成績單

Today we sail on our Wisdom Journey into one of the most familiar verses in the entire New Testament. It is a verse we tend to carry around in our back pocket and pull out whenever we need a sense of reassurance that God is at work. Here it is—Romans 8:28:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

This familiar verse is also one of the most misunderstood and misused verses in Scripture—and we are all far too quick in the way we apply it.

George Whitefield was used by God to bring about the Great Awakening, both in North America and in England, during the mid-1700s. I read of one event that sounded a lot like the typical application of Romans 8:28.

Whitefield learned of a widow with a large family, whose landlord had recently taken all her furniture away because she could not pay the rent. Whitefield, accompanied by a friend, immediately rode over and gave her a considerable amount of money—enough to pay the rent and get her furniture back. As they rode their horses back home, Whitefield’s friend hinted that Whitefield could not afford to have given so much of his money away.

As the two men rode along quietly, suddenly a robber galloped up and demanded their money. Whitefield had given all his money to the widow, but his friend had to give his money to the robber. When the robber galloped away, Whitefield turned to his friend and remarked how much better it was for the poor widow to have his money than the thief. It was only a few minutes later that the robber galloped back up and demanded Whitefield’s winter coat.

Whitefield agreed but asked the robber if he would not mind giving him his tattered coat in exchange, since it was so cold. The robber agreed, and after trading coats, he rode away.

But again, before an hour had passed, they saw that same robber galloping toward them as fast as he could. This time they feared for their lives and spurred on their horses, arriving at the safety of a village just in time. Later that evening, Whitefield found out why the bandit had chased after them again, no doubt terribly upset. When Whitefield took off the man’s tattered coat, he found in one of the pockets, twenty times the amount of money he had given the widow![1]

He had gotten back far more than he had given away. Now that is my kind of Romans 8:28 story!

The problem is that things do not always work out so wonderfully, do they? Is God still working out everything for our good when things are not going so well? What if Whitefield had permanently lost his money and his coat? Was God at work? What about at the funeral home or in the emergency room? Is God still at work in those places too? What about after a divorce or bankruptcy or after the loss of a job? Does Romans 8:28 apply there as well?

Beloved, a correct interpretation of a verse of Scripture means it will be correct for any condition, in any situation, and under any circumstance. If Romans 8:28 applies only when you get your money doubled or you get your winter coat back, then we have misunderstood its meaning.

And by the way, I am all for you getting your coat back. But is God at work only when you do? Is God at work only when the weather’s nice and the sun is shining and everybody is happy? If so, then we have misunderstood the meaning of this verse.

So, before we discover what this verse truly means, let me tell you what it does not mean. In fact, I want to give you three ways this verse is misunderstood and misapplied.

First, Romans 8:28 is not an explanation of suffering. Paul is not giving us a quick answer for the grieving. This is not some quick explanation. In fact, often in the Bible we are told that God and His ways are beyond explanations (Romans 11:33). Solomon even wrote, “It is the glory of God to conceal things” (Proverbs 25:2). There are times when God has no intention of explaining what He is doing.

This verse does not explain why. But it does tell us who. God is at work behind the scenes; and the older I get, the more often I say to myself, “I don’t know why, but I do know who.”

Second, Romans 8:28 is not a prohibition against sorrow. This verse is not designed to dry up your tears of sorrow. It is not an adhesive bandage for you to stick on some grieving person.

I remember being in a funeral parlor, standing next to the grieving widow when one well-intentioned woman patted the widow on her shoulder and said, “Now don’t cry. Just remember Romans 8:28.”

Many Christians today actually believe that faithful, mature Christians do not cry at all. What about Jesus, standing outside Lazarus’s tomb, openly weeping? And the crowd said, there in John 11:36, “See how he loved him!” His tears were evidence of His sorrow and love. Romans 8:28 in no way prohibits grieving.

Third, this verse is not a guarantee of comfortable living. Many Christians believe this verse means God has obligated Himself to provide a trouble-free life for His followers. They want to add the word now to this verse to make it read, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good now!”

We might not say it out loud, but deep down we really expect God to give us calm weather now, good health now, and smooth sailing on the ocean of life now.

I remember years ago traveling to the South of France on a short-term ministry trip with Marsha, my missionary parents, and some others from our church.

On our way home, after a week of hard work, my wife and I came up to the ticket counter in the Paris airport. After some delay, they asked us to sit down near the counter. Evidently there had been some sort of mix-up. It turned out they had separated Marsha and me on the flight home by accident. After talking it over, they informed us that we were both being moved up to first class, where we could sit together.

All the way home—first class! Let me tell you, there is a vast difference between flying in the back of the airplane and up front in first class—especially on long international flights. We had a full meal with linen and silverware, even a dessert menu afterward. And we had leather seats that reclined!

Now I have to tell you my wife was embarrassed. My parents were back there eating peanuts, stuck between other passengers. She said, “Honey, don’t you think we should offer our seats to your parents?” Well, I did not think so, but she insisted. So, I got up and went back to coach; then I came back and said, “They did not want to switch.” Of course they were asleep when I asked them.

Certainly, this was a Romans 8:28 moment. This was God at work. I mean, God obviously works it out for us to travel first-class through life, right? Well, does that mean the hand of God was not at work in the lives of my parents, stuck back there in coach seating?

Beloved, we have misused and misunderstood this verse for far too long. And it has led many to discouragement and despair and confusion and doubt. Why? Because they never made it into first-class seating. They never got their winter coat back. They were robbed or mistreated, and it did not seem like God was even around, much less at work.

So, what exactly does Romans 8:28 mean? Well, we are out of time for today, so we will answer that next time we set sail together.