A Brief (Calvinistic) Exegesis on Romans 8
An interaction with and Pastor David Reece from Puritan Reformed Church in Phoenix, AZ, that revealed some important and little-discussed ideas in many people's favorite passage
So there I was, writing a harmless little tweet about the non-existence of trauma that went kinda viral:
Then Pastor David Reece quote-tweeted it, which was nice of him to do:
Which led me to respond with this brief explanation of things I’ve learned in my readings of Romans 8:28-30, that I think of every time I quote the verses.
I thought you might enjoy:
To jump off David Reece's comment... so many Christians quote Romans 8:28, but I don't think they ever read verses 29 and 30:
v. 28 - "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."
v. 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."
v. 30 - "Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."
So...
All things work together for the good for those who are called according to God's purposes.
"All things" means all things.
What good is being worked towards? Being conformed to the image of Christ, so that Jesus could be "the first born of many brethren."
That's us: we are the brethren. Jesus is our older brother. All things work towards the good of conforming us to the image of our oldest brother, Jesus.
And all things work for the good for those "called according to God's purposes." Paul also describes the "called" as those whom God "foreknew" and as the "predestined."
So, God foreknew some people, and through the ongoing circumstances of our lives, we are (re)made into the image of Jesus Christ. Every circumstance in our lives works together towards this end.
Why?
For our glorification. Jesus is the firstborn of many glorified brethren, as we will soon be.
In other words, Jesus was glorified through the foreordained circumstances of his life, including His suffering. (Acts 4:28)
We are likewise being glorified through the circumstances of our own lives, albeit in a smaller way, through ours.
Thus, Romans 8:28-30 isn't just a passage about triumphing over life. It's a Calvinistic proof.