Skip to main content

Romans 8-16 For You by Tim Keller





Romans 8-16 For You Edited From the Study by Timothy Keller

This second installment on Romans from the pen of Pastor and Author Timothy J. Keller is a winsome and careful reflection on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.  Adding to his wise comments on Romans 8-16 is an excellent appendix on God’s Sovereignty and Election, which in a few pages covers objections to election but focuses also on the free actions of human beings.  By giving us a short snippet of election from a whole Bible perspective, Keller helps us see this grand doctrine through the story of Scripture. 

In the opening lines of commenting on Romans 8.4, Keller singles out what Christ’s work does for us by writing, “Everything Christ did for us was in order that we might live a holy life” (15).  Therefore, the aim and purpose of Jesus’ entire life, death, and ministry was to push us toward a holy life, one that would live not under the weight of condemnation but under the guidance of the life-giving Holy Spirit.  How does this take place?  In the next few pages Keller bears mentioning that as we set our minds upon the Spirit, we are able fight sin and temptation from a renewed mind, and as we do so this frees us from the feeling that mustering up more courage is the answer.

Taking up the weak and strong believers in Romans 14.1-23 up for discussion, Keller points out the real significance of the debate in the church.   He writes, “The “weak” are any Christians who tend to promote and regard non-essential cultural and ceremonial customs as being critical for Christian maturity and effectiveness.  For example, the older generation in a particular church might feel very superior to the younger folk who like contemporary music in their worship….Thus they have taken the issue of taste, custom, or culture and elevated it to an abiding, trans-cultural mark of spiritual maturity” (149).  Spiritual maturity based upon non-essential customs generally pushes division and dissension in the church and rarely points to the unity that Christ died for among believers.

Lastly, you won’t want to miss the appendix on God’s sovereignty and election.  Rejecting fatalism, the Islam notion on “kismet” and any other philosophy that would deem human actions wholly insignificant, Keller writes, “Our choices have consequences and we are never forced by God to do anything other than what we want.  Yet God works out his will perfectly through our willing actions.  It is a marvel” (201)! This concept of compatibilism is common in the ranks of evangelical authors from D.A. Carson and others.  Keller goes onto to point out a most interesting thing, that, “The doctrine of election is necessary to preserve the doctrine of justification” (209).  In other words, without election we open up ourselves to all kinds of interpretations that find our humility or goodness as a reason for God’s choosing, rather than resting in God’s unmerited free grace in salvation.

This is an essential book in understanding Romans 8-16.  Though not technical or academic, the truth of God’s Word shines through as you read through these pages.


Thanks to the good book company and Cross Focused Reviews for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rise of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman Navigating the culture that we take up residence in, with its laser focus on sexual identity, tolerance, and an individualism that raises its head at every corner, Christians need a robust account of how we got to this point in our Western culture without retreating to our churches nor morphing with the latest trends.   Carl Trueman, professor of religion and theology at Grove City College, brings his keen historical research to bear on this issue in his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.   Part historical survey and philosophical analysis, Dr. Trueman traces the trajectories of key thinkers such as Rousseau, Freud, and Marx, while also incorporating the insights of Charles Taylor and Phillip Rieff to form a cogent argument as to how we got to this point in our history, both in our expressive individualism and sexual freedom outlooks.   The book is surprisingly insightful and yet demands from the reader the pa
Post a Comment
Read more

The Conditioned Mind

The Conditioned Mind: Overcoming the Crippling Effects of Sin and Guilt by Michael J. Mannia Counselor and author Michael J. Mannia knows firsthand how the spiraling of sin and guilt can eat away at life.  His new book, The Conditioned Mind, is a look into how believers can overcome the effects of sin and guilt and live in the freedom that we have in Christ.  Through a careful look into the patterns that we develop and the mindsets that we get ingrained in, Michael is able to offer ways through guilt that bring freedom and healing.  I think this is not only a timely but a book that aims toward bringing real healing to its readers. In the first chapter Michael looks at two needs that we have: our need for love and our need for security.  Love isn’t something optional for the human race, but something it needs at its core.  “Additionally, we need to reciprocate love.  We need to feel loved as much as we need to love others (8).”  Love is a two-way street that inv
Post a Comment
Read more

Passover and Jesus

The Messiah in the Passover , Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser Why should Christians celebrate and remember the Passover?   This is a striking question that needs to be understood as well as the historical and theological context of the Passover.   However obscure we sometimes view the Old Testament, there is some significant reasons why we should reach back and study the Passover.   Mitch Glaser in the Introduction states, “When Christians celebrate the Passover, they grow in their understanding of the Old Testament, affirm the Jewishness of the Gospel, deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and build community with fellow Christians…” (20).   This book is answer to why celebrate the Passover but even more importantly an answer to what the Passover is and what it signifies to us today.   The various contributors of this book, Messiah in the Passover, bring a wealth of ministry experience in relating the Jewishness of both Jesus and the Old Testament to
Post a Comment
Read more