by Jeremy Sprouse ~ May 8th, 2008
For centuries, Romans 8:28 has been a favorite Scripture: “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God” (NASU). Many find great comfort in it. Unfortunately, many do not understand this Scripture and doubt God when tragedy strikes their lives. In fact, it is one of the most misunderstood, misused, and misapplied verses in the Bible. This verse is used to say that everything in life is going to work out for you if you love God, but this is not what is being taught. A close examination and deeper understanding of this verse, however, gives us even greater comfort, because what is happening in our life is contributing to the greatest good in existence.
To begin with, we need to understand what this verse isn’t saying. First, we must understand that God is not the source of tragic events in our lives—this is the claim of Calvinistic predestination. This doctrine makes God guilty of everything that happens including the evil that is in the world. What an insult to God! Tragedy is part of life and the natural world. Second, we must understand Christians will not be spared pain and suffering in the life (cf. Romans 8:18). Third, we must understand any tragedy we face need not separate us from the love of God because that love will be seen in the end (cf. Romans 8:35-39).
Now, let’s look at what the verse means. The phrase “according to His purpose” is an adverbial phrase (in the Greek language). This means it must modify a verb. The only verb is “works.” This means God is doing good works to accomplish His purpose. This does not mean everything is going to be pleasant and work out all right; it is saying that God will use your life for the good of His purpose—even your sufferings. In other words, if we trust God He will even use our sufferings for good. Perhaps the best translation of this verse is found in the Revised Standard Version (RSV): “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 has nothing to do with God making good things happen. It has nothing to do with God preventing bad things from happening. It has everything to do with trusting God to use everything in our lives to contribute to His purpose—the greatest good of all.
