The Sunday School Verses: Romans 8:28-29

   Hello, everyone! I'm back after awhile...my church had a teen girl retreat that I was privileged to teach a lesson for, so that took a lot of time. Plus, I was able to go to my first out-of-state swim meet (which is a big deal if you live in Alaska)! That was a ton of fun, but also exhausting. : ) Enough with that, though; let's get to Romans 8!

     And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.
                                                                                                             Romans 8:28-29

 
   This is such a powerful verse; however, I find that in our culture today it is twisted to mean something else, much like the prosperity gospel. On face value, we read that anyone who loves God (we interpret that as being saved) will automatically have good come to them. However, this is not exactly what these verses mean. Side note: My father (James Keen) preached a message (3/26/17) on this, so I am getting a majority of thoughts from his sermon. If you would like to listen to it, it is at anchormb.org under "Sermons."

   We are going to approach this verse a little backward. If you have a Bible, I would encourage you to read Job 23 right now. To summarize, I'm going to use this quote from my dad: "Job believes that God isn't always there, that He doesn't always care, and that He is unfair." For a little context on Job, he was a man that was faithful to God and was blessed by Him in many ways. One day, Satan asked God if he could afflict Job to see if he would be strong enough to hold fast to God. God gave him permission, but He told Satan not to take his life. Satan took away Job's family, livestock, houses, and health; so in chapter 23 we find him in a state of questioning.

    Before Job went through this trial, he probably could have told you that God was always there, always cared, and was always fair. However, in the midst of his circumstance, chapter 23 shows us that he didn't believe that at the moment. He thought that he could argue his case with God and that God would take away his affliction because He would realize that He was unfair. However, he soon learns that there was no way he could do that; God knew what He was doing.

   Again, if you have your Bible, turn to Job 38 and read chapters 38-42. Job has asked all these questions of God: "Where are you? Why is this happening? Why would you do this to me?," and "I don't think You know what You're doing; this shouldn't be happening to me." Chapters 38-42 show God answering Job with asking him questions such as, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Do you give the horse his might? Can you draw out the Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?" They were all rhetorical; Job couldn't know or do these things. At the beginning of chapter 42, Job confesses and repents to God for not acknowledging Him the way he should. This proves a point.

God is bigger and greater than we ever could have dreamed, imagined, or hoped for.

   Let's head back to Romans 8 and read verses 18-39. Verse 18 really sets the stage for us: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." It goes on to talk about how the even the earth is waiting for Jesus to come back. In verse 24 it says, "For in this hope (the hope of Christ) we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." Basically, we await His coming, and we hope for it patiently, with the Spirit's help. Then, it says that the Spirit helps us to know what to pray for. Now, you may think, "I already know what to pray for. Jesus gave us a model prayer, so we follow that." Jesus did give us a model prayer, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we know what to pray for.

    Think of it this way. Here are two examples; one from the Old Testament and one from the New. First, take Joseph. He was Jacob's favorite son, and he was taken by his brothers and sold into slavery, essentially. Eventually, after many years in prison for something he didn't do, Joseph rose to be second in command in Egypt; in time for the famine that came over the land. He met his brothers again, and they were reconciled. Joseph makes an important point, though. He says, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Have you ever considered that the "good" in this verse is the same "good" in Romans 8? Let's take the New Testament example now. You all probably know the story of the crucifixion. Have you ever considered that Jesus didn't want to do it? He did because it was the will of the Father, but he pleaded with God that, "If there is any other way, let this cup pass from me." Those people who really loved Jesus were devastated that He was crucified and dead. However, God had a bigger plan. He conquered death, He conquered Satan, and He made way for us to be saved by faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, what may seem awful to us now may not actually turn out to be awful later.

   The "good" in this verse does not meet our standards of good, it meets God's standards of good. Our definition would include being healthy, wealthy, happy, successful, etc.; but that's not His standard. His standard is what is done to accomplish His will and the purpose of His glory. So let's finish off Romans 8. Verse 36 describes what the Christian life looks like, "For Your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." Our life is not destined to be all rosy, happy-go-lucky, and full of fun. We are called to be soldiers of Christ, and that isn't easy. But look at what verse 37 says. "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

   Isn't that amazing? God always, always, always, loves us. Nothing can change that. We are called to be conformed to the image of His Son, and He has promised us that He will help us if we truly want to follow Him and do what He has called us to do.