Sermons from the Moorpark Presbyterian Church

Who is the Promise For?

by Dave Wilkinson

Romans 8:26b

June 21, 1998

I have never been a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even though they are right now 11 1/5 games out, I know they are a class organization. I see their tremendous talent. I marvel at their ability to turn out Rookies of the Year. But I just can’t wear Dodger Blue. My San Francisco Giants roots run too deep. There’s too much history -- too much bad blood.

I will make an exception, however, for one member of the Dodger organization -- Vin Sculley. Vin Scully’s voice sounds like baseball. It sounds like a summer afternoon. Besides that, as a person, he has a lot of class.

You listen to Vin Scully and you give thanks to God for His goodness in letting you live in this area. You could live in Chicago. Think about it. Not only would you have to contend with the snow and the humidity. You would also have the White Sox or the Cubs. And you might have grown up listening not to Vin Scully but to Harry Caray.

Shortly after Harry’s death Mike Downey wrote in the L.A. Times, "Caray was the Anti-Vin Scully. Debonair, no. Eloquent, no. Let’s face it. Harry was an unmade bed. He was strong of lung and as blustery as the city where he worked. "Hey! Lemme hear you!" Harry would shout before his customary seventh inning serenade. He would put down his butterfly net -- the one he used to snag foul balls, and then caterwaul, ‘Take Me out to the Ball game’ with a rendition screeched with all the tone-deaf gusto of an Edith Bunker.

At the West Coast Presbyterian pastor’s Conference last April, one of our speakers was Marshall Shelley who is a senior editor for Christianity Today. Christianity Today is published near Chicago so Marshall had a lot of exposure to Harry Carey. In fact, he shared with us a very interesting quote from Harry Carey’s 1989 autobiography, Holy Cow. This quote is a summary of what we might call "Harry Carey Theology." Carey wrote:

"I am not a religious man. I’ve made some mistakes in life. Dutchie is my third wife. I have children by my first two marriages, and I’ve paid a lot of alimony in my time. But I’ve always believed in Almighty God. I’ve always believed that if you live your life as a decent person, the umpire in the end will say you did it right."

Now as Marshall Shelley rightly reminded us, there may be more to Harry’s personal faith than that one quote. As Harry once said about an umpire, "We ain’t in position to make the call." But that quote is a perfect summary of bleacher seat theology. It summarizes a street level belief that is found in many people in America, It is even found in many of our churches. Maybe you share this belief without knowing it’s name.

Harry Carey theology has four major tenets that are all expressed in the brief quote from his book.

First, there is a stated belief in Almighty God -- "I’ve always believed in Almighty God." Second, there is an open admission of mistakes. "I’ve made some mistakes in life." Third, there is a self-defined decent life -- kind of a middle of the pack morality. Fourth, there is an expectation of being all right at the judgement -- the umpire will call you safe.

For many people, that is what religion is all about. But the Bible says that there is much more to real faith, saving faith, than the four tenets of Harry Carey theology. In fact, the Bible tells us that smug self assurance -- "I accept that there’s a God and I’m a good person so God has to accept me" isn’t not saving faith at all. It’s really a form of self satisfaction. Harry Carey Theology denies any need for the cross for anyone who can claim, "Hey, I’m a decent guy."

Last Sunday we took a first look at Romans 8:28: "We know that God works in all things for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose."

This verse is probably the most indirectly quoted -- and flat out misquoted Scripture in the entire Bible. It is a stated belief that everything is going to work out okay in the end for everyone." Set to a Reggae beat it comes out: "Don’t worry about a thing. "Cause every little thing’s gonna be all right."

But those who quote and misquote this verse leave out the conclusion --- "We know that God works in all things for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose."

To whom does this promise apply? Romans 8:28 is talking about Christians. It connects to the next verses -- Romans 8:29 and 30. It is saying that everything works for the good of those whom God has predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, those he predestined and called and justified and glorified. That is not everyone. Not everyone would want that. That is a select group.

Romans 8:28 is not a general promise for all of humanity -- that everything’s gonna be all right or that somehow the umpire will say they’ve done it right no matter what they’ve done or haven’t done. It is, instead, a promise for a certain, very specific group of people. It is a promise, as the verse clearly states, for those who love God who are called according to his purpose.

How do you know if Romans 8:28 is a promise that is for you?

First, let me ask you, do you love God?

I’m not asking if you believe that there is a God. That won’t get you anything. Saving faith involves much more than simply acknowledging God. As James 2:19 tells us: "Even the demons fearfully believe that God is one and is all-powerful"

Love, as God defines it, starts with obedience. "If you love me, Jesus said, "you will keep my commandments." "And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,'" Jesus said, "and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46).

Did you read in the paper a few months ago about Diana Haun -- the convicted murder of Sheri Dally. Following her conviction Haun was sent to the Central California Woman’s Facility up near Chowchilla. Haun says that since her arrest in August, 1996, "she has relied on her faith in God and Jesus to help her deal with being locked up." She says, "God is the one who has kept me sane through this whole case, Faith has kept me up, it helps me cope." Haun says she embraced Jesus and Christianity in 1981. She was quoted as saying, "I’ve been somewhat of a closet Christian."

I was thinking more of a cesspool Christian.

I pray that Jesus really does take hold of Diana Haun. I believe that we will be able to know that has happened when she begins to honestly confront the horror of what she has done and what that says about her deep, deep down. The scripture says that "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." But apparently, from the newspaper reports, Haun has not even reached the first level of true confession -- viewing her life as God views it. She is still very much at the level of "I’ve made a few mistakes in my time but all in all I’m a decent person."

Scripture makes it clear that the persistently disobedient heart is an unbelieving and unloving heart. Because "the love of Christ controls us" Paul says, (2 Cor. 5:14), His Word will also control us. "You are My friends," Jesus said, "if you do what I commanded you" (John 15:14).

Now obedience looks like lots of things in lots of situations. But I’ll tell you where it starts. It starts with trusting what God has shown us is His Son.

Some people came to Jesus and asked the question: "What must we do that we may work the works of God?" In other words, "where is your obedience checklist?" Jesus responded, "this is the work of God, that you believe on Him Whom he has sent." Obedience that shows our love may take many forms. But here is where obedience that shows love starts. You cannot claim to love God and, at the same time, throw His greatest gift of the cross back in His face because of your self-proclaimed decency. You cannot claim to love God and, at the same time, say that you don’t need His sacrifice to be "okay."

True faith is not believing in Almighty God. The demons do that. True faith does not mean that you admit to having made a few mistakes and paid too much alimony. True faith involves the recognition that apart from God’s transforming power there is no good in you. True faith means surrendering your sinful self to God for forgiveness and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The question is not "Do you believe there is a God" -- as if God were somehow flattered by the fact that you are willing to admit that He’s out there somewhere. The question is, "Do you love God?" Do you love God as God defines it by trusting what he did for you in sending His only Son.

Romans 8:28 says that God works in all things for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. But if you have not given your life to Jesus Christ in faith, this promise is not designed for you.

How else do you know if you love God as God defines it? God tells us in His word that we also know we love Him if we love other people -- and especially our fellows members of the church as the Body of Christ. John, in his first letter, says this over and over again in the plainest possible language -- that a person who does not love God's children does not love God and does not belong to God. "We know that we have passed out of death into life," the apostle says, "because we love the brethren. The one who does not love abides in death" (1 John 3:14).

We carry the Gospel of life. And there is much more to this gospel than Harry Carey theology fuzziness and smug self-confidence. The Gospel of life is the true business of the church. There are lots of places you can go to get help with the kids. There are lots of places you can go for help with marriages. But only the church is called to address the important issue of helping people relate to God rightly.

So this morning I would like to pass on three diagnostic questions to help you know if you are relating to God rightly -- tp know if you love Him and are called according to His purpose. The Bible says that the call is truly "safe at home" if we can honestly answer "yes" to three questions which are the evidence of God’s saving grace in your life.

First, do you profess to follow Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:9 says that "if you confess with your mouth Jesus Christ as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

The verbal declaration -- the confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord -- is essential. There is no place for closet Christians --- let alone cesspool Christians. Jesus said: "the one that claims me before other people I will claim before my Father in Heave. The one that denies me before other people, I will deny before my father in Heaven." That’s very clear. So it is sometimes helpful for us to ask ourselves, "If being a Christian was against the law, would there be enough evidence in my life to convict me?"

Do you publicly claim Jesus as your Lord. And, following the flow of Romans 10:9, do you also believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead?

Note that the location of this saving belief is not in the head but in the heart. Now it may well start in the head -- it may start by being intellectually convinced that something unique and miraculous happened to Jesus after His crucifixion so that He is still alive. But it must move to the heart to be saving in your life.

In the words of the Heidelberg Catechism, "True faith is not only a sure and certain knowledge by which I accept as true all that God has revealed to us in His Word, but also a wholehearted trust which the Holy Spirit creates in me through the Gospel that, not only to others but to me also, God has given the forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness and salvation, out of sheer grace -- solely for the sake of Christ’s saving work."

Is that the nature of your faith? Do you know that the Gospel is not only for others like a Diana Haun who clearly needs it but also for yourself? Ask yourself, "where is the rock bottom source of my hope?" Why will the umpire declare me safe at home? Is it in my own self-proclaimed decency or is it in the great gift of a faithful Savior who loved me and gave Himself up for me? Is my hope founded in the things I have accomplished -- the diplomas and certificates and credentials hanging on my mental wall -- or is it on what God has accomplished for me.

Second, do you sense God’s leading in your life?

Now some people are natural mystics. It is very easy for them to feel the presence of God . Some are so mystical that they sense God even when He is not there. Other people don’t sense a particular presence. But they are aware of a tension -- a conflict -- in their souls. They are aware of the world of the flesh and the world of the Spirit and they know that they are different worlds.

A great Christian scholar and writer named Charles Erdmans reflected back on a lifetime of personal of professional observation of Christians and observed: "I have come to believe that the Christian who is most filled with the Holy Spirit is the least conscious of it. All they know is that the want to serve Jesus Christ and they feel that they are unprofitable servants."

Erdmans sees that one of the great signs of God working in your life is a deep sense of humility before God. We do grow as Christians. We do become more mature and complete. But we don’t tend to see it because, as we get closer to God, our standards of what true goodness looks like tend to rise. The closer we get to God, the more we see our own sin -- as Paul so powerfully portrayed back in Romans 7. It is immature and legalistic people who tend to live under the illusion that they measure up well by God’s standards.

If a person is aware of two different worlds at work in the soul, that is a good sign that God is at work. For we don’t not have that awareness that all is not well with us "just as we are" apart from the working of God’s Holy Spirit.

The third and final diagnostic question is this: "Do you want to become more like Christ?" This third diagnostic question is the one that grows most directly out of Romans 8:28 because being like Jesus is ultimately the "good" that God works for in the lives. It’s the good that Romans 8:28 promises. For the next two verses in Romans 8 make it clear that the purpose for which God calls us is to be like His own beloved Son.

Romans 8:28 isn’t about reasons -- about why things happen. It’s about purpose. It is the promise that God has a great goal in mind for us and that everything that happens to us -- both good and bad from our human perspective, must be made to serve that goal. Romans 8:28 does not say everything that happens is good. It doesn't even say that all things work together for good. It says that God works in all things, good and bad, to accomplish His purpose.

God has a plan for your life. Did you know that? It is amazing how many people really do not understand that when they are called into the kingdom, God has a specific plan He wants to implement in their lives. Unfortunately, many people have a low-level Christian commitment. They come to Christ, they attend a church, they ask Christ to forgive them of their sins, but they do not think much about what God wants to do in their lives.

What does God have for me to do in His kingdom? God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, and it is not to retire. He has a ministry for every one of us. Every Christian is a minister. You are not all called to be pastors, or teachers, or evangelists, but you are all called into ministry. You are all called with God's purpose in mind.

So you must ask yourself how you should be serving right here in the local expression of Christ's Church?

But not only does God have an individual plan for each of us, He has an ultimate plan which is the same for all of us. In Romans 8:29 we are told that we are "predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son." God is not at all interested in leaving us in the middle of the pack. He’s not that excited if we just become decent. God is about the business of making us like Christ. The Bible says that God’s eternal purpose is to create a people for Himself, to unite those people in Jesus Christ, and to conform those people created and united to Jesus Christ. And Philippians assures us that God who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.

What a promise. In our nature, we are to be like Christ. In our character, we are to be like Christ. In our work, we are to be like Christ. In our attitudes, we are to be like Christ. In our responses to the environment around us, we are to be like Christ. In our priorities, we are to be like Christ. That is the ultimate purpose for every Christian. That is what God is doing in your life.

Does that sound good to you? Do you want to be more like Christ -- even though it’s hard for you to believe that you’ll ever get there. If you don’t want that you won’t like heaven anyway. But if you do, Romans 8:28 is a promise for you. It is God’s guarantee that, whatever happens to you in life, you’ll make it. -- and every little thing really will be all right.