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Romans 8.30
August 8th 2021
Well, by now we have seen that Paul has used chapter eight to first remind us that as adopted children of God, as joint-heirs with Christ, that we, in the process of mortifying our flesh, we will suffer in the process.
Then after informing us of this undeniable fact, he articulates some amazing tools or gifts that aide us in our walk.
The first he mentions is hope – present at rebirth but also increased (through the sanctification process) as we maintain a growing expectation of what awaits us – (which he says we do not know its properties only that it is a property of glory).
The second is praying in the Spirit, which we covered last week.
And now, Paul describes a third tool, which is founded on some amazing facts to which every Christian ought to cling.
And while Bible publishers put these verses in clumps, I would propose that verse 28 through the end of the chapter all come together, and are speaking of the same facts, and ought to be studied together as one giant promise from God to His adopted sons and daughters.
So, let’s read beginning at verse 28 all the way through to the end of the chapter – then we’ll see how far we get in our verse by verse analysis of them takes us – because within these verses are some real doozies.
Alright, Romans 8:28 to the end as Paul speaks some unbelievable words to every son and daughter, saying:
Romans 8:28 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.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he (his Son) might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Some of you are aware that our next chapter, Romans 9, is the foundational chapter for what is called Reformed Theology, or Calvinism, the most powerful lobby in the Christian faith today.
You probably also noticed that Paul touches on some things here in the last verses of chapter eight that will get our feet wet on the principles of predestination.
After mentioning our hope and then “praying in the Spirit” he now enters into sharing a very encouraging aspect of being a son or daughter of God in this world – unfortunately, some have taken these verses and have made them EXTREMELY discouraging to others along the way.
Hang on now cause it is going to get a little thick at this part of the study.
In my opinion these next twelve verses serve as some of the most encouraging and uplifting passages for believers in all of the Bible.
And we begin with somewhat of a summary verse of great beauty as Paul writes:
28 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.
I would suggest that the first three words of this verse refer to this hope within us – this earnest expectation that exists because we have and are passing through the fires of our faith.
Rewritten it could read: For believers fully expect that all things work together for good to those who love God.
I would also put these words in an eternal frame work – that the things are working together for good revealed here but certainly revealed there.
In faith we trust that our father knows what he is doing when he allows us to suffer – even great loss – as His children.
I remember watching a documentary about a Christian family who had gone camping and their young daughter was taken from her tent and murdered. Hard to image anything more wrenching.
But to add salt to the wound the killer would call the family right on the anniversary of her abduction right at midnight when he had taken her and taunt the parents.
The mother detailed for the camera how she was literally filled with fear, angst, despair, and then for years on end incomprehensible anger.
Then she told the camera how one night she came face to face with a decision – to either allow the bitter anger (which was close to overflowing in her heart) to take full total control and consume her, or to choose the love of God, and to forgive, and to even embrace the killer who had killed her daughter.
The woman chose God that pivotal night – choosing to believe that “all things work together for good for them who love God” while her husband instead, unable to let this happen, chose bitterness.
The killer was caught and at the end of the documentary, it showed the woman actually going to the prison where he was confined and not only forgiving him but serving him. She reached out to the mother of the killer and mourning with her over the loss of her son, proving in living color how even here all things will work together for good to them who love God.
The story inspired me. And the faces of the couple at the end of the documentary said more about the value of choosing Him and His way than hours of talk could ever reveal.
Naturally, the best example of this principle was played out in the life and death of the Lord.
I mean imagine what His chosen twelve were thinking when they watched the one who performed the miracles, who walked on water and raised the dead being taken, suffering mockery, scourging, and and insufferable death by crucifixion!
They must have wondered how any of that could work together for anyone’s good, right?
(beat)
And then He rose from the confines of the grave!
Just think of how they then knew that all things work together for good. . . for them who love God”
Here Paul adds a phrase that leads us right into the context of the next couple of verses. He adds:
And we know that all things . . . work together . . . for good . . . to them that love God, (READY) “To them who are the called . . . according to his purpose.”
Here the words “the CALLED” launches us into one of the deepest ends of Christian theology – an end that has drown more than a few adventurous souls.
When I entered into the Calvary Chapel School of Ministry program to learn the faith I had to leave the comfort of being a securities broker because the school was full time and enter into another line of securities – being a security guard who worked nights at different corporations. Funny, I’m now in another form of the securities business. Anyway,
If you want to be treated by everyone you meet as a “real nobody” become a security guard. Everyone talks down to you and you get zero respect from anyone – even children.
In any case while a security guard I met a strikingly handsome young man who worked for the same security guard company.
He was young, intelligent, and to me appeared to have had the ability to be or do whatever he wanted to do or be in life and for a few months working together I watched him face life like hollowed out soul.
I wondered if he was a drug user – he wasn’t. I would ask him about his life and all he really did was work, go to his apartment, drink beer, watch tv, and sleep.
He was 22 years old. I had come from the other side of the tracks and so I knew there were a lot of opportunities out there for him and so one night we got to talking and I started prying. I wanted to know what the hell had ruined a kid so obviously blessed at such a young age?
He finally opened up and I learned that from a child he was part of a very very very religious family and had come to learn the Christian faith from a hard five point Calvinist perspective.
He KNEW and HE BELIEVED the Calvinist view of the Good News. He could not see or believe the gospel in any other light. And after decades of being in the faith he came to a super unfortunate realization – he was not one of the elect whom God “had called.”
I actually had this experience first hand while being trained and before the show.
Backed up by years of indoctrination and presuppositional teachings, he could not reject Calvin’s doctrine and yet he could not see himself as one of the elected or as Paul says here, “the called of God.”
He plainly expressed to me that he believed that he was someone that had been created by God for hell.
Coming to terms with this he decided that he would then live his life accordingly – as one not called or elected by God but one instead made by God to go to a burning hell for eternity.
And he settled in an occupation that required very little exertion, and after doing his job he would go to his apartment and feed his flesh, doing just enough to get by – no more – and there was no other purpose for his existence in his mind.
I was new to truly understanding Calvinism well, but this threw me into the ring head-first to want to learn. I spent some time with our teachers and some books by RC Sproul and came back a few weeks later.
The young man and I went round and round on God and election. I tried everything I had at my disposal to get him to reconsider his position. After a month of going at it nothing worked and I was then transferred to another location.
But I saw first-hand the direct results of the man-made determinist doctrine of election in the life of someone who believed it but uniquely did not believe that he was part of it.
(Beat)
So what does Paul mean when begins to bring us into the idea now that God calls some according to His purpose when he says:
28 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.”
What does he mean when he follows this statement up with:
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
It sound like a pretty sound endorsement for the Calvinist position on predestination of the elect.
Before we embark on trying to answer these questions reasonably, within the context of scripture, and without wresting the scripture around, I must repeat a theme mentioned several times over the course of our last few months together – that again, and because nature abhors a vacuum (as Spinoza says) people often search for absolutes upon which they can comfortably stand so as to not to feel imbalanced or unsure.
And in the search for absolutes, men and women often discover systems, dogmas, and “isms” and “ists” which they grasp like a life-preserver in the midst of a storm-tossed sea, clinging for dear life and screaming that everyone else most have a life preserver too, not realizing that some people do very well without one in the stormy seas of existence by learning to swim.
Soooooo, we are faced NOT with a dogmatic single-sided presentation here in Romans 8:28-30. I suggest that we are instead faced with a piece of a puzzle.
A piece – that without it the puzzle is incomplete but by itself does not reveal the entire message.
I say this because these verses are used liberally by men and women who have embraced the man-made system called Calvinism which stands on five basic ideas relative to man’s relationship to God.
I am not going to re-explain the T.U.L.I.P. in depth as we have done this many times before but in summary know that Reformed Theology (Calvinism) teaches that human beings are
T!
TOTALLY DEPRAVED, meaning they are not able to choose God.
Therefore God must ELECT them to be His and that He elects them with an
U!
UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION, which is what these passages appear to suggest and that this Unconditional Election was predestined.
And T!
Because God does not elect all, there is a LIMITED atonement of Christ (because it wouldn’t be fair or right for Jesus to suffer for the sins of those God does not elect).
I!
And because God does the choosing or electing it is an IRRESISTIBLE form of Grace meaning people cannot reject the Election – it is irresistible, and finally
P!
because God elects and people can’t reject his election there is a certainty in the salvation he gives meaning it can’t be lost or abandoned and this is called a perseverance of the Saints (which is also summarized as once saved always saved).
TULIP
Now in the face of this system there are other passages that suggest ideas the conflict with the TULIP.
For instance, instead of believing that God only elects or calls or saves some, and Jesus only atoned for some, we read the following passages that directly confront this, like:
“For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe.”
John 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
So, what are we to say in the face of these passages here that seem to so clearly support the notion of God electing or calling some to be His predestinationally?
We say that the passages are true. Simple as that.
But then we begin to endeavor to explain how they are true instead of rejecting them out of hand AND?OR insisting that they are always true for everyone.
Now, the way a five-point Calvinist uses these passages is to say that God has predestined any and all people who go to heaven and then in the face of this there is the unfortunate outcome which also admits that God therefore, by not electing others to heaven, elects them to go to hell forever and ever as well.
But I want you to carefully listen to everything that Paul says here. Ready?
28 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.”
From this we cannot say that “the called” are the only ones called, nor can we say that only “the called” go to heaven. All we can say in the face of verse 28 is that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are “the called” according to his purpose.”
Because His purposes are good and other scriptures say that he has “saved all,” the calling then, while biblical, is purposeful and serves to help God accomplish His purposes whatever they may be.
Remember too the context of what we are reading – the audience – they were believers who were making up the Bride of Christ – they were to be unspotted, pure, without blemish, including some 144000 who were not polluted.
So that element of whom must be taken into account when we try and understand what Paul is saying.
And then what does he mean when he follows this statement up with:
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he (His Son, God’s Son) might be the firstborn among many brethren.
I think we can say from this that by his foreknowledge (“for whom he did foreknow”) God also predetermined them to be “conformed to the image of His Son THAT (in order that) his Son might be the first born among many brethren.”
And then speaking of this group whom God knew via foreknowledge, whom God predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son so that His Son might be the firstborn among many brethren he adds
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
The first question we might ask is Paul describing a special group of believers, or is He describing all believers?
The Calvinist take this and suggest that this describes anyone who has ever believed – those in Jesus’ day on out to this moment in time – that they have been called by God, elected by God, predestined by God, all according to His will and this is the way God works among human beings until Jesus returns.
I’d say that this is ignoring a whole bunch of factors.
Let’s first look at the word “called” in these passages – it is used once in verse 28 and once in verse 30.
In the English versions I consulted, “called” is used in both verses. (Check your versions) but what is interesting is Paul uses two different Greek words (that are translated called) so obviously he didn’t mean the same thing when the word called is used in verse 28 and then when it is used in verse 30.
Here’s the passages in the KJV:
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are “the called” (kletos) according to His purpose.
The word “kletus” here contain the traditional meaning of the English word “called.” Plainly, it means invited, or summoned. Got that?
Let’s read on.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called (kaleo); whom He called (kaleo), these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
So in 28 we have KLETUS translated to called and in 30 we have KALEO translated to called. What is the difference between these two Greek words?
Firstly, they are used very differently throughout the N.T. And additionally, “kaleo” carries with it a meaning that “kletos” cannot ever convey.
In most cases, “kaleo” has nothing to do with the traditional meaning of “called,” which again means to “invite” or “summon.”
Kaleo relates to being named or “naming.”
Romans 9:7 uses it this way:
“through Isaac your descendants will be NAMED (kaleo).”
Matthew 1:21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall CALL (kaleo) His name Jesus…
Matthew 1:23 …and they shall CALL (kaleo) His name Immanuel,…
Matthew 2:23 uses the word twice with the meaning being named in both instances:
“and came and resided in a city CALLED (kaleo) Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be CALLED (kaleo) a Nazarene.”
So, there’s the basic difference between the two different words Paul uses in these passages that are translated “called” in both places.
If I were to say, “my boss CALLED me (He “invited me” or “summoned me”) into his office” or if I said that God called me to be His, I would use the Greek word “kletus.”
But if I were to say that “I am called Bjorn by my grandsons” or “that when I was born my mother called me Shawn,” I would use the word “kaleo.” Named.
In John 1:42 where it reads:
“And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.” The word is kaleo – being assigned a name, not invited or summoned.
So, with this difference in mind, we could, and I believe should, read and understand Romans 8:28-30 like this:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the INVITED or SUMMONED (kletos) according to His purpose.
Now, based on all the verses we read about who Jesus came to save, who would you suggest God has “invited” according to His Purpose in that day when he wrote?
His bride – a very unique body of believers – composed mostly Jews, His brethren.
And then today, once Jesus has had the victory and the Kingdom is established, who do you supposed God invites to His Kingdom? EVERYONE, right?
Does everyone receive? I would say they do not. And we have some scriptural support for this position when we read Matthew 22:14 which says:
“For many are called (invited/summoned) (kletos), but few are chosen.”
The word “chosen” in this passage, by the
way is “eklectos,” from where we get the word elected. So, in all we could read Matthew 22:14 like this:
“Many (I would suggest, “all”) are summoned or invited, but few are elected.”
So automatically, here in verse 28 of Romans 8 we have a bit of a wrinkle in the premise of how a five point Calvinist would interpret these passages, don’t we?
So, let’s read verse 28 again:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the INVITED/Summoned (kletos) according to His purpose.
(Verse 29 goes on)
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Now, I have a question for you to answer (in your heads): Prior to anyone of us – from Adam to the last man to be born on earth – ever being born, ever being conceived – did God “know” us? Did He have foreknowledge of us?
Of course, He did – He knew and knows all things, beginning to end. So, looking at verse 29, where it reads “for whom He foreknew” who is it speaking of?
To me, two groups
The first are those believers then who would become the brethren, the Bride, the firstfruits of the faith.
Secondly, I suggest He foreknew all of us.
And therefore the passage in our day applies in a different way.
Now, some scholars state that when it says “Whom He foreknew,” it is in reference only to believers, because, they say, God does not know unbelievers. My brother and friend Matt Slick, an ardent Calvinist, believes this – that God has no knowledge of those whom He has not elected.
I would question this MIGHTILY.
See, this assumption must be made in order to make the Calvinist model work. But I suggest that He foreknew every single being before He created us. This does not believe He created some to believe and others to not. Instead I believe because of context of scripture that he gave all humans the capacity to believe and by His foreknowledge He knew who would and who would not.
It is in this sense that we can then understand these passages – as cloudy as all of this can initially be.
Anyway, let’s read verse 29 with the Bride in mind first:
29 For whom He foreknew (which was all of us), He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
And let’s read it with all whom he foreknew would receive Him by faith in the future and apply it to ourselves now as it says:
29 For whom He foreknew (which was all of us), He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
In light of all the passages that tell us Christ came and propitiated the whole world, paying for the sins of all, saving all (“especially those who believe,”) I cannot help but read this verse as suggesting the very same thing to us but in a different way from how it applies to us today.
Same foreknowledge but a different aim.
So in light of passages 28 and 29 I have suggested the following:
That God foreknew all human beings in that day – and used this foreknowledge to gather a bride that Jesus would call His brethren in that day. And
That God knows all creations today and uses His foreknowledge to bring about His will today to gather a body of believers that will add to the Kingdom which increases forever. And finally,
That God declared that all human beings be conformed to the image of His Son.
But that not all would, by their freewill, accept.
But I would also suggest that verse thirty is specifically applied to any and all of those who have received the Son by faith, in either setting, as it says:
“(And of all those whom) he did predestinate, them he also called (named): and whom he called (or named), them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
And I suggest that this is the third tool Paul has provided believers then and now with as a means to encourage us and to aid us in this life.
This is context in my estimation.
Again, he has discussed our expectant hope, the ability to pray with groanings that cannot be uttered, and now, having given us some preface passages, gives us one more magnificent tool or bit of information to hold onto . . .
“True consolation that can be derived from the fact that being predestined by the foreknowledge of God, there is a connection between God’s will in our destiny and the certainty of our salvation.”
I told you it was going to get deep.
More next week.
Questions/Comments
Let’s pray.
