We're going to read together
Romans chapter eight, and I'm going to verse 28, a very familiar
verse, I'm sure, to most of us. And it is my plan to take a few
of these verses following. I think I specified verse 30,
but I may actually move through verse 31 and 32 as we continue
our study. Just a short study. a few weeks,
perhaps, on these verses. Romans chapter 8, 28, probably
to verse 32, but we'll leave that open at the moment and see
how things develop. But we're going to Romans 8 and
verse 28 now. This is the Word of God. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Amen. May the Lord bless this
reading to us. God the Father, Being our God
and our Father in the everlasting covenant of grace delights to
do us good. It pleases our God and our Father
to bestow all his blessings and all his gifts of grace and glory
upon his own dear people. It pleases him to do so. In Psalm 84 and verse 11, we're
told, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. No good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly. And I hope we know and understand
that walking uprightly is walking by faith. Walking uprightly is
resting in the uprightliness of the Lord Jesus Christ, resting
in the righteousness of God. Walking uprightly is trusting
in the power of Christ's blood to cleanse our sin and purify
our souls. Walking uprightly has nothing
to do with our own works and all to do with Christ's substitutional
atonement. Every true believer is righteous
in the sight of God. and every child of God is holy
and without blame before him in love. Paul tells us that. So that, like Hezekiah, Everyone
who has faith in the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
like Hezekiah, we walk before the Lord uprightly in truth and
with a perfect heart when we walk before him in faith. And Paul has been telling the
church at Rome in this passage before us, and therefore he is
telling us as well about the great privileges bestowed by
the Lord upon his redeemed people. The great privileges that come
when we are told that no good thing will he withhold from the
people who have faith, the people who walk uprightly before him,
the people who live by the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul has been telling the church
at Rome about the great privileges bestowed by the Lord on his redeemed
people. And he has been telling them
specifically in the verses just before our verse today, which
is Romans 8 verse 28, he has been telling them just before,
in the verses before, about the glory which shall be revealed
in us. This glory is God's free gift
to his people. God delights to glorify his people. God delights to give glory to
his people. It's his free gift to us and
it is the result of us being united with the Lord Jesus Christ,
united in the covenant of grace, united as his body, he being
the head, we being the body. And Paul describes this union
as adoption into the family of God. An adoption which warrants God's
people being called the children of God, warrants God's people
being called heirs of God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ. so that the Apostle Paul has
been speaking about these wonderful blessings, these glories, these
privileges, these goodnesses and kindnesses that are going
to be bestowed upon the Lord's people and indeed are being because
we're going to come to that. That's the point that he's making
here. However, in doing so, the Apostle
is not insensible. insensitive to the troubles that
the believers at Rome face in their own lives. whether by way
of persecution, trials that they have, the problems of living
in such a dissolute, such a permissive, such an idolatrous, such a promiscuous
city as idolatrous city that Rome was. And indeed, all the
Lord's people in every age face such trials. All the Lord's people
who live as pilgrims and strangers in this fallen world are in the
same boat as the church at Rome and the other churches of the
New Testament and all the true people of God ever since. And
Paul acknowledged that those who are heirs with Christ also
suffer with him. And there are several ways in
which this suffering can be understood. We may be said to have suffered
with Christ and suffered in Christ as part of our union with him
when he died for us on the cross. We did not suffer literally. but we did suffer mystically
with Christ. Christ, by being crucified for
us and in our place, represented us so that we may be said to
have suffered when he suffered and to have died when he died. and thereafter we were buried
with him and we rose again with him when he rose again. Such is that representative nature,
such is that union that we have with our head, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Indeed, such is that union, that
mystical union, that we are also said to be already seated together
with him in glory. And Paul will later say in these
verses that them he also glorified, as though our glory is already
accomplished, which in some senses it is. But there's another kind of suffering
too. a suffering that believers encounter
that is real and personal, that is experienced in the lives of
the Lord's people. It's the opposition that we face
in this world, be that from the devil or from our own flesh and
our natural bodies. And the Apostle Paul was not
ignorant of that in any way. Paul himself knew something of
such suffering intimately. He speaks of great physical and
spiritual trials that he personally endured in his own ministry. And even to the point of death,
he was stoned, he was shipwrecked, he was abused, he was imprisoned. He was abandoned. He was maligned. And he knew physical incapacities
as well. He knew what it was to have a
thorn in the flesh which didn't go away. The apostle knew that
sometimes the Lord's people are prone to question if God's assurances
for our good and the promised blessings and the hope of glory
will ever be realised because of the dark shadows that trials
and troubles bring into our experience. And perhaps some of us sometimes
feel that way. I guess the people at Rome did,
I guess the Apostle Paul did, and I guess we do too. We become
overwhelmed by the trials that we face and we lose sight of
God's promises for good. In our times of trouble, some
may wonder, is it possible, is it just possible that these great
blessings may never be realised? And the Apostle's words in Romans
8, 28, an answer to that question. They're designed to comfort and
reassure the Lord's people when life's difficulties threaten
our faith. And I've got three things that
I want to mention, three things that the Apostle teaches us from
the beginning portion of this verse 28. Let me sketch something
out for you, if I will, just so that I don't lose you as I'm
going through these thoughts. I've got three points. I have
three points because Often it's easy to remember three points
and they don't get too confusing. But in my first point, I'm going
to make three other points within that first point. So bear with
me and try and hang on to the thread of what I'm talking about
here. I'll make it as easy for you as I can. Here's the first
point and I just want to take these words we know that all
things work together for good. These are the words that I'm
going to take today as the subject for our attention. And the first
point is, we know. We know. The second point is
going to be, all things work together. And the third point
will be, for good. But let me go back to the first
point then. The first point is this, we know. Paul says we know that all things
work together for good. How do we know? How do we know
that all things work together for good? We know because the
Bible tells us so. And this is a great principle
of scripture. We trust God's word above our
feelings. Let me say that again. We trust
God's word above our feelings. Now you might say to me, I know
what the Bible says, but that's not how I feel. Okay, I understand. but your
feelings are not dependable, while God's promises are. We began by saying that God the
Father is our God and our Father, and all he gives to his people
is our inheritance in Christ. Now I'm jumping ahead a little
bit, but Paul is going to say in a little while in the verses
following, Paul is going to stress this point in verse 32. He is going to tell us then,
he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? If the Father gave Christ the
greatest gift of all, for a sinner like me, how shall he not with
him also freely give me all things? What lesser blessing will he
withhold from me if he's given me the greatest blessing of all? So Paul says, we know. What do we know? I've asked,
how do we know that? What do we know? Well, we know
this for three reasons. This is the first of my three
points within point one. We know that it is God's will
and pleasure in the covenant of peace to do his people good. It is God's will. It is God's
pleasure to do his people good. We know that because that's what
the word of God says. In Jeremiah, chapter 32, verse
40, we read these words. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do
them good. but I will put my fear in their
hearts that they shall not depart from me. And again, in Jeremiah
chapter 30, verse 22, we're told there, ye shall be my people
and I will be your God. These are verses that explain
God's desire to do his people good within that everlasting
covenant of grace and peace. Here's the second reason within
this first point. We know that he is faithful to
do. all that he has promised according
to his will. So not only is it his will and
pleasure to do his people good, we know that he is faithful to
do what he has promised. Lamentations chapter three and
verse 22 tells us, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not
consumed because his compassions fail not. We are variable. but the Lord does not. They are
new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my
portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him. When we are tried, when we are
oppressed, when we are sad, when we are lonely, downcast, when
we are full of doubt, Do we see what Jeremiah is saying here? Though our feelings and our flesh
contends with our faith, though our feelings and our flesh
contend with our faith, our soul says, the Lord is enough. The Lord is my portion. If I
have him, I have all I need. And sometimes it is our soul
that confirms what our minds have come to doubt. That's faith. That's what faith is. When our
soul confirms what our minds have come to doubt. Sometimes
our spirit affirms what our emotions deny. When our thoughts are bowed
down with dark fears, then the Lord is good unto them that wait
for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should
both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It was the soul that Jeremiah
said would hope in the Lord. When he felt that weight of sadness,
when he felt that Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. When
he felt that downcast place and that depression, it was his soul,
it was the soul of the man of faith which laid hold upon the
Lord, even to the denial of the physical and emotional and psychological
stresses that he felt. The Lord is good unto them that
wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that
a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the
Lord. Why is it good? Because the gifts
and calling of God are without repentance. And God is faithful,
by whom we were called unto the fellowship of his Son, Jesus
Christ, our Lord. So we know The will and goodness
of God are the foundation of all his promises, and they assure
us of his resolve to perform them. Micah, the prophet Micah says,
thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob. and the mercy to Abraham,
which thou hast sworn unto our father. You'll do it. You will
do it. That's Micah telling the people of his age and telling
us the Lord will do it. Thou will perform the truth.
The unchangeableness of God, his faithfulness, is the clear
testimony of Scripture. And this we know and cannot deny. He says, I will not suffer my
faithfulness to fail, my covenant will I not break. He is faithful
that promised. And here's the third point I
want to leave within this first point about what we know. We know He is powerful to accomplish
His good pleasure. We know that it is His will and
pleasure to do us good. We know that He is faithful to
accomplish His will and pleasure. And He will not renege, He will
not pull back. And we know that He is powerful. to do all that he has promised.
He is able to do it. Our God is omnipotent. He promises
nothing above his ability to perform. He will bring forth
judgment unto victory, says Zechariah. He will bring forth judgment
unto victory. He lays the foundation and completes
the building. What he starts, he finishes. He begins and he finishes. He
promises glory for our soul. That's what he has promised.
He is bringing many sons to glory. He promises glory for our soul
and he will do it. God's grace and goodness is the
foundation and glory is the building, the structure that he builds
upon it. So this is the first point then,
that we know that when God says something, he will deliver it. The next thing that Paul shows
us, and this is my second point in this little phrase, we know
all things work together. Paul tells us that all things
are presently working together for our good. He doesn't say
all things have worked together, all things will work together.
He says all things work together, all things are working together
now. And as we have seen, this includes
God himself. God himself is working in his
three persons for our good. Now we're going to enlarge upon
this in the coming weeks as the verses that speak about the foreknowledge
of God and the predestinating purpose of God and the justifying
works of God and the glorifying of his people. All of these things
are the ways in which God is working and has worked and will
work for our good. We'll pick up on these in a future
study. But let me just say this as far
as the persons of the Godhead are concerned. God the Father
loved us and set us apart from the fallen sons of Adam in Christ. That is an example of God working
for our good. For the good of his elect, he
set us apart from the fallen sons of Adam in Christ within
the covenant of grace, within the everlasting covenant. God
the Son works for our good by taking
our nature, coming into the world, suffering and dying in our place,
redeeming us, and now Presently, he applies all the blessings
of divine grace and mercy to us, and he intercedes for us
in heaven, and he's coming for us again to receive us into his
presence. So Christ is even now. I know we say that Christ's work
is finished, and it's the work on the cross that's finished,
but Christ is still engaged in interceding for us, and he still
has to come back, and he still has to judge this world. and
to receive us unto himself. And God the Holy Spirit is working
too. God the Holy Spirit comforts
and teaches and convicts and convinces and converts and witnesses
to our soul and he leads us into all truth so that the Godhead
and their three persons are working together for our good. and then, and then, to enlarge
upon it under God, in accordance with his good will, all things
that are created work together for our good. Everything created
in the kingdom of heaven, everything created in the realm of earth,
everything created in the depths of hell, are working together
for our good. Angels. Devils. principalities
and powers, all events and circumstances and people, every invention,
every technology, every discovery, every good act and every sinful
act, everything that has existed, everything that will yet exist,
is actively engaged in contributing to the good of God's elect. sickness and health, work together
for our good. Sorrow and joy, likewise, work
together for our good. Happiness and depression, prosperity
and adversity, riches and poverty. The point is this, for our greatest
good, the Lord will employ whatever means are most effective and
most conducive to our ultimate spiritual wellbeing and our greatest
joy and our highest glory. And let us be honest here. Is it not usually the case that
it is the hard experiences of life that do our soul most good. Luxury makes us fat and slow
and sloppy and careless. It just does. If that's not your
experience, then I'm glad for you. It's the hard experiences in
life that do our soul most good. It's the times of trouble and
adversity and trial. It's those times in which we
lean most heavily on the Lord. It's in those times that we find
Him closest in our senses, that we discover Him sustaining us
and upholding us in our moments of need. It's at times like that
that He surprises us. by giving us comforts and blessings
and helps that we didn't expect or even ask for. So that contrary
to what nature and the flesh might desire, it's when we are
tried and tested that our souls prosper most in spiritual matters
and in the things of the Lord. Nevertheless, the Lord knows
what we can bear and in his love and kindness and mercy and goodness,
he is gentle with his children and he is sensible to our limitations. And let me say something else
about that comprehensiveness about all things working together
for our good. They are presently working. Nothing in this creation is dormant. Nothing in this creation is inactive
as far as the well-being of God's people is concerned. Everything
in God's creation is labouring at the command and direction
of God for the good of his church and his people. and your good
and my good who are his children and heirs of glory. And that
is bigger than we can possibly begin to comprehend. There are
billions of galaxies in this universe containing billions
of stars that are flying through space for our good. There are atoms and electrons
that are spinning and colliding in the invisible minuteness of
this natural world for our good. Kingdoms rise, nations fall for
our good. If God is moved to send his Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ, to bear our sins and bring us glory,
then everything he created will most surely work together to
the same end. The glory of Christ's chosen
people. And here's the third point, and
then we're done. All things, we know all things
work together for good. And it is our good that is in
view. It is the good of God's church.
It is the good of his chosen elect people, his spiritual people. And this reminds us that the
good being done for us is true good, lasting good, excellent
good. It is good described by superlatives. It's the greatest good. It's
the deepest, widest, highest, richest, most wonderful good. Our God doesn't do good by half. Our Saviour reminded us that
it is God's good pleasure to give us the kingdom. And by the
kingdom it means everything. It's God's good pleasure to give
us everything. It pleases God to be most gracious,
most merciful, most loving, most benevolent. He delights in excess. exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think. Ephesians 3 verse 20. And remember this, God's grace
is not earned, it's not of works, it's not dispensed commensurately
or in proportion to what we deserve, to how good we've been or how
righteously we've walked or how upstanding we have been or how
careful to be obedient. It's not dependent on all of
those things. God is good to us because he
enjoys giving us good gifts and it pleases him to lavish his
grace and his glory upon us exceedingly abundantly. This is true goodness. This is true goodness. It isn't
time-bound. It isn't mock prosperity of the
world. Money doesn't last. Wealth doesn't
last. Health doesn't last. Popularity
and fame doesn't last. But the goodness of God and the
mercy of God endureth forever. Brothers and sisters, God is
good to us and he has designed this world so that everything
in it is working together for our good. Everything in it is
working together for our spiritual wellbeing and everything in it
is working together to bring us to eternal glory. Let me say one more thing and
then I'm finished. Our God is the source of all
good. Every good and perfect gift is
from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom
is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Our Father is the
source of all good and he has sovereignly chosen all to whom
his goodness will be applied. Now we're going to hear more
about this in the coming weeks, God willing. But it wasn't only
Paul who knew that. Moses knew it as well. Right
back at the very beginning of the writing down of the word
of God, Moses knew that God sovereignly chose those upon whom he would
place his goodness. The Lord hid Moses in a cliff
of a rock and we are told that he caused all his goodness to
pass before his servant. All things work together for
good. The Lord showed Moses his goodness. The Lord showed Moses and caused
all his goodness to pass before him. In Exodus chapter 33, verse
19, we read this. I will make all my goodness pass
before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious, I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. The Lord didn't say that to Paul,
he said it to Moses in the book of Exodus. What was this goodness that passed
before Moses? Well, I am sure that it entailed
and comprised much more than we can readily understand. But
at the very least, I am convinced of this. that when all the Lord's
goodness passed before Moses, he saw the Lord Jesus Christ. When all the Lord's goodness
passed before Moses, he learned the gospel of free and sovereign
grace. When all the Lord's goodness
passed before Moses, he discovered the meaning of mercy, and he
glimpsed the glory of eternal life. And we too have seen God's goodness
when we have seen Christ by faith. We have experienced God's goodness
in our conversion. We lean upon God's goodness when
we lean upon the Saviour in times of trouble. For it is then, most
of all, that we taste and see that the Lord is good. Amen. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us today.