The believer’s security is rooted in an unbreakable Golden Chain of Salvation with five links: Foreknowledge – Predestination – Calling – Justification – Glorification.
[powerpress]
The Golden Chain Of Salvation
Romans 8:29-30
Romans 8:18 sums up what we have been studying for the last several sermons. It says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Paul has been talking about present suffering and future glory. He has told us that the creation has been subjected to futility because of man’s sin, and that since that time all of creation and humanity has been subject to corruption and bondage. However, there is coming a day when the sons of God are revealed, and their bodies will be redeemed, and then creation will be set free!
In the meantime, we often struggle in prayer, because we just don’t know exactly what we should be praying about. We don’t know God’s secret will, and so often pray amiss. But God has a solution for that. He has sent His Spirit to dwell within us, and He intercedes for us according to the will of God. If we pray for something outside of God’s will, the Spirit overrules our prayers and prays according to God’s will. Because the Spirit is interceding according to God’s will, we know that all things work together for good.
Last week we looked at the Christian’s greatest promise – Romans 8:28. We saw the Core, Certainty, Cause, Completeness, and Community of this promise. The verse ends by saying that this promise is for those who love God, those who are called according to His purpose.
Now, notice how verse 29 begins. “For those whom He foreknew…” The word “for” tells you that verse 29 is an explanation, or an amplification of verse 28. Paul is helping us to understand God’s purpose. You see, all things don’t work together for good to those who do not love God and are not called according to His purpose. All things work together for their bad. But to the church, all things work together for good. But what does Paul mean when He talks about being called according to His purpose?
That’s what Romans 8:29-30 help us to understand. This passage is describing God’s Invincible Purpose. I chose the word “invincible” carefully. The word means “too powerful to be defeated or overcome.” God’s purpose of salvation is too powerful to be defeated or overcome by anyone!
God’s Invincible Purpose is like a golden chain with five links. This chain is unbreakable. The links are Foreknowledge – Predestination – Calling – Justification – Glorification. This morning we are going to look at those 5 unbreakable links.
-
Foreknowledge
“For those whom He foreknew.”
Who are the ones called according to God’s purpose? They are the ones that God foreknew. In other words, God’s invincible purpose has to do with a very particular group of people. This invincible purpose is not for everyone in the world. It is for those who love God. But why do these people love God? Because they have been called according to His purpose.
How were they included in God’s purpose? God foreknew them.
What does it mean that God foreknew them? The word “foreknew” literally means “to know ahead of time.” But what is it that God knew ahead of time. One school of thought says that God knew what they would do. He looked down the tunnel of time and saw one group of people choosing of their own free will to repent and believe the gospel. Since God knew that would happen, He foreknew them. However, there are some serious problems with that view.
The first problem is that the text does not say “what God foreknew.” It says “those whom God foreknew.” God did not foreknew what people would do. God foreknew certain people.
Secondly, if God were to look down the tunnel of time, He would see that every single person in the world was born into the world spiritually dead, cut off from God, under the dominion of sin and Satan, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures. He wouldn’t see a bunch of free people able to direct their will equally to God or sin. No, they are under the dominion of sin.
Thirdly, only those who are called are justified. We know that a person is justified through faith. Therefore, a person’s faith comes into being through their calling. It does not come into being through their own self-determination or free will. It comes into being because God calls them. But notice that every person that God calls is justified. How can that be? That is true because God’s call is irresistible. God’s call is effectual. It brings to pass what He intends. In other words, God’s call is not a mere invitation. It is a divine summons that always succeeds. That has to be the case, because this text tells us that every person God calls is justified. Therefore our faith in Christ is the effect of God’s call. It is not ultimately brought into being by our will or decision or choice. Yes we believe, but we do so because we are empowered and enabled by God to do so. It is a gift of God. My faith is not something that I do on my own. It is not my contribution to salvation. It is a gift of sovereign grace.
What is the meaning of God’s foreknowledge? Let me read a few different modern translations of this verse:
NLT: “For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son.”
Amplified: “For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”
Good News Translation: “Those whom God had already chosen He also set apart to become like His Son.”
NCV: “God knew them before He made the world, and He chose them to be like His Son.”
We see this usage of “foreknowledge” in Acts 2:23, “This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” Notice that Luke uses two phrases to help us understand what was happening to Jesus. It was according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. In other words, the foreknowledge of God is linked to God’s predetermined plan.
The word “foreknew” is a synonym for “chose.” When it says that God foreknew a group of people, it means that He planned to enter into a saving relationship with them beforehand. Foreknowledge has the same practical meaning as Election.
What does the Bible mean when it talks about God knowing?
Genesis 4:2, “Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain.” That’s how the KJV translates it. However, all modern versions say something like, “Now the man had relations with his wife Eve.” The translators understand that “to know” in Scripture often means much more than just understanding some facts. It has to do with entering into an intimate relationship with someone.
Amos 3:2, “You only have I known among all the families of the earth.” Virtually all the modern translations have substituted “chosen” for “known.” To know someone in Scripture language is to choose to enter into an intimate relationship with them.
Matthew 7:23, “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”
The Bible scholar, John Stott has written, “Know’ . . . is used in a sense practically synonymous with “love’ . . . “Whom he foreknow’ . . . is therefore virtually equivalent to “whom he foreloved.'” Foreknowledge, is “sovereign , distinguishing love.”
This is what we find in Deuteronomy 7:7, “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you…”
Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”
Therefore, Paul’s meaning is that the ones who are called according to God’s purpose are those that God has chosen ahead of time to set His special saving love upon. For those whom He foreloved, He also predestined…”
When Paul writes about God foreknowing a certain group of people, it is synonymous with saying that God chose ahead of time to save a certain group of people.
-
Predestination
The second link in the Golden Chain of Salvation is Predestination. Once God has chosen to set His saving love on a person from eternity past, He then predestines them.
What does “Predestination” mean? Well, we all know what a destination is, right? It’s where we end up at. We all know what the prefix “pre” means, right. It means beforehand. Predestination is God determining where we end up at beforehand.
What are these people predestined to? The text says, “to be conformed to the image of His Son.” That conforming process begins the moment a person is born again. It continues throughout his entirely earthly life as the Holy Spirit sanctifies Him. It will be completed when He is given a glorified body like Christ’s in the resurrection, and he will be completely conformed to Christ’s holy character. Remember Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good…” What is the good that God is causing all things to work together for? Verse 29 tells us – our being conformed to the image of Christ. Paul does not have primarily in mind earthly riches or good health or comfort. Everything in your life is working together to make you like Jesus!
Why are these people predestined to be like Christ? The answer from the Scripture is “so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.” The word firstborn in Scripture does not mean the first in time, but first in preeminence. The firstborn son in a Jewish family was the preeminent son. He was given a double portion of the family inheritance. Paul understood firstborn in this way in Colossians 1:18, “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” Jesus wasn’t the first person ever to rise from the dead. Elisha raised a boy from the dead in 1 Kings 17:21-22. So, Jesus as the firstborn from the dead can’t mean the first person ever to rise from the dead. It must mean the preeminent one to ever rise from the dead. In other words, all of us are going to be conformed to the image of Christ so that He will be glorified by His church forever. If all of us are being conformed to His image, that must mean that He is the greatest, most beautiful, most glorious of all beings. In other words, God’s predestination had a purpose in reference to us, and to Christ. In reference to us, the purpose was to make us like His Son. In reference to Christ, it was to glorify Him and reveal His preeminence.
Christ is the Prototype. When a company invents a new product, whether it is a machine or toy or tool, it first makes the prototype. When they have got the prototype developed exactly the way they want it, then they start manufacturing them on the assembly line. Every single product that they manufacture looks exactly like the prototype. Christ is the prototype. We are all incomplete products on the assembly line. We are being made into His likeness. Therefore, He is to be glorified, because if we are being made into His image, then He is greater than us!
-
Calling
What is this call? Occasionally in the New Testament, the Bible speaks of a call that is not answered. Jesus said that many are called, but few are chosen. In that passage, Jesus was speaking of a general call, which was an invitation to salvation. Many hear the preacher give an invitation to come to Christ, but they don’t heed the invitation. That is the outward call. However, in the New Testament much more often, the word “call” refers to an inward call. It is not merely an invitation, but a divine summons that actually brings about what it commands. It is a call which cannot be ignored or rejected.
Why do I believe this call is effective? Because Romans 8:30 says that “these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” In other words, every single person God calls is saved and ends up in heaven with Christ forever. No one that is called is lost. The Greek literally reads, “and those whom He predestined these He also called; and those whom He called these He also justified…” In other words, these and these alone. No one is added along the way. No one is lost along the way. In order to end up being glorified, you must be foreknown. Listen to these passages of Scripture in the book of Romans that show the almighty power of God’s invincible call:
Romans 4:17, “…even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”
Romans 8:28, “to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”
Romans 9:11, “for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Romans 9:22-25, “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ and her who was not beloved, ‘Beloved.”
-
Justification
What is the meaning of Justification? I hope everyone understands what it means to be justified by now. Paul has taken several chapters to expound the doctrine of justification by faith in this book. Every person that God calls is justified. That is, they are pronounced righteous by the Judge of all the earth. Christ takes their sin, and they take Christ’s righteousness. And this happens through faith alone. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God.” Brothers and sisters, you are right with God the moment you believe in Jesus Christ! There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).
Where does a sinner get saving faith? Well, if a person is justified by faith, and if God must call us before we are justified, then our faith is a result of our calling. Do you see that? Look at the Golden Chain. The very first thing God does is Foreknow us. That is, He sets His special saving love upon us from before the foundation of the world. Then He predestines all those He has set His love upon to become like His Son. Then at the right time, He calls them. That is, He regenerates them. He makes them alive together with Christ. He finds them dead in sin, and imparts to them His own resurrection life. And they are born again! They are new creations in Christ Jesus. Then, having become alive, they believe the gospel and are justified, righteous in God’s sight. Some Christians believe that salvation works like this – God does His part, and we must do our part. God’s part was sending Christ to die for our sins and rise from the dead. Our part is to believe this message. Now, it is true that we must believe this message, but it is not true that we are able to do this on our own. If we are born into this world, by nature, children of wrath, dead in trespasses and sins, under the dominion of sin, in the snare of the devil, being held captive by him to do his will, then we do not possess the ability to come to Christ on our own. That’s why Jesus said, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws Him, and I will raise him up on the last day.” The call of God sets us free and enables us to come to Christ.
-
Glorification
What does Paul mean by “glorified”? Well, let’s look at the context in Romans 8 to find out.
Romans 8:17, “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 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Romans 8:20-21, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
Romans 8:23, “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”
What is this glorification? It is to be perfectly conformed to the image of God’s Son. It includes the redemption of our body. Paul writes in Philippians 3:20-21, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
When Christ raises us up on the last day, grants us our glorified bodies, removes all vestiges of remaining sin, and brings us into His eternal kingdom, then we will be glorified! Then we will shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father!
Why does Paul put it in the past tense? If we haven’t been glorified yet, why does Paul say we have been? Because it is as good as done! This is God’s invincible purpose. It can’t fail. If God has called and justified you, He will glorify you! That’s why I believe that once a person has been born again, He will never lose his salvation. I base it, among other passages, on Romans 8:29-30. I don’t see any other way of interpreting these words.
Conclusion
So, how should we respond to these great glorious truths?
- Believe God. Believe the promise of Romans 8:28! Paul wants us to believe that God is causing all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Therefore, He shows us the massive bedrock that forms the foundation for that promise. It is none other than God’s eternal invincible purpose.
- Glorify God. Give God all the glory for your salvation! If you are justified today, then you were Foreknown, Predestined, and called. You had nothing to do with any of those things. In fact you were foreknown before the foundation of the world. Not every person is foreknown. If they were, they would be predestined, called and justified. But since many people will never be justified, they were not foreknown and predestined. Be thankful. Appreciate the sovereign grace of God in your salvation. Refuse to take any credit for your salvation. You are not saved because you were a little smarter, or made a better decision, or had a softer heart, than the other guy. You were saved because God set His love upon you from eternity past, and then called you to Christ! “Not to us O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory.”
- Rest in God. Yes, God has called us to serve, and labor, and strive, and fight with all our might. But at the end of the day we have to acknowledge that God is ultimately the One who will bring to pass His eternal purposes. Trust Him. Rest in Him. Look to Him. When you are weak, and fail, and sin, look away from yourself to Christ. Jude 24 says, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy!” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
© The Bridge
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Bridge.
Romans 8:30. I was justified in 1972. Is my final destination in heaven (glorified)?
My understanding is that we are glorified when our bodies are raised from the dead and glorified together with Christ, so that would take place at the Second Coming of Christ