Today our topic is "Duty Based on Romans 8:28." To preface consideration of our duty, we should note how duty arises here and then note its scope. How it arises is implicit. That is, since this is a supreme passage given to support us in suffering, especially suffering due to sin remaining in us, then this marvelous support must have a direct bearing on this major cause of our suffering, namely, our sin. And it does have this bearing in the following way. The working of all things together for our good must include our good in the conflict with sin. A slice of the good pie is goodness or righteousness of life. This promise is another way of saying that our trials are designed to consume our dross and refine our gold (cf. "every trial cometh from above, traced upon our dial by the Son of love, we can trust Him fully all for us to do").

Regarding how duty arises from this text, we can each think like this: if it is God's design to develop good Christian graces in me through suffering and all circumstances of life, then I must make the development of this good and these graces my design also.

The scope of our duty must be as broad as the scope of God's working. Since He works for our good in all things, then our duty relates to everything that befalls us in the course of our lives and, of course, it relates particularly to the various forms of suffering we experience due to our own sins and due to the sins of others.

Thus we can state this duty in a threefold way: 1) Our duty is to work for good in all circumstances. 2) It is also our duty therefore to work for good in suffering (experienced or witnessed) and 3) thus it is our duty to work for good particularly in the suffering inflicted on us by others. These duties begin at the most general level and gradually become more and more specific. Let's follow that pattern today.

1A. Our duty based on Romans 8:28 is to work for good in all circumstances.

Since good is God's goal for you in everything, since everything is working in concert for your good, since this good is ultimate and permanent, and since this good is taken up in the glory of God, the great end of creation, then if you know Romans 8:28, you will work in all things for good, for your good, for the good of others and for the glory of God (note how broad and general this is). This means that there are certain things that you will not do and certain things you will do in relation to the eventualities of life.

"What you will not do" (with obvious positives immediately brought to mind)

1) You will not play the part of the ingrate. You will not be ungrateful for the good being worked on your behalf without any merit on your part. The good you know but cannot always discern and the good that you can see plainly is all from the Father of lights with whom is no shadow of turning. So, you will have a grateful heart as a fundamental attitude. If you know Romans 8:28, then gratitude will permeate your day. Although there will be times when you will be perplexed, still when the dust settles you will remember that God is blessing your circumstances to your good and you will thank Him. Thanksgiving will be especially pronounced when you see the good (recognizing that often we cannot see the good but know it by God's promise).

2) You will not carry yourself in a prideful manner in what you have, whether gifts, abilities, comforts or possessions. You will not be prideful in these things, these good things, as if you were self-sufficient, somehow superior to other human beings, somehow a credit to God as well, and thanking yourself for your success. Knowing Romans 8:28 means that you will not center your attention on yourself as if you were autonomous. This you will not do. With an energy born out of a sense of good surrounding you by the working of another on your behalf, you will humble yourself before the Lord and before others (you will oppose arrogance, snobbery, and scorning in relation to other people).

3) You will not take the slothful path when blessed and comforted. Here is a pitfall to watch out for: the mountaintops are often followed by the valleys. Blessings are due to God's working, they arise from His activity on your behalf. You must therefore receive the good gifts of soundness of body, mind and spirit with determination to work in the things of God directly and industriously. Remember, we are strangers in a foreign land with our citizenship in heaven; we are workers in God's kingdom.

In summary, as to what we will not do, knowing God's working helps us avoid ingratitude, pride and slothfulness (I'm sure more can added upon reflection).

"What you will do"

Knowing God's working prompts the opposites of what we will not do. It prompts gratitude, humility, and industry. In light of the knowledge of providence, you will work in every situation for good. This attitude will function like a basic grid through which you will see your life and by which you will govern your conduct. The fact of His working does not bring you to a standstill. Instead, following His example as His child and image bearer you too will work. This work on your part will include at least the following things: acknowledgment, acceptance, and service.

1) If you know Romans 8:28, then you will acknowledge that good is behind, beneath, above, and in front of every detail of your life. You will not be glib or unrealistic. But down deep you will recognize that God is behind the scenes working everything that befalls you for your good. You will acknowledge the universal negative and the universal positive: nothing can separate you from your Father's providential care, everything that comes your way comes from His hand and is directed by Him for your good.

This applies to the details. You can say: "This thing in front of me, pressing in on me, especially suffering is working for my good." You tell this to yourself and to others as an aspect of giving a good confession of faith. Count it so! Here you acknowledge the hand of God, that it is His hand, that His hand may in a sense be lifted against you in discipline or training with His heart always set lovingly upon you and working these difficult seasons for your good.

2) If you know Romans 8:28, then you will prayerfully accept the details of life that befall you. You will accept all the circumstances, trials, sufferings from the hand of the Father. You will accept them from the hand of God. And you will voice your acceptance to your Father in heaven. Say with the Psalmist, "you have set me behind and before, you have encircled my path, you know my down sitting and my rising up, you know, you care, you plan, you work, and you uphold me with your right hand (Ps. 139). Say with the Psalmist, "it is God who performs all things for me, who fulfills His purpose for me" therefore, "I will cry out to God Most High" (Ps. 57:2). And with Paul, "in everything give thanks for this is the will of God concerning you" (1 Thess. 5:18).

3) If you know Romans 8:28 then your entire life will be the stage on which you serve God and your neighbor. Your seasons of comfort and blessing (seeing the good) will be taken as times of refreshment for service: "comfort is to ease your rigorous labors not erase them."

This will give a profound perspective on seasons of calamity. You will see them as a "frowning providence" behind which "He hides a smiling face." Thus He manages our affairs and the cloudiest days for our good. Since these clouds do not eliminate His working but token it, then they must not eliminate our working either but intensify it.

Since God is at work in everything for you, you will be at work in all things for Him. This is our duty at the broadest level. We can now narrow down a little.

2A. It is also our duty therefore to work for good in suffering

This is the case whether we experience or witness suffering. I just want to make an important point here. Sometimes all we can do is hold on by our fingernails. This is where we need each other in the household of God. I cannot tell you how much your support has meant to Patricia and me in my ministry trials and her illness. When we suffer we must swallow our pride and receive support, help, advice, counsel, and words of encouragement (countering in ourselves the "I know all that" response; we need to hear things we already know but need to come to know more fully). This is on the receiving side. On the other side, when we witness the suffering of others, we must pray, give, listen, and speak with sensitive hearts overwhelmed by the purposes of God being orchestrated in our lives (recall that the promise is personal but not individual; it is "to those," to the family).

3A. It is our duty to work for good particularly in the suffering inflicted on us by others. This narrows our duty down to an eyeball to eyeball level.

An example of providence applied in this context is found in the story of Joseph. As we look at Genesis 45 and 50, we will see the great fact, promise, and scope of providence. But I want to stress the application of providence that is also indicated in the text. There are two places where we have parallels to Romans 8:28. They are Genesis 45:7 and 50:20. Each highlights a special moment in the history of Joseph and his ornery brothers. Let's consider each looking for application.

1) The first is when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers twenty years after they betrayed him as a helpless teen into the pit of death and the enslavement of Egypt. He now has their lives in his hands; he could have had them dispensed with (killed) and no one would have been the wiser. But consider his remarkable words concerning himself, to them, and about God in 45:4-8. Concerning himself he says: come close, I am your brother, Joseph, I am the one you sold into Egypt (v. 4). The whole story is summarized in a nutshell; all the memories must come flooding back. To them he says, "do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here"(v. 5a). This is almost too good to be true. Instead of an explosion of cutting words that were twenty years in the boiler of Joseph's heart and instead of death to these evil men, we hear kind words extended to calm their emotionally troubled consciences (cf. 42:21for a look at their fear of punishment because of what they did to Joseph roughly twenty years before). When Joseph speaks about God, he speaks of Him as purposeful and active in the cruelty of brothers to brother. God did the sending and God did the saving (5b-8).

2) The second special moment in the history (50:20) centers around the death of their father, Jacob, seventeen years after having come to Egypt (47:28). Their fear of punishment continues and it appears that they therefore lie to Joseph about death-bed instructions from their father (at least, these instructions are nowhere cited in the narrative, specific death-bed instructions of Jacob are cited as what their father did say to them, 49:28-29, and these reported "instructions" given by the brothers arise from their mistrust). Genesis 50:15-17 relates the concern of the brothers and Joseph's initial response: they fear and lie; Joseph weeps. Then Joseph's classic response is given. Again he has a word about God and a kind word to his brothers. God intended good through your intention of evil (50:20). As for you, do not be afraid (50:19) and I will provide for you and your children (50:21).

Lesson: if you believe in providence then you have the deepest foundation for comfort and hope. But it does no stop there. If you believe in providence then you are called by this belief, comfort, and hope to a godly posture and attitude toward injustice, toward painful injustice, toward painful injustice inflicted on you by those closest to you in the bonds of family kinship. You are called not only to live and let live (and thus ignore and avoid) but to seek the emotional good of those who have mistreated you, even with regard to the crimes and offenses they have committed against you (as much as possible, as much as depends on you, Rom. 12:18).

We can also surely apply this to our brothers and sisters in the Lord who profess faith in the Lordship of Christ and yet lie to us and betray us. Our "friends" become our accusers inflicting pain with words like "it's not personal." The very fact that they think in depersonalized terms causes pain to our hearts and souls. One thing I desire because of the experience I have had with being marginalized and cruelly depersonalized by Christians in authority is that by the grace of God may I never do this to others, whether I have a place of authority or not. And a great help is to recognize that all things, including the evil acts of our professed brothers and sisters, are intended by God and contribute to our good. This recognition eases the pain (it does not remove it) and gives a strength for self-control.

We see the terrible injustice right before our eyes and even feel it in the back between the ribs; we see clearly and feel deeply. But before we respond in thought, word or deed, we must remember that we are called into fellowship with the faithful God, though we are unfaithful and unjust. He has shown us mercy and undeserved kindness and He is the one who is working for our good in the pain and injustice we now experience at the hands of our betrayers. This does not turn the sins of men into undefined mush; the sins are real, the sinners are blameworthy. But it puts these acts into a larger historical context as events in the unfolding of God's eternal purpose. His plans will stand; He frustrates the plans of men. Those who do us wrong intend our ruin; these intentions are in fact frustrated. God works in these wrongs for our eternal good. Knowing this has to affect us in the present giving us a sense of the good and causing the good of these Christian graces and virtues to blossom.

Summary

Duty arises implicitly from the great promise of providence in Romans 8:28. What we should not do is be ungrateful, prideful, or slothful. What we should do is acknowledge the hand of God (count it so, mark it down), prayerfully accept His dealings, and serve others in all things for good. He is at work so, in light of our knowledge of Romans 8:28, we too must work. He is at work in all things; so must we be at work in all things. He works for good; so must we.

As we work we have hope in the suffering and trials. We know that however many troubles are appointed, they will come at last to one, and then to no more when we come to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So let me tie some final exhortations to your duty to work in light of Romans 8:28.

Knowing the good that surrounds you by the working of God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, press on for the prize of God, the highest prize, the highest good. Do not set your sights too low on the temporal good, which is temporary and fleeting. But in all earthly goals press on for truth, righteousness and integrity to be what you are: God's image bearer. You are here to reflect Him to image Him. Press on then for the glory of God, which is the highest good.

Ride above the circumstances of life rather than letting them get you down.This promise is a guide through the complexities of life with its trials and struggles. It is a great, clear and comforting perspective on life.

As you do your work, rest in God Almighty, the Lord of history, the Alpha and Omega, the author and finisher of your faith.

As you work, rest in the power of God that is at work, expending energy, for you.

In the midst of your work, rest in the wisdom of God that puts the fullest information together with its best possible use for the most noble purpose. He works all things after the counsel of His will for your good.

While working for good in all things, rest in the will of God for He works powerfully and wisely with determination for the good of His people, for your ultimate, permanent, and abiding good.

Rest your head on the Father's shoulder. We are like children who when picked up in the arms of the father may squirm, kick, cry and fight because disappointed that their expectations, desires, and wants are not now, at this very moment fulfilled. When the moments pass and a sense of being loved resurfaces, children rest their heads on the father's shoulder for here they are in the strong arms and embrace of fatherly love. Like these children, rest your head on the Father's shoulder, rest at peace in the arms of your heavenly Father. Like Job we can each say: He knows the way I take, when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10).

May we fall down before the majesty of our God in humble gratitude for His working on our behalf in all things. May we work as He works, in all things for good. May we work for Him and rest at peace in His strong embrace.