A chain of events is experienced by everyone who obeys God's plan of salvation. This chain of events is so important, that Paul in Romans presents it in three different ways. He does this to maximise our understanding of the process in which we receive salvation
Every expert in a given field has a jargon or language of expertise. This technical terminology is essential to describe and discuss the matters with which he or she is concerned. Paul is an expert theologian --one who studies and reasons about God and from the word of God. (The word theologian comes from theos God, and logos word,
Paul describes the chain of great events involved in our salvation in the verses about predestination in Romans 8:29-30. It is difficult to explain these verses because they are technical in their language. We will not tackle them in this particular lesson. [For a full discussion see
Just keep in mind that Romans 8:29-30 describes in theological terms exactly the same thing that Paul expresses in other ways
You may be thinking that "cultural metaphor" doesn't sound any simpler than "theological terminology" but you will find Paul's cultural metaphors
There are certain important events in our lives that most of us experience and remember. Paul says, in effect, "Look, you experience events in your cultural life which you can think of as metaphors or analogies of your spiritual experience in being saved by Jesus Christ. This will help you to understand
Some of the cultural metaphors that Paul uses may not be so easy for us to identify with, because we don't experience them in our culture. But most of us have read enough books, seen enough documentaries, and rubbed shoulders with enough ethnic groups here and overseas, that we can imagine well enough
Circumcision
Paul likens being saved to being circumcised. To us, circumcision might seem cruel. God evidently did not think it cruel for boys. God commanded circumcision for boys, whilst he accepted girls without requiring them to be circumcised and God never approved of female circumcision. To Jewish families a boy's circumcision is a celebrated event. Circumcision for them, is a mark of approval and belonging, a sign of an ancient covenant God made with the Jews' forefathers. Physical circumcision is not a part of the Christian religion, but there is a spiritual circumcision. The heart is circumcised by faith in Christ. Think of faith in spiritual life
Burial
At a burial, there is grief. But in the spiritual burial, the old person we used to be dies and is buried and a new person rises up to walk in newness of life. This spiritual burial is an occasion of joy. Think of baptism as as one's spiritual burial,
Birth
The newness of life Paul speaks of, is one and the same as the new birth of which Jesus spoke. Being saved is like
Liberation
Imagine you were the slave of a wicked master who ill treated you cruelly. One day you were purchased out of that slavery by a new master who treated you like a son or daughter in his household. That is really what Jesus did for us. He purchased us from sin which had us cruelly enslaved. Now we belong to Christ as
Marriage
A widow who has found a new husband, and made a new vow to him. That's a lovely metaphor. We men might find it harder to relate to the idea of being a wife to Jesus, but we are concerned with our commitment and faithfulness to Christ. Are we having a "bit on the side" spiritually, by still lending ourselves to sin? That would be
Divorce
If we stretch Paul's marriage analogy a little to make it relate to our own culture, we might think of ourselves as having been divorced from Satan before being married to Christ. Divorce is common in our culture, and of that we strongly disapprove. But being divorced from Satan is one divorce in which
Adoption
Imagine you were an orphan cooped up in an institution where you were unloved and had no joy. Then one day a wonderful, rich, and kindly man, came and said to you, "I want to be a father to you. Come to my home and be my beloved child." What a great event that would be. Yet that is
Inheritance
Imagine that, being adopted by that wonderful man, you became his heir, and could look forward to inheriting a vast estate. Or imagine that you received a solicitor's letter telling you that you were heir to an estate worth two million dollars. Yet you have an inheritance unimaginably greater than that. This is what
When Paul expresses the chain of great events in theological terms, he is stating the process of salvation from God's eternal perspective. When Paul expresses the chain of great events in cultural metaphors, he is bring it down to a level we can more easily understand and relate to. But Paul goes even further, and expresses the chain of great events in plain language. This expression of God's plan of salvation, we have already learned. It is the outline of six steps which Paul lays down in his
Keep in mind too, that this