Romans 8:28-30 | All Things Work Together For Good.

Intro: Carrie’s AWANA report & skit

As a follower of Jesus, he Apostle Paul faced so many setbacks in his personal life and ministry.

We saw a few of those examples:

At Lystra (modern day Turkey), Paul is stoned and left for dead.

At Damascus (modern day Syria), Paul escapes through the wall in a basket after he finds out about a threat to kill him

At the island of Malta, Paul is shipwrecked and later bitten by a snake.

At Jerusalem, he is falsely accused and arrested. He will be later taken to Rome where he will present his case before Cesar.

What motivated Paul to keep going?

Read Romans 8:1-30

Pray!

What motivated Paul to keep going when life seemed out of control?

The words he penned in Romans 8 gives us the following life lesson,

There are many things I don’t understand, but I choose to trust the goodness of my loving Father, who is always in control and will ultimately use all things for my good and for his purpose.

We love to ask questions. Toddlers and adults ask this particular question on a regular basis:

Why?

Why did this happened?

Why me?

Why now?

Here’s why should pay attention to this message: To make sense of the events that take place in our lives:

Sickness

Trauma

Rejection

Betrayal

Setbacks

Pain

Losses

Mistakes

Regret

Future

In other words, this passage address what I call the bad, the ugly and the stupid.

Three things:

First, it all begins with the sovereignty of God.

Romans 8:28 “28 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 a comforting reality. We are not left to chance. Nothing in life is random or a coincidence. God is in control. He is the one who makes all things work together for good.

This is known as the sovereignty of God.

What is the sovereignty of God?

The sovereignty of God is the reality that he is the king who rules over his creation

Psalm 29:10 “10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.”

Psalm 103:19 “19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”

Psalm 115:3 “3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

1 Chronicles 16:31 “31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!””

The sovereignty of God comforts me as I look back at the setbacks

It strengths me in my present trials

It fills me with hope as I look to the future

“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” John Piper

Paul wrote the following in Philippians 1:12–14 “12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

“The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace.” Charles Spurgeon.

Application: The sovereignty of God has enriched my prayer life.

“God ordains prayer as a means to change history. There are things that happen because of prayer and things that do not happen because of no prayer.” John M. Frame

Second, God has promised to make all things work together for the good of those who love him.

Romans 8:28 “28 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 verse by itself (out of context) has been misinterpreted

You weren’t accepted to the university of your choice, that means that there is a better university.

You lost your job, that means that you will have a better job.

You lost a valuable relationship, that means that someone better is going to come along.

This passage protects us from two extreme views of life:

Every individual hard thing you experience will have a happy ending

Nothing good can come out of this. This is meaningless

What this passage does teach us is that God will take all the things that take place in our lives and work them for our good.

I heard it explained this way. God is like a baker who makes a cake out of our lives. He is going to use all the sweet and bitter things of life to make something amazing.

Have you ever had cake? We must be patient

Flour

Sugar

Eggs

Unsweetened cocoa powder

Butter

Milk

Vanilla extract

Chocolate chips

Can you imagine if you ate all these individual ingredients by themselves?

Individual things in our lives are not pleasant or good by themselves, but God takes all those individual things to create something great.

Perhaps you might object saying, but pastor Hector, I have made too many mistakes, I have ruined God’s plan for my life. No you haven’t!

God can use even our sins to accomplish his purpose for our lives. This is not to excuse or encourage sin.

Nothing can stop God from achieving his plans.

Genesis 50:20 “20 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.”

*This is a conditional promise. Romans 8:28 is only for those who love God. I love how specific Paul was. Not “those who believe in God,” but “those who love God.” Those who have made a commitment to trust God and live for him.

Those who don’t love God all things do not work for their good.

Good things - hardened their hearts. “I don’t need God.”

Bad things - hardened their hearts. “God is not useful to me.”

Third, God is committed to transforming us into the likeness of his Son Jesus.

Romans 8:28–29 “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 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.”

Please, please, please, do not separate Romans 8:28 from Romans 8:29. They go hand in hand.

Romans 8:28 by itself seems to imply that whenever we have setbacks and trials, that some how they will workout into some happy ending.

Thank God we have Romans 8:29, which tells me that everything is working together so that you and I will be conformed to the image of his Son.

The “good” in Romans 8:28 is a deep spiritual transformation. God is using all things to shape us into the image of Jesus.

Romans 8:28 is not a promise about a better, more comfortable life. Romans 8:28 is a promise that God will use all circumstances to refine us into the likeness of Jesus.

Conformed (Gk, summorphos). That’s where we get the word metamorphosis (caterpillar - butterfly).

The word “conformed” is a language of transformation. That’s what experiencing the resurrection life is all about.

2 Corinthians 3:18 “18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

https://www.russellmoore.com/2014/05/23/what-tom-nettles-taught-me/

Rusell Moore wrote a tribute to Tom Nettles, a retiring professor of historical theology at Southern Seminary. The name of the tribute is titled, “What Tom Nettles taught me.”

Tom Nettles retired last week as professor of historical theology at Southern Seminary, capping off a long and distinguished career. As I thought about his retirement, I reflected on what I’ve learned from this iconic Baptist historian, and it was hard to find a place to start.

I could start with how my life was changed by reading his book, Baptists and the Bible…

I could start with what it was like to be on the other side of Tom Nettles’ questioning in a doctoral seminar room, or in a dissertation defense (he was on my doctoral committee).

Or I could start with what it was like to co-teach a Sunday school class with him.

But the moment I learned the most from Tom Nettles didn’t come in a book or a doctoral seminar or in church ministry together. It didn’t happen in a faculty meeting after we became colleagues. It happened at my little apartment doorstep, and I’ll never forget it.

My wife Maria had just suffered a miscarriage, our third lost pregnancy. The doctors had told us that we’d never be able to have children. Our house was sorrowful. I was growing despondent and even bitter toward God. I could see all of my friends becoming parents, and I was looking at a lonely future with just the two of us and, I feared, a house-full of cats.

Tom and Margaret Nettles were the first to our house. He didn’t exegete the Book of Job, or reiterate his lecture notes on the sovereignty of God and personal suffering. He sat with us, in silence, for a long time. He wept with us, and prayed with us.

As they were leaving, though, he stopped at the door and he spoke words I still hear.“Russell, Romans 8:28 is often quoted at a time like this, and rightly so, but I think you need to hear Romans 8:29,” he said.

“God has promised you something. He has promised to do whatever it takes to conform you into the image of Christ, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. I don’t know why this is happening to you and Maria. It’s awful. I can’t tell you the reason God is permitting you to walk this path, and I can’t tell you exactly where He is taking you in it. But I know this. God is committed to shaping you into the image of Jesus, and that’s for your good. He hasn’t forgotten you and He hasn’t forsaken you.”

There are many things I don’t understand, but I choose to trust the goodness of my loving Father, who is always in control and will ultimately use all things for my good and for his purpose.