Romans 8:28-31

William F. Schnell

July 27, 2008

   A member of a Community Church dies and goes to heaven, but instead of the pearly gates there's a fork in the road, and a sign pointing down each path.  One sign says “Believers in Predestination” and the other says “Believers in Free Will.”  This guy's always believed in predestination, so he goes down that road and eventually comes to a huge wall and a big door with the word “PREDESTINATION” written over the top.  He knocks and an angel opens the door and says, “What brings you to my door, mortal?”

   The guy says, “Well, there were these two signs, and I chose the one that said predestination.”  The angel says, “You chose it?  You can't come in here, Bub,” and slams the door.  The guy's heartbroken.  Finally he trudges back to the fork in the road and goes down the other path.  Eventually he comes to another giant wall and a door that says “FREE WILL.”  He knocks and another angel opens the door and says, “Why did you come this way, mortal?”  And the guy says, “I had no choice!”

   Sometimes you are darned if you do and darned if you don’t.  But maybe the question here is not either predestination or free will, but both predestination and free will.  Is there a way to reconcile these seemingly contradictory notions?  I think Paul offers just such a solution in our text for this morning as we conclude our six sermon series on his letter to the Romans.  I also think his resolution to the great predestination/free will debate makes a big difference in our ability to appreciate and enjoy the gift of life here and now. 

   Our text begins, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him… (Verse 28).  In all things, not just the things we understand or want to happen, but also in the things we do not understand or do not want to happen.  … In all things God works for the good of those who love him….  Paul speaks to the Romans from the voice of experience here.  Indeed, he was eventually to visit the church in Rome only to be thrown in prison.

   Not exactly part of his plan, we can be sure, but it was part of God’s plan as he testifies in a letter written from that Roman prison to another church in Philippi.  He writes: Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.  As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly (Philippians 1:12-14).

   When Paul set off on his missionary journeys he proved to be a great church planter.  But when he was obstructed and persecuted and imprisoned, he was an even greater church planter.  The guy couldn’t lose and he knew it.  Once he freely made a willful choice to take up his cross and follow Jesus, he was predestined for glory.  And that is where the debate between free will and predestination gets resolved.  As the quote at the top of our bulletin puts it, “God predestines every man to be saved.  The devil predestines every man to be damned.  Man has the casting vote”—the deciding vote.

   We choose which master we are going to serve, and that choice sets in motion a chain of events that predetermines our final destination.  Paul writes …those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified (Verse 30).  Those who make their choice to serve the Lord are predestined for glory.  They may have to take up a cross along the way, but God is going to raise them up to glory.  They may have to walk through the wilderness for a season, but God is leading them to the Promised Land, a.k.a. Glory Land.

   Speaking of wandering in the wilderness, I just returned from a motorcycle journey to the end of the road in Northern Quebec.  John Messner, Kevin Heigel and I went as far north as you can go on the North American continent by paved road, east of Hudson Bay, to dip our tires in its Arctic Ocean waters.  We had to travel 380 miles from one town to the next one north with nothing in between but sub-arctic forests and raging rivers and big, bad bears.  In fact we saw 17 bears at one time feasting at the dump serving that far northern town.

   After we got to where we were going we turned around and came back the same way, and there was not a single boring second the whole trip.  It was beautiful.  It was awe-inspiring.  It was unforgettable.  Even wandering in the wilderness can be a beautiful, awe-inspiring, unforgettable experience when you are “Knowing Where You Are Going.”  It would be another experience altogether to dump me at that dump with no vehicle to carry me out or pals to bail me out in case the plug put in a punctured rear tire did not hold air.  Knowing I had a way out to a rustic room and a warm bed and an occasional meal made all the difference between being terrified and mystified.

   Even sitting in a prison cell can be an interesting experience if it is serving your purposes like it did for St. Paul or Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther, or his namesake, Martin Luther King Jr.  You can actually get to the point where you hope the powers-that-be do throw you in prison because of the buzz it will create for the movement you are serving.  Why, you can even make the supreme sacrifice like Martin Luther King, Jr. when you are predestined for glory—when you are “Knowing Where You are Going.”

   I have caught parts of CNN’s special this past week, “Black in America,” where King’s “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” message has been aired.  He offered it the evening before he was assassinated.  In it he refers to the mountaintop where Moses was allowed to ascend before his death so that he could look over to see the Promised Land which would be the destination of his people after him, for to that place they had been predestined by the promise of God.

   Just knowing where he was going made all the difference between rejoicing and despairing for a man who faced the supreme sacrifice.  In his own words, Martin Luther King, Jr. said: Well, I don't know what will happen now.  We've got some difficult days ahead.  But it doesn't matter with me now.  Because I've been to the mountaintop.  And I don't mind.  Like anybody, I would like to live a long life.  Longevity has its place.

But I'm not concerned about that now.  I just want to do God's will.  And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain.  And I've looked over.  And I've seen the Promised Land.  I may not get there with you.  But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.  And I'm happy, tonight.  I'm not worried about anything.  I'm not fearing any man.  Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

   Do our eyes see the glory?  Can we see beyond the crosses we must bear to the predestined glory these same crosses will achieve for us?  Can we see beyond this wilderness through which we must wander to the Glory Land which is our predestination?  Are we knowing where we are going?  If so, we will make the right choices—the hard choices--and we will make them joyfully.  The wilderness will be for us an awe-inspiring place.  The cross will be our crowning glory as we follow our exalted Lord.