More Than Conquerors
Scripture Text: Romans 8:28
Scripture Reading: Phil. 3:9-11; 14-15
Introduction: Video: Opening with a Humorous Look at How Life Might Be Going for some of us: Its entitled ‘Alls Well that Ends Well’ (after video) While I am not sure I fully agree with the conclusion that ‘Alls well that ends well’; the video does kind of reflect how we size up life and our purpose.
Read Romans 8:28
Mention Wuest’s Word Studies translation: “And we know with an absolute knowledge that for those who are loving God, all things are working together resulting in good, for those who are called ones according to His purpose.”
Because of the state of our world, we really need things to ‘work together’. So much of our time is spent dealing with things ‘falling apart’ instead of ‘working together.’ While “Jacob cried, all these things are against me. Paul, all things are working together for good.”
John MacArthur summarizes the verse in his commentary: “as believers in Jesus Christ, we know beyond all doubt that every aspect of our lives is in God’s hands and will be divinely used by the Lord not only to manifest His own glory but also to work out our own ultimate blessing.”
The Outline Bible simplifies the understanding of this verse. It organizes it into two parts: What it involves and whom it involves. The ‘what’ is, “God causing everything to work together for good” and the ‘whom’ is, “Those who love God and are called according to his purpose”
Propositional Statement: We need to check in with ourselves and determine whether we really believe that God causes all things to work together. It’s not as simple as saying, “well, it says that right there in Romans 8:28; so it must be right” We all intuitively believe in our heads that ‘God causes all things to work together for good;’ but do we actually express that belief. Does our belief go beyond our intellectual assent? What I am addressing today, is an examination of what we really accept and believe about what God says in His Word.
A. God Meaning It For Good or For What We Don’t Understand
We find many examples in Scripture of God confirming His Comfort and Love to his people. As we read Genesis, we see that he took very good care of Joseph despite the circumstances that he found himself in. (thrown into a hole, sold into slavery, accused of rape, forgotton about, etc….) And how does Joseph respond to the people who persecuted him in Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. “So therefore, do not be afraid….”
I am certain that there are things that we do not understand in our lives. We may question God, or even become angry at God because of current circumstances. But, we can rest assured knowing that God wants the very best for us. Not our best, or what we expect to be the best; but primarily what we really need.
In a message entitled Christ and Cancer by John Piper, he wrote,
“Satan may be sly but on some things he is stupid because he fails to see that all his attempts to despoil the godly are simply turned by God's providence into occasions for the purifying and strengthening of faith God's goal for His people in this age is not primarily to rid them of sickness and pain but to purge us of all the remnants of sin and cause us in our weakness to cleave to Him as our only hope”
Part of the problem appears to be concerning how we define 'GOOD' in Romans 8:28. If we were to consider goodness; how could we ever think to have the same or greater understanding than God? Paul does not explain what he means by the good, but we must clearly understand it in the sense “final good” or “true good” Romans 8:29 seems to indicate that the meaning of GOOD implies becoming conformed to God’s image. When Paul speaks of them who are called according to His purpose; he means an “effectual call”; and is making a distinction between those who have not only heard the calling, but have also responded to God’s calling.
DA Carson writes, “Nothing that can touch us lies outside the scope of our Father’s providential care: here, indeed, is cause for joy and a rock-solid foundation for hope. We must, however, define the good that God is working to produce for us in his terms and not in ours. God knows that our greatest good is to know him and to enjoy his presence forever.
John MacArthur writes, “No matter what our situation, our suffering, our persecution, our sinful failure, our pain, our lack of faith-in those things, as well as in all other things, our heavenly Father will work to produce our ultimate victory and blessing. The corollary of that truth is that nothing can ultimately work against us. Any temporary harm we suffer will be used by God for our benefit….”
Video: Soul Surfer Bethany (explains why she uses her experience to give others hope)
Author Marshall Shelley, who suffered the deaths of two of his children, writes in the publication entitled Leadership: "Even as I child, I loved to read, and I quickly learned that I would most likely be confused during the opening chapters of a novel. New characters were introduced. Disparate, seemingly random events took place. Subplots were complicated and didn't seem to make any sense in relation to the main plot. But I learned to keep reading. Why? Because you know that the author, if he or she is good, will weave them all together by the end of the book. Eventually, each element will be meaningful. At times, such faith has to be a conscious choice. Even when I can't explain why a chromosomal abnormality develops in my son, which prevents him from living on earth more than two minutes ... even when I can't fathom why our daughter has to endure two years of severe and profound retardation and continual seizures ... I choose to trust that before the book closes, the author will make things clear."
B. God Protects And Keeps True Believers
You may question why it appears that those who don’t follow God are excelling and not dealing with the same difficulties that you are. Solomon said, “Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.” Certainly, the Apostle Paul agrees, “all things work together for good!”
I am going to read you a few verses from Sirach 39 out of the Apocrypha simply because I want to make a point about what it says. The Apocrypha, although not included in the canon of God’s Word; sometimes has helpful supporting information. Sometimes it is just spurious and outrageous. Anyway, it says, “As his ways are plain unto the holy; so are they stumblingblocks unto the wicked. For the good are good things created from the beginning: so evil things for sinners. The principal things for the whole use of man’s life are water, fire, iron, and salt, flour of wheat, honey, milk, and the blood of the grape, and oil, and clothing. All these things are for good to the godly: so to the sinners they are turned into evil.” Let me read that last verse again! In other words, have you ever considered the good things that work together for good ……to them that love God …..and are called according to His purpose?
Let me give you a personal testimony that I think you can identify with. I used to be so irritated by people….sometimes I still do because they remind me of myself (reflecting upon the fact that I do some of the things that I criticize other people for)…. But I would just want to be by myself because I just found no joy in being with essentially what I may refer to as pettiness. But even this last week, I was reminded how much joy can come from fellowship with other Christians who are more about putting others before themselves. It was a real joy to have the fellowship of Jason and some other Christian friends this past week. You see, we can be held in mediocrity if we settle for the worldliness; or we can excel to the pinnacle of God’s Glory if we love God and are worthy of our calling. All the things that God works together for those who love him and are called for His purpose are good! And those same things can be not so good or just plain meaningless if we ignore God; which I simply have no ability to comprehend! How does one miss what God has for them?
C. Another key point that should be emphasized of Romans 8:28 is that God causes these things to work together for the good of them that love God and are called according to His purpose. In some manuscripts, God is considered the subject of this verse, not the things that are working together. They say, “God works all things” in fact, things do not do anything without someone, (speaking of God here) to make them into something. Luther commented, “the Spirit makes all things, even though they are evil, work together for good”, and in recent times a number of scholars have taken up this view.
D. Leon Morris comments on Paul’s phrase “to them that love God” He says, “This is a most unusual way of referring to Christians; it is much more common to find references to God’s love for them.” Jesus said in Matthew 22:37, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. This is important to the understanding of Romans 8:28 because these are the people that the Apostle Paul says God is working all things together for good.
Can you imagine being like the pious Jew who repeated this daily, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’?? Would it become dull or meaningless after being repeated so many times? Let me ask you… TODAY …. “Do you love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind?
In response to that question, I think I would have to join Paul and agree with him as he says, “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members (Rom 7:22).” In other words, there is a war going on inside here (point to heart). Up here, I understand what God says is right, but then we struggle to live it out. Not to mention that this is the commanded law of God quoted in the Book of Matthew; ……..but we really need to practice loving God. And in so doing, we will begin to recognize the good things that God is working together. This is an important point: we will begin to recognize the blessings of God, the good things that he has promised; as we love God and trust Him.
By the way, Scripture says, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” Ephesians says, “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.” James says, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” ….and also he wrote, “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
Please follow along in your Bibles as I read the Christian’s Triumph Song; Which Concludes Paul’s comments about things working together for good: verses 31-39.
In Romans 8, Paul has been writing about a God who, in order to bring salvation to sinners, works all things for good, foreknows them, predestines them, calls them, justifies them, and glorifies them.
It would be wrong to say anything less than that that God is “for” the sinners who are the objects of such love. Let me clarify! Some of us hear this sentence and think that surely God is for us; but then wonder, is He for me? I can understand that God loves us; but what about me individually? Certainly, there are many places in Scripture where the ‘called out ones,’ the true believers are characterized as a fellowship. Even in verse 32, Paul says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” He mentions the true believers; but how does it even make sense that God loves the group, but not the individual? Listen to me here: He Loves You! Music artist David Crowder captures the essence of the relationship in lyric:
And He is jealous from me, loves like a hurricane,
I am a tree Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions
Eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me
And oh, how He loves us, oh Oh, how He loves us, how He loves us all
And we are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way
Oh, how He loves us, oh Oh, how He loves us, how He loves all
When Paul goes on to ask, who can be against us? He means that with God “for us” it makes not the slightest particle of difference who is against us. No foe can prevail against people who are supported by a God like that. The Christian’s confidence is in God, not in anything he himself does, and for all eternity he can rely on God’s gift. Paul says in verse 32, ‘God did not spare his own Son’ Where “Abraham was praised only for his readiness to sacrifice Isaac, for in fact the boy was not offered. God, however, did not spare his own Son, …. Rather, he gave him up for us all, the supreme act of love. …. he stood in our place….” And because he gave His One and Only Son; (look at verse 32) why should we believe He will do any less than also “freely give us all things?”
The believer might well be concerned about his sins and wonder whether in the end they might prevail against him. Paul is sure that they will not. Since it is God who justifies, the believer’s justification can never be overthrown.
The Scripture confirms that, while the love is sure, so are troubles. For the sake of God we face death all day long. Actually Paul says something stronger than this: “We are being killed all day long”. It is real and not imaginary peril that Christians face. Barrett comments, “Suffering and persecution are not mere evils which Christians must expect and endure as best they can; they are the scene of the overwhelming victory which Christians are winning through Christ.”
When the Scripture says we are more than conquerors, it “emphasizes the totality of the victory that God gives his beloved. The ability to triumph over all adversity does not arise from any inherent superiority of believers. It is through him who loved us,….” If none of the things listed here can effect a separation between God’s power and ourselves, then why should we fear? We are here assured that God will always keep us secure in his great love.175 ‘Life’ is listed in verse 38. “Life has persecutions and trials on the one hand and it has tranquillity and pleasures on the other, and any of these could be the means of seducing us from the path of service. But nothing in life can stop God from loving us.” Referring to God’s power, Paul does not say nothing “will separate” but nothing will be able to separate; he is talking about power, and no created being is powerful alongside Our Creator. The love of God mentioned in verse 39 is, of course, God’s love for us and not ours for him. And this love is explained as in Christ Jesus our Lord. We cannot know the love of God apart from Christ. The cross, and only the cross, shows what real, divine love is (cf. 5:8). “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Video: Facing the Giants: Praise Him if we win or Praise Him if We Lose
Each new day brings the challenge to you in realizing that God is for You. There is no need to fear, for Your loving Father desires only the best for You, even if you must as Paul describes it “be killed all day long”.
Will you be one who loves God?
One who is called according to His Purpose?
Be one that get that belief that is up here (in the head) and here (the heart) to some demonstrable faith?
