Romans 8:28
All things work together for the good…
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose.
Ok, this is another one of the most misused and misquoted versus of all time as well. How? Let’s get into it, however, I will warn you, when I get to point number two, it may hurt, so, here we go.
1. First of all, it says all things work together for the good, it does not say, nor has it ever said, that ALL things are good. That would be foolish and it hurts people to say it that way. Because if that were true, every murder, rape, or death of a child would be good. Every natural disaster, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and all kinds of things that bring death, would be good right? Or what about war where millions of people are tortured and killed? Is this good? Of course not, so please, let’s get this right. Not everything that happens in the world or to us directly is good, this verse just says, God, somehow in His awesomeness, finds a way to make it work out for our good. It’s like God takes lemons and makes lemonade out of the evils of this world to make it work for OUR good. That’s awesome! However, notice I said OUR in all caps and in bold, why?
2. Notice all things work together for good, but for whom? To those that are called according to His purpose and those that love Him, well guess what? That is for believers, and ONLY believers. This verse is not talking, nor was it ever referring to unbelievers. Pastors, preachers, and churches alike have been preaching this verse to say all things work together for good for all of humanity. Saints, this is incorrect. This is a promise of hope and comfort for believers and ONLY believers. If a person has not accepted Christ, this comfort does not apply to them, sorry, that hurts but its true.
3. But it goes even deeper than that. If you look at the versus above and below 8:28, verse 26 says that the Holy Spirit gives us, (believers) moaning and groanings when we suffer if we don’t know what to pray. The Spirit gives us what to pray, but that’s my point, He gives believers what to pray, not unbelievers. In verse 31 the question was asked, “If God before us, who can be against us”? Saints the US are believers. Again, this comfort does not apply to unbelievers. These versus do not apply to unbelievers therefore, they would not be covered under the umbrella of comfort from our God. ONLY believers get that benefit, unbelievers do not. That’s also why it goes on to say, “who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Why? Because we (believers) have the benefits that come from God. We are under the comfort umbrella and covenant of God, unbelievers do not have that. So, we need to stop preaching these texts like they are universal to all humanity; they are not!
4. With that being said, this is why evangelism is so important. It is way more than a heaven or hell issue, but salvation gives us joy and peace in the Holy Spirit, so when troubles come, and they will, we as believers have a hope the world does not have. We are under the comfort umbrella of God, if you will, unbelievers cannot say that, so why not introduce them to God so they can have what we have? That is the context of Romans 8:28, all things work together for us, so why not extend that hope to the world? Be blessed!
Closing Prayer:
Father forgive us for using this verse incorrectly. We first acknowledge that some in the Body of Christ, even though maybe well intentioned have hurt people by saying, “all things work together for good as if what happened was good”. Some, may have even rejoiced when someone was murdered as if it was good totally denying the pain a family member had. Please forgive us of our callousness. Secondly Lord forgive us in preaching this verse as if it applies to all human beings! It does not, but only those that You have redeemed and know You and their names that are written in Your book of life. So, God, may we preach it correctly, And may this stir up in us the need for evangelism so people can have what we have, Christ in us, the hope of Glory, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
Comments