As he reached the end of Romans 8, Paul presented a triumphant closing argument, grounding Christian assurance in God’s decisive action in Christ. Because God did not spare His own Son, believers can be confident that nothing essential will be withheld from them. Every charge is silenced by Christ’s death, resurrection, reign, and intercession, Alistair Begg explains in his sermon “Confident in Christ.” Though suffering and opposition remain real, they cannot sever believers from Christ’s love.
Commenting on Romans 8:28 in particular, which he says “has the kind of potential for what we might call a ‘shaving mirror verse,’” Alistair explains,
When it says here “all things,” be careful, especially in your Bible study groups and in your house. …
“‘All things’ is an obvious example of an expression in universal terms” that is being “used in a restrictive sense”1 … in the same way that we take verse 28, that “all things for good.” “For good.” Who determines the good? The Father determines the good. What does the “all things” mean? Does it mean that if you will follow Jesus, then you will get a BMW 2002, and you will get a law degree, and you might get the girl as well? No! He knows all the things that are necessary for us. He knows all the things that are best for us. He’s our Father. …
Do you remember the sinking feeling you had when on Christmas Day you were waiting for that train set, and you took the train out of the box, and you saw the dreaded phrase “Batteries not included”? And some people got the idea that somehow or another, that’s going to be our experience. And Paul is saying, “Don’t be crazy! If God has given us his best in Jesus, will he not then also provide you with all that is necessary?” And he knows what is best. The Father knows what’s best.
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John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans: The English Text with Introduction, Exposition and Notes, vol. 1, Chapters 1 to 8, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1959), 326 ↩︎