We Can Quote It, But Do We Know It?

Romans 8:28

Most everyone who professes faith in Christ can quote Romans 8:28, or at least come close, but do we know it? The text reads - "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." To really believe what is revealed and taught in this text is to find rest and peace under the most trying circumstances of life. I call your attention to four things in this blessed text.

A DELIGHTFUL PERSUASION - "We know." The word know that Paul uses is knowledge beyond speculation, theory, doctrine,and judgment. It is a confident persuasion. It is a confidence based upon the Word of God, the inner witness of the Holy Spirit,and the experience of grace.

A DIVINE PROVIDENCE - "That all things work together for good." Providence is God's government of the world for the spiritual, eternal good of his elect, their salvation, and the glory of his own name. This is a subject of great importance. If we are confident that "all things are of God," as the Scriptures assert, we see the hand and heart of our God in all the affairs of life. Those who do not know God ascribe all the events of life to chance, luck, or blind fate. Like the Philistines, they say, "It was a chance that happened to us" (I Sam. 6:9). Every believer recognizes that all the affairs of the world, particularly of his life, both good and bad, are by the hand of God (Read Job 1:21; I Sam. 3:18; II Sam. 16:11-12).

A DESIGNATED PEOPLE - "To them that love God, to them who are the called." Paul does not tell us that all things work together for good to everyone, but that all things work together for good to God's elect, who are identified by their calling, and their calling is made evident by their love for God.

A DIVINE PURPOSE - "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE." What is the purpose of God? It is the salvation of his elect (Read vv. 29-30). God governs the world in providence, bringing to pass all that comes to pass and restraining all that is not useful for his purpose. And the great object, aim, goal he has in all that he does is the salvation of his elect.

Don Fortner