Into the Heart of Romans
A Deep Dive into Paul’s Greatest Letter
Justified and Glorified (1|3)
Pages 154-162
Romans 5:1-5 (NIV) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 (NIV) I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:1 (NIV) We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s co-workers, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain
Romans 8:28 is often quoted as “all things work together for good.” How have you usually understood this verse, and what assumptions about God, suffering, or providence might lie behind that common reading?
Paul’s wording suggests that God is the active subject (God is working) rather than events automatically falling into place. How does this shift from “things working out” to “God actively working” change the way to think about God’s involvement in the world?
Paul’s language implies that God works with those who love Him, not merely for them. What difference does it make to see Christians not just as those who benefit from God’s action, but as collaborators in God’s purposes?
How does seeing Romans 8:28 as a statement about vocation and collaboration rather than personal reassurance shape our understanding of prayer, suffering, and Christian responsibility? What might it look like, practically, to live as someone with whom God is actively working for good, in decisions, and engagement with a broken world?
What is your response to N.T. Wright’s comments about synergism? (page 161)