ROMANS: RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH FROM START TO FINISH

VI. God’s Righteousness Transferred: Practical Sanctification, Romans 6:1-8:39

G. The Certainty Of Our Ultimate Sanctification

(Romans 8:28-39)

I. Introduction

A. The theme of the epistle to the Romans is that God’s righteousness is available to man by faith from start to finish (Romans 1:16-17; Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 441).

B. This belief is often not accepted in Christendom: Some claim that one must have faith plus works to be justified, and others say that though we are justified by faith, we cannot righteously live a godly life by faith.

C. Having discussed the hope of the redemption of the believer’s body at the rapture in Romans 8:18-27, Paul addressed the certainty of that hope in Romans 8:28-39. We thus view this passage for our edification:

II. The Certainty Of Our Ultimate Sanctification, Romans 8:28-39.

A. The believer in Christ is put into God’s program that will certainly take him to heaven in glory, Rom. 8:28-30:

1. We “know intuitively (oidamen)” though we “may not always fully understand and sense it experientially – that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,” Ibid., p. 473-474; Romans 8:28a,b. Thus, “(e)ven adversities and afflictions contribute to that end,” Ibid., p. 474.

2. “The active voice” and “present tense of the verb sunergei (“He works together”) emphasizes that this is a continuing activity of God,” what occurs throughout the believer’s earthly sojourn on the earth, Ibid.

3. God’s ongoing work in this matter “‘is on behalf of those who love Him,’ who are further identified as the ones who have been called according to His purpose,” Ibid.; Romans 8:28c.

4. It is also “significant that a believer’s love for God follows God’s calling of him and is undoubtedly the product of the indwelling Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 5:5; 1 John 4:19),” Ibid.; Romans 8:28d.

5. The calling of God, that is, one’s being called of God through the Gospel to come to Christ for salvation, is based on God’s “purpose,” His prothesin, that is, God’s eternal plan, Romans 8:28e; Ibid.

6. To explain what it means to be “called” according to God’s “purpose,” Paul in Romans 8:29-30 briefly summarized the eternal plan of God as it relates to the believer in Christ (as follows):

a. Those God foreknew from eternity past would be His own He predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, Jesus, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers, Romans 8:29. God determined that Jesus would be the Head of a new race purified from sin and prepared to live forever in His presence (1 Cor. 15:42-49). As the Firstborn, Jesus is not the first Who was created, for He is eternal God, Hebrews 1:6-12. Rather, as “Firstborn,” He bears “the highest position among others (cf. Col. 1:18),” Ibid.

b. Then, all those believers whom the Father predestined to be conformed to Jesus, God called them unto salvation through the Gospel, Romans 8:30a.

c. All those whom the Father called, He then justified when they believed, Romans 8:30b.

d. All those believers whom the Father justified, He also [planned to get them] glorified, Romans 8:30c.

B. Thus, the believer can rest assured that God will surely get him to heaven’s glory, Romans 8:31-39:

1. If God is for us, no foe can succeed against our gaining the glory God plans to give us, Romans 8:31.

2. If God did not spare His own Son Jesus but delivered Him up to die on the cross in our behalf, He will surely with Jesus freely give us all things in glory, Romans 8:32.

3. If God justified us, no one else can lay any charge against us to keep us from heaven’s glory, Rom. 8:33.

4. No one can condemn us to eternal damnation, for Christ was the One Who died for us, Who is risen and Who sits at the Father’s right hand constantly making intercession in our behalf, Romans 8:34.

5. Nothing can separate us from the love of God to keep Jesus from being willing to intercede effectively to God in our behalf, be it tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword, for in all such trials, we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us, Romans 8:35-37 ESV. Paul added that neither death nor life, angels nor demons, things present nor the future, nor powers, nor height, nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us believers in Christ from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and thus nothing can keep us from being held secure in our salvation by God and thus hinder us from gaining the destiny of entering heaven’s glory, Romans 8:38-39 NIV.

Lesson: The believer in Christ can rest assured that God is willing, able, and committed to getting him to heaven.

Application: May we rejoice in the unconditional salvation security that we enjoy in our salvation in Jesus Christ.