Why?
Romans 8:28-39
Why?
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Why? When tragedy strikes, it is impossible not to question God. “Why?” is often the first question to break the silence of our lips in these times of greatest sorrow. Though I could argue that this should never be the first question to fling toward the throne of Heaven, I nevertheless know that in my hour of grief I will lift my voice to God and cry out, as does all humanity, “Why?” I will ask the question of God, though I know that asking why is neither wise nor can it expect an answer from our God.
In the day of darkest sorrow, logic no longer prevails. Rather, it is emotion… raw, painful, searing emotion controlling our minds when we are wounded. Thus it is that seated among us this day are just such wounded individuals, and the question hanging over many heads is that question which unbidden plagues our minds—“why?”
Though I cannot hope to provide a complete answer to the particular question formed in your mind at this hour, nor dare I hope to formulate an answer which will satisfy at some future time, I am convinced that within the Word is found a great hope. In the Roman Letter, the Apostle to the Gentiles provides hope which will suffice to comfort us in our sorrow and to give us courage for the future. The promise lies bounded by some of the most comforting words known to mankind.
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose [8:28]. I am bold to suggest that these words have provided a soft pillow for multiplied weary heads since the day they were written. How many times have you read these words? How often have they comforted you? Do you believe them? The promise provides hope in the face of hopelessness. The words give light in the midst of the darkest night. The revelation encourages us when courage fails. Paul’s statement forms the support needed to dare believe that life has purpose and that God works even when we are unable to see His hand protecting and guiding and directing.
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us [8:37]. This is the other side of the equation. In this fallen world, we who are Christians are not victims, but rather we are victors. Between these consoling verses lies a revelation of what God is doing. Throughout the passage we discover the heart of a Father who is too loving to needlessly hurt His beloved children, and a Father who is too wise to make a mistake.
The text provides a concise synopsis of the hope possessed by the child of God. All that I would say today is directed to comfort the hearts of those who have placed their faith in the Risen Son of God. We who are born from above and into the Kingdom of God have every reason to rejoice—even in the face of death. You who have yet to place your faith in Him who conquered death cannot understand the truths which I shall shortly rehearse for the people of God.
Therefore, I invite my fellow Christians to join me in exploring the divine design. I long to impart sound instruction which will equip you to live godly lives, even as it permits you to draw comfort and hope from the Word. I invite each of you who are yet considering the Faith to listen carefully in order that you may discover the grace of God which can be yours as well, when you have embraced Christ as Lord of life. Witness in the words of this text the plan of God for those who are His beloved people.
God is at Work in our Darkest Night. We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose [8:28]. I would have you seize this truth—God does work. Even when our eyes are unable to discern His labour, we are confident that He does work for our good and for His glory. As Christians we are taught, and we believe, that we live by faith, not by sight [2 Corinthians 5:7].
Though we cannot always see God at work in the midst of our world, we are nevertheless assured that He does work—and that on our behalf. Moreover, the work which God is doing is for our good and for His glory. We Christians are assured of this truth, and though we know it, we are yet prone to neglect it to our own detriment.
The pressures of the day conspire to erode our confidence and drain our energies. The sorrows which grip our souls and the worries which dog our steps threaten our joy and steal our peace, but we do not lose heart. We who are Christians see such things differently than does the rest of the world. Can anything appear darker to our minds than the thought of such depression and despair as to cause a child of God to wish for death? Can anything seem more oppressive to us than this thought that death should win?
Our bodies are mortal. They are taken from the dust of the earth and they must one day be returned to the dust. Though we are born from above and though our spirits are made new, our bodies are subject to weakness and these same bodies are constantly wearing away, just as are the bodies of the lost. Paul states that we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us [2 Corinthians 4:7]. The Good News which we carry and which sets us apart as different from those who shall one day perish is contained within these jars of clay.
Whenever this passage is read we immediately think of the fact that our physical bodies must one day surrender to the inevitable—and we shall die. I concede that the passage does confront us with the fact that we are growing weaker each day. Though I watch my diet and exercise regularly and do everything I can to prepare myself for a long and productive life, yet I am mortal and I know that my days on this earth must end. The passage does point to my physical body and it does speak of the fact that I am weak.
The verse speaks as well of who I am (a point easily overlooked). There is a peculiar effervescence which contaminates the thinking of much of the world and leads us to focus especially on the physical aspects of our being. Young women are convinced that they must wear a size six dress in order to be accepted in the world. Young men are convinced that they must be slender and muscular and have thick, black, curly hair if they will ever amount to anything in the world. Such a view is quite superficial, but it is nevertheless prevalent among the inhabitants of this dying world.
Just as my body displays increasingly the effects of my fallen state, my mind also progressively reveals my fallen condition. I don’t react as quickly as I once did, nor do I think as clearly as in younger days. With ageing, my reactions slow and my ability to handle multiple tasks is compromised. Short-term memory ceases to work as efficiently as it once did. This is a best-case scenario!
The great, unspoken fear of the baby-boomers is the spectre of Alzheimer disease. The nameless fear which frightens us is the thought that we may lose our ability to think rationally—to be. If our brain is injured, if our mind is hurt, if our personality is taken even for a moment, what are we and who are we? So, we consider provisions so that we can avoid lingering in a vegetative state and we try to push from our minds the thought of what we may become if our minds cease working as they should. Though we are not anxious to speak with our families about what to do should we be injured in such a fashion, we each assume that our loved ones know what we would wish.
Even should personhood be called into question, we must remember this truth that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose. I need to console myself with the knowledge that even should I face one day the phantom of a ravaged personality, God continues to work for my good.
Perhaps we need to remember that as physical creatures the physical can only reflect at most who we actually are. The body is but a transient tent which must one day be taken down before that which is permanent can be erected. It is the mind that expresses who I am. My emotional and mental state comprises that which we casually speak of as the soul. Personality continues beyond the physical limitations, the soul returning to God who gave it. However, God does not work only in the realms of the physical and the emotional, for it is the spirit which is made eternally alive in Christ.
When Paul writes those dark words found in Ephesians 2:1-3, it is the spirit of man that is in view. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
The beauty of this apostolic teaching is that we who are believers have not been left in this dying condition, for the passage continues with this reminder. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus [Ephesians 2:4-7]. Within these verses is a revelation of why God continues to work for the good of those who are His own. He has invested His own Person in the life of His precious child and He intends to display the incomparable riches of His grace in each of His children.
The hope of the Christian is not that we shall always enjoy a life without clouds and without rain, but that having begun by grace we shall finish by grace. Having been saved by grace, we shall continue in grace. Having been loved by God, we are yet loved by God and we shall always be loved by God. Because this is true, God ever works in the situation wherein His child is found.
Are you now grieving? Of this you may be certain—God is at work even now and His purpose is that good shall be obtained for you who love Him. Do you now sorrow? You who love God may be assured that He is at work for your good even as you sorrow. It is not only when everything is going well and we have no cares that God is working, for He is also working in the midst of every situation to ensure that the work which He began in the life of His precious child shall continue until complete.
God’s Purpose is Stated Here. Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified [8:29, 30]. A golden chain with five links is presented in these two verses. We who are saved were foreknown by God. Foreknown, we were predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. Having been predestined, we were called… and justified… and glorified.
When we read these verses, we are confronted with theology sufficiently deep to lose ourselves for quite some time. Those five theological concepts—foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification and glorification—are controversial in part because we attempt to make them fit our theology instead of permitting them to shape our theology. What I mean is this, in each instance the focus is not us, but God. God foreknew. God predestined. God called. God justified. God glorified. We are here presented with five undeniable affirmations of God’s work in the life of each Christian.
When we have understood this, we will be enabled to draw great comfort from these verses. The first two verbs look back to God’s work in eternity past. The last two verbs look forward to what God intends for His beloved child in eternity future. The middle verb ties the two concepts together and reveals what God is doing in time.
Verse 28 comforts us with the knowledge that God is always working for the good of those who love Him. Verses 29 and 30 reveals how God accomplishes what He promises in verse 28. Foreknowledge is not knowledge of an event beforehand as might be commonly thought, but it is an expression of divine love. It other words, foreknowledge points to the fact that God chose us in Christ and that His choosing was not on the basis of merit but on the basis of love. Knowledge, and especially divine knowledge, always speaks of relationship and not merely intellectual cognition. When God, through Amos, says to Israel, You only have I known of all the families of the earth [Amos 3:2 nrsv], it is obvious that He speaks of His love or choosing. John Stott, citing John Murray, says, “Whom he foreknew” … is therefore virtually equivalent to “whom he foreloved.”[1]
Having loved us, God predestined His own to share the likeness of His Son [Weymouth]. In time, we “decided” for Christ, but having “decided” we discover that before the world began He “decided” on us. We freely chose to believe Christ, but we were able to so choose because He chose us. The emphasis is God’s gracious and sovereign pleasure in choosing us, and that choosing is so that we can be like Christ.
We shall be justified and glorified when we are at last changed into the likeness of Christ our Lord, but what we don’t always realise is that already these actions have been accomplished in eternity. Before the Father, we are already declared free of guilt. Likewise, before the Father we who are children of God are already sharing in the glory of Jesus His Son. Listen to this passage from Ephesians 1:3-10 which details this truth.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
It is that middle verb, then, which must now occupy our attention for a brief while. In time, each of us is called. The message of life is delivered by the people of God and all who hear are called in one sense of the Word.
The Lord announced the word,
and great was the company of those who proclaimed it.
[Psalm 68:11]
This divine calling is not solely dependent upon the preached Gospel or upon the witness of the saints, though such witness is the common manner in which we think of the call to salvation.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice
goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
[Psalm 19:1-4]
The Word has been delivered and all mankind is responsible, but not all mankind responds. There is that effectual calling when the Spirit of Christ calls and the one thus called must respond. This is the responsibility which rests upon each person who hears the Spirit. Whenever an individual hears the Spirit of Christ calling and responds in faith, that person is saved and demonstrates that they were objects of God’s divine love before the world began. Because they have responded to His call to life, they demonstrate that they were predestined to share in the image of His Son. Therefore, they are justified and glorified in the beloved Son of God.
What I would have you see today is that when God loved us and made His divine arrangements for us, we did not exist. Therefore, God worked to provide for His glory long before our presence in time. Throughout the whole of these verses, God is the hero. We do know this, but we sometimes forget this. If God saves us, then it is God who ensures that we continue in a state of salvation. If, on the other hand, we had to do something in order to be saved, then we must continue doing whatever it was or we cease to be saved. However, this text assures us that it is God who saves us and thus it is God who keeps us. Having invested His holy self in us who are called by His Name, He shall keep us until we are at last glorified.
Notice the comfort Paul provides based on this glorious revelation. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered” [Romans 8:31-36].
Summarising the Apostle’s sweeping exultation, we can boldly assert that there is nothing which can thwart the plan of God. There is no opposition which matters since God is for us. There is no slander which can prevail against us since God justifies us. The only One capable of bringing condemnation is Christ, and He gave His life for us and was then raised from the dead that we might be declared free of all guilt. Therefore, the plan of God must succeed. Christ shall prevail and we shall share in His glory. In fact, we are already sharing in that glory more intimately than we dare imagine.
Eugene Peterson uniquely captures the power of Paul’s message in his recent translation. Listen to the focus passage from The New Testament in Contemporary English.
God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
So what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
“They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.”
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us.[2]
God Achieves Victory through our Trials. In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord [8:37-39]. Here is the crux of the message. What seems to be most painful for us is often the precise means by which God achieves victory both for us and through us.
The Apostle embraces all creation—both that which is seen and that which is unseen—to demonstrate the power of God’s love at work in the life of His saint. When in the depths of depression, I shall not be separated from God’s love. When swept to the heights of euphoria, I shall not outrun God’s love. When facing the awful powers of darkness, I shall not be deserted by the love of God. When facing what seems to be an uncertain future, I know that God’s love will precede me there. Walking in a tortuous present, God surrounds me with His love. Neither angels nor demons are able to intervene between the love of God and me, the object of His love. Not life itself shall exhaust the love of God. Having loved me as I walked this earthly vale, I am convinced that God shall love me still when I pass through the valley of the shadow of death.
Nothing… nothing… nothing… can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus the Lord. Having loved me before the world began, my God shall love me beyond this moment which is called now and He shall love me throughout eternity. Neither shall I ever worry that the love of God shall be taken from me. Amen.
There are some boundaries which help apply these truths to our lives. First, all that I have said is restricted to us as Christians. Paul began, you will recall, by stating that God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. To any who are yet outside the love of God, consider that the message has been a call to faith in Christ. Consider the exposition as a demonstration of His mercy toward you. He died because of your sin and raised that you might be declared free of all guilt. Is it possible that even now the Spirit of Christ is calling you? Should you hear His voice calling you to faith in Him, I urge you to now respond that you may share in His love.
Again, you must know that what God means by good is not always what we mean by good. Good assures us that we shall share in the likeness of Christ. We are being made like Him. Good has nothing to do with wealth or success or popularity. Good is what life is all about, pointing us to the divine transformation which is now taking place.
Another boundary is that the events shaping our lives are not necessarily good, but the results are good. The text does not teach us that sorrow or grief is good, but it does teach that sorrow and grief can be means by which God accomplishes what is good. Sickness, depression, injury, persecution are all evils associated with this life. No one would say such events are good, yet God so works that when these events come into our lives He is using them to bring about His ultimate good. Death is not life. Hatred is not love. Grief is not joy. However, I would have you see that the text teaches that God uses even these evils to bring about His own good ends for His holy people. God brings good out of evil, and the good He seeks is our conformity to the character of Jesus, His Son.
This final boundary is important for thorough understanding. It is a contrast between knowing and feeling. Paul states that we know. Often we feel that what God permits is not good, but the text insists that we know that what God has allowed is good. It is not that the event is good, but we are confident that in the midst of the painful event, God is at work and good must result. As we grieve and sorrow, we feel that we are being ground down or even destroyed. Feeling so keenly the pains associated with this world, we are unconscious of the good that God is accomplishing. Nevertheless, we know.
Paul was no sentimentalist. He had been persecuted, beaten, stoned and even shipwrecked. He had been attacked and slandered, both by Gentiles and by his own countrymen the Jews. He did not assert that the Christian life was easy or that he expected pleasure to prevail in his life. In fact, he spoke of being hard pressed on every side… of being perplexed… of being persecuted… of being struck down [2 Corinthians 4:8, 9]. Paul came through these trials precisely because he knew that God was working out His own greater and good purposes through these events. Just so, we can lift our heads when we sorrow, knowing that God is working out His purposes.
Though I cannot know the specific answer to the question, “Why?” I can know that God is working in every situation for my good. His purpose is that I shall share in the glory of His Son as one who is redeemed. Having begun with Christ, I shall end with Him. In this knowledge is comfort beyond anything which we could otherwise imagine. My dear brother, lift your eyes from the sorrow of the moment. My precious sister, lift your head and look to the eastern sky. God is at work, even when it seems that wickedness and evil are winning. His work must conclude with our final triumph.
I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.[3]
To you who now journey toward the glory Christ shall share with us, is this the day in which you need to release your sorrow and lift your eyes to the Saviour. “Lord, as I struggle to comprehend the trials I am now experiencing and as I struggle with the confusion of my mind, remind me that you are even now at work in our lives. Amen.”
To you who are outside the love of God, consider the offer of life in Christ Jesus. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved… “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9, 10, 13].
May God speak to each heart to accomplish His perfect will. May He grant us His grace and goodness even as we seek to submit to His will. Amen.
When God, through Amos, says to Israel, You only have I known of all the families of the earth [Amos 3:2 nrsv], it is obvious that He speaks of His love or choosing. John Stott, citing John Murray, says, “Whom he foreknew” … is therefore virtually equivalent to “whom he foreloved.”
Having loved us, God predestined His own to share the likeness of His Son [Weymouth]. In time, we “decided” for Christ, but having “decided” we discover that before the world began He “decided” on us. We freely chose to believe Christ, but we were able to so choose because He chose us. The emphasis is God’s gracious and sovereign pleasure in choosing us, and that choosing is so that we can be like Christ.
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[1] John Stott, Romans: God’s Good News for the World (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL 1994) pg. 249
[2] Eugene H. Peterson, The New Testament in Contemporary English (NavPress, Colorado Springs CO 1993) pp. 319-320
[3] Peterson, op. cit., pg. 320