Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

This verse describes the good that Paul had in mind in verse 28. Many suggestions are made concerning what Paul meant by good, yet it is clear from verses 29 and 30 that the good Paul had in mind is connected to the ultimate destiny of all Christians, to what things will be like for them at the end of time as we know it. Paul wanted his readers to have a proper perspective on life, indeed on the history of the world. The best perspective will include seeing what happened before this world was and what will happen after its current story ends. I mentioned before how commentators and authors have likened Romans 8 to mountain ranges like the Alps which give great panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. We can recall how Bunyan’s pilgrims could, on a clear day, view the Celestial City from the Delectable Mountains by using the telescope of God’s Word. In this pair of verses Paul gives two ways of looking at things, and each of them looks backwards and forwards from a great viewpoi...

Why does Jesus call himself ‘the good shepherd’? In that claim, there is a definite article, an adjective and a noun. The definite article points to uniqueness, one of a kind. It also points to superiority. By using the article, Jesus separates himself from all other spiritual shepherds. There had not been nor will there ever be a shepherd like Jesus. The adjective ‘good’ points to character. We know that the word ‘good’ has degrees in its meaning. Often, when someone asks how we are, we reply, ‘I am good.’ What we mean is that we are good as far as we know. If someone was to be pernickety and say to us, ‘Are you perfectly good?’, we would have to adjust our self-description. But if a pernickety person asked Jesus if he meant that he was totally good, he would reply yes. Jesus once questioned a ruler as to why he called Jesus ‘good’, saying that only God is good. Does Jesus mean here that he is the divine shepherd as well as being the divinely-provided shepherd. I suspect he is. That i...

In this chapter of Romans, as we have so far considered it, Paul has given three responses about how Jesus delivers his people while they have an awareness of their sinfulness. First, the Holy Spirit enables them to love God’s law – they fulfil the righteous requirement of the law, which is to love God and neighbour. Second, Christians should reflect on the radical difference that exists between them and other people – they are in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Third, believers should by the power of the Spirit engage in mortification of sin throughout life, putting to death that which will not die completely while they are in this life. Now the apostle mentions further activities of the Spirit that they experience, and some of them are hard to explain because often the actions of God are beyond us. We can approach them by noting that the Spirit is called the Spirit of adoption, that there is a connection to the eternal inheritance, and that his intercession is one of groaning. The ...