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The conductor has raised his hands for the final chord. The orchestra has issued a heart-stirring crescendo, with strings in full bloom, trumpets blaring, and tympani affixing the exclamation point. Applause. Curtain. The show’s over, right?
We may feel that way as we come to the end of the first eight chapters of Romans. But Paul is far from finished.
When we recall how this concert began, we can see we have come a long way. After the opening overture in which Paul first sounded the glories of the gospel (1:1–17), he quickly shifted to a minor key. We were given an earful about mankind’s dismal spiritual condition, his attempts to toss God aside in order to worship his own lusts, doing whatever comes naturally (or unnaturally, as the case may be). In the second and third chapters, we learned that the so-called “religious” were not exempt from this twisted kind of worship. Even those who had God’s law did not live in faith and obedience, but were just as unrighteous. They ended up worshiping their own religion, while hating the God who afforded them such a privilege.
The melody line brightened in chapters 4 and 5 as Paul presented the glorious truth of a salvation provided by God Himself apart from the tainted works of men. It was there we learned of Abraham’s faith, the model of our own response to the gospel. And we learned of Jesus, the Second Adam, who came to reverse the effects of the first.
A slight dissonance followed in chapters 6 and 7 as Paul clarified potential misunderstandings in the minds of his hearers, but chapter 8 brought everything to a resolve. The closing sentences of that chapter are glorious, the tempo slowing to a firm and confident rhythm. Is it possible to speak more highly of God’s love for His own? If God is for us, who can possibly be against us? If God gave us His only Son, what could He possibly withhold from those of us who belong to Him? This is the promise of the gospel. It is a message for life, one that we can return to time and time again for refreshment, consolation, and renewed vision.
If we didn’t know any better, we could assume that Paul has concluded his message. We may be tempted to close our Bibles and skip on our merry ways. But there is more to be said about the gospel than we have heard. We have yet to consider its implications on a variety of levels. To be sure, our standing in the gospel is grand, but how should the elect of God live in light of this inheritance? As we come to the end of this month and to the end of this section of our study, we would do well to look ahead briefly to where the apostle takes us from here—themes we will explore in more detail in the remaining months of this year.
First, we find that Paul immediately grieves for those who remain outside of God’s salvation in Christ. Apparently there is more to election than rejoicing over the fact that we are blessed. The lost condition of his fellow Jews was grievous to Paul (Rom 9:1; 10:1), and every true Christian should mirror this Biblical reaction. In fact, if one glibly reasons, “Well, I guess those people are just not part of God’s elect,” that could indicate that he has not yet comprehended the nature of divine election. The true partaker of grace is deeply grieved when considering those living apart from God’s saving grace. He weeps for them. He is rightly distraught. And so, he is compelled to share the gospel with others so they, too, might believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths the Lord Jesus (Rom. 10:9–10).
Second, there is opportunity to reflect further on the sovereignty of God. In the first eight chapters, the elements of God’s salvation have been laid out for us. But in the chapters to come, we will gain further insight into the underpinnings of salvation, which rests entirely on the sacred good pleasure of God Himself.
Third, we will be reminded mat there is a cosmic dimension to God’s salvation. Too often we can think of Christianity in terms of individual redemption. Certainly, God saves individuals, but His plan of salvation encompasses families, communities, societies, and the nations of the earth. God has a global plan, as Paul will show us clearly in chapters 9 through 11 of this epistle.
And, finally, there are the many practical questions of how this great salvation is worked out in the lives of God’s people in the nitty-gritty of life. How do we live with other believers who have personal convictions on specific matters that differ from our own? How do we live in relation to the authority of the state that often promotes humanistic values and can even be used to persecute the people of God? To those of us who would like to wax eloquent about salvation in Christ and leave it there, the latter chapters of this book remind us that salvation is put on display amid the sweat and toil of daily stresses and strains.
The orchestra has played well. The thematic movements of the first eight chapters have been clear, powerful, and even delightful. But there is only time for a brief intermission, for very soon the instruments will retune and we will find there is more to be said about the unfolding implications of the gospel. There always is.