Election, evangelism, and exaltation, this is what Romans 9, 10, and 11 are all about. We begin with chapter 9, which is primarily about election, but begins with vs. 1-5 with Paul’s passion for evangelism, especially for the people of his beloved Israel.
God has made certain promises to certain persons, identified in this text as “God’s elect” (vs. 33). He will keep them, the promises and the people. And in doing so, He “will not slumber nor sleep” (ref. Psalm 121:4).
Foreknowledge is God’s choice, fore, long before, of certain persons to know, to have an intimate, personal, permanent relationship with Him, as Father and child (ref. John 15:16; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; Peter 2:9; etc).
As Christians, we have a heavenly Father, and we are marked by His work. He redeemed us in justification, shapes us in sanctification, and will perfect us in glorification.
God does not need to watch film to find our weaknesses. He knows them all. And in this text from the pen of the Apostle Paul, He identifies what could well be our greatest weakness.
Keep in mind the overarching theme of Romans 8 is glorification, a thing for which we wait. Christians, justified by faith, sanctified by the Spirit, are guaranteed to be glorified by God and with God, forever.
Adoption is a Greco-Roman concept that Paul applies here for the first time to Christianity (ref. also vs. 8:23, Galatians 4:5, and Ephesians 1:5). Adoption, on earth as it is in Heaven, is meant to be a glorious change for the better.
In verse two, two laws, or irrefutable principles, like the law of gravity, are at work in a human being who becomes a born again Christian. One is nurture, “the law of the Spirit of life,” and the other is nature, “the law of sin and death.”
Iif you have been justified by faith, sanctified by the Spirit, you will be glorified without judgment. Your sins have been forgiven and washed away by the blood of Christ.
All Christians who have been justified by grace through faith in Christ (Romans 3-5), are being sanctified (Romans 6-7), and will be glorified (Romans 8) in Heaven with the Lord one day.
