All Things Working Together Series

All Things Working Together

Romans 8:28

Everyone likes encouragement and today we will look at one of the most encouraging and outstanding promises of God. The context of our study is from verses Romans 8:18-27 which we looked at last week where we learned: After we have been saved by the love and grace of Christ, we still suffer and groan within our hearts as we wait confidently and patiently, like expectant MOTHERS in labor for the completion of our salvation, our glorification in Christ; we wait for the reception of our new and eternal bodies.

But the promise for followers of Jesus from Romans 8:28 says. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good... to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” We can understand the “all things” as everything that has and is happening in our lives. The term “For Good” is GOD’S higher GOOD. It HIS intended end of all things: God is using this earthly timeframe and the happenings in your life in HIS KINGDOM that is NOT OF THIS WORLD. He is preparing a place for satan and all of his angels and followers that will be outside of God’s Kingdom; That place will be a place TOTALLY VOID OF ANY GODLY GRACE whatsoever, which is foreign to anyone on this earth.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good (God’s HIGHER GOOD) So WHO are the beneficiaries of God’s Promise for all things in this life “TO WORK TOGETHER FOR HIS GOOD”.

The Promise Is Not for Everybody

The verse explains that God DOES NOT GIVE THIS PROMISE of “all things working together” to everybody in the world. In effect, Paul says that if you don’t LOVE GOD, you can’t claim this promise. If you don’t LOVE GOD, everything isn’t someday going to work out for “GOOD”. If you are not called according to God’s PURPOSE, you can’t claim this promise. If you do not LOVE God, eternal optimism is not in view. If you don’t love God, pessimism is in view for you because “all things” in your life are NOT going to work for “GOOD”.

If you DO NOT LOVE God, then Romans 2:5 states your present condition: “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” If you are walking through life every day and you do NOT LOVE God, then every day and in every circumstance that happens to you, things may SEEM TO BE WORKING OUT FOR YOU, but ACTUALLY you are storing up eternal punishment for yourself. By not LOVING God, you are refusing to acknowledge and serve Him AS God.

You may appear rich and prosperous or you may appear poor, you may be healthy or sick, you may be ambitious or lazy, but either way, you are STILL storing up eternal wrath for yourself IF YOU CAN’T SAY WITH CERTAINTY: LORD God, I LOVE YOU: God’s Word says that if you do not love God and you are not called according to God’s purposes, ALL of your life experiences are not leading to good at all, but your life is heading to eternal misery. That’s a frightening thought!

Can This Promise Be for Me?

You may be thinking: Who Receives this Promise? How can God’s Promise be True for Me? The promise IS true for you, IF YOU LOVE God! God doesn’t “work all things out for good” because you truly love Him. You truly love Him because He saved you. It doesn’t mean that you love God perfectly because none of us do ANYTHING perfectly, but if YOU DO LOVE God, it means you aren’t going IN AND OUT OF LOVE with God. LOVING God doesn’t mean that when things are going well, you love God because you FEEL LOVED BY HIM, and when things aren’t going well, you don’t FEEL loved, so you don’t love Him.

It isn’t having a Lukewarm Love for God like the Christians of Laodicea. It means that God has called you from the darkness of NOT even knowing Him into the light of LOVING Him. It means that once you were an enemy of God, but now you are a lover of God. For those whom God has called, LOVE FOR God DEFINES your very life. LOVING FOR God DEFINES how you occupy your God-given time, talents and resources.

The Church in our society is ignoring sin and the eternal consequences that will occur on account of sin. MANY Christians have been deceived by the philosophies and THINGS of the WORLD, just like in the Apostle John’s day. OUR DAILY priorities should include times of confession, repentance before God BECAUSE of His Saving Grace and BECAUSE we do not LOVE HIM PERFECTLY. We should be in an attitude of WORSHIP not SUDNAY, but ALL DAY as LIVING SACRIFICES to Him. We spend more time considering “the DAILY NEWS” than we do fellowshipping with the Savior who is THE GOOD NEWS.