Transcription
[Music]
Well, this morning, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 8. We're continuing our series on the Gospel according to Paul, the book of Romans. The title of the message is "Salvation from Beginning to End." Salvation from Beginning to End.
As we come to Romans chapter 8 and verses 28 through 30, we come to what is arguably one of the most profound, one of the most comforting, one of the most mind-boggling, one of the most awe-inspiring portions of Scripture found anywhere in the Bible. These verses tell us truth, comforting truth. They tell us confounding truth. They tell us, in general, about God's purpose for our lives and the steps that He is taking to fulfill His purpose in our lives.
Before you and I were born, before this world was created, before time began, God was at work in ways that directly affect your life and my life. He was at work when time began. He was at work on the cross with Jesus, relative to you. The minute you were born, He was at work. And there's never been one moment, one second, where God has not been at work in your life and in my life. And this verse talks about His work.
If you're a believer and you're saved today, God is at work in your life. We just say this: If your life seems out of control, God doesn't work in your life. If your life seems under control, God is at work in your life. Isn't that wonderful to know?
Let's read these verses beginning Romans chapter 8, verse 28, one of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible. "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called, and those whom He called, He also justified, and those whom He justified, He also glorified."
Now, as we look at these verses, what I'd like to do before we jump in, I would like to make a couple of observations, comments on the text. First of all, Romans chapter 8 and verse 28 is the premise. And so, this is the premise right here. And then verses 29 and 30 are the explanation of what we read in verse 28. What happens oftentimes is people separate verse 28 almost as they stand alone verse. And while it is true as a standalone verse, the commentary on it, the Holy Spirit's reason for giving us this, is explained here, and it's absolutely majestic.
Let me say as well that Romans chapter 8 in verses 29 through 30, those He foreknew down to He also glorified, take us, in the words of Buzz Lightyear, to infinity and beyond, but without a jetpack, and it's not make-believe.
As we think about God's working, as we think about the plans, the decisions, the predetermination of an eternal, infinite God, it's critical at the outset that we kind of get the right mindset for engaging this passage. The right mindset is simply this: We have to begin with a recognition of the limits of our own human understanding. There are some things this side of heaven you and I cannot understand. We cannot comprehend. Therefore, we have to approach the text with humility. We have to approach the text with a determination not to go beyond what is written. We have to approach the text with a desire not to try to harmonize things that we might understand the mind of God, but rather a determination to say, "I will not go beyond what is written." What is written, I will do my best to understand, but I recognize even in seeking to understand it, there is much that I will not be able to comprehend this side of heaven.
Because, honestly, when we start to look at concepts like God's foreknowledge, when we start to talk about things like the whole matter of predestination, we have to be careful. For us to question the wisdom of God, the justice of God, the love of God, the predetermined actions of God, for us to question those is sinful. The only thing in question, really, when you come to this text, is our inability, humanly speaking, to grasp the greatness of our God, the majesty of His plan. And so, we must come to a place where, by faith, we accept what we do not understand.
Can I just say to you that where human understanding ends, only faith will give us peace? You know, there's a peace that surpasses understanding. Paul talks about it in Philippians chapter 4. It's there's a peace that's better than understanding. Some people like, "Well, no, if I could understand it, I'd have peace." No, you wouldn't. There's a peace that passes understanding. There's a peace that's better than understanding. And there's a peace that accepts by faith what I do not understand. So, when I get to heaven, I know I will understand because I will fully know, even as I am fully known. And I will look at God and His plan in absolute awe, and for all eternity, marvel at the majesty and the wisdom and the glory and the love of a God who saved me.
Now, as we look at these verses with that kind of as a backdrop, I want us to notice three areas. First of all, God's promise to those who are saved. God's promise to those who are saved. Romans chapter 8, verse 28. "And we know." And we know. Remember, the immediate context in Romans chapter 8 is suffering. Creation groans. We ourselves groan. We are waiting for that day that we will be redeemed, when we'll be in heaven with the Lord. And the greater context, of course, of Romans 8 is the context of salvation, our great salvation. Romans 8 beginning with that tremendous verse, verse 1: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus."
So, in light of the fact that we are saved, in light of the fact that we have this great salvation, in light of the fact that the Holy Spirit is working in us, there are some things that we know are true for Christians. There are things that we know as God's people are true. And this is why Bible study is so important, because you can't know what you don't know. You can't know what you've not read. You can't know what you have not studied. You can't know what you have not heard. So, it's absolutely critical for us to know, to read the Word of God, to understand the Word of God.
If you're new this morning, one of the reasons why we essentially go verse by verse is because what I think about the week's events is not nearly as important or helpful for you as what you and I need to know about the Word of God. So, we teach the Word of God line upon line, precept upon precept, that you and I might know the glorious, amazing truth that's in God's Word, that's for us, that will strengthen us, that will activate faith in us, that will help us to live lives that honor Him and know the grace of His power upon our lives.
We know there are some things. We know four things I want you to see that we know from Romans 8 and verse 28. First of all, we know that for those who love God. For those who love God. So, this is not a general promise. This is not a promise you just say is true in general. No, it's a promise that is true for believers. You see, some people will quote Romans 8:28 and they'll quote it generically as a promise, sort of like, "Everything will sort itself out. You know, all things work together for the good. Everything's gonna just kind of sort itself out. You know, it's bad now, but it's gonna work out for the good." And people will say that. But this is very specific. Whatever it says is true for people who love God. God has given us a promise.
Second, we know that God is working in every circumstance of our life. And we know that for those who love God, all things. How many things? All things. All things. There's no limit on this. All the good things, all the bad things, all the disappointing things, all the difficult things, all the frustrating things, all the tragic things, all the sad things, all the stressful things, all the happy things, all the minor things, all the major things. You get the idea, right? All things. All things.
Look at it. Romans 8 and verse 28. "We know that for those that love God, all things work together." Very interesting word in in the original. It's *synergos* in the Greek. We get our word "synergy" from it. What is synergy? Synergy, according to dictionary, is this: it's an interaction of elements which, when combined, the sum is greater than the parts. What's happening? We know that for those who love God, all the things have a synergy to our life. All of the elements of your life, when combined, are under the care of God, under the working of God. God is working that everything has a sum that's greater than its parts. All things work together. God is taking all the things in our lives, the positive things and the negative things, the hard things and the easy things, the happy things and the sad things, and He's taking the sum of all of those things, and it's greater than the things themselves because He's the one working in it.
Number three, we know all things God works together for good. All things God works together for good. Look at this. "And we know that those who love God, all things," good, bad, the things that delight us, the things that disappoint us, "work together for good." They work together for a *agathos*. And the idea there's a number of words that could have been used in the original for "good," but Paul uses a word that is the idea of a moral excellence, a greater than just that looks good, but it is truly good. Slice it any way you want, ultimately it is good. And listen, we know this. I quote this verse all the time. Psalm 119, the Bible says this, speaking of God: "You are good, and You what? Do good." You are good, and You do good. God is right now, whatever's going on in your life, this is this is incredibly encouraging. You might have lost your job this week. That doesn't seem good. I'm not saying that's good. I'm saying God is taking that, along with everything else in your life, and providentially, He is synergistically working to produce good out of that.
When we say He works all things for the good, what we're talking about here is not that the bad things that happen to you are good. It's not saying that. It doesn't mean God thinks the evil things that happen to you are good for you. Some people have that idea. "Well, it must be good for me." Well, no. Satan intended it for evil. In the words of the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis, you know, "You meant it for evil; God meant it for good." God is able to work it for good. It means God is taking everything and bringing good out of it. This is this is a wonderful comfort because some things in life are purely tragic. Some things in life, there is absolutely very little that we could say is redemptive in it in and of itself. But our God is so great that our God is able to take the biggest disappointment, the greatest hurt, the most tragic circumstance, and God is able providentially, by His power, intersecting the sorrows and the hardship and the difficulty of our life, God is able to take and to take what was a loss and turn it into a win. He's able to take what was a tragedy and turn it into a triumph. Our God is able to do that by His power. And there is that sense where you and I can say, when we're encountering great difficulties, we can say, "I know that somehow, in this, God is going to take this. God didn't send it; He's gonna take it. He's gonna work it. He's gonna shape it. He's gonna infuse it with Himself, with His plan, with His purpose, in a way that works out for my good and His glory."
Number four, God works good for those who are called according to His purpose. Would you notice the verse starts, "those we know that for those who love God," and it ends with "those called according to His purpose." In other words, it's bracketed by what we could call a definition of a Christian. This is clearly a verse directed toward Christians. God works good for those who are called according to His purpose. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. I mean, God is working for the good to those who love Him. They are also the ones who have been called according to His purpose. This is His promise. That God has a purpose. That's a wonderful thing, because sometimes life, from a human vantage point, can seem like just a random mess. You can wonder, "Is what, how could there be a purpose in this?" And yet, the messiness of a sinful world and the effect of sin should not keep us from understanding that even in that, God is able to bring about His purpose. He has a purpose. Your life has divine purpose. God created you in Christ Jesus to do good works, which He ordained in advance for you to do. Your life has eternal purpose. Your life has eternal scope. And nothing, nothing, and this is why when you get to the end of the book of Romans, "for I'm persuaded that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ," neither, you know, and He starts naming all these things we're going to look at. He's saying, "Listen, God has a purpose for your life, and nothing can keep you from that purpose being fulfilled."
Number two, it's a promise for those who are saved, and God has a purpose in salvation. Look at verse 29: "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined." Here's the purpose: "to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that we might be the firstborn among many brothers." Two phrases there. First of all, "to be conformed to the image of His Son." The purpose of our salvation is not just so we can escape hell. That's certainly a benefit of salvation, but that's not the purpose of salvation. And the purpose of salvation is not just so you can go to heaven. That is a benefit of salvation, but that is not the purpose of salvation. The purpose of salvation is that we would be conformed to the image of His Son. The purpose why, why you and I are saved, is that you and I might be like Jesus. That's why He saves us. You say, "Well, I thought I got saved so He could forgive my sin." Oh, that's certainly a wonderful benefit of salvation, but that's not the purpose of salvation. You say, "Well, I thought I thought I got saved so I could be righteous before God." Certainly a wonderful, wonderful benefit of salvation, but it is not the purpose of salvation. You say, "Well, I thought it was so that I could I can have this sense of God's love and God's peace." Great benefit, not the purpose. Those are all aspects of salvation, but the purpose is for you and I to be like Jesus.
In fact, we get our word "icon" from the Greek word translated as "image" right there. "To be conformed to the image." That what is an icon? It's like a statue, it's like a replica. The purpose is that you and I would be spiritually like Jesus. Now, obviously, we're never going to be God, but we will be as much like Him as is possible for redeemed humanity. We're going to be like Him. That's the promise of Scripture.
Notice as well that's part of it: "to be conformed to the image of His Son." Why? "In order that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." Firstborn protocols. We get our word "prototype." A prototype. When they show the prototypes of cars yet to come out, you know, you see some of the cars and they're like, "Looks so cool," and you're like, "Oh, dude, that is nice. That is looking so good." I like that. It brings back memories of when Ford Broncos were roaming the earth, the face of the earth. They're all now in junkyards. But it's a prototype. This shows the prototype. This is what it's going to look like. This is what it's going to be like. Prototype.
When we're talking about "firstborn," we're not talking about origin. We're not talking about creation. We're not talking about birth. We're talking about preeminence. See, we're talking about rank. That He might be the first, that He might be the premier one, that He might be the preeminent one. Here's what it's saying: In eternity, Jesus will be the most glorious one among many glorious ones. Who are that many glorious ones? You and me. I mean, imagine that. What He's saying is that you and I would be like Him. We'd be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the most glorious one among many glorious ones. Is the idea there. And we'll be like Him, and we will worship Him, and we'll be so much like Him that we'll rule and reign with Him. I mean, come on, that's gonna be amazing. They want beyond what you and I can fathom. And it's a mystery how that works. It's a mystery what we will do. It's a mystery to us how His likeness, or our likeness to Him, will be expressed in us for eternity. And only in heaven will we know. But that's the purpose of saving us, that you and I might be like Jesus, and that for all eternity, we might be with Him. He'll be the most glorious among glorious ones, and that's you and me. We'll be like Him. We'll see Him as He is. We will rule and reign with Him. We will inherit with Him. We will be children of God with Him. We will be brothers and sisters to Jesus. Amazing.
Now, the third thing I want to move along quickly here to get to this third one, so we have time for this. God's process of salvation. So, He made a promise. He's taking everything, working for the good. He's got a purpose in saving us, that we'd be like Jesus, and that for all eternity, He would be the most glorious among many. You and I. How's God gonna do it? That's the question. What, how does salvation work? Because a lot of times, sadly, we've talked before, we have a very egocentric understanding of salvation. We have a tendency to see salvation is beginning with us. "Well, you know, I was my life was a mess, and somebody invited me to church, and I came in, and I thought, 'Hey, that's really weird.' But then, as I sat there, I thought, 'You know, wow, something's happening in my heart.' And then the preacher gave an invitation, and I felt like, 'Well, you know, I guess, yeah, I guess I need to go.' And then I get down there, and all of a sudden, I'm feeling the power of God, and my life's transformed." And we have a tendency, which totally denies the power, the origin, the purpose, the plan of God. And when we really understand what God has done, what happens is it changes how we view our walk with God, and how we view His work in us, and how we view circumstances that happen around us.
Let's look at it. Romans chapter 8, verse 29. "For those whom He foreknew." God's process of salvation has five phases. Those whom He foreknew, phase number one. He also predestined, phase number two. To be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that they might be the firstborn among many beloved brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called, that's stage three. And those whom He called, He also justified, that's stage four. And those whom He justified, He also glorified, that's stage five.
I want to take a moment, and I hope you write this down, because this will help you to understand God's working and His commitment to you and His commitment. When we read a verse like Philippians chapter 1 in verse 6, "I'm convinced of this, that He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it." This tells us how He goes about that. This tells us why Paul can say this. This tells us how you and I can understand God's working in us.
Stage number one: Foreknowledge. "For those whom He foreknew." Now, let me just say this, because a lot of times, having people have a, you know, as people are reading this, they have a tendency to view foreknowledge as foresight. You know, "Foreknowledge as, well, you know, God knows everything, so God knows everything, so that's just that's just simply saying God knew because He knows everything. He knew everybody was going to get saved, and all that." That's not what that's saying. So, we could say this, that it is true, God knows everything. So, that is correct. I mean, God, here's the way to understand God. God is without beginning. He's without end. Just think about that long enough, and you'll be under your chair mumbling the Greek alphabet. I mean, how do you comprehend? How do you comprehend a being without beginning and without end? That's mind-boggling. Because God is without beginning and without end, God exists outside of time. Time only applies to created things. God created everything that is. Therefore, God sees His creation on a time continuum, but He Himself exists outside of it. In fact, a part of God's nature, a part of who He is, is He is an eternal God. His eternality is expressed in one of His names. What is one of His names? "I AM." He is the eternal, ever-present God. "I AM." Not "I was not," "I will be." "I AM." He is at the start of creation. I AM. At the end of creation. I AM. He is eternally present. He is at the beginning and the end simultaneously because He exists outside of it. Because He is an eternal God, He is an ever-present God. So, whatever this is saying, we already know He knows everything, but that's not what this is saying. We're not talking about foresight.
The when you look at the word "foreknew" in the Hebrew way of thinking, and Paul was a Hebrew, and Paul was trained as a Hebrew, in his in his thinking theologically, the word "know" is more than know about or aware of a certain fact. But the word "know" implies not only a knowledge of, but a relationship with that involves care and nurture. For example, "Cain knew his wife, and they produced offspring." The idea is he had a relationship with his wife. You see that throughout the Scripture that, you know, it says, "Joseph did not know Mary until the child was born." Did he know Mary? Yes, he knew Mary. He didn't though engage in the most intimate of human relationships. I mean, you can see this idea of "foreknew" in this sense. In Amos chapter 3 and verse 2, God speaking to the nation of Israel: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth." Is this God saying He didn't know any other nation? No. God is saying, "I knew about all the other nations, but I only had relationship with one nation. I only made a covenant with one nation. There is only one nation that I determined that I would not only have relationship with, but I would also exercise care, protection, and nurture of." Do you follow me? That's the idea of what "knowledge" is. It involves care. It involves affection. You could think of it this way: "foreknowledge," practically speaking, could be called "forelove." We're talking about a love relationship. You could read Romans chapter 8 and verse 29 as saying this: "For those whom He foreloved." You get an idea of it in Deuteronomy chapter 7, as Moses is telling that, "You love Israel. Listen, you're going into the land. You're going to take over the land. There are bigger nations, stronger nations, and God is going to really bless you when you get in the land. But remember something: 'It was not because you were more in number than any of the other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you.' His love leads to His choice." Foreloved, predestination flows out of divine love. Okay.
Let me take it in the New Testament. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4: "In love He predestined us for adoption." In love, He, you could say, He foreloved. He foreknew, and He predestined us for adoption in the past, in eternity, before time. Again, God loved you. You say, "Well, I wasn't around." In the heart, in the mind, in a way that defies our understanding. Don't don't go around saying, "Well, you know, I must have existed before the creation of the world." No, you were created by God at the moment of your conception. But He knew about you. He loved you. He had a plan for you. He had a purpose for you. And so, He willed your creation. He willed then to work your salvation that you might fulfill His purpose. He foreloved you. And if God loved you in eternity past, before time began, are you telling me He's going to give up on you now? Impossible. He loved you. Let's just say, figuratively speaking, for a quintillion number of years. Are you telling me that in your 80 or 90 years, He's going to stop loving you? Impossible, right?
Now, let me just add this. Biblically speaking, and this is something, so listen really closely to this. Biblically speaking, foreknowledge and predestination should only be understood positively. You say, "What do you mean?" You cannot take the positive truth that God loved and chose people who became Christians and extrapolate it to mean, "Well, God did not love and therefore did not choose people who did not become Christians." You know, think about that a long time, and you'll be like, "What?" Here's the problem. A lot of people run into when they when they think of foreloved, foreknowledge, and they think of predestination, then they begin to say, "Well, you know, I just don't think that's very fair." And "I don't understand how a God of love could love some in eternity past and not love others." That's not what we're reading. And we have to, what we have to do is, we have to be very, very careful that we understand what the Bible says, that we do not go beyond what is written.
And so, let me say this. In your life groups here, what, here's where people get off-track. People say, "Well, you know, I've always thought of it as, well, you know..." "Be quiet. We don't want to know what you thought of." Because because if what you thought of is not specific to it, the Bible's teaching, your theory does us no good. It leads us into error. Because invariably, when we try, for the sake of a comfortable human intellectual experience, to rationalize the truth of God's Word and the doctrines of God's Word, to try to get it down to our level where we can understand, people are going to go beyond what is written. People are going to make scripture say things that are not there, and they're going to draw conclusions that are not right, which is sinful and unhelpful to the discussion. You say, "Well, I just don't understand." Welcome to the club. What we have to do is we have to say, "What does scripture say? What does scripture not say?" And rest in that. Because what happens is, every great theological truth is built on this paradox of seeming contradiction to our human mind, but in the mind of God, is not only not contradictory, but is complimentary and fulfills God's will and good pleasure. And in eternity, will be proof of the matchless nature of His wisdom. For example, who wrote the Bible? Did Paul write Romans, or did the Holy Spirit? It was both. Was Jesus 100% God or 100% man? He was both. Well, how can you have somebody that's 200%? That seems very confident. No, no, He was 100% both. I don't understand it, but it's true. Did I choose God, or did He choose me? Both. I don't know. It works together in the mind of God. It is not contradictory at all.
Here's what we do know about foreknowledge and predestination: that it only applies to the people who are His children. That the Bible does not draw the conclusion that He did not love and therefore predetermined people for hell. People who reject God and His invitation to salvation do not do so because of His lack of love for them or because of His predetermined decision. Their rejection, according to the Word of God, is the result of their own decision, their own life choices, and not God's predetermined decision. You say, "Well, how can one be true and not the other?" Listen, the Bible leaves that as a mystery. We know this. When you look at 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 10: "They perish because they refuse to love the truth, not because God didn't love them, not because God made a determination." They perish because they refuse to love the truth. And so, "God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, so that all will be condemned." Listen, this is a shocking verse. This is a frightening verse if you're not a Christian. A willful acceptance of the truth leads to a delusional view of the truth. This is, I mean, people say, "Well, you know, I don't know. I'll just, I know I don't know what I think of that." Well, you know what you need to? You need to decide: Is the Bible true? Is the Bible not? If the Bible is true, I need to act on the truth of it, lest I find myself given over to a powerful delusion. "They will believe the lies so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." That is the reason for people's damnation. I said, "You know what? I don't think God. I think God is an egomaniac. And I think God is this, and I think God is that. And I don't like that God does that. And I don't think God does that." And essentially, what they do is they create a God of their own thinking, which is not a God of all, which is not a God that can save them, which is not a God who governs eternity. And they go to hell because of that.
It takes humility to say, "You know what? I believe there's a source of information and knowledge greater than myself, and that is the Word of God." It takes humility to say, "There's no one righteous, not even one." That includes me. It takes humility to say, "You know what? My best works, my good works, my good intentions are not enough to get me to heaven. I need a Savior. I need what Jesus did for me because I could never do it for myself." That takes humility. It takes humility to lift your hand in the air and say, "You know what? I need to come to Christ. I need to rededicate my life." It takes humility to get in that tank and to get baptized and to say, "You know what? I was a sinner, but now I am saved, and this is a picture of what Jesus has done for me." It takes humility to every day pray and say, "Oh God, I'm not smart enough, I'm not strong enough, I'm not wise enough, but God, I come to You in prayer. I seek You." It takes humility to say, "Oh God, I've got to read Your Word because I've got to know what You think, because I know my thinking is not enough." It takes humility to walk with God from start to finish.
Number two, second stage: Predestined. "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined." He predestined them. It means He decided beforehand. In eternity past, God decided some things. He predestined. He decided on your birth. He decided on the time in which you lived. He decided on the country in which you were born. He decided. He is a determiner of things. The same word appears, if you want context biblically, Acts chapter 4: "For truly in the city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined, predetermined to occur." So, the God who foreloved us and predestined, or predetermined, our salvation. You say, "Well, if God's predetermined it, then then why do we have any part in doing? I mean, He already decided. What at what part do I have in doing it?" Well, we're going to see that that's the next stage. But He predetermined that you were going to be created in love. He predetermined. Look at it. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4: "In love He predestined us for adoption." He predetermined before, hey, we all clapped and cheered and and sobbed and said, "Wow!" That the God of the universe, in eternity, before time began, said, "I want her, and I want him, and I'll take her in him." Everybody. God said, "He chose you." Can you imagine what, what is that? That's God predetermined. That's God choosing. That's God predestining, saying, "I want to adopt you because I believe they're going to bring honor to me. They're who I want to give my estate to. They're who I want to entrust for all eternity. They're who I need to help me govern the new heaven and the new earth." I mean, this is unbelievable.
Listen to this. Foreknowledge and predetermination is all over Scripture. In Revelation chapter 13, this is talking about, "And the people who belong to the world worship the beast" (that's Antichrist). "They are the ones whose names were not written in the book of life before the world was made." Name wasn't written there. Now, you look at it again in chapter 17, verse 8: "And the people who belong to this world, those whose names were not written in the book of life before the world was made." So, you have throughout scripture, evidences, indications of God's predetermined will, again, exercised toward those who loved Him. But predetermination has nothing to do with those who don't love Him. People who don't love Him determine for themselves. It's the teaching of Scripture. You have to be careful. You separate the two. Because there's some here today, and you're saying, "Well, I just don't think that's very fair." I mean, listen, where are you at? Because here's here's the bottom line: You're not responsible for anybody's salvation but who's? Yours. I'm not responsible. I love Debbie with all of my heart. I'm not responsible for her salvation. I love my kids. I love my grandkids. I'm not responsible for their salvation. You say, "Well, don't you have a responsibility to look?" Yes, but I can't save them. The only person whose salvation I'm responsible for is mine. The only person, the only I can call on God for me, for my salvation. Only you can call on God for you for your salvation. And so, again, the the predetermined course of God in actions of God, damn not from His lack of love relative to the unsaved, but to their determined rejection of His truth and of Him as Savior. They determined not to receive Him as Savior. They're the ones who determine their destiny, not Him. And this is the teaching of Scripture. And that leaves a mystery there that we say, "I don't, I don't fully understand that, but I rest in Him."
Number three, third stage: Calling. "For those whom He foreknew" or foreloved, "He also predestined." And "those whom He predestined, He also called." This is where God's eternal plan intersects with our life in time. In eternity, before time began, God loved you. God predestined your adoption as His child. And now, in time, He calls you. You say, "What do you mean?" The call goes out. He quickens your heart. He speaks to your heart. He softens your heart. He convicts your heart. He makes you aware of your sin, of your need for a Savior, and He draws you to Himself. Again, you see this all over scripture. 2nd Timothy says this: "He saved us and called us to be His own people, not because of what we have done, but because of His own purpose and grace." Do you see that? It's not like it's not like God, you know, looked at you living your life and said, "You know, they're close, but not quite. I'm gonna call them." No. "He saved and called us to be His own people, not because of what we've done." It's all a matter of grace. "He gave us," watch this, "this grace by means of Christ Jesus." When? Before the beginning of time. Everything goes back into eternity past. Everything goes back to a time and a place we weren't out there, and we cannot comprehend. We cannot comprehend eternity before time began. We can't fathom it. What did God do? Well, what did the Father and the Son do? If God is fully self-sufficient, why would God create anybody? Why would God even mess with people like us? I don't know. That doesn't make any sense to me. I rest in the fact that He did, and I can't wait to see what He's going to do. And I'm anxious for that day when I will know fully, even as I'm fully known. And I can promise you this, that that knowledge is not going to prompt up, "Okay, now I did it." But no, for the rest of eternity, I'll be saying, "Oh, wow. Can you believe this?" After a hundred thousand years of comprehending, of grasping, of lightbulb moments, I'll say, "Are you kidding me? Look what He did." His calling. First or 2nd Thessalonians says this: "As for us, we can't help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters, loved by the Lord. We're always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation, a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth." He called you to salvation when we told you the good news. How does the calling come? Right now, you must be born again. Jesus said that. Some of you right now, God is calling you to salvation. He brought you here. You're here on a day that would have felt really good to sleep in, honestly. It's cloudy, nice temperature, great day to sleep in. Your safe. What are you doing in church? I can tell you what you're doing in church. He called you. He called you. He's orchestrating. Oh, His orchestration didn't start this morning. And it didn't start last week. And it didn't start a month ago when you started feeling like, "Kind of, kind of bad. I've got to get my life together. I really need God." No. His orchestration started before you were born. It started before time began. It started before the words, "In the beginning, God." It started back in eternity past when God said, "You know what? I'm gonna pick him. I'm gonna pick her." And now He is calling you. It's the third stage of His redemptive plan for you. Right?
Number four, I am moving quick here. Justified. "For those whom He foreknew, He predestined, He called, and those whom He called, He also justified." We've looked at this so thoroughly, we're not going to take a lot of time. Let me give you the definition of it. Justification. Justification is that moment you and I were saved. Here's what happened. It's the act of God whereby the sinner is given faith to believe. Listen, He puts faith in your heart to believe. He suddenly causes you to say, "You know, I'm gonna believe that. I'm gonna accept that as true." Receives the sinner gets faith to believe, receives forgiveness of all sin, past, present, and future. It's gone as far as the east is from the west. So far has He removed our sin and transgression from us. And as assigned the righteousness of Christ, so that when God looks at you, He sees you as being as righteous as Jesus. Which is why the New Testament calls you a saint. A saint is not a stained-glass person who lived in time past. A saint is somebody who's clothed in the righteousness of God. Henceforth, God looks at you as holy. Henceforth, you can walk with God in relationship because you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. You say, "What happened to my unrighteousness?" Jesus bore on the cross, and God punished Him for that, and covered our sin with His blood. Well, number five. Glorified. "For those whom He foreknew, He predestined, He called, He justified, and those whom He justified, He also glorified." Musicians, you can come. What is it to be glorified? What are we talking about? Well, a part of it is we're talking about that moment when when our mortality takes on immortality. Paul says it happens in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. That the dead in Christ will rise first, and we who are alive and remain afterward will be caught up together with them in the air. But in that moment, we will be transformed. A new body, a glorified body, free from sin, capable of enjoying the glory of God, and in union with God, free from any kind of distraction that this world would have brought. But now we're walking with God in perfect harmony. We've got the mind of Christ. We are in, we are enjoying His beauty, His majesty, His glory, His favor, His blessing, His knowledge, His friendship, His partnership. We're enjoying His inheritance, for we are the children of God. And forever, we will enjoy Him, and He will be near us. That's what it means. Those whom He justified, He also glorified.
Would you notice something? Glorified. Wait a minute. I don't have a glorified body. So why justified, He also glorified? What was come again? How about, "And those whom He justified, He also *will* glorify"? No, because in the mind of God, your glorification is as certain as your justification, as your calling, as your predestination, as your foreknowledge. That God says, "Listen, the one I'm confident of this." Philippians 1:6. Bring it up on the screen. "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." That the one who, in forelove, foreknowledge, predestined, and called, and justified, will bring us to that time when we are glorified. It's awesome, isn't it? You're gonna make it. You're gonna make it.
And we know that for those who love God, Romans chapter 8, verse 28, all things work together for the good, for those who are called according to His purpose. God is working His salvation purpose in your life. Are you telling me that the God who loved you before time began, and chose you to be His adopted child, and worked in your life to call you, and not only called you, but in the midst of your pigpen life of sin, He forgave you, He clothed you with righteousness? Are you telling me He's not gonna see you through to glory and not gonna help you in this life? Now, listen. It's amazing, amazing truth. That's the plan of salvation. And we marvel at it. And in eternity, we will, we will understand more fully and worship more greatly, and forever. You know, do you know what our salvation is? Paul says this in Ephesians, that angels, Peter says angels long to look into them. But forever, when God wants to show His manifest wisdom, if when when the angelic beings say, "What's the greatest example of God's wisdom?" They're gonna point to us and say, "I never, I mean, did you ever see John? I mean, what a loser. But look at him. He's such a winner now." Do you know what I'm saying? The God who chose me and you. You say, "Well, how do I know if He chose me?" Oh, that's a really good question. How do you know if He chose you? "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." That's how you'll know. You call, you come, He'll save you.