[English Sermon 영어 설교]
Sunday, October 27, 2024 - Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn
God Who Works for the Good-II (Romans 8:26-30)
2024. 10. 27. 주일예배 설교- 로마서 강해 21
본문: 로마서 8:26-30
제목: 선을 이루시는 하나님-II
설교자: 손진국 목사
In the last sermon, I shared that God accomplishes good through our lives by first helping us in our weaknesses through the Holy Spirit. (Our primary weakness is that we do not know how to ask God for what we need. However, God sends the Paraclete, the Comforter, to pray for us, so we must never leave the place of prayer.)
1. The Spirit Helps Our Weakness.
Secondly, I mentioned that God works for good through all the events in our lives, whether they are good or bad, joyful or sorrowful. (In dire situations, we must not blame or resent anyone; instead, we should trust in God, who knows all things, and move forward in faith. By doing so, we receive God’s great salvation, grace, and blessings and fulfill His will.)
2. He Works All Things Together for Good.
[Romans 8:28] 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.
Why does God accomplish good through all things? That is what we will discuss today.
3. He leads us to become conformed to the image of Christ.
[Romans 8:29] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
The first word in verse 29 in the original Greek is "ὅτι" (hoti), which means "For" in English. The reason why all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose is that God has predestined them to become conformed to the image of His Son.
Therefore, when believers resemble Jesus, they become His brothers, and Jesus becomes the firstborn among them. Ultimately, what do we become? We become Jesus's siblings. Repeat after me: “I am a sibling of Jesus.”
This verse informs us of God’s ultimate goal throughout human history: to make those who believe in Jesus resemble Him and thus create brothers of Jesus. Through this, Jesus becomes the firstborn among many. Isn’t that amazing?
When I read this verse, I think that our salvation through faith in Jesus is not merely a legal adoption into God’s family; rather, we are witnessing the resemblance of family members living together.
Just as our children attended the same school from primary through college, there was a teacher at Willow Park Primary who knew all my children. She remarked that my children looked like twins. While they are a bit different, their resemblance shows they are siblings. Why? Because they share the same parents’ DNA.
Believers are the same. When we believe in Jesus, we receive God’s DNA. As we grow in faith, we begin to take on God’s image through this DNA. What is that DNA? I believe it is the sealing of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Ephesians.
[Ephesians 1:13] And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.
Today’s scripture speaks about the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
[Romans 8:30] And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
God calls us to hear the gospel and believe in Jesus. From that moment until we reach heaven, the Holy Spirit leads us to be justified, to become more like Jesus, and finally to be glorified, reigning with Jesus.
However, there is something we must be cautious about. The biggest theological debate has been between Calvinism and Arminianism. In other words, it’s about predestination versus free will.
I won’t go into specifics in the sermon; we will discuss it in detail during Bible study later. To explain briefly, predestination means that God has already chosen who will be saved and is carrying out the work of salvation accordingly. It acknowledges God’s absolute sovereignty.
On the other hand, Arminianism argues that God has given humans free will, and thus it is entirely up to individuals whether to accept or reject the gospel.
Calvinists challenge Arminians by saying, “Do you mean God doesn’t know if someone will be saved or not? That would mean God is not omniscient!” In response, Arminians ask, “If everything is already predetermined, then why should we evangelize?”
Just remember one thing: both concepts are present in Scripture. Therefore, leaning towards only one side is dangerous. For example, today’s message leans more towards predestination, while in the same book of Romans, [Romans 10:9] If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This leans towards free will.
Predestination brings a humble heart, reflecting on how I could receive such great grace and salvation if God had not chosen me. Free will reflects God’s desire for a voluntary response to His love from humanity.
Just as we are born with some innate resemblance to our parents, we also develop unique traits based on our choices as we grow up.
However, we must remember that the purpose of a believer’s life on this earth is to become more like Jesus. This is also God’s purpose, and the Holy Spirit, who comes into us, leads us toward this goal. We must also choose to obey and actively decide to live in a way that resembles Jesus. This is the good that God accomplishes through us. Repeat after me: “Becoming like Jesus is good.”
So, what does it mean to resemble Jesus concretely? To become like Jesus means that the areas where we do not resemble Him will change to become like Him. So, what does it mean for our lives to change to resemble Jesus?
In short, to resemble Jesus means to emulate His life. Life consists of two aspects: the external visible aspects and the internal invisible aspects. Of course, the invisible aspects are closely connected to the visible ones.
When we talk about resembling Jesus's life, we refer to two things: His ministry (external) and His character (internal).
First, we aim to resemble the ministry Jesus performed on earth for the Kingdom of God. When we talk about Jesus's ministry, we cannot omit [Matthew 4:23] Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
What are the three major ministries of Jesus mentioned here? Teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing. This is the ministry we should carry out on this earth.
When someone says, “I don’t have the gift of teaching, and I feel burdened to teach in front of people,” it is true that teaching the Bible is a representative form. However, showing through our lives how a believer lives is also a way of teaching. In fact, showing through life is often more influential than teaching in a classroom.
The same goes for evangelism. Our lives should be a form of evangelism. There is incredible power when our words and actions align.
Healing is also similar. It’s important to have the gift of healing where one lays hands on someone and they recover, but that is not the only way to heal. When we show compassion and listen to someone’s difficult situation, providing comfort and healing their emotional wounds is also a form of healing. Accomplishing the ministries that Jesus performed through our lives is how we resemble Jesus's ministry.
Internally, we aim to resemble Jesus's character. A representative scripture for Jesus's character is found in Galatians 5, where it talks about the fruits of the Spirit.
[Galatians 5:22-23] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
What is our original character like? Within us, there is hate, sorrow, anxiety, impatience, unkindness, evil, betrayal, cruelty, and impulsiveness. Why is that? Because of sin. The fruits of sin include hatred, sorrow, anxiety, impatience, unkindness, evil, betrayal, cruelty, and impulsiveness. What removes these sinful fruits? The love of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit transform our sinful fruits into the Christ-like character of the fruits of the Spirit. Do you believe this?
Consider our current state. Am I living a life that resembles Jesus? Are the signs of change becoming more evident? Are the ministries of teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing being accomplished through me?
Also, look inside yourself. Is the hatred, sorrow, anxiety, impatience, unkindness, evil, betrayal, cruelty, and impulsiveness being transformed into love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?
The fruits of the Spirit represent internal character, but this internal character is displayed in our lives at every moment. Character connects to behavior. In fact, the fruits of the Spirit are manifestations of our lives.
I hope that every member of our Heavenly Hope Church increasingly resembles Jesus. This is a work that God leads us to accomplish good, but our response is also crucial. When we have a genuine desire to resemble Jesus and commit to it, our actual lives will change.
Through resembling Jesus in ministry and character, I pray that we all become siblings of Jesus, children of God.
When a young couple falls in love, gets married, and starts a family, children are born into that family. When they bring their children to church, people look at the babies and say, “Oh, how beautiful they are! Who do they look like?” And then someone might say, “Oh, they look just like their mother,” or “They have their father’s eyes.” Hearing these comments brings such joy to the parents. We also have three daughters, and whenever we took them to church, people often said, “They look just like their father.” Hearing this always made me feel warm and happy. But my wife seemed to enjoy hearing it even more. My nose is not very well-shaped, but even if people said that my baby had my nose, I still felt pleased. Now, if someone had said, “This child doesn’t look like either parent. They look more like the handsome neighbor,” it would have been upsetting and might even cause misunderstandings.
Parents adore and feel so much love for a child who resembles them, and I believe that this is similar to the heart of our Heavenly Father. God’s desire, as shown in today’s passage, is for His children who believe in Jesus and are saved to resemble Jesus. It is His joy and desire for us to be like Him.
May all the members of Hope in Heaven Church live lives that resemble Jesus, in the name of the Lord.
[Application] Since coming to faith, do I see the image of Christ reflected in my life? Am I participating in the ministry of Christ? Which part of my character has changed the most?
하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.
Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.