The Book of Romans: All Things For Our Good

 

The Book of Romans

Introduction:

Good morning brothers and sisters. What a joy it is to be here with you this morning. My name is Stuart Davidson. I am the pastor here at Eastern Shore Baptist Church. If you are visiting with us or watching today’s service online, you are our honored guests. 

Over the last several weeks, we have been pouring over Paul’s words to the Church in Rome. 

You have to remember that life for Christians during Paul’s time was very different than today. Especially for Christians here in America. We are so blessed to live here. Sure, there is a greater level of persecution for our faith, probably more than ever before. Still, we live in near total freedom to practice our religion and worship our God. 

That was not the story for Paul and his brothers. Life as a Christ follower was very difficult. You could be thrown in jail for your belief in Jesus Christ. Your Jewish brothers could drag you before courts, have you beaten or in many cases…killed. 

Christians received persecution from all sides. Gentiles, especially those loyal to Caesar and Rome thought Christians to be rabble rousers, traitors to the crown, or worse…seditious. Jews thought Christians were undermining their true religion. Jews saw Jesus as a false Messiah. 

Christians were under threat of being captured, losing their businesses, being thrown in jail, or worse. 

So Paul writes his letter to the Church in Rome, we call this letter Romans. Paul wrote the letter for several reasons: he wanted to present the Gospel clearly, he wanted to prepare them for his eventual arrival, he wanted to promote unity, and, perhaps most important, he wanted to encourage them. 

Here you have all these believers living in Rome. Life is hard. Difficulty is everywhere. Then, in Paul’s letter to them, he land this little gem in verse 28 of Romans 8…

“We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

In fact friends, that is the title of my message this morning. “All Things For Our Good”. 

Today’s Message:

“All Things For Our Good“

Brothers and sisters, this is good news for us today. Are you wading through dark waters?

Are you searching your way through difficulty, hardship, and trail?

Are you facing sickness, disease, illness?

Is your job uncertain, your relationship on shaky ground, your financial situation unstable?

Paul says to all of us this morning that “God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

That little two word phrase “all things” is important. We would all raise our hand and say “yes, I believe that God is working in the good, the great, and the supreme moments of life.” It is always so much easier to see His hand move when things go our way. When we get a new car, land the new job, receive the bonus at work, when we get engaged…we say that God is blessing us. 

But what about those moment when the car breaks down, when we get fired, when our finances fall apart, when the relationship blows apart. What do we say then? 

Paul says that God is working “all things together for the ones who love God”. That means that God is working in the bad things too. 

Paul says this in verse 18 of Romans 8…

“I believe that the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming glory that is going to be revealed to us.”

Do me a favor this morning and fill in the blanks under “Today’s Thought”.

While we may groan today, take heart, glory awaits!

Today’s Thought:

While We May Groan Today, Take Heart, Glory Awaits!

Friends, do you believe that this morning. You may be struggling today, hurting. You may be battling depression and despair. You may be groaning today! You may be hurting thinking that no one sees, that no one cares. That is simply not true. God sees. God cares. Believe. Take heart. Have faith. Glory is awaiting you. God commands us to endure. He calls us towards perseverance. 

C.S. Lewis, the great author and writer, must have understood what we all feel and have felt. He wrote a wonderful book entitled “The Problem with Pain”. Have any of you ever read it? If you have not read it, I recommend it. Listen to what he says about our present trials and hardships. 

Today’s Quote:

“We do not seek to escape the trials and pains of this life by merely dreaming of heaven, as if it were a fanciful refuge from our present struggles. Rather, we find the strength to endure this life, its sorrows, its losses, its fleeting moments of hardship…because of the unshakable certainty of heaven. Heaven is not a distant hope or a vague promise; it is the eternal reality that God has prepared for those who love Him…”

C.S. Lewis’ “The Problem With Pain”

Oh friends, I had a profound experience this past Monday—one of the greatest joys and one of the deepest sorrows I have ever encountered in my 25 years of ministry. Both joy and grief collided in a single moment.

I stood at the bedside of a 28-year-old woman whose body had been ravaged by cancer. Once vibrant, healthy, and full of life, she had been reduced to weakness, frailty, and suffering.

As I sat beside her, I opened the Scriptures and read the very passage I plan to read to you this morning: Romans 8:18–39. I reminded her that God loved her, that Jesus had been sent to die for her, and that God longed to spend eternity with her.

I looked at her and said, “Gabriella, Romans 10:13 tells us, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Have you ever cried out to the Lord to save you?”

She whispered, “Yes.”

Then I said, “Gabriella, Romans 3:23 reminds us that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Because of our sin, we need a Savior. God sent that Savior, and His name is Jesus. Do you cry out to Jesus to save you from your sin?”

Again, she said, “I do.”

I continued, “Gabriella, Romans 10:9 declares, ‘If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’ Is this your confession?”

With assurance, she replied, “Yes, that is what I confess.”

So I told her, “Gabriella, by your admission of sin, by your confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for your sins, and by your belief in His resurrection, the Scriptures declare that you are forgiven. You are a daughter of the King! Heaven and eternity await you!”

Gabriella passed away Thursday. In all my 25 years in ministry, I don’t know that I have ever witnessed something so gut wrenching and something so glorious. 

Friends, that is the Christian life. Living for Christ is not easy. It is hard. It can be down right traumatic. However, there is glory to come. Goodness will flow from the gloomy and help will come through the hardship. 

So, open your Bibles to Romans 8. We will start in verse 18 and stop on verse 30 this morning. As you find your place, I want to remind you that…

Statement of Belief:

“This morning, we open the living and powerful Word of God…truth without error, breathed out by Him, and fully sufficient for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. It is our authority, our guide, and our hope. In honor of the God who gave us His perfect Word, I invite you to stand with me as we read it together.”

Today’s Scripture:

Romans 8:18-30 NLT

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. [19] For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. [20] Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope, [21] the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. [22] For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. [23] And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. [24] We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it. [25] But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) [26] And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. [27] And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. [28] And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. [29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [30] And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

What Can We Learn From Paul’s Perspective?

First, We Learn That…Suffering Is Only Temporary vs. 21

So, let’s pull apart Paul’s words in Romans 8:18-30 this morning. Let’s see what we can learn from Paul’s perspective. Fill in this first blank this morning. 

First, we learn that suffering is only temporary. We see this in verse 21.

But with eager hope, [21] the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.

Think of verse 21 like this…

“Suffering is part of life in a broken world, but it’s not permanent. The pain we feel today is outweighed by the glory that will be revealed tomorrow.”

Have you ever wondered why? Why does a 28 year old woman, healthy in all respects, suddenly contract cancer and die? 

Late last week, you and I heard the news about the Smith family. Kenneth, his wife Larrica, and their two children Kristian and Kensley all dead by an apparent murder suicide. This horrible tragedy took place less than a half a mile from my home. 

Why?

Why do these things happen? I had a church member pose that very question to me this week?

“Pastor, why do these things happen?”

The simple answer, friends, is this: because our world is broken. When God created the heavens and the earth, He created them perfect. Genesis 1 tells us that everything God made was “very good.” No sickness. No pain. No sorrow. No death. That was God’s original design.

But in our rebellion, in our sin, humanity rejected God’s authority and chose our own way. And in that moment, the perfect creation of God was subjected to decay. Paul says it right here in Romans 8, that all creation was “subjected to God’s curse.” Ever since that moment, creation has been groaning. The ground itself is groaning. Our bodies are groaning. The world we live in is crying out, longing to be restored to what God intended.

So why does cancer strike? Why do families face such horrific tragedy? Why do we experience hardship in this life? It is because we live in a fallen world. That’s the bad news but there is good news this morning. Paul says suffering is not forever. Pain is not permanent. Tragedy does not have the final word.

Paul echoes this truth in 2 Corinthians 4:17:

“For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]!”

Did you catch that? Paul calls our suffering “momentary” and “light.” Now, you may be saying, “Pastor, my pain doesn’t feel light. My hardship doesn’t feel momentary.” And I agree. It hurts deeply. It cuts to the soul. But Paul isn’t minimizing our pain, he’s magnifying our perspective. He’s saying that in comparison to the eternal glory that awaits us, what we endure right now is but a breath, a shadow, a moment.

As some of you know, I enjoy running. Now I don’t want any of you to think that I am a runner. I am not. I like to run. I have run in a lot of races but I am not a runner. My friend Dexter Lyon is a runner. When you are standing there at the starting line of a marathon, you realize really fast that you, or I in this case, is not a runner. If you look around, you will see rather quickly that there are true runners there. Men and women who have the runner’s build. When they run they just glide like they are running on ice. They are graceful, fast, elegant. I sort of look like a cross between a primate and a water buffalo. Still, running has taught me a lot about life, about perseverance, and about endurance. I have run in a few marathons and one ultra marathon. In each marathon that I have run, I hit a physical wall. It is precisely on mile 20. It’s that place where your body says, “Im done, time to stop, time to wave the white flag”. At mile 20, you will have 6.2 miles to go. For me, that normally about 45-50 minutes. My feet are hurt. My knees are throbbing. Everything just hurts. It is pure pain. However, for those of you who have ever run a marathon, you keep going. It is mind over matter. You push through, telling your body that it is not the boss. You endure. What I told myself the last time that happened was this… 

“50 minutes and its over. You can do anything for 50 minutes. In one minute, you will only have 49 minutes left. Keep going”

What I am trying to say is that your pain is real. Your hurt is valid. Your disappointment is nothing to laugh at. Still, it’s tempoarary. It won’t last forever. You can make it. Hold Christ’s hand. Have faith. Keep pressing forward. 

Friends, this is why we can endure. This is why we don’t give up. Because suffering is only temporary, but glory is eternal. The tears of today will give way to the triumph of tomorrow. The weight of sorrow will be swallowed up in the weight of God’s glory.

So hear me this morning: whatever you are facing, whether it is sickness, broken relationships, financial struggles, or grief so heavy it takes your breath away, this is not the end of your story. Paul reminds us that a day is coming when creation itself will be set free, when the groaning will stop, and when the children of God will stand in glorious freedom.

Suffering is temporary. Glory is eternal.

Next, we see that sorrow is a tool. We see this in verse 26. 

Next We See That…Sorrow Is A Tool vs. 26

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”

Know this friends…

“God is shaping us through life’s trials. Even when we don’t know what to pray, the Spirit intercedes and strengthens us to endure with hope.”

Think of the potter and the clay. Jeremiah 18 gives us this picture. The potter selects the clay, he places it on the wheel, and he begins to shape it into something beautiful. The clay obviously doesn’t shape itself. Clay left alone on the wheel will just collapse and spin into disaster. It takes the potter’s steady hands, pressing, guiding, and molding for the clay to hold its form. Once the vessel is formed, there is one final stage, a crucial stage. The pottery must go into the kiln so that it can be hardened, finalizing the form. It literally has to go into the fire in order to be strengthened, to be made durable, to be used.

That is what God does with us. He takes the raw clay of our lives and through trials, hardships, and sorrows, He shapes us into the men and women He has called us to be. And yes, sometimes He allows us to walk through the fire, not to destroy us but to make us stronger. Isaiah 64:8 reminds us: “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.”

History gives us a real-world example of this. I have always loved Abraham Lincoln. Of all the presidents, he and Ronald Reagan have always been my favorites. Abraham Lincoln knew suffering. He battled depression, faced repeated failures, and endured the unspeakable loss of his children. Yet God used Lincoln’s deep sorrow to shape him into a man of compassion and conviction. And in the crucible of the Civil War, that sorrow-hardened strength allowed him to stand firm and lead our nation through its darkest hour. Out of great sorrow, God brought great salvation to a divided people.

Paul himself is another powerful example. Think of his life. He was beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and ultimately gave his life for the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:23–28). Yet Paul never once said his suffering was meaningless. Instead, he saw his pain as purposeful. He wrote in Philippians 1:12, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.”

I give you the examples of Paul and Abraham Lincoln to encourage you this morning. If you are suffering this morning, you are not alone. Countless others have had to endure the same trail that you are in right now. Jesus, God’s only Son, was also not spared from His share of difficulty. He had no home to call His own. He was despised and rejected. His only family turned their backs on Him. He was threatened, betrayed, and lied about continually. He was mocked, made fun of, and eventually hung to die on a cross of shame. He understands your sorrow. He knows your pain. He is familiar with your circumstances. 

So, what is Paul teaching us here in Romans 8? That our sorrows, our groanings, our hardships are not wasted. God is using them as tools to shape us, just as the potter shapes the clay. He is making us into vessels of honor, useful for His glory (2 Timothy 2:21). And when we are too weak to even know how to pray, the Holy Spirit Himself steps in and intercedes for us, carrying our groans to the throne of heaven.

Friends, sorrow is a tool in the hands of a loving God. He is molding you. He is strengthening you. He is preparing you for a glory you cannot yet imagine.

Let’s look at our last point this morning. Fill in the last blank there on your outline. 

We discover that God’s supremacy is timeless. 

Lastly We Discover That God’s…Supremacy Is Timeless vs. 29-30

Go back to verses 29 and 30. 

“For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”

The first part of that Scripture is really the centerpiece of this point. “For God knew His people and He chose them to become like His Son.”

“God’s supreme rule extends from eternity past to eternity future, ensuring His plan is unshakable.”

Brothers and sisters, that is the doctrine of the supremacy of God. God is not surprised by your suffering. He is not caught off guard by your sorrow. He knew you before you were born. He chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). He calls you, He justifies you, and He promises to glorify you. His will cannot be defeated. His purposes cannot be undone.

God is supreme because He is all-powerful. “Ah Lord God, behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm, there is nothing too hard for You” (Jeremiah 32:17). He speaks and galaxies come into being. He commands and seas part. He whispers and mountains move. He alone is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13).

God is supreme because He is everywhere present. David declared in Psalm 139:7–10, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.” 

There is no hospital room He does not inhabit, no dark valley He does not walk through with His people. 

There is no tear He does not see, no broken heart He does not comfort. 

There is no burden He does not shoulder, no prayer He does not hear. 

There is no storm He cannot calm, no mountain He cannot move. 

There is no sin He cannot forgive, no life He cannot redeem. 

There is no grave He cannot empty, no future He does not already hold.

God is supreme because He is all-knowing. Isaiah 46:9–10 says, “For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” 

God never guesses. He never speculates. He never rethinks His plans. He never learns anything new. 

God never doubts. He never wonders. He never second-guesses His purpose. He never questions His own authority. 

God never loses control. He never miscalculates. He never makes mistakes. He never abandons His throne. He knows all things, always, perfectly. He never thinks, He only knows.

God never begins because He has always been. He never ends because He is eternal. He never runs out of power because He is almighty.

God is supreme because He is unchanging. Malachi 3:6 declares, “For I am the Lord, I change not.” James 1:17 tells us that with Him there is “no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” This world shifts, circumstances change, but our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Paul says it beautifully in Colossians 1:16–17 (KJV):

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

That means He holds all things together, from the largest star in the heavens to the smallest atom in your body. He holds your life together when it feels like it’s falling apart. He holds your faith together when it feels like it’s about to give way. He holds your eternity secure, and no one can snatch you out of His hand (John 10:28–29).