Sermon Outline 4.20.25

Title: No Coincidences, only Christ
Text: Romans 8:28–30

Theme: Every moment is woven by God’s sovereign hand, for our good and His glory—because of Christ, not coincidence. It’s a bedrock of certainty in the face of suffering, built on the foundation of a sovereign Christ.

I. GOD’S PROVIDENCE IS CERTAIN (v. 28a)

• “We know” — Not speculation, but settled conviction grounded in resurrection hope.
• “All things” — Yes, all: pain, weakness, grief, loss. Not just blessings.
• “Work together” — God synergizes all things into His perfect plan.
• This verse doesn’t say all things are good—but that God works them for good.
• What is “the good”?
  • Not comfort, but conformity—to the image of Christ (v. 29).
• God is not responding—He is ruling.
Interpret suffering by the cross, not by your circumstances.
Your pain is not wasted—it’s being woven into conformity to Christ.
• Trust God even when you can’t trace His hand.
• Don’t interpret God’s love through the lens of suffering—interpret suffering through the lens of God’s love revealed in Christ’s resurrection.

II. GOD’S PURPOSE IS EXCLUSIVE (v. 28b)

• This promise isn’t general—it’s particular: those who love God and are called.
• The “call” is not merely external (as in a sermon invitation) but effectual—it creates what it commands.
• “His purpose” — not your personal dreams or goals, but His redemptive decree.
• God is not reacting to history—He’s writing it.
• Your suffering is not arbitrary—it’s appointed.
• God’s purpose, not your performance, is the anchor of your life.

III. GOD’S PLAN IS UNBREAKABLE (vv. 29–30)
The Golden Chain of Redemption: five unbreakable links that stretch from eternity past to future glory.

A. Foreknowledge
Not foresight, but fore-love rooted in covenantal intimacy.
“To know” (Heb. yada) in the OT often means to love or choose relationally:
Gen 18:19; Ex 33:17; Ps 18:43; Jer 1:5; Hos 13:5; Amos 3:2.
Romans 8:29 = God set His covenantal affection on a people.
The object of foreknowledge is personal: “those whom.”
Application:
You are not an afterthought. God loved you before you loved Him.

B. Predestination

• Not arbitrary determinism, but loving design.
• “Image” recalls Adam—Jesus is the Second Adam (cf. Rom 5).
• He recovers what Adam forfeited.
• To be conformed is to regain the image marred by sin—and it starts now but is completed in resurrection glory (Rom 6:5, 1 Cor 15:49).
• Purpose:
  • “That He might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
  • OT Israel was God’s firstborn (Ex 4:22), but Christ is the true firstborn (Col 1:18).
  • The Abrahamic promise (Gen 12:3) is fulfilled in Christ as the federal head of a new covenant family.
  • By union with Christ, we are adopted into His family and become co-heirs (Rom 8:17), destined to reign with Him(Rom 4:13).

C. Calling

• This is the effectual call of the Spirit, like Jesus calling Lazarus from the grave (John 11).
• God doesn’t wait for you to respond—He awakens you.

D. Justification

• Legal declaration of righteousness. Not a process, but a completed act.
• Paul uses past tense: it’s done, rooted in Christ’s finished work.

E. Glorification

• Past tense—because it is as certain as the resurrection of Christ.
• Brackets back to v. 18: “the glory that is to be revealed.”
• Our glorification is so sure; it’s spoken of as having already been accomplished.
• This chain cannot break. Not by sin. Not by Satan. Not by suffering.
• You groan now, but God is pulling you toward glory.
• Suffering isn’t a detour from God’s plan—it’s part of the pathway.

IV. GOD’S WILL IS HIDDEN BUT CERTAIN (Bridge from vv. 26–30)

• v. 26: We don’t know what to pray—God’s specific will is often hidden.
• v. 27: But the Spirit intercedes according to God’s will.
• v. 28: That “will” is the divine purpose we are called into.

CONCLUSION: RESURRECTION MAKES THIS CERTAIN