I delivered this message at Calvary Baptist Church in Findlay, Ohio, in 1999.
Prefer what I actually said? Read the transcript (lightly edited for readability).
Introduction. I believe that this is one of the greatest promises found in all of Scripture. This promise is so familiar, yet sometimes we lose the reality of what is really being said here. We say that we believe it, but oftentimes we don’t live like we believe it. While this promise is full of theology and rich in doctrine, it is one of the most practical of all the promises found in the Word of God. This promise is so applicable to our daily lives that it has bearing on every single event of every day.
When this promise is fully understood as to the magnitude of what it promises, a great stability will come into your life. It becomes a solid ground on which nothing can shake you. In a sense the one who possesses this promise is invincible, because he realizes that nothing can happen to him outside of God’s will for his life. He lives his life in confidence and trust in the God of Romans 8:28.
I would like us to notice two things about this great promise: first, what the promise is, and second, who the promise is for.
I. What the promise is. (The promise is powerful.) 28a
What a great and practical promise we find here in God’s Word, one that can bring great comfort into the life of a believer. I would like for us to notice four things about this promise from the first statement.
1. The certainty of the promise is secure (“And we know”). Notice the confidence with which the apostle speaks. There is no doubt in Paul’s mind that this is true; he has seen it true in his own life over and over again. And this isn’t just the apostle Paul’s opinion—this is inspired truth from God’s Word, so we know it’s true. It is not that this promise is a good possibility, or that God will do it if we keep our end of the bargain. This is an unconditional guarantee. The word for know is the Greek word oida, and it has the idea of an absolute knowledge. How does the apostle speak with such confidence? Because he has embraced this promise by faith. Oftentimes we will not understand why things are happening; they will not always make sense. But that is where faith comes into play—even when we don’t know why, faith believes God for what he has said. So whatever this promise entails, we can be sure that it is true.
2. The extent of the promise is endless (“that all things”). Our first response would be to question it. Can this really include all things? The context is discussing suffering specifically, but it is not outside the scope of the verse to include all things: a death in the family, a car collision, an earthquake like the one in Turkey—or when you lose all of your family, possessions, and money like Job. I believe that if we are to be biblically accurate, we must conclude yes. There is absolutely nothing outside the scope of this promise. Nothing that happens to you or someone else, nothing that someone does to you or someone else, and nothing that you do can fall outside the scope of this blessed promise (see vv. 31–39).
3. The source of the promise is sovereign (“work together”). God is clearly the source of this promise; he is the one at work behind all the events of life. These things do not just happen by themselves—God is the active being behind them all. There is no such thing as luck, or chance, or an accident, or fate; that would imply that things just happen with no cause and for no reason. Nothing can happen to you outside of the will of God. He is never passive, pacing around in heaven hoping everything turns out okay; he is actively bringing to pass his perfect plan, working all things after the counsel of his own will (Eph. 1:11). It is impossible for anything to happen to you that God does not ordain to be.
4. The result of the promise is rewarding (“for good”). Oh, what a comfort these last two words are. If we had a God who did whatever he pleased and controlled all the events of life (and we do), that alone would offer us no real comfort. But we not only have a powerful God who does what he pleases; we have a loving God who is committed to doing us good. There are two driving factors that motivate every action of God: he does everything for his glory—read Isaiah and the Psalms and you will continually find God acting for his own glory—and he does everything for our good. These two motives are not in conflict, but are one and the same. By good we do not mean physical good—health, wealth, and prosperity—which may or may not be part of God’s plan for you. We mean spiritual good; and the greatest good of all is growth in grace, conformity to the image of Christ, and a closer walk with God. Take Joseph, who was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, lied about, and thrown into prison; yet he remained faithful to God, because he realized that nothing could happen to him outside of the will of God. As he said in Genesis 50:20, “You thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good.” Even the evil of others cannot thwart God’s plan to do us good.
II. Who the promise is for. (The promise is particular.) 28b
What a great and powerful promise we have seen; but we must notice that it doesn’t extend to all men alike. God nowhere promises to work all things together for the good of all men; this promise has no benefits for those who are outside of Christ. The verse gives us two qualifications that limit its beneficiaries: those who love God, and those who are called by God. This does not describe two groups of people, but the same group in two different ways. This promise is for all truly born-again children of God.
1. To those who love God (“to them that love God”). Here we have a description of the believer in his relationship to God. All true Christians love God, and only true Christians will love God; a lost man cannot love God, because men by nature are haters of God and lovers of self. It is grace that creates in our hearts a love for God—I John 4:19 tells us that we love God because he first loved us. This is a positional truth. I have heard it preached that only those things you do when you are completely right with God will work for your good, because that is when you truly love God; but I believe we are dealing with a specific group of people, not just a limited action by those people.
2. To those who are called by God (“to them who are the called according to his purpose”). Here we find the cause of the previous statement: the call of God precedes and is the cause of a man’s love for God. Any love for God cannot be credited to us, but must be credited to God’s effectual calling. The theology of calling is closely related to the doctrine of election; the effectual calling is the outworking of God’s purposes in election. This is not the general call that Scripture sometimes talks about, but the effectual call, which guarantees salvation (see vv. 29–30). Every single person who is called of God in this way will be saved. If you are saved today, you must give the credit to grace and God’s effectual calling. The same God who was sovereign in your salvation is the same God who is sovereign in the circumstances of life.
Conclusion. We have seen what this promise is and who it is for. Today, if you love God—giving evidence that you have been called by God—then believe in the God of Romans 8:28. Won’t you embrace this promise as true? Your life will gain a real stability and confidence in the face of any trial or suffering that may come your way, when you believe in a sovereign God who has promised that he will work for your good. I pray that you will truly take hold of this promise, that it might change the way you go through life.