Book Review - Believing God: Chapter 9 - All Things Work Together: Romans 8:28

Ugh, this is the chapter where adherence to the number one rule of writing would have helped tremendously: show don't tell. Dr. Sproul spends better than half the chapter providing a prescription before he even tells us what the promise is. He must have assumed that his audience knows Romans 8:28 by heart and therefore he need not provide neither the verse nor any amplification. Why ignore a whole segment of Christianity who is unknowledgeable of this (for whatever reason)? The prescription is a turnoff and does not lead the reader to desire the necessary knowledge.

Finally the promise is given along with some excellent amplification which is immediately wasted. Dr. Sproul generalizes to much that the lesson is lost. Prescription plus generalization equals a dull read. Even the spiritually mature would have a hard time getting through this with the Spirit's guidance.

Nevertheless, there are points made that require discussion.

First, here's the verse. Romans 8:28 (and 29-30 since he uses it for context amplification, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

He then makes his first good point. "We will better be able to believe this promise the better we are able to remember our goal, our end, our purpose." The question here which he poorly answers in a much too general sense is, "What is my purpose?" Sadly he defers to the Shorter Catechism instead of the Bible. Stay in Romans and move ahead a few chapters to a section I often use in my posts - Romans 11:36 - 12:2.

You want to know more than God's general purpose for you, to love Him and enjoy Him forever, thereby bringing Him all the glory. You want to know His specific purpose for you, thereby bringing Him all the glory. Here it is:

"For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

First things first! God's specific purpose for you starts not with your purpose but with His glory (v. 11:36) Second, His purpose for you starts in heaven. That's where you find the answer. Spend some time there. Ask. Third, He will answer you so that you know for certain. (v. 12:2) What you do in between is the key that unlocks the answer. It is what this blog is all about. A message to a holy Bride alive unto God and ready for all things from Him in anticipation of His coming.

Once you know God's purpose for you generally and specifically, then this purpose of Romans 8:28 starts to become real and visible and up front in your thoughts, emotions, experience, and prayers. Dr. Sproul spends too much time concerned with the cultural impact upon these things, accusing it of blinding us and holding us back from believing the promise. He should know better than to fall into that pragmatic trap for he and his father speak against it all the time. In other words, don't let your circumstances dictate your faith.

Then he changes course to verses 29-30 which discuss our sanctification. This is just another in a chain of conclusions based on Romans 8:1 which is in itself a conclusion of the arguments started in chapter 5 all the way up to that point. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Take a look at the construction of this chapter and picture it as an outline of conclusive topics. It would look something like this (in the KJV):

For...
For...
For...
For...
Because...
So...
But...
And...
But...
Therefore...

You get the idea. These conclusive topics are all simply evidences of walking in the Spirit. They are great and profound promises given ONLYto those who do NOTwalk in the flesh (sin). Period.

Watch out here because Dr. Sproul's conclusion is quite different and it is misled. This happens quite often when one teaches on sanctification (or worse yet, progressive sanctification). He writes, "If, instead, we would delight in Him, if we would, by His grace, behold His glory more fully, if we would see through the veil more clearly, if we would draw near to Him in prayer and at His table, then we would know not where we are going but to whom. Then we would rejoice in every step of the journey. Then we would give thanks and would believe His promises."

This is very close to "works" theology. But I give him the benefit of the doubt given the strength of his reformed position. Instead, he is likely saying that if we "have just a little bit more of Jesus in us, become just a little bit more like Him" then we will believe. Where is the faith in all that? Where is the promise of the fullnessof the Holy Spirit in all that? We are either full of the Spirit with none of the flesh or we are not. There is no in between. I'll save the blog for a later day on this avenue called progressive sanctification. It is false teaching.

For now, think about the meaning of such things as he says in conclusion, "...bring us closer to being like Him...," and "brought us closer to Him." I will leave you with this one unalterable fact that I started this post with: Romans 11:36. You cannot get any closer to Him than He already is within you. That's pretty close I'd say. Now you realizing it, being aware of it, experiencing that closeness, well that's another subject. But Jesus answered that dilemma for you in John 17:21-22, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:" You cannot get any closer than "one" and there, you will glorify God. What's keeping you?