I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Sinclair Ferguson's The Heart of the Gospel. In this short booklet, Ferguson presents readers with an explanation of Romans 8:32. It's a verse he calls "the heart of the gospel." The verse reads, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"
He first looks at the verse in context, and then expounds the verse with great depth. He breaks the verse down into three sections: the action of the Father, the experience of the Son, and the logic of the gospel. Section by section, I grew in appreciation for this verse. Reading Ferguson's reflections on this verse made me savor it all the more.
How can believers KNOW that God is on their side? that God is for them and not against them? Wouldn't it be great to trust in God's love and faithfulness? The answer to knowing, to being confident in your assurance, is within Romans 8:32, Ferguson explains.
Our ultimate confidence that God is for us cannot be found in our ability to interpret the providences of our own lives or the lives of others. But, according to Romans 8, there is one irrefutable reason for the Christian believer to be utterly convinced that God is for him or her. That reason is that he is the God who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. And if this is the case, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? The cross, the Christ, the gospel, is the reason the Christian believer knows that God is finally and irreversibly for him or for her.This booklet is great at explaining the gospel. Romans 8 is one of the richest chapters in the Bible. And Romans 8:32 is a marvelously rich verse. I loved Ferguson's clear teaching of this chapter and verse.
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
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