Sounds Good, But Is It The Truth? (5)

 

How many times have we heard, when someone is going through a difficult time, “Well, we know that the Bible says that all things work together for good”? This sounds good, but is it the truth?

 

The statement, “All things work together for good,” is taken from Romans 8:28:

 

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (NASB).

 

What does the verse itself say? How does the context of the verse help us understand the verse? What is the “good” that the verse is speaking of?

 

While I’m sure that there are many facets to Romans 8:28, I want to focus on the idea of “good” in this verse, because here is where I see the greatest misunderstanding among people, and this has led me to consider Romans 8:28 one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible, a verse that is quoted countless times without its context.

 

What is the “good” of which Paul is writing? What does this good look like? How might we define it? How can we recognize it?

 

Is this a utilitarian good? That is, do we recognize this good as making us better off than we were? Are we thinking in terms of a lesson learned? Or perhaps it is a case of “things might have been worse.” Would an example of “good” be getting laid-off from a job, or fired, and as a result finding a job we love and that pays us better than we could have imagined? Are any of these things what Paul had in mind when he used the word “good”?

 

What does the context tell us? What is the message of Romans Chapter 8? What do we see in the immediate context of Romans 8:28, that is, in Romans 8:26 – 31?

 

You see, we use the word “good” in this verse without knowing what Paul means when he uses the word. This is similar to the way we use the word “love” – the word love has become so ambiguous that its meaning has been reduced to momentary feelings and whims and fancies and thoughts…often with the lifespan of a soap bubble. Yet, if we read 1 Corinthians 13, Philippians 1:9 – 11; John 15:9 – 17; and 1 John 3:16, we see that the “love” of the Bible is a love with extreme definition and recognition – it is anything but ambiguous, it is anything but based on momentary feelings and fancies and fleeting thoughts.

 

What is the “good” of which Paul is writing?

 

What do you think?