Romans 8:28 (Providence Part 1)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. All things work together for good. That's where we're going to be looking at this morning. So if you would, turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 8.

Romans chapter 8. And as for this statement, all things work together for good, I'm sure there are some people who question that. I mean, how can that possibly be true? But let me point out a few things at the outset.

Nobody is saying that all things are good. All right. Understand that. Nobody is saying that. But as believers, we know this term, this phrase comes from the scripture here. So this is a promise from the word of God.

But notice, we'll see there is a condition attached to it. It's not all things work together for good. There is a condition. So we will give a little context for this statement because that's going to be necessary.

We're going to start reading in verse 18 in a moment. But in Romans 8, what's happening here in Romans chapter 8? Well, the apostle Paul is speaking to the church at Rome. He is assuring the saints that there is no condemnation in Christ and that nothing in all of creation can separate them from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

And he's trying to convey this sense of comfort and security that no matter what believers are going through, God loves them. And he is causing all things to work together for their good. So that's kind of the general context of the chapter.

Look at Romans 8, starting in verse 18. The apostle Paul says,. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

So understand that this refers to when Christ returns to raise the dead. That's what he's talking about here. So in light of that, Christ returned and the dead are raised. The things that you go through in this life are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed.

Look at verse 20. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it. And hope, because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

For we know. And notice what Paul's saying there. He doesn't say we think. You know, I kind of hope this is the case. He says we know. And when we get to Romans 8, 28, all things work together for good, he's going to say that again.

And we know. But he says in verse 20 or 22, for we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. I mean, these are the floods, the natural disasters, the acts of God, as it were.

Verse 23. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the spirit. This is referring to believers who have the Holy Ghost. Even we ourselves grown within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

And again, this is speaking of the resurrection of the dead. For we were saved in this hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For why does one still hope for what he sees? Verse 25. But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Likewise, the spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought. But the spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now, he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

So if I can just stop here for one moment, this is the context. We all live in a fallen world. I don't think you're getting many arguments about that. We live in a fallen world where there is a great deal of suffering.

But the hope that the Christian faith offers, the hope that Christ offers, is not just hope for the world to come. It's hope for God's help and his comfort that he gives us in this life. Even having the Holy Spirit praying for us, if you will.

And now here's that statement. And this does give us great hope. I think of all the verses in the Bible that give me hope and comfort. This is it. Here's the statement in verse 28. Paul says, and we, what?

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. And some translations put it this way, that God causes all things to work together for good.

But did you notice the condition? Because it would be misleading to tell people or to teach people that just all things work together for good. Like people kind of know. I don't know. Something doesn't quite sound right about that.

What's the condition? The Bible teaches all things work together for good to those who love God. So if you are rebelling against God, if you do not love God, if you have no intentions of serving God in this life, there's no promise here for you.

This doesn't apply to the people who do not love God. This promise is for those who are called for those who are called according to God's purpose. Paul continues on in verse 29 for whom he foreknew that is speaking of God.

He foreknows of people for whom he foreknew. He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he, which is Christ, he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called, and whom he called, these he also justified, and whom he justified, these he also glorified.

So the called here, this refers to true believers in Christ who at the last day will be raised from the dead and glorified. This group is called God's elect. God's elect. Verses 31 through 33. What then shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, and who's the us here? Because everything has to be taken in context. Who's the us? It's not all of humanity. The us refers to God's elect. If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all.

How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against who? God's elect. It is God who justifies. So do all things work together for good? I'm asking you now. Do all things work together for good?

Well, yeah. The answer is yes and no. If you are one of God's elect, then all things work together for good. Because what's the end? What's the end for God's elect? Glory. Heaven. Being raised from the dead unto eternal life.

So all things work together for good for God's elect. But for those who reject God, those who do not love the Lord Jesus Christ. Last week we talked about clarity. Right? And those things that are just very clear in the Bible.

There is no neutrality. Well, what about those who do not love the Lord Jesus Christ? What is their end? Well, the same author addresses this in 1 Corinthians 16, 22. Paul says, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha.

In other words, let him be a curse. These are the two options. All things work together for good or let them be a curse. It's your choice. So God does not cause all things to work together for good to those who despise God's only begotten Son.

Don't we understand this? If somebody has something against you. If somebody says something critical of you, you may be able to brush that off. You may be able to forgive if you have some personal enemies.

But if somebody hates and loathes your child, you generally have no tolerance for that. Do you? I mean, that's just whole nother level. That's how God feels about his son. You hate the Lord Jesus Christ.

How do you think God's going to respond? Well, we kind of just saw that. All right. Let's look at some examples of this in the scripture. Shall we? So let's turn to Genesis chapter 37. Genesis 37. Because someone might be hearing this and wondering, okay, all things work together for good.

Even to those who love God. How can this be? How could all things work together for good or for someone's good? I will remind you again. Never does the Bible say that all things are good. Rather, God is able.

Here's the idea. God is able to cause all things to work together for good. We saw the word predestination back in Romans chapter 8. And this is tied in with the overall subject of God's sovereignty. Another word that you are familiar with is providence.

Or the term divine providence. Providence, the hand of God which guides human history no matter what's happening in the world. God's involved. I mean, we can't figure out how or what's going on. But God is involved.

So God is all-knowing and all-powerful. Let's go back to the basics just for a moment to help us understand this. God is both all-knowing and all-powerful. What are the two theological terms for this?

Omniscience and omnipotence. So, omniscience refers to God's knowledge of all things. God knows everything. He is omniscient. Omnipotence refers to God being all-powerful. He's called God Almighty, right?

So because God is all-powerful and because he is all-knowing, he is able to orchestrate anything and everything to bring about his will, his desired outcome. And he is able to do it without turning mankind into what would amount as basically a pre-programmed robot.

Now, we don't have time to get into this whole debate over the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. But I think it's important that we at least touch on this. So if somebody asks me, Pastor, which one do you believe?

Do you believe in the sovereignty of God or do you believe in the responsibility of man? You know what my answer is? Yes. Yes, the scripture teaches both. Sometimes people refer to the responsibility of man by calling it free will.

That's kind of the popular term. I don't really care for the term free will because going back to last week again, it implies neutrality. That you're completely free to choose God or to not choose God.

To live a holy life or to live a sinful life. Mankind is not neutral. Mankind does not have free will in that sense because the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 6, speaking of natural man, that he's a slave to sin.

Mankind does not have free will in that regard. But mankind is responsible. We are volitional creatures. You can make decisions. God is not the puppet master. He has not pre-programmed you. So you have a will.

Alright. So the Bible teaches both. Alright. I just wanted to bring that up because it's important when discussing this topic. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Loris Cornick Church.

If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, loriscornickchurch .com. We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett.

Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.