6/30/24 “God’s Home Security System”
“God’s Home Security System”
Romans 8:28-39
When referring to a house – or a building of some kind - Have you ever heard someone say: “That place is more secure than Fort Knox?”
The implication is that a certain property is protected – or secured – to a very high degree.
Here’s A few facts about the actual Fort Knox – also known as the most secure vault on the planet.
(Show Picture of Fort Knox)
The official name for Fort Knox is “The United States Bullion Depository”
It is located just south of Louisville, Kentucky where the entire property is surrounded by a large steel fence, with land mines, laser triggered machine guns - and multiple snipers stationed in each of the four corner towers
The building that houses the vault itself is made out of concrete-lined granite with reinforced steel strong enough to withstand an atomic blast…
…as well as housing its own emergency power plant and water system.
The neighboring area is also home to 20,000 soldiers who could be on the scene in a matter of minutes in the event of an emergency.
The vault door itself weighs 20 tons and – interestingly - no single person knows how to get in.
Instead, a handful of staff members know just one of several combinations needed to be dialed separately to open the vault.
So – to say the least – Fort Knox is extremely secure!
The theme of ‘Security’ is something that saturates today’s passage from the 8th chapter of Romans – specifically – the security we enjoy as being children of God…as members of His spiritual household.
…And scripture informs us that absolutely no one is able to break into God’s household and steal any of His children…a child of God is completely safe!
These comforting passages describe how God’s sovereignty, providence, and grace work to provide a level of security for His children that completely leaves Fort Knox in the dust!
Today’s passage begins with one of the most beloved verses in all of scripture.
Verse 28 (Romans 8:28) reads: “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.”
According to polling over the last 50 years, Romans 8:28 consistently comes in at the #4 spot of favorite Bible verses.
There’s good reason for this.
This passage is one of the most comforting passages in all of scripture…
R.A. Torrey calls it: “A soft pillow for a tired heart.”
Why? because it tells us that God is completely sovereign…
That God is in absolute control of everything that happens in our world…right down to the smallest details of your life.
…and not only is God in complete control, but – if you are His child – He is orchestrating everything in your life in such a way as to ultimately be beneficial to you.
Now – that being said – this verse has also been one of the most misconstrued, misunderstood, and misapplied verses in all of scripture.
Let’s take a few minutes to dive a little deeper into this verse and see what truth is being conveyed – as well as – what is not being conveyed here in this passage.
First of all, the promise in this verse is directed toward “…Those who love Him.”
In other words, this verse does not apply to everyone….the promise of God working all things for good is reserved specifically for His children – those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, if a non-believer is dealing with a difficult situation or trial in their life, it would be a mis-application of scripture to apply the promises of this specific verse to them..
God may indeed have a beneficial purpose in mind for that individual, or He may not specifically be orchestrating the events in their life to ultimately be of benefit to them…we simply don’t know…
…therefore, it’s not our place to speak for God in that situation.
However, if a believer – someone who loves God – is facing a challenging situation in life, we can…and should…comfort them with this verse that reminds them of how God is using their present situation to ultimately benefit them...
…in other words, there is divine purpose in their current situation – regardless of whether it’s a positive or negative event.
This brings us to a central truth that some people misunderstand about this verse – and it has to do with the following words: “…God works for the good”
What does it exactly mean that ‘God works for the good’?
Does it mean that if you love God enough, He’ll provide you with excellent health?...or deliverance from a particular disease?
Does it mean that if you love God enough, He’ll ensure that your relationships with all of your family members will be completely harmonious and drama-free?
Does it mean that if you love God enough, He’ll transform your boss’ attitude from that of the Grinch to be more like Barney the Dinosaur (At least when they’re dealing with you…I mean, who cares about how they deal with your co-workers, right?)?
Does it mean that if you love God enough, He’ll finally allow you to afford that late model Corvette you’ve been wanting?
…or in my case, it’s a human drone helicopter…that’s what I want.
yep, it’s called the Jetsen 1…It costs about a hundred grand…they’re made in Arezzo, Italy….it would cut my commute time to church in half…we could make this lot over here my landing pad…As you can tell, I haven’t really given this idea much thought…
I mean, God works for the GOOD of those who love Him, right?...Well, God, I love you…and a Jetson 1 sounds GOOD to me!!
I think you might be getting the point I’m trying to make.
God’s definition of what is “Good” for us here in verse 28 does not always align with our definition of what we think is “Good” for us.
In fact, there are times when God allows us to experience things that we’d really rather not go through, but – we need to experience them - because they are ultimately for our benefit….they are for our eventual good.
Sometimes God allows us to experience pain, loss, grief, stress, sickness, tragedy…why?
Paul gives us the answer in verse 29 (Romans 8:29) “For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son….”
In other words, anything that makes us more like Jesus is for our good.
I love the “$5 Bar of Steel” illustration…has anyone heard of this?
If you turn a $5 Bar of Steel into 2 Horseshoes, the steel is now worth $12
If you turn a $5 Bar of Steel into sewing needles, the steel is now worth $3,500
If you turn a $5 Bar of Steel into balance springs for fine watches, the steel is now worth $300,000!
What is needed to be done to the steel in order to achieve the different transformations?...
Heat. Twisting. Beating. hammering….Repeat….Repaet…Repeat
The trials of our lives produce massively positive spiritual results in our lives.
You all know James 1:2-4 right? “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Yes, sometimes it takes negative experiences to produce a spiritually positive result.
The other day, I was at Culver’s (Go figure) and the fries were a little bland, so I sprinkled some poison on them, and proceeded to scarf’em down
Yes, that’s right, I said poison…actually 2 different poisons: Sodium & Chlorine.
Now sodium by itself - is poisonous…ingest too much & it will kill you
And chlorine by itself – is poisonous…ingest too much & it will also kill you
But when they are combined to produce Sodium Chloride (aka Table Salt) the properties of the chemicals change to the degree that the resulting compound is now safe to consume – but only when the elements are mixed together.
Likewise, sometimes God mixes together negative experiences and events in our lives to ultimately produce good, positive results…
Remember this the next time you’re facing a trial in your life that you would much rather avoid…
Remember that God is using that experience to draw you closer to Him and to continually form you into becoming more like Christ…
…AND He may be using your trials to ultimately bring a positive impact upon the lives of others.
Remember Joseph? His brothers sold him into slavery, he was cast into prison, he was falsely accused of sexual misconduct…
but after God had worked all of these negative things together for good, do you remember what Joseph told his brothers when they came to him in Egypt begging for food?
He said “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)
God can – and He does – turn negatives into positives that have far-reaching effects…you may not even know individuals who could end up being spiritually strengthened through your individual hardship or trial.
The ultimate good in the life of a believer isn’t to obtain materialistic items, become famous, win the lottery, or even to be comfortable & happy
…the ultimate good for an adopted child of God is to become more like Jesus – to be continually transformed into his image…and to trust God’s process!
The more we take into consideration the big picture, the more we will begin to see the trials and challenges in life as opportunities for spiritual growth, rather than how the world sees them – as pointless and hopeless misfortune.
Speaking of the big picture, verses 29 & 30 (Romans 8:29-30) describe the salvation of man from the perspective of God himself.
How many of you are wearing watches this morning?
Not only do watches help us get places on time, but they also remind us that we are all constrained by time itself.
None of us are able to stop time…neither can we travel backward or forward in time…we are temporal creatures who are stuck in time.
God, however, is not stuck in the constraints of time…In fact, God created time – along with space and matter.
Therefore, God is spaceless, timeless, and immaterial.
Since God is timeless, he views our salvation from a different perspective than we do.
When God views your life, He views it in its entirety.
This is why we see words such as ‘foreknew’, ‘predestined’, and ‘called’.
From God’s perspective of timelessness, every facet of your salvation is already complete.
Notice in verse 30 (Romans 8:30) how Paul uses the past-tense of the word ‘glorified’ in describing our salvific reality?
To be glorified means that we are without sin and that our bodies are like Jesus’ resurrected, non-aging body.
Well, I don’t know about you, but every day I look in the mirror, I see the aging process hard at work…some days its working overtime!
..and I know that I still fight the daily battle with my sinful flesh…
Yet, Paul here seems to be saying that believers are already glorified.
How can this be?
I believe It’s because these 2 verses are describing our salvation from the viewpoint of a timeless entity…from God’s vantage point.
In the eyes of the Lord, we are already glorified!...
In other words, our future glorification in heaven is so certain that it can be said to have already occurred!
Folks, the timelessness of God is a very important concept to consider in the area of theology…
it helps us to make sense out of some other confusing words such as ‘chosen’ and ‘foreknew’ and ‘predestined’
Those are all lightning-rod words that can literally start fights between Christians who have differing views on the methodology of man’s salvation…
specifically, to what extent is man involved – if at all – in the process of salvation.
We’ll get into this a bit more next week as we cover Romans chapter 9…
But for today, let’s just keep in mind that God views our salvation from a vantage point that we cannot even begin to comprehend.
God reminds us in His Word that His thoughts are far above our thoughts.
We need to remember that concepts appearing to be paradoxical to our way of thinking….they actually make perfect sense to the omniscient mind of God.
Lastly, verses 31-39 in our passage for today are all about home security.
Not the ADT brand of home security…but a much, much better brand – God’s brand of home security.
The thrust of these verses is to remind us that nothing – absolutely nothing – can steal God’s children from His household of salvation.
Paul begins in verse 31 saying “…If God is for us, who can be against us?”
It’s a rhetorical question with the obvious answer being “Absolutely No One”!
God is the strongest possible force…therefore no entity can snatch us away from Him.
Jesus himself says in John 10:27-29 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
What comforting words from our savior!
The next time you’re tempted to doubt your salvation, turn to Romans chapter 8 - our passage for today – or to John chapter 10.
If you are a genuine believer in Christ, you do not have to worry one bit about losing your salvation….why?
Because the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within you – and He is God…and if you recall, there is no stronger entity than God himself….including you!
A genuine believer will never sin themselves out of God’s household of salvation - because the Holy Spirit within him won’t allow it to happen.
John says in his first epistle “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
In other words, Satan can’t pluck you away…demons can’t pluck you away…this world can’t pluck you away…your enemies can’t pluck you away…politicians can’t pluck you away…not even you can pluck yourself away from God’s household of faith!
Here’s why: When you come to faith in Jesus, you are changed…forever!
Understand that you have become a new creature!
When a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, it can’t go back to being a caterpillar again – nor does it want to!
2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
When you genuinely gave your life to Jesus Christ, you became an adopted child of God – and God doesn’t take his children back to the orphanage.
…and God’s home security system keeps any and all other threats away from taking you out of His household as well.
When I was younger in my faith, I believed that if I didn’t live up to a certain standard, I could be in danger of losing my salvation….
That, somehow, if I sinned to a certain degree….or frequency, the Holy Spirit would just pack up his bags and move out – leaving me destined for Hell….
…Until I repented and asked for forgiveness, then the Holy Spirit would just move back into my heart and I’d be on the path to Heaven once again.
I thought of my salvation coming and going like a light switch that would go on and off – sometimes multiple times a day!
When – in reality - I just didn’t understand God’s grace.
I didn’t understand that once the Holy Spirit moves in, he doesn’t move out.
I thought of my heart as a hotel room where the Holy Spirit would continually check-in and check-out…
…And maybe that’s how some of you were taught to view salvation as well.
But – through rightly understanding God’s Word - I came to realize that our hearts are permanent dwelling places….once the Holy Spirit moves in, he’s not moving out! 😊….He’s there to stay!
Now, on the other hand, if you claim to be a Christian, but there is no evidence of the Holy Spirit living in you – If there is no consistent fruit on display in your life…..
Then you are needing to genuinely come to Jesus in repentance for - really - the first time in your life….and in faith truly submit your life to Him.
Honestly and humbly Invite the Holy Spirit to make His home in your heart – then you will begin to see a permanent change in your thoughts, actions, words, and deeds.
Then you will begin to desire to serve God and others rather than only serving yourself.
Then you will understand what Jesus meant when he said that He came that His followers “May have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
God doesn’t want His children worrying about their salvation…
If you believe in the person & work of Jesus Christ - and you are consistently showing the fruit of obedience in your life…
Then you are a regenerated, justified, sanctified, glorified, permanent child of God…and your soul safely resides within the impenetrable walls of God’s household!
I’d like to wrap up this morning with the inspired and eternally comforting words of the final three verses from today’s passage:
(Romans 8:37-39) “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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.”
Let’s Pray.