Romans 8
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The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Romans and his Study guide. Additional material taken from sources listed at the end
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Life in the Spirit — Part 1: The Spirit Frees us from Sin and Death and Enables us to Fulfill the Law ( 8:1-4 )
( Rom 8:1-4 ) “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
— The bible offers the good news of salvation from sin
— It also presents the bad news of condemnation for sin
— Every human has been born into the world with a sin nature
— What David said of himself can be said of each of us: “Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” ( Ps 51:5, NIV)
Man is not simply influenced by sin but is completely overpowered by it, no one can escape that dominance by his own effort. Sin is a defiling disease that corrupts every person, degrades every individual, disquiets every soul. It steals peace and joy from the heart and replaces them with trouble and pain. Sin is implanted in every human life, and its deadly force brings a universal depravity that no man can cure.
Because of sin there is a curse on the sinner’s soul
— Among the last words Jesus spoke on earth were: “he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:16, cf. 1 Cor 16:22, Gal 3:10; 2 Thess 1:8 )
Three Reason God is justified in His condemnation of sinners
1st - All men share in the guilt of original sin and in the moral and spiritual depravity it produces (Rom 5:17-18)
2nd - God is justified because every person is born with an evil nature ( Eph 2:3)
3rd - God is justified because of the evil deeds their depraved natures inevitably produce ( Rom 2:6, 8 )
As one pastor said, if you are born once you will die twice. If you are born twice, you will die once.
Such is the condition of every individual born into the world, and it is in light of that dreadful condition that Paul proclaims in Romans 8:1-4 the unspeakable wonderful truth about those who, by grace working through faith, belong to Jesus Christ. He proclaims to believers the thrilling promise that fills the heart with immeasurable consolation, joy, and hope. Some have called Romans 8:1 the most hopeful verse in Scripture. It is bewildering that any thinking mind or searching soul would not run with eagerness to receive such divine provision. But perhaps the greatest tragedy of sin is that it blinds the sinner to the life-giving promises of God and predisposes him to trust in the false and death-giving allurements of Satan.
The Reality of Freedom — No Condemnation ( 8:1a )
( Rom 8:1a ) “Therefore there is now no condemnation
— God’s provision of salvation comes not through Christ’s perfect teaching
— or through His perfect life
— But through His perfect sacrifice on the cross
— It is through Christ’s death, not His life, that God provides the way of salvation
— If you place your trust in Christ and what he has done our your behalf there is therefore now no condemnation
οὐδεὶς, Ouketi ( no ) This is an emphatic negative adverb of time that carries the ides of complete cessation. In His parable about the king who forgave one of his slaves an overwhelming debt ( Matt 18:23-27), Jesus pictured God’s gracious and total forgiveness of the sins of those who come to him in humble contrition and faith. That is the heart of the gospel - that Jesus completely and permanently paid the debt of sin the penalty of the law (which is condemnation)
Jesus not only pays the believer’s debt of sin but cleanses him “from all unrighteousness” ( 1 John 1:9). Still more amazing, He graciously imputes and imparts to each believer His own perfect righteousness: “For by one offering He [Christ] has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” ( Heb 10:14; cf. Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). More even than that, Jesus shares his vast heavenly inheritance with those who come to Him in faith (Eph 1:3, 11, 14).
— It is important to realize that deliverance from divine condemnation does not mean deliverance from divine discipline ( Heb 12:6)
— Nor does deliverance from God’s condemnation mean escape from our accountability to Him ( Gal 6:7 )
R.C. Sproul
The Greek translated in English as “condemnation” is translated in Latin as damnationus, from which we get the world damnation. Therefore, we could render the text this way: “Therefore there is now no damnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
The Reason for Freedom — Justification ( 8:1b-2 )
( Rom 8:1b-2 ) or those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
— Justification completely and forever releases every believer from sin’s bondage and its penalty of death (6:23)
— Being a Christian is not simply being outwardly identified with Christ but being a part of Christ, united in Christ Jesus ( 1 Cor 12:13, 15:22 )
— Many believe that Romans 7 cannot be describing a Christian
— But Paul was simply being honest and candid about the frustrating and discouraging spiritual battles that every believer faces
— It is in fact, the most faithful and obedient Christian who face the greatest spiritual battles
— Battle can reveal courage but it can also reveal weaknesses and vulnerability
— No matter how closely we walk with the Lord, we are not completely free from sin’s power - but we are no longer a slave to sin under its total domination and control
R.C. Sproul
Here again is a confusing use of the term law. Sometimes in the epistle Paul uses the term law to mean principle; other times he uses the term to refer to the moral standards by which God judges us. Here, the first instance of the word law refers to principle and the second instance refers to moral standards. The principle of life in Jesus Christ is what makes us free from the principle of sin and death.
The Route to Freedom — Substitution ( 8:3 )
( Rom 8:3 ) For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
— This verse is perhaps the most definitive and succinct statement of the substitutionary atonement to be found in Scripture
— Christ paid the penalty on behalf of every person who would turn from sin and trust in Him as Lord and Savior
— The Law cannot save men because it was weak…through the flesh
— It could not make men perfect but it could reveal their imperfection
R.C. Sproul
The law is impotent. Not only does the law not save us, but it cannot. It does not have the power. Paul is not being critical of the law. This weakness is no the law’s fault. The law cannot redeem us because it is incapable of redeeming those in the flesh. People in the flesh are incapable of obeying the law, so when they look to the law as a means of salvation, they exercise futility and reach for impossible dream. “But what the law could not do [see the contrast here] God did.” There in a nutshell is the gospel. What our morality can never achieve , God can achieve. What our behavior and performance are incapable of attaining, God can attain for us. That is the gospel. We cannot; He can. It is that simple.
Notice how careful Paul is to say that God “sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,” not in the identity of sinful flesh. Jesus Christ is like us, the author of Hebrews tells us, in all respects except one — He is without sin. In the incarnation all that is proper to humanity was given to the human nature of our Redeemer except sin. Jesus was born without original sin. Jesus was born as Adam was before the fall. Jesus was not in bondage to a corrupt nature.
The Result of Freedom — Sanctification ( 8:4 )
( Rom 8:4 ) so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
— The true Christian has both the desire and the divinely-imparted ability to live righteously while he is still on earth
— Because God sent His own son to redeem mankind by providing the only sacrifice that condemn and remove our sin (v.3), the requirement of the Law is able to be fulfilled in us
— God does not free men from their sin so that they can do as they please
— He frees us so that we may begin to live righteously by having the requirement of the Law… fulfilled in us
— A true believer will walk according to the spirit and not the flesh
— There are no exceptions
— Because a true believer is indwelt by the Spirit, every true believer will produce the fruit of the spirit ( Gal 5:22-23)
— The purpose of the gospel is not to make men happy, but to make men holy
Life in the Spirit — Part 2: The Spirit Changes our Nature and Empowers us for Victory ( 8:5-13 )
( Rom 8:5-13 ) “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
— The Holy Spirit functions with mind, emotion and will
— He loves the saints
— He communicates with them, teaches, guides, comforts and chastises them
— He can be grieved, quenched, lied to, tested, resisted, and blasphemed
— The bible speaks of His omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, divine glory and holiness
— Scripture reveals that He was fully active in creation and has been with all believers even before Pentecost
— Believers have always served God not by human might but by the power of the Holy Spirit ( cf. Zech 4:6)
— In this section Paul continues to discuss the benefits of justification, specifically the marvelous, Spirit-wrought benefits of freedom from condemnation
The Holy Spirit changes our Nature ( 8:5-11 )
( Rom 8:5-11 ) “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
— In God’s eyes, there are only two types of people in the world
— Those who are according to the spirit - Those who belong to him
— Those who are according to the flesh - Those that do not
— The basic disposition of the unredeemed is to “indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires” ( 2 Pet 2:10 )
— The lost are those “whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in the shame, who set their minds on earthly things” ( Phil 3:19)
— The Things of the flesh includes false philosophies and religions, which invariably appeal to the flesh through self-interest and self-effort
— But believers set their minds on the things of the spirit
— Those who belong to God are concerned about Godly things
— As Jonathan Edwards liked to say, they have “holy affections”
— The mind set on the flesh is death
— Paul doesn’t say that it leads to death
— It is death; the unsaved person is already dead spiritually (Eph 2:1)
— Paul is stating a spiritual equation, not a spiritual consequence
— The consequence involved in this relationship is the reverse: that is, because unredeemed men are already spiritually dead, their minds are set on the flesh
— The mind set on the Spirit is also synonymous with spiritual peace
— That is peace with God
— The unsaved person is God’s enemy - a truth Paul has already pointed out (5:10)
— Only the person who has new life in God has peace with God
— You can be sure of your salvation, Paul is saying, “if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you”
— The opposite is also true
— The person who gives no evidence of the presence, power and fruit of God’s Spirit in his life has no legitimate claim to Christ as Savior and Lord
— The person who demonstrates no desire for the things of God and has no inclination to avoid sin or passion to please God is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit
— In light of this sobering truth Paul admonishes those who claim to be Christ’s to “test themselves” ( 2 Cor 13:5 )
The Holy Spirit Empowers us for Victory over the Flesh ( 8:12-13 )
( Rom 8:12-13 ) So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
— Putting to death the deeds of the body is a characteristic of God’s children
— The Scottish theologian David Brown wrote, “If you don’t kill sin, sin will kill you.”
— No action is too drastic in dealing with sin; no price is too great to pay in turning from sin to trust in Jesus Christ and thereby escaping the damnation of eternal death in hell ( Cf. Matt 5:29-30)
— The pattern of a true believer’s life will show that he not only professes Christ but that he lives his life by Christ’s Spirit and is habitually putting to death the sinful and ungodly deeds of the body
When God ordered King Saul to destroy all of the Amalekites and their livestock, Saul did not completely obey, sparing King Agag and keeping the best of the animals. When the prophet Samuel confronted Saul, the king tried to defend his actions by claiming his people insisted on keeping some of the flocks and that those animals would be sacrificed to God. Samuel rebuked the king, saying “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams” ( 1 Sam 15:22 ). Despite the king’s pleas for mercy, Samuel then proclaimed, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it your neighbor [David] who is better than you” (v. 28). Saul’s failure to fully obey God cost him his throne.
God’s people invariably fall back into sin when their focus turns away from the Almighty to themselves and to the things of the world. For that reason Paul admonished the believers in Colossae “...to set your mind on things above not on the things that are on earth” ( Col 3:1-3). He then gave a partial but representative list of sins that Christians should kill by considering themselves dead to sin ( Col 3:5-10).
Life in the Spirit— Part 3: The Spirit Confirms our Adoption ( 8:14-16 )
( Rom 8:14-16 ) “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,”
— This is one of the richest and most beautiful passages in all of Scripture
— Using the figure of adoption, Paul explains the believer’s intimate and permanent relationship to God as a beloved child
R.C. Sproul
If we want to know if we are in a state of grace, if we want to know if we are children of God, we can look here for the answer. The first test we have as to whether we are children of God is whether we are led by the spirit.
We are led by the Spirit ( 8:14 )
( Rom 8:14 ) “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
— The first inner confirmation of adoption is the believer’s being led by the Spirit of God
— A merely professing Christian does not and cannot be being led by the Spirit of God
— He may be moral and exhibit many other commendable traits but because he lives in the power of the flesh, he can never be truly spiritual and he will never have the inner conviction of God’s leading and empowering
— A Christian is secure but may not feel secure
— The Christian who neglects study of Scripture, prayer, fellowship and is careless about his obedience to God will invariably have doubts about his salvation
— Even for the obedient child of God, doubts about his relationship can easily slip into the mind during times of pain, sorrow, failure or disappointment
— A second major way in which the Spirit leads God’s children is by their sanctification
— The Spirit not only illuminates our minds to understand Scripture but divinely assists us in obeying it
— Paul admonishes the Galatians to walk by the Spirit and not carry out the desires of the flesh ( Gal 5:16-17, 25)
We are given access to God by the Spirit ( 8:15 )
( Rom 8:15 ) For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
— The Holy Spirit confirms our adoption by freeing us from the spirit of slavery that inevitably leads us to fear again
— The term adoption is filled with the ideas of love, grace, compassion, and intimate relationship
— The first adoption recorded in Scripture was that of Moses
— When Pharaoh ordered all the male Hebrew children slain, Moses’ mother placed him in a waterproof basket and set him in the Nile River among some reeds
— When Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river with her maids to bathe, she saw the basket and had one of her maids retrieve it
— Miriam had been watching nearby and she offered to find a nursemaid for the child
— With the approval of Pharaoh’s daughter, Miriam brought her own mother, who was then paid to take Moses home and nurse him (Ex 2:1-10)
— Because Esther’s parents had died, she was adopted by an older cousin named Mordecai, who loved her as a father (Ester 2:5-11)
— Perhaps the most touching adopted mentioned in the OT was that of Mephibosheth, the crippled son of Jonathan and the sole remaining descendent of Saul (2 Sam 9:1-13)
— Pharaoh’s daughter adopted Moses out of pity and sympathy
— Although Mordecai dearly loved Esther, his adoption of her was prompted by family duty
— But David’s adoption of Mephibosheth was motivated purely by gracious love
— In many ways David’s adoption of Mephibosheth pictures God’s adoption of believers
— Mephibosheth means “shameful thing” and for a number of years lived in Lo-debar, which means “the barren land” (lit. “no pasture)
— David brought this outcast to dine at his table as his own son and graciously granted him a magnificent inheritance to which he was no longer legally entitled
We are assured by the Spirit ( 8:16 )
( Rom 8:16 ) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,”
— To give us even further assurance of our eternal relationship to Him, the Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God
— The witnesses to a Roman adoption had the responsibility to testifying to the validity of an adoption, and the indwelling Holy Spirit is constantly present to provide inner testimony to our divine adoption
The Holy Spirit Guarantees our Glory — Part 1: The Incomparable Gain of Glory ( 8:17-18 )
( Rom 8:17-18 ) “and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
— The various stages of salvation of which the bible speaks
— Regeneration
— New birth
— Sanctification
— Glorification
— Can be distinguished but never separated
— None of these can exist without the others
The Heirs of Glory ( 8:17 )
( Rom 8:17 ) “and if children, heirs also,”
— The heavenly angels not only serve God directly but also serve believers, because they are God’s children and heirs (Heb 1:14)
— Paul’s figure of adoption seems to correspond more to Roman law and customs than to Jewish
— In Jewish tradition, the eldest son normally received a double portion of his father’s inheritance
— In Roman society, normally all children received equal shares, although the father had the prerogative to give more to one child than the others
The Source of Glory ( 8:17b )
( Rom 8:17b ) heirs of God
— The value of an inheritance is determined by the worth of the one who bequeaths it
— Our inheritance comes from the Creator, Sustainer, and owner of the world
— God is not only the source of our inheritance but is Himself our inheritance ( Ps. 73:25)
— Jeremiah wrote, “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” (Lam 3:24)
The Extent of Glory ( 8:17c )
( Rom 18:17c ) and fellow heirs with Christ,
— Just as God’s resources are limitless, so our spiritual inheritance is limitless, because, as His fellow heirs, we share in everything that the true son of God, Jesus Christ inherits
In the arithmetic of earth, if each heir receives an equal share of an inheritance, each gets only a certain fraction of the whole amount. But heaven is not under such limits, and every adopted child of God will receive the full inheritance with the Son. Everything that Christ receives by divine right, we will receive by divine grace. The parable of the laborers in Matthew 20:1-16 illustrates this graciousness, showing that all who server Christ will receive the same eternal reward, irrespective of differences in their service.
The Proof of Glory ( 8:17d )
( Rom 8:17:d ) if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
— if here does not connote possibility but actuality, and is better rendered “because” or “inasmuch”
— Paul is declaring that, strange as it seems to the earthly mind, the present proof of the believer’s ultimate glory comes through suffering on his Lord’s behalf
— Because we suffer with Him, we know that we will also be glorified with Him
— Jesus closed the Beatitudes on the same note when He gave a double promise of blessing for those who are persecuted for His sake ( Matt 5:10-12)
— Many of God’s promises are not what we think of as “positive”
— Paul promised that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” ( 2 Tim 3:12; cf 2:11)
— Suffering is an integral part of the process of spiritual maturity, and Peter assumes that every true believer will undergo some degree of suffering for the Lord’s sake (1 Pet 5:10)
The more a believer suffers in this life for the sake of his Lord, the greater will be his capacity for glory in heaven. Jesus made this relationship clear in Matthew 20:21-23, when He told James, John, and their mother that elevation to prominence in the future kingdom will be related to experiencing the depths of the cup of suffering through humiliation here and now. As with the relationship between works and rewards (see 1 Cor 3:12-15), the spiritual quality of our earthly life will, in some divinely determined way, affect the quality of our heavenly life. It should be added that since the ultimate destiny of believers is to glorify God, it seems certain that our heavenly rewards and glory in essence will be capacities for glorying Him
The Comparison of Glory ( 8:18 )
( Rom 8:18 ) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
— As followers of Christ, our suffering comes from men, whereas our glory comes from God
— Our suffering is earthly, whereas our glory is heavenly
— Our suffering is short, whereas our glory is forever
— Our suffering is trivial, whereas our glory is limitless
— Our suffering is in our mortal and corrupted bodies, whereas our glory will be in our perfected and imperishable bodies
R.C. Sproul
A philosopher, John Stuart Mill, considered the manifest presence in the world of pain, suffering, violence, and wickedness, and he concluded that what we encounter on a daily basis belies any hope of a good and loving God. In skepticism he said that if God is a God of love yet He allows such pain and suffering, then He is powerless to prevent it and is nothing more than a divine weakling incapable of administering peace and justice. If, on the other hand, He has the power to prevent evil but chooses not to, standing by and allowing it, then He may be powerful but He is not good and loving. The complaint Mill raised against historical Christianity is that either God is good but not powerful, or He is all powerful but not good.
What is missing from Mill’s oversimplified equation concerning the economy of grief and pain in the world is the reality of sin. God not only tolerates violence and suffering, but He also — even more so — actually ordains it, yet we cannot leave sin out of the equation. It is not that God lacks in goodness; it is that we lack in goodness. The entrance of human sin into the world plunged the whole creation into ruin, a ruin that includes not just people but animals and the land itself; the earth mourns because of us. When the transgression came in paradise, the curse of God extended beyond Adam and Eve and even beyond the serpent; the land itself was curses
The Holy Spirit Guarantees Our Glory — Part 2: The Inexpressible Groans of Glory ( 8:19-27 )
( Rom 8:19-27 ) “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches…”
— In this section Paul focuses on the anticipation of our future glory and the incomparable groans of creation (vv. 19-22), of believers (vv. 23-25), and the Holy Spirit Himself ( vv 26-27)
— An interesting Greek word is here
— Its verb form is stenaz, and its noun is stenagmos
— And it means to sigh or groan, to sigh or groan
— These groans bewail a condition that is painful, unsatisfying, and sorrowful
— The word has been defined by those who study the ancient Greek as the groanings or the sighing of one who is trapped in an undesirable circumstance,
— One who is caught in an undesirable situation which has no alleviation
— It is the sighing of one who wishes for a better fate, a better place
— They are cries for deliverance from a torturing experience
3 Sighs or groans for glory
— Creation
— Believer
— The Holy Spirit
R.C. Sproul
The word futility is one of the ugliest words in the English language. Nothing can drive the human being to despair more quickly or deeply than the idea that our pain and labor are mere exercises in futility and utterly meaningless. What could be worse than the sentence given to Sisyphus in the Greek myth? Sisyphus uses all his energy to push a gigantic rock to the top of a mountain, but as soon as he gets it to the top, the rock falls back to the bottom, and he has to push it back to the top again and again forever. He was sentenced to vain labor. Paul’s words to the Corinthians stand in contrast to what happens in the myth: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” ( 1 Cor 15:58). That is the hope of the gospel, that our pain is not meaningless. Our toil is not futile. Every ounce of effort we expend in this world, every tear that falls across our cheek, is not meaningless.
The Groaning of Creation ( 8:19-22 )
( Rom 8:19-22 ) “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”
— The first groan is the personified lament coming from the created universe as it now exists in the corrupted condition caused by the fall
— All animate and inanimate creation waits for the glory of the sons of God, for the full manifestation
— Because of the fall of man the whole world was cursed as well as the whole universe
— Creation was cursed not willingly that is not because it did anything to deserve it
— But because of Him who subjected it
— In other words: God
— When God brought a curse on man, He extended the curse to the whole creation and so the creation became a victim of the curse
— Isaiah 24:6 “Therefore, a curse devours the earth”
— And Jeremiah, in chapter 12, talks about the land mourning and the herbs of the field withering because of the wickedness that dwells in the land.
— It even says the beasts are consumed and the birds are consumed
— In other words, the whole of the universe is cursed
— The creation is standing on tiptoes, as it were, as it waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God
— Although various environmental groups today make noble attempts to protect and restore natural resources, they are helpless to turn the tide of corruption that has devastated both man and his environment since the Fall
— No less a naturalist than John Muir was in serious error when he wrote that nature is “unfallen and undepraved” and that only man is a “blighting touch.”
— In the past when people were supposedly living nearer nature, they had less comfort, more pain, harder times, more disease, and died younger
— This is not a friendly earth but a violent and dangerous one
— It is ridiculous fantasy to think it is not cursed and that it naturally yields a comfortable life
The Groaning of Believers ( 8:23-25 )
( Rom 8:23-25 )“And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”
Why Believers Groan
— We’ve been adopted but we haven’t been able to receive all of what that entails
— In 2 Corinthians 5:4, even more explicitly it is said that we groan, in these words, "For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened. Not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up by life.”
— Wouldn't you like to be rid of the debilitating sinfulness of your body, your flesh, your humanness?
— In John 11 it says that as Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus, He literally sobbed
— His body was just wracked with agony
— And He was sobbing
— In fact, one of the verbs there could be translated "shuddering."
— He was shaking and shuddering with sobs because He saw the terrible consequence of sin
— David groaned that his iniquity was too heavy to bear (Ps 38:9)
Psalm 38:9 “Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.”
— We groan ( 7:24)
Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”
Q: What are we groaning for?
— We who have the first fruits of the Spirit," that is the guarantee of glory, the down payment, the installment
— "we groan within ourselves.
— We wait for the adoption that is the redemption of (Our what? Our what?) our body.
— And so, though we have had adoption in terms of our soul, we await for the adoption of our body
And, beloved, I want to say this again. You must understand this because it's confused church groups and denominations and schools through the centuries. There is no such thing as a salvation that is present and not future. And that is why you can't lose salvation. There is no salvation that is only for now and not then. For that person who is justified is also glorified. That is the essence of redemption. And that is why he is saying we groan within ourselves because we know we've been adopted, but we are waiting for that accommodation of our bodies that’ll allow us the full manifestation of the children of God when we shall be on display to be like Christ. We're already called the children of God. We have yet to enter fully into the glory of redeemed souls and redeemed bodies. That's why Romans 13:11 says this, and you need to know it, it says: "For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."
— Scripture teaches that our salvation is secured by:
— God the Father
— By the Son
— By the Holy Spirit
— The Father not only grants salvation to those who trust in His Son but also seals their salvation with the Holy Spirit
— Peter emphasizes that, by God the Father’s own initiative and power, He “caused us to be born again”
— And God the Father gives us an inheritance that is “imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away” ( 1 Pet 1:3-5; cf. Heb 6:17-19)
— God the Son also secures the believer’s salvation
— “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me,” Jesus declared, “and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” ( John 6:37; cf. 1 Cor 1:6-8, Col 1:22, 1 Thess 3:13 )
— The ongoing, mediatorial, intercessory work of Jesus Christ in heaven secures our eternal reward
— God the Spirit also secures the believer’s salvation, by a work that Scripture refers to as the Spirit’s sealing
— Paul assured the Corinthian believers that “He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge” ( 2 Cor 1:21-22)
— Paul told the Ephesian church that “you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” ( Eph 1:13; cf. 4:30 )
As Jesus made clear in the parable of the wheat and tares ( Matt 13 ) and in the story of the fruitless branches ( John 15 ), there will also be some who bear the name of Christ who do not genuinely belong to Him. And by the same token, there are true believers whose lives sometimes give little evidence of salvation. But as we shall continue to see to the end of this chapter, the Word of God is unequivocal in declaring that everyone who is saved by Jesus Christ will forever belong to Him. Although it is quite possible for a sinful Christian to struggle with the assurance of salvation and with the joy and comfort which that assurance brings, it is not possible for him to lose salvation itself.
The Groaning of the Holy Spirit ( 8:26-27 )
( Rom 8:26-27 ) “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
— Before we look at this section of scripture, let’s get our thinking down a very important track
1 Peter 1:5 “ Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation."
— Our basic source of joy and peace is a hope in eternal life
— It is wonderful to know that we are kept by His power unto salvation
— We are kept but our salvation is not fully complete, we look forward to the fullness of our salvation
Rom 13 says "Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."
— Our salvation is not complete until we come to glorification
— Scripture clearly teaches that God will finish complete our salvation
— Paul says in Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
— And Jesus says in John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
— The Trinity — that is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, are all involved in securing the believer
— God the Father Secures Us - many texts
— 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”
— The reason you are secure is because God the Father secures us ( 2 Tim 2:19 )
— The Son Secures Us
1 Corinthians 1:6–8“even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— Christ Himself confirms us, that we may be held blameless until the day of Jesus Christ
You say, "What if I sin?" Your sin is immediately covered and you're held blameless. Your sin is paid for by Christ. You're held blameless. So we are sealed by the Father, we are confirmed by the Son. Just a marvelous, marvelous truth.
— The Holy Spirit Secures us
— And then God the Holy Spirit gets involved also
— Ephesians 1 says in verse 13, "We are sealed with the Holy Spirit."
— God seals our security by the agency of the Holy Spirit.
— But note this, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, "And the God of peace sanctify you holy. And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
— In other words, your whole spirit, your soul and body will be preserved blameless to the coming of the Lord Jesus
— And the next verse, "Faithful is He that called you that also will," what? "Do it."
The Father establishes the fact that you're His, and that's forever. The Son confirms that and keeps you blameless. And the Spirit of God works it out in you accomplishing the will of God, the purpose of Christ. So those who have been saved are being saved and ultimately will be fully saved when they reach glorification.
— Now back to Romans 8:26-27
— In the same way refers back to the groans of the creation and of believers for redemption from the corruption and defilement of sin
— Here Paul reveals the immeasurable comforting truth that the Holy Spirit comes alongside us in groaning for God’s ultimate day of restoration
— To make clear how the Spirit works, Paul turns to the subject of prayer
— We do not know how to pray as we should
— Because of our imperfect perspectives, human frailties, spiritual limitations we are not able to pray in absolute consistency with God’s will
— Even Paul did not always know how best to pray, God had allowed Satan to inflict him with a “thorn in the flesh.” ( 2 Cor 12:3-9)
The Holly Spirit Groans
— but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
— Contrary to the interpretation of most charismatics, the groanings of the Spirit are not utterances in unknown tongues, much less ecstatic gibberish that has no rational content
— As Paul says explicitly, the groans are not even audible and are inexpressible in words
— These are divine articulations by the Holy Spirit to the Father ( 1 Cor 2:11 )
Now when you talk about the groanings which cannot be uttered, immediately many of us think about the charismatics, who say this means speaking in tongues.
They say this is a verse that advocates gibberish. In the first place, it isn't us speaking, it's the Spirit. And it isn't even the Spirit speaking, because He's making groans which can't be uttered. It certainly isn't grunts that can be uttered. You have the Holy Spirit groaning in an un-uttered way. You can't confuse that with people grunting in an uttered way, to say nothing of the fact that nothing in the context is remotely related to that kind of thinking, which doesn't seem to bother some people, strangely enough.
We don’t know what to pray for
— we do not know how to pray as we should,
— How can we keep ourselves saved?
— We can't, because we don't even know what to pray for. That's such an important truth.
— And so we should be offering praise to the Son who intercedes on our behalf and prays for us when Satan would have us
— Peter was safe because Christ prayed for him (Luke 22:31-32 )
— What keeps us saved is the ever-living, interceding Christ ( Heb 7:25 )
— No high priest, no intercessory work of Christ, you'll never get to glory
Q: What does intercession mean?
— Let’s take a just a basic understanding of the Greek term
— It’s a multiple compound word
— It starts with two prepositions and then you have a word and a verb
— It simply means, to rescue someone who finds himself in trouble and has no resources to escape it. It is to rescue someone who finds himself in trouble and has no resource to escape. Now this gives you a whole different understanding of the heavenly conflict.
— Satan can’t just back off and say, "Well, the plan is settled. I mean, the person's a Christian. Leave him alone. We can't do a thing anything about it”
— We are being kept by the power of the Spirit
— So Satan wars against the Spirit
— And he wars against the living Christ
And so Christ is not just having died on the cross now in heaven kicking back and watching everything sort of fall into line. He is working to uphold all things, including redemptive things. And the Spirit of God is not finished. He didn't all of a sudden stop doing things when the age of miracles ended at the apostolic era. No, no, no.
He continues in marvelous, miraculous, supernatural ways to carry on the keeping ministry. How does He do it? He makes intercession. He makes intercession. He pleads the power of God. He comes to us with power to rescue us when we would have no resource for rescue.
The Ultimate Security — Part 1: The Infallible Guarantee of Glory ( 8:28 )
( Rom 8:28 ) “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.”
— For Christians, this verse contains perhaps the most glorious promise in Scripture
— It is breathtaking in its magnitude, encompassing absolutely everything that pertains to a believer’s life
— This magnificent promise consists of four elements that continue Paul’s teaching about the believer’s security in the Holy Spirit
— Its certainty
— Its extent
— Its recipients
— Its source
The Certainty of Security ( 8:28a )
( Rom 8:28a ) “And we know
— we know carries the meaning of can know
— We are able with certainty to know the comfort and hope of our security if we simply take God at His word
The Extent of Security ( 8:28b )
( Rom 8:28b ) that God causes all things to work together for good
— Paul emphasizes that God Himself bring about the good that comes to His people
— Paul is not saying that God prevents His children from experiencing things that can harm them
— Rather He turns even the worst things ultimately into blessings
— Paul states the same thing in several other letters ( 1 Cor 3:21-22; 2 Cor 4:15; Rom 8:32 )
— No matter what our situation, our suffering, our persecution, our sinful failure, our pain, our lack of faith — in those things, as well as in all other things, our heavenly Father will work to produce our ultimate victory and blessing
— There are no confining factors
— Paul doesn’t say “all suffering” or “all trouble”
— It is unqualified in its comprehension, it is all things
— Contrary to what the King James rendering seems to suggest, it is not that things themselves work together to produce good. It is God’s providential power and will that cause them to work together for good
— 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 (Rom 8:28 KJV)
What Kind of Good is this?
Now, what do we mean by good? What kind of good is this? Well, interestingly enough, it's a very important Greek word, agathon. We get Agatha from it, which is a name, means goodness. Agathon basically means “that which is morally or inherently good,” that which is, in and of itself, good qualitatively. The other Greek word most common for good is kalos. Kalos means good on the outside, nice to look at. And so on the one hand you have outward goodness. On the other, you have that inward goodness, and the word here is agathos, which is to say it is ultimately and intrinsically and morally good, not just superficially good
Illustrations of God making all things work together for good
— He led Israel through the desert for 40 years
— Moses reminded the people God did this that “He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end” (Deut 8:15-16)
— Even when our outward circumstances are dire God is purifying and renewing our redeemed inner being in preparation for glory
— Paul reminded the Corinthians “though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” ( 2 Cor 4:16-17)
— God can use suffering, temptation and sin for good
— Joseph is a classic OT example of God using unjust suffering for good
— Joseph said to his fearful brothers, “And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” ( Gen 50:20 )
— Through suffering of all kinds and for all reasons, we can learn kindness, sympathy, humility, compassion, patience, and gentleness
— Most importantly, God can use suffering as He can few other things to bring us closer to Himself
— The Puritan Thomas Watson observed, “A sick-bed often teaches more than a sermon” (A Divine Cordial [Grand Rapids:Baker, 1981],p. 20)
— God can use temptation to work for our good
— It can devastate our spiritual pride
— We realize that in our own power we are unable to resist temptation
The supreme example of God’s turning “all things,” even the most evil things, to the good of His children is seen in the sacrificial death of His own Son. In the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, God took the most absolute evil that Satan could devise and turned it into the greatest conceivable blessing He could offer fallen mankind - eternal salvation from sin.
How does God work all things for our good?
— It’s not automatic
— It happens because the Holy Spirit is constantly interceding on our behalf
— Because the Son of God is constantly interceding as Hebrews says
—It doesn't just happen because of the decree of God. That's where it's initiated, but it's carried out by the intercessory work of both the Holy Spirit and the Son Himself.
What are we looking at in these all things?
— First of all God. Think about His attributes
— God’s power supports us in our trouble
— Deuteronomy 33, “Underneath are the everlasting arms”
— Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 12: 9 “my strength is made perfect in weakness”
— He infuses with power, His Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)
— God’s wisdom is at our disposal
— Romans 2 Paul says that “The goodness of God leads to repentance”
— The promises of God are good things
— When guilt comes to us we are reminded of the promises that the Lord is merciful and gracious
— When disobedience comes, we remind ourselves of Hosea 14:4 “I will heal their backsliding”
— Or Micah 7:18 “Who is a pardoning God like Thee, who passes by transgressions?”
— Or Psalm 37:25 “I have not seen God's people, the righteous, forsaken nor His seed begging bread."
— Prayer is also a source of goodness
— Prayer is a good thing that works for good
— As we pray, God’s power is released in our lives
— Angels work for good
— Hebrews 1:14 says they’re “sent forth as ministering spirits to minister to the saints”
— Other Christians work for our good
— Paul writes 2 Corinthians 1:24 “We are helpers in your joy”
— We stimulate each other to love and good works
— But the real thrust of this passage is that even bad things work for our good.
— The first thing that works for good is suffering
— Suffering is not evil but it is the result of a fallen world
— If there had been no fall, there would never be any suffering, pain or death or sorrow
— Ruth said, “The Almighty has afflicted me.” God actually brought an affliction
— Remember what Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away”
— Jeremiah 24:5 God says, “I’m going to take you captive. I’m going to take you to the land of the Chaldeans and you’re going to suffer there. It’s for your good”
— Our suffering can be for good
— God is in our suffering, working out of that evil thing tied to our fallenness and our cursed world a good purpose
— Sometimes our suffering is because we are being chastened for sin
— Sometimes it is not
— Everything you suffer it is not because you are sinning
— Sometimes it is so that God can refine you, or testing you or building your strength
— 1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the Lord make you perfect”
— It is part of the perfecting process
— We learn to look on God and trust Him with Faith and depend on His power
Some reasons why suffering is good:
( 1) It teaches us to hate sin
— Martin Luther said he never understood the imprecatory psalms until he suffered
The Recipients of Security ( 8:28c )
( Rom 8:28c ) to those who love God, to those who are called
R.C. Sproul
In almost every instance where the Bible speaks of the call of God, it is speaking of what we call the “effectual call.” Effectual calling is a term that describes the fact that what God calls forth occurs; what He purposes to effect by His will is effected. It started with creation. When God called the world int existence ex nihilo, it was not an invitation. God did not please with the darkness to produce light. he did not woo the universe to come into being. When God in His omnipotent power said, “Let there be light,” the call was always and everywhere effectual. Nothing — no darkness, emptiness threat of chaos, or sinful disposition — can ultimately resist the power of His call because His grace in the call is irresistible.
It is not that we lack the capacity to resist. Our whole lives demonstrate that we can and do resist grace. Irresistible grace means that even though we resist with all our might, God’s grace trumps our resistance and brings to pass what His eternal plan has been and is.
The Recipients of Security Love God
to those who love God
— Paul describes the recipients of eternal security as those who love God
— We know that all things work together for good, but not for everybody
— That statement is qualified
— The recipients are name: those who love God
— The phrase those who love God is not new
— In Exodus 20:5-6 it talks about God, the great God, the jealous God
— The God who “visits iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me,”
— In Exodus 20:6 showing mercy onto thousands of them that love Me and (What) keep my commandments.”
— So here you have all of humanity divided into two parts. In verse 5, "Those who hate Me" says God, and in verse 6, "Those that love Me."
— In Psalm 37:17 we read, "The arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the upright."
— Many more examples in the OT: Psalm 69:36; 97:10; 116:1; 145:20; Is 56:6
— The NT makes this same distinction: 1 Corinthians 2:9 says "Eye hath not seen," verse 9, "Nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things, which God hath prepared," for whom, "them that love Him," them that love Him.
— Maybe it has escaped you that this is such an identifying mark
— 1 Corinthians 8:3, "But if any man love God, the same is known by him."
— Many more NT examples: James 1:12; 2:19; Ephesians 6:24; Luke 7:45; 2 Corinthians 5:14
— Anybody who belongs to God loves God; that's just very, very basic
Now do you remember John 21, where Jesus confronted Peter and Jesus said, "Do you love Me?" You remember that? And Peter said, "I like you a lot," and he wouldn't use the Lord's word because he knew that his life was a life that had expressed disobedience and he didn't want to claim the highest kind of love when he'd been disobedient so he said, "I like you a lot." The second time the Lord said, "Do you love Me?" He said, "I like you a lot." The third time the Lord said, "Do you even like Me a lot," calling into account his disobedience and denial and at that point Peter was grieved and broken in his heart and he responded by saying, "Lord You know everything. You know I like you a lot. You know I love You." In other words He called on omniscience to examine his heart to find there true love, if mingled with disobedience, nonetheless true love. That is the mark of a true believer. It is.
Q: What are the qualities of this love? How can I know that I love Him?
(1 ) This love worships God
Psalm 18:1–3 “I love You, O Lord, my strength.” The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised”
(2) This love trusts in His great power
Psalm 31:23 “O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful.”
— and the next verse, "Be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart all ye that hope in the Lord."
(3) This love seeks communion with God
— All love seeks to commune or spend time with the object of its love
Psalm 63:1 “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
Psalm 84:2 “My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.”
— And this is to say to us that this love is a love that seeks to be in the presence of God, to commune with the living God
(4) This love secures peace of the soul
— When we come to know God and to experience His love we enter into a peace like no other peace
— Psalm 119:165, says, "Great peace have they who love Thy law."
(5) This love is sensitive to God’s feelings
— You can't injure God without those who love God feeling the pain anymore than you can harm a member of a family or a lover without the partner of that loved one feeling the pain.
— And so we enter into the pain of the one we love.
— Psalm 69:9, the psalmist says, "Zeal for your house has eaten me up and the reproaches of those who approach Thee have fallen on me."
— In other words, when God is dishonored, says David, I feel the pain.
(6) A love that loves what God loves
Psalm 119:97 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”
Psalm 119:72 (NASB95)
The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
— God loves His Word and the one who loves God also loves His Word.
(7) A love that loves whom God loves
1 John 5:1 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.”
1 John 5:2 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.”
— Now here He says when you are a child of God you will love God and you will keep His commandments and you will love those He has begotten.
— So it is the love that loves the people that God loves.
(8) A love that hates what God hates
— It is a love that hates what God hates.
— It is a love that cannot tolerate evil, sin, anymore than God can because it is so inextricably intertwined with God Himself.
— It is a love that grieves over sin.
Matthew 26:75 “And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.”
— When Peter was confronted with his sin, he wept bitterly.
(9) A love that looks for Christ’s return
— This love longs for the return of Christ our saviour
2 Timothy 4:8 “in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
They do not love God as much as they should, but they love God much, and a true believer will love God on these terms: He will love God so that he desires to meditate on God's majestic glory, he will love God so that he trusts in God's great power to hold him, he will love God so that he seeks communion with God, he will love God so that he is secured in his soul and at peace. It is a love that also is sensitive to God's feelings and he is grieved in God being dishonored. It is a love also that loves what God loves, His law, His holy Word. It is a love that loves whom He loves, other of his children. It is a love that hates what God hates. It is a love that grieves over sin. It is a love that rejects the world and it is a love that longs for the coming of Jesus Christ, to them that love God, to them that love God. True believers love God like that. Much!
(10) The overarching quality of this love is that it obeys
— It is a love that obeys God's commands.
— That is the most essential mark of this love.
John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
Q: How do you make the transition from hating God to loving God?
— There are just two kinds of people in the world
— Those that love God
— Those that hate God
— It is hard for people who are unregenerate to see themselves as God-haters
— They see themselves as indifferent
— But you define the love-hate relationship to God by one term and that is obedience to His word.
— And lovers of God are those who keep His commandments and haters of God are those who don't.
— But how do people who are locked into ignorance and darkness, who hate God ever be turned around to love God?
— The answer is in the next verse
—The divine initiative that brings about the transformation (v.28)
The Recipients of Security are Called
to those who are called
— Second, Paul describes the recipients of eternal security as those who are called
— We didn't decide one day that we who hated God would love Him.
— We didn't have that resource in our fallenness.
— But God decided that we who hated him would love Him by His own call to us.
— It's really summed up, as clearly as any place in 1 John 5:19, which says —"We loved Him (What?) because He (What?) first loved us."
— We love Him.
— That's the mark of a Christian.
— With that in mind look at Matthew 22:14
Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
— This tells us about people who come to the Lord
— And the term called there has to do with an external invitation.
— Many people are under the hearing of the gospel.
— Many people are given an invitation to come, but only a few are chosen.
— A lot of people hear the external call, a few are chosen to the internal call.
— When we move to the epistles “called” is never again used of people hearing the gospel
— It always refers to the internal call of God moving into the heart, choosing that person and redeeming them
— This is what theologians refer to as God’s effectual call
— And in case you wonder about that, now look at Romans 8 again and see it there.
Verse 30, "Moreover whom He did predestinate them He also called." Now watch this: "And whom He called them He also, what, justified." Now you know you're not dealing with an external call. You're dealing with an internal one. You're talking about the chosen, predestined, the elect, and them that He called He justified, and those justified He glorified.
—The reason you love God is because He first loved you
— The reason you have come to Him is because He first came to you
— And the reason you responded is because He turned your heart around
— Salvation is initiated by God
Q: How does God call us?
— He calls u by His Word and His Spirit
— The Word
— You come to the Lord by hearing the facts
Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”
1 Peter 1:23 “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”
— The Spirit
— The Spirit comes and convicts us
— John 16:8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;”
Q: What is the source of our security?
The Source of Security ( 8:28d )
( Rom 8:28d ) according to His purpose.”
— God causes all things to work together for the good of His children because that is according to His divine purpose
— You couldn’t save yourself and you couldn’t keep yourself saved
— The source of our security is His divine purpose
Q: You say, "Well, what if He changes His mind?. What if He gets me halfway through and says, 'I made a mistake? This guy's not worth the trouble.'"
— Romans 11:29 says "For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable"
— A calling of God can never be changed. never.
The Ultimate Security — Part 2: The Purpose and Progress of Salvation ( 8:29-30 )
( Rom 8:29-30 ) “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
—Scripture is unambiguous in teaching that every person who is genuinely saved is eternally saved
— Romans 8:29-30 is perhaps the clearest and most explicit presentation of that truth in all of God’s Word.
The Purpose of Salvation ( 8:29c-d )
( Rom 8:29c-d ) to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
—Paul introduced the truths of the believers security in the verse we just looked at (Rom 8:28)
— In the middle of v. 29 Paul states the twofold purpose of God bringing sinners to eternal salvation
— The secondary purpose is stated first: to make believers into the likeness of His Son
To Confirm Believers in Christ ( 8:29c )
( Rom 8:29c ) to become conformed to the image of His Son,
—God chose to save believers in order that they might become conformed to the image of His Son
— As we move toward perfection in righteousness, God is making for Himself a people recreated into the likeness of His own divine Son who will dwell and reign with Him in heaven throughout all eternity
— There is absolutely no allowance for the possibility of a believer’s sinning himself out of God’s grace
— He can no more work himself out of salvation than he could have worked himself into it
— Nor is there any allowance for an intermediate state of limbo or purgatory, in which some Christians fall short of being full conformed to the image of God’s Son and must, after death, somehow complete their salvation by their own works or have it completed by others on their behalf
To Make Christ Preeminent ( 8:29d )
( Rom 8:29d ) so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
—God’s supreme purpose for bringing sinners to salvation is to glorify His Son, Jesus Christ, by making Him preeminent in the divine plan of redemption
— In the words of the text, it is God’s intent for Christ to be the first-born among many brethren
The Progress of Salvation ( 8:29a-b, 30 )
( Rom 29a-b, 30 ) “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined... and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
—In describing God’s plan of salvation, Paul breaks it up into five parts
— Foreknowledge
— Predestination
— Calling
— Justification
— Glorification
— These five links in the chain are unbreakable
Foreknowledge ( 8:29a )
( Rom 8:29a ) “For those whom He foreknew,
—Salvation is not initiated by a person’s decision to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
— Scripture is clear that repentant faith is essential to salvation and is the first step that we take in response to God, but repentant faith does not initiate salvation
— Because Paul is here depicting the plan of salvation from God’s perspective, faith is not even mentioned in these two verses
Q: But can’t God just see down the tunnel of time and see who will believe?
— In His omniscience God is certainly able to look to the end of history and beyond and to know in advance the minutest detail of the most insignificant occurrences
— But it is both unbiblical and illogical to argue from that truth that the Lord simply looked ahead to see who would believe and then chose those particular individuals for salvation
— If that were true, salvation not only would begin with man’s faith but would make God obligated to grant it
— God’s initiative would be eliminated and His grace would be vitiated
That idea also prompts such questions as, “Why then does God create unbelievers if He knows in advance they are going to reject Him?” and “Why doesn’t He create only believers?” Another unanswerable question would be, “If God based salvation on His advance knowledge of those who would believe, where did their saving faith come from?” It could not arise from their fallen natures, because the natural, sinful person is at enmity with God (Rom 5:10; 8:7; Eph 2:3; Col 1:21). There is absolutely nothing in man’s carnal nature to prompt him to trust in the God against whom he is rebelling. The unsaved person is blind and dead to the things of God. He has absolutely no source of saving faith within himself. “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God,” Paul declares, “for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor 2:14). “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:4).
— The full truth about God’s omniscience cannot be understood even by believers
— No matter how much we love God or study His Word, we cannot fathom such mysteries
— We can only believe what the Bible clearly says - that God does indeed foresee the faith of every person who is saved
— We also believe God’s revelation that, although men cannot be saved apart from the faithful action of their wills, saving faith, just as every other part of salvation, originates with and is empowered by God alone.
While He was preaching in Galilee early in His ministry, Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” ( John 6:37 ). But lest that statement be interpreted as leaving open the possibility of coming to Him apart from the Father’s sending, Jesus later declared categorically that “No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” ( v. 44). New life through the blood of Christ does not come from “the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” ( John 1:13; c.f. Eph 2:8-9).
God’s foreknowledge is not a reference to His omniscient foresight but to His foreordination. He not only sees faith in advance but ordains it in advance. Peter had the same reality in mind when he wrote of Christians as those “who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Pet. 1:1-2). Peter use the same word “foreknowledge” when he wrote that Christ “was foreknown before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet 1:20). The term means the same thing in both places. Believers are foreknown in the same way Christ was foreknown. That cannot mean foreseen, but must refer to a predetermined choice by God. It is the knowing of predetermined intimate relationship, as when God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jer 1:5). Jesus spoke of the same kind of knowing when He said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know my own” (John 10:14)
Predestination ( 8:29b )
( Rom 8:29b ) He also predestined
—From foreknowledge, which look at the beginning of God’s purpose in His act of choosing, God’s plan of redemption move to the end of His purpose, which is predestination.
— The Lord has predetermined the destiny of every human person who would believe in Him
— Just as Jesus was crucified “by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23), so God also has predestined every believer to salvation through the means of that atoning sacrifice
Much contemporary evangelism gives the impression that salvation is predicated on a person’s decision for Christ. But we are not Christians first of all because of what we decided about Christ but because of what God decided about us before the foundation of the world. We were able to choose Him only because He had first chosen us, “according to the kind intention of His will.” Paul expresses the same truth a few verses later when he says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight he made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (Eph 1:7-9, emphasis added). He then says that “we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will” (v. 11).
Calling ( 8:30a )
( Rom 8:30a ) and these whom He predestined, He also called;
—In God’s plan of redemption, predestination leads to calling
— Those who are called are those in whose hearts the Holy Spirit works to lead them to saving faith in Christ
— This is the inward call, not the outward call that comes from the proclamation of the gospel
— The outward call is essential because “How shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard?” (Rom 10:14)
— But, the outward call cannot respond in faith apart from God’s already having inwardly called the person through His Spirit
—It should be strongly emphasized that Scripture nowhere teaches that God chooses unbelievers for condemnation
— For our finite minds that would seem to be the logical corollary to God calling believers to salvation
— But in the divine scheme of things, which far surpasses our understanding, God predestines believers to eternal life, but Scripture does not say that He predestines unbeleivers to eternal damnation
— Scripture teaches many truths that seem paradoxical and contradictory
— God is one but three persons
— Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human
— To be first, we must be last (Matt 20:16)
— To be great, we must be humble (Matt 23:12)
— To be rich, we must be poor (2 Cor 8:9)
— To be strong, we must be weak (2 Cor 12:10)
— To live, we must die (Gal 2:20)
— To receive, we must give (Luke 6:38)
— These paradoxes and others show us that God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts (Is 55:8-9)
Justification ( 8:30b )
( Rom 8:30b ) and these whom He called, He also justified;
— After they are called by God, they are also justified by Him
— Justified means made right with God by God
— We looked at this previously in Rom 4:1-18 and the example of Abraham
Glorification ( 8:30c )
( Rom 8:30c ) and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
—As with foreknowledge, predestination, calling and justification, glorification is inseparable from the other elements and is exclusively a work of God
— In saying that those who He justified, these He also glorified, Paul again emphasizes the believer’s eternal security
The Hymn of Security ( 8:31-39 )
( Rom 8:31-39 ) “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 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, will be able to separate us from the love of God, …”
—Paul closes this chapter with what might be called a hymn of security
— At this point it would seem that Paul has said it all and that there is nothing more to add
— But this closing passage is a crescendo of questions and answers regarding issues some objectors might still raise
The Introduction ( 8:31a )
( Rom 8:31a ) “What then shall we say to these things?
—Paul realizes that many fearful believers will still have doubts about their security and that false teachers would be ready to exploit those doubts
— The apostle answers tow closely related questions: Can any person or can any circumstance cause a believer to lose this salavation?
Persons who might seem to threaten our Security ( 8:31b-34 )
( Rom 8:31b-34 ) If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
—The word if translates the Greek conditional particle ei, signifying a fulfilled condition, not a mere possibility
— The meaning of the first clause is there, “Because God is for us.”
— The obvious implication is that if anyone could rob us of our salvation, they would have to be greater than God
The Roman Catholic church teaches that salvation can be lost by committing so-called mortal sins and also claims power for itself both to grant and revoke grace. But such ideas have no foundation in Scripture and are thoroughly heretical. No person or group of persons, regardless of their ecclesiastical status, can bestow or withdraw the smallest part of God’s grace.
— Some might ask if God the Father would take away our salvation?
— Would God do less for believers after they are saved than He did for them prior to salvation?
— Some might ask if Satan could steal our salvation?
— Consider Job
— From the beginning to the end of Job’s testing, the Lord affectionately called him “My servant” ( see 1:8; 42:7-8)
— Although Job’s faith was not perfect, it was genuine
— The Lord permitted Satan to test Job, but He knew Satan could never destroy Job’s persevering faith or rob His servant of salvation
— Stan tried to undermine Peter’s faith but the protected him (Luke 22:31-32; cf. Zech 3:1-2)
— Because every believer has this divine protection, Paul asks, Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who c ondemns?
Circumstances that might seem to threaten our Security ( 8:35-37 )
( Rom 8:35-37 ) Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
—Paul anticipates a similar question that some will ask: “Is it possible for circumstances to rob a believer of his salvation?”
— Paul refutes the notion that any circumstance can cause a genuine believer to forfeit his salvation
— He then goes on to list some of the circumstances ( v. 35)
R.C. Sproul
Not only is our Savior our judge and defense attorney, but He is also our intercessor. He is our great high priest pleading our case before God every minute. It is foolish, therefore, to worry about the slander of men. Who shall lay any charge against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies. Christ is the One who died and was raised for our justification. Christ is the One sitting at the right hand of the Father, and Christ is the One who intercedes for us every day. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (v. 35). Those who live a life of uncertainty thinking they can lose their salvation if they fail to persevere to the end need only remember the finest flower in God’s garden, the tulip.
The Conclusion ( 8:38-39 )
( Rom 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, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
—Paul begins his list with death
— Even that supreme enemy cannot separate us from our Lord because He has changed death’s sting from defeat to victory
Additional Resources
MacArthur, Romans. Romans 1-8. Moody Press, 1987.
MacArthur, Romans. Romans 9-16. Moody Press, 1991.
MacArthur, John. New Testament Commentary. Moody, 1985.
MacArthur, John. Believer’s Groans for Glory. gty.org. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/45-62/believers-groans-for-glory
MacArthur, John. The Spirit’s Groans for Glory. gty.org. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/45-63/the-spirits-groans-for-glory
MacArthur, John. The Promise of Security, Part 1. gty.org. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/45-64/the-promise-of-security-part-1
MacArthur, John. The Promise of Security, Part 2. gty.org. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/45-65/the-promise-of-security-part-2
MacArthur, John. The Ultimate Security of Our Salvation. gty.org. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/45-66/the-ultimate-security-of-our-salvation
MacArthur, John. The Hymn of Security, Part 1. gty.org. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/45-67/the-hymn-of-security-part-1
MacArthur, John. The Hymn of Security, Part 2. gty.org. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/45-68/the-hymn-of-security-part-2
William Hendriksen. Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.
Edwards, Jonathan. Hypocrites deficient in the duty of prayer. Sermon VII. The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol 2, Bath England: Banner of Truth Trust. 1997
Sproul, R.C. Romans: The Righteous Shall Live by Faith. Romans an expositional commentary. Ligonier Ministries. 2019.