Sermon Tone Analysis

Romans 8:28-39

Why?

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.

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.

And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to this?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

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?

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?

It is God who justifies.

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.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

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.

Why?

When tragedy strikes, it is impossible not to question God.  “Why?” is often the first question to break the silence of our lips in these times of greatest sorrow.

Though I could argue that this should never be the first question to fling toward the throne of Heaven, I nevertheless know that in my hour of grief I will lift my voice to God and cry out, as does all humanity, “Why?”

I will ask the question of God, though I know that asking why is neither wise nor can it expect an answer from our God.

In the day of darkest sorrow, logic no longer prevails.

Rather, it is emotion… raw, painful, searing emotion controlling our minds when we are wounded.

Thus it is that seated among us this day are just such wounded individuals, and the question hanging over many heads is that question which unbidden plagues our minds—“why?”

Though I cannot hope to provide a complete answer to the particular question formed in your mind at this hour, nor dare I hope to formulate an answer which will satisfy at some future time, I am convinced that within the Word is found a great hope.

In the Roman Letter, the Apostle to the Gentiles provides hope which will suffice to comfort us in our sorrow and to give us courage for the future.

The promise lies bounded by some of the most comforting words known to mankind.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose [*8:28*].

I am bold to suggest that these words have provided a soft pillow for multiplied weary heads since the day they were written.

How many times have you read these words?

How often have they comforted you?  Do you believe them?

The promise provides hope in the face of hopelessness.

The words give light in the midst of the darkest night.

The revelation encourages us when courage fails.

Paul’s statement forms the support needed to dare believe that life has purpose and that God works even when we are unable to see His hand protecting and guiding and directing.

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us [*8:37*].

This is the other side of the equation.

In this fallen world, we who are Christians are not victims, but rather we are victors.

Between these consoling verses lies a revelation of what God is doing.

Throughout the passage we discover the heart of a Father who is too loving to needlessly hurt His beloved children, and a Father who is too wise to make a mistake.

The text provides a concise synopsis of the hope possessed by the child of God.

All that I would say today is directed to comfort the hearts of those who have placed their faith in the Risen Son of God.

We who are born from above and into the Kingdom of God have every reason to rejoice—even in the face of death.

You who have yet to place your faith in Him who conquered death cannot understand the truths which I shall shortly rehearse for the people of God.

Therefore, I invite my fellow Christians to join me in exploring the divine design.

I long to impart sound instruction which will equip you to live godly lives, even as it permits you to draw comfort and hope from the Word.

I invite each of you who are yet considering the Faith to listen carefully in order that you may discover the grace of God which can be yours as well, when you have embraced Christ as Lord of life.

Witness in the words of this text the plan of God for those who are His beloved people.

God is at Work in our Darkest Night.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose [*8:28*].

I would have you seize this truth—God does work.

Even when our eyes are unable to discern His labour, we are confident that He does work for our good and for His glory.

As Christians we are taught, and we believe, that we live by faith, not by sight [*2 Corinthians 5:7*].

Though we cannot always see God at work in the midst of our world, we are nevertheless assured that He does work—and that on our behalf.

Moreover, the work which God is doing is for our good and for His glory.

We Christians are assured of this truth, and though we know it, we are yet prone to neglect it to our own detriment.

The pressures of the day conspire to erode our confidence and drain our energies.

The sorrows which grip our souls and the worries which dog our steps threaten our joy and steal our peace, but we do not lose heart.

We who are Christians see such things differently than does the rest of the world.

Can anything appear darker to our minds than the thought of such depression and despair as to cause a child of God to wish for death?

Can anything seem more oppressive to us than this thought that death should win?

Our bodies are mortal.

They are taken from the dust of the earth and they must one day be returned to the dust.

Though we are born from above and though our spirits are made new, our bodies are subject to weakness and these same bodies are constantly wearing away, just as are the bodies of the lost.

Paul states that we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us [*2 Corinthians 4:7*].

The Good News which we carry and which sets us apart as different from those who shall one day perish is contained within these jars of clay.

Whenever this passage is read we immediately think of the fact that our physical bodies must one day surrender to the inevitable—and we shall die.

I concede that the passage does confront us with the fact that we are growing weaker each day.

Though I watch my diet and exercise regularly and do everything I can to prepare myself for a long and productive life, yet I am mortal and I know that my days on this earth must end.

The passage does point to my physical body and it does speak of the fact that I am weak.

The verse speaks as well of who I am (a point easily overlooked).

There is a peculiar effervescence which contaminates the thinking of much of the world and leads us to focus especially on the physical aspects of our being.

Young women are convinced that they must wear a size six dress in order to be accepted in the world.

Young men are convinced that they must be slender and muscular and have thick, black, curly hair if they will ever amount to anything in the world.

Such a view is quite superficial, but it is nevertheless prevalent among the inhabitants of this dying world.

Just as my body displays increasingly the effects of my fallen state, my mind also progressively reveals my fallen condition.

I don’t react as quickly as I once did, nor do I think as clearly as in younger days.

With ageing, my reactions slow and my ability to handle multiple tasks is compromised.

Short-term memory ceases to work as efficiently as it once did.

This is a best-case scenario!

The great, unspoken fear of the baby-boomers is the spectre of Alzheimer disease.

The nameless fear which frightens us is the thought that we may lose our ability to think rationally—to be.

If our brain is injured, if our mind is hurt, if our personality is taken even for a moment, what are we and who are we?

So, we consider provisions so that we can avoid lingering in a vegetative state and we try to push from our minds the thought of what we may become if our minds cease working as they should.

Though we are not anxious to speak with our families about what to do should we be injured in such a fashion, we each assume that our loved ones know what we would wish.

Even should personhood be called into question, we must remember this truth that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I need to console myself with the knowledge that even should I face one day the phantom of a ravaged personality, God continues to work for my good.

Perhaps we need to remember that as physical creatures the physical can only reflect at most who we actually are.

The body is but a transient tent which must one day be taken down before that which is permanent can be erected.

It is the mind that expresses who I am.

My emotional and mental state comprises that which we casually speak of as the soul.

Personality continues beyond the physical limitations, the soul returning to God who gave it.

However, God does not work only in the realms of the physical and the emotional, for it is the spirit which is made eternally alive in Christ.

When Paul writes those dark words found in *Ephesians 2:1-3*, it is the spirit of man that is in view.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.

Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

The beauty of this apostolic teaching is that we who are believers have not been left in this dying condition, for the passage continues with this reminder.