All Things Work Together For Good

Introduction

Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 tonight. It’s one of those passages that we would probably do well to read on a frequent basis. Now you may say when you get done reading it, what did I just read? But the hope of Romans chapter 8 and the direction that it gives us truly remarkable, may I suggest it for a periodic reading for you. And particularly tonight, I want to focus on a familiar verse that you hear many times from Romans chapter 8, verse 28, where Paul says, and we know, okay, there’s some confidence and certainty there, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to his purpose. Whatever this text is saying, at least we know to whom it is saying it.

And who the promise is for. It is for those who love God. Whatever is meant by all things work together for good, and God causes that to occur, it is for those who love God. And not just those who claim to love God, but who love him per his definition for that term. And I would just say by way of illustration, it’s like the little child who would tell the parent, I love you, I love you, I love you, and then is continually disobeying what you say and is being rebellious. You know what? Why don’t you show me that you love me more than just words? And religiously that’s true as well. There’s a lot of people who espouse and mouth the words, I love God.

But if we love him, we will keep his commandments. 1 John chapter 5 and verse 3. It is for those who love God and for those who are called according to his purpose. And again, called by God’s definition and not our own. In that sermon in Acts chapter 2, where Peter and the apostles conclude, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, he continues, for the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to himself. This promise, all things work together for good, is for those who are called according to his promise.

And on that day, 3,000 accepted the call and were baptized. Those who are called are those who have called upon him. Acts 22 and verse 16. Saul of Tarsus was told to rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Believers are the chosen in the New Testament. They are also the called. It doesn’t mean that the gospel calls, and therefore everybody is the called. The called are those who respond to God’s calling. And so it’s very clearly identified who God causes this to work for. All things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to his purpose. Now, three points I want to make about this verse. And I’ll be done.

1. Not Promising Better Temporal Circumstances

Question number one. And this is how this verse generally is viewed. What this passage is saying in the minds of most people, that everything that happens in our lives, that God is going to take this and make things better for us. He’s promising serene better circumstances for us, and that God will eventually remove all troubling circumstances for our lives. And that’s what I might like to see here. I want to see some good come out of the seemingly negative things that happen to me, or perhaps are happening to me in my life, or the less than ideal circumstances. That’s what I might like to see here, that in a month or so, or at least no longer than a year, my circumstances are going to improve dramatically.

Because he’s going to work all things together and make them better. In fact, I believe some people even put God to the test. That if I’m really his child and I really am one of the called, then God is going to demonstrate that to me this way. He’s going to make things better.

Examining the context of this verse, however, we are given the assurance that this promise is given to those who are experiencing weakness, actually. In Romans chapter 8, and I’m going to come back to this verse in a minute. A couple of verses earlier in verse 26, I want you to notice the context of this statement. And in the same way, the Spirit helps our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with dronings too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Coming back to that in just a second for more clarification there. But I want you to notice he helps our weakness.

In verse 18, 10 verses earlier, Paul says, For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us. I want you in your mind to tie verse 18 to verse 28. The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. I believe that has a direct connection to the meaning of Romans chapter 8 and verse 28. But I want you to notice the circumstances now, weakness, the sufferings of the present time. Also, I want you to notice in between these verses and before verse 28, we have the groaning of creation. And we have even our own groaning in verse 23. We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

And regardless of what your circumstances are, that hasn’t happened yet. This is talking ultimately where the redeemed will be given an immortal and eternal body, unlike the physical body that we now have. Now, going back to verses 26 and 27, what is the Spirit interceding for us? Some people really struggle with this. They will even say, some preachers will say, it’s actually us who are groaning with groanings too deep for words in this text. But I want to tell you, I think it’s very obvious that it’s the Holy Spirit who groans in our behalf. And what Linsky observes in his commentary, I think is correct, one might fear that intercession made in the poor human manner will not be efficacious or effective with him who searches our faulty hearts.

He goes, This fear disappears when the Holy Spirit steps in on our behalf. And I’ll tell you this about our weakness and our troubles. I’m glad the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. That he groans for us just as we groan in our weakness. And there’s another thing in this context that makes me think that this is the Holy Spirit groaning on our behalf and not us. If you’ll look down to Jesus in verse 33, who we often identify as our intercessor, one who intercedes with us. In fact, Hebrews 7 verse 25 says He always lives to make intercession for us. And He is able to save forever those who draw near to Him. One of my favorite verses in Hebrews. He always lives to make intercession for us.

He is able to save forever those who draw near to him. But notice what it says about him here. It says He is at the right hand of God, and He was raised from the dead. And then it says, who also intercedes for us. If you haven’t also interceding, you have something or someone else interceding. And that would be the Holy Spirit of verses 26 and 27. And so we have the Holy Spirit and Jesus interceding on our behalf. Well, let’s get back to our point here. All things work together for good, to those who love God and to those who are called according to his purpose. And again, just as we anticipate the redemption of the body in verse 23, he will say in the next verse 24, that we are saved by hope.

And this hope has not yet been seen. If it was seen, it would not be hope. But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we eagerly wait for it. I want to tell you that it has everything to do with our verse. Save by hope, persevere, eagerly awaiting. God is making no promises that he will alleviate or eliminate suffering for the righteous in the present time. And who’s to say? Who’s to say that’s bad? Is that bad? This weakness, the sufferings of the present time, this groaning that we’re in now, is that a bad thing? In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, we studied this not long ago when he talks about this treasure in earthen vessels. He says that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not of ourselves.

What was Paul’s present condition? He says, we’re afflicted in every way. So now God’s going to work all things together for good, and by that some mean he’s going to remove all those kinds of troubles from Paul. There’s not any evidence that ever happened. In fact, he ultimately is a martyr for the cause. He says, we are afflicted in every way. We’re crushed, but not crushed. He says, we’re perplexed, but not despairing. Do you ever think you think the perplexing continued for Paul? I believe probably so. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. And again, I would say everything he’s saying in this text is Romans 8 28. All things work together for good. I mean, always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

We who are constantly being delivered over to death. So death works in us. Do you think that changed for the apostle Paul? Death works in us, but life in you. And he talks later about our outer man is decaying, but our inner man is being renewed day by day. That’s Romans 8 28. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. That’s Romans 8.28. We look not to the things which are seen, but to the things which are unseen. The things that are seen are temporal, the things that are unseen are eternal. That’s Romans 8 28. We have this earthly house that will be torn down. It’s temporary, but we have a house with God, eternal in the heavens.

That’s Romans 8.28. He who called us for this very purpose is God. We have as our ambition, whether at home or absent in the body, to be pleasing to him. That’s Romans 8.28. And we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the things done in our body, whether they be good or bad. So let me ask you this. What negative circumstance, difficulty, or trial has absolutely no benefit in our spiritual transformation. Is there any negative difficult circumstance or trial that we can look at and say, that has absolutely no benefit in my spiritual transformation? It is only bad for me. Look. What did Peter say? The trial of our faith produces for us, may be found a result in praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

But remember, the fixing of our circumstances anticipates eternal reward. The trial of our faith, is that bad? Oh, it’s precious. As it produces positive spiritual things in our lives. And then this, in a context that’s dealing with persecution of believers, and he says, Don’t think it’s strange that this is happening to you. Rejoice that you’re counted as worthy to suffer as a Christian. And then he says, it is with difficulty. It is with difficulty that the righteous are saved. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I want to eliminate that difficulty, do you? I want that difficulty, whatever that involves, I want that to just go away. It is with difficulty that the righteous are saved. The trial of our faith produces praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So is that necessarily bad? Before I get to one last passage in this first point to be done with it, some of you may have heard a decade ago of the horrible tragedy that befell the Penn family in Luffkin, Texas. I did not know them until earlier this year when I held a meeting at Timberland Drive and spent some time on what I called and they call the Penn Compound. They all live right there together on the same property, all those houses together. Some of you know the Penn family. Horrible thing. Mike Penn, one of the elders at Timberland Drive, was on his tractor and not knowing that his little grandson was running out to get on the tractor with his papa. And he ran over his grandson.

In the aftermath of that tragedy, this letter was written. The family of God is so amazing. We have received many cards and expressions of love from many brethren we do not know. We have been overwhelmed by your concern for us. As we work our way through our recent tragedies. We are strengthened mightily by your love. As Christ defeated Satan by overcoming death through his resurrection. So we will conquer death with its horrors and tragedies. Because he arose. We know we too will arise. We believe Satan fired his best shot at us on February 12th. Death is Satan’s greatest weapon against the faith of Christians, especially when it comes in the form that we have faced. However, Satan failed. Our faith in the Lord will enable us to be victorious.

We want to encourage you, as you have comforted us, to continue to faithfully serve our Lord. We want to meet you personally, but if that is not possible on this earth, we certainly want to meet you in eternity. We also look forward to the little to the day when we can meet our little Luke. Let’s serve God so we can meet on the holy mountain in Christ. The Penn Jenkins and Slater families. And I tell you this story because a similar tragedy occurred near Florence, Alabama, earlier this year. A mother and her three children were on a tractor together or farm machinery, and the little kindergarten child fell off and was killed. And this happened to be the granddaughter of one of the elders that we met at the Helton Drive Church in Florence.

Good, wonderful people, Foy and Janice. Wonderful folks. Here’s the amazing part of the story. Mike Penn went all the way up to Florence, Alabama to comfort that family in their time of loss. Now, when you look at a tragedy like that, how does that work together for good in our circumstances here? It’s not that person’s ever going to come back, or that can ever be fixed on this side of eternity. But what I want you to see in this letter, and the response of both of those families, was their determination all the more to serve God and put their faith and trust and confidence in him and the hope one day of a resurrection for all of his people. And when you go on reading in Romans chapter 8, verses 29 and following, that’s precisely the message that flows out of this.

2. All Things Rarely Means All Things

God works all things together for good. He talks about being predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. And these that he has called into his image, he will also glorify. And then he comes to the end and he says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Not life, not death, he says, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This passage, Romans 8 28, God causes all things to work together for good. Is not promising better temporal circumstances. The context bears that out. But he does tell us that there is assurance and hope for the future. All things, that’s the second point that I want to talk about tonight. All things work together for good.

Well, he’s not talking about absolutely everything. Oh, there’s a way to recover from sin. There’s a way to learn from mistakes that we’ve made, but sin can never be in the good category. You’re never better for having sin. Somebody says, Yeah, but I’m able to help other people who have similar struggles. Oh, yeah, you might be able to do that. But I want to tell you something about sin. Whether it occurs before you’re in Christ or after you’re in Christ, sin is never a good thing. God doesn’t cause sin to work together for good. Only our recovery from sin. That’s just an example. But just to show you, all things rarely means all things. It usually has some limiting factor in the context. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul says, all things belong to you and you belong to God.

Well, okay, all things belong to me when I’m a Christian. Is that right? That’s what that text is saying. But that doesn’t mean that I possess all material things. Because you have some of them. And some other people have some of them. Even Solomon didn’t have all of them. And so all things doesn’t mean absolutely everything. It means all things of a particular kind or sort. We have all things that matter spiritually in Christ. Here’s another thing. In that context of 1 Peter 4, earlier it said, the end of all things is at hand. Well, whatever he’s talking about there, it’s not absolutely everything because you and I are still here. And whatever he’s talking about is at hand, and that’s usually pretty near in Scripture.

At hand, the end of all things, not necessarily all things. Here’s another one. Romans 8, verse 32. In our very context, he who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things? Even in the context of Romans chapter 8, all things doesn’t mean absolutely everything. Jesus freely gives us all things. He supplies us richly with all of our need. Philippians 4 and verse 19. But that doesn’t mean absolutely everything in every realm. Like, for example, everything material. Well, all things. Well, all things includes most everything, doesn’t it? Sure. All things are all good things, for sure. But what about persecution? What about persecution? Can that somehow be turned by God into something good?

We know the devil is behind persecution. It was the devil that entered Satan’s, the devil that entered Judas’s heart to betray the Lord in John chapter 12. But notice how God can trump persecution to his own advantage. When Saul was breathing threats against the church, and he was going from house to house and reaping havoc, Luke records in Acts chapter 8, verses 1 through 3, dragging people before the authorities. What happened as a result of that? It says they went everywhere preaching the word.

3. What Is Good? God Defines What Good Is

We’re given a further clue to what all things means in verse 37, when he says that we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. In the Bible knowledge commentary, John Whitmer says, the things themselves may not be good, but God harmonizes them together for the believer’s ultimate good, because his goal is to bring them to perfection in his presence. Even adversities and afflictions contribute to that end. And so if we keep clinging to hope, we will be saved. One more thing here is the part of the statement that says God causes all things to work together for good. Well, what is good exactly? God defines what good is. And we tend to look at our circumstances and we think, well, peaceful, serene, easier circumstances, that would be good for me.

That’s what I mean. Yet in Mark chapter 10, when the disciples said, We’ve left everything to follow you, and we did what the rich young ruler didn’t do, same context. Basically, the apostles are asking the question, what’s that going to mean? We did what he wouldn’t do. Of course, Jesus had promised, come and you will have what? Treasure in heaven. And he said, Everyone who has left houses and farms and relationships, mother, father, sisters, brothers, he shall have a hundred times as much in this present life. He could have said all things there. As I point out about that verse, he could have said a thousand times as much. What he’s saying is, you’ll receive amply for that decision. You’ll receive a hundred times as much in this present life along with persecutions.

So we said, well, that’s that’s quite a reward. Along with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life. Persecutions. And yet we’re thinking if God’s going to cause all things to work together for good, this terrible circumstance that I really don’t enjoy right now, he’s going to have to fix that or make it better. I want it done. After all, Job’s fortunes were fixed on this side of eternity.

But don’t confuse that with the fact that mine might not be fixed on this side of eternity. And even though Job’s fortunes were restored, the text says in Job 42, he still lost some children that he loved. Did he not? He still experienced some awful pain and tragedy, though his fortunes got a little bit better. But those kinds of promises God does not make to us. And look at this the instruction that God. We’ve got to let God define what’s good for us. I’ll tell you what’s good is God’s instruction. The things that God gives us, the guidance that he gives us in the Word, is good for us always and for our survival, Moses says. And Paul says the same thing about the law in 1 Timothy chapter 1, that the law is good if it’s used lawfully.

That’s what’s good. Good in this context. And in other passages where only God is said to be good in that story with the rich young ruler, good is what emanates from God. Good is what prepares us for the future. Good is what causes us to turn to him and trust in him and follow him and ultimately leads to our soul salvation and the salvation of others. And so what we should take from Romans chapter 8, not just verse 28, is that all of the wrestling that we have to do in this life, all the battling against the evil one, all the striving in our strivings against sin, as the Hebrew writer talked about, or as the book of Revelation talks about persecution, all of the overcoming that we have to do as we go through all of that and we experience pain and hurt and discomfort.

And we discover that sometimes life isn’t very easy, and like the Penn family and the Purcell family in Alabama. When awful things befall us. Sometimes those things can’t be fixed on this side of eternity. And God hasn’t promised to do that. I know of good people who have been put away by their mates for causes other than immorality. Here I am, stuck. Sometimes at a very early age. I’m stuck. There’s no hope for them. And they have no right to anyone else as well. It is a marriage that has gone awry, and these kids are in their 20s. You mean I’m supposed to live the rest of my life? Single? Well, let me just tell you about that. You can either believe God or not. You can either believe what God has said and about the result of being an adulterer, if you so choose.

And you can put your hope in the next world, or you can put your hope in this. And so often people choose to put their hope in this. Or to think that somehow God is going to deliver me. You know, maybe God’s going to take that person out, so I’ll have a right to remarry someone else. I mean, do we demand of God that he fix less than ideal circumstances in our lives? Perhaps it’s our hell. Surely he’s going to answer my prayers and I’m going to recover. I have so much of life yet to live. But even if you were granted Hezekiah’s 15 years, even if you were granted 35 years, what is that? What is that compared to the promises of Romans chapter 8.

The relationship with God that goes on unendingly. So regardless of what happens, we are to live our lives as glory to God, seeking one day eternal bliss and the redemption of the body that is promised in Romans chapter 8. And really, if you’ll go back to Romans chapter 5, he has already hinted at this solution for us in Romans chapter 5. Before he ever says God causes all things to work together for good, he talks about our introduction by faith into this grace into which we stand. And he says, we exalt in hope to the glory of God. And he says this, look. We exalt in our tribulations. I’ll tell you, that’s hard for us. We want those tribulations to go away. Now, God, if you really care about my pain here, you’re going to take my tribulations away.

He says, We exult in tribulations. Knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance. And perseverance will make your character better. Proven character. And proven character hope. A hope that does not disappoint. I’m going to tell you that, like when I was reading 2 Corinthians 4, that is God causing all things to work together for good. To those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. And again, that’s the product of God’s teaching or his instruction. We have come to a right relationship with God, a loving relationship where we know he cares about us even in the midst of awful tribulation and difficulty and the challenge and sweat of our strivings, all of our toils.

Conclusion

That’s why we’re told, don’t give up in the midst of crisis. But cast all your cares on him. Because he cares for you. Well, okay. So what are you saying then about my circumstances? Okay, how would you rate your circumstances one to ten? Don’t say that out loud. How did you rate your marriage? One to ten. How would you rate your financial stability? One to ten. How would you rate your physical health? One to ten. Where are you? Okay, let’s say it all averages out to about a three. We’re hoping for a little more. Maybe seven or eight. Hopefully nine or ten. And probably have all different kinds of numbers in this group. But I’m here to tell you.

I don’t know what that number is going to be next week. Or next month or next year. I hope none of us have to experience the kind of tragedy those two families have dealt with. You’ve got to learn to live with something like that every day. But we just don’t know what’s around the corner. And don’t make your faith contingent upon everything going swell. So many people do that. And they’ll come to a verse, well, God’s going to work all things together for good. That’s not what this passage is saying. It is not promising ideal circumstances or improved circumstances. Don’t put all your hopes in that this is going to get better. You know, every time something bad has happened to me in the past, I’ve been thinking, you know, it’s going to get better.

It’s going to get better. It’s going to get better. And you know it has, but sometimes it doesn’t. For some people, in some circumstances, and perhaps even yours, it won’t. That relationship won’t get better. That financial trouble won’t get better. And the way things are going, it could get worse. And your health is not going to get better. What are you going to do in the midst of tribulation? You’re going to hope in your love of God and His love for you. And you’re going to stake all that you are on the reliability of His will and the certainty of His reward for the faithful. That covers about everything. Your circumstances, no matter where they go from this moment onward, you better rest your hope and confidence in the love of God, the reliability of His Word, and His reward for those who continue in faith.

Perseverance. The hope that does not disappoint. Look at Romans 8. And somebody told me this a long time ago. Look at Romans 8 28 in the scope of the Old Testament. I thought this was the most helpful thing I ever heard about. Look at all that God is arranging through history, all the way, all the ways the devil is trying to prevent God from working things out. And year after year, century after century, God plans the fullness of times. Christ comes, they really intensify their opposition and put Jesus to death, and God still accomplishes his plan, and now Jesus sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Look, God causes all things to work together for good. That’s what that’s saying. So your circumstances may stink.

Perhaps they could have been. If different choices had been made. But look, we can’t rewrite history. But here we are. Or here we will be. What are you going to do now? You’re going to put your confidence in Him who can take the ugly and make it beautiful. And that’s what He’s going to do. One day, all of our tribulations will be forgotten. And we’ll be basking in the glory of His presence. And we’ll say, you know everything I went to. Everything I went through. It’s nothing compared to this. The sufferings of our present time are not to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed to us. The hope that does not disappoint. Yes, all things work together for good. To those who love God and to those who are called according to his purpose.

Have you responded to his will? Do you know that you’re in a right relationship with him because you’ve submitted to this instruction that is for your good always and for your survival? And won’t you come and know the joy of knowing how it’s going to turn out one day for the faithful and be a part of that? Won’t you come while we stand and sing?