Reading for Today:

• Job 5:1 Chapter 5 1 Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn? –6:30
• Psalms 92:1-7 Chapter 92 1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto Jehovah, And to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High; 2 To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, And thy faithfulness every night, 3 With an instrument of ten strings, and with the psaltery; With a solemn sound upon the harp. 4 For thou, Jehovah, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. 5 How great are thy works, O Jehovah! Thy thoughts are very deep. 6 A brutish man knoweth not; Neither doth a fool understand this: 7 When the wicked spring as the grass, And when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; It is that they shall be destroyed for ever.
• Proverbs 22:16 16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his `gain', `And' he that giveth to the rich, `shall come' only to want.
• Romans 8:22-39 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for `our' adoption, `to wit', the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? 25 But if we hope for that which we see not, `then' do we with patience wait for it. 26 And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for `us' with groanings which cannot be uttered; 27 and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to `the will of' God. 28 And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, `even' to them that are called according to `his' purpose. 29 For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained `to be' conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: 30 and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God `is' for us, who `is' against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth; 34 who is he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Notes:

Job 5:17 happy is the man whom God corrects. Eliphaz put a positive spin on his advice by telling Job that enviable or desirable is the situation of the one God cares enough to chasten. “If only Job admitted his sin, he could be happy again” was the advice.

Job 6:10 the words of the Holy One. Job had not been avoiding the revelation of God that he had received. The commands of the Holy One were precious to him and he had lived by them. This was confusing to him, as he couldn’t find any sinful source for his suffering. He would rejoice in his pain if he knew it would soon lead to death, but he couldn’t see any hope for death or deliverance in himself (vv. 11–13).

Proverbs 22:16 16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his `gain', `And' he that giveth to the rich, `shall come' only to want. These two vices reflect the same selfish attitude: withholding from the poor to keep what one has and giving to the rich to induce them to give one more. Both are unacceptable to God and incur punishment.

Romans 8:35 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? –39 This list of experiences and persons that can’t separate the believer from God’s love in Christ was not just theory to Paul. It was rather a personal testimony from one who had personally survived assaults from these entities and emerged triumphant.

Romans 8:35 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? the love of Christ. Not our love for Christ, but His love for us ( John 13:1 Chapter 13 1 Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus knowing that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto his Father, having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them unto the end. ), specifically here as He demonstrated it in salvation ( 1 John 4:9 9 Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. , 10). tribulation. Here the word probably refers to the kind of adversity common to all men. distress. This refers to being strictly confined in a narrow, difficult place or being helplessly hemmed in by one’s circumstances. persecution. Suffering inflicted on us by men because of our relationship with Christ (Matt. 5:10–12).

DAY 7: Explain the process Paul refers to in Romans 8:28 28 And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, `even' to them that are called according to `his' purpose. –30 and 9:6–29.

With these words, God reveals in human terms His divine role in the process of salvation. Paul’s description offends the human spirit because it minimizes our role. Yet only those who see their own helplessness in the face of sin can come to see how gracious God has been in acting and choosing ahead of time. We never surprise God; He always anticipates us! “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

The term “foreknew” (8:29) does not simply refer to God’s omniscience—that in eternity past He knew who would come to Christ. Rather, it speaks of a predetermined choice by God to set His love on us and establish an intimate relationship. The term “election” (9:11) refers to the same action on God’s part (1 Pet. 1:1, 2, 20). Salvation is not initiated by human choice. Even faith is a gift of God (Rom. 1:16; John 6:37 37 All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. ; Eph. 2:8, 9).

The term “predestined” (8:29) literally means “to mark out, appoint, or determine beforehand.” Those God chooses, He destines for His chosen end—that is, likeness to His Son (Eph. 1:4, 5, 11). The goal of God’s predestined purpose for His own is that they would be made like Jesus Christ.

The reality and security of our standing with God rests ultimately in His character and decision, not ours. Paul summarized his teaching about the believer’s security in Christ with a thundering litany of questions and answers that haunt believers. They reach their peak with “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (8:35). Paul’s answer is an almost poetic expression of praise for God’s grace in bringing salvation to completion for all who are chosen and believe—it is a hymn of security.

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

• Download our app The Study Bible!
• John MacArthur’s complete sermon archive
• The MacArthur Study Bible
• The complete MacArthur New Testament Commentary series