A Faith-full Election

The Gospel in Romans

There are so many important verses in Romans that describe the work of God in Christ Jesus for our salvation that I am not going to try to point out every one. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John hadn’t been written yet when Paul wrote his letter to the Roman Church This is the Good News, that we can have eternal life in Jesus. Sometimes the simple Gospel is couched in specific theological terms. However, in our quest for clarity, we can rest on the familiar promise that we have in Romans 8:28:

Romans 8:28 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Today’s message is mostly a message for believers, although any of you who don’t quite believe yet will find some truth here that will help you in your quest.

My Story:

Some of you don’t know that I have not been a preacher all my life. In my first 12 working years, I was a bicycle mechanic. I was taught well, I learned well, and I even taught extension classes about bicycle repair. I started my own bike shop, “Dave’s Bicycle Transportation Company” way back in 1980.

Since that time I have never stopped being a mechanic and handyman. I wont go into the more than 20 jobs I have had. But if I have something new in front of me, I take a look at the problem and try to figure out how things work. Then I read all I can, gather all my tools, and have at it. I will usually be able to fix whatever it is, or at least discover why I just can’t make it work like it is supposed to work.

All during my bicycle mechanic days, I was active and faithful in church. I taught elementary boys and senior adults. I was a Sunday School Superintendent, in the days we had such a thing in the churches. I taught Wednesday nights and led the choir practices and Sunday choir.

But it turned out that one talent God gave me to use most was to teach and interpret the scriptures in ways that help them make sense. I think the way that I do that comes from my training as a mechanic. I try to figure out how things work. And even in the scriptures, when I find a challenging concept, it’s important to me to figure out how it all works, so I know why and how things will come out.

That also means that when I was called by God to enter ministry, with my First Lady Bobbi and two kids in school, I first investigated and planned how to get into college to prepare. First to finish my BA at Warner Pacific College in Portland, then to move to Indiana and earn a Master of Divinity at Anderson University School of Theology.

God has been gracious, and I did very well in school. Now, it’s been 38 years since I was called to ministry, and 33 years I have led churches as Pastor. And I still feel new at it sometimes. You probably didn’t need to know all of that, but it seemed to me as I was preparing that God prompted me to let you know how I tackle an issue of interpretation.

I hope my approach will help you all to gain new understanding about a some words and concepts in Romans that people have argued about since they were written. I’m not going into the arguments; I’m going to teach what I see about how our Justification in Christ works.

A Faith-Full Election

I titled this message using a term that has been argued about, fought over, discarded, held close, ignored or been the subject of hyper focus. Romans 8:33 we read that in Christ, we are God’s Elect ones. I want to help you find a faithful understanding of what God’s Election means for you.

In the Christian vocabulary, Election is not about votes. Our God was never elected. Any god that is god at the pleasure of the people is not the kind of god that I can trust for my eternal security. Election is not a popularity contest. Election is not something we win by our behavior.

Election refers to God’s faithful work for our salvation; bringing us from the devastation of sin to our eternal heavenly home, which becomes our future when we have faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. I’ll give your the spoiler so it can begin to settle in your souls: The elect are those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the One sent by the Father, who receive forgiveness from sin, and ultimately will be brought to glory.

Jesus said “No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6 so we know Jesus is the way to the Father. It also means something important. When we believe in Jesus for our salvation, we are the elect in Him. That’s amazingly good stuff.

Over the ages, people have often become confused about today’s passage in Romans 8: 29-30. It’s an important passage as we look at The Gospel in Romans. Last week, this passage was in our message, but our focus was the assistance of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit helping us in our prayer, hope, and Christian walk.

So as I told you in last week’s sermon, I will talk more about the idea of God’s Elect and the terms that describe our status in Christ. When we hear this passage we hear some words that have specific meanings and particular purposes for Paul’s theme of redemption in this tome he wrote to the Romans. What are the challenges that it brings to the sinner on the street and likewise to us?

Five Steps to Glory

There is a great pattern in Romans 8:29-30 that describes our new direction through Jesus Christ in five steps. This will help us see how our redemption and goal work, by God’s grace. And I want you to know, I’m so glad God has made a way for us to get to heaven!

Romans 8:29–30 ESV

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Five Steps to Glory:

Foreknown

Wycliff: Those He Knew Before

Predestined

Wycliff: before-ordained by grace

Called

Out of sin and into grace

Justified

Grace applied and guilt removed

Glorified

Sharing the wonders of eternity with Christ Jesus in God’s presence.

It’s too much to bunch them all together as we look to understand God’s work for us on our path to sharing this final victory that Jesus has already won. I’m so glad God has made a way for us to get to heaven!

We’ll break it down.

Step 1: God’s Foreknowledge

Romans 8:29 ESV

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

A key to understanding God’s foreknowledge is to keep this word separate from the other concepts in this passage, especially to not tie it to the next concept of predestination.

Paul says here, “those whom he foreknew he also…:

The Christian Martyr and early English scholar John Wycliff translated almost all the New Testament from the Greek manuscript available in his day so that the people in England might hear the Word of God in their own language. His is the earliest English language New Testament we have.

I really like how he translated “foreknew”. He takes the Greek word and moves it into English with a translation that is clear: “those He knew before.”

That’s clear enough. God’s foreknowledge is simply part of his omniscience, a word that means God knows everything, period.

“Those he foreknew” seems to be continuing a tradition of translation that makes the Greek word sound as if it must always have a very exact and technical meaning. The word is “proginosko” which means to foresee an event or know beforehand. We get the word “prognosticate” directly from that Greek word.

This is all about God’s purpose and plan being always at work for those who love him, but it goes back even further.

Ephesians 1:4 ESV

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

He chose us in him before the foundation of the world. God “knew us before” because He has his eye on us as he views all of history at the same time. He sees the choice we will make to believe in Jesus Christ His Son from even before the world was made.

He knows you. He knows your name. He has always known you, from way before you were ever conceived or created.

I’m so glad God’s plan and purpose means he knows me and has created me to be like Jesus!

Step 2: God’s Predestination

Predestination. There is word that is fraught with perspectives, interpretations, and errors. I want to make it palatable, since it is an important part of God’s plan and purpose for us. It’s important for today’s teaching that we keep it in the context Paul used here. Look again at

Romans 8:29 ESV

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

OK, so God already knew us and all about us. So he already had a plan to make us into what we should be. This next step is really about God’s plan and purpose for our Christian walk: …he also predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son....

This is not a word used here that tells of God unbreakable will imposed upon us. This is not about being predestined to be at a certain place at a certain time, or to be predestined to become a teacher, doctor, driver, clerk, nurse, mechanic or preacher.

Don’t try to make step 1, foreknowledge, a single concept with step 2, predestination. First things first in our Christian life. The scripture here says that we are predestined for God’s plan and purpose. That’s for every one of us: To be conformed to the image of His Son. I checked the other English translations of this phrase and found these translations:

become like his own Son (CEV)

to be similar-to-the-form of the image of His Son (DLNT)

he decided that they would be like his Son (ERV)

to be made like to the image of his Son (GNV)

had already appointed them to have the same form as the image of his Son (GW)

to bear the family likeness of his Son (PHILLIPS)

He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. (MSG)

to have the same form as the image of his Son (NOG)

to be shaped according to the model of the image of his son (NTE)

This predestination, in Romans 8:29, is not about God deciding ahead for what color shirt we will wear; it is specifically about becoming more like Jesus. Becoming more like Jesus. God’s plan and purpose for every believer is that they are becoming more like Jesus every day. More like Jesus. That’s the plan and purpose of God. That’s what the believer is predestined to become, by God’s own plan.

Molded into the likeness of the image of Jesus Christ, we are made into the children of God, so that Jesus, being the first to experience resurrection from the grave to Glory, would be joined by all who by faith are his. We may die and be buried, like Jesus was. But if we are in Christ, if we are made into his image, we will also be raised from the grave to glory.

God made us to become like Jesus in life, so that even in death we enter His promise to be resurrected into eternity. Death is defeated, and love wins the day.

I’m so glad the plan and purpose of God is for us to become more like Jesus in life so we can be with Jesus in God’s presence even after death.

Step 3: Called into the Family

This next word is fairly simple for us. Those he called. Read it in

Romans 8:30 ESV

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

This is grace at work, to hear the voice or respond to the invitation of God to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. If we make it a single concept with God’s foreknowledge and predestination, God’s calling is something, as humans, we would have no ability to resist. It would mean our individual futures are already decided and chosen by God. Some to glory, some to hell.

But this concept, trying to support the Sovereignty of God, can seem like God creates some humans to go to heaven, but creates all the others to go to hell. No choices, because God is the Plaintiff, Prosecutor, Judge ad Jury for the outcome of every life.

Step back again, and look at each concept by itself. We are already known by God. God had made the plan for believers to become like his Son, Jesus. And God calls us to make a decision by faith to either believe in Jesus or reject Jesus.

The convicting work of the Holy Spirit helps us know we are lost without Jesus. What will do about that? We decide by taking a step of faith to believe in Jesus for our salvation. And God does the work of saving us. It is only by responding to God’s call to accept salvation though Jesus Christ that we can be saved. God may already see the choice we will make, for he sees all of history at once, the good and the bad. But God made a choice at creation to build us for relationship with him, not by force but because of love. It’s a risky move, even for the all-powerful, all-knowing God of the universe. But God decided we are worth it, even if it takes the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross to atone for the sins of his own creation. The call of God invites us into His plan for our lives. And God is willing to pay the price to make that happen because of his infinite love for us.

I’m so glad that God loves us enough to call us into his plan for eternity!

Step 4: Justified by Grace

Now we get to another important word for Chrsitians: Justified.

Romans 8:30 ESV

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

This is again God at work for our salvation. To be Justified is to returned to righteousness. In Christ Jesus, we respond by faith after the Holy Spirit calls us and convicts us of our sin, so that we know we need forgiveness. Then we confess our sins and ask forgiveness because of Jesus’ atoning blood, shed on the cross.

Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for sin, so that we could be forgiven. And when we are forgiving by God in Christ Jesus, we are then Justified. Our guilt is removed. Our punishment is cancelled. Our future is wrapped up in God’s promise for us.

To be justified means that in Christ it is just as if I’d never sinned, to be made like the image of God’s Son on the path to glory. This is God’s amazing work to save us from our sins. We cannot do anything to earn our salvation. But God has done everything and gives us the gift of salvation because of His love. It must be through the work of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to make us fit for heaven. We are declared righteous by the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ, the one who died for all is the one who died for you and for me.

At the judgement seat of God, in Christ Jesus, our guilt is gone and our arraignment is nullified. We are indicted by sin but exonerated by grace. Acquitted of any wrongs and set free from the penalties of sin. Justified.

I’m so glad God’s plan is for our justification so we can be fit for heaven!

Step 5: Glorified with Christ

Here’s the last step: to be glorified.

Romans 8:30 ESV

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

The good news is that we get to start experiencing the future glory of heaven right here when we accept the gift of Jesus Christ as the savior of our souls. Set free from the weight of our sins, our lives change an we begin to experience what it is like to be a child of God. The process of being glorified has already begun.

Paul wrote in another place,

Colossians 3:4 ESV

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

We begin the life of living as God’s children here and now, but we also know this is not all there is. We are already saved but not yet fully experiencing the eternal benefit of Christ. But because of his suffering for us, we can know that our present suffering will be redeemed in Glory with Jesus.

This means that we are

Justified and One of Gods Elect

So here is the result. In Christ Jesus, we are known by God, we will become more like Jesus, answering the call of God, being declared free from guilt and beginning to experience the joys of eternity. So, if that’s who we are,

Romans 8:33 ESV

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Any new challenges to our position in Christ Jesus may cause a little blip in our behavior, but it does not change the fact that God declares us righteous in Jesus. Who can do anything about that?

Earlier Paul had said,

Romans 8:10–11 ESV

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

But

What If I Don’t Know I’m One of God’s Elect?

If you are in Christ Jesus, you are one of God’s elect. We become his by believing in what he has done for us in Jesus. Paul writes that

Salvation Comes by Faith

Romans 10:8–9 ESV

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Confess, believe in your heart, and be saved.

It Doesn’t Matter What You’ve Done

Our salvation is based on Grace, not Law.

Romans 3:21–22 ESV

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

We All Start in the Same Place

Romans 3:23–24 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

We Are All Atoned Through Faith

Romans 3:25 ESV

whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Don’t worry about a big word like propitiation. It means Christ has become our sacrifice, we are atoned for, our sins are covered by Christ’s righteousness.

Here’s how it works to go from sinner to saint.

Faith, Grace, Peace, Hope and Glory

Romans 5:1–2 ESV

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

I’m so glad God loves us enough to save us from our sins through Jesus Christ so we can have eternal life in His name! Isn’t God GOOD!