“God’s Salvation” Pt 2

PRAYER

Three weeks ago we BEGAN with the STRUCTURE of the passage.

BECAUSE (v.29) begins with “For…” - from ὅτι - ‘that, because, for’, which makes (vv.29-30) a GROUND—that it, the evidence why the statement in (v.28) is to be believed or obeyed!

In other words, (vv.29-30) give us the REASON or EVIDENCE why we know (v.28) is TRUE!

Romans 8:28 CSB

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

If you “love God” and “…are called according to his purpose,” God is FOR YOU and NOT AGAINST YOU!

We are considering FIVE KEY WORDS from (8:29-30)!

I. “For those he foreknew…” - προέγνω - (8:29a)

From the root, προγινώσκω (proginōskō), this is a compound verb from pro -“before,” and ginōskō - “to know.” It is active voice, indicative mood, and aorist tense indicating a past action with continuing results!

OF THE FIVE TIMES this word is used, it occurs only ONCE of BELIEVERS!

Romans 8:29 CSB

29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

The NOUN form, πρόγνωσις prognōsis is also used of believers just ONCE!

1 Peter 1:2 CSB

2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

There is NO extensive usage of this word regarding believers in the NT!

Hold whatever you believe about foreknowledge with HUMILITY, and acknowledge the limitations of Scripture on this topic.

And due to these limitations, I would caution you against being DOGMATIC or DIVISIVE, because you may be right, or you may not be!

Q: “HOW does God foreknow? What gives Him this ability?”

A: He is TIMELESS in His Being and OMNISCIENT in understanding!

He is ETERNAL and ALL-KNOWING!

Psalm 90:2 CSB

2 Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.

Isaiah 40:28 CSB

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding.

Isaiah 46:9–10 CSB

9 Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like me. 10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.

II. “…he also predestined” - προώρισεν - (8:29b, 30a)

προώρισεν is an active, indicative, aorist verb from the root, προορίζω - ‘proorizō’ composed of the preposition pro, “before,” and the verb horizō, “to set a boundary.”

The definition of the Greek word is the same as English: “To set boundaries beforehand, appoint or determine beforehand.”

Used SIX TIMES in the NT: FOUR TIMES in TWO LETTERS describing BELIEVERS!

Romans 8:29–30 CSB

29 For those he foreknew he also predestined… 30 And those he predestined…

Ephesians 1:5 CSB

5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Ephesians 1:11 CSB

11 In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will,

There are THREE PURPOSES of PREDESTINATION:

A. SANCTIFICATION! - (8:29c)

Romans 8:29 CSB

29 “…he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son”

The usage (Ephesians 1) follows the SAME PATTERN:

Ephesians 1:4–5 CSB

4 For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

I am CHOSEN by God first and foremost to be conformed to the image of his Son—holy and blameless in love before him!

Which leads to the second purpose…

B. SUBMISSION! - (v.29d)

Romans 8:29 CSB

29 “…so that he [Jesus] would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

I’m NOT suggesting there should be no leaders, or leadership, but I am suggesting that we ALL are predestined to be in SUBMISSION Jesus Christ!

Colossians 1:15 CSB

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians 1:18 CSB

18 He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.

When you put these first two purposes together, you begin to understand that God doesn’t reveal predestination to us so we could argue over sovereignty vs. human agency—“Did God choose me, or did I choose Him?”

But rather that we would be CONFORMED to the image of His Son so He would have FIRST PLACE among many brothers and sisters!

The THIRD PURPOSE of PREDESTINATION is…

C. SALVATION! - (v.30b)

“Pastor, didn’t Paul get the order wrong? Doesn’t SALVATION come before SANCTIFICATION and SUBMISSION? Shouldn’t SALVATION be FIRST?”

What I do know is one of the questions you ask when interpreting Scripture is, “Is this passage PRESCRIPTIVE or DESCRIPTIVE?

In other words, is this passage PRESCRIBING something for me to do, or HOW I might do something?

OR is it DESCRIBING something God is DOING, or has DONE?

It is clearly DESCRIPTIVE! All the verbs in (vv.29-30) are active voice (God is the subject), indicative voice, aorist tense! There is nothing here for me to DO!

These are all DESCRIPTIVE of the ACTIONS GOD HAS TAKEN for our salvation!

There are THREE REMAINING…

III. “…he also called” - ἐκάλεσεν - (8:30b)

From the root, καλέω kaleō - ‘call, name, summon, invite.’

Q: How does God call/invite?

2 Thessalonians 2:13–14 CSB

13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A: Through the PREACHING of the GOSPEL!

Acts 2:37–41 CSB

37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

NOTICE, the “call” was through both the PREACHING of the Gospel AND the listener’s RESPONSE!

Ephesians 1:18 CSB

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Ephesians 4:1 CSB

1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,

There is a RESPONSIBILITY to the “…calling you have received!”

Q: “Does everyone God calls come?”

Those who hold to the Calvinist acronym TULIP the answer is, “Yes!” It is IRRESISTIBLE GRACE!

In other words, if God calls you, there is NOTHING you can do either way—you have no choice in the matter!

A: Not according to the Parable of the Large Banquet in (Luke 14:15-24)!

Galatians 1:6 CSB

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—

We shall further address this topic as we get into Chapter 9!

IV. “…he also justified” - ἐδικαίωσεν - (8:30c)

From the root verb, δικαιόω dikaioō - ‘Justify, render innocent, pronounce righteous.’

Romans 3:24–26 CSB

24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 5:1 CSB

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:9 CSB

9 How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.

John 5:24 CSB

24 “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.

V. “…he also glorified” - ἐδόξασεν - (8:30d)

Of the SIXTY-ONE times this verb is used in the NT, FIFTY-SEVEN times God or Jesus Christ are glorified!

The remaining FOUR times WE are PROMISED GLORY!

John 17:22 CSB

22 I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.

Romans 5:2 CSB

2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

Romans 8:18 CSB

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

I would like to CLOSE this message with the following thought: Your salvation is so sure that God speaks of it in AORIST tense, INDICATIVE mood, ACTIVE voice—it’s a completed sure action by God!

PAST TENSE in English! It’s NOT “…will be glorified”, but “…those he justified, he also glorified!”

And THAT is why, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”