Romans 8:28
I wrote this paper for my Hermeneutics class. Our goal in the paper was to look at a verse, that was assigned to us, that is interpreted different ways in our culture and in the church.
I did miss the point in Romans 8:29 and its focus on our sanctification.
Introduction
So as much as I tried to approach this study objectively it has been a challenge. Romans 8:28 is such a commonly used verse and often preached from, it’s hard to attack it without pretext.
Having said that I enjoyed digging into the various views about this passage. Now, I use the term passage specifically because no verse lives in isolation. It is important to understand what Paul is conveying to the saints in Rome. Before we dive into the passage, we should stop to take a look at how this verse has been interpreted in our day.
Calvinist View
The Calvinist view centers around God working out our salvation through the hardships of life.
“…though God does not do away with the troubles of his people as soon as they occur, he does not really forsake them. He has a wonderful way of turning the hardship they experience into a means of their salvation.”
( Haroutunian, Joseph, and Louise Pettibone Smith. Calvin: Commentaries. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958. Print.)
Calvin would have taken the next few verses about predestination to point back at verse 28 to prove that the “good” spoken of in our verse is salvation and the “purpose” is further illustrating the “good”.
Arminian View
The Arminian view is a bit more like the secular view below. They have a more wishy-washy approach to it;
“Paul means that believers know, from observation of God’s past dealings with those who love Him, that he has a mysterious way of working things out for the greatest good. By observing the stories of the saints of old—those called to accomplish His redemptive purposes—believers can rest in knowledge of this truth. God can take whatever evil may come our way and redeem it for good. Believers can know this because God has been doing it for generations.”
( https://soteriology101.com/2018/02/14/romans-828-30-foreknowledge-and-predestination/)
Hobby Lobby Interpretation (Secular view)
This is probably the most prevalent view in our culture, and probably the most inaccurate view. The reason I call this the Hobby Lobby view is that you can probably go into a store today and find this on a sign. This idea that “Everything is going to be OK,” or “Everything happens for a reason.” These interpretations aren’t 100% wrong but the spirit behind them is wrong. This concept that whatever you are going through will turn out good is not right. What happens when it doesn’t. I have personally been through enough situations that didn’t result in the same way as I thought they should. Also, we miss what God is trying to teach us.
Past views
I only bring up past views because I appreciated reading William Barclays commentary on this verse. Let me be clear, I think Barclay is wrong about almost everything, but he brought in the historical view of this verse that I found interesting.
“The Stoics taught that the duty of every individual was acceptance. If people accepted the things that God sent them, they knew peace. If they struggled against them, they were uselessly battering their heads against the unavoidable purpose of God.”
( Barclay, William. The Letter to the Romans. 3rd ed. fully rev. & updated. Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002. Print. The New Daily Study Bible.)
There simply was too much in the commentary to give an all-encompassing quote here, and Barclay points out something interesting, wrong but interesting. He explains that the Stoics almost have this passive view of a God far off. We should just accept whatever He sends us or we will just be fighting the will of God. The idea that I think is wrong here is the passive nature of God. He is not passive but active in our lives. We have a role to play in our salvation and sanctification. It is not a passive endeavor.
As a note, the section in Barclays commentary about verses 26-27 was interesting.
“Pythagoras forbade his disciples to pray for themselves, because, he said, they could never in their ignorance know what was appropriate and best for them. Xenophon tells us that Socrates taught his disciples simply to pray for good things, and not to attempt to specify them, but to leave God to decide what the good things were. C. H. Dodd puts it in this way. We cannot know our own real need; we cannot with our finite minds grasp God’s plan; in the last analysis, all that we can bring to God is an inarticulate sigh which the Spirit will translate to God for us”
( Barclay, William. The Letter to the Romans. 3rd ed. fully rev. & updated. Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002. Print. The New Daily Study Bible.)
I think that as we look at these various interpretations we see a common thread. It’s all about me. That, I think, is the wrong approach to this passage. Let’s move on to traveling the interpretive journey.
Grasping the Text in Their Town
What did the text mean to the biblical audience?
Who is this Letter written to?
So we need to start by understanding the audience of this letter. Romans is written to “all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints.” (Romans 1:7)
"First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world." (Romans 1:8)
Why did Paul write this letter?
The Romans were known for their great faith. So why did Paul write this letter? As we look at so many of the letters Paul writes they are to correct behavior or encourage the saint through persecution.
“I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” (Romans 1:13-15)
These verses give us a glimpse into why Paul wrote to the saints in Rome. One of the things Paul was concerned about is how the Judaizers were making their way through many of the areas that Paul was preaching. We need to understand that there were religious people at that time that advocated for a return to following the Mosaic Law and being circumcised. Paul seems to bring this up in many of his letters.
What is Romans 8:28 saying to the saints in Rome?
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. (Romans 8:28)
Paul was recognizing the suffering that was going on in Rome amongst the saints. Judaizers were coming in and spreading false doctrine. There was persecution of the Roman believers and they needed hope. Paul is telling them that they need to focus on their love for Christ and keep their hope in the Savior, and God will work everything out for good. He has a purpose.
Measuring the Width of the River to Cross
What are the differences between the biblical audience and us?
The Romans were facing an ideological threat from the Judaizers, and facing persecution from the Roman government. We do not struggle today with much persecution and the persecution that we do endure is insignificant in the face of so many throughout history. We do have our modern-day religious people who teach that we have to do to be saved and that just isn’t Biblical. So the river seems narrow.
Crossing the Principlizing Bridge
What is the theological principle in this Text?
I believe the theological principle here is having hope in hardship. I don’t believe that Paul is saying we should have hope for our best outcome, but rather have hope in the coming glorification and hope that whatever sacrifices that we are making are for the good of God’s plan.
Consulting the Biblical Map
How does our theological principle fit with the rest of the Bible?
What is Paul saying in Romans 8:28
Most of this I covered above, but we should break down the core concepts of the verse:
What does it mean to love God?
John tells us that if we love God we keep His commandments. (John 14:21, 15:10) Paul is not saying that we need the Mosaic Law, but rather do as He has instructed us to do. Die to our flesh, live in the Spirit, eagerly anticipate the return of Christ and pray in the Spirit.
What is God’s purpose?
God’s purpose is to adopt us as sons (and daughters) and to glorify our bodies.
What is the good?
I think there is a beautiful statement in verse 29, “so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren” So that Christ being the firstborn, may have many brethren, that’s us His brothers and sisters in the adoption. In the chiasm here (shown below), this is the central thought. The goal is our being sanctified and glorified into this brotherly relationship with Christ.
How does this verse fit into the Chapter and what we know of the Bible?
Romans 26-39 Chiasm
This seems like a good time to point out the chiasm that our verse belongs to:
A.(26) 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; (27) 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.
B.(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.
C.(29) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son,
D. so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
C’.(30) and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
B’.(31) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? (32) 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? (33) Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
A’.(34) 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.
As we look at this chiasm we see that the main point revolves around Christ being the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. So I believe that further solidifies that God’s purpose is the adoption as sons. There is more to unpack here but out of fear of redundancy, I’ll leave further examination to the reader.
( https://www.chiasmusxchange.com/2016/07/30/romans-826-39/ (Converted to NASB95 using NotionAI))
What this verse doesn’t mean.
As we look at the whole of Scripture how does the idea of “Everything is going to be OK, as long as we love God” fair against what we know.
Joseph was cast out by his brothers. God took evil and worked it for good. What about King Saul? Saul fell out of favor with God because he did not follow the commandments of God and was replaced by David.
"They asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.'" (Acts 13:21-22)
There is certainly an aspect here of “follow God and He will do good for you”, but the problem here is that it’s not this “biblical karma” idea that as long as I’m a good person God will only do good to me. The other logical conclusion that can come from this is that if I do bad and don’t love God then He will do bad things to me. That doesn’t completely track with scripture either. God’s grace, although often paired with His judgment, is still present.
Also look at the Apostles, how many of them ended life with riches and earthly glory? Short answer, none of them. Most died as martyrs with little. Their riches are in heaven and their glory is in Christ.
What this passage does mean.
We can not pull this verse out of its context and think that it means what we would like it to mean. We have to look at what Paul is talking about here.
Live in the Spirit, not in the flesh (law)
Eagerly anticipate the return of Christ and our adoption as sons (and daughters)
Our hope is in things not seen
Pray in the Spirit
God will bring good for those who love Him
We are predestined to the image of Christ
We are to be Christ's brothers and sisters
If God is for us who can stand against us
God did not even spare His son so that He could freely give us all things
Who can bring a charge against His people, God is the one who brings justice
Christ is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.
Nothing will separate us from the love of Christ
We will conquer all things through Him who loves us
Nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
Paul is encouraging the Romans to stop trying to be good. The law is a way for the flesh to perfect the flesh and that is not possible. Rather we are to live in the Spirit. Confess our sins, and live right so that we can be in right relationship with Him. Look forward to His coming and be excited about it. Don’t try to inject the law back into your salvation but recognize that Christ work on the cross paid that debt and now you are free. struggles will come in life. Through hardship lean on the one that actually brings justice, but don’t forget that Christ is at God’s right hand advocating and interceding for you and there will never be a time when Christ doesn’t love you. In the end, we will stand victorious with Him and through Him.
Grasping the Text in Our Town
How should individual Christians today live out the theological principles?
We have so many in the church today that play the role of Judaizer that it is hard sometimes to keep our message straight. You don’t even have to go into Catholic or Lutheran circles to find Christians that want to add more things on salvation (justification, go to heaven when you die). If you believe Christ died for your sin and was raised from the dead, you’re in.
Many believers want to add a kind of repentance to justification. That repentance often involves some kind of deep loathsome regret for sin. This just isn’t Biblical. The gift of salvation does not come with a list of requirements (John 3:16), that is the role of sanctification.
Sanctification is where we learn to put off the fleshly things in our lives and put on the Spirit. We will go through hardships, and struggle through challenges but the Spirit gives us the tools needed to overcome these things (Gal 5:18-26). Then we can look forward to our glorification and our adoption as sons to God and brothers to Christ.
Eyes Up
My Wife and I have a saying in our home when we are losing focus on Christ, “Eyes Up”. In other words, get your eyes back on Christ, spiritually speaking. I think that is the idea in Romans 8. I believe that what Paul is conveying here is that we, and the Roman saints, need to focus on Christ and the work that he is doing in our sanctification with the eventual result being our adoption in the kingdom and the glorification of our bodies.
We are living in a culture where we are surrounded by this maelstrom of confusion. Each day when we get up there are so many things vying for our attention, and so many false ideas for us to follow, not all religious ideas. We are constantly being told that we should do this or believe that. We are divided by politics, social issues, religious ideologies, gender issues and so much more. This will all burn! None of this means anything in the face of eternity. This is what Paul’s, and the Holy Spirit’s, message is here. Focus on the right things, the things that matter. Keep your eyes on Jesus and the coming Kingdom. As long as you love God, and do what He says, He will make sure that good comes from it, according to His plan. Keep your eyes up!
In conclusion, this paper came out much different than I thought. I thought that I had a handle on what this passage meant and not that I was wrong, but I didn’t see the whole picture. I also found myself constraining tangents that I wanted to take about the text. It is so important for us to understand our place in Christ and know that our “job” is to maintain our relationship with Christ. Confess our sins and live in the Spirit. If we can do that everything that God wants from us can flow, unhindered, through us. My struggles and hardships are to glorify Him and to sanctify me. James 1:2-4 says it well, we should embrace the hard times and grow through them.
All Scripture quoted from: New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. Print.