God Without Religion_ Can It Really Be This Simple_ - Andrew Farley [30]
This was encouraging for the Romans to read, since they were suffering (v. 18) and experiencing weakness (v. 26). Paul wanted them to know that God was for them (v. 31) and that God had their maturity in mind. God was working in the midst of their suffering to conform them to his image. So there was purpose in their suffering. That’s the context of this passage.
These three verses (vv. 28–30) were never intended to stand alone to form a doctrine of individual selection. They should be understood in context as encouragement for those suffering. That’s what is expressed in the chapter as a whole.
It’s also true that we Christians are collectively “chosen” (v. 33), just as Israel was collectively God’s chosen people. But what are we chosen for? Again, in context, we are chosen for conformity to Christ’s image, to have a heavenly calling, for closeness to God, and for a future glory. This is what God has chosen for all Christians, collectively. This is very different from saying that God chose one individual for heaven and left another for hell. If Paul had wanted to communicate individual selection in this passage, he certainly could have done so very clearly. The straightforward reading here is that the heavenly calling (purpose) and predestined conformity (growth) of the Romans was communicated as encouragement to them in the midst of their “trouble” and “hardship” (v. 35).
The Donald Trump
The name Donald Trump is synonymous with success. Trump demands excellence, whether it’s in real estate investment, sports, or entertainment. His high standards and his ability to make things happen are the basis for the popular TV show The Apprentice. On the show, contestants are subjected to tough business challenges and close scrutiny as Trump sets everything up and judges the outcomes. And every show ends with Trump’s famous line, “You’re fired!”
Say what you will about Donald Trump, there’s one thing we know for sure—he calls the shots. Whether it’s who’s being hired or who’s being fired, whatever he says goes. Nobody argues with the Donald Trump.
Nobody.
In Ephesians (and, as we’ll see, in Romans), God is playing his trump (or Trump, if you will) card. He’s saying, “I call the shots!” Paul makes that point over and over as he shows God’s history of doing whatever he wants—with Jacob, Esau, Pharaoh, and so many more. Whatever the case, God always gets it done, his way.
Our job is to respect him. We may not understand what he’s up to or even agree with it! Still, we’re called to revere his sovereignty. But here’s the catch: Paul introduces us to the sovereignty of God not to justify individual selection of Christians. As we read through Ephesians and Romans, we find that God played his trump card a different way. He played it in the selection of “those dirty Gentiles” to inherit the gospel.
Two thousand years ago, that didn’t sit well with the establishment.
God’s Trump Card
Romans is strikingly similar to Ephesians. Both epistles include a predestination discussion that is absolutely surrounded by verbiage about Jews and Gentiles. Here Paul launches into a Jew-versus-Gentile discussion just as he did in Ephesians, speaking of “the people of Israel”:
Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. (Rom. 9:4)
Paul first notes that Israel deserves the gospel in some sense—even Jesus himself came through a Jewish bloodline. But then Paul says something to justify the inclusion of Gentiles:
It is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. (Rom. 9:8)
So who would be the natural children? Each and every