What if I were to tell you that, from this point forward, nothing bad will ever happen to you, and that, even though you might not always understand how or why, everything in the future will be good – would you believe me?

Promises like this seem empty. A few minutes of life in the “real world” exposes this promise as fallacious. How could anyone possibly suggest something so absurd?

Saint Paul does exactly this in one of the most far-reaching, all-encompassing divine promises ever given: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). What exactly is being promised in this verse? How can God promise good when so much in the world and in our lives is bad?

The Divine Conspiracy

God can promise something so radical because God is directly engaged in a vast conspiracy. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a conspiracy is “a planning and acting together secretly, especially for an unlawful or harmful purpose; a combining or working together.” In the midst of seemingly ordinary events – both good and bad – God is orchestrating all things to result in your good and his glory. Unlike most conspiracies, which according to Webster’s Dictionary accomplish “an unlawful or harmful purpose,” God’s conspiracy is for our good. It is a good conspiracy – God’s good conspiracy!

God’s good conspiracy is a secret known only to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. The rest of the people in this world remain ignorant of this reality (even though this is an open secret, available to all willing to believe).[1]

God’s conspiracy of good is our ground of hope. It is the reason we press on in difficult circumstances. It is our cause for rejoicing in the midst of sorrow. Hidden under, within, and above all things, God is actively engaged in bringing all things to a glorious end in Christ – and this includes us!

God’s goal is unstoppable, having been enacted once-and-for-all in Christ. Resurrection power has been unleashed in the midst of a dying world, forever changing the nature of reality: Death can no longer conquer life. Evil cannot overpower righteousness. The groans of creation are not its death-pangs to destruction, but its birth pangs to new life! The end has begun in Christ, and it is glorious.

It is in light of God’s good conspiracy that God has given us this promise. In any other context, the promise would be naïve, unrealistic, absurd. But in light of the triumph of Christ, the promise is merely an announcement of the inevitable.

Now, let’s take a closer look at what God is actually promising.

All Things

“All things” is an utterly comprehensive statement. It has no qualifications, restrictions, or limitations of any kind. All things cannot be reduced to “all good things.” The amazing truth is that God’s good conspiracy is cosmic in scope. Nothing escapes its reach.

Though God’s good conspiracy embraces all things, this does not warrant the conclusion that all things are necessarily good. Obviously, evil and harmful things occur. Bad things do happen to good people. It would be a tragic thing for Christians to deny or undermine the painful suffering of others by assuming this verse negates the very real presence of evil.

This verse does not suggest that there are no “bad” or “evil things” in life. Instead, it declares that evil, pain, and suffering will never have the final word in a world in which the resurrection of Christ has taken place. God, in his sovereign wisdom, is able to bring good out of evil. God can take our bad experiences and use them for our good.

Before we are too quick to reject this possibility, consider the cross of Christ. Is crucifixion good or bad? Only someone completely ignorant of the horrific torture and shameful humiliation of the cross would say it is good. And yet, in spite of its evil, is it not true that Christians declare that the cross is somehow good? It is on the cross that Jesus bore the sins of the world. It is by the cross that forgiveness and blessing comes to us all. It is through the cross that we see the great love of God, willing to go to all extremes to demonstrate the depths of divine grace. As evil as the crucifixion is, God brought good from evil, not by making evil good, but by overruling it for God’s own ends.

In God’s cosmos, because of God’s good conspiracy, evil never has the final word. It is always trumped by good. This is the truth behind Augustine’s statement, “God would never permit evil, if he could not bring good out of evil.”

Work Together

The text does not state that “all things are good” but that God causes “all things to work together for good.” All things – both good and bad events – are integrated by God in such a way that the outcome is “our good.” Like a recipe, the various elements work together to produce a greater effect than they would individually. For example, cake recipes include baking soda. A cake made completely of baking soda would be disgusting, but a certain measure of salt appropriate to the rest of the elements produces a tasty result.

This divine weaving together of disparate elements underscores the vast complexity of events involved in the fulfillment of God’s purpose for this world. Life is certainly complicated. It is often impossible to paint actions with a completely black or white brush. For example: Is killing good or bad? What about killing in self-defense? What about killing for the preservation of innocent life? Is war good or bad? What about wars for the sake of justice? Is anything worth fighting for? Is authority good or bad? We could go on indefinitely. Though some might have stronger feelings than others about the topics mentioned above, we can all agree that reality is complex and does not generally lend itself to simplistic, black-and-white answers.

This is true for the Christian journey. One can go mad trying to ascertain whether one’s individual experiences are completely good or bad. Usually, most experiences are a combination of both. People looking for God in only the “good” things will miss out on the fact that God works for their good “in all things.”

Life can be confusing. But in the midst of confusion, uncertainty, and complexity, there is one thing of which we can be sure: God causes all things to work together for our good. God is actively involved in all things in our lives and will not waste a single moment. Thus, every day offers the possibility of further progress in christlikeness for those willing to embrace God’s ultimate purpose.

For Good

This leads to the most important – and the most misunderstood – aspect of this promise: What is the good of which this verse speaks? If “the good” is comfort, convenience, ease, tranquility, financial success, or perfect health, then this promise is clearly not true.

The “good” in this verse and its immediate context is conformity to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). The good is not our happiness, but our holiness. It is not comfort, but christlikeness. It is not lavish living, but selfless love. It is not ease, but compassion.

If conformity to the image of Christ is not your ultimate good, then this promise will offer little solace to you. If your passionate pursuit in life is not christlikeness in all things, then God’s conspiracy to increase this in all things will be frustrating rather than comforting. But, if christlikeness is your ultimate goal, you can take comfort that, in all things, God is committed to progressively transforming you into conformity to his divine image in Christ.

It is for this reason that this promise is only applicable to “those who love God, to those called according to his purpose.” God’s ultimate purpose is the complete renewal and restoration of the cosmos and the complete christification of humanity. If we do not desire to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, then this promise is empty to us.

Like all promises, this promise is not meant to be applied in a universal sense to all people regardless of their relative stance to God. One can only benefit from a promise when one trusts the promise-giver. Promises are empty when they come from an unreliable source. For this reason, this verse should never be reduced to the clichéd sentiments of “everything will be ok” or “it will all work out in the end.” This passage does not comfort those who have no interest in conformity to Christ. Only those who trust God will desire this more than anything else – more than comfort, convenience, ease, tranquility, financial success, and perfect health.[2]

Though the promise will only comfort believers, the conspiracy it speaks of impacts all creation and all people. Since everything in this cosmos is geared toward restoration and christification, all things – good, bad, or mixed – will lead to this glorious end. In the final analysis, we shall find that, for those who love God and seek God’s purpose, all things lead to greater conformity to Christ and thus all things work together for good. For those who do not love God and do not seek God’s purpose but pursue their own will, nothing ultimately works for their good. Not only bad things, but also good things – wealth, fame, power, family, happiness, comforts, etc. – lead to a bad end when one’s ultimate end is not christlikeness.

Put simply: all things – good, bad, or mixed – hold the potential to shape us further into the divine image. Likewise, all things – good, bad, or mixed – hold the potential to distract us from the ultimate good: conformity to Christ. The issue is this: Will we “work together” with God to help make this happen? Will we love God enough to trust him that this is the case? Will we desire his purpose enough to seek it in and through our daily lives – in all things, whether good, bad, or mixed?

Can You Say, “I Know…”?

Do you believe in God’s good conspiracy? Can you say with Paul, “I know that God causes all things to work together for good”? Paul is not pretending to be a know-it-all. Just prior to this assertion, he proclaims his ultimate ignorance regarding how God works out his purposes in this world. He admits that the complexity of our present situation makes it hard for us to know how to pray or what to pray for (Romans 8:27).

Our confidence is not in the details, but in the big picture. We can be uncertain about our present circumstances, and yet confident of our ultimate end. We do not need to correlate the two in order to be confident in God’s promise! We simply must trust God that, in his good conspiracy, he knows what he is doing.

This all-encompassing promise is an anchor in the midst of life’s storms. Regardless of our present circumstances, we can rest assured that God’s good conspiracy is cosmic and world-wide. Nothing escapes its pervasive influence. We believe that God is able to take all things – good, bad, and mixed – and bring them to his appointed end.

This promise is intended to inspire and encourage our faith. But, admittedly, it is hard to believe this at times. It is not hard because the promise is unclear. It is hard because the promise is too clear. It exposes our frailties, weaknesses, and unbelief. Paul is aware of this. That is why he places this most glorious promise in the context of the triple-groanings of God, creation, and humanity (Romans 8:18-27).

This promise is for people who suffer, who groan, who long for the fulfillment of God’s glorious purpose (Romans 8:18-23). This promise is for people who are weak, who cannot understand how and what to pray for (Romans 8:27). It is the basis for our hope – hope that sustains and carries our faith in times of doubt, difficulty, and darkness (Romans 8:24-25).

In spite of all evidence to the contrary, we must remember that God is working behind-the-scenes in all things to bring about God’s good purpose. In the midst of this groaning world, God wants us to learn to love him and become like his Son. God is teaching us, through his unfathomable sovereignty and profound wisdom that nothing – no nothing – can separate us from his love.

When we can say “I know” with Paul in regard to God’s promise in Romans 8:28 we can then say “I am convinced” with Paul in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God’s good conspiracy is real. Like all good conspiracies, it is not immediately obvious. Although hidden, it is active and real. Those who love God and seek God’s will will see the evidence of his hand in all things. As Pascal wrote, God has given us enough evidence of his presence that, for those willing to believe, his existence is obvious. For those unwilling to believe, there can never be enough evidence.

Now, tell me, does this promise still ring naïve, unrealistic, and absurd? Or, does it offer the only sane foundation for life in a world where evil, sin, death, and suffering are not allowed the final word because of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ?

God wants you to know that, from this point forward, nothing bad will ever happen to you, and that, even though you might not always understand how or why, everything in the future will be good. Do you believe this?

“Enemy-occupied territory – that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. When you go to church you are really listening-in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going. He does it by playing on our conceit and laziness and intellectual snobbery.” (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 51).

© Richard J. Vincent, 2005