“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

This past week we experienced another school shooting. Our first thought was probably, this is horrible, but our second thought may have been, oh, another school shooting. As we live in this post-Christian culture, it is easy to become detached from evil like this. Jesus warned that evil and persecution was coming. As a coping mechanism, we are rapidly becoming apathetic to evil – as long as it doesn’t directly affect us. But apathy is not acceptable to God. We are either hot or cold, there is no place for lukewarmness. If there was ever a time when we needed Romans 8:28, it is now.

Regarding this verse, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “There is nothing higher than this in all of Scripture. This is the most remarkable statement the Apostle Paul ever made. It is also one of the most comforting statements in all of Scripture.” When we constantly see evil in the world around us, we are tempted to ask, where is the good in these things? Is the tragedy at Nashville God’s will or not? Is it even possible to know God’s will in any situation? Is the killing at Nashville God’s judgment or is it His blessing?

We look at the circumstances in our life and wonder whether God is displeased with us. Are we a Christian or not? Are we secure in our salvation? These age-old questions do have a definite answer. The path to glory in this chapter begins with there being no condemnation for those in Christ and ends with the assurance that we will arrive in glory safely. We are assured of this because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He saves us, seals us, affirms our salvation, enlightens us for truth, convicts us, empowers us live a holy life, and He intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Whenever we need to make a righteous decision or endure a difficult circumstance the Holy Spirit takes our feeble attempts at prayer and, with His perfect knowledge, interprets them so that God’s perfect ordained divine will is brought before the throne of God.

We know that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us, yet we still struggle. We know what right and what is good and what Scripture says about God’s perfect will, so we pray based on what we do know. We struggle because we can’t know what we don’t know, and that is okay. There is great comfort in knowing that as we pray based on our limited knowledge, the Holy Spirit’s knowledge is without limit. We know that God is sovereign, but we can only see God’s sovereignty in reverse. The English Puritan, John Flavel, expressed it this way: “The providence of God is like Hebrew words – it can only be read backwards.” At a recent Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Church, Austin Duncan preaching from Genesis 38, said, “God’s providence can only be understood down the road, looking back. We can see in hindsight how God has worked together the choices we’ve made and circumstances we’ve experienced for our good.”

When we observe the circumstances in our life, it is easy for us to begin to think we messed things up. We may think that our decisions affect our outcome because we think we are in control of our life. We think we are altering God’s will for our life, but this would require prefect comprehensive knowledge. God is the only person with such knowledge, so we find Romans 8 a true source of comfort. The Holy Spirit is dwelling within us, He is interceding for us, He is united with us in our struggles, and He directs us in accordance with God’s divine plan.

Many people attribute the circumstances in life to chance, as if it is a force that causes things to happen. Change is simple a mathematical concept used to describe possible perceived random outcomes of an event. The Bible says there is a divine creator, a sovereign God and all events are certain; there is no randomness. This is declared in Ephesians 1:11, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” God is a loving heavenly Father who sovereignly decrees only good for His children. David expressed this in Psalm 23, “…surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

I. A Promise (v. 28a)

• A promise fulfilled – “And”

This verse begins with “And”, referring to things previously promised. God’s people are at peace because we know that God will carry us unto glory. We know that every aspect of our lives is under God’s sovereign control. When we are weak, He promises to make us strong. Whenever we pray, He is going to answer, and the promise will be fulfilled because the Spirit intercedes for us.

• A profound conviction – “we know”

Paul is saying “And we know…” The security we have in God is well-known by all believers. All believers know that God will carry them to glory. This security is in our faith, not our knowledge. When Paul is saying we know, he is essentially saying, we have faith. Or we of faith know that God will fulfill His promises. We know that God is taking us to glory, so we have no fear of losing our salvation. Many people who claim to be Christians struggle with eternal security, for they believe that their salvation is a synergistic activity where God does His part as we do our part. When trials come into their life, they begin to wonder if they have done their part. The believer’s fruit is the result of regeneration, not the root cause of it.

John Murray explained, “For entrance into the kingdom of God we are wholly dependent upon the action of the Holy Spirit, an action… which is compared to that on the part of our parents by which we were born into the world. We are as dependent upon the Holy Spirit as we are upon the actions of our parents in connection with our natural birth We were not begotten by our father because we decided to be. And we were not born of our mother because we decided to be. We were simply begotten and we were born. We did not decide to be born…If this privilege is ours it is because the Holy Spirit willed it and here all rests upon the Holy Spirit’s decision and action. He begets and bears when and where He pleases…Regeneration is the act of God and God alone.” Salvation is by God alone and, since our prayers are replaced by the Spirit’s groanings, we know that we have a promise from God that He will keep us for glory.

II. A Royal Priesthood (v. 28b)

The promise is not for everyone. God is not working all things for the good of all humanity; it is only for God’s elect. We see abundant evidence of God’s common grace because God is good and God is love, but His special grace is only for the elect.

• Only 2 kinds of people

There are only two kinds of people: those who love God and those who hate God. 1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Those who love God are those who have been born again, born of God (See John 3:3). These are the ones who are new creations. (2 Corinthians 5:17) At our first birth we were born into Adam, then we are rebirthed into Jesus spiritually. The only humans in the universe capable of love are the children of God, the love of God has been poured into them (Romans 5:5). This love manifests itself in the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, etc. (Galatians 5:22-23) If a person doesn’t know God as their savior, they cannot love Him, they don’t understand love, and Scripture says of them, they actually hate God.

Some Christians have difficulty in accepting that there are only those who love God and those who hate God. Jesus warned in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” We all know people who seem to be neutral toward God; they don’t love Him, neither do they overtly hate Him. The second of the Ten Commands, regarding making idols says, “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:5-6) Salvation produces love for God, the first fruit that comes from being born again. Hebrews 12:29 tells us that God is a consuming fire. Our love for God cannot be not a warm, fuzzy feeling; it must be a consuming fire. It is a passion that leads us to action. It does not allow us to be idle; it doesn’t allow us to be lukewarm. You cannot create a love for God; you either love God or you hate Him. Jesus warned in Matthew 24:12, “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”

• A comprehensive love

We see Romans 8:28 from the frontside, a promise to be fulfilled; God sees it from the backside, a promise already fulfilled (verses 29-30). The NASB translation of this verse is, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, those who are called according to His purpose.” God is not reacting to things; He is actively causing all things to work for our good every moment of every day. The all things include illness, death, temptations, anxiety, oppression, joy, rebirth, sanctification, etc. – all things.  Because of His love for us, all things are being orchestrated and directed by God. Matthew 7:11 tells us that God gives good things to His children, and this is because God is love (1 John 4:8). 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a describes this love as: patient, kind, not boastful, not arrogant, not rude, etc. This is the love of God for His children. God’s love is active, steadfast, perfect, comprehensive, and good; it has no limit. God allows certain things in our life, and He holds back others, and all for our good. God is in control of all things but we recognize this only as we look back and see God’s hand in all that has happened.

• A good love

We struggle with recognizing good. The world defines good as the desired approval of what comes next. This definition of good only leads to frustration. What is good? Health? Wealth? Being smart? Comfortable? Having a perfect body? Ready for what life brings next? If we understand goodness in these ways, it is easy to accuse God of not being good, because He doesn’t always meet our expectations. Suffering and sin are evil, that is the absence of goodness, but God did not create them. God can take temptations, sins, habits, suffering, etc. and weave them for good with the outcome as described in verse 29: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…”

The image of Christ is the essence of goodness. In conforming us into the image of Christ, God causes some things, and He allows others. He uses all things to conform our behavior, our character, and our love to be like that of Christ. Joseph showed that he recognized God’s goodness when he said to his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). The closing hymn for Sunday, written by Joachim Neander, was Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. Some of the lines of this hymn echo well the salient points of the sermon. “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning…sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining…surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you…” At this and every moment of every day God is working out all things for our good!

Selah:

1. What is your first thought when you learn of a horrible tragedy?
2. Why is it so hard to see God’s goodness in great trials? Even in evil?
3. What difficulty has God brought you through for which you can now thank Him?