How do we know that all things will work together for Good?

Introduction

Paul began this chapter with a statement about the security of the believer and now he is going to end the chapter on the same note. It is easy to believe God hasn’t forgotten me, God is my father and I have a great inheritance to look forward to, that God’s Spirit living in me promises me all kinds of spiritual blessings when things are going well.

I remember a scene from Mom’s Night Out a Film by the guys who made Fireproof where Glenda the super pious lady in a ladies bible study is talking about how God always has a front row parking spot just for you. And you can’t help but want to nob your head because it makes sense that God has good things for you.

But Paul claims in vs 17 that suffering is the path to glory. Life for the Christian isn’t a bed of Roses. We don’t get our front row parking spot all the time here on this earth. These Christians had it a lot harder than we have it today. They were placed in coliseums to be killed by lions like Prosepina. They had their homes ransacked and burned for their faith. Their families disowned them because of Christ.

And yet Paul makes a startling claim in vs 28 where our text begins today: God is working all things for good. God takes those dark threads of our lives and weaves them into a beautiful tapestry. All the pain and suffering has a purpose for those who love God. This is not a condition. The verse is not saying if you would just love God more He would take your pain and make it worthwhile. Rather loving God and being called are true of every Christian. God is taking that suffering and sorrow that causes us to groan and he is working a masterpiece.

I tell you this now and you are probably saying Amen in your heart, but you know who struggles with believing what I just said:

The wife whose husband has come home drunk again and beat her for just being there. As she huddles in a corner crying her eyes out, she doesn’t know how life could be good.

The girl whose boyfriend just broke up with her for another girl feels as if the world has just ended. What her parents don’t know is that she is now pregnant and she feels all alone.

The man whose husband just died of cancer. He doesn’t know what he is going to say to his three little kids or how he is every going to take care of them. What will life be like without their mother?

When I am there, do I really know its al going to work out for good? In those moments do I truly believe it will all turn out alright? Paul began the verse with two key words and we know; well how do I know? Its one thing to say it but I have seen a lot of hurt in our world and nothing good seems to come out of it; so Paul how do I know this thing you say I know?

Rather than get stuck in the weeds today, I want us to look at four ways that we can know all things will work together for our good from the remaining verses of Romans 8.

Scripture Promises It vs 28

The first reason I know that God will bring good out of my suffering is because the bible declares it. You might think this is obvious, but sometimes we throw out the obvious because we don’t like it. Paul in this passage gives us a promise.

All things- This isn’t limited to the things I do for God, it isn’t even the good events of my life. All things includes the painful things in my life that I can’t understand. It even includes the messes I have made out of my life because of my own wrong choices.

works together- That word together means something. God I believe with the Holy Spirit take all those bad circumstances of my life and makes them work together. Have you ever tried getting two guys who have nothing in common to work together? Like tying the school jockey together with the book nerd for a two legged race. What about if those two boys were fighting each other? The bad and the good are tied together by God.

for good- the verse does not say that the bad circumstances are good. Sexual abuse is never a good thing, pain hurt are not good things. Suffering is not enjoyable and we do not have to love the pain. God isn’t saying your pain is good; rather he is making good come out of your pain.

Isaiah 61:3 “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, To give unto them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they might be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”

Joseph when he was sold into slavery acknowledged: Genesis 50:20 “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” We don’t always see the good that comes out of what we are going through.

What is the good?

There are two ways to look at the good that God is working in our lives:

Current good outcomes- Notice that the verb work together is present tense. God is now working these things for good. God used Joseph’s slavery to deliver Israel in his lifetime. He didn’t know what would happen, but God took his ashes and made beauty from them.

Our future hope- The primary good that God is working is our eschatological, future glory. Life may hurt now, but we know their is a day coming when it will all be made right again. I may not see any purpose in my pain right now, but then I will.

You might be thinking jut because the bible says its so doesn’t mean it is. When you are hurting it is easy to doubt. So how can I start with this being a reason we can know that all things work together for good. How can I take God’s word for it?

We live on the basis of promises all the time. If John says he is going to come repair my furnace I believe him and wait for him to get there. But we all have those friends who say they are going to do something and they never do. You can’t depend on them. They can’t be believed. Words are cheap. Promises do mean something thats why we get upset when they aren’t kept. Their value comes from the person making the promise. If a reliable guy makes me a promise I trust him, but if a flaky guy makes a promise I take it with a grain of salt. God’s promise is reliable because God is reliable. It is in those moments of doubt that we need to lean on who we know God to be. If you don’t have an intimate relationship with Him, you have nothing to fall back on because you have never truly experienced that he is reliable.

God will complete what he started vs 29-30

This morning I desire to finish the rest of chapter 8. This means that I will not be digging into some nitty gritty details of this text. Part of this passage involves some controversy related to Calvinism debate but I do not believe this text can answer that debate on its own; nor do I want to get sidetracked from the purpose of this passage. Paul did not write these words so we would have a greater understanding of the order of salvation. These two verses have often been called the golden chain of salvation and I don’t see any harm in viewing it thus.

The argument that Paul is making here is that God will finish what he started. If he foreknew you, he predestined you, if he predestined you he called you and if he called you he justified you. Those he justified will be glorified. It is a certain result that we can depend on.

God has not forgotten you or cast you away. He is still working though you may not see it.

Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

God is for us vs 31-34

Verse 31- What shall we say to these things?- Paul is referencing back to everything in chapters 1-8. Because of what Christ did what would we conclude. The gospel reminds us that God is for us. If God didn’t love us, if God wasn’t for us why would he have ever done any of the things that he did for us.

Verse 32 gives us a solid proof that God is for us. He sent his son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Here he makes an argument from greater to lesser. If God was willing to give his own son, why would you think that God doesn’t want to give you all things?

I think sometimes we feel because Christianity says you can’t have sex with your boyfriend before marriage, or there are some things you shouldn’t be doing if you love Jesus that that means God doesn’t want us to enjoy good things. If that were the case why did he send his son to die for us. This verse declares that God has given us all things.

What does it mean that God will give us all things? I think there are two senses in which this phrase is used. Primarily, this entire passage looks forward to the future. In fact the tense of the verb give is future tense. So there is coming a day when we will enjoy all the riches and glories of heaven. But just like the good in vs 28, the all things cannot be limited to only the future.

There is a parallel text in 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 “Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” In this verse, Paul declares that everything God places in our lives is for our benefit. They are ours. The reason this verse is parallel with Romans 8 is because of the similiar language. Notice first of all the phrase all are yours, but we also see a parallel in life, death, things present and things to come with the rest of chapter 8. Paul declares the following things are ours. They are in our lives for our benefit:

The men God has placed in your life- Paul, Apollos, or Cephas- Kids you may not always appreciate your parents especially when they tell you something you don’t like, but God has placed them in your life for your benefit. Church people don’t always appreciate different pastors or teachers. They think this one is more exciting than that one and so they look down on certain preachers or teachers, but God has given them all for our benefit. Paul was directly attacking the division in the church based on favorite preachers.

The world- God has given us things to enjoy in this world: nice houses, cars, pets, clothes, food. 1 Timothy 6:17 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;”

Life and death- God gives us a life to enjoy, but notice he also gives us death. How can death be for us? For the believer, death is merely moving day. It ushers in the glories of heaven.

Things to be enjoyed today and things to be enjoyed tomorrow. Some of the joys of life are the things we look forward to. We eagerly anticipate them.

What is the point here? God does desire us to enjoy good things. God is for us; so we should never doubt the heart of God when things get tough.

Vs 33 So when others come against us to accuse us, we know God is still on our side. I can rest secure knowing nothing Satan says will stick, Nothing any one else says will turn God away from me. God is the one who justified me. My sins are paid for by Jesus Christ.

Vs 34 Who can condemn me? Christ died for my sins, rose again and is now seated in heaven at the right hand of the father. But what is Jesus doing there? He makes intercession on our behalf. When Satan accuses us to the father; Jesus appeals to his shed blood on our behalf.

Hebrews 7:25 “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Nothing can separate me from God’s love. vs 35-39

Vs 35- What can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus? Let’s ask this another way what circumstances, events, things can cause God to stop loving us?

tribulation- afflictions

distress- pressing circumstances

persecutions- being pursued by the ungodly

famine

nakedness

peril

sword

vs 36- Quotation from Psalm 44:22 The things that we fear could separate us from the love of God do infact touch us.

vs 37- Nay in all these things-refers back to vs 35- even through all these things we are more than conquerors- we overcome. Just as Jesus suffered and triumphed, the believer will suffer and triumph.

Vs 38-39

life and death- whether I live or die

angels, principalities, powers- satanic forces

things present and things to come- Worry tells us that God isn’t in control of the future. God might not truly remember to love me. There might be something where God will forget me.

height nor depth- there is no where I can go that God will forget me.

any other creature

Conclusion

So let’s tie all of this together. When you are going through painful circumstance, things that don’t make sense; you might feel like God has forgotten you, stopped loving you or even abandoned you. Paul is arguing that that is not the case. In those moments, you need to remember these things.

There are four reasons we can know that all this mess has a purpose. All this pain will accomplish some good. First remember God’s promises. We can trust the promises because God is trustworthy. Second, remember God will finish what he started. You might feel like God has forgotten you, but he is still working in your life to accomplish a beautiful end. Third, God is for you. Any doubt that God desires your good should be settled by remembering the cross. His heart is for you. Fourthly, Nothing, literally nothing can cause God to stop loving you. There is no circumstance that will change that, there is no where you can run away from God to that will change that, there is nothing Satan can do in your life that will change that and even in the midst of our suffering God has not stopped loving us.

This morning I don’t know what you are going through. If you would say Pastor Shirk, I am struggling right now and I am having a hard time believing this is going to end well, at times I struggle with believing God loves me; I would like to ask you to raise your hand so I can pray for you this morning.

In a moment, we are going to have an invitation. This is your chance to respond to the message. I want to challenge you to talk to the Lord about these things. Think about these four ways that we can know God will work it out for good in our lives.