The Word To Live By: 8-24-25
Phil Waggoner
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God; those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
The Word To Live By: Let’s get one thing straight before we go any further with this promise. It does not say God causes all things. As we dig into this in context, we see that God causes the things that happen in life to work out for good. To begin with, verse 29 says that those whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. That would be Jesus, and even before the foundation of the earth, God foreknew everyone who was born and will be born (Jeremiah 1:5), so get rid of your predestination theology. “Are you trying to tell me Jesus didn’t die for the sins of the world?” See John 3:16, and Romans 8:32. Now we move on to verse 30, “those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.” People are glorified for good things, not for bad things. Verse 31, “If God is for us, who is against us? Verse 33, “Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies.” Verse 34, Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.” What do you think God is asking the Father? “Make this bad thing worse for them?” That doesn’t sound like Jesus! Verse 35, “Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger of sword?” Verse 37,38, “No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created things will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” How do you love God? By being a doer of His Word and not a hearer only. Love never fails. I don’t care what it looks like now. I don’t care what others say about the situation; God will turn it to good. Impossible is not in His thinking. As a man said just last night, “I have preached myself happy!”
Read through the Bible in a year: John 6:1-21; 1 Chronicles 22:2-23:32; Zechariah 9;
Read through the New Testament and Proverbs: Proverbs 24, Matthew 28:1-10, 1 Corinthians 11
The sum of Thy Word is Truth Psalm 119:160