The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
— Romans 8:16-17
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
— Romans 8:28-30
The question I have is why Paul writes: "He also glorified" (v.30). They are not yet glorfied, right? (v.17) Then why past tense?
In Romans 8:16-17, it says: that we may... be glorified with Him. For example: I can say:
“If I ride my bike tomorrow, I may be happy.” This is not a gurantee of some past event. The word “
may” is in the passage. In addition, the verse says that those who are glorified are those believers who suffer with Him (Christ). So being glorified is not a past tense use for Romans 8:16-17. For if I am being satisified by eating a good meal, that does not mean I am talking in the past tense (even though the verb is in the past tense). The word “be” or “being” changes the verb to a present tense thing.
In Romans 8:28-30: Paul is writing from an end perspective. He is saying that those believers who end up being justified in the end, they will also be glorified. I believe Paul is referring to a believer not just being justified at one point in their life, but Paul is referring to a believer continually being faithful to the Lord their whole life. Faithful. Think about that word for a moment. For it derives from the word faith. For if we have proper and true faith that God desires, we will be justified in the end when we die. James says we are justified by works and not by faith alone (James 2:24). These works that James mentions is called the “
work of faith” that Paul refers to in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:11. For the “
work of faith” is a part of the faith. Yes, our faith starts off as a belief and trust in Jesus as our Savior, and the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. That is where faith begins. But it is not where faith ends. The journey of faith continues. Faith manifests itself with the “
work of faith” by God working through the believer when they obey God's Word (the Holy Bible). For if we live out our faith by obeying God according to His Word, and we stay faithful unto death, we will be saved. For he that endures to the end shall be saved. This is what Romans 8:28-30 is saying. If we employ the proper faith in this life up until the point we die, we will be justified by the sacrifice of Christ, and His resurrection, and as a result, we will be glorified.
It will then be a done deal.
But it's conditional.
Romans 8:1 says there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
So we cannot walk after the flesh or sin but we must walk after the Spirit in order to not be under the Condemnation.
Romans 8:13 says that if you live after the flesh (sin), you will die, but if you put to death the misdeeds of the body (sin) by the Spirit, you will live (live eternally).
If we live for sin, we will die spiritually. If we put away sin out of our lives by the Spirit, we will live eternally. We will be justified if we stay faithful until death.
Look at the context inside of the passage you quote. It speaks in context of those who are glorified as those who love God (See: verse 28, i.e. Romans 8:28). Jesus says if you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15). So Paul is referring to the believer who loves God by obeying Him and this is the one who will be justified in the end. It's a call to all New Covenant believers to love God and stay faithful to Him. It's a call to all New Covenant believers to stay faithful so that we may be justified, and if we are justified by the Lord in the end, we will be glorified.