Application Guide: “The Sovereignty of God & Security” (Rom 8:28ff)

May 29^th, 2005: Joe Bartemus, Pastor of Adult Education at CPC, finished the message he gave in January entitled, “The Sovereignty of God & Tsunamis.” He began by asking the question, “Is it possible to have security in this life?” He outlined the passage to point out that we can have security as a result of God’s plan, support for, and partnership with us.

1. We can find security in the fact that God has a plan for our lives that’s for our good and for his glory. It is a plan that works both the good and bad of life, the intentional and seemingly purposeless, into a beautiful mosaic.
1. How should the fact that God has a plan for us truly affect our every day lives? In other words, how can we prevent Romans 8:28 from becoming a trite cliché that is stamped on the inside of greeting cards?
2. What confusing or seemingly purposeless situation(s) are you currently experiencing that could use the assurance that God is actively at work in it?

2. As we look at the context of this passage (vv. 26-29), we see that the Spirit prays that God’s will would be assimilated into our lives as a result of the circumstances God allows to happen, so that we can be conformed to the image of Christ (cf. James 1:2-4).
1. How are the circumstances you are currently going through helping you to become like Christ, to know him better and share in his sufferings (cf. Phil. 3:10)?
2. In what ways do you see God’s active involvement in the circumstances of life?

3. We can find security in the fact that God is our greatest supporter, defender, and help (cf. Heb. 12:1-3; Ps. 46:1). He has proved this by sending his Son to die in our stead, cleansing us from sin, and by Christ’s present intercession for us on our behalf.
1. What does it mean practically that we have all the support we need in Christ? How does this affect our understanding of “self-esteem” and the so-called psychological “need” of receiving praise from others?
2. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” How might this work itself out into everyday life? What does this truth look like lived out in daily decisions, conversations with people, and in our responses to difficult circumstances?

4. We can find security in the fact that God is our partner in life. The love of God is always with us – nothing can separate us from it (cf. Heb. 13:5-6).
1. If God is with us, why does it seem like he is so far away sometimes? What do we do with this passage in those times when we “face death all day long” (36) and don’t feel like he is there?
2. How can we prevent this truth from becoming simply a “pie in the sky” concept, as if we are simply waiting for it to be fulfilled in its completeness when we get to heaven? How can we be “more than conquerors” (37) today?
3. Christ is not only partnering with us through his intercession in heaven, but by the fact that he lived on earth, in flesh, as one of us. How is this promise enhanced and even more powerful when we consider that our intercessor is one who has gone through the same trouble and hardship we have (cf. Heb. 2:18; 4:14-16)?