Based on a series of sermons preached in PCC Prayer Meetings in 2023-2024
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 8:28-32
We are studying a series of scripture passages I have used over the years when visiting the troubled, sick, or infirmed. Depending on the situation, sometimes, I will read the passage, but say very little by way of comments. Indeed, some passages which are, on the surface, very comforting can become rather complicated as soon as we look at the text more closely. A case in point is Isaiah 26. It is a comfort to know that God has appointed salvation to be our walls and bulwarks, and it is reassuring to know that those who trust in the LORD will have perfect peace. But as soon as you try to exegete and expound the text, you will find yourself venturing into biblical history and typology that may confuse instead of comfort.
Yet some passages seem complicated and overwhelming to digest at first sight, which are nevertheless very comforting once we step back from the details to see the major thoughts being conveyed.
Romans 8:28-39 is one such passage. At least three thoughts in it are comforting to anyone undergoing any trial, whether emotional, relational, physical or spiritual.
1. All Things Are Working Together for Your Good
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose,” says Paul (v. 28).
God is constantly, by His providence, doing something good for His children. Even when what is happening brings about much pain and loss, it is working together with everything else to bring glory to God and effect something good for God’s children who are somehow connected to it.
If you are a believer, and you love the Lord and seek to walk according to His ways, you can be sure that God is doing something good for you in your present trial. And He may bring about something good for other believers through your trial, too.
David’s suffering on account of his son’s rebellion not only humbled him, but restored a fear of God in him, and shut Him up to Christ to trust in Him alone. It also occasioned his writing of several Psalms that have brought comfort to the church through the ages.
Thank God and rejoice, therefore, in the trial you are facing. God is doing something good through it.
2. the Trial You Are Facing Is to Cultivate Christ-Likeness in You
This is clear from our text. Paul’s assurance in verse 28 does not end there; it continues into verse 30 with the word, ‘For’ in verse 29.
Now, verse 30 is that famous verse from which theologians derive what William Perkins calls the Golden Chain. But do you notice how Paul zooms out in verse 29 to talk about God’s purpose before he zooms into the details of verse 30?
Verse 29:
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
What is God doing when He directs all things to work together for good to them that love Him (v. 28)? Paul makes it clear: it is so that they may be conformed to the image of God’s Son (v. 29).
No trial that God sends our way is senseless or without purpose. It is always so that we may be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. And why should we be conformed to His image? Because God would glorify us (v. 30) as He glorified His son. In other words, He will eradicate from us everything that falls short of His own glory and cultivate in us everything that conduces to our eternal blessedness.
Or, to put it another way, He is chipping away every blemish that remains in our body and soul, and shaping us according to the perfection of Christ so that for all eternity, we shall be able to enjoy and glorify God with nothing hindering or lacking in us.
Such is God’s purpose with the trials God has appointed for you.
Moreover, while it may be painful for a season, you may be assured that…
3. Nothing Will Separate You from the Love of Christ
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” asks Paul (v. 35). This is, of course, not the only question that Paul asks. He asks seven rhetorical questions, all except the first demands a negative answer. No one can be against us; no, He will not withhold anything from us; no one can lay anything to the charge of God’s elect; no one can condemn us; nothing and no one can separate us from the love of Christ!
So here is the assurance. Your present trial may be difficult. It may be so painful that you feel all alone in it, and no one else seems to understand what you are going through. But you are not alone. For nothing shall separate you from the love of Christ. He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you.
Be assured that He is with you in every painful step you take and every difficult day you must go through. Indeed, just as a father will draw closest to his child when the child is going through the most challenging trial, you can be sure that the Lord is closest to you in your most difficult moments.
Therefore, perhaps the best thing for you to do when you are feeling lonely and helpless through your trial is to meditate on the love of Christ for you, and to go to Him in prayer, knowing that He cares for you, and will never abandon you.
Conclusion
Remember, O child of God, that all things are working together for your good even though they do not appear that way. Remember that God is cultivating Christ-likeness in you through what you are going through. Remember that Christ Jesus, your Lord and elder brother, will never leave you to fend for yourself. Nothing can separate you from His love for you, for He has already laid His life down for you. Amen.
—JJ Lim