Bible Passage: Romans 8:28-30
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  August 9, 2020

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” That pretty much sums up 2020 so far, doesn’t it? Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C haven’t seemed to be enough this year. I don’t think I could even go back and count how many different plans I’ve made this year that I’ve had to change. And that’s unbelievably frustrating for me personally. I’m a planner. I like to have things laid out so I know how things are going to work. But, it’s gotten to the point where I’m hesitant to even make a plan because I feel like I’m just going to have to change it. Maybe you can relate.

As I thought about our word for today, chosen, I couldn’t help but think about God’s plan. God has always had a plan. And unlike our plans in 2020, God’s plans never go awry. Today, let’s sit again at the feet of Paul and learn of God’s eternal plan for us: a plan that means we are chosen for glory!

God has always had a plan. A quick look at the orderliness of creation shows that God had a plan. The intricacies of the human body, the way that nature is sustained all show God’s plan. When mankind seemingly ruined God’s plan by sinning, God had a plan to deal with that sin. God had a plan how he would save his people from their sin and we see that plan laid out clearly for us in his Word. That plan centers on Christ. That’s why Paul says in our verses today, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.” All things, Paul says, work together for those who love God, those whom God has chosen according to his plan. God has chosen you and me to be his own. God’s plan was to save us and this plan was hatched from eternity.

“Because those God foreknew…” Paul says that God foreknew us. God’s foreknowledge, his omniscience, his knowledge of everything is part of his nature as God. He knows everything that has happened and will happen even before it occurs. But that’s not what Paul is talking about here when he says that God foreknew us. The word that Paul uses here implies an intimate knowledge gained by personal experience. It implies a knowledge that reflects approval of the person who is known. God foreknew us from eternity. What does that mean? It means he chose us, by his grace, in advance, from eternity, before we ever had a chance to lift a finger or do anything to win his favor or approval. Paul writes to the Ephesians, “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy and blameless in his sight.” From eternity, we were the objects of God’s love. In time, he would carry out his intentions for us. So what exactly were those intentions? 

“Because those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers.” God knew us, loved us, and approved of us and so he penciled us into the blueprints of his gracious plan. God wanted us to be like his Son. He wanted us to enjoy the blessings of Christ’s righteousness. So, God sent Jesus to this earth to carry out our salvation. Jesus bought us back from sin and death. He’s the reason God has chosen us. Because we are chosen in Christ, God has also brought us to faith in him. It’s through that gracious gift of faith that we have Christ’s perfection. It’s through that gift of faith that we are children of God. Because of Jesus’ work and the gift of faith, we can call Jeus our Savior and our Brother. This wonderful truth has taken place in time and history. So how did God bring it about?

“And those he predestined, he also called.” God may not be governed by space and time as we are, but he carried out his plan of salvation in our time and in our space. Jesus came at a specific point in history. God chose us before the world began, but he has called us during our lifetime. Through his chosen means of grace, the gospel in Word and Sacrament, God calls us to faith and gives us Christ’s righteousness. This righteousness is ours and makes us holy and blameless in God’s sight, just as he had planned. But how is this righteousness conveyed to sinners such as you and me? How can God say that we are righteous when we clearly are not?

“Those he called, he also justified.” Every believer stands before the throne of God and faces judgment. The devil accuses us of crimes worthy of death. He points to the evidence of our original, inherited sin. He displays all of our failures to keep God’s will. He demonstrates how we love the things of this world more than we love God. His closing argument states that we deserve to spend our eternity in hell for these heinous crimes. It’s an airtight prosecution. 

But then Jesus comes to our defense. He says that what the devil has argued is 100% true. We are sinful from birth. We have a laundry list of sins that seemingly has no end. Even as we claim to be God’s children, we continue to sin, continue to love the world more than God. But there’s one thing the devil has failed to mention. Jesus says, “I lived a perfect life on this very same earth with no original sin. I kept your will perfectly, O God. I willingly offered that perfect life as the sacrifice of atonement, to make the whole world at peace with you again. I gave up my life on the cross to pay for all of their sins. In exchange for taking on their sins, I have given them my perfection. Therefore God, in your holy justice, you have no choice but to declare them not guilty. You must justify these people!” And that’s exactly what God does. He declares us not guilty, innocent. And you and I and all believers possess this personal justification by faith. We receive the blessings of that declaration through the gift of faith. But what exactly are those blessings? 

“And those he justified, he also glorified.” All believers who possess God’s righteous declaration are on the path to glory. And because we are on the path, we already share in that glory. We are cleansed from sin. We are adopted as God’s sons and daughters. We grow in our faith. We witness to God’s glory by the way that we live. “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God,” Paul writes. But it’s that glory that we don’t enjoy completely. Every other aspect of God’s plan for us we are experiencing to the full. But our glory, the glory for which we were chosen, awaits us. And all throughout chapter 8, Paul has been reminding us of that future glory. And we know that we won’t fully realize that glory until we are in heaven. So how can we be certain that it really is ours?

“And those he justified, he also glorified.” Did you catch it? How do we know that we will realize this promised glory? Notice how Paul speaks of it. He speaks in the past tense. Paul speaks as if it were already ours! And it is! Why? Because when God makes a promise, it’s as good as done. God always keeps his promises! And so, we are glorified partially now, completely for eternity.

In these three wonderful verses we have a chain of unbreakable certainties that mark the whole course of our existence. Here we see God’s plan laid out for us in the words of Scripture. God has done absolutely everything necessary for our salvation. In his mercy, he foreknew us, predestined us, called us, justified us, and glorified us. What we have before us today is the wonderful comfort we find in being chosen before the world began, also known as the doctrine of election. This doctrine has been the bane of many who want to make God’s Word the servant of human reason and logic instead of the other way around. But Paul reminds us that this is not something that he designed; this is directly from God. “We also speak about these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual truths with spiritual words. However, an unspiritual person does not accept the truths taught by God’s Spirit, because they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually evaluated.” 

And so we return back to where we started, that all things, yes even world-wide pandemics, work out for good for those who love God, the ones who are chosen according to God’s plan. And what a master plan it is. God wants all people to be saved. As will live our lives waiting for our future glory, as we struggle and strain under the burdens of this world, may we never forget that God has a plan for us! May we be willing to share that plan with those who haven’t heard it, with those who have rejected it, but those whom God still loves and wants. God’s plan is not to harm us, but to prosper us, to work all things for our eternal good. Even though our plans may fail, God’s never do. May we keep our eyes fixed on God’s plan as we patiently wait for our future glory! AMEN.