Predestined for Glory

Sunday October 26, 2008 Phone: 570.829.5216 Pastor David Miklas e-mail pdmikbbm@aol.com Message #6 Romans Chapter 8 Text: Romans 8:28-30 Predestined for Glory Introduction: In our continuing studies of Romans 8, we find ourselves at the remarkable passage of Romans 8:28-30 where we read, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (29) For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. I guess apart from John 3:16 and Psalm 23 this is perhaps the most quoted passage of scripture in the entire Bible. It was Dr. R.A. Torry who used to call the 28th verse "'A soft pillow for a tired heart." And we know..." We know what? "That all things," not a few things, not just the good things, not just the glorious things, but all things, "Work together for good to them that Love God." That is all the Good times and the bad times. That is all the times of rain and Sunshine. That is all the glad times and the sad times. That is all the times of heartache and heartbreak. Whatsoever and whenever they all work together for our good and for God's glory. Although we may not see it now, everything will one day fit together into God's perfect plan. The principle idea of verse 28 is beautifully illustrated in the story of the Old Testament Patriarch Jacob found in Genesis 42. Here we find the family of Jacob. Joseph, his favorite son was gone. Reuben was disgraced and Judah was dishonored. Simeon and Levi had broken his heart. Dianah his daughter was defiled. Simeon another son was in prison. Rachel his beloved wife was dead. Famine threatened the entire area as well as his family. Then came the demand from Egypt that young Benjamin must appear before its awesome governor, before any further supplies would be released. Old Jacob wept as he thought of these difficulties and now of Benjamin and in Genesis 42:36 said, "Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: ALL THESE THINGS ARE AGAINST ME." Now I am sure there have been times when perhaps you have said those same words, maybe even this past week, "'ALL THESE THINGS ARE AGAINST ME." But oh, how wrong Jacob was! Because those of you who know the REST OF THE STORY, know that "THESE THINGS" were not working against him, but rather they were secretly working to his good. Joseph, who was now governor of Egypt having made himself known to his brothers, said in Genesis 45:4-8, And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. (5) Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. (6) For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. (7) And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. (8) So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Page 1

Years later, upon the death of Jacob in Egypt, listen to Joseph again as he speaks to his brothers in Genesis 50:19-21, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? (20) But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. (21) Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. I don't know about your life and testimony, but I do know about mine. As I look back over the years that have passed, I have discovered that all things have worked together. Not always to my liking, not always to what would seem good, but rather to the working of the purpose of God. There is no exception to the sweeping breath of Romans 8:28. If all things work together for our good, then all the attributes of God, all the works of God and all of the gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit are at work for our good, otherwise the Lord would not permit them. Now from our passage in Romans 8, and the context in which it resides, there are a number of reasons given for how we can know that all things work together for our good if we love God. First; We know that all things work together for our good if we love God because WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD, verse 15-16, For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (16) The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: When we trust Jesus Christ as Saviour, we are God's Children, and He is our Father. No father wants anything but good for his children. I've been blessed with five wonderful Christian children, three sons-in law, two daughters-in law, and 18 grandchildren. I have now been a father for 43 years, and cannot recall one instance in all those years in which I ever wanted anything but good for my children. I have seen times when I wanted to do good things for my children, but was unable. HOWEVER OUR HEAVENLY FATHER NEVER FINDS HIMSELF IN SUCH A PREDICAMENT. Our Father is OMNIPOTENT. Nothing is impossible with Him. Now to be sure there are times we might feel that God is not giving us what we want or need. However, He knows that those things are not best for us so He withholds them - YES, for our good. Now to be sure there are times we must go through periods of distress and heartache. Sometimes we wonder what in the world God is doing to us. But during these times, for our good, God is teaching us lessons we perhaps would not have otherwise learned. Now to be sure there are times we will go through spiritual discipline. Even when it becomes necessary to scold and correct, it is always for our good. Is it not? Not only is our Heavenly Father omnipotent, He is omniscient, all wise. Therefore, it is impossible for Him to make a mistake. I am fairly sure, actually I know there were times when I thought I was doing good for my children, but because of my lack of wisdom, I may have done more harm than good. My heart breaks when I think of those instances, but our Heavenly Father never has, never will, and never can make a mistake. AMEN! In Romans 8, verses 29-30 we discover some very profound words. There is a tendency for us to panic, when we read these words: FOREKNOW, PREDESTINATE, JUSTIFIED, GLORIFIED. Don't panic, because here we find why God started this whole world. God knew from the BEGINNING what the END would be. Do you think God was shocked about the events in the Garden of Eden, when Eve reached out and took that fruit? No, God knew she would. So I ask myself, Why did God start it all, knowing what man would do, knowing how man would sin against him? I'll tell you why. Because He knew that eventually all things would work together for good. Page 2

Second: We know that all things work together for our good if we love God because of the FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. The FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD means that our Heavenly Father knows from the beginning what the end will be, so nothing ever takes Him by surprise. Someone wisely said, "Did it ever occur to you that nothing ever occurred to God? There is absolutely nothing that God does not know." I know what I am talking about. As an earthly father, I have made plans that sometimes I have not been able to carry out, because I could not predict the future. I have done this with my children, with my wife, and even in my ministry. And so have you. But our Heavenly Father never finds Himself in such a predicament, since He knows all things and nothing ever takes Him by surprise. HE IS OMNISCIENT. Our Heavenly Father knows what you and I are going to face tomorrow. He knows each step of the way. He knows every tear that is going to fall. He knows every heartache and temptation we will face. And when it comes, He is ready with all we need. In Philippians 4:19 we read, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Third: We know that all things work together for our good if we love God because of GOD'S PREDESTINATION, verse 29. God has a PREDETERMINED ETERNAL PURPOSE for His children, and that purpose is that we might be "conformed to the image of his Son." There was a lapel pin that read, "Please be patient with me, God is not finished with me yet." Another read, "Christian under Construction." Those statements are absolutely true! Listen to this: There really ought to be a sign upon my heart, Don't judge me yet; there's an unfinished part. But I'll be perfect just according to His plan, Fashioned by the Master's living hand. In the mirror of His Word, reflections that I see, Make me wonder why He never gave up on me. But He loves me as I am and helps me when I pray. Remember, He's the Potter. I'm the clay. He's still working on me, to make me what I ought to be. It took just a week to make the moon and the stars, The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars. How loving and patient He must be! He's still working on me. Again verse 29, the Bible says, "as far as God is concerned, I AM ALREADY IN GLORY." Now if that is true, then we know that all things do work together for good to them that love the Lord. Now back to those words found in verse 29-30, FOREKNOW, PREDESTINATE, JUSTIFIED, GLORIFIED. These words wrestle with the question concerning the "FREE WILL OF MAN AND THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD." Over in the Book of Jonah 2:9 we read where Jonah, who at that time was in the belly of the great fish, cried unto God saying, "But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. SALVATION IS OF THE LORD." It's that last phrase I want you to latch hold of, for it is the theme of the Bible. "SALVATION IS OF THE LORD." Now whatever else is meant by that phrase, it also means that God started it all in your life. Back in Romans 3:11 we read, "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." Perhaps you are here and in your heart you are becoming concerned about your spiritual life. Why do you think you are concerned about your spiritual life? I'll tell you Page 3

why. Because God has already begun to work in your life, and "SALVATION IS OF THE LORD." Nobody seeks after God, God seeks after us. Jesus said in John 6:44, "No man cometh unto me except the Father which hath sent me DRAWS HIM." Look, if you are not being drawn by God, you should be scared stiff, wondering if God has hardened His heart against you. The great theme of the Bible is that "SALVATION IS OF THE LORD." God brings you to a position where you can accept His Son as your personal Saviour. Now here in Romans 8 not only has God initiated Salvation, but He is involved in all its process. Notice, "For whom HE did foreknow, HE also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of HIS Son, that HE might be the first born among many brethren. Moreover, whom HE did predestinate, them HE also called and whom HE called, them HE also justified; and whom HE justified them HE also glorified." May I ask you a rather simple question? What did you do for your salvation? It's not hard to answer that question. Nothing! You did absolutely nothing. God has done it all. That is what Jonah meant when he said, "SALVATION IS OF THE LORD." Now, if you latch on to that statement alone, and dismiss the 101 direct appeals to you to make a choice for yourself, you are wrongfully reading the word of God. And when you do that, you become what is known in theological circles as an ULTRA CALVINIST. That means you only read the verses that talk of the sovereignty of God, and you neglect the multitude of verses that talk about the FREE WILL OF MAN. Man does have a will. God has a will. Satan has a will. You have your own individual will. In Isaiah 53:6 we read, " all we like sheep have gone astray; WE HAVE TURNED EVERY ONE TO HIS OWN WAY..." You can respond or you can reject the call of God. You can do whatever you want to do. There are many verses in the Bible that do appeal to the will of man. Romans 10:13, "For WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL upon the name of the lord shall be saved." John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH...' Now, if you are without Christ, without the hope of Heaven, there is only one thing that keeps you from Jesus. And that is the response of your will to the invitation which God gives when He says, "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." The invitation is to "WHOSOEVER WILL." The great invitation to the eternal call is "Behold, now is the accepted time! Behold, now is the day of salvation." The sovereignty of God means "Salvation is of the Lord." The free will of man means "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." This dichotomy is perhaps one of the greatest theological problems known. How do you get these two great truths to align? Can the sovereign will of God and the free will of man be reconciled, or must we everlastingly go around and around in circles on this question? The great prince of preachers, C.H. Spurgeon, was once asked how he reconciled the sovereignty of God, and the free will of man. He answered, "I don't. I never have to reconcile friends." You don't have to either. There is going to come a day when we are in Glory, in which we will find that these two truths perfectly harmonize. I am glad that there are some things I don't understand. If I understood everything there is to know, not only would I be God, but knowing what tomorrow would hold, and what the next day would hold, and what the day after that would hold, would scare the living daylights out of me! Page 4

If I could totally understand God, then I would be equal to God, and then I would have no need of God. I am glad that "the just shall live by faith and not by sight or wisdom or understanding." There are a lot of things I don't understand, but I accept what the Bible says. That is our responsibility as Christians. The Bible talks about the foreknowledge of God, who knew, in eternity past, that you would be alive today. And even before the foundation of the world, God knew you would chose Him to be your God and Jesus to be your Saviour. God did leave that choice up to you. Let me give you a simple Bible illustration, which I believe will show you that the sovereignty of God and the free will of man are friends that need not be reconciled. The Bible tells us there is a broad road that leads to destruction and many there are that walk there on. But along that road is a detour sign. Now in your life's journey you come to that detour and on the gate it reads, "Whosoever will, may come." Now, you don't have to go through that gate and on to the road that leads to everlasting life. You don't have to go through it. It's your choice. But you see it, and there comes that sense of conviction that you ought to get off this broad road, because it s leading you straight into Hell. So you take the detour by faith, accepting Jesus as your Saviour. And when you get on that road you turn around and look at the gate, and on this side of the gate it says, "Chosen by God before the foundation of the world." The Word of God says to you, "Whosoever will, may come." You can accept the Lord Jesus Christ RIGHT NOW, if you want to. And after you accept Him, you will then find that before the foundation of the world was even laid, God had chosen you to be in His family. That's why the Bible calls this our "SO GREAT SALVATION." Again, why did God get all this started, knowing the impact that sin would have on our world? According to verse 29 God had a two-fold plan. 1st: That Christ might be the FIRST born among many brethren. 2nd: That these brethren might be conformed to the image of Christ. In John 3:16, Jesus is referred to as the "only begotten Son" of God. Now, in simple terms, God had only one Son, and that's why He is called His "only begotten Son." Here in Romans 8:29 we read that Jesus was the "FIRST BORN AMONG MANY, MANY BRETHREN." It appears that God's desire was to populate heaven with millions upon millions of sons that would love Him like His "only begotten Son." Here we find that Jesus was not only His only begotten Son, but the first born among many brethren. The Bible does call Jesus our "Elder Brother." God wants heaven to be filled with other sons, you and I, who will bring Him satisfaction like Jesus did. Not only did God want other sons, as indicated by verses 14 and 16, but He also wanted us to be "conformed to the Image of His first Son, Jesus Christ." That's what we mean when we say, "CHRIST LIKENESS." There is a little chorus that goes: To be like Jesus all I ask to be like Him. All through life's journey, earth to Glory, All I ask to be like Him. That's what God wants for us, to WALK, TALK, LIVE and ACT like Jesus. To me, the truth presented here is one of the most comforting of all the doctrines in the Word of God. We delight to know that nothing happens by chance. We are not creatures subject to circumstances, dependent upon luck. There is no such thing as "good luck" for the child of God. Page 5

An infinite, sovereign God has FOREORDAINED every minute detail of our lives from before the foundation of the world. Every moment of every day we are under His care, because he is working all things according to the counsel of His own will, so that we might be found unto the praise of His Glory. IN THIS CONFIDENCE, WE CAN ETERNALLY REST. AMEN!!! ************************************************ If God spoken to your heart after reading the sermon on Predestined for Glory, then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you. Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in Acts 16:31,...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved... Romans 10:13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation. If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, would you please let me know? Please send me an e-mail to pdmikbbm@aol.com. And in return I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life. The Weekly SERMON was sent as a ministry of Bible Baptist Ministry, 48 Alexie Rd., Hanover Township, PA 18706. Privacy policy: your e-mail address will not be sold, or shared with any third party. Copy write permission: Because the Weekly SERMONS will be reproduced into other formats, PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING: The Weekly SERMON in it s original form, without any changes, may be copied and re-transmitted by electronic mail, and copies may be printed for individual or ministry purposes, provided that such copying, re-transmission, printing, or other use is not for profit or other commercial purpose. Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing, or other use of the Weekly SERMON must set forth in full the heading that is given before each Weekly SERMON. Any other request for use, please contact Bible Baptist Ministries at pdmikbbm@aol.com or by phone at 570.829.5216. Page 6