Romans: WEEKEND RECHARGE!

October 11, 2025 

Monday, October 6—Romans 8:18-25
Tuesday, October 7—Romans 8:26-30
Wednesday, October 8—Romans 8:31-39
Thursday, October 9—Romans 9:1-13
Friday, October 10—Romans 9:14-29

THIS WEEK’S DAILY DEVO OVERVIEW: ROMANS 8:18—9:29

Romans 8:18-25: Identity through Suffering

• Pain shapes and reorients our hearts toward eternity (Rom. 8:18).
• All creation longs for redemption, and so do we. We groan inwardly, not because we lack hope, but because we eagerly await what is to come (Rom. 8:19-23).
• Hope is not just wishful thinking, but an inner sense of certainty about what is to come. For now, we patiently endure with our eyes fixed on eternity (Rom. 8:24-25).

Romans 8:26-30: Sovereignly Secured Identity

• The Spirit intercedes for us at a deeper level, aligning our needs with God’s will and advocating perfectly on our behalf (Rom. 8:26-27).
• God never wastes our time. Even pain fits into his perfect plan for us (Rom. 8:28).
• God’s unbroken, sovereign plan of salvation reaches back to eternity past and stretches into eternity future for every believer (Rom. 8:29-30). 

Romans 8:31-39: Unshakable

• God is on our side. He is active in every part of our lives, including suffering (Rom. 8:31-32).
• God declares us righteous. Jesus continues to advocate for us. “The courtroom is closed—grace has spoken” (Rom. 8:33-34).
• Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:35-39). 

Romans 9:1-13: Sovereignty and Identity

• Paul grieved for those who did not come to Jesus (Rom. 9:1-3).
• Not every Jew by birth experienced spiritual rebirth even though they had spiritual privileges (Rom. 9:4-5).
• God’s promises have not failed. The faithful in Israel are defined not by ethnicity but by God’s sovereign calling. For Jew and Gentile, our identity as God’s children is rooted in his sovereign grace, not in human merit or effort (Rom. 9:6-13). 

Romans 9:14-29: Mercy and Mystery

• God’s mercy is not earned; it is sovereignly and freely given (Rom. 9:14-16).
• Pharaoh’s decisions and actions were sovereignly used by God to reveal his power and spread his name (Rom. 9:17-18).
• God’s sovereignty is not arbitrary. He is patient, just, and purposeful in all he does (Rom. 9:19-29). 

God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility create a theological tension that is hard for us to understand. Here are some resources that might help you gain more clarity:

• J. I. Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God is the best work I’ve read on this topic. It was first published in England in 1961 and was "Americanized” by IVP Books in 2008. As I mentioned in the October 10 teaching, Packer describes this theological tension as an “antinomy”—two truths side by side, appearing irreconcilable, yet both undeniable.  

What should one do, then, with an antinomy? Accept it for what it is, and learn to live with it. Refuse to regard the apparent inconsistency as real; put down the semblance of contradiction to the deficiency of your own understanding; think of the two principles as not rival alternatives but, in some way that at present you do not grasp, complementary to each other.[1]

• Additionally, GotQuestions.org is a valuable resource. Go to the site and search “God’s sovereignty” to find several helpful articles. Here are a few examples:

What does it mean that God is sovereign?
https://www.gotquestions.org/God-is-sovereign.html

How do God’s sovereignty and humanity’s free will work together in salvation?
https://www.gotquestions.org/sovereign-free-will.html

Check out this article as to why God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
https://www.gotquestions.org/God-harden-Pharaoh-heart.html