Romans 8: 28
All Things Working Together for Good

"And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the "called" according to his purpose."

1. It applies only to "those who love God" and are "the called, according to his purpose."  In this, it is a working-out of a major theme of Romans, viz. the wonderful doctrine of justification.  There is an absolute quality to God's acceptance of "those who are in Christ," because their sins have been "imputed," as we say, to the Lord and his righteousness to them, and they are in Christ Jesus," as v.1 of ch.8 states.

2. I make my point about limitations of this passage because we should understand that this is not a universal law about life.  It is not a version of the frequently heard platitude that "everything will work out all right."  (I guess, since that is about the opposite of "Murphy's Law," we should call it "O'Brien's Law.")  It has always seemed to me that this kind of optimism ought to have some kind of an award for heroic cheerfulness, even thoroughly-foolish as it is.  It belongs right up there in degree of foolishness with the oft heard adage (often repeated by the very same people) that "people are basically good, and if you just give them a chance, the good will come out."  These are the people who, presumably, do not think, or do not even read the newspapers, and certainly not the history books, and not much of the Bible, either.

3. It is not for everybody that "all things work together for good."  There is a significant limitation regarding the people to whom it applies. 

God means good to us!  He unconditionally loves us, because we are in Christ Jesus and, so, are "justified."  And whether these negative things serve to bring about some greater good to us, or to God's kingdom, to improve our sanctification, or just because God has not deigned to exempt us from the troubles that come upon people of this world -- or a combination of all of these things. God intends good to us!  It is a lesson repeatedly stressed in this chapter and we will see it again.

II. NOW CONSIDER, IF YOU WILL, THE COMFORT OF THIS PASSAGE - THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE BELIEVER.

1. "All things," it says, "work together for good."  It is not that "all things are good."  By that, I mean, that the "things" may, in themselves, be most bitter.  We are not supposed to be smiling in the midst of a tragedy.  It is all right to go ahead and cry!  But then, when the crying has ended and the wound has been healed by time, and by the ministry of the holy Spirit, remember that "God works all things together for good to them that love God."

God causes all things to work together for good!  That is, they will ultimately contribute to good.  William Cowper said it well in his hymn:

His purposes will ripen fast
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste
But sweet will be the flow'r

2. Notice that it does not mean, as people sometimes seem to believe, "God works all things together for goods."  That is, the "good" that is spoken of here does not necessarily mean riches, or comforts, or earthly security.  Sometimes, indeed, many times-- the good is much more abstract and much longer delayed that one would suppose.  One of the reasons that there has to be a heaven and hell in Christian thinking -- even apart from what the Bible says  -- is because evil deeds and good works are rewarded irregularly and non-uniformly in this life.  There needs to be a Heaven to work out God's purposes.  Often we find ourselves like Abraham, who did not receive the final accounting of his life for God, or the fulfillment of God's promises during his lifetime, but represents the "pilgrim" and "stranger" that is in all of us when it is said of him that: "He looked for the city, which had foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

Probably, as I say this, there are numerous people here who remember that you have been "shorted" in life, or that you have been given burdens to bear, or have had to experience things that seem so unfair, compared to what other people you know, have had to deal with.

And all of us, may have deep waters to walk through, that, the Christians in some African or Asian country have gone through.  We may eventually join them in like national tragedy, full well knowing that, as Paul said in Acts: "With much tribulation, we must all enter the Kingdom of God."

Let us remember: "All things work together for good to them that love God."

3. Now, this is not to say that you may not be required to reap what you sown in your life.  That you will do so, is a general rule of Scripture as it is also of life.  Sinful deeds often bring about physical consequences that will ensue, unless God is pleased to reverse the general rule.  Some time ago, a man called me on the phone who was dying from Aids.  He was heartily sorrowful before God and probably even "repentant," in the theological sense of that word.  But he is likely dead now, as a result of his actions.

But even in these cases -- sinful disobedience, lazy mis-management of your life, and stupidity, not withstanding -- God, even in these cases, will use our wrong actions to work for our ultimate good.  Even the man who had aids was turned from his sin to the Savior by the consequences of his sin.  Even we, when we mismanage our lives and succumb to stupidity and suffer it's natural consequences, when we cry out to God in repentance of our sin or confession of our frailty, as the case may be, God will use the sinful deed even if we must suffer the temporal consequence of it.

4. Be certain that this passage teaches that it is God bringing about the good.  This might be understood from the preferred text.  There are two good manuscripts of the New Testament -- one in the British Museum and the other in the Vatican Library which actually read "God works all things together for good."  And the RSV and the NIV both follow them against the advice of the best textual scholars.  All the other equally good manuscripts say "all things work together for good."  But the meaning is the same.  It is God working out things to a good conclusion.  They don't just work out by themselves, but God is actively, sovereignty, making them work together for good.

Here is a late Christmas present to you from God, "the giver of every good and perfect gift."  He gives the gift, whether or not you unwrap it.  But it is wonderful, not only to possess, but to make a part of your life and from which to be comforted.  The gift is the outcome of a view about God that you may have chafed at, in the past.  And when you did, it was hard to consciously benefit from the gift.  For it is based both upon God's sovereignty over all events and based upon his free and absolute justification of the individual who comes to him.  The gift for you this morning is that because of God's sovereign activity "All things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to his purpose."

Unwrap the gift!  If you belong to Christ, it is yours whether you unwrap it or not.  But if you will take it, and apply it to your life, there will be no end of the blessing and satisfaction and comfort that it will bring you in eternity, and probably, also, here in time.  It is truly the gift for the person who has everything!