It's All Good in God. (Romans 8:28)

It's All Good in God.

(Rom. 8:28)

The NASB gives us a better translation of Romans 8:28; “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”. The world has a saying, “it's all good”, but that statement is false because it most certainly not all good. The gist of that worldly statement means if it works for you whether it is done by good or bad means, moral or immoral behavior, just as long as you get what you want then the end justifies the means. This is not so for the child of God, as we serve God, as we live for God then God causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him. This verse is a beautiful and wondrous promise from our Father God. Now it doesn't mean we will never have problems, trials, temptations, or persecution. Just like the country song says, He never “promised you a rose garden”. God does promise for those that are His own that we have a blessed assurance of being eternally secure in His salvation and in our lives He will work out the situations in our lives to His glory and our best. Today's sermon is “ It's all good in God”.

I. The Assurance (“And we know...”).

In those first three words of this promise, we see that we have an assurance, a certainty, and a sureness that we can know the wonderful security found in our Savior. Our salvation in Christ is sure and secure. Christian, our lives are in the hands of Almighty God and it will be divinely used by God to bring God glory and if it brings about God's glory then it will work out to our ultimate blessing. But the greater meaning of that we can know is that when we have been saved by faith in Christ, is that He has completely and eternally saved us. The Bible teaches us that our eternal, sovereign God alone saves us, that He alone is responsible for our salvation and it has nothing to do with any effort of our own. We cannot save ourselves. If our salvation had to do with our effort to save us then we would fail. But because eternal God alone is responsible for saving us through Christ, then God's salvation can never fail and we are eternally secure in His salvation. We cannot save ourselves and therefore we couldn't keep ourselves saved only God can do that. I remember that at one time, I believed that I was in a cooperative effort to keep myself saved and it brought about a great burden and grief to my Christian walk. I was always consumed by the effort to try and not sin enough to make me lost again, always consumed with fear that every bad thought or every little sin would condemn me once again to Hell. But when I began reading verse and passages that reminded me that salvation is solely the work of God through Christ then I was given that blessed assurance and that deep fear left my life. When I read in scripture that Jesus promised me in John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand”, nothing can take me out of the hand of my Savior and my God. And then I read in Rom. 8:1 that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” and in Rom. 8:35-39 that there is absolutely no one and nothing in this world that can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, that there is no fear of ever being separated from salvation in Christ and the Holy Spirit through the holy Word of God illuminated that truth to me and set me free from the bondage of religion. To “know” this certainty reveals that whatever I face in my life here on earth, I will face it in His hands. So today friends, whatever is going on in your life, be it heartache or stress or sickness or death or disappointment or trials or temptations or the devil or just life in general, I want you to grab a hold of this truth that whatever may be coming at you must not only face you but it must also face the God that is holding you in His hand. That's the truth that we must know and this is what brings you assurance to face the day and the day after that. You may not be able to face the problem but God is not intimidated. Just rest in that assurance and rely upon Him.

II. The Scope (“...that God causes all things to work together for good”...).

Now that we know let's look at the scope or extent of this promise. It says that because we are absolutely assured of an eternal relationship in Christ, we can see that there is a limitless work of God in our lives. The scope of God's blessing is unlimited (Eph. 1:3 - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”) and if we are living in His blessings of His eternal salvation in Christ we see that God will be at work in our lives. It says in this verse that God causes all things to work together for good. God doesn't work the good out in some things but in all things. The extent is unlimited, there is nothing in our lives or that we face in our lives that God does not work His good in. It is God Himself that works out the good that comes to all that are His children. So when we see “all things” it is utterly complete, no limits, it's all-encompassing, and there is no restrictions or conditions in whatever experiences that we have in this life that God does not work in. what we read here is simply saying that whatever things we experience in our live that God allows to happen in our lives, be they good or evil, it says that God will ultimately turns those things into blessings. I know that there are those on TV, the false teachers that say if you are truly blessed by God then no bad will come into your life and if it does then you must have sinned or lost faith but they have ignored the saints of God on the Bible that have faced bad times and God had allowed it. Take for instance Job, God allowed Satan to tempt and try him but after Job had lost all that he had, his wealth and his children, Job still has faith in his God, that he still trusts God and we see this by his powerful affirmation of the goodness of God to him by him saying in Job 1:21, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD”. The book of Job gave no reason as to why God allowed Job to face what he faced other than to bring glory to God. Sometimes our suffering and hardships might have a reason like there was with Joseph. Joseph was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, was falsely accused by Pothiphar's wife because he would not sin against God by sleeping with her so he was thrown in prison. Joseph became the chief trusty in prison and through God interpreted the dreams of two men who had been close to Pharaoh. One was his cupbearer and the other his baker, Joseph told them through the revelation of God that the cupbearer would be restored and the other would be hanged in three days and that came to pass, but the cupbearer promised to Joseph to mention his name before Pharaoh to help get him out of prison. Well, the scriptures say that the cupbearer forgot for two years before the Pharaoh had a dream and then the cup-bearer remembered Joseph. Joseph through God revealed the interpretation of Pharaoh's dream of a great harvest of 7 years followed by a great famine of 7 years across the whole land. Joseph was promoted to 2^nd in command of Egypt and stored up enough grain to save Egypt and the surrounding countries and even the promised people of God, Joseph's family. In all the evil that seemingly befallen Joseph, he served God and God used his life and his circumstances to bring about God's will and God's glory. Joseph realized this after he had been elevated and placed to where he was in Egypt. Joseph could have sought revenge against his brothers for the hardships he faced but just like he always had in his hard life journey, he saw God's hand in it all for he says to his brothers in Gen. 50:20, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive”. Joseph realized that God is in control and that God causes all things to work together for good. Through this we see God's will is good, that His faithfulness is good even if we are unfaithful. If we as His children sin against Him, the Bible says that He will discipline us for our good because He loves us (Heb. 12:6,11 - “For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives”. “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”). Sometimes God allows sickness or death to come on us for our sins to warn us or others. Sometimes God may have to put us in the hospital to see the goodness of God and restore us to rightful fellowship with Him or death may come to some like Ananias ans Sapphira who as Christians lied to the Holy Spirit and God killed them but for what reason? The reason is found in Acts 5:11, “So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things”. Whatever we face we have to face it with God and we need to be obedient to His will for us whatever we face, we are His. We need to be like Job and realize the work God is doing in us for our good and His glory. Job says in Job 23:10, “When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold”. Trials of fire refine the gold of our walk with Christ.

III. The Recipients (“...to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”).

To have the good of God in your lives, the blessings of God in every circumstance, and His ever present Spirit every where you walk and in everything you face; you have to be a child of God. You have to be a recipient of His love through Christ. You can face life alone and then face an eternity alone in eternal torment or you can know His love here in this life and into the eternity to come but you have to believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”). No other way to face the hardships and trials of life except with Christ. He will never leave or forsake you and you can face everything in your life in His hands.