Romans 8, verse 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. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for succinct, elegant statements of truth that can stick in our minds and hearts And I pray that as we look at a familiar verse this morning, that you would give us fresh eyes to perceive it, fresh hearts to rejoice in it, and a will that's being molded and fashioned by you to receive the instruction here and live by it. Lord, we thank you for the ministry of the word here corporately and for the encouragement that we can be to one another. Thank you for having brought us together in this fashion. And I pray that as we attend to the word together, we would experience the encouragement that is meant to be experienced by the saints. And those who are in our midst that don't know you, that are still in their sins, still dead in sins and trespasses, still alienated from your promises, still separated from you by their sin, we pray that even this morning might be the day of salvation for them when they recognize the difference that is made in relationship with Jesus We thank you for the work that you're doing here in our midst this morning. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Be seated. The Enlightenment, or Age of Reason as it's sometimes referred to, is the period of time spanning about roughly the 1700s, mostly in Europe but also came over to the States, in which a number of philosophers and scientists advanced several ideas that are still a part of our world today. As a matter of fact, some of what is part of our world today are reactions against some of the things that were spoken there, but had massive impact on the shape of our world. It arose at least in part due to a renewed interest in classical learning and an active push against systems of authority and tradition. whether those systems of authority be cultural or through the government or religious in nature. The rational construction of ideas and arguments alongside of evidence-based scientific inquiry were key methods employed in seeking truth during those days. Submission to tradition was replaced with the idea of individual fact-finding and discovery. Ideas such as natural law, innate human rights, liberty, toleration, the separation of church and state, constitutional forms of government, the ideas for all of that stuff arose during this period and kind of rose to prominence during this time. And we can see how all of those ideas had a massive impact on the shaping and founding of the United States. The time of the Enlightenment included men such as John Locke, and Adam Smith, and Benjamin Franklin, and Voltaire, and Descartes, and Kant, as well as scientists like Newton, and Volta, and Lavoisier, composers like Handel, and Mozart, and Beethoven, and Bach, and Vivaldi. It was a time of lots of learning, lots of growing, and lots of experimentation, lots of new ideas. Dr. Matthew White, a research fellow in history at the University of Hertfordshire, wrote an article for the British Museum that's posted on their website, in which he described the period of the Enlightenment as follows. The Enlightenment, the great age of reason, is defined as the period of rigorous scientific, political, and philosophical discourse that characterized European society during the long 18th century. from the late 17th century to the ending of the Napoleonic Wars in about 1815. This was a period of huge change in thought and reason, which in the words of historian Roy Porter, was decisive in the making of modernity. Centuries of custom and tradition were brushed aside in favor of exploration individualism, tolerance, and scientific endeavor, which in tandem with developments in industry and politics witnessed the emergence of the modern world. Why is this time called referred to as the Enlightenment? Historian Roy Porter continues, he says, the liberation of the human mind from a dogmatic state of ignorance is the epitome of what the age of Enlightenment was trying to capture. People were going from what people described as from darkness to light, from slavish dependence to individual liberty. Increased liberty allowed for new ideas. And new ideas led to important discoveries. And important discoveries resulted in technological advances. And technological advances provided for increased quality of life improvements. and added leisure for people where you didn't have to work the entire day just to subsist. There was more and more advancement as a result, more leisure time. And what was that leisure time used for? Reading and writing and engaging in debate and considering philosophy and developing the arts. A few ideas. and that time had a massive impact on the world. This morning we're going to look at a single verse in the Bible, but one that has had a massive impact on the church. And while perhaps it's not quite as well known as John 3.16 by the broader world, Romans 8.28 has got to rank up there as one of the most quoted verses, or at least even just the phrase, all things work together for good. That phrase is probably one of the most quoted phrases in the Bible. But it's possible that while it is often quoted, this verse might still be misunderstood, or at least divorced from its surrounding context and lose some of the fervor and meaning that's being communicated to us. It's also possible that our practical application of this truth lags behind our theoretical knowledge of it. In other words, if you find it easier to come up with this verse when somebody else is hurting than when you are hurting, there's probably you're lagging behind an application here. It might be one of those people that are good at citing these words as theological truth, but need help deriving comfort from them during moments when they're especially needed. And so we're going to walk through this verse today attempting to provide not only a contextual explanation of what's going on here, but I hope throughout here to kind of give you some areas for meditation, some areas for thinking about this verse a little bit further, such that it will be useful to you in the midst of the everything that you encounter. This is not merely a general truth, though it is. It's one that's meant to be very importantly personal to you. Indispensably personal to every Christian. In fact, if you're a Christian, you've already been enlightened by this truth. You already know this truth. It's just a matter of whether or not you're bringing it to mind actively and putting it to work. I believe if you really grasp this verse, you'll no longer look at life the same. So having already worked our way through three groanings here in Romans 8, towards the end of or middle of Romans 8, we're going to continue with part six in our series on groaning and glory, looking to bask this morning in this one glorious truth together. We've already received comfort from the blessings that are ours here in Romans 8. Let me give you just a quick snapshot reminder. We've been set free from the law of sin and death by the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The requirement of the law has been fulfilled for us. who walk by the Spirit. We now know life and peace because our minds are set on the Spirit. We're experiencing the death of the deeds of the body while we await the granting of life to our mortal bodies in the new heavens and new earth one day. We've now been adopted into God's family by which we cry out, Abba, Father. We've been restored to relationship with our Creator and Sustainer and King. We've been made joint heirs together with Christ, our Redeemer, Savior, and friend. And we look forward to the consummation of history We're eagerly awaiting the redemption of our body. We're persevering in hope of what's to come. And even, as we saw last week, when our frail humanity, when our creaturely limitations exhibit themselves, even in the context of prayer, when we see those limitations come crushing in, we can take great comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us in accordance with God's will, with unutterable groanings, but always effective ones. Believers have been given precious promises. God has given his children astonishing assurances. Our Heavenly Father cares about us, and he means for us to know with certainty that we are his. That's kind of, I think, the main gist of Romans 8, is for us to understand how is it that we are assured, how is it that we know for certain that we are the children of God. That's what this chapter's been reiterating. Those who are saved, those who have been born again, are meant to live and light of that reality. And so we come here to Romans 8, 28, and it's as if we approach the summit of our tour of the blessings of God's gospel. From this position, we're being encouraged to take a look around and recognize the beauty and grandeur of what God has done in saving us. The reason we can have such hope regarding the future and such confidence in the present is because we are those who know God. And in knowing God, we know who he is. And we've been given by his revelation understanding into what he's doing. We know something about his plan and his purposes. And the God who is omnipotent, the God who, as a result of being all-powerful, never fails to accomplish all of his good pleasure, gives us tremendous comfort and tremendous assurance. We're children of the King of Kings. We're children of the Lord of Lords. We're children of him who is in charge of everything. And Romans 8.28 highlights one of the most important big picture truths that are found in Scripture. It succinctly describes a spiritual enlightenment that is transformative for all of life. And just like the enlightenment transformed human society, I would argue to a greater extent, this spiritual transformation that happens by the enlightenment found in this verse can totally transform a life. We're gonna divide up our time this morning into three sections. Well, first of all, talk about the enlightening, and we're gonna talk about the fact that we know something. Then we're gonna talk about the enlightenment. We'll talk about what it is that we know. And then we'll talk about the enlightened, and we'll come back and ask, who is the we? So we know something. The first part, we'll talk about the fact that we know it. Second part, we'll talk about what is the something that we know. And lastly, we'll talk about who is it that knows this? Who is the we? But first I'll talk about the enlightening. We know something. Begin with considering just the power of knowing in general. Romans 8.28 says, and we have known. Paul is telling the Roman Christians and all Christians afterward who read this letter alongside of them that the spiritual principle revealed here is one that we already know. He's actually used this phrase before in Romans. You can look back at these if you want to. Romans 2.2, Romans 3.19, Romans 7.14, and Romans 8.22. In all of those passages, he also says, we know. So you might be thinking, why the big setup this morning? Why spend an entire sermon talking about a truth that we Christians already know? Well, here's a couple of reasons. I'll just give you two quickly. First of all, you might not know as you ought to know. That's one of the reasons. Why do we spend time talking about things that you're said you already know it? Why does Paul even write about it if they already know it? Why is he talking about what they already know? Well, it's possible that they don't know it as they ought to know it. In that regard, I think about 1 Corinthians 8, 2, where it says, if anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know. And if you read that verse in its context, there's this idea that you might think you know something, but not know it rightly. Or you might become boastful and arrogant about what you know, and therefore not know it rightly. Because knowledge known rightly should lead to humility and brokenness, not arrogance and haughtiness. It's possible that the things we know are not being known properly. I say this to anyone in here that believes in the sovereignty of God. Wonderful. Amen. The Bible teaches it. But it is possible that you don't know that truth rightly. It has not rightly humbled you. You've not rightly been broken by it. You're not rightly being comforted by it, right? You might assent to it and say, yeah, God is sovereign. He's over all things, but I don't like it very much. Or you might say that, yeah, God's sovereign over all things, but I just don't think about it very much. I try to live without that thought. Both of those would be inappropriate responses to that knowledge. So it's possible that you know this, but you don't know it properly. It's usually in the application of truth that we come to know what we already knew. Ever been there before? Like, now I know. It's like, well, didn't you already know it? Yeah, I knew it, but now I know it. And in that moment where we use a little bit of inflection on the word know, we're communicating something of experience with that truth. That truth has actually worked its way down into our hearts, into the fiber of our being. Certainly this is something that we're after in education, especially with younger children. Why do we engage in so much Bible teaching with them, especially when they don't connect a lot of dots? Well, we're longing for the day when what they know, they're able to say, now I know what you've been teaching me all these years. The connections finally sink in. But again, this is an experience that we even as adults experience where, yeah, I knew that, But now I know that. Now I really, really know it. So that's a potential reason why we talk about this. A second reason is, we need reminders. That's another reason. Like, you might already really know the thing, and yet you're in need of reminders. Look at 2 Peter 1.12, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I'll always be ready to remind you of them, even though you already know them. Paul explains the same in his letter in Romans, right here in this same letter in Romans 15, 15. I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again. Paul knows what he's doing. When he says, you know this already, he knows that they already know it. He's not just saying that, he knows that they know it. But he knows that they need reminders. And so do we. So do we. I remember growing up watching G.I. Joe cartoon series in which I'd be told at the end of every episode, knowing's half the battle. I just remember that being told to me over and over and over again. I didn't ever actually know exactly what that meant, but knowing's half the battle. And I don't think it's necessarily precisely true, although I think we have other phrases like knowledge is power. You've probably heard that before as well. And I don't also think that phrase is necessarily strictly true. Knowledge by itself is inert. Knowledge by itself does nothing. Rather, knowledge must be put into practice. It must be integrated into our reasoning, into our willing, into our feeling, into our acting. And so when I say that knowledge itself is inert, And you go, well, so that means if you can't actually do something tangibly with it, it's not acting. No, that's not what I'm saying, because knowledge can impact the way you feel about things, and that's a real impact. Knowledge can impact the way you think about things, and that's a real impact. Knowledge can affect the way you choose things, your decision-making process, and that's a real impact. And then knowledge can actually, you know, impact the way you go about a project, like actually hands-on stuff that you do. But the point is this. If knowledge just sits in the theoretical, it's not really seen to be all that powerful. It's when knowledge is enacted. that things change. Now, why do these statements then exist, like knowledge is power or knowing is half the battle? I think what they're getting at there is that increased possibilities for acting come with increased knowledge. If you know of other ways of going about something, there's increased possibilities, right? If all you have is a hammer and you only know how to use a hammer, then there's only a limited number of things you can do with it. But if you start to learn other tools and other methods and other ways of going about things, You'll be amazed. I have, every once in a while I'll make a woodworking analogy, I have a little bit of a hobby of woodworking. I'm incredibly amazed by the different ways people go about accomplishing the same task. Sometimes I'm like, oh, wow, like there's 18 different ways to do, cut one little line in a board, you know, that kind of idea. Like, oh, you could do it this way, or you could do it this way, or if you have this, you could do it this way. And again, again, you could have done it the other way, you could have done it the one way you know, but with increased knowledge comes increased possibilities for acting. Much heartache is the result of action that's taken not in accordance with truth, but when energy is expended in accordance with truth, it will receive a much better return. There is a power associated with knowing. Second thing, consider this, the power of knowing something essential, practical, and sure. Whatever has been your educational journey, I'm sure there have been moments in which you have found yourself neck deep in information and wondered, when am I ever going to use this stuff? Have you ever been there? I'm sure all of us have been there at some point in time. Hopefully not right now. But at some other time, listening to somebody else teach, you felt that impression. When am I ever going to use this stuff? If you were to plot people on a continuum of theoretical to practical, I think we'd be able to find people of different variation. Some of us, consider these two descriptions and you figure out which one you think you land in more. I'm going to force you all to pick one. So pick, but no in-between votes here, no halfway votes. You got to pick one or the other. So think about these two camps and just ask yourself the question, which of these two do I lean more into? First one is this. Some of us are pure knowledge gatherers. An extensive reason for learning isn't required for these sorts of people. They just love gaining new facts. They're just in it for the joy of discovery, the thrill of a new concept, the acquisition of a new vocabulary word. They may never need to call that bit of information back to mind ever again, but they seek to grasp the thing nonetheless. These are people who excel at jeopardy. They're experts at trivial pursuit. These are people who like facts and figures, and they don't care where they got them from, and they just like to chew on information, whether or not it's practically useful. There's another camp of people who are more application-minded. Typically, these people need to see the connection between learning and doing very early on in the discussion. Otherwise, they've already determined they're not going to give it any more of their attention. They're going to check out pretty quickly. The more likely the lesson being taught manifests itself in a real-world application, some sort of profitability, some accomplished task, et cetera, the more invested this kind of learner is. Now it has to be guessed that none of us are 100% one way or the other. We are all some blend of both of that. And I'm sure that as I was describing those categories, you might identify though with more or one or the other group. So just for kicks, I'm going to make you raise your hand. I don't make you do this very often. I want you to raise your hand if you think, you kind of lean towards the pure knowledge learner. You don't care where it comes from. You just like learning. It doesn't matter. Raise your hand. Be proud, you couple of people out there. OK, great. There's a few of you. OK, wonderful. I'm glad there's a few of you like me. OK. And then, would the rest of you raise your hand? That means the rest of you have to raise your hand. You must be more application driven. OK, I just want to say for a second, I'm looking around here, that was definitely not the other half. I saw about a quarter of the people in the first. I was just in three quarters there. There are people still holding out. I'm in the middle. You've got to tell me one way or the other. Let's try this again. Pure learners, raise your hand. You don't care, but you have to have a reason to learn. All of you, you're going to stick around later today. We're going to have a little bit of time together. All those application people, raise your hand. OK, good. Expected that kind of result. Expected that kind of result. Now I think that my citizenship in pure knowledge land is well established in general. My wife is definitely more, she's born and raised in application land, so it's good to have her as a complement in my own marriage. This even affects as we talk sometimes about preaching afterward where She'll say, you know, you spent 20 minutes discussing this minutiae. I don't see how it connected. I'm like, oh, yeah, okay. Yeah, she's probably right. She's like, I think you probably lost half the people there. I'm like, you're probably right. I said, but there's two people out there that really love that part of the sermon. And so I'm here for you guys that are out there. I'm here for you too. But I will say to the 95% of people who are more like my wife, that it's good to have that kind of advice. And feel free to come by my office and tell me where I can be more applicational. I'd love to talk to you further about that, especially if we're just talking about it theoretically. So what I want you to see here is that all of us probably have some sort of blend there, but we probably land on one side or the other. I, myself, usually like the deep dives into exegetical minutia. I want to see the behind-the-scenes work that led somebody to an exegetical conclusion. I want to know not only what they believe but why they believe it and how they landed there and all that, all the details. My wife, in general, would rather just, you know, get to the point, provide me some direction, tell me where we're going here. But I think we can learn from both lands. We've been given a mind to develop and use for God's glory, and sometimes that means exercising our thinking in ways that don't arrive at immediate life application. But gaining knowledge with never a desire to do something about that knowledge is also to miss out on the power that that knowledge unlocks. In fact, if the desire to learn is not linked to application, one can easily land, as I mentioned earlier, in a place of prideful arrogance. It's often in the applying of knowledge that we come to appraise the value of what we've learned. And sometimes even through the application there where we test the knowledge that we have learned. So I think you'd agree that knowing something is usually better than not knowing something. Now there might be some bits of knowledge you're like, I wish I rather did not know that, okay? There might be some things like that that fall into that category. But in general, knowing something's better than not knowing something. Therefore, knowledge itself is a gift, it's also a responsibility. We ought to get knowledge and get understanding. Proverbs says the beginning of wisdom is? The fear of the Lord, that's one of them. But another proverb says, the beginning of knowledge is get knowledge. The beginning of understanding is get understanding. In other words, there's responsibility on you to gain this. We're taught to gain knowledge. And the more essential, the more practically relevant, the more certain something is, the more valuable is that knowledge. If a piece of knowledge provides an important vantage point, or shapes your entire worldview, or provides a home base for thinking about all of life, you can be absolutely sure, and you can be absolutely sure that it is the truth. With this knowledge, you'll acquire even more power, right? So it's one thing to know this little picayune thing over here and be able to employ it in this once-in-a-lifetime moment. Like, oh, that was pretty cool. It's another thing to know, have a piece of knowledge that guides all of your thinking, guides all of your feeling, guides all of your interactions with things day in and day out. Now, it will require that you not only know this truth, but that it is practiced day in and day out. But if you will, I believe that Romans 8.28 summarizes a core reality so powerful that I don't think it an overstatement to say that this enlightenment trumps what we call the enlightenment period. I think what is given through this verse, through the truth that's communicated through this verse, is so incredible that it will revolutionize the way you see everything. Yes, some incredible thoughts arose, some amazing developments transpired, some notable figures left their mark on the world back in the 1700s, but what Romans 8.28 deals with is something pertinent to every day that you're alive, every interaction you have, every circumstance you find yourself in, every situation you encounter. And it's something you already know, if you're a Christian. It's something you already know. So just let me make sure that you know it rightly. And let me make sure and encourage you to endeavor to apply it to everything as it comes your way. For that, we look at the content of this alignment at point two. What truth qualifies as being so basic to the Christian life as to affect everything we encounter? It's a big statement. It's a big claim. It affects everything? Everything? Well, that's what the verse says. Let's note number two, the enlightenment. What is it that we know? What do we know? I'm gonna begin by just talking about the amazing shift of perspective that this is. The piece de resistance, a French term used when speaking of a masterpiece or a magnum opus, sometimes used to describe like some major quality or remarkable feature in something. Romans 8.28 is that sort of thing as it relates to assurance for the Christian life. I've demonstrated in previous sermons that this chapter of Romans is meant to provide a stalwart defense of eternal security. Sometimes referred to as once saved, always saved. Sometimes referred to as the perseverance of the saints. Some people refer to it as the preservation of the saints. All those phrases kind of get at the same central idea. Those whom God saves, he keeps. And that means that everything that happens in the life of a Christian is all part of God's master plan. And if you take that content in and you really believe it, it is completely life-altering. It is like being given a new pair of glasses. It's like seeing life through a different lens. It's as if you've been given now the secret backstage pass, a behind-the-scenes view of how the entire show comes together. And while you saw the external workings, you're now being ushered behind the curtain to see what's going on back there. How is this all working this way? This verse succinctly declares that life is proceeding in accordance with God's plan, and God, who makes no mistakes and knows what he's doing, will accomplish all his good pleasure. Now this life might look much like a cross-stitch or needlework project. I asked my mom, I said, I don't do many object illustrations, but I knew that my mom could help me with this. You know, my grandmother was into needlework, and I was actually observing one of them on the wall over her house. And this is one of the pieces that she made. I guess, Mom, is this in 2010? Is that what that means up there? I see it says MP Mary Peterson, I guess, 10. Oh, I don't even know how to orient it. See, that's part of the thing we're talking about here today. So notice here we have this needlework project, and it looks beautiful. And then when I turn around to the back side, I remember watching my grandmother working on one of these, and the memory came back to me. I remember seeing all these frayed strings and all of that. And from this side, you can kind of make out what's going on there, but it's a little fuzzy, right? And it's definitely messy. not very presentable. But when we turn it around, all of a sudden the image becomes a lot more clear, doesn't it? Have you ever seen one of those YouTube videos before where there's a speed painter who's painting and he's painting all this stuff and it kind of doesn't make sense and he's doing it really, really fast and you're still trying to figure out what's the image and at the very end he turns the entire canvas upside down and he's painted an entire image upside down, since it would become right side up when he flips it upside down. And in the moment you're like, oh, there was a method to the madness. I'm sure that a lot of life looks like. that upside down painting. A lot of life can look like a bunch of frayed yarn that's just spread all about. And you can maybe make out a bit of the image, but it's kind of hard, especially when you're looking at anything particular, right? There might be a particular moment in which you're like, I don't quite understand. I mean, a lot of this I get, but why this red line all the way across here? What's with that? Why is this connected to this way? And we might feel that sometimes in life. How does this fit with what's being said here? The promise contained in Romans 8.28 is that things are progressing according to the master artist's design. One day, there will be a grand reveal. One day, the canvas will be flipped around. One day, you'll see the beautiful work of art that God has completed. And this verse is an encouragement to live in light of that sure fact. You know, after watching my grandmother make a couple of these, then if I'm looking at the backside, I'm like, oh, that's not what it's gonna look like, right? I now know, I know that that's not what it's gonna look like. She's gonna do something amazing with this thing. And when she flips it around, it's gonna be incredible. How much more our good God? How much more the God who is the creator of all, the sovereign over all, the one who's sustaining all? How much more sure can we be of that? Let's consider this awesome guarantee of good. The NAS 95 reads, God causes all things to work together for good. If you read in any other pretty much modern translation, the Legacy even, the King James, the ESV, NIV, they all here translate the passage actually more literally than the NAS. They translate it here, all things work together for good. That's the more literal translation. But when considering the means by which all things work together, regardless of the translation, which every commentator says, who's the one who's making sure that all things work together for good? It is God. We know very well enough in this fallen world we don't result in a lot of happy endings, especially not in all circumstances. Life is not just a constant string of comedies. There's a whole lot of tragedy mixed into this fallen world. And we know that for good to come out of bad circumstances, it's usually the case that a lot of intentional energy is required. Beautiful gardens are the production of a lot of ground preparation and careful selective planting and watering and weeding and pruning. So it is with the most of the goods that we experience in this life. They don't just happen. There's a lot of hard work. There's a lot of intentional work. But try as we might, we can't make all of the sad things untrue. We can't force all the bad things into goods. We can't simply bid them good day or pretend that they don't exist. In fact, there are many troubles and trials and hardships that we won't have answers for in this life. So this promise that we know is truly awesome. This is where this promise really shines. What it's telling us is this, God is going to overrule all things that happen, all events, all circumstances, all situations in such a way as to make them work together for good. Doriani says, God orchestrates disparate events for his good ends. The Greek word here is synergeo, which sounds like synergy or synergism. The word means to work together. It appears a few times in the New Testament. One's over in Mark 16, 20 when it describes the Lord working with the disciples while they preached everywhere. So it says when the disciples were sent out to preach, the Lord was working with them. Sunere geo, working with them in this regard. In 1 Corinthians 16, 16, Paul tells the Corinthians to submit to ministers of the gospel who work with him. So Paul is saying, hey church, submit to these guys because they're working with me. They're Sunere ghetto with me. They're working together. There's a synergism in our work. Second Corinthians 6.1, Paul describes his companion's ministry and his ministry as that of working with Jesus. We get done with Second Corinthians 5, the end of that passage, and then he comes right in at 6.1 and says, we're working together with this ministry of reconciliation. Like, we're working with Jesus in bringing to pass this effect. James 2.22, it's described, it's used to describe faith working with works by which faith is perfected. So this word happens a few times in the New Testament. It describes working together of various elements to produce an effect greater than the sum of each element acting separately. And sometimes the word could describe even an unintended or a surprise effect as a result of two seemingly at odds things bringing about something glorious. Two seemingly bad things bringing about something incredibly good. Being a chemistry teacher, the example that comes immediately to mind is that of the combination of sodium with chlorine. Sodium is poisonous to the human body. Chlorine is as well. But add them together and get sodium chloride and you have table salt. Something we have all the time with our meals, right? And we usually notice when it's absent. So something that would be poisonous to the human body is separated, is glorious to the tongue, and helpful, at least on some level, in certain amounts to the human body, right? There's a synergistic effect when sodium and chlorine come together to make sodium chloride. So we have a promise that God is working all things together for good. But let's think for just a moment about the phrase there, all things or everything. Here we have the absolute inclusion of everything. This verse appears to be a summary statement kind of like that was pointing back to Romans 5. I think you could argue that a lot of Romans 5 almost sets the stage for the rest of like what Romans ends up talking about. You see a lot of themes that Romans 5 brings up that then Paul returns to and kind of describes in further detail. And Romans 5, 3, and 4 says not only this, but we exult in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope. So he says we can rejoice in sufferings. We can rejoice in tribulations. We can rejoice in these things because there's a method to God's madness. So it seems to be madness to us, but it's just God's wisdom. But whenever we come across the word all, it's appropriate that we ask the question, what's included in that word? There are times in informal language when we use the word all, and we don't actually mean all. Let me give you an example from the Bible. See, for example, Mark 1 5, we're told, that all the country of Judea was going out to Jesus, all the people of Jerusalem, and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. I'm sorry, this is a John the Baptist. So all of the country of Judea was coming out to him, all the people of Jerusalem. Now, Does that mean that every single individual throughout Jerusalem was there at the Jordan River being baptized by John the Baptist? No. We know from other accounts in specific that there was people like wondering what's going on there, like disagreeing with what John was doing. So certainly this doesn't include every single soul. It's a statement being used to say that a majority or a lot of people were showing up. We'll do that ourselves, right? All of Houston showed up for the Astros game, you know? And we don't mean that actually every single Houstonian was there present. It couldn't fit them if they wanted to be, right? So the word all can sometimes not mean every single soul. So are there any exceptions here? When we see this word, all, all things or everything, are there exceptions? What's fascinating is that if you read Calvin's commentary on this passage, he says that this is a reference only to the hard things, to the evil plots, to the trials, the hardships, the troubles we encounter. The reason why he argues that way is he believes that contextually, the immediate context, talking about, remember, suffering in prayer where we don't know what to pray and stuff of this nature, he's arguing that the all things here is still a reference to that. Those who follow Calvin's argument do so because they think that the context of enlightening here happens in that of groaning and pain and giving these precious promises in the midst of pain and groaning. So what it's trying to say is that even these things are included in God's plan. But I don't see any reason to just require such a limitation here. Nor do I think it's reasonable to exclude good times as operating for our good as well. Consider James 117. For every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. Now we can take for granted, and we ought not, but we can take for granted that God is the giver of all good things. And we can take for granted that good things are given to us for good ends. We ought not take that for granted, but we can. I certainly don't have to probably take much time to explain to you how God giving a good gift to his child is a good thing. I don't know many people who have ever objected to God saying, how dare you give me this good thing, God? How does this fit into your plan? Isn't it fascinating? The only time we ever ask God if something doesn't fit is if we consider it a bad thing. The good things we always just assume to be a good thing, leading to good things. So again, I think that Calvin's contraction here of saying this is only talking about bad things, I would disagree with him there, but it is definitely the case that it is the harder situation to explain how it is that bad events are worked together with everything to bring about good. But if God is sovereign, he is sovereign in toto, right? He's sovereign over everything. Proverbs 16, 33, I love how clear this one is. The lot is cast into the lap, but its decision, every decision is from the Lord. So there's even elements of chance, right? Chance. Its decision is of the Lord. Now, by the way, anybody want to go out and gamble, that means even when you lose, its decision is from the Lord, right? So there's no promise here that it'll all go your way. It just says whatever the result is, is of the Lord. There is no ultimate randomness in the world. Haldane said, The creation of the world, the fall and the redemption of man, all the dispensations of providence, whether prosperous or adverse, all occurrences and events, all things whatsoever they be, work for their good. They work together in their efficacy, in their unity, and in their connection. They do not work thus of themselves. It is God that turns all things to the good of his children. So note here, if we say God is sovereign, he is sovereign over everything. Everything. So now this is when we ask the question, so what good do we get out of the synergism of bad things? I'm gonna just take for granted I don't have to do this explanation, this apologetic for the good things. How do good things result in good? But how do the bad things result in good? Let me give you two main categories here to think about this for a minute. I'm just gonna, we're at the tip of the iceberg. I'll let you then start thinking about it further. But I'll give you a couple of thoughts to think about. The first one is suffering. How is suffering worked together with all things to bring about good? How is it that God is using suffering? How is suffering synergized to good? I'm sure we would all quickly think, if we're thinking about biblical examples, of the story of Job and the sufferings that he encountered. Remember, Job isn't told about the behind the scenes that are going on there. Job has his possessions pillaged. He has his children killed. His body is torn up. And yet he replies in Job 121, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And after his wife counsels him and Job 2.9 to curse God and die, by the way, wives, that's usually not helpful advice to your husband when he's going through a hard time, so maybe don't do that one, Job replies in verse 10, you speak as one of the foolish women speaks, I think he was very controlled there in his response, anyway, you speak as one of the foolish women speaks, shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? Notice here, Job says the good and the bad come by God's hand. Think about the situation of Israel. We had this read a few moments ago from Deuteronomy 8. Moses there is in the midst of reminding Israel about what God had done in rescuing them in the Exodus. He's preparing them for their entrance into the promised land that Moses himself will not go into. That's why it's called second law. It's like a retelling of the law. He's retelling them events. He's making sure they're mindful of things. He's concerned they're going to forget the Lord when they come into the promised land. Why? Because he knows how horrible the human heart is, right? How as soon as everything goes good, we can just forget the Lord. And we see this problem in Israel's history. We see this problem in probably our own lives as well. But he says in verses 15 and 16 of Deuteronomy 8, he led you through the great and terrible wilderness with his fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water. He brought water for you out of the Rock of Flint. In the wilderness he fed you manna which your fathers did not know. that he might humble you and he might test you to do good for you in the end. Note here, you went through all of that stuff. And you know, we can read that in just, you know, a few seconds. How many years are we talking about for Israel? 40 years, right? So this is, we can read that quickly, but imagine, oh yeah, that 40 years of your life, guys, that was to prepare you for good. That 40 years of wilderness life, that was to prepare you for good. What about Jeremiah's situation? You know, one of the most famous verses quoted at graduation services, I don't know if there's even like non-Christians at graduation, will quote Jeremiah 2911, right? For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. What I love to just remind people about is the context in which that promise is given. This is given prior to captivity, So that way when people go out into captivity, they'll have a promise that one day God's gonna take us out of this. This is not a promise to Israel that everything's gonna go well for you. It's a promise that God has this, you're in his hands. But if you were to consider this, that means that it might even be the next generation that encounters this promise. You might die out there in captivity. God's good plan is still happening, but it might not seem to you to be so good. You see, the time in between the promise and the fulfillment might mean a lot of rocky path. It might be a lot of uncomfortability in between the promise and the fulfillment. I mean, we can read this now and go like, look at what God did, you know. He released them from captivity. They came back into the land. But that's a different thing for the person who's about to or in the midst of going through those hard things. The situation reminds us that all things working together for good may be a story that unfolds over many years or may end up bringing a good that we could never have seen or perhaps not even experienced in our lifetime. So how is it even good for those who don't see the end of the story in their own lifetime? Like, how can we consider it still good for them? I think Lloyd-Jones has a couple of good comments. One of them is this, it's good to have the routine of life upset occasionally, no matter what the actual cause of the interruption may be. It's interesting. Sometimes we need to be woken up from our status quo. And God can do that through a blessing, yes. But he can also do that through a trial. And while we might not seek out suffering, for it's not inherently good, God works suffering for the good of his children. It might be that we have a need to be roused from spiritual lethargy and sluggishness. Sometimes a little pain reminds us of our dependence upon the Lord. Sometimes a little pain humbles us. Sometimes a little sickness drives us to our knees. Sometimes a little thing not going our way causes us to consider, where am I receiving my comfort? From this world or from the Lord? Sometimes difficulties and hardships make me lean on other Christians' shoulders and talk to them about my struggles and ask them to pray with me about those things. Develop relationship with other people. Sometimes what it will do is a little bit of suffering, a little bit of pain, a little bit of hardship will disassociate us with too much loving this world and remind us to long for our heavenly home, for the new heavens and new earth. Puritan Thomas Watson said, a sick bed often teaches us more than a sermon. A sick bed often teaches us more than a sermon. Listen to Psalm 119. Three verses from Psalm 119. This is verse 67. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. See this? The affliction brought to him caused him to recenter on the word of God and keep it. Psalm 119, verse 71. It is good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn your statutes. He learned God's word through the avenue of affliction. Or verse 75, I know, O Lord, that your judgments are righteous and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. You have brought hardship to me because you're faithful. So next time we're praying about something to be gone and we go, Lord, I know you're faithful, so take care of this problem, it might be, yes, I am faithful and I will be with you through the problem. It might not be the removal of the problem. What about temptation and sin? How can those be synergized to good? Well, seeing sin in ourselves and seeing sin in others should create in us a greater hatred for sin. In moments in which sin is engaged in, our spiritual weakness becomes evident to us and we're driven to further humility and asking the Lord for forgiveness and restoration. Augustine famously said that even the sins of the saints are, through the guiding providence of God, so far from doing them harm that on the contrary they serve to advance their salvation. So by God's grace, even sin is used for good, as it is useful in combating spiritual pride. It makes us admit our weaknesses, causes us to rely on the Holy Spirit all the more, causes us to seek out brothers and sisters in Christ to help us, causes us to rely all the more on Christ. It makes our boast solely in Him. It reminds us that it is only by His grace that we're rescued and redeemed and saved. And it certainly increases our longing for heaven, when even the presence of sin will be done away with. Sin is still wrong. We're called to holiness, but when sin happens in the life of a believer, God overrules even that sin for good. How can we say that so emphatically? Well, besides just the general tenor of scripture and the teaching of redemption, the story that comes to my mind immediately is the story of Joseph. Joseph's life is much the result of sins committed. Remember that his brothers don't like him very much. Joseph seemed to share a little bit too much about his dreams and visions, and his dad's favoritism towards him didn't help him much either. And so his brothers are kind of sick and tired of the dreamer talking about these dreams that involve them bowing down to him, and even mom and dad. This doesn't really sit well with them. And so they decide one day to kill him, and then remember in a turn of events, they end up instead of killing him, selling him to the Ishmaelites. off into slavery he goes. And it's many, many years later when they find themselves bowing before Joseph. As Joseph is second in command in Egypt, by Joseph's own words, almost like first in command in Egypt by the way in which Pharaoh had given him so much authority and so much power. But there in Genesis 45, which we had read this morning, when Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, at first they're just doubtful, I'm sure, and then secondly, they're like scared to death, right? Like, this is the guy that we almost killed and we sold into slavery, and now we are utterly in his hands. Here's payback, right? Here's the time for payback. And listen to what Joseph says. Now, do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. Notice, they're responsible for selling him there. For God sent me before you to preserve life. They sinned in doing what they did to his brother. to their brother, and yet Joseph says it's God who is actually acting even through your sinful actions. For the famine has been in the land for these two years, and there are still five years in which they'll be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God." Note here, three times he says, it wasn't you, it was God. God was orchestrating this providence. Now again, we know the whole story, right? But think of yourself as Joseph in prison, in Potiphar's prison. Like, are you feeling that to be a good plan right there? Does it feel good? Remember a little bit later in the story, Jacob dies. And now the brothers are scared again. Why? Well, now that dad's gone, maybe Joseph's just been holding back his wrath until dad is gone. He's gonna let dad die in peace and now he's after us. And so again, as soon as Jacob dies, his brothers are cowering. They're scared. And Joseph approaches them again. You see this in Genesis 50 verse 20. This is the more famous quoted version of this. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive. You see, God saw, Joseph saw God overruling the sins of others to bring about good for untold numbers of people. He says, what you did for me, to me, was evil and sinful and wrong, but God was actually working through that, even through your sinful actions, to bring about this present result. Then not only you guys would be alive, but untold numbers of people would be preserved. So can God work even in the midst of your sins for good? Yes. Can God work when other people sin against you for the good? Yes. Because again, if God is sovereign, he's sovereign. Period. He's sovereign over everything. So we've seen the content of the Enlightenment. We end with who are the ones here being described. Who is the we? Who is the we? We know this. Who is the we? And we have two descriptions within this text describing who the we is, who the enlightened ones are. First of all, we have the word there, to those loving God. Here's a clear indication of who it is that knows this truth. It is only those who love God who know and are guaranteed of this promise. It's interesting here that it's not those who know God who know this truth, but those who love God who know this truth. Now certainly those who love God must know God, but there are theists, there are people who admit to God's existence that don't love him. A Christian is distinctively known as one who loves God. Their chief loyalty is to God. You see, what I love about the phrase here, love, is that love is a description of every real Christian, but only of Christians. True salvation produces love for God. Again, Romans 5.5, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts. through the Holy Spirit who's given to us. Notice again, Romans 5, there at the beginning, talking about suffering, tribulations, it all lands in hope. Who does it land in hope for? For the ones who have the love of God poured out within their hearts, through the Holy Spirit who's given to us. We love God, and we love what God loves, and we hate what God hates. This is something that those who love God know and are promised. Those who hate God do not know this, nor are they promised it. This is an important distinction because however well-meaning the four spiritual laws are as an evangelistic tool, I don't think we should lead in on evangelism with, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. For those who do not repent and come to Christ, the unfolding plan of God for them is one of death and judgment. This statement is only true to the lost sinner who stays in their sin, it's only true to them in the sense that, yeah, God has a wonderful plan that involves judgment for you, whereby he will be arrayed in glory by exacting a perfect and just punishment against your sin. And it is his wonderful plan. You might not consider it so wonderful, but it is his wonderful plan. He will receive glory in the damnation of sinners, just as he receives glory in the salvation of them, But I don't think this is how a sinner would take that statement at face value, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. I've seen, by the way, some other renditions. They've made some other renditions to this. So somebody said, God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. Better. Or God loves you and created you to know him personally. Better. But I still don't think this is the best approach to sinners in need of a savior. It's true that God is love, but it's also true that God is light and God is holy and God is righteous and God is true. I think it'd be better for us to describe who God is to the sinner. Yes, he's also loving and merciful and gracious. We need to talk about that. We can talk about what he's done for sinners through his son Jesus, but we need to first establish the holiness of God, the power of God, the greatness of God, the righteousness of God. And then we need to talk about man's sin, his sinfulness, his rebellion, that he justly deserves punishment. And then we can talk about Jesus, where God's love shines most bright, as he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Haldane says at Riley, so far from working for good or for the best to his enemies, everything is working to their final ruin. Again, if you define that wonderful plan as God bringing perfect judgment against sinners, then yes, it's still a wonderful plan. But usually what's meant by that is personally for you, it's probably not the best way to approach it. Again, Romans 118, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Such people, we're told in Romans 2, 5, are storing up wrath for themselves in the day of wrath and the righteous judgment of God. So it doesn't help a sinner to walk away from a conversation that's supposed to be evangelistic thinking, oh, well, God has a wonderful plan for my life anyway. No, he doesn't. If you stay in your sin, there isn't good things coming. This promise is not being fulfilled to you. For you, there's a day of wrath. You're storing up wrath for the day of judgment. You're under the wrath of God, a holy God. Those who love God, and then look at the last phrase that we're given here to describe these. It's as if to make sure that we understand by which nature we love God, look at, to those who are called according to his purpose. Those called by God. The believers love for God. So we have a further explanation, is ultimately due to God's purpose in calling them unto salvation. And these two descriptions, friends, while we can distinguish the two, they cannot be separated from one another. Those who love God are called by God, and all those called by God love God. There is no such thing as a person who's called by God that doesn't love him. And there's no such thing as a person who loves God who wasn't called by God. They go together. You can distinguish the two. We can talk about what that means to be called by God. I'll do it in just a moment. And we can then talk about what it means for someone to love God. We can talk about those things. We can distinguish them, but they can't be separated. They're married together. Kind of like repentance and faith. You can't say, I've repented of sins, but not placed faith in Christ. Or I've believed in Jesus, but I'm not repenting of my sin. No, they come together. They're together. They're married together. It's like two sides of the same coin. We do love God, but it's because God called us in salvation. And this is why this clarifying phrase is appended here to verse 28, to those who are called according to his purpose. Calvin says it well, this clause seems to have been added as a modification lest anyone should think that the faithful, because they love God, obtained by their own merit the advantage of deriving such fruit from their adversaries. or adversities. So he's saying here, just in case you think it's because of how well you've loved God that good things are coming your way, this is appended here. It's being added. So you realize, oh, the reason why I love God is because God called me according to his purpose. That's why this is happening. We indeed know that when salvation is a subject, men are disposed to begin with themselves and to imagine certain preparations by which they could anticipate the favor of God. Hence, Paul teaches us that those whom he has spoken of as loving God had been previously chosen by him. Think of 1 John 4, 19. We love because he first loved us. God takes the initiative in loving sinners. We only love because he first loved us. But we do indeed love him. It is a right thing to talk about Christians loving God. We do. It's a distinguishing mark of a genuine follower of Christ. but all those who love God are the called. Now who are these the called? There's a rightful distinction that's made by many describing the phrase calling because there's one sense in which everyone experiences the calling of God if you've ever heard the gospel. There's an outward call of the gospel, a declaration of the truth of who Jesus is, who God is, what you are as a man, your need to come to faith in Christ, your need to repent of sin. That's the outward call. Everyone hearing the gospel is a recipient of that. But that's not something we talked about here, because that would refer to anybody who's ever heard the gospel. And this is a specific thing to those who love God. There are people who've heard the outward call that don't love God. But the ones here that love God are those who have been inwardly called. This is an inward call, or sometimes referred to as an effectual call, whereby the Holy Spirit has convicted a sinner of his or her rebellion against God, and has opened their eyes to see Jesus, causing them to be born again. whereby with a new heart they're persuaded and enabled to trust in Christ. This is why in the same room, right, the outward call can go out and there can be some that it falls on deaf ears and others can treasure Jesus and love Christ. Zwingli said it right, God draws us inwardly, which is to say he renders us believers by so drawing us that our mind adheres to him and trusts in him. Now, the good news is we'll have much more time to talk about these matters in coming weeks. In verses 29 and 30, we'll have lots of time to talk about it. Romans 9, we'll have lots of time to talk about it, so we'll save it for there. Let me close with just a couple of thoughts and a couple of quotes. So many things that people have written on Romans 8-28, it could be a complete quote fest here. I won't do that. Nothing can ultimately work against God's people because all things work together for good by God's sovereign purpose and design. That's the point. That's the life-altering realization, enlightenment. John Montana explains, we should be careful not to think that God has a good lurking behind each evil. And although there are plenty of times that God allows evil to take place so that a greater good may happen, I'm not convinced that means that every evil is intended by God for a greater good to come from it. Instead, thinking back to Romans 8.17, our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed. We might add to that also 2 Corinthians 4, 17. Momentary light affliction is producing for us a weight of eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. The good news within this promise is that nothing that takes place in a believer's life happens outside of God's care, concern, and control. Even though we may not always understand how and why. I like this. This is like the inversion of the truth. If everything If everything that happens is being worked together by God to good, then that means nothing that happens is outside of His care. Nothing that happens is outside of His control. Nothing that happens is outside of His work and love. Close with a few words from Lloyd-Jones. This is from one of his, I think, five sermons on this verse. He says this, So you say to yourself, I do not understand fully, but if it is a part of God's treatment of me, I am content. I'm ready to go on even in the dark in this way, as long as I know that it is God who is dealing with me for my good. The answer reminds us of one of the paradoxical truths about the Christian. He is a man who can be certain about the ultimate, even when he is most uncertain about the immediate. Let me say it again. He is a man who can be certain about the ultimate, even when he is most uncertain about the immediate. The fact that we do not understand what is happening to us in the present should never be allowed to disturb us about the ultimate. That's really good. So you understand what's going on here. This is the paradigm shift. If I know that God is working all things together for good, because I've been called by Him, and I love Him, which manifests the fact that I am His. If I am His, and He's the one in charge, and He's orchestrating all things, then even though I don't get how this fits, He does, and that's all that matters. So I'll walk through the dark. I'll go through the valley. I'll go through the hardship. I'll go through the trial. I'll feel the suffering. And while I don't praise the suffering itself or the hardship itself, I know that God, who is over all things, is using it somehow. And in that I find hope. In that I find comfort. In that I find assurance that no matter what comes my way, my God is in control. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your glorious word and for this clarifying verse. What a wondrous promise to know that there is not one rogue atom in the universe off doing its own thing, but all things are under your sovereign care and guidance and direction. That means everything. While there are mysteries to be had, certainly we struggle with understanding the intricacies of how things like man's responsibility for sin and your sovereignty interact. We struggle with sometimes understanding how these things all fit together. What we will do is we will trust what you have said, even when our finite minds are incapable of grasping some of the details in there. Thank you for the wondrous hope that we find in knowing that you are sovereign, Lord, and working in the midst of all things. Help us to take this sort of attitude with us wherever we go. Help us to see things through this light. Help us to remember the stories of saints who have gone before us, who maybe even went through many years of trial or hardship without understanding particular whys. Remind us of who you are, remind us of your greatness and goodness to us, and give us contentment in the midst of it. Help us to live for you. May all this rebound to your glory. We look forward, Lord, to the day in which you turn the canvas around and we see the picture more clearly. We trust you as the master artist, as the master architect, that you are fulfilling all your good purpose. Thank you for those who are my brothers and sisters in here for having included us in that. for giving us this precious promise. And if there are any that are lost, and right now they have to admit, I'm right now under God's wrath. Thank you for revealing that to them. Thank you that they've seen that. Help them to feel the discomfort that comes with that. Help them to know that if their life continues on its same path, they're headed to destruction. And so arrest them of that path. Cause them to stop in their tracks. Give them repentance and faith that they would turn to Christ and be saved. We pray all this in his name, amen.