Rev. David Holwick Z Romans series #10
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 14, 2005
Romans 8:28-30
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I. A church called Wedgwood.
September 15, 1999.
A tormented man named Larry Gene Ashbrook walked into Wedgwood
Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.
He had no connection to the congregation that anyone can determine.
The church was filled with hundreds of people who were there for
choir practice, prayer meetings and a youth rally.
He opened fire and killed 7 and wounded another 7, before turning
his gun on himself.
A. Where was God that Wednesday night?
1) Was he in control?
B. God's purpose for our lives is a deep mystery.
1) Do all the blessings and tragedies really mean anything?
2) Is it all blind luck or bad luck or fate?
3) And if there really is a divine plan for us, is it
something we will like?
C. Romans 8:28 is one of the most popular verses in the Bible.
1) We cling to its promise.
2) But we're not always sure about what it is really promising.
II. What Romans 8:28 does NOT say:
A. All things work together for the good of all people.
1) King James Version can give this impression.
2) Only for those who love God, who have responded to Jesus.
B. All things that happen are good.
1) There is much evil in the world.
a) Jesus' painful crucifixion was the ultimate in evil.
2) God does not say that all things are good, but that He
will WORK all things for our good.
III. Five unshakeable truths Romans 8:28 does say.
A. God works in our lives.
1) Deism is a philosophy that there is a God who started
everything, but then he went on vacation.
And he never came back...
2) Christians say there is a God who started everything, and
he keeps it all going.
3) Even the smallest details of your life can show evidence
of God's love.
B. God works for our good.
1) We want this to mean that everything will work out nicely
for us.
a) Our kids will be perfect - eventually;
Our spouses will become what we dream them to be.
b) We need to take a longer view.
2) The good Paul is focusing on is our final salvation.
a) The passage climaxes with our glorification in heaven.
b) For some things, it will take that long to be evident.
C. God works for our good in all things.
1) All things include sufferings and groanings.
a) Yesterday I met my neighbors at the backyard fence.
She mentioned that her daughter, only 38 years old,
has had her cancer come back.
There are now small lumps in her brain.
Lily quickly added - her daughter has a lot of faith.
We really believe that prayers are going to work.
2) Every negative thing has a positive purpose in God's plan.
a) We don't say there are no negative things.
b) We say God can bring good out of them.
3) Nothing is beyond the scope of God's good providence for us.
D. God works for good of those who love him.
1) A necessary limitation: Paul is not expressing a
superficial optimism. There are conditions.
2) For some people, bad things will always be bad.
a) It is for Christians that it always turns out good.
b) At Wedgwood Baptist, all 7 victims who were killed were
not just Christians, but bold Christians.
They were passionate about their faith.
And now they are in heaven with Jesus.
c) In the end, we win.
3) But "winning" is not the ultimate goal.
a) Being conformed to Jesus is. 8:29
b) Are you any more like Jesus than you were a year ago?
c) Perhaps God will use suffering to bring it about.
E. God works for good of those who are called to his purpose.
1) Our love for God is a token of his prior love for us.
2) Life is not a random mess.
a) In Genesis, Joseph has a messy life.
He is shunned by his brothers, who try to kill him.
Then they think the better of it, and sell him as a
slave.
He does well as a slave and becomes the manager of
mansion.
Then the wife of the mansion owner accuses him of
attacking her, and he ends up in prison.
Through a series of miracles and revelations, God
springs him from prison.
Joseph becomes pharaoh's right-hand man.
Finally, a famine hits the land of Israel.
Joseph's brothers come crawling to him, begging for
food.
They don't realize it is him; he recognizes instantly
it is them.
What does he do?
What would YOU do?
Genesis 50:19 tells us:
Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid.
Am I in the place of God?
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for
good to accomplish what is now being done,
the saving of many lives."
Humans have our purposes; God has his.
God's purposes are always good.
They always involve saving.
IV. God's purpose is a process.
A. He foreknows us.
B. He predestines us.
C. He calls us.
D. He justifies us.
E. He glorifies us.
1) It is a future event, but Paul uses the past tense.
2) As far as he is concerned, it is as good as done.
V. Since God sees the big picture, don't sweat the details.
Cheryl Stewart's grandfather was an old Norwegian carpenter.
Grandpa Nybakken was the kind of man who loved to play tricks
on people.
But on a cold Saturday in Chicago, Grandpa felt that God
played a trick on him, and Grandpa wasn't laughing.
On this particular day, he was building some crates for the
clothes his church was sending to an orphanage in China.
On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his
glasses, but they were gone.
He remembered putting them there that morning, so he drove
back to the church.
His search proved fruitless.
When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized
what had happened.
The glasses had slipped out of his pocket and fallen into one
of the crates, which he had nailed shut.
His brand new glasses were heading for China!
The Great Depression was at its height, and Grandpa had six
children to feed.
He had spent twenty dollars for those glasses that very morning.
"It's not fair," he told God as he drove home in frustration.
"I've been very faithful in giving of my time and money to
your work, and now this."
Several months later, the director of the orphanage was on
furlough in the United States.
He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him in China.
So one Sunday he came to speak at grandpa's small church in
Chicago.
There were a lot of empty seats, as always, but Grandpa and
his family filled their customary pew.
The missionary began by thanking the people for their
faithfulness in supporting the orphanage.
"But most of all," he said, "I must thank you for the glasses
you sent last year.
You see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage,
destroying everything, including my glasses.
I was desperate.
"Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing
those glasses.
Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches
every day, so we were much in prayer about this.
Then your crates arrived.
When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses
lying on top."
The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in.
Then, still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued:
"Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had
been custom-made just for me!
I want to thank you for being a part of that."
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses.
But the missionary surely must have confused their church with
another, they thought.
There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent
overseas.
But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his
face, an ordinary carpenter realized the Master Carpenter
had used him in an extraordinary way.
#22760
A. God can turn any bad into good, if you love and trust him.
B. What can God do for you?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
Main points in the outline are borrowed from John Stott, "Romans: God's
Good News for the World." InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois,
1994.
Information on the Wedgwood tragedy was derived from #16593, "Wedgwood
Baptist Church's Tragedy Punctuated By Marks of God's Triumph," by Tom
Neven, editor of Focus on the Family magazine (where this article was
First published), http://www.baptistpress.org/, July 26, 2000; and from
#4876, "Romans 8:28, Oft-used After Wedgwood, Often Is Misunderstood," by
Cory J. Hailey, Baptist Press (Goshen.net) http://www.baptistpress.org/,
September 29, 1999.
#22760 "A Perfect Mistake," by Cheryl Walterman Stewart from Chicken Soup
for the Christian Family Soul, found at www.ChristianityToday.com,
copyright Christianity Today International/Today's Christian
magazine (formerly Christian Reader), March/April 1998, Vol. 36,
No. 2, Page 83.
These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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Commentary notes
John Stott
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I. Five unshakeable convictions (five things we know) 8:28
A. God works in our lives.
1) KJV - all things work for good. (should be rejected)
B. God works for our good.
1) The good is our final salvation.
C. God works for our good in all things.
1) All things include sufferings and groanings.
2) Every negative thing has a positive purpose in God's plan.
3) Nothing is beyond the scope of God's providence.
D. God works for good of those who love him.
1) A necessary limitation.
2) Paul is not expressing a superficial optimism.
E. God works for good of those who are called to his purpose.
1) Their love for God is a token of his prior love for us.
2) Life is not a random mess.
a) Joseph's conviction of God's good plan - Gen 50:20.
b) Jeremiah and God's good plan - Jer 29:11
c) Jesus on cross - Acts 2:23; cf Acts 4:27-28
II. Five undeniable affirmations. 8:29-30
A. Foreknowledge.
1) Foreknowledge is not the basis of predestination.
a) Paul is referring to a particular group.
b) If God only predestines people he knows will believe,
the ground of their decision is in themselves, not
God.
2) "To know" is more than a mental process.
a) It is synonymous with "to love".
B. Predestination.
1) Problems attributed to the doctrine.
a) Fosters arrogance.
b) Fosters uncertainty.
c) Fosters apathy.
d) Fosters complacency.
e) Fosters narrow-mindedness.
2) In reality, predestination promotes:
a) Humility.
b) Assurance.
c) Responsibility.
d) Holiness.
e) Mission.
3) Two practical purposes singled out by Paul:
a) We should be conformed to likeness of God's Son.
b) Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers.
1> Community is emphasized.
C. Calling.
1) The historical application of predestination.
2) Evangelism is not superfluous but is God's means of calling.
D. Justification.
1) God calls; those who hear, believe; those who believe are
justified.
2) It is God's declaration we are not sinners.
E. Glorification.
1) Our destiny is new bodies in a new world.
2) Sanctification is implied here.
a) "Glory is sanctification consummated."
3) Although it is still future, Paul puts it in the past tense.
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