Bobservations' Column
Titled - "Predestined For Change"
Written by: Pastor Bob Lawrenz
This will bring up the issues of predestination, election, calling, and God’s foreknowledge. Looking back to living at home with my parents, they never pressured me to make one choice or another. Yet they somehow knew me so well that when decisions came my way, they already knew what my decision would be. They didn’t make my decisions for me, they just always knew which choices I would make. Their intimate knowledge of me let them weigh the decision I faced, and compared it to my character. They simply knew me well. So well that they know what my decisions would always be.
The same can be said of God. His foreknowledge of each of His children allows our free will to work, and to make decisions. But He still knows whether we will choose light over darkness; holiness, over sin. And, that He also has the ability to funnel us into lives that glorify Him, is simply part of His foreknowledge of how we will respond to Him. This therefore, is election. And if elected to glorify God, that’s akin to predestination and God’s foreknowledge.
This is how I settle it in my own heart, and still come up with my own free-will choices able to direct me while God oversees my life, at a distance. Maybe you have a different take on these issues of faith. A simple trust in Him is also sufficient, for He is our God, and we are His people. He knows our hearts well!
Trust in the Lord with your whole heart, with all your mind, and in all your strength!
From Proverbs 16:9 -
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.”
Bobservations' Column: Audio Version
Sunday Morning Message:
Romans 8:28-39 - "Predestined For Change"
As we have been, and continue to study this amazing book, we are blessed with the clear knowledge and understanding of what we have in Jesus Christ. If we are in Jesus Christ, there is no condemnation for us. None.! If we are in Jesus, we are now indwelt by the Spirit of God. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the action by which God takes up permanent residence in the body of a believer in Jesus Christ. He comes and lives within us. If we are in Jesus Christ, we have been adopted. God doesn’t just forgive us; he adopts us. He takes us into his family and loves and cares for us. Not only that, but as His children, we are His heirs, and joint-heirs with His Son, Jesus. We will inherit everything that God has promised.
You have to admit, all of this is amazing. Yet even with all of these great and precious promises, we can sometimes feel like our relationship is still at risk. Life can be brutally difficult. We go through plenty of hardships, sufferings, and tragedies that can push us to the breaking point. But no matter what life can throw at us there is one sure thing... nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ! God’s purposes for us and God’s love for us are unbreakable.
This week we are finishing up chapter eight in the book of Romans. We have learned that when God grips you by his grace, He will never let you go! No one can snatch you from Him, and nothing can separate you from His love.
Romans 8 is arguably the greatest chapter in the Bible. It begins with "No Condemnation," and ends with "No Separation." Romans 8:35-39 is the closing paragraph of Paul’s argument for eternal security. The text starts with the last of a series of questions that cannot be answered. Each rhetorical question affirms the eternal security of the believer.
In these last few verses of Romans 8, Paul says that God is working everything together in order to accomplish His purposes in us. He is at work in every circumstance of our lives with the ultimate goal of completing that work in us.
Paul looks around at anything and everything that can separate us from God’s love. He throws out every worst-case scenario out there that could threaten God’s love. Death will not pull me away from God’s love. Neither will anything in this life, nor cosmic spiritual powers, nor anything in time. No disappointment, no neurosis, no disease, no broken romance, no financial crisis, no mental illness will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God’s love for you has no outer limit.
There is very little in this life that can’t be broken. Everything around us is fragile. But the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ mean that two things are true: God’s purposes for us are unbreakable. God’s love for us is unbreakable.
The reality and security of our standing with God rests ultimately in His character and decision, not ours. Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6, "being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Jesus Christ." Praise God!!
Foreknow (8:29) - God's "foreknowledge" is much more than just knowing what will happen in the future, but its full meaning is beyond our finite comprehension. It is evident that foreknowledge precedes election from 1 Peter 1:2, and that it precedes predestination. The same word (Greek - proginosko) is translated "foreordained" in 1 Peter 1:20, where it clearly speaks of more than merely knowing ahead of time what will happen. God’s foreknowledge or knowing things or events before they exist or happen, is not the only basis for predestination. We know that His will and pleasure are also involved. God foreknowing and predestining reveals His sovereignty, but we also learn in the Bible that people are accountable for their choices (Joshua 24:14-15, Luke 10:42, Hebrews 11:24-25). The issue really is not whether or not God knows who will believe, but why some believe, and others do not. God’s desire is that all would be saved and come to repentance (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). He offers salvation to everyone (Titus 2:11), yet we know that not everyone will be saved.
Paul looks around at anything and everything that can separate us from God’s love. He throws out every worst-case scenario out there that could threaten God’s love. Death will not pull me away from God’s love. Neither will anything in this life, nor cosmic spiritual powers, nor anything in time. No disappointment, no neurosis, no disease, no broken romance, no financial crisis, no mental illness will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God’s love for you has no outer limit.
There is very little in this life that can’t be broken. Everything around us is fragile. But the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ mean that two things are true: God’s purposes for us are unbreakable. God’s love for us is unbreakable.
The reality and security of our standing with God rests ultimately in His character and decision, not ours. Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6, "being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Jesus Christ." Praise God!!
Sunday Morning Audio Message: Sorry about the delay, folks! Sunday's audio message is now available.
Key Words and Definitions with Reference:
Foreknow (8:29) - God's "foreknowledge" is much more than just knowing what will happen in the future, but its full meaning is beyond our finite comprehension. It is evident that foreknowledge precedes election from 1 Peter 1:2, and that it precedes predestination. The same word (Greek - proginosko) is translated "foreordained" in 1 Peter 1:20, where it clearly speaks of more than merely knowing ahead of time what will happen. God’s foreknowledge or knowing things or events before they exist or happen, is not the only basis for predestination. We know that His will and pleasure are also involved. God foreknowing and predestining reveals His sovereignty, but we also learn in the Bible that people are accountable for their choices (Joshua 24:14-15, Luke 10:42, Hebrews 11:24-25). The issue really is not whether or not God knows who will believe, but why some believe, and others do not. God’s desire is that all would be saved and come to repentance (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). He offers salvation to everyone (Titus 2:11), yet we know that not everyone will be saved.
Predestinate (8:29) - Based on this sense in which He "foreknew" us, God predestined—determined, appointed, or ordained in advance—those who are saved to be conformed to the image of Jesus.
Conformed to the Image of His Son (8:29) - The goal of God's predestined purpose for His own is that they would be made like Jesus Christ. This is the "prize of the high calling" (Philippians 3:14; cf. Ephesians 4:13; Philippians 3:20, 21; Colossians 1:28; 1 John 3:2).
Firstborn (8:29) - The preeminent one, the only one who is the rightful heir (cf. Psalm 89:27; Colossians 1:15018; Revelation 1:5).
Justified (8:30) - To declare righteous. God declares a sinner righteous solely on the basis of the merits of Christ's righteousness. God imputed a believer's sin to Christ's account in His sacrificial death, and He imputes Christ's perfect obedience to God's Law to believers. The sinner receives this gift of God's grace by faith alone.
Glorified (8:30) - Paul uses the past tense (as though it had already occured) for a future event to emphasize its certainty (cf. vv. 18, 21; 2 Timothy 2:10).
If God Be For Us (8:31) - God is “for” us in the sense that He is on our side; He is working on our behalf and for our good. He has proved His benevolence in that He has adopted us (Romans 8:15), He has given us His Spirit (verses 16–17, 26–27), and He has determined to save us (verses 29–30).
Freely Give (8:32) - This phrase means "to bestow out of grace." Paul often uses it to denote forgiveness (2 Corinthians 2:7,10; 12:13; Colossians 2:13; 3:13) and may intend that here.
All Things (8:32) - In the previous verses, Paul has offered ample evidence of a comforting truth. The subject of this promise is any person who has accepted faith in Christ. As with the rest of this section of Romans, Paul's focus is on the effects of saving faith, according to God's plan (Romans 3:23–26; John 3:16–18).
This profound truth is that the creator of the universe is right now for us—for saved Christians—because we are in Christ. He is working out his ultimate purpose for us which is to make us like Christ. He has predestined, called, justified, and will glorify us. God freely and graciously gives to us. The God who is for us, who loves us, gives to us all good things based on His goodness and not on ours. They are truly gifts.
This profound truth is that the creator of the universe is right now for us—for saved Christians—because we are in Christ. He is working out his ultimate purpose for us which is to make us like Christ. He has predestined, called, justified, and will glorify us. God freely and graciously gives to us. The God who is for us, who loves us, gives to us all good things based on His goodness and not on ours. They are truly gifts.
God's Elect (8:33) - This is Paul's first use of the word "elect" in Romans. In the previous verses, he detailed that God predestined those He foreknew to become like Jesus. In this sense, the elect are the chosen ones of God, all those who are children of God through faith in Christ.
It is God who Justifies (8:33) - Who can successfully accuse someone whom God has declared righteous? No one.
Condemns (8:34) - To declare guilty and sentence to punishment. There are four reasons the believer can never be found guilty:
- Christ's Death
- Christ's Resurrection
- Christ's Exalted Position
- Christ's Continual Intercession for them
Intercession (8:34) - Jesus had the power to accomplish so great a work as reconciling us to God, how much more may we expect that He will be able to keep us now that He is a living, exalted, and triumphant Redeemer, raised to life and interceding on our behalf before the throne.
The Love of Christ (8:35) - Not our love for Christ, but His love for us (John 13:1), specifically here as He demonstrated it in salvation (1 John 4:9, 10). As believer's, we have a loving companion for life. And no matter what we go through, He is there, and His love is ever available to us.
Tribulation (8:35) - affliction, trouble, anguish persecution, burdened. The kind of adversity common to all men.
Distress (8:35) - To being strictly confined in a narrow, difficult place or being helplessly hemmed in by one's circumstances.
Persecution (8:35) - Suffering inflicted on us by people because of our faith in Christ (Matthew 5:10-12).
More than Conquerors (8:37) - To conquer is to be victorious over an adversary. To be "more than a conqueror" means we not only achieve victory, but we are overwhelmingly victorious.
Principalities Nor Powers (8:38) - This refers to the vast array of evil and malicious spirits who make war against the people of God. The principalities and powers of Satan are usually in view here, beings that wield power in the unseen realms to oppose everything and everyone that is of God.
Nor Height Nor Depth (8:39) - The original Greek word Paul used (hypsÅma), translated as “height” in Romans 8:39, means “that which is lifted up.” In this context, the word refers to the inhabitants of heaven, understood as occupying the transcendent heights. Thus, height here represents everything in the world above. Similarly, depth (bathos in Greek) refers to everything in the world below, in the transcendent depths. The wording “nor height nor depth” becomes “no power in the sky above or in the earth below” in the New Living Translation. No matter how high we climb or how low we descend, nothing can separate us from Christ’s love.
The psalmist affirms, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:8). As believers, we are constantly enveloped in God’s loving care. We are safe, secure, and protected, no matter where we go, because nothing in all the universe can separate us from His love.
The psalmist affirms, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:8). As believers, we are constantly enveloped in God’s loving care. We are safe, secure, and protected, no matter where we go, because nothing in all the universe can separate us from His love.
Nor Any Other Creature (8:39) - In case anything or anyone might be left out, this covers everything but the Creator Himself... Nothing can separate us from His love.
