Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

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.

Eisegesis: 

Everything will work out in your life and you will proposer if you love God. 

Exegesis:   

This verse is speaking specifically to Christian believers and not everyone. The ‘good’ is not a reference to comfort, wealth, or health; rather, it is our conformity to Christ. God will work all things together to bring each Christian to conformity to christ – closer to holiness. This is all for His glory, not ours. 

This verse is often used by Christians on their social posts and might even be a life verse for many people. Quoted on its own, it sounds nice and gives a warm fuzzy feeling. But the problem  is not so much that God is working out everything (because He sovereignly does work all things) but it is in in assuming that we will have a hassle-free, trouble-free and a pain-free life.

Life is certainly hard and there is no doubt about that. Yes we will experience pain, loss and suffering. But, at the core, we can rejoice knowing that ultimately God is over all, directing our steps and although we may not be able to see it, feel it, or experience it this side of heaven, He is working all things together for good for those who love God.

The frequent misquotation of this verse reflects and ego-centric view of the world and God’s word that tempts us to think that because God loves us, every problem will be resolved in the way we think best. But God’s view is higher than ours and often times the best thing for our sanctification might be exact opposite of what we wished for.

This promise is not a universal principle that applies to all people but is only a promise to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Jesus defined “those who love Him” in John 14, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching” so obedience to Christ is a key distinction of those who are true followers of Him.

Furthermore, the “good” that Jesus speaks of is good that which only Christians experience which is a conformity to Jesus’ character (29). (Therefore we cannot apply use this verse as a universal principal for all people).

Romans 8:29 (NKJV)

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.

The “good” thing that Paul had in mind is clear from the above verse 29; the use of the word “for” indicates that he is  elaborating on what he said in verse 28, that for us to be conformed to the image (character) of Jesus is the ultimate good.

Therefore we can conclude that Paul is describing our personal sanctification, not individual blessings such as a better job, more money, a spouse, happiness, etc. There is no promise that God will always provide a temporal blessing corresponding to every temporal evil we experience.

For example, God has not promised that if we are unjustly terminated from our employment that He will provide us with a new job that makes more money.

What God has promised us is that God will use the evil we experience in life to make us more like Jesus, which is the ultimate blessing. 

We know this to be true by experience. While we enjoy temporal blessings, rarely will such things help us to become more Christ-like. Suffering, however, has a way of changing our character to be more like Jesus.