All Things Work Together For Good...

 1891 GC Sermon #13 E.J. Waggoner

Now we come to the most blessed and the most glorious part of this most glorious chapter. One word forms the keynote of the eighth chapter of Romans: "Glory."

'And to know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren. 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.'  Ro.8:29-30

The twenty-eighth verse is quoted wrong very often and applied wrong, very much more often, just by the changing of tense. People read it, "We know that all things will work together for good to them that love God." But that is not what Paul says. He says that all things work together for good, at the present time, for those who love God. But says one, I don't know that they do. Well, just take hold of this Scripture, and believe it and then you will know it. The only way that we can know is by believing the word of God. We shall then find that all things do work together for good to them that love God. This is the joy of the Christian--that there cannot anything bad happen to him.

Some say, there is a special class to whom this is so. Yes, that is true, there is a special class, and that special class is composed of them that love God. 

We know whether we love God or not, therefore we know whether we can appropriate this promise or not.

Is there not reason enough to love God? Some say, I want to love God more. I know that I do not love Him enough. How absurd this is--just as if the love of God was a duty that we could drive ourselves to perform. Love cannot be forced; the very act of forcing a person to love another would show that there was not any love at all. How do we love any object for which we do have affection? Simply because it is lovable in our eyes, and the more we know of that thing we love, the more we love it. Then the more we know of God, the more we shall love Him. 

As we come to His word, from which we must get our knowledge of Him, we see the wideness of the mercy of God, and we cannot help loving Him. Why cannot we help loving Him? Because He first loved us. Then if we would love God more, study His love more as it is revealed in His word.

Now how about this class--"To them who are called according to his purpose"? Here we have the matter of "calling," and that causes some to be discouraged sometimes. A brother will say, "Perhaps I am not called, I am not at all sure that I am; and therefore it don't work good for me." That matter of "calling" can be settled very easily. Who has God called? "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation 22:17.

Now the call is to every man and woman and child on earth. Those that hear it are to take it up and pass it along. The kindness of God is wide enough to take in every individual, "for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Those two texts are sufficient to scatter to the four winds all the theological trash that has been written to prove that God has some set few that He has called and no others. Let no soul stay away because he thinks he is not called. The call is to all. All do not come; all do not take the advice of Peter and make their calling and election sure, but that is not the fault of God's provision.