we feel that things are bad for us or for those whom we love, we should never be discouraged. We should never doubt. This is the promise of Romans 8:28. And the last verses of Romans 8 are almost a doxology, a hymn of praise. 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.
This is the wonderful, sweet promise of God.
Now, I looked back over the last three years of my life to see how God has been working in my life for my good. I have seen many good blessings. There is the love of my wife. There is the love of my dog. There are the good friends I have in church which I dare say is love. I work in a great church. I have enough money. I have a nice house to live in. My car runs. I have swum in the beautiful Okinawa sea. Last summer I was able to visit my family in America. My AC works fine this summer. @Etc. I thank God that he worked to make my life good.
Then I looked back at the times when things did not look so nice. Actually, these last three years, things have not been too bad for me. Compared to the previous three years, there have been no accidents or deaths in the family. My left knee has become painful with arthritis. How has God made that word for good? Well, I have more understanding of other people when they are sick or are in pain. Perhaps that makes me a better pastor.
Either I am by nature an optimist, or else I am an optimist because of my faith in Jesus Christ. If he can bring something good out of his own sufferings and death, then he can make something good come out of my suffering. If his death forgave sin and if his resurrection gives life eternal, then he can make my sufferings into a time of repentance and forgiveness and new life.
Believing the promise of Romans 8:28 gives a bit of excitement to my life. For example, when there is a problem or disaster, I often ask myself how God will make something good come out of this. It is like a challenge I suppose. When trying to drive in a nail, if I hit my thumb, I have been known to ask, gOkay, God. What is your purpose in this? How is this going to become something good for me?h People often ask gwhy?h Why did someone die? Why was there a certain natural disaster where thousands of people died? What good will come out of the wars in the Middle East? Etc. We should be careful. Our optimism is not always very comforting to someone who broke their legs in a car accident if we say that this was according to the plan of God. Evil is never according to Godfs plan. However, God can work in the midst of evil to accomplish his plan. His plan is salvation. His plan is to love us.
Romans 8:28 is a declaration of freedom for me. I am free of worry. God will take care of things. I will do my best; I will try to make wise decisions. But if I mess things up, if I choose the wrong thing and am stuck with it, as when I gtake the road less traveled by,h I am free of worry. God can make my mistakes into something good for me. I can always see the love of God. That is why this is my favorite Bible verse.
Romans 8:28
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church