Romans 8:28-31(NKJV)
28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
This week we have been looking at Is. 54. This chapter is one of the most helpful in overcoming fear. It tells us that, although fear comes to every life, it does not come from God. God does not use fear to teach us, warn us or control us. God does that by his spirit. If Is. 54 is the “overcoming fear” chapter in the Old Testament, than Romans 8 might be it’s equivalent in the New Testament.
Romans 8 is one of those chapters in the bible that is loaded with wonderful truths. The end of the chapter, however, is particularly helpful in overcoming fear’s ability to control us. When I was much younger, verse 28 was a hot topic. The popular interpretation of this verse implied that anything that happened to us must be the will of God. Therefore if I get cancer it must be just what I need. Therefore I should praise God for the cancer, learn what I needed to learn from it and then God would heal me. When verse 28 was coupled with 1 Thess. 5:18 it became a doctrine that taught us we should not resist evil but thank God for all that happened to us because God knew it was just what we needed.
I don’t agree with this interpretation. It is true to a point. However 1 Thess. 5:18 does not say thank God for all things. Lets look at what it does say.
1 Thessalonians 5:18(NKJV)
18in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
It tells us to give thanks in all things because giving thanks is God’s will. The bible is clear that God does not bring evil into our lives. James 1:13 says that no one can say that God tempted them with evil because he temps no one with evil. The Amplified Bible expands the word “tempt” to include “test or try.” The Greek word means all three. So God does not tempt, test or try mankind with evil.
Verse 17 says good gifts come from God. I suppose if you think that God is using cancer to bring about some good thing in your life you could say it was a good gift, but I don’t think that is God’s way. He will use anything to bless us, but that does not mean we just accept everything as God’s will. James 4:7 tells me to resist the devil. How can I do that if he is just doing what God wants him to do to me.
What does verse 28 mean then. I think if we look at the rest of this scripture it is easy to understand. Paul goes on to say that God has an ultimate will those who come to Jesus. We are to be conformed to the image of Christ. We are predestined by God to walk in glory. God is for us and no one can succeed against us. Romans 8:28, to me, is simply saying that whatever the devil may bring into my life to destroy me God will turn to work towards the end he shows me in this picture. The devil may intend to bring destruction but God will cause it to work to bring blessing instead.
It’s not that everything that happens in life is God’s perfect will so I should just accept it and thank him for it. Instead I should resist those things that are not in line with the Word of God. I submit to God, but resist the devil and expect that God will take the cancer, heal it and cause it to bring more of God’s glory into my life. After all, God is for me. Can any enemy really stand against me?
This whole thing confirms Isaiah 54. There God says no weapon formed against us can prosper. He tells us he made the devil and the devil is fulfilling the purpose God needs him for. However his weapons are not authorized against God’s covenant people. In Roman’s 8 he says all things will work for us in the end. It is the same thought.
Now, what does that have to do with overcoming fear. Just this. When bad things come into my life and I am tempted to be overcome with fear, I can take courage in the knowledge that God is for me. He is going to take this situation and cause it to work for my good. The devil will not prevail in my life if I trust God. God is working his glory in my life and nothing the devil does can stop it. Furthermore anything the devil, or the world for that matter, does to hinder the process, God will turn so that it works for the process and against the devil.
These are powerful truths. The more we believe these things the less hold fear can have upon us. Read the rest of Romans 8. Paul did not live a life where nothing went wrong. He did not live a life that was without trial. His lifestyle kept him in constant conflict with the devil, but as you read the end of this powerful chapter, you do not see a man overcome with fear. Instead you see a person who lives in victory over every circumstance. He lives by faith not fear.
I’m sure he had his days just like we do. But underneath was this awareness that God was at work in his life. In the end Paul would have victory over every circumstance until the day that he gained the final victory and found himself in the very presence of the God he served. Let’s end today with some of Paul’s faith filled, fear free words from Romans 8.
Romans 8:31-39(NKJV)
31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
33Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 3 7Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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