ALL FOR THE GOOD—Romans 8:28-30
***(Alternate opening: Ask the congregation for favorite Bible verses…)**
Every year, BibleGateway.com releases a list of the most-searched Bible verses on their website. Romans 8:28 is always in the top 5. In the NIV, the verse is, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
This favorite verse is sometimes misinterpreted. The King James Version translates it, “…all things work together for good to them that love God…” Not a bad translation—but often only the first six words are quoted: “All things work together for good.” That sounds nice, sort of like, “Every cloud has a silver lining,” or “It will all work out for the best.” It sounds nice, but is it true?
***If you pick up a nail on your way home today and get a flat tire, how could that be a good thing? A good Samaritan might stop and help, which might be good, but it is more likely that your flat will simply cost you time and money.**
There is a condition, of course: “All things work together for good TO THEM THAT LOVE GOD.” If we love God, can we assume that all things will work out for good—the good that WE think is best? If we love God, can we I expect God to always heal cancer, take care of our family, or make us successful? If things don’t work out so well for us, is it because we don’t love God enough, or God doesn’t keep his promises?
But maybe the verse is about how the things we think are bad are actually part of God’s good design. A popular analogy is a beautiful tapestry: On the back side, the threads and knots are a colorful, ugly mess, but when the tapestry is viewed from the front, the pattern is stunningly beautiful. It is a good analogy, but does God cause bad things to happen as part of his plan?
***The story is told of an old woman, who came out of church one day and fell down the steps. Unfortunately, she hit her head on the concrete, and died. As people gathered at the funeral home to view the body, the pastor heard some trying to make sense of the calamity, saying things like: “This must be in God’s plan.” “It was God’s will and we must accept it.” “She was up in years, and God wanted her in heaven.” “God planned this to test our faith.” At the funeral, the pastor began his sermon with, “My God does not push old ladies down the church steps.”**
The NIV translation avoids some of the misconceptions, by saying, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Things happen—good and bad things—and God makes them work to fulfill HIS PURPOSE.
However, God’s purpose for us might not be a nice life, free from pain or distress.
***Jerry Sittser was a young chaplain at Northwestern College in Iowa, when tragedy struck. He was driving his family in a van on an isolated road in Idaho, when another vehicle crossed the center line going 85 mph, hitting the van head-on. His mother, wife, and daughter were all killed, and 3 children survived. Dr. Sittser said he would go to his grave not knowing why God allowed such a tragedy to happen. He even said, “It’s so awful. It’s never quite settled.” Yet he also said the grace of God and people transformed him.**
God’s ultimate purpose is not a total mystery. It is found in the following verse, Romans 8:29, which says that God’s purpose is for us “…to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, that the Son might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” God wants us to be like Jesus, so that many people will become God’s children, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ!
God takes everything that happens to us—good and bad—and uses it to transform us into the image of Christ.
We have skipped ahead, however, and we need to read all of Romans 8:29-30, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
This raises a lot of questions, about “foreknew…predestined…called…”—questions about election, free will, and human responsibility. We will touch on some of those questions next week, when we look at Romans 9. Here, however, Paul is addressing a different question:
CAN WE COUNT ON GOD TO SAVE US AND MAKE US HIS CHILDREN?
Verses 29 and 30 and bracketed by two great verses about God’s care for his children. Verse 28 says, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Verse 31 asks the rhetorical question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Both verses express God’s commitment to us as his children.
But how involved is God, really? Does he show up only when we desperately need to be rescued, or is he always there, “in all things”? Is he there only when our faith is strong, or when we deserve his favor? Is he there only when we feel his presence and understand his ways, or is he active when we can’t see him at work in our lives?
Verses 29 and 30 tell us that God is with us all the way. He is all in, from beginning to end.
“Those God foreknew…”
God had his eye on you BEFORE you had a chance to do anything good. God loved you before you were able to love him. He knew you before you even knew yourself!
David says in Psalm 139:15-16, “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
No wonder David said in that same Psalm, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”
“Those whom God foreknew he also predestined…”
Ah, predestination! Churches have split, and lives have even been lost, over arguments about predestination. Yet in arguing over the finer points, we might miss the main point.
Predestination does not mean that our lives are scripted, so that every choice we make is set in stone. In fact, part of God’s plan for us is that we do have choices, and in those choices—“in all things,” even bad choices—God works things together for our good.
The purpose of predestination is clear: God “predestined [us] to be conformed to the image of his Son.” God keeps on working with us, until we reach perfection as his adopted children.
Can we do that on our own? In Romans 7, Paul admitted to the weakness of his “flesh”—his sinful human nature. In Romans 8:7, he said, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” We need help!
It is in the weakness of our sinful flesh that God reaches out to save us from the corruption of our own sinful nature.
***A man named Travis Reed tells an unusual story of God reaching out to him as a troubled young man. At age 13, he was baptized by his stepdad, coming off an emotional high at a church camp, because he wanted to date the pastor’s daughter. He had four “dads” in four years, and one of them took him to a Johnny Cash concert. He was touched by the music of Cash—famously “the man in black,” representing the outcasts of life. Later, after being kicked out of the army, he went to a U2 concert, while “yakked out on coke and tequila.” He was overwhelmed with the crowd singing “40,” not knowing that it was based on Psalm 40. Later, after driving around listening to Nirvana (and flipping the bird to everyone he saw), he went home, and God spoke to him. The next morning, driving around listening to U2, he was overcome with emotion, never to be the same again. God reached out to him over and over, to make him his child. (CT, October 2013, pp. 103-104)**
Predestination gives hope to those who feel there is no hope for them. We do not have to find God on our own; God finds us, even at our worst.
“…And those he predestined, he also called.”
Predestination is not automatic; it takes shape in the call of God, and a response of faith.
For some people, that call seems to come out of nowhere. They know little or nothing about God, and they have never considered accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord; but somehow, things become clear, and they hear God calling.
For others, the call of God comes at many times and places, gradually becoming clearer. Some are raised in a Christian home, and go to church and Sunday School, until finally they respond in faith. Some are not raised in the church, but at numerous points in their lives, they sense that God is offering them something better. The call of God might be heard in times of desperation or longing, or in recognition of beauty and a desire to live life to fullest.
***My story is more like that. I didn’t choose the faithful parents who took me to church, while living a consistent Christian life. God took me, when my questions and doubts were too deep for me to escape, and caused me to desire him above all else. My story includes seeing huge cumulus clouds against a blue sky, and learning to trust God in my first job.**
I am sure you have a story of God’s grace as well, and I hope you have begun to identify how he called you, or might be calling you now.
We might think our response to the call saves us, and we would be half right. Faith and acceptance are necessary, but if we look back on our journey of faith, most of us will see the hand of God leading and guiding us, drawing and enabling us to accept his grace. Some will recognize people God placed in their path—friends, teachers, youth leaders, pastors, influencers--who called them to faith on behalf of God himself.
Paul says in Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” The grace of salvation in Christ is a gift, and in some sense, the faith to accept God’s grace is also a gift, as God works in us and through our circumstances and draws us to himself.
“…and those he called, he also justified…”
Throughout Romans, Paul has talked about being justified—being made righteous.
Paul talks about being justified in a legal sense, being declared righteous through the atonement of Jesus on the cross: Romans 3:23-25, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood…”
“Justified” can also mean “made righteous,” or made right in our relationship with God. In Romans 5:1-2, Paul says, “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Justification leads to peace with God.
Both meanings of justification are in view here. Those who respond to God’s call to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord are declared righteous, and enter into a relationship with God that begins to transform them as his children.
“…those he justified, he also glorified.”
The final good, God’s ultimate plan, is for us to join him in glory. It is so certain that Paul puts it in the past tense; our glorious future is already prepared for us.
Is it possible, then, to lose our salvation, or is it, “Once saved, always saved”?
Paul doesn’t seem to consider that possibility in this text. It sounds like salvation is predetermined, from the time God first foreknew his children, predestined them to adoption, called and justified them, and finally glorifies them.
Hebrews 3:14 gives another perspective, however: “We have come to share in Christ, IF INDEED we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.”
The relationship between predestination and free will is a mystery, but we know some things for sure. We know that salvation is only possible because God is actively pursuing his plan and purpose for us. We also know that we must trust him enough to accept his gracious plan for us, revealed in Jesus Christ.
***As an imperfect analogy, consider an astronaut going to the moon. From one perspective, he or she has very little to do with getting there. NASA designs the equipment and calculates the trajectory, and the rocket and capsule are built by contractors. Training is provided, and necessary plans are made. Once the rocket takes off, the trajectory is set, and the landing is virtually assured.
Of course, the astronaut needs to board the capsule, and perhaps do some chores along the way, even though computers take care of all necessary systems. The astronaut is headed for the moon, UNLESS he or she manages to abort the mission.**
The point of the Hebrews passage is, “Don’t abort the mission.” Don’t give up when you find life to be difficult, or when you think a life outside of God’s plan is more fulfilling. Hold on firmly, for at the end of the mission you will “share in Christ”!!!
Paul has a different focus in Romans. Sometimes we might feel overwhelmed by doubts, fears, or the challenges of living as God calls us to live. We know our own weaknesses, and we recognize threats from evil forces. Sometimes it seems like the whole mission is doomed to failure, but Paul assures us that God has it all under control. He planned our mission before we were born, and he set the trajectory of our lives so that we could hear and accept his call to be his children. We are already in a right relationship with him, and we are headed for a glorious fulfillment of his plan to make us his children.
So what do we say about things like predestination and free will? It depends upon what we need to know! We can’t fully comprehend the mystery, but we can know enough to guide us.
To someone who says, “I’m saved, and my future is all set; let’s set that aside and enjoy some of the pleasures and rewards of sin,” I will point out that the wages of sin is death, and salvation is for those who persevere to the end. I might also summarize Hebrews 6:46, which says, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
To someone who loves Christ and doubts whether they are “good enough” or “strong enough,” I will point out that salvation is God’s gift, from beginning to end. It does not depend on our strength or abilities, or even how strong our faith is, but upon God’s work to save us. I will say something like Paul said in Philippians 1:6, [I am] confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
If you are a child of God, God is at work in your life, from beginning to end:
God FOREKNEW you. He knew loved you before you were lovable, and before you loved him.
God PREDESTINED you. He has a plan for your life, and the end of that plan is to be like Jesus, and share his glory forever.
God CALLED you. He reached out to you—through people, the church, the Bible, the circumstances of your life, or events in the world. His Holy Spirit touched your heart and your mind.
God JUSTIFIED you. If you accept Jesus as your Savior, you are made declared righteous for his sake, and your relationship with God is made right.
God GLORIFIED you. It is so certain, that God put it in the past tense. You are headed for a glorious future, with God forever.
God does that for all who belong to him. In all things, he works for the good of those how love him, who have been called to be his children.
Here’s the question: Are you a child of God? Is God working in your life? How would you know?
I’ll give you a clue: YOU ARE HERE TODAY!
I don’t know every event or influence in your life that brought you here this morning, but here you are. Here you are, and right now, God is calling you. God’s good plan for you depends upon how you respond to his call.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” Now that you understand God’s favor in bringing you to this place in time—now that you understand that God is calling you—you can become one of his children, who love him, and have accepted his purpose for their lives. You can be justified, through the sacrifice and victory of Jesus Christ, and you can be headed for the glory God has prepared for you.
