I am a cancer survivor and struggled with the threat of it returning for years. My late wife was diagnosed with a terminal illness just before our marriage and given seven years to live. Her numerous health challenges permeated every minute detail of our lives and finances for over three decades. My father was the victim of a horrible accident and died from multiple injuries weeks later. I could go on and on.
Throughout the years, we were accused of not having enough faith, as well as having unconfessed sin in our lives, which is what caused the health challenges and hardships we faced. We were often told that it was God's will and that He 'allowed' it to teach us a lesson so that it could be used to help others when they were facing similar challenges. Some told us we needed deliverance from demons of sickness that were dwelling in our bodies. Needless to say, these "friends' of Job" weren't very good at uplifting and edification!
I had been consoled and counseled by others - who I am sure were well-intentioned - but the best they could offer was only shallow spiritual platitudes – which I think were said more out of their fear of facing the very issues I have had to confront for decades rather than from a deeply personal and experientially emotional understanding.
My wife and I spent 37 years together before she finally succumbed to the ravages of her multiple debilitating health issues. Her final months and days upon this earth, before she graduated to glory, were excruciating and painful beyond comprehension.
Most of what I was taught in my Ministry education and training was, at the very least, inadequate to prepare me for the long and arduous journey I was forced to travel. I had struggled for decades trying to reconcile the love and goodness of God with the pain and suffering we faced hourly, as well as with our loved ones, and even people around the world.
It took almost 15 years, as I was confronted by life's challenges, to learn how to look at them through the prism of God's loving goodness in the light of His character and nature. That taught me to stop asking 'why,' and instead, say to Him, "I don't understand Lord, but I will love and trust you anyway." I made the choice, and live by it to this day, to hang my life on the promise of Romans 8:28:
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (NIV)
Historically, the verse above has been used to teach that every situation, no matter how terrible, will turn out "good" if a person loves God. A significant reason for that is the way the verse has been translated in many versions, such as the KJV and ESV.
Grammatically, the Greek text can be translated in two different ways, with two completely different meanings. In the Greek, the phrase "all things" can be nominative (the subject) or accusative (the direct object) or used adverbially (i.e. "he works IN everything). If it is nominative then the verse should be translated, as it is in many versions, that "… we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…" (KJV). Of those choices, the adverbial use best fits the scope of Scripture because not everything that happens is God's will, but IN everything that happens, God is working for the good of those who love Him.
The Will of God
Many believe that everything that happens, whether good or bad, is God's will, and they translate the Greek text in a way that supports the belief "all things work together for good." As a result, some suggest that the phrase "all things" is using "all" in its limited sense and refers to less than "all" things. However, this weakens the statement so much it becomes almost pointless. There are times when "all" can mean just "some." This happens in two ways. The first is by seeing "all" as a figure of speech (synecdoche) in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for the part. The second is that the context of the verse limits the meaning of all to the "all" in the context, or "some" overall.
The problem with "all things" being a synecdoche is that there is nothing in the context that demands it, and no apparent reason for it. Usually, when "all" is used for the greater part (i.e., "most things"), the synecdoche is obvious, and the more significant part can justify the use of "all." That does not appear to be the case here.
It seems very clear from both the Bible and life itself that everything does not work together for good just because a person loves God. Many evil things happen to those who love God. The earth is a war zone, with the forces of good fighting the forces of evil. Sometimes, the devil can wreak havoc on God's purposes. Everything does not even work for good for God Himself. God wants everyone to be saved, but not all all be; He wants people to come to a knowledge of the truth, but all do not; He wants people to obey and love Him, but not all do (1 Tim 2:4-6). So, if all things do not work together for good for God Himself, how can all things work together for God's people?
In the lives of many Christians, especially in the early years of the Church in the Roman Empire, it is likely that very many things did not work out for the good of the Christian. The same problem exists when one tries to make "all" mean "some" by the context. It just does not seem to be reasonable here. The setting of the verse is the fallen world, and that the world as a whole is subject to the bondage of corruption (Rom 8:21). This bondage is so widespread the whole world is groaning in pain (Rom 8:22); all humans groan in pain (Rom 8:23), and even the Holy Spirit groans in pain (Rom 8:26). The groaning in this context is worldwide and seems to cover the creation itself, so there is no reason to conclude that "all" is being limited here to "some" or even "most" in this section.
Because God is sovereign, He cannot make everything good, but in every situation, He works for the good of those who love Him. He entered into the world as human flesh in the person of Jesus and He continues to put forth power (Gk: 'sunergeo') on the behalf of every Born-Again Christian in every situation of life they find themselves in and "engage in cooperative endeavor, work together with, assist, help" (BDAG), in every event they will face in their life in order to produce what He knows to be the very best for them because He is a good God and only wants the best for them.
The Called Ones
The Greek word translated "called ones" is ‘kletos’ and it means "called." In the sentence, "called" is an adjective used as a noun, which grammatically is referred to as a "substantive." In addition, the word "kletos" is referred to as a "verbal" because even though it is an adjective, it always implies an action because it is impossible to "call" or "be called" without an action having taken place. The word "called' is a technical term for Born-Again Christians.
Although most English versions translate 'kletos' as a verb, that is not accurate. In the New Testament Epistles, the substantive 'kletos' refers, not to those who have only been called, but to those who have accepted the call (1 Cor 1:24). The 'call' is no longer just an external invitation because it has been accepted and appropriated by becoming Born-Again (Matt 20:16, 22:14; Rom. 1:6, 7; 1 Cor. 1:2, 24; Rev. 17:14).
God wants "all people to be saved" (1 Tim. 2:4) and has called, or invited, everyone who has ever, and will ever, live. However, because God is love, He gave every human being free-will to make choices. As a result, not everyone chooses to answer the call and be saved. So, in the New Testament Epistles, "the called ones" refer to those people who have accepted God's call because they made the free-will decision to answer His call and get saved (Born-Again). God is at work on their behalf in every situation they face, whether good or bad.
Does God 'Allow' Bad Things to Happen?
God enters into every life circumstance of the Born-Again Christian to work it out for the best. That doesn't mean that God "causes" or "allows" bad things to happen so that He can test or try one's faith to make them a "better" or "stronger" person or to discipline or punish them. He knows that awful things can happen and has already made a plan to work it out for their best. God is a good God. If a person gave their adult child the keys to their car, and the child gets drunk and kills someone, they did not directly 'allow' it, nor would they be held responsible in a court of law for merely giving them the keys (i.e., free will).
The word 'allow' implies authorizing, permitting, enabling, and giving permission for evil in this case, which is absolutely against the very character and nature of God. If you were accused of doing what people accuse God of doing, you would be arrested for child abuse – and they would throw away the key!
The Bible says that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father (James 1:17). He is NOT the author of sin and all its effects in this world. Nor is He culpable or responsible for it. He is holy, perfect, righteous, and, most importantly, love.
God created the FACT of free will but did not create the ACT of free will. That is up to every individual person on the planet. That doesn't mean God 'allows' bad things to happen - it means He knows they can happen and has already made a plan to work it out for our best. God is a good God.
There are four Greek words in the Bible that have been translated as 'allow.' They are:
1. 'Dokimazo,' which means to "prove with a view to approving" (Rom 1:28, 14:22; 1 Thess 2:4)
2. 'Ginosko,' which means to "know intimately, be aware, feel, perceive, understand." (John 17:3, 25; Acts 19:15)
3. 'Suneudokeo,' means to consent or fully approve" (Luke 11:48; Acts 8:1; 22:20)
4. 'Prosdechomai,' which means to wait for, as opposed to rejecting (Acts 24:15).
None of these words are attributed to God's character and nature in any context. God desires only the best for His people who He calls His Bride because He is head over heels in love with her (Rev 21:9). He desires to pour out (not restrain) blessing upon blessing to those who trust Him with their entire being. Blessings are diametrically opposed to evil.
God is omniscient and knows the end from the beginning in every possible scenario that could ever be conceived, no matter what free will choice is made. He knows all possible outcomes and retains His divine providence without hindering the libertarian freedom of humanity (Gen 50:20). He has infinite and perfect knowledge of the past, present, and future because He lives outside of the time-space continuum. God has chosen to know everything. That makes Him sovereign and loving, not complicit or culpable when bad things happen.
The Discipline of God
Because God is love, He disciplines His children. The enemy wants Christians to believe that this means He "punishes" or "scolds" or "spanks." However, the truth is that God doesn't use sickness, disease, tragedy, or suffering as His "rod of correction," only the evil one does.
The root word in discipline is "disciple." A disciple is a student. Discipline primarily refers to educating and training. When God "corrects," it is predominantly to redirect one's path by making course corrections as they travel on the road of salvation. Sometimes it can even be a complete paradigm shift. The Bible says that Christians are not to:
"…make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?" (Heb 12:7-11 NIV)
The words "discipline" and "chastening" used in the New Testament are the Greek words "paideia" and "paideuo." Their primary meaning is tutoring, educating, training, or nurturing. The fundamental context of the Hebrews passages listed above is that God is a GOOD and LOVING Father who educates and trains His children by nurturing them in love.
The Bible admonishes earthly fathers not to provoke their "children to wrath but bring them up" (nourish them) in the nurture" (Gk: paideia) "and admonition" (mild reproof) of the Lord" (Eph 6:4). God doesn't use corporal or physical punishment as a way to discipline His children.
The Bible tells us that God's way of disciplining is by not supernaturally intervening on a person's behalf when they step over into darkness, when they walk in pride, when they refuse to learn, or when they reject His training (James 4:6-7; 1 Peter 5:5-6).
Christians initiate their discipline by opening up windows of opportunity for the enemy to gain strongholds. God is ready and waiting to supernaturally pull the person out of the darkness the instant they repent. The primary teacher and trainer of every child of God is the Holy Spirit - not a sickness, suffering, or disease! (See Luke 12:12, John 14:26)
Free Will
Because God is love, He gave human beings the free will to choose to accept or reject Him and to love or hate Him. He knew that sin would enter into the world, but He is not the author of sin. As the Creator of ALL things, God knows in advance, just as a parent can understand the choices their child will make in a given situation, whether or not they actually make them. God knows what human beings would choose independently from the materialization of that choice and then predestines and saves the one He knows will choose Him.
God perfectly accomplishes His will in their lives (Matt 11:23). Even though He knows the outcome of every possible decision that will be made and what choices a person could make, whether they are good or bad, He does not actively bring about overt acts of sin, suffering, or pain, because He is a good God.
In other words, God knows what free decisions people will make independently of His controlling decree. He knows from eternity past what a person would have done, or would do, in any hypothetical circumstance or situation, but He does not necessarily pronounce what will happen.
Jesus told Bethsaida that if He had come to Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. He knew this even though it did not happen because He knew what would, and knows what could take place in any given circumstance (Matt 11:21-24; Luke 10:13-14).
God knew what would happen if David remained in Keilah, and what would happen if he did not (1 Sam 23:1-14). God told Moses that the Israelites would forsake God after they were delivered from Egypt (Deut 31:16-17).
Because God is good, He would never actively bring about overt acts of evil, or suffering or pain, or sin even though He has foreknowledge of evil acts (See also Deut 28:51-57; Prov 4:11; Jer 38:17-18; Ez 3:6-7; Matt 12:7; 17:27; 23:27-32; 24:43, 26:24; Luke 4:24-44,16:30-31, 22:67-68; John 15:22-24, 18:36, 21:6; 1 Cor 2:8). God does not unilaterally or causally determine every outcome of any unforeseen event as that would be at the expense of human freedom.
God's omniscience affords Him the knowledge of all truth in every potential situation, whether before the beginning, in the middle, or at the ending under all possible interpretations of any component. God knows every possible future of any possible choice, and in His infinite wisdom, has planned for every contingency. Before God spoke the world into existence, He knew what each person would do independently and freely choose if placed in any possible circumstance or situation and then arranged the world in such a way as to bring about His will using their free choices.
The sovereignty of God's providence can both elect the Born-Again Christian, and they can also come to Him freely by their choice without being contradictory or predetermined. It affirms that God alone grants salvation, while still allowing for every human being to voluntarily accept, resist, or even reject the Gospel message of God's grace because He definitively knows if a person were placed into a particular situation, they would not reject it. God is the one who draws all people to Himself (John 6:44). He is absolutely trustworthy as defined by His omnipotent, immutable, and omnipresent attributes. All of Creation reveals the infinite perfection of God's wisdom (See Ps 139).
God's grace is unequivocally necessary for any action towards salvation. He did not create the world based upon the assessment and evaluation of a person's future choices that are freely made. His sovereignty allows for providential control and foreknowledge of multiple possibilities that each and every free will choice could bring or cause in this world.
God has "allowed" peace, joy, and hope to be available to every person who proclaims that Jesus Christ is Lord and entrusts their entire being to Him. Through the shed blood of Jesus complete spiritual, emotional, and physical healing/deliverance was provided. It is the merciful goodness of God that leads people to repentance (Rom 2:4).
God's great promise is that He will enter INTO every circumstance and come alongside every Born-Again Christian to make it right and work it out for their best. That doesn’t mean it will as end as the person desired.
God doesn't create horrible circumstances so that He can provide "opportunities" to prove He is faithful or so that people can prove they trust Him during hard or trying times or grow spiritually! Nor does He use, or allow, sickness, disease, tragedy, or suffering as "loving" correction of His children.
God will never neglect His Bride or prevent her from experiencing deep intimacy when she cries out in desperate longing for more of Him. He has blessed her with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3). He only gives her gifts that are good and perfect because He is a good God (James 1:17).
