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I.       THE PROMISE:  Romans 8:28        

• A very comforting promise that flow from the central truth of the Scripture.

• It is not just a simple saying but a precious and divine promise from the omnipotent God.

• It isn’t limited to one application/few situation but available in all contingencies and every area in the circle of life.

• It is not just a cheap promise because it comes from the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ.

• It is available to everyone but not for anyone.  There are many splendored strings attached to it.

• It is not just the verse alone.  It can only be fully understand through the succeeding verses and knowledge of the book of Romans. 

II.     OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF ROMANS

• The 6^th book of the New Testament, the 1^st epistle with 16 chapters.

• Written by Paul when he was staying in the house of Gaius in Corinth.

• Was written to ensure that if the enemies would kill him, his explanation of the gospel would be permanently preserved and propagated to the ends of the earth in all time.

• Regarded as the principal, spinning core and the “most excellent” part of the Scripture.

• 1^st epistle that provides the explanations of the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and Acts which are historical in nature.  The 1^st 5 books prior to Romans tell the story of Christ, cross and the church.

III.  THE CONTENT OF ROMANS

R- Ruin (1:18 – 3:20) – deals with the hopeless condition of humanity. The human race was ruined by sin and separated from its Creator and we can never justify ourselves by trying to live a righteous life for there in none righteous, not even one. “For no flesh will be justified in His sight by the works of the law”(3:20).

O- Offer (3:21 – 31) – Through God’s infinite grace we can be saved not by keeping the law but by faith in Christ who died for us. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.  God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in His blood.” 

M- Model (4) – He proposed Abraham as a model being justified by grace through faith back in the Old Testament, “Abraham believed God,  and it was credited to Him for righteousness.”

A-Access (5:1-11) – It summarizes the blessings and benefits by being justified by grace.  Justification gives access to God’s presence and to all other privileges that accompany God’s grace. “Since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Also through Him we have obtained access by faith into this grace which we stand and we rejoice in  the hope of the glory of God.” (5:1-2)

N- New Adam (5:12-21) – As condemned sinners, our old forefather was Adam, whose sin contaminated the human bloodstream and infected us with the toxins of sinful nature. “Since by one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (5:17)

S- Sanctification (6-8) – Though we should reign in life, the vestiges of Adam’s nature is still in us, we need the supernatural aid of the Holy Spirit to channel the Christ’s triumphant life through us.  Sanctification is the process by which we are set apart for Christ and grow up in Him.  Our old nature has died in Christ (chap.6), but we still struggle with temptation and sin (chap.7).  The Holy Spirit is our great inner source, making us more than conquerors (chap.8).

Romans 8 – Life Through the Spirit:  The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace…. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”  (v.6,13,14)

Romans 9-11 – These chapters explain how the things mentioned in the 1^st 8 chapters fits into God’s plan for the Jewish people in light of the Old Testament promises.

Romans 12-16 – The last five chapters are practical in nature. These describe the kind of daily life that should characterize those who have been justified by God’s grace.

IV.   “ And we know that all things work together for good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.”

• It keeps us going because it is backed up by the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ.  It means Christ redemption goes beyond spiritual; it extends to all our life situations.   Not only our sins fall under the pardon of His blood, but all our cares are included.

•  It is an all-inclusive promise, nothing is excluded.  All mean ALL in the circle of life. This encompass:

A.     the tremendous and the tragic events, and

B.      even our faults and failures (Ex. David’s sin with God because of Bathsheba, Peter’s sin in denying Christ on the eve of the Lord’s crucifixion).

• The promise is applicable only for those who love God, loving Him with all our heart, mind,  soul and strength.  When we genuinely fall in love with the Lord, we naturally keep His commands and do what pleases Him.  The Bible’s best promises are exclusively for those who love God.

§         James 1:12§         James 2:5§         Ephesians 6:24§         1 Corinthians 2:9§         John 14:24§         1 Corinthians 8:3§         Psalm 145:20a       

SELF-CHECKING EXAMINATION

1.      Have I committed my life to Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord? “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent also loves the child.” 1 John 5:1

2.      Do I obey His Word in my daily life?

a.      “if you love Me, you will keep  my commandments.” John 14:5

b.      “The one who has my commands and keeps then is the one who loves Me.” 1 John 5:3

c.      “But whoever keeps his word, truly in Him the love of god is perfected.” 1 John 2:5a

3.      Do I enjoy worshipping Him? “Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation continually say, “The Lord is great.” Psalm 40:1

4.       Is my lifestyle holy? “Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world.  If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in Him.  Because everything that belongs to the world- the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride in one’s lifestyle- is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world with its lust is passing away but the one who does the will of God remains forever.” 1 John 2:15-17

5.       Do I radiate His joy? “Let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them shout for joy forever.  May you shelter them, and may those who love Your name boast about You.”   Psalm 5:11

6.      How much do I  really like other people? “If anyone says, ‘I love God , yet hates His brother, he is a liar.  For the person who does nor love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And we have this command from Him: the one who loves God must love his brother.”  1 John 4:20-21                  

“Only one life, ’twill soon past,

Only what is done for Christ will last.” 

•  The promise has to do with God’s purpose for us to be conform in the image of His Son, Jesus.  God, in His infinite wisdom and care, turns everything into tools for good with a view toward molding us to the image of His Son. 

• The Christian life is not a matter of trying to be like Christ but a matter of being surrendered to Christ, being filled with the Spirit and allowing God, the Father through God the Spirit to develop the very life of God the Son in and through us. 

• All things work together for good, not only to relieve our distress but to convey His glory and to uplift His Name.  God uses all things to purify and mature us, that we might reflect the character of Jesus Christ to a needy and darkened world- the divine purpose for God’s providence.

V.     MYSTERY BEHIND ROMANS 8:28

All things work together for good not by whim or fancy or fate or luck but by divine decree.

Five chains of golden links that anchor the promise: Romans 8:29-30    

1.      Foreknew –  It shows the omniscience of God, possessing the perfect and complete foreknowledge, having total knowledge of all His creation. Jeremiah 1:5, Isaiah 49:1b,  Galatians 1:15, Psalms 139: 15-16

2.       Predestined –  a mystery but a truth to be grasped and not to be avoided and argued.  It is within God’s plan that before the creation of the world He has chosen His people.  Ephesians 1:4-5, 11b.  The issue for this truth is the tension between “human responsibility” and “God’s sovereignty”,they are not a contradiction but a mystery.  (Ex. Law of gravity and Law of Aerodynamics) 

3.      Called – God’s action by which He draws us to Himself to salvation.             

Romans 1:6-7                        1 Corinthians 1:9                        Hebrews 3:1a                        1 Peter 2:9 

4.      Justified – We, sinners, who are guilty before God and estranged from Him, are pronounced forgiven and declared just in God’s sight through the merits of Jesus Christ.  Christ bore our guilt on the cross on our behalf so righteousness is imputed to us.  The result is when God sees Jesus on the cross, He sees our sin but when He looks at the justified believers, He sees the righteousness of Christ.  

5.      Glorified – This will happen in the future, the last stage of salvation when Christ comes again. (Philippians 3:21)  To be glorified means to be absolutely perfect, with an absolutely perfect God, absolutely perfect place, with an absolutely perfect body endlessly and forever.

VI.   What Shall Then We Say to These Things? 

WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS IN JESUS!  Romans 8:31b-39

VII.            ALL THINGS WORK IN CONFORMITY OF HIS WILL

Romans 8:28-29a, 30c We know that all things work together for good of those who love God; those who are called according to His purpose.  For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…. He also glorified.

Ephesians 1:11, 12b In Him, we are also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity of His will….for the praise of His glory. 

To think that God predestined my days, that He has planned my life in advance, that He has chosen me before the creation of this world to be His child, that He is in control of all that happens, and that He is working out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will -  what truth and what an encouragement!   

All Things Work Out for the Good of Others

God’s Providential Oversight in the life of Joseph  (Genesis 37-50)         

The Pasture  - The Pit  - The Palace - The Prison - The Palace

Human Perspective

Genesis 42:36 (Jacob said to them) “You have deprived me of my children, Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and now Benjamin. Everything is against me.” 

GOD’s Perspective

Genesis  50:20 (Joseph said to them) “As for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” 

From Tintin

 Reference: “The Promise” by Robert J. Morgan

(Note: This was the Bible Study lesson shared by Dulce on November 9, 2008.)