A lesson by Pastor John Skaggs

Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

P.O. Box 1447, Claypool, Az. 85532

520-425-8345 or 520-402-9134

Web Page: www.oocities.org/heartland/plains/3364

Email: pastorjohn@gila.net

Date: 04-2-00

Sermon Number: 43

Text: Romans 8:29

Topics addressed in this lesson

(Assurance of Salvation, Foreknowledge, Predestination)

Assurance of final salvation is one of the Christian's greatest treasures. There are, however, many enemies of assurance. Ignorance of truth is one, while circumstances, behaviors, emotions, and feelings are a few of the others. One may act and, therefore, feel like a Christian one day. The next he may behave like an unbeliever and, therefore, doubt the reality of his salvation. This roller coaster kind of existence will continue so long as one’s ASSURANCE OF SALVATION depends on changing circumstances, inconsistent performance, and feelings. If a Christian is to find assurance concerning eternity he must look away from himself to the work of Jesus Christ as well as the promises of God recorded in the Bible.

Every Christian can and ought to share the apostle Paul’s confidence as expressed in Philippians 1:6 NASB. "For I am confident of this very thing, that HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN YOU WILL PERFECT IT UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST JESUS." God saved us in the first place and will bring us to the end and goal of our salvation, which is conformity to the image of Christ and an eternity in heaven with our Lord. Paul was certain of this and we can be as well.

With this great treasure in view Paul wrote Romans chapter eight. In chapter seven he described the Christian’s experience as he struggles against the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the temptations of the devil. The true believer always sees himself in the words of Romans 7:18-25. "For I know that NOTHING GOOD DWELLS IN ME, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. {19} For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. {20} But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. {21} I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. {22} For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, {23} but I see a different law in the members of my body, WAGING WAR AGAINST THE LAW OF MY MIND, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. {24} Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? {25} THANKS BE TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!"

It is through, by, and because, of Christ’s work on our behalf that we can hope to persevere. Jesus Christ is the reason "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". {2} For (because) the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. {3} For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, GOD DID: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, {4} in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in US."

Paul like all Christians struggled with his sinful flesh but in his heart he had an abiding assurance of heaven. That assurance was based on the fact that Christ died in the place of all those given to Him by the Father, fulfilling the requirement of death for them. Paul is saying that in spite of circumstances, feelings, fears, demons, weakness, and failure, every sinner who trusts in Christ is forgiven and has everlasting life. His or her soul is secure for eternity. The whole of this wonderful chapter is written to and for the man or woman in chapter seven.

Our last lesson in Romans had to do with the twenty-eighth verse. The message title was ‘A Soft Pillow for a Tired Head". Indeed the truth conveyed by these few words is exactly that. {28} "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".

How do you identify a person who loves God and is called according to His purpose. He or she is described in Romans seven. They are at war with themselves and in love with the law of God. This person’s mind is fixed on God’s will and purpose as recorded in the Bible. He is filled with great sorrow over his inability to be perfect in his practice. But most of all those who are called according to the will of God are identified by their trust in Christ alone for salvation. It is with this person in mind that God controls and governs the whole of creation. He does so in such a way that even the deeds of evil men and devils must do God's children positive good. The good promised is our present preservation, sanctification, and final salvation. This is indeed a soft pillow for our tired heads.

In the text we deal with today Paul continues to give us reason to be confident of our final salvation. Verse twenty-nine says, {29} "FOR WHOM HE FOREKNEW, HE ALSO PREDESTINED TO BECOME CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, THAT HE MIGHT BE THE FIRST-BORN AMONG MANY BRETHREN".

Paul immediately draws our attention away from ourselves to God and His eternal will for us. The first thing he speaks of is God’s foreknowledge. Christians are people whom God foreknew and, therefore, saved. But what does the word mean.

Many believe this word "foreknew" speaks of nothing more than foresight or omniscience. Which means that God knows everything about all things at all times. Those who believe that foreknowledge is nothing more than foresight say that verse twenty-nine pictures God looking down through time to discover who would trust in His Son by faith and, having identified them, He predestines them to be conformed to the image of His Son. In other words God, by the exercise of His omniscience or foresight discovers the faithful on earth and then makes them His elect people whom He will save.

If this is true then God is the responder instead of the initiator in salvation. If this is true it must be said that He loves us because we first loved Him. There are many problems with such thinking. For instance, if God must first find faith in man through foreknowledge or foresight then salvation is no longer of grace but of works. Grace, by definition, is an unearned blessing from God. It is favor shown without regard to the worth, character, or behavior, of the person receiving grace. But if that grace is bestowed because God sees something of note or worth in us, such as faith, we are no longer speaking of grace but of merit. If we accept this interpretation of verse twenty-nine we must conclude that salvation has nothing to do with the will and purpose of God but with a difference between one man and another. The cause of salvation, from this perspective, is man who wills and runs not God who shows mercy. The truth, however, is opposed to such an ideas. Hear the word of the Lord. (Romans 9:16 NASB) "So then it (everything pertaining to salvation) does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy". (John 1:12-13 NASB) "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, {13} who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God".

If God based the salvation of sinners on the knowledge of who would believe and who would not we must ask the question, "Where do the sons and daughters of Adam obtain their saving faith?" The Bible is clear on this. Men have no faith with which to trust Christ. Unsaved persons are blind and dead to the things of God. They have no inclination to trust in Jesus unless and until God makes them do so. (1 Cor. 2:14) "A natural man (One who is not born again.) does NOT ACCEPT the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and HE CANNOT UNDERSTAND THEM, because they are spiritually appraised". (understood) (2 Cor. 4:4) "The god of this world has BLINDED THE MINDS OF THE UNBELIEVING, THAT THEY MIGHT NOT SEE THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST, who is the image of God". These things are true, therefore, we must conclude that without God’s intervention in the lives of sinners none will ever trust in Christ. Therefore, the idea that God chooses to save individuals based on foreseen faith must be rejected. God gives saving faith to men or none would ever be saved. Listen to the following text.

(John 6:44-45 NASB) "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (Men have no ability or desire to go to Christ until God gives it to them. The one drawn to Christ by God believes in Him and will be raised from the dead to eternal life.) {45} "It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me". That is, everyone to whom God chooses to reveal the truth about sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come, will go to Christ for salvation. But God must first draw him and teach him and give him the gifts of repentance and faith, or he will not and cannot go to Christ.

New life through the blood of Christ does not come from, by, through, or because of "the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). (Eph. 2:8–9) "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that NOT of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" So the term foreknowledge in Romans 8:29 has nothing to do with God searching the future for men and women who will accept Him and His son. What then does it mean?

Foreknow, as used in Romans 8:29, means to "fore-love" and "fore-appoint". It is a word which encompasses the doctrine of eternal election. God foreknew His people in the sense that He set His love upon them in eternity past appointing them to eternal salvation by faith in His Son. Yes, He can see and He does know all things but this is because He has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. Did He know I would become a Christian? Yes, of course, but why did He know? Because He set His love upon me and ordained that I would believe in His Son. Then He sent the Spirit to change me, give me faith, and turn me to Christ. That this is the meaning of the word foreknow can be seen in 1 Peter 1:1-2 NASB.

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen (elected to salvation) {2} according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, (The elect from every nation have been chosen to salvation according to the foreknowledge of God. This foreknowledge is the cause or source of their salvation. How does God bring it to pass?) by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, (The Holy Spirit is sent to bring about the rebirth in the sinner and to impart the gifts of repentance and faith. The result is that the sinner turns to Christ and is saved. Then they spend the rest of their lives following Him as the rest of the text implies.) that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure".

Consider with me the words of Acts 2:23 NASB. ". . . . this Man, (Jesus) delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death". You cannot conclude from this text that God looked down through time, exercising His "foresight", and saw that Christ would be crucified and then determined that it would be so. That is simply absurd. Jesus was delivered up to death by God. He loved His Son in eternity past but foreordained His death for us. It was a predetermined plan. God’s foreknowledge brought it to pass. The same idea is found in our text today.

(Romans 8:29 NASB) "For whom He foreknew, (set His love upon in eternity past) He also predestined (determined or ordained that they should be . . .) conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren." Both our eternal election and conformity to the image and likeness of Jesus were ordained by God before the foundation of the world. He did this not because of something He saw in us but because He has loved us with an everlasting love.

Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary contains this helpful paragraph. "FOREKNOWLEDGE" - the unique knowledge of God that enables Him to know all events, including the free acts of people, before they happen. God's foreknowledge is much more than foresight. God does not know future events and human actions because He foresees them; He knows them BECAUSE HE WILLS THEM TO HAPPEN (Job 14:5; Ps. 139:15-16). Thus God's foreknowledge is an act of His will (Is. 41:4; Rev. 1:8, 17; 21:6). In Romans 8:29 and 11:2, the apostle Paul's use of the word "foreknew" means "chose" or "to set special affection on." The electing love of God, not foresight of human action, is the basis of His predestination and salvation (Rom. 8:29-30, 33)". End Quote

With all this in mind the verse of scripture we deal with today could be paraphrased like this. "Those whom God loved and chose in eternity past He has also predestined to become conformed to the image of His son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren". Now the word "Predestined".

Predestination is a word often used to signify God’s foreordaining of all the events of world history, past, present, and future. However on close inspection one finds that predestination has to do with God’s decision, made in eternity before the world and its inhabitants existed, regarding the final destiny of individual sinners. In fact, the New Testament uses the words, predestination and election, only of God’s choice of particular sinners for salvation and eternal life. Consider Ephesians 1:3-5 NASB. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, {4} just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love {5} He PREDESTINED US TO ADOPTION AS SONS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST TO HIMSELF, ACCORDING TO THE KIND INTENTION OF HIS WILL (Here we see that predestination has to do with the salvation of God’s elect or chosen people.) , . . . (Ephesians 1:9-12 NASB) "He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him {10} with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him {11} also we have obtained an inheritance, having been PREDESTINED according to His purpose who WORKS ALL THINGS AFTER THE COUNSEL OF HIS WILL, {12} TO THE END (the purpose of all this is) THAT WE WHO WERE THE FIRST TO HOPE IN CHRIST SHOULD BE TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY".

Our adoption as sons, as well as the obtaining of our inheritance in Christ, has been brought to pass by the predetermined will and purpose of God. Beyond that we discover something quite remarkable. Everything that has ever been or ever will be has been orchestrated by God to bring our salvation to pass! All of history, to one degree or the other, has had something to do with the salvation of God’s elect people. He works all things after the counsel of His will with our salvation in mind. He has gone to all this trouble, if it can be called that, to bring Himself and His Son glory. This is God’s plan and it cannot fail! For He says in the prophet Isaiah, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'.

The Bible tells us that from before time began, God chose to save believers from their sins in order that they might be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, every true believer will pass through his trials, hardships, doubts, and fears coming at last to a perfect righteousness which is conformity to the image of Christ. 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'. For a believer to lose his salvation would be for God and His Christ to fail. It would be for God, who cannot lie, to break covenant with Himself, the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It would mean that the Holy Spirit who is said to have sealed us until our Lord’s return would have failed. Brothers and sisters these things cannot be so. Therefore, we may have assurance of our final salvation.

Paul has already established that "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (8:1), that God’s Holy Spirit indwells every believer (v. 9), that every believer is an adopted child of God (vv. 14–16), that we are "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (v. 17), and that "the Spirit also helps our weakness" and "intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:26–27). In our text for today we have been told that all the saved will be conformed to the image of Christ in accord with God’s foreknowledge and predetermined plan. And, we believe, do we not, that there is no possibility that God’s plan will fail. For He says, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'. In this we can rest forever.

Every believer who is saved today will one day be glorified. One can no more work himself out of salvation than he could have worked himself into it. Those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world for salvation must be saved. For Christ must be the first born among MANY brethren.

Can you imagine Christ standing in eternity alone, claiming to be a great Savior? So what if He became flesh and dwelt among men? So what if He was crucified for the sins of those given to Him by the Father? What difference does it make if those for whom He died aren't at last saved and taken to Heaven? Do you see what I am getting at? Christ has given His life and blood for the salvation of all those given Him by the Father. The completion of that work, as assigned, will bring Him much glory, it will fulfill the Father’s purpose, to fail, however, would prove Christ a fake and us fools.

Christ’s assignment is described in John 6:39. "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I LOSE NOTHING, but RAISE IT UP on the last day." Jesus was given the responsibility of dying for, saving, and raising from the dead, all the Elect people of God. He must do a perfect job for God said He could not loose even one. Therefore, Jesus will be surrounded by many brethren in heaven. Every one of the elect, without exception, has to be there to worship and praise their elder brother, the PREEMINENT ONE, the most glorious GOD AND SAVIOR, the FIRST BORN among MANY BRETHREN.

It must be so for God has said, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'.

What has this to do with assurance of salvation and heaven? A great deal indeed. For you see, Christ's integrity and glory depend on the many brethren making it safely to heaven. Every struggling "Romans Seven" man or woman must be saved to the Glory of the Only Begotten Son. We MUST be taken to heaven so that Jesus can be glorified and praised for our salvation.