The Security of the Believer

Transcript

GR 1445
10/10/10
The Security of the Believer
Romans 8:31-39
Gil Rugh


I invite your attention to Romans 8. We come to the closing section of Romans 8 which will really close a major portion of the book of Romans. We will move to a section that is related but yet different when we come to chapter 9. Chapters 9-11 will unfold for us how the nation Israel fits in this plan of salvation that God has set forth for us in the opening chapters of the book of Romans.

Paul has been explaining as we move through chapter 8, something of the sovereign work of God in the lives of His children. He's been showing how God's purposes are accomplished even through the sufferings, trials and difficulties of His children. Nothing is outside His purposes for us. And He sovereignly works so that all things work together for good for those who are loving God and are called according to His purposes. In God's sovereign work on behalf of believers he noted five things, made five statements about them in verses 29-30. He foreknew them, and we noted that word “foreknew” doesn't just mean God looked ahead in time to see them. He foreknew them. The background for that word “foreknow” and “know” when used of God has the idea of choosing. He placed His love and favor on them. So He foreknew them, He predestined them, He called them, He justified them, He glorified them. This is all included in what God has done on behalf of those that He has chosen for Himself. He has provided a Savior, that Savior being Jesus Christ the Son of God, the only Savior. And then He has provided there will be those who will come to believe in Him and experience His purposes in bringing them to salvation. That involves foreknowing them, predestining them, calling them, justifying them and ultimately glorifying them. That's when we will be gathered in the presence of God's glory. That's why all things work together for good to those who are loving God and being called according to His purpose, as we read in Romans 8:28.

Now he is going to pull this all together and wrap it up, beginning with verse 31 and through verse 39, the end of the chapter. It really pulls together what he has been saying in verses 18-30 of chapter 8 in a very clear way, but in another way it pulls together everything he has said in the book of Romans up to this point. In fact this is the second time Paul makes such an overall statement. And if we have time we'll look back a little bit in Romans 5, and the first eleven verses are very similar in content to these closing verses of chapter 8. They do give an overview of what God has done and is doing and will continue to do on behalf of those who belong to Him.

This section at the end of Romans 8 is really in two parts. The first part will be built around the fact that no charge can be ever brought against the believer before God. Then the second part of this section will talk about the fact that nothing can ever separate the believer from the love of God. So really we show the complete security that the child of God has in his relationship with God. No one can ever bring a charge that would bring condemnation to the child of God before the throne of God, and nothing can ever separate the child of God from the love of God. This gives security, comfort and peace to the child of God in the best of times and in the worst of times that we are under the care of God and His provision is all encompassing.

Look how he picks up in verse 31. “What shall we say to these things?” The things he has been talking about—trials, difficulties and the sovereign purposes and plan of God, what he has said through the book of Romans up to this point regarding the sinful condition of man, the condemnation that all are under because of sin, and the provision that God has made in Christ for our justification and our sanctification and our ultimate glorification. What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Stop and think. We've shown that God has sovereignly set out His plan for His children. That is complete from beginning to end, from before the foundation of the world until after this present world passes away. God is working for us. If God is for us, who can be against us? God is sovereign, right? By very definition God is greater than all, more powerful than all. Well then if God is for us who can be against us? The most important powerful person on earth is nothing. You say, well I have thousands of people against me. But if God is for me, what does it matter? We don't count anymore, do we? It doesn't matter whether the opponents are small in number or countless in number. If God is for us, who is against us? That settles it. God is on my side, everyone else loses. Right? God is for His children. We have seen His plan, His purpose set out. God is for us, who is against us? I mean, the point being, whoever it is, they are nothing.

Here is the way the psalmist put it, Psalm 118:6: “The Lord is for me, I will not fear. What can man do to me?” That summarizes it. The Lord is for me, I will not fear. What can man do to me? You don't know their influence, you don't know their power. No, I don't, but I know something of God's influence, I know something of God's power. So what do I have to fear? What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? And we've seen particularly in verses 28-30 how God is for us in His sovereign predetermined plan.

He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things. The argument here is simple. God has done the greatest thing for us. And you understand He will also include all the lesser things as well. I mean, He who did not spare His own Son. His own Son, the stress on that, the unique Son, the Son that has been His for all eternity. Verse 14 told us “all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” But Jesus Christ is the Son of God in a way that no one else ever can be. He is the divine Son of God. He did not withhold His own Son, He delivered Him over for us all. Now we've been through the first eight chapters of the book of Romans, we understand when he said He delivered Him over for us all, he's talking about delivering Him over to crucifixion, giving Him up to death. It was the sovereign plan of God, settled before the creation of the world that His Son would come to this earth to suffer and die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. He delivered Him over for us all.

Back up to Romans 5, we'll go to Romans 4:25, but that's the last verse of chapter 4. Referring to Christ, He who was, and here's our word, “delivered over.” Delivered over because of our transgressions, He was raised because of our justification. That's what he's talking about when he says He was delivered over. What Paul has unfolded through this section, chapters 4-5 particularly, and the end of chapter 3 on the finished work of Christ. God delivered Him over. That was the sovereign, predetermined plan of God. Man didn't take control of the situation, God was in control. He gave His Son over to die because of our transgressions, because the wages of sin is death and we had sinned, as he laid out in the first section of the book of Romans.

So when you come back to Romans 8, God didn't spare His own Son, He gave Him over, delivered Him over for us all. How will He not also with Him freely give us all things? When you have Christ you have everything necessary for life and godliness. So to follow through, what would I have to fear? God gave His Son for me. Do I think He won't provide everything I need now to function as His child? Everything to assure that I will someday be gathered before the throne of the heavenly Father who provided His own Son to do the sacrifice for my sins?

Turn over to II Peter 1:3, seeing that His divine power, that is built on verse 2, grace and peace be multiplied to you in Christ Jesus. “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises so by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” You see verse 3, He has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. So now we have become partakers of the divine nature. We don't become divine, but the character of God is now implanted within us and developed within us. So we have escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust, verse 4, and so we come to grow through the qualities that now produce the character of God in us. Everything necessary for life and godliness God has provided for us in Christ Jesus.

Come back to Romans 8. How will He not also with Him freely give us all things. That word “freely,” we're familiar with the Greek word for grace which is charis. We have it in charismatic gifts as He calls them. They are gifts of grace. This is the same basic word charis here, freely given, graciously given, freely given. With Christ God freely, graciously gives us all things, everything necessary for life and godliness, or even a life of godliness perhaps. Freely. It's mine, it's included when He gave the ultimate gift, His Son. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And with Him He gives all things. So everyone in Christ receives all things freely.

So, question. Who will bring a charge against God's elect? Now we've touched upon the sovereignty of God which we summarize with the doctrine of election. Some people say they don't believe in the doctrine of election, but if you are a believer in Jesus Christ and a believer in the scriptures, they go together. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you must be a believer in the word of God. You have to believe in election because verse 33 says, “Who will bring a charge against God's elect?” So believers are God's elect. Now we may have to discuss how they became the elect, but you do believe in election. So you don't want to tell anybody, I don't believe in election because the Bible says we are elect. We'll talk more of the details of that as we mentioned in Romans 9. The discussion comes in the distinction over how you define foreknowledge as we talked about in connection with verse 29. But now we're talking about the elect. The elect are those that God foreknew, that God chose. They belong to Him, they are His chosen ones. That word “elect,” to choose.

Who will bring a charge against God's elect? That word to bring a charge, ekaleo, it's a legal word used in a courtroom. So if you were standing in the courtroom they would bring the charges against you. So here in the courtroom of God, who will bring a charge against God's chosen? I mean, even the question, you have to be in the courtroom of God and here you have God's chosen loved ones. Who is going to bring a charge against them? He doesn't just say who can bring a charge against believers, but he makes it more pointed. Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the One who justifies. We saw that in the pattern. Those that He chose in His foreknowledge, placed His love upon, He justified. We saw justification, another legal word, means to absolve of guilt. So the courtroom when you were justified before the judge, you are declared not guilty, absolved, free of all charges. Now who is going to bring a charge of guilt against those that God has chosen for Himself when God has declared them righteous, absolved of all guilt? I mean, it would have to be someone or something greater than God. Who will bring a charge against God's chosen ones? God is the One who justifies, who declares righteous. Are you greater than God? That is the point, the security of the believer. No charge can be brought against the child of God now or into eternity.

Further elaboration on this. Look at verse 34: “Who is the one who condemns?” That would be similar to the one who would bring a charge. They would want to condemn the elect, the chosen ones of God. Who is the one who condemns? And now he is going to talk about Christ Jesus and His work on our behalf. And he brings in four facets, aspects, parts of Christ's work in what he says here in verse 34. First, Christ Jesus is He who died. I mean, how can you condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. This is God's own Son, verse 32, that He delivered over for us. It is on the basis of that work that God declared us righteous through faith in Him. Now who is the one who condemns this chosen one of God? Christ Jesus is He who died. He doesn't elaborate on the details of Christ's death and the purpose of Christ's death because he has already done that.

Come back to Romans 5. We read the closing verse of chapter 4, He was delivered over because of our transgressions, He was raised because of our justification. We'll mention that justification and resurrection in a moment. Therefore we are told as chapter 5 opened up, having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And we now stand in that grace. That is our ongoing position and condition, we are in grace, stand in the grace of God. That's why He freely gives, graciously gives us all things. We are the recipients. This is the realm in which I now live, the grace of God. Then he talked about persecution and trials, similar to what we have seen in chapter 8. You come down to Romans 5:6, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” What a statement, Christ died for the ungodly. One would hardly die for a righteous man, maybe someone would die for a good person. But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. “Much more then having been justified by His blood we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Same argument as in chapter 8. If God gave His own Son over to death for us, how will He not with Him freely give all things. Verse 9, having been justified by His blood, His death, we shall be saved much more then from the wrath of God through Him. God saved us through faith in His Son. He's not going to lose us now. We can't get back under wrath. While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by His life. That's where he is going—saved by His life, the ongoing work of Christ on our behalf in chapter 8. That's why I say in these first eleven verses of chapter 5 and these closing verses of chapter 8 you have the same arguments basically repeated. The order is a little different, presented a little differently but the same basic thrust.

Come back to chapter 8. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died. That's foundational. But that's not all. Secondly, yes, rather was raised. A lot of men died, there were two other men crucified with Christ. But the sin of man was not placed on anyone but Christ. How do I know He was the substitute of God? He was raised, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We read Romans 4:25, He was delivered over, He was raised up. Why was He raised up? Because of our justification, delivered over because of our offenses, raised up because of our justification. The resurrection is a demonstration to guarantee the stamp of finality and approval on the work of Christ, the work of the cross. It did pay the penalty for sin. All who believe in Him will be forgiven. And you'll note, He was raised from the dead.

The third thing he says about the work of Christ, He is the One who is at the right hand of God. Now you have to appreciate the importance of this statement for those who would read this and be Jewish in background. We're going to talk about the Jews' part in the plan of God and His saving work in chapters 9-11. He is seated at the right hand of God.

Come back to Psalm 110. This verse is one of the most often if not the most often quoted verse in the New Testament from the Old Testament. Psalm 110:1, “The Lord says to my Lord, sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Now this explains how this all fits together. The Son of God comes to earth and He is going to suffer and die, He's going to rule and reign and how does this get sorted out? He is going to suffer and die and be raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father. Now there is a time period where He remains at the right hand of the Father until it is time for His enemies to be made a footstool for His feet. That's when He will come and establish the kingdom and rule over all. So the Jews understood this. Jesus on a couple of occasions in Matthew drew the religious leaders into a frenzy by telling them He would be seated at the right hand of the Father. They understood the claim. It will happen in the book of Acts with Stephen when he speaks of Christ at the right hand of the Father. The Jews understood this as a claim that He was the Messiah. Now we're seeing how things fit together. He suffered and died and was raised and ascended to the right hand of the Father. And there is this time of waiting that continues down to today. But He will return in the Father's plan, at the Father's time when His enemies will be made a footstool for His feet and He will rule and reign.

Come back into the New Testament, come to Acts 2. We'll be moving into Acts 2 in our study of the book of Acts. And Peter preaches a marvelous sermon filled with Old Testament scriptures on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. And we have to break into this sermon, we'll work through the details in our study of the book of Acts. But he reminds them of what David said, and what David wrote did not apply to David on this occasion, but it applied to someone else because David suffered and died, was put in the grave and his grave was still with them. His body had decayed. But God had promised, verse 31, the resurrection of the Son of David. That's why the psalmist could write, the Lord said to my Lord. The Jews couldn't figure out how David could call a son his Lord. But here it is and David had said that the one who would rule would not suffer decay. What happened? Verse 32, this Jesus, God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God. There we are, having been exalted to the right hand of God. That's what is going on. He's at the right hand of God.

Look in Acts 5:31. Verse 30 says, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.” So here we have the death and resurrection of Christ. Then verse 31, “He is the One whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” That's what is going on in the present time, salvation has occurred. But He exalted Him to His right hand, He is the Savior. Now salvation is offered in anticipation of the time when He will return again and establish a kingdom.

Look in Acts 7:55, this is Stephen's sermon that I referred to. He had been speaking before the Jewish leadership and he had presented the work of Christ, he draws from the Old Testament. Look at verse 49, “Heaven is My throne, earth is the footstool for My feet. What kind of house will you build for Me? Was it not My hand that made all things? You men are stiff- necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, always resisting the Holy Spirit,” verse 51. You come down to verse 55 as they are ready to tear him apart, stone him to death. “Being full of the Holy Spirit he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” And they go crazy, they stone him to death in the presence of Saul who over in chapter 9 will himself confront the resurrected Lord on the Damascus Road and be saved. You see He sits at the right hand of God. That fulfilled what the scripture said would take place. But this One who in eternity dwelt in the presence of His Father had to come to this earth and be the Savior and suffer and die and be raised from the dead, and then elevated to the right hand of the Father, the place of honor. And so it is exactly as God said it would unfold.

So you come back. There are many other passages, a number of times in Hebrews it is mentioned that He is at the right hand of the Father. Back in Romans 8. He died, He was raised, He is at the right hand of God, and fourth, He intercedes for us. Let me read you a verse in Psalm 110. We read Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said to My Lord sit at My right hand.” Verse 4 says this, “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” The Melchizedekian priesthood of Christ is the subject of the book of Hebrews, you are a priest forever. What does Romans 8:34 say? Christ Jesus at the right hand of the Father is the One who intercedes for us, acts on our behalf.

Come over to Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him.” You'll note, draw near to God through Him. There is no other way. I am the way, the truth and the life, Jesus said. No man comes to the Father but by Me. Since He always lives to make intercession for them. Psalm 110 said, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. You are a priest forever. Hebrews 7:24 says, He holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able to save forever, completely those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them. His priesthood is ongoing, it is unending. Again we can't look at the different verses in Hebrews because of the time that say seated at the right hand. Remember in the Old Testament as the high priest came in to perform his ministry year after year there were no seats provided for him. But the book of Hebrews, the book on the high priestly ministry of Christ, constantly reminds us that He is seated at the right hand of the Father. When you get to Hebrews 10 where Christ has completed His high priestly work of sacrifice, He sat down at the right hand of the Father. There is no more sacrifice to be done, no more blood to be offered. But He is there interceding on our behalf.

So you see he has built the case, back in Romans 8:33, who will bring a charge against God's elect? God has declared us righteous. Who will condemn us? Christ died, Christ was raised, Christ was elevated to the right hand of God, and He intercedes for us. Now who is going to condemn us? I mean, the devil is the accuser of the brethren, accuses them night and day before the throne of God, Revelation 12 tells us. We saw a little bit of that in the opening chapters of Job. Will that stand? You know Gil has trusted you but did you see what he said with his tongue? See the thought he had? See what he did? But Christ is there, I died for that sin, I'm the One who died. I was buried, I was raised, I'm here at the right hand of the Father permanently representing those who have believed in Me. My death covers that sin, the price has been paid. That's the point. He intercedes for us.

So we have the Holy Spirit interceding as we saw in Romans 8:27, the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints. He dwells in us and intercedes for us. Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father and He intercedes for us. And the Father is the One who has absolved us of all guilt.

Come back to I John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One.” He is our helper, He is the One who intercedes on our behalf. So when the child of God sins, and we all do, Jesus Christ is there as our representative. He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, the satisfaction for our sin. He is there to say, I died for him, I'm here at your right hand to declare that penalty has been paid. You have absolved him, Father, of all guilt. And so when we come ultimately before the throne and stand to be judged before the throne of God, no charges, no condemnation. We are secure because of the action of the Father and the work of the Son.

Come back to Romans 8. “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” No charges can be brought against me, no condemnation brought against me. How can anything separate me from the love of Christ? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? And then he mentions all kinds of things. “Will tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword? Just as it is written, for your sake we are being put to death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” I mean, believers suffer, and we've noted in our previous studies, not only the normal trials of this life, the things that happen to everyone in life. We also have the added dimension that we are the object of the opposition of the world and the god of this world, Satan. Ephesians 6 says believers wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. I mean, it is ongoing. Jesus said the world hates us because it hates Him. So we not only have what we would call the everyday activities, we have the additional dimension of being the objects of satanic opposition.

Whatever comes to the life, we need as believers to realize that we are in a battle. Sometimes it is disguised. I was reading the opening chapters of the book of Job this week in connection with our study, just reflecting again on Job. And you know the kinds of trials that came to Job, the kinds of things we experience, the devil was given opportunity to attack Job. And you know what he did? He wiped out his wealth. Each day a different kind of tragedy came, an army comes, another kind of disaster comes. And what happens? Job's wealth is wiped out. Today it would be like the stock market collapses and everything is gone that you had invested, you are destitute as has happened in past days when banking collapsed in Depression days. For Job his wealth is wiped out, he is reduced to poverty. The man who was powerful, influential, philanthropic is now an object of scorn and ridicule. Even the kids make fun of him. He is destitute. That is caused by Satan, an attack, a spiritual battle going on for Job to have his confidence in God shaken. You know that's not it.

That's followed up by the death of Job's children. Job had ten children, precious children, I take it good children because Job offered sacrifices in case they had done anything bad. He didn't say they were rebellious and bad kids but in case they did something. But you know what? All ten of his children died in the same day in the same catastrophe. Few things could be as painful as the loss of a child. Job didn't lose one of his kids, he didn't lose two of them. Can you imagine when the person brought the message, Job, your children are dead. Which ones? All of them. You just heard that you have been wiped out, you have nothing, you are a man of poverty, you are destitute. And by the way all ten of your children have just died in an accident. The devil caused the wind to blow, just a freak accident of nature. No, a direct attack of Satan so that Job would turn against God in despair, think that He had been cut off from God., that God no longer cared about him. What did Job say? God does what is best, does good things and trouble comes.

At least he had his health. We say; if you have your health you have everything, you can recover. And then God says to Satan, you can take his health. He can do everything but take his life. Now you talk about a being who is more powerful. I mean, he has just controlled armies, he has just controlled the weather, now you tell him he can inflict any kind of pain and suffering on Job's body, he just can't kill him. How do you measure it? Satan could inflict any kind of pain and suffering on Job, he just couldn't take his life. You know how great the pain and suffering was?

Job has three friends, we call them his friends and they become their own problem, but at least they come to see Job. Do you know what they said to him when they came? We didn't recognize him, we didn't know it was Job. In fact they are so overwhelmed, they are speechless for seven days. They don't say anything, they don't know what to say. His suffering is so great, so overwhelming.

I just mention this. You see the different kinds of problems that come in—financial ruin, the loss of not a precious child but all your precious children, family disaster to a degree it is hard to measure, and then your health. Pain that is so great that people don't even know what to say to you. They can't even recognize you, you've been so distorted and changed. Whatever comes we are reminded the hand of God is on us and it may seem like the worst decisions and how could ........... I need to say, Lord, you are in control as Job did. But you know the despair is there. He never attacks God but he does say, I wish I had never been born, I wish my mother had miscarried. The worst day of my life was the day of my birth, it provided the occasion for all this suffering.

When we come to Romans 8, no matter the suffering or trial that comes into our lives we are reminded of the demonstration of God's love, the love we have from Christ who died for us is secure. So verse 37 says, in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer. That's not the power of positive thinking, that's not learning to think about good things and not bad things. We overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. That's it. He loved us, He died for us. So now as part of the family of God under the care of God everything is secure. We overwhelmingly conquer. All these things. But the great thing. The suffering, you don't know what I am going through. No, but I know what the scripture says. You know how often you have been with a believer and what they are going through. I don't know why, I don't have an answer for it. I mean, about the specifics. Why does your child die? Why did you lose your fortune? Why has your health come to this kind of state? I don't know specifically, but I can tell you that God says that He has it all under control. You know the death of Job's children when the wind blew down the building they were in wasn't a freak act of nature, it was a direct attack on a child of God. And God had it all under control. Terrible as it was, painful as it was, that is all under control. We overwhelmingly conquer. Satan is not able to frustrate God's plan for His children.

So Paul goes on, I am convinced. And he has a series of things here, the point is to show the extent. They are pairs except the last one, powers, verse 38. Show the extent. Neither death nor life, not anything involved with death or anything involved with life. Nor angels nor principalities, no kind of spirit being, good or bad. Nor things present nor things to come. Understand, nothing going on in my life now, nothing that could happen to me in the future. Nor powers, no kind of authority or power that will come in some way. Nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing. You get the idea he is trying to show here. How do I put this to show how all encompassing I am talking about so you don't think there is anything that can be excluded. I included everything that is involved with death, and everything involved with life; everything involved with the spirit world with any kind of angels, fallen or unfallen; anything in the present or anything in the future; any height or depth, I mean anything as low as you could go or as high as you could go. Let me just say any created thing and that includes everything outside of God Himself, right? I mean if I left out anything, let's just put it all encompassing. Any other created thing, and everything is created but God. He is eternal. Nothing but nothing but nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The love of Christ, the love of God, used interchangeably here. In verse 35, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” Verse 37, referring to Christ, Him who loved us. Now, verse 39, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Understand, everyone outside of Christ is outside that love. What a horrible place to be, what an awful place to be. The tragedies, the trials and ultimately the condemnation of the courtroom of God, what a horrible place to be outside of Christ. But in Christ is provided everything. How secure are we. You know, I need to anchor my life, my mind, my thinking in the word of God here and handle the details, the little things. You know how you develop the pattern, you handle the little things biblically, the unsettling things, the trouble, the problems that come into our lives. They are not overwhelming, sometimes, they are just problems. Do you know what I need to do? I want to handle it in light of what God says so that when a larger trial comes I have my feet firmly anchored in the word of God. And when the greatest of the trials comes I am secure. Nothing has changed. I am the object of the love of my heavenly Father, I am the object of His own Son who loved me, died for me and has provided the redemption that has cleansed me from all sin. Nothing anywhere ever can separate me from the love of God which is found in Christ Jesus. Problems can come, I may lose my health, I may lose family members so precious to me and the pain so searing, I may lose my possessions and be destitute, but you know what? I am one who conquers in Christ Jesus. I have not been crushed, I have not been cast out from God, I have not been separated from Him. Through it all I am the object of His love. His perfect purpose for me is being worked out. Lord, I don't know why, I don't see any purpose in this. If you love me why would you let this happen to me? And I don't have an answer. All I can say is Lord, you love me. This only happens to me because it fits your perfect purpose for my good. I don't understand it, but I know you are a God who loves me.

And that's my security. Not because I have the answer. People call the pastor when they are going through trouble. That's fine, but pastors don't have the answers. I can't say why that loved one died the way they did, why you are in such pain. But I can tell you the purpose of God, He is working for your good. Why this, how this fits, I don't understand any more than you do. I don't know the tomorrows. Maybe in the presence of God we'll look back and say, Lord, I see how it all fits. I see why it was necessary, I see your good hand at work. I don't have to know it all now. I know the God who knows it all. What does the song say—I don't know what tomorrow holds but I know who holds tomorrow. That's what we have—security, peace, tranquility of heart. That doesn't mean we are complacent, it means we have trust in the God who loves us.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the truth of Your word. Thank you for these precious promises that indeed are our comfort and our encouragement in difficult times and in good times. Lord, we are not dependent on circumstances, we are not dependent on our situation, but we are dependent on You. Our security is not in what we have and who we are, not even in our precious family. Our security is in You. How comforted we are to know You are the God who sovereignly works all things for the good of Your children. May we find comfort in that. We praise You in Christ's name, amen.