Among Christians with even the slimmest of Bible knowledge, Romans 8:28 is a familiar Bible verse.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Sadly, Paul’s grand declaration has been misused and ill-timed in its offering leaving the hearer the worse off for hearing the text, something that should never occur when the Bible is quoted. On the other hand, the importance of Romans 8:28 has been too often neglected by followers of Jesus, minimizing its impact on the lives of God’s people.
Context is everything when trying to understand the meaning of a Bible text, and the context of Romans 8:28 is the reality of hardship in the life of all and the promise of deliverance for those whom God has called. Paul writes about groanings, weaknesses, and bondage consistent with living in a broken world and the experiences of us all. He also writes about deliverance, redemption, and the hope that awaits all who endure (8:25). Context points in the right direction for understanding 8:28.
Romans 8:28 is not first an explanation of why bad things happen to us but first offers a reason why we should continue to endure under hardship from living in a sin-cursed world. We endure, we persevere, we remain faithful to our calling despite the horrible realities of our circumstances because the one who called us is working out all things for our good.
Matthew Henry called the assertion of Romans 8:28 “The privilege of the saints.” He means for the Christian “all the providences of God are theirs—merciful providences, afflicting providences, personal, public. They are all for good; perhaps for temporal good, as Joseph’s troubles; at least, for spiritual and eternal good. That is good for them which does their souls good. Either directly or indirectly, every providence has a tendency to the spiritual good of those that love God, breaking them off from sin, bringing them nearer to God, weaning them from the world, fitting them for heaven.”
When a Christian in love with God embraces the idea of Romans 8:28, the result is a disposition toward trouble “that makes every providence sweet, and therefore profitable” (Matthew Henry). We ask our Lord for his grace to live our troubled lives with this default position.
Still, there remains a part of the verse that requires more of our attention. At the opening Paul writes, “And we know…” According to Paul, what follows in 8:28 is common knowledge to the Roman Christians and by extension to us. But how do they and we know all God’s providences are for our good?
We know all God’s providences are for our good...
From the testimony of others. What is true for us is true for others, both our contemporaries and our ancestors. Their reports of a temporal or spiritual or eternal good cause us to know.
From our personal experiences. Most of us have lived long enough to have faced what Paul writes. We know because we’ve been here before. Now, as God did then, he is working good.
From numerous Bible examples. Many of our favorite Bible characters and their stories affirm Romans 8:28. Noah, Joseph, Moses, Naomi, Ruth, David, Elijah, Daniel, Mary, Joseph, Lazarus, Stephen, and more teach us Romans 8:28, leading us to know its veracity.
From the whole teaching of the Bible. The stories are not disjointed accounts of God’s sometimes intervention. The message of the Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 asserts God was, is, and will work all things together for good. This we know.
You are a Christian, and in all likelihood you will face today some groaning, weakness, or bondage like Paul describes earlier in Romans 8. To aid in our faithfulness to our Lord in the midst of our troubles, Paul holds out this word of hope –
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
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Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision