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JULY: The Kingdom of God

July 27

LIMITATION TO THE PROMISE

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

We now note what we might call the limitation to this promise. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose." In the original that is emphasized by placing "to them that love God" at the commencement of the sentence. "We know that to them that love God all things work together for good."

The promise is definitely limited. It is not universal as to the people included. The popular idea of the love of God is the very antithesis of this. That idea says that He is regarded as promising to bless all in exactly the same way. That He does so in His providential dealings with mankind in general is true. But following that, there is a great fundamental division and distinction everywhere in the Bible between the saved and the unsaved, between those who have entered into a covenant relationship with God in salvation through Jesus Christ and those who have not, or, to use the words of our text, "those who are the called" and those who have not been called.

Salvation is the result of the operation of special grace, and there are special promises to those who have received this grace. The gospel has but one word to speak to those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to exhort them to repent and to believe. It holds out to them no special promises until they have done so. Indeed it threatens them with disaster. It does not tell them that "All things work together for good" for the reason that it tells them that they are "condemned already." Special promises and comforts and consolations are not to be obtained directly. They are the consequences and results of salvation. They are offered only to those who "love God."

A Thought to Ponder
Salvation is the result of the operation of special grace.

From Why Does God Allow War? pp. 119-121.



Today’s devo is taken from Walking with God Day by Day © 2003 by Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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