WE KNOW ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD
Romans 8:28-30 - August 8, 2004 – Pentecost 10
ROMANS 8:28-30
28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
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Dear Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
What is your worry this morning? Each one of us, probably a little bit each day, has a certain thing or maybe even more than one thing that we might be worried with or overly concerned about. It wasn’t that long ago that our society realized that stress in this world is a great cause of many kinds of diseases and sickness, because people simply worry too much. As Christians we are not exempt from worry that goes a little further than being concerned. Worry causes us to wonder sometimes what is going to happen next. Worry happens easily to us because of our society in which we live. We read, watch and hear the news; and there is always something else or something new to worry about. Is the economy going to be good or bad? Is the weather going to be good or bad? Is the war going to be good or bad? How high will oil prices go? Will tomorrow ever come? Because of this entire bad news outlook, the world in which we live truly does affect us.
This morning we look at the words that Paul has written knowing in our hearts it is just as he says: We know all things work together for our good. Yet, we may have to sit down either in the morning or in the middle of the day or even at the end of the day and remind ourselves of that fact--that the Lord has all things under his control. When Jesus spoke to his disciples, he said to them: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (MATTHEW 6:33,34). When you are busy about doing God’s kingdom work, we do not worry about earthly cares. Jesus takes care of our earthly needs. Jesus says in the second verse, therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. How true that is. God takes care of tomorrow, and he takes care of today.
Paul says: "We know that all things work together for good." This is our theme this morning—
WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD -- because
I. This is God’s plan for mankind.
II. This is God’s love for believers.
I. GOD’S PLAN FOR MANKIND
Today, when you have a chance, take out your Bibles and read all of Romans, chapter 8. Then before you come to the end at verse 28, which is our text, you will find the encouragement that Paul gives these believers. Paul tells them first of all that they are God’s children. He reminds these believers that they have access to God, because God has taken away their sin through his Son. Paul reminds them that they can pray to God, because the Holy Spirit will even help them when they do not know what words to express. Paul reminds them that eternity is theirs. These are just a few of the things Paul reminds these believers.
Then he comes to these words: 28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. Now today when you go home and read those words in the NIV, you will not find the words quite like that. In my Bible I have crossed them out and use the footnote. The footnote is more accurate. It says God made all things work for our good. God makes all things work for the good as he determines it. We are going to look at the life of the Apostle Paul just briefly again to remind ourselves how he understood these words. You also might want to read the book of Acts again to refresh your memory. In Acts, we found Paul going on many missionary journeys. For the first cities after he was converted, he was kicked out. For the first missionary journeys, every city he was kicked out. At one of the cities he was even dragged out of that city and stoned and left for dead. What does Paul do? Does he run back home to Tarsus that was closer? No, he goes back to all of the cities he was kicked out of to encourage the believers. Paul reminded them: "We must go through much tribulation to enter into the kingdom of God."
Today, he says: "We know all things work together for good." Even though he was kicked out of cities for preaching the Gospel, even though he had been stoned and left for dead for preaching the Gospel, still he was confident to say, 28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God who have been called according to his purpose. Paul realized that he had been called according to God’s purpose. You may remember that in the first part of his life, Paul was known as Saul. Saul was anxious to go out and put to death and in prison those followers of the Way. We would call them Christians today. On one of those journeys when he was traveling to Damascus, the Lord called Paul and in a bright light asked him whom he was persecuting. Then the Lord said Paul would become a proclaimer of the Way and not a persecutor of the Way. Paul had been called according to God’s purpose, and from that time on Paul’s purpose in life changed. His attitude and outlook on life changed. Paul soon realized no matter what happened, whenever, wherever; God had all things work for his good.
Paul doesn’t just say a few things; He says all things, everything. He doesn’t say, "I think things will be alright," but Paul says, "We believe in the depth of our hearts that things work for good.” That is the comfort God gives to us that all things work according to God’s divine plan, not just for His benefit, but for the benefit of the world and for the benefit for the believers.
We may ask ourselves, "What is God’s will?" In general God’s will is as Paul wrote to Timothy: He wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Specifically, when God looks at you and me as believers, He wants us to have the best, maybe not the best in this earthly life necessarily, but always the best in eternity. Still on this side of heaven God does take care of us, and He does cause many things that we might look at as bad to, in fact, be for our good. Jeremiah the prophet defines God’s plans: "’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ’plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’" (JEREMIAH 29:11). We know how it is. Sometimes it is hard for us to live in the present, because we are worried about the future. But God says, "My plans for you in the future are plans for hope." Of course God always looks beyond our short view of the future. Our Lord looks beyond earth into eternity. Our future is that we will spend it with God forever in heaven. On this side of heaven that all things work together for our good.
An example from Scripture, and there are lots of them, is from Genesis 35 on in the account of Joseph. You may remember Joseph, a familiar Sunday school story and Bible lesson. Joseph was the youngest son who was not liked by his brothers; because his father showed favoritism for him. So his older brothers decided as they were out taking care of the sheep that they would get rid of Joseph and put him to death. The oldest brother, Rueben, pleads on Joseph’s behalf to not do that; so they throw him into an empty well. When Rueben leaves, they sold him into slavery; and Joseph was taken to a foreign land, Egypt. Joseph was separated from his family as a teenager. When he is in Egypt, he is thrown into prison for a number of years. Finally, Joseph is taken out of prison and becomes the second man in charge next to Pharaoh. We know the rest. Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharaoh, and they save up in the seven good years because there are going to be seven bad years of drought. Not only did that drought and famine affect Egypt, but all the land around. Finally, even Joseph’s brothers had to come and ask for food. They did not recognize Joseph. Joseph gives them food and their money back. They come again, and he finally reveals himself to them. Finally, Joseph brings his whole family there; and they are given the land of Goshen where they can farm to their hearts content. Joseph’s father dies, and the brothers come to Joseph to tell him that their father said that Joseph should not harm them after he dies. Joseph was overwhelmed. He had never thought of that. Joseph had never thought once of getting vengeance with his brothers, who we would say, ruined his life. For about twenty years he did not see his family or friends. Joseph was a foreigner in a foreign land. After all of this, what is Joseph’s reply in chapter 50 of Genesis: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (GENESIS 50:20) Joseph looked back and he didn’t hold it against them that he had been separated from his family and friends. He didn’t hold it against them that he was thrown in prison. He didn’t hold it against them that he was forgotten and even hated by his brothers. Joseph simply said, "Man’s plans meant it for harm, but God meant it for good, the saving of many lives." So it is the same today. We like Joseph and Paul would say, "All things work for our good.” Man may intend to harm us. God means it for good. He has put us here in this place at this time for the saving of lives, to proclaim the Gospel, as lights in a sin-darkened world. All things work together for good.
We can hear that statement, and we can try to make ourselves believe it. Yet at times worry and stress might still creep in. But God does not leave us alone, does he? He does not leave us to our own plans or devices or our own strength or will. Instead the Lord helps us. Paul writes in Philippians: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (PHILIPPIANS 4:6). As we live thankful lives, worry is washed away. As we live thankful lives, we are not so stressed out; because we are thankful for what God has done for us. We are thankful with our prayers to God saying, "Lord, help us to understand. Lord, help us get through this day and the next. Lord, help us right into heaven itself."
We know all things work together for good. It is God’s plan for mankind and also God’s love for believers.
II. GOD’S LOVE FOR BELIEVERS
There is one thing we know about the Apostle Paul. When the Lord called him out of darkness into his light, Paul realized what a wretched man he had been. During the rest of his life, Paul also confessed what a wretched man he always was. Sin was always there with him. He could not escape it, and he described himself as the worst of sinners. Because of that, Paul realized all the more his thankfulness to God. Paul realized that he did not deserve to have heaven. He did not deserve forgiveness. He did not deserve to be called God’s child. But that is what God did for him, Paul the worst of sinners. That was His plan of love for him.
Verse 29--here is a mouthful: 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Firstborn among many brothers is Christ. Christ came to earth and took on human flesh and blood so that he would know what we are tempted with -- but Christ never sinned. Paul says the believers also are to be conformed to be like the Son (Christ). That always amazed and mystified the Apostle Paul. When Paul looked at himself, he saw himself as the worst of sinners. But when God looked at him, Paul realized that God saw him like the Son of God, because his sins had been forgiven, his sins were washed away. Paul uses that long word, "For those God foreknew he also predestined." God knows everything. God knew that in the history of the world there would be a child born known as Saul who would consider himself a great Pharisee. Yet, in the middle of his life God would change this Saul to serve God. Saul/Paul had been chosen for that purpose. Believers everywhere are chosen a specific purpose that only God knows. We can be thankful God knows what that purpose is for every believer, for each one of us.
In the last verse of our text, he describes this process of being called out of darkness into his light. Our text states: 30And those he predestined, he also called -- like Paul called from darkness into the light. Those he called, he also justified -- now Paul who had been the worst of sinners was just as if he never had sinned(justified) those he justified, he also glorified. Paul looked forward to the time when he would be in heaven and be glorified forever. Then he says, "All things work together for our good."
We wholeheartedly agree. We say with the Apostle Paul, "Praise be to God;" because all things work together for our good out of God’s gracious, great plan of love for us as believers. We are no different than the Apostle Paul. We too walk around in this world with our sinful flesh. We too walk around in this world facing the temptations of the world, to worry about the future. We too walk around in this world in which Satan tempts us to put our trust in ourselves or something else rather than God. God says, "My choice is upon you." There is not one of us here who has gone out of our way to find the Savior, but the Savior has found us by his choice. Listen to this from Timothy: "God has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time" (2 TIMOTHY 1:9). That is predestination that God has chosen believers to believe before the beginning of time, before we were even born. God does this in the sense that he knows all things. This verse from Timothy reminds us that God does this by his grace.
You and I cannot save ourselves. That is a dangerous teaching. If we could save ourselves, we would never know if we have done enough. Instead it is completely by God’s grace. In Ephesians: "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will" (EPHESIANS 1:4,5). We have God’s pleasure and will that we would be saved. If God is so anxious to choose us and to save us, then God is even more anxious to be sure to preserve and protect us. As Paul says we know all things work for our good. God cares for us in a physical sense to a certain degree. But more importantly, especially in the spiritual sense God cares for us because he does not want us to spend eternity in hell. We are no longer servants of Satan, but instead we are sons of God. God who sent His Son Jesus here and called him Son, now calls us his sons and daughters. How amazing! No wonder we can say with Paul, "We know all things work together for our good."
Though some may deny it, there still is God’s judgment. We heard about it in our first lesson. In the account there Abraham pleads with the Lord. In a city of thousands of people God would save them. There weren’t even ten righteous there, and God’s judgment had to come (GENESIS 18:20-32). But the ones who were believers were saved. The Psalm writer describes God’s righteous judgment: "For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever" (PSALM 37:28,29). This talks about heaven, dwelling in the land forever.
We know that in our lives day by day, there are certain things that just seem to make us worry almost to the point of sickness, worry (but hopefully and prayerfully not too often) that keeps us awake at night. That is part of the world in which we live. Our society wants us to worry about the future. We forget to enjoy the present. We might even forget that all things work for our good. God calls all things in our life good. That is God’s plan for mankind. This is God’s love for us as believers, and He promises to help us. In 1 Corinthians we read these words: "God will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful" (1 CORINTHIANS 1:8,9) We know how things work together for good, because that is God’s plan for mankind and that is God’s love for believers and our God is faithful forever. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer.
