Called According to His Purpose
not according to our works
And we know
that all things work together for good
to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
Intro
There is a lot of good truth in this passage. But we could miss it if we are sidetracked by a debate over what it means to be ‘the called according to God’s purpose.’ Our strategy to avoid the debate and uncover the good truth will be to examine this verse phrase by phrase.
All things
All things doesn’t mean all objects. Paul wasn’t saying that every imaginable created object, such as potatoes, cigarettes, and brussel sprouts are for good. Some of these things may be for good, but that isn’t the point Paul is making here.
In this passage, all things means all events and circumstances. Paul was saying that all events and circumstances are for good. Even bad events that happened because of bad choices.
For example, the first event Abram experienced after he arrived in Canaan was a famine. This does not classify as a good event, but a bad event. However, God intended to use this bad event for good in Abram. With the famine, God could develop faith in Abram so that he would learn to trust God in difficult times. However, Abram chose to flee the famine and go to Egypt. But as he traveled, he became afraid that someone would kill him for his beautiful wife. Instead of trusting God to protect him, he told people she was his sister. As a result, Pharaoh took her to be his wife.
Losing his wife was a bad event that came because of his bad choices.
But then God intervened and compelled Pharaoh to give back Abram’s wife. Abram went back to Canaan with his wife and there built an altar to the Lord. He built the altar because he found he could trust God. So God used this series of bad events for the good of developing faith in Abram.
Abram’s experience illustrates what Paul was saying. All events and circumstances, even bad ones, are used to produce good in those who love God.
For good
All things work together for good is not a promise that all things will turn out well in the end. We do know that all things will turn out well when we arrive in eternity, but Paul was not speaking of that happy event. He was telling us that God uses all things to produce a particular good in those who love God. And verse 29 points to what the good is.
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29
Notice God’s final destination for believers: they will become like the Lord Jesus. Based on the rule of context, being made like Christ is the good that verse 28 has in view.
In verse 28, Paul was saying that God uses all things to transform the personalities of His people into the likeness of His Son.
Love God
It’s a sad reality that not all believers reach the same level of Christ-likeness in their old age. But it isn’t that God fails to perform His work. It’s that not all believers have loved the Lord equally. Paul stated all things work together for good, but specifically to those who love God. That implies the more we love God, the more He can produce the likeness of His Son in us.
We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19
According to 1 John, our love for God doesn’t develop through a focused effort to stir up our emotions. Our love towards God develops when we see how He first loved us.
I grew up in a Christian home, so I always knew God loved me. But it wasn’t until the guilt of my sin overcame me that I saw how God truly loved me. Because it was while I felt filthy rotten in my sin that I saw God’s love for me in that He sent His Son to die for my sin.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
Our clearest view of God’s love is in the context of our sin. And when we see God loves us even as corrupt sinners, we cannot help but respond in love towards Him.
People who truly love God are those who remember that the sin in their hearts is utter corruption, and that God loves them even as sinners. For people who love God like this, God is able to use all things to produce the good of Christ-likeness in them.
The called
Called does not mean called to be saved. The call of salvation is an invitation-type call, such as what we see in verse 29. This Greek word in verse 28 is more about taking up a lifestyle or vocation. Paul was talking about people who were called to a particular kind life.
At first glance, we might assume that the calling is a life of personally striving to become like Christ. But Paul was not saying that we must use every event to produce Christ-likeness in ourselves. He was telling us that God is producing Christ-likeness in certain ones whom He has called to a certain lifestyle.
Paul referenced the lifestyle in the beginning of Romans where he addressed his epistle to those who are in Rome, called to be saints (Romans 1:3). This calling to be saints is surely the calling Paul was referring to in Romans 8:28.
Now, ‘saints’ simply means, ‘holy ones’. So we could say that God called them to be holy people.
This may sound like a life of striving to become Christ-like, but there is an important factor to holiness that we should not overlook. It is probably worth our time to pause and refresh our memories with the example God’s call to Israel to be holy.
After the Israelites escaped Egypt, they arrived at Mount Sinai where God called them, among other things, to the life of a holy nation.
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:6
At the time God called them, we can see they were not a holy nation because God forbade them from even touching the mountain lest He break out against them and destroy them.
Then the LORD said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break out against them.” Exodus 19:24
But by the time they left the mountain, they could stand at the door of the Tabernacle, see the glory of God, and not be destroyed.
And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people Leviticus 9:23
This means that, during their stay at Mt Sinai, Israel had become a holy nation.
Israel’s calling as a holy nation did not result in lives free of sin, for they remained a stiff-necked and rebellious people. But it did result in a whole new life of living near God without fear of sudden destruction.Not only could they approach God in the tabernacle, they lived all around Him. So for them, the life of holiness meant living near God.
Of course, living near God also meant they had to put away their sin. You simply can’t live near God and be indulging in a life of sin. So after they became holy, they began learning to put away sinful actions. But first they were made holy. Then, as a result, they learned to put away sin.
Thus, God’s calling to be saints is a calling to live life near Him, in His presence, even though we still sin. Not everyone wants to live near God. But for those who do, God works all things for good.
His purpose
Called according to His purpose does not mean believers are made holy based on God’s decree from eternity past. It means they did not achieve their calling to be saints through their efforts. In other words, ‘called to be saints according to His purpose’ means these people were brought into a holy life by God’s purpose, not by their efforts. Look at how Paul used this phrase in 2 Timothy 1.
God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel
As believers, we understand that our salvation is not according to our works. But we might not realize that our holy calling is also not according to our works. As with our salvation, we don’t become holy by doing good works.
Going back to our Old Testament example, we can see that Israel wasn’t made holy by their works either. Remember, they had become a holy people by the time they left Mt Sinai. But they didn’t achieve that position through their works.
If we look closely, we can see that the key to their ability to live near God was the Tabernacle with all its veils, coverings, and courtyard. God dwelt inside the Tabernacle and the Israelites lived all round it. Without the Tabernacle, the Israelites could not have lived near God.
Now, the last chapter of Exodus tells in detail how the Tabernacle was set up. Fifteen whole verses tell of how God commanded Moses to set up each component of the Tabernacle. Then fifteen following verses tell of Moses setting up each part. The point of the passage is undoubtedly that the Tabernacle was set up through Moses’ obedience to God’s purpose. God commanded, and Moses obeyed. Thus, the Tabernacle was set up according to the purpose of God, in that God made His purpose known to Moses, and then God’s purpose was fulfilled through Moses’ obedience.
So Israel was made holy, not according to their efforts, but according to the purpose of God which was carried out by Moses’ obedience.
Israel’s experience parallels ours. We are made holy, not according to our efforts, but according to the purpose of God which was carried out by Jesus’ obedience.
God sent Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus fulfilled the purpose of God by bearing our sins in His body on the tree, abolishing death and bringing to us life and immortality.
There are many people who try to achieve holiness, that is, nearness to God, through their works. But we cannot draw close to God by our works, for our righteousness is as filthy rags. God brings us near through Jesus’ work. So to those who recognize they are holy by God’s purpose, which was fulfilled by Jesus’ obedience, for them God works all things for good.
Summary
We know that God uses all events and circumstances for the good of transforming into the likeness of Christ those who love God (who see that God loved them first, even in their sin) and who embraced the calling to be holy saints by God’s purpose which was fulfilled in Christ who abolished death and brought us into the eternal favor of God.
Conclusion
God works all things for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
How do we love God? John said that we love God because He first loved us. He demonstrated His love when we were still sinners, in that He sent this Son to die for us. Such love surely will produce love in us. But sometimes, especially when we are doing well, we sort of forget that we are sinners. When we forget we are sinners, we don’t clearly see God’s love.
To love God, we will need to learn to always acknowledge that sin is in our hearts. Yet God loves us. As we thus see the richness of His love towards us, we will love Him, and He will work all things for good.
How can we be called according to His purpose? God wants us to live life near Him. Do we want to live near Him, or would we prefer independence? To live near God is to live life knowing that we are accepted and approved of by Him, and to live without fear of judgment and knowing we are in His everlasting favor. We cannot achieve these things by our good works. We can only obtain God’s acceptance and approval when we recognize that we have been brought near by His purpose which was accomplished by the Lord Jesus on the cross when He abolished our death and brought us into God’s eternal favor. As we rest in being brought near through the Lord’s obedience, our Father will work all things for good.
