DAY #8: Romans 8:28-35

Because the Spirit’s efforts on our behalf are carried out in full agreement with God’s will, everything that happens to us in this life is directed toward that goal. What happens may not itself be “good,” but God will cause everything to work together for the ultimate good of his children, to meet his ultimate purpose for their maturity.

The point is, God works all things for good, not “all things work out.” Suffering will still bring pain, loss, and sorrow, and sin will bring shame. But under God’s control, the eventual outcome will be for our good.

God works behind the scenes, ensuring that even in the middle of mistakes and tragedies, good will result for those who love him. At times this will happen quickly, often enough to help us trust the principle. But there will also be events whose results for good we will not know until eternity. Our ultimate destiny is to be like Christ. God’s design is more than just an invitation; God summons us with a purpose in mind: we are to be like Christ and share his glory.

God’s foreknowledge refers to his intimate knowledge of us and our relationship with him based on His choosing us. God desire - His goal - for all believers is to reach a particular goal: to become like his Son.

What does it mean to be chosen? What keeps foreknowledge and predestination from being determinism? How can belief in predestination avoid leading someone to despair over the futility of any human choice? God’s foreknowledge does not imply determinism—the idea that all our choices are predetermined. Since God is not limited by time as we are, he “sees” past, present, and future at the same time.

Parents sometimes “know” how their children will behave before the fact. We don’t conclude from these parents’ foreknowledge that they made their children act that way. God’s foreknowledge, insofar as we can understand it, means that God knows who will accept the offer of salvation. The plan of predestination begins when we trust Christ and comes to its conclusion when we become fully like him.

God’s plan for the salvation of those who believe in Christ has three steps: chosen, called, and glorified. When we are finally conformed to the image of Christ, we will share his glory.

How much is God for us? So much that he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all. Remembering God’s gift will help us see that God is working for our good even when we can’t immediately see it. God sacrificed his Son to save us; will he now invalidate that sacrifice by refusing to help and guide believers? No, instead, he promises to give us everything else to bring us to the ultimate goal—our sanctification and glorification.

If God did not withhold his Son, and if God will give us everything to make us complete, will God then accuse us? Paul’s emphatic answer is NO! God is the one who has given us right standing with himself, and he is also the Judge who has already declared us “not guilty.” So who then will condemn us?

Jesus would not condemn those for whom he died. Instead, Jesus, who was raised to life for us is at God’s side pleading for us in heaven (Psalm 110:1; Mark 12:35-37; Hebrews 4:14-16).


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read and studied today?)

Clearly, verse 28 is the key verse of this passage today. This verse is life changing. I encourage you strongly to memorize Romans 8:28(ESV)- "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. "

What doesn't this verse say?

It does not say all things are good. Obviously there is a lot of bad in the world. This is not a Pollyanna verse that says all things are good. It says all things work together for good.

It does not say all things work out the way I want them. We'd like for it to say that but that's not what it says.

It does not say all things have a happy ending here on earth. We try to make it say that but it doesn't say that.

What does it say?

"And we know..." The word know is used thirteen times in the book of Romans. It doesn't say, And we hope, or And we wish/want/desire/guess. It says "we know". This word means absolute, unshakable confidence. If you're going to learn to make it through trials it's going to be on the basis of what you know. Why is it two people can have the same problem: One grows through it and the other is destroyed by it. It's the difference between what you know.

Paul says what you know in this verse makes a difference on how you handle the difficulties in life. "And we know that in all things ..." He doesn't say "almost everything" but "all things". What is included in the word "all"? Does that mean financial problems? Illnesses? Relationship problems? Any kind of difficulty in the world? That about covers it! Does that include good things? Yes! We tend to think this verse is just for the bad things.

"We know that in all the bad things God works for good." But not just in all the bad things, in all the good things too. In everything, God works! In King James Version it says "God works together" and I like that because circumstances do not often bring good in themselves. Individually a crisis here or there may not bring good, but all things working together... It's like baking a cake. You use flour, oil, sugar, eggs. Individually... how would you like to take a big bite of lard? or flour? It's not too tasty. But together it can create something good. All things work together. They are working for the good.

How do we know that all things work together? God says so. Why do they work together? The verse right before this, "And He who searches our hearts knows the mind and the spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." God, the Holy Spirit, prays for you. The reason why all things are working together is the Holy Spirit is praying for you. It helps to have God praying for you. Isn't it strange... God praying.

But the Bible says He talks with Himself about His believers, His children. The Holy Spirit is praying for us according to His will and He's using it all to work. Good things and bad things, light and dark, sunshine and rain. The old illustration of needlepoint: If you look at the top of needlepoint or embroidery it's a beautiful picture; you flip it over and you see the jumble of threads and knots.

A lot of times in God's tapestry we only see the underside -- just a jumble of threads. But God sees the beautiful picture that He's creating. He's working it all together. We know that all things work together for good. God works for the good. The specific good is spelled out in Romans 8:29 (ESV)"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

Can God even use sinful things, the results of sinful acts in this plan for good? He can. God even takes the mistakes I makes and somehow turns them around and brings good out of them. That's because God is God. God doesn't cause the mistakes, errors and sins in the lives of people but He uses them. He knows in our sinful nature He can take bad situations and has a great way of bringing good out of bad.

Think about Matthew 1. I'll bet you have never heard a sermon on the genealogy of Jesus. Notice one thing about the genealogy of Jesus. In Jewish genealogies you never mention women. Only the men got mentioned. But interestingly enough in Jesus' genealogy four ladies get mentioned. v. 3, Tamar. In Genesis 38, Tamar seduced her father in law and that's where her kids came from. Was that good? No. But look what happened. They're in the genealogy of Jesus. Then Rahab, a harlot. Then Ruth, a Moabite woman who married a Jew. That was against the Law for a Jew to marry outside of his race. Yet she is in the lineage of Jesus. Again, can God bring good out of bad? Another, Bathsheba.

A lady who seduces her father in law, a prostitute, a Moabite woman who breaks the Law to marry a Jew, and a lady who commits adultery. Can God bring good even out of bad? He has a way of turning it around.

God never wastes a circumstance -- never, in the life of a believer. He always has a purpose. Maybe some of you were born out of an illicit relationship. Big deal! This chapter 1 of Matthew points out that God's purpose is greater than any sin. God is in the business of bringing good out of bad.

Think about Genesis 42. Study the story of Jacob and how everything was going wrong with him. He had 12 sons and Joseph was sold into slavery and he thought he was dead. He thought Simeon was dead. Finally Joseph sent for the men to come to Egypt and especially Benjamin. Genesis 42:36 "Their father Jacob said to them, You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me." He thought, going down to Egypt, they'd all die. But by going down to Egypt they were saved from the famine. They went down as a family with 12 sons and came out 400 years later, a nation. God used it.

v. 20. The brothers were afraid of Joseph that he would retaliate but Joseph said, "You intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Even when people hurt you intentionally God has a purpose behind it and He can bring good out of it. The promise of God is in all things He works for good. He does not waste circumstances.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him." This is a promise only for believers. All things do not work together for good for unbelievers. In fact, all things work together for bad for unbelievers, "The wages of sin is death."

If people are openly rebelling against God, He's not promising to work all things out for good. But what He is saying is that if you are a child of God, nothing comes into your life by accident. Everything is Father-filtered. God over reaches everything Satan does and uses it for His own purpose, even the mistakes we make and even the problems.

Job 23:14 says, "For He hath appointed this work unto me." We know that the devil had caused Job's trouble, but God allowed it. God said, You can go this far and no further. Nothing can happen in your life without God's allowance of it, His permission. He permits things to happen even when He doesn't plan them in terms of our own sin. Even the mistakes, the difficulties, the trials God works for good.

What will you do with this foundational truth today?