We Know God Is Working All Things Together

In one paragraph

This message was a review of everything covered in Romans since January, walking back through the first eight chapters before landing on Romans 8:26-28. Carl has been working through Romans all year, and several people had asked him to step back and show how the pieces fit together before moving on. He closed by reading verses 26 through 28 and letting that be the sermon's destination. Paul wrote...

Read together

1. Colossians 3:16 opening verse read before the first song
2. Acts 2:24 read aloud before the congregation was seated: God raised Jesus from the dead because death could not hold him
3. Romans 1:1 starting point of the series on January 17, introducing Paul as bond servant and apostle
4. Romans 1:1-7 the prescript of Romans, identifying sender, recipients, and the gospel of God
5. Romans 1:16-17 theme of the letter: not ashamed of the gospel, the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith
6. Romans 1:18-23 rejecting the knowledge of God as sin, beginning of the section on universal sin
7. Romans 1:25 they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator
8. Romans 1:29-32 list of sins flowing from rejection of God, unrighteousness through disobedience to parents
9. Romans 2:1 whosoever judges another condemns himself, the impartiality of God
10. Romans 2:7-11 two destinations: eternal life for those who do good, wrath for those who obey unrighteousness; God shows no partiality
11. Romans 3:10-18 there is none righteous, no not one; throats an open grave; no fear of God before their eyes
12. Romans 3:20 by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight
13. Romans 3:21-25 but now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested; justified as a gift by His grace through redemption in Christ Jesus, a propitiation
14. Romans 4:22-25 Abraham believed God and it was credited as righteousness; credited to those who believe in Him who raised Jesus from the dead
15. Romans 5:1-5 having been justified by faith we have peace with God; we exult in tribulations which produce perseverance, proven character, and hope
16. Romans 5:8 God demonstrates His love in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us
17. Romans 5:12-21 contrast of death through Adam and life through Christ; the binary of who you identify with
18. Romans 6:1-2 shall we continue in sin that grace may increase? May it never be
19. Romans 6:12-14 do not let sin reign; present yourselves to God as instruments of righteousness; sin shall not be master over you
20. Romans 6:19 yield your members as slaves to righteousness resulting in sanctification
21. Romans 7:4 we were made to die to the law through the body of Christ to bear fruit for God
22. Romans 7:14-25 conflict of two natures: doing the evil I do not want; wretched man, who will set me free; thanks be to God through Jesus Christ
23. Romans 8:1-2 therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus; the law of the spirit of life has set you free
24. Romans 8:3-4 what the law could not do God did, sending His own Son; the requirement of the law fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit
25. Romans 8:5-6 those according to the flesh set minds on flesh; the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace
26. Romans 8:11 the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
27. Romans 8:12-14 we are under no obligation to the flesh; all who are led by the Spirit are sons of God
28. Romans 8:15-17 received the spirit of adoption by which we cry Abba Father; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ; if we suffer with Him we will be glorified
29. Romans 8:18 sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed
30. Romans 8:19-23 creation groans waiting for the revealing of the sons of God; we ourselves groan waiting for the redemption of our bodies
31. Romans 8:24-25 in hope we have been saved; hope that is seen is not hope; we wait eagerly with perseverance
32. Romans 8:26-28 the Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words; God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose
33. Acts 16:31 quoted in a gospel definition submitted by a congregation member: believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved
34. 2 Corinthians 4:17 our momentary light affliction contrasted with eternal glory, cited alongside Romans 8:18
35. Romans 15:13 closing benediction: may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl walked through the bad news of Romans before getting to the good news, spending weeks on the universal reign of sin before arriving at 'but now.' Why do you think it matters to sit with the bad news rather than rushing past it, and how does understanding it change the way you receive the good news?
2. Several people sent in their one-sentence summaries of the gospel. What would yours be, and what does it reveal about which part of the gospel feels most central to you personally?
3. Carl described sanctification as a rocky, up-and-down line that depends on your yieldedness to the Holy Spirit. Where have you seen that pattern in your own life, and what has helped you yield rather than resist?
4. Romans 7 describes the conflict of two natures, and Carl shared a text from someone who said he was feeling prone to wander. How have you experienced that internal war, and what did it look like to find a way through it?
5. Romans 8:28 says God is working all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Carl noted that the phrase 'are being called' still carries hope for people who have been pushing God away. How does that shape the way you think about people in your life who seem far from God right now?