"Who Can Be Against Us?" 7/4/10
“WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?”
IN ROMANS 8 PAUL ASKS THIS QUESTION IN V.31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
OF COURSE A LOT OF THINGS CAN BE AGAINST US…
THE WORLD, THE DEVIL, OUR CIRCUMSTANCES, OUR BOSS, OUR FAMILY, EVEN OUR SELF…
BUT, THIS IS REALLY A RHETORICAL QUESTION WITH ONLY ONE OBVIOUS ANSWER…. “WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?” ….NO ONE!
THE PROBLEM WITH MANY CHRISTIANS IS THEY DON’T KNOW THE WORD OF GOD OR HIS POWER! He’s not a big one of us.
IN MARK 12, THEY WERE TESTING JESUS WITH SOME RIDICULES SCENARIO ABOUT A WOMAN MARRIED TO SEVEN BROTHERS WHO ALL DIED….AND JESUS SAID TO THEM…
“Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?
MANY IN THE CHURCH ARE FEARFUL, WORRYING, DEFEATED CHRISTIANS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT KNOW THE SCRIPTURES OR THE POWER OF GOD.
BUT…PAUL’S QUESTION IN ROMANS 8… “IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?”…..IS REALLY 2 QUESTIONS….
#1) IS GOD FOR US? selah #2) WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?
AGAIN, IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS…WE WOULD PROBABLY ALL AGREE THAT NO ONE COULD POSSIBLY STAND AGAINST GOD.
NO ONE CAN RESIST HIS POWER. …HE HAS NO EQUAL….
SEE, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE ONE WHO SPOKE THE UNIVERSE INTO EXISTENCE BY THE POWER OF HIS WORD.
SO, THE SECOND QUESTION SHOULD BE SETTLED IN OUR MINDS.
ABSOLUTELY NO ONE CAN STAND AGAINST GOD. AMEN?!
BUT THE FIRST QUESTION ISN’T… IS GOD REALLY FOR US? (SELAH)
WE MIGHT BELIEVE THAT GOD IS FOR THE MISSIONARY LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE ON THE MISSION FIELD, BUT…
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD IS FOR YOU?
HEY, WE KNOW OUR LIFE THIS LAST WEEK. WE KNOW OUR WEAKNESSES AND CHARACTER FLAWS, SO I’M ASKING YOU…
IS GOD IN YOUR CORNER?
CAN YOU REALLY COUNT ON HIM TO COME THROUGH FOR YOU?
SEE, THE BAIT THAT LURED EVE INTO THAT FIRST SIN…WAS WRAPPED IN THE WHOLE IDEA THAT GOD WAS HOLDING BACK. HE WAS WITHHOLDING A GOOD THING FROM HER. (SELAH)
GEN 3:4,5 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
“Eve…God knows your condition and how knowledgeable you’ll be if you eat from this tree, but He really doesn’t want you to grow as a person, so you better go for it while you can.”
In the book “Fearless”….Max Lucado rehearses the story of when Jesus was in the boat with the disciples and fell asleep. quote
“This much we know, this was a premeditated slumber. He didn’t accidentally nod off. In full knowledge of the coming storm, Jesus decided it was siesta time, so He crawled into a corner, put His head on the pillow, and drifted into dreamland. His snooze troubles the disciples. Matthew and Mark recorded their responses as three staccato Greek pronouncements and one question. The pronouncements: “Lord! Save! Dying!
The question: “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
They do not ask about Jesus’ strength: “Can You still the storm?”
His knowledge: “Are you aware of the storm?”
Or His knowhow: “Do You have any experience with storms?”
But rather, they raise doubts about Jesus’ character:
“Do you not care…?” Fear does this. End quote
See when everything is going fine, we can trust God (Hallelujah Street), but too many times when we go through the storms of life our faith turns to fear…and we question God and His promises.
“God…don’t you care?”
SO MAYBE WE NEED TO START WITH THE QUESTION…
WHAT IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE? (selah)
AND THEN…ARE YOU WALKING IN THE WILL OF GOD?
JESUS TAUGHT US TO PRAY CONFIDENTLY IN THE MODEL PRAYER… “Thy will be done, Thy Kingdom come.”
ONE BIBLE TEACHER TAUGHT THAT IT COULD BE SAID AS MORE OF A DECLARATION THEN A PETITION…
“Be done Thy will! Come Thy Kingdom!”
TO MANY CHRISTIANS APPROACH GOD’S WILL FROM A NEGATIVE, FAITHLESS PERSPECTIVE…AFRAID THEY’RE GOING TO MISS IT….
ANXIOUS AND FEARFUL THAT HIS WILL IS TOO ILLUSIVE & VAGUE.
OF COURSE WE ALL MAKE WRONG DECISIONS FROM TIME TO TIME…(I SURE DO), BUT I BELIEVE THAT GOD WANTS TO BUILD A CONFIDENCE IN US SO THAT WE CAN REST IN HIS PROMISES. KNOWING THAT WE ARE IN THE CENTER OF HIS WILL AND HE CARES FOR US. (He cares For you and me.)
WE SANG THIS MORNING… “YOU ARE THE SOURCE…”
AND I WANT TO DRIVE THAT MESSAGE HOME TODAY.
SO, LETS LOOK AT A FEW VERSES EARLIER IN ROMANS. SPECIFICALLY, THE WELL KNOWN PROMISE OF ROMANS 8:28.
BUT THIS VERSE IS COMMONLY MIS-QUOTED WHEN SOMEONE IS GOING THROUGH A DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCE…a storm in life.
“WELL, BLESS GOD BROTHER…ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD.”… “CHEER UP SISTER…GOD IS GOING TO WORK THIS OUT FOR GOOD.”
SEE, THE REST OF THE VERSE GOES ON TO SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY THOSE WHO THIS PROMISE IS FOR. IT’S… “to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
SO…IF YOU’RE NOT THE CALLED…IF YOU DON’T LOVE GOD…
THEN THIS PROMISE IS NOT FOR YOU.
And all things are NOT working together for good.
BUT, NOT ONLY IS THIS VERSE MIS-QUOTED BY LEAVING OFF THE END OF IT, IT’S ALSO MIS-QUOTED BY LEAVING OFF THE BEGINNING. I’M SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT THE FIRST WORD.
Say it together…ROMANS 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
THE WORD “and” shows us that ROM 8:28 IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PREVIOUS VERSES…SO, LETS BEGIN AT…V.26
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
PAUL SAYS, THE HOLY SPIRIT “HELPS” IN OUR WEAKNESSES SELAH
WHAT IS OUR WEAKNESSES? (SELAH)
BASICALLY, WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO PRAY AS WE OUGHT.
WHY NOT? (SELAH) …well, LET ME LIST A FEW REASONS…
1) MANY TIMES WE DON’T SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE.
2) MANY TIMES WE’RE BLINDED BY OUR EMOTIONS. Anger/fear
3) OR MAYBE…IT’S SOME SELFISH AMBITION.
4) SOMETIMES IT’S JUST PLAIN OLD UNBELIEF.
WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO LAY HOLD OF THE PROMISE.
PAUL USES THE WORD “HELP” & IT’S THE SAME WORD USED IN THE GREEK, WHEN MARTHA WANTED MARY TO HELP HER…
LISTEN, MARTHA DIDN’T WANT MARY TO DO ALL THE WORK WHILE SHE DID NOTHING…NO!
SHE WANTED MARY TO HELP HER WITH THE WORK…RIGHT?
SO, IT DOESN’T MEAN THE HOLY SPIRIT PRAYS INSTEAD OF US.
BUT, THE HOLY SPIRIT TAKES PART WITH US AND HELPS US TO PRAY MORE EFFECTIVELY. (2X)
How? BY HELPING US PRAY ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.
SOME THINK THE “GROANINGS” IS THE HOLY SPIRIT GROANING.
BUT, ITS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER PASSAGES THAT ITS OUR SIGHS, GROANS, CRIES AND TEARS AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS OF OUR HEARTS IN PRAYER.
THEN THEY ARE TAKEN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND MADE INTO EFFECTUAL INTERCESSION BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS WILL. P.T.L.
FOOTNOTES SFL BIBLE…Paul is speaking in this verse about the prayer life of Christians generally, and is not specifically discussing the question of speaking in tongues. But there are similarities here, for speaking in tongues is often prayer or praise in syllables the speaker does not himself understand, and both kinds of speech are made effective by the Holy Spirit.
SO, WEATHER IT’S YOUR HEAVENLY PRAYER LANGUAGE, OR IN THE MIDST OF A DIFFICULT TRIAL YOU GROAN IN THE SPIRIT…
JUST KNOW THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT TAKES IT AND MAKES INTERCESSION BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD.
Groaning…police took Jason…my Dad died…I couldn’t talk (groan)
THE IMPORTANT POINT IS….THE H.S. PRAYS THE WILL OF GOD.
EPH 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…
PHIL 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
P.T.L…..“YOU ARE THE SOURCE, YOU ARE THE FIRE…”
Now, lets read a few verses after Rom. 8:28 …
Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
WOW…If God has predestined us and called us and justified us and glorified us…HEY!…Who can be against us?
As we look at these 4 things notice…they are all past tense.
It has already been done! He has predestined us.
He has called us. He has justified us. He has glorified us.
Today we’ll look at the first of these 4 accomplishments of God.
#1) Predestined
This has been a controversial term in the Church for years.
The controversy goes back about 400 years of church history.
It’s the main separation between the Calvinists and Armenians.
And most denominations are divided under these 2 headings.
Calvinism and Arminianism are two systems of theology that attempt to explain the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility in the matter of salvation.
Calvinism from John Calvin. (1509 – 1564)
Arminianism from Jacobus Arminius. (1560 – 1609)
Keep in mind…the Reformation which birthed the protestant movement away from the Catholic church began in Oct of 1517.
Calvinism holds to the Total depravity of man and states that every aspect of humanity is tainted by sin; therefore, human beings are unable to come to God on their own accord.
Arminianism says that every aspect of humanity is tainted by sin,
but not to the extent that they are unable to place faith in God of their own accord.
Calvinism holds to Unconditional Election. The view that God elects individuals to salvation based entirely on His will alone, not on anything inherently worthy in the individual.
Arminianism holds to Conditional Election which says that God elects individuals to salvation based on His foreknowledge of who will believe in Christ unto salvation, thereby on the condition that the individual chooses God.
Unlike the “Once saved, always saved”…(in other words, God chooses who will be saved and who will be lost and your will has nothing to do with it) we hold to more of a Armenian stand on predestination.
Years ago when I was struggling with these 2 theories, the Lord showed me 2Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (everyone say “ALL”)
Hey, If it’s totally up to God’s will, and man has no say in it… then according to 2Peter…everyone will be saved. But the truth is our will is involved in the work of salvation. We have a choice
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Romans 10:9 …that if (it’s a choice of your will… “If”)… you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says,
“Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
So it’s not everyone…it’s those who call on the Name of the Lord.
The key is, Predestination is based upon God’s foreknowledge.
That’s how Rom. 8:29 begins… “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”
Speaking to Christians,1Peter 1:2 says, “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…”
How about Matt 26:75 as an example of how this works.
“And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” …
Did Peter have a choice of weather or not to deny the Lord? YES!
With his own free will, he chose to deny the Lord 3 times.
And so, Jesus simply told him what he was going to do. How?
It was according to His foreknowledge. (selah)
Jesus knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, & next week, & next year…And He knows what you are going to choose even before you choose it…and that’s how predestination works.
God elects (chooses) individuals to salvation based on His foreknowledge of who will believe in Christ, thereby on the condition that the individual chooses God. (free will)
Illustration of wide road…narrow path door “whosoever will…”
“Predestined from the foundations of the world.”
SALVATION.
Who can be against us?....
IN ROMANS 8 PAUL ASKS THIS QUESTION IN V.31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
OF COURSE A LOT OF THINGS CAN BE AGAINST US…
THE WORLD, THE DEVIL, OUR CIRCUMSTANCES, OUR BOSS, OUR FAMILY, EVEN OUR SELF…
BUT, THIS IS REALLY A RHETORICAL QUESTION WITH ONLY ONE OBVIOUS ANSWER…. “WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?” ….NO ONE!
THE PROBLEM WITH MANY CHRISTIANS IS THEY DON’T KNOW THE WORD OF GOD OR HIS POWER! He’s not a big one of us.
IN MARK 12, THEY WERE TESTING JESUS WITH SOME RIDICULES SCENARIO ABOUT A WOMAN MARRIED TO SEVEN BROTHERS WHO ALL DIED….AND JESUS SAID TO THEM…
“Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?
MANY IN THE CHURCH ARE FEARFUL, WORRYING, DEFEATED CHRISTIANS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT KNOW THE SCRIPTURES OR THE POWER OF GOD.
BUT…PAUL’S QUESTION IN ROMANS 8… “IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?”…..IS REALLY 2 QUESTIONS….
#1) IS GOD FOR US? selah #2) WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?
AGAIN, IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS…WE WOULD PROBABLY ALL AGREE THAT NO ONE COULD POSSIBLY STAND AGAINST GOD.
NO ONE CAN RESIST HIS POWER. …HE HAS NO EQUAL….
SEE, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE ONE WHO SPOKE THE UNIVERSE INTO EXISTENCE BY THE POWER OF HIS WORD.
SO, THE SECOND QUESTION SHOULD BE SETTLED IN OUR MINDS.
ABSOLUTELY NO ONE CAN STAND AGAINST GOD. AMEN?!
BUT THE FIRST QUESTION ISN’T… IS GOD REALLY FOR US? (SELAH)
WE MIGHT BELIEVE THAT GOD IS FOR THE MISSIONARY LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE ON THE MISSION FIELD, BUT…
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD IS FOR YOU?
HEY, WE KNOW OUR LIFE THIS LAST WEEK. WE KNOW OUR WEAKNESSES AND CHARACTER FLAWS, SO I’M ASKING YOU…
IS GOD IN YOUR CORNER?
CAN YOU REALLY COUNT ON HIM TO COME THROUGH FOR YOU?
SEE, THE BAIT THAT LURED EVE INTO THAT FIRST SIN…WAS WRAPPED IN THE WHOLE IDEA THAT GOD WAS HOLDING BACK. HE WAS WITHHOLDING A GOOD THING FROM HER. (SELAH)
GEN 3:4,5 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
“Eve…God knows your condition and how knowledgeable you’ll be if you eat from this tree, but He really doesn’t want you to grow as a person, so you better go for it while you can.”
In the book “Fearless”….Max Lucado rehearses the story of when Jesus was in the boat with the disciples and fell asleep. quote
“This much we know, this was a premeditated slumber. He didn’t accidentally nod off. In full knowledge of the coming storm, Jesus decided it was siesta time, so He crawled into a corner, put His head on the pillow, and drifted into dreamland. His snooze troubles the disciples. Matthew and Mark recorded their responses as three staccato Greek pronouncements and one question. The pronouncements: “Lord! Save! Dying!
The question: “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
They do not ask about Jesus’ strength: “Can You still the storm?”
His knowledge: “Are you aware of the storm?”
Or His knowhow: “Do You have any experience with storms?”
But rather, they raise doubts about Jesus’ character:
“Do you not care…?” Fear does this. End quote
See when everything is going fine, we can trust God (Hallelujah Street), but too many times when we go through the storms of life our faith turns to fear…and we question God and His promises.
“God…don’t you care?”
SO MAYBE WE NEED TO START WITH THE QUESTION…
WHAT IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE? (selah)
AND THEN…ARE YOU WALKING IN THE WILL OF GOD?
JESUS TAUGHT US TO PRAY CONFIDENTLY IN THE MODEL PRAYER… “Thy will be done, Thy Kingdom come.”
ONE BIBLE TEACHER TAUGHT THAT IT COULD BE SAID AS MORE OF A DECLARATION THEN A PETITION…
“Be done Thy will! Come Thy Kingdom!”
TO MANY CHRISTIANS APPROACH GOD’S WILL FROM A NEGATIVE, FAITHLESS PERSPECTIVE…AFRAID THEY’RE GOING TO MISS IT….
ANXIOUS AND FEARFUL THAT HIS WILL IS TOO ILLUSIVE & VAGUE.
OF COURSE WE ALL MAKE WRONG DECISIONS FROM TIME TO TIME…(I SURE DO), BUT I BELIEVE THAT GOD WANTS TO BUILD A CONFIDENCE IN US SO THAT WE CAN REST IN HIS PROMISES. KNOWING THAT WE ARE IN THE CENTER OF HIS WILL AND HE CARES FOR US. (He cares For you and me.)
WE SANG THIS MORNING… “YOU ARE THE SOURCE…”
AND I WANT TO DRIVE THAT MESSAGE HOME TODAY.
SO, LETS LOOK AT A FEW VERSES EARLIER IN ROMANS. SPECIFICALLY, THE WELL KNOWN PROMISE OF ROMANS 8:28.
BUT THIS VERSE IS COMMONLY MIS-QUOTED WHEN SOMEONE IS GOING THROUGH A DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCE…a storm in life.
“WELL, BLESS GOD BROTHER…ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD.”… “CHEER UP SISTER…GOD IS GOING TO WORK THIS OUT FOR GOOD.”
SEE, THE REST OF THE VERSE GOES ON TO SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY THOSE WHO THIS PROMISE IS FOR. IT’S… “to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
SO…IF YOU’RE NOT THE CALLED…IF YOU DON’T LOVE GOD…
THEN THIS PROMISE IS NOT FOR YOU.
And all things are NOT working together for good.
BUT, NOT ONLY IS THIS VERSE MIS-QUOTED BY LEAVING OFF THE END OF IT, IT’S ALSO MIS-QUOTED BY LEAVING OFF THE BEGINNING. I’M SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT THE FIRST WORD.
Say it together…ROMANS 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
THE WORD “and” shows us that ROM 8:28 IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PREVIOUS VERSES…SO, LETS BEGIN AT…V.26
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
PAUL SAYS, THE HOLY SPIRIT “HELPS” IN OUR WEAKNESSES SELAH
WHAT IS OUR WEAKNESSES? (SELAH)
BASICALLY, WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO PRAY AS WE OUGHT.
WHY NOT? (SELAH) …well, LET ME LIST A FEW REASONS…
1) MANY TIMES WE DON’T SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE.
2) MANY TIMES WE’RE BLINDED BY OUR EMOTIONS. Anger/fear
3) OR MAYBE…IT’S SOME SELFISH AMBITION.
4) SOMETIMES IT’S JUST PLAIN OLD UNBELIEF.
WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO LAY HOLD OF THE PROMISE.
PAUL USES THE WORD “HELP” & IT’S THE SAME WORD USED IN THE GREEK, WHEN MARTHA WANTED MARY TO HELP HER…
LISTEN, MARTHA DIDN’T WANT MARY TO DO ALL THE WORK WHILE SHE DID NOTHING…NO!
SHE WANTED MARY TO HELP HER WITH THE WORK…RIGHT?
SO, IT DOESN’T MEAN THE HOLY SPIRIT PRAYS INSTEAD OF US.
BUT, THE HOLY SPIRIT TAKES PART WITH US AND HELPS US TO PRAY MORE EFFECTIVELY. (2X)
How? BY HELPING US PRAY ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.
SOME THINK THE “GROANINGS” IS THE HOLY SPIRIT GROANING.
BUT, ITS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER PASSAGES THAT ITS OUR SIGHS, GROANS, CRIES AND TEARS AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS OF OUR HEARTS IN PRAYER.
THEN THEY ARE TAKEN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND MADE INTO EFFECTUAL INTERCESSION BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS WILL. P.T.L.
FOOTNOTES SFL BIBLE…Paul is speaking in this verse about the prayer life of Christians generally, and is not specifically discussing the question of speaking in tongues. But there are similarities here, for speaking in tongues is often prayer or praise in syllables the speaker does not himself understand, and both kinds of speech are made effective by the Holy Spirit.
SO, WEATHER IT’S YOUR HEAVENLY PRAYER LANGUAGE, OR IN THE MIDST OF A DIFFICULT TRIAL YOU GROAN IN THE SPIRIT…
JUST KNOW THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT TAKES IT AND MAKES INTERCESSION BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD.
Groaning…police took Jason…my Dad died…I couldn’t talk (groan)
THE IMPORTANT POINT IS….THE H.S. PRAYS THE WILL OF GOD.
EPH 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…
PHIL 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
P.T.L…..“YOU ARE THE SOURCE, YOU ARE THE FIRE…”
Now, lets read a few verses after Rom. 8:28 …
Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
WOW…If God has predestined us and called us and justified us and glorified us…HEY!…Who can be against us?
As we look at these 4 things notice…they are all past tense.
It has already been done! He has predestined us.
He has called us. He has justified us. He has glorified us.
Today we’ll look at the first of these 4 accomplishments of God.
#1) Predestined
This has been a controversial term in the Church for years.
The controversy goes back about 400 years of church history.
It’s the main separation between the Calvinists and Armenians.
And most denominations are divided under these 2 headings.
Calvinism and Arminianism are two systems of theology that attempt to explain the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility in the matter of salvation.
Calvinism from John Calvin. (1509 – 1564)
Arminianism from Jacobus Arminius. (1560 – 1609)
Keep in mind…the Reformation which birthed the protestant movement away from the Catholic church began in Oct of 1517.
Calvinism holds to the Total depravity of man and states that every aspect of humanity is tainted by sin; therefore, human beings are unable to come to God on their own accord.
Arminianism says that every aspect of humanity is tainted by sin,
but not to the extent that they are unable to place faith in God of their own accord.
Calvinism holds to Unconditional Election. The view that God elects individuals to salvation based entirely on His will alone, not on anything inherently worthy in the individual.
Arminianism holds to Conditional Election which says that God elects individuals to salvation based on His foreknowledge of who will believe in Christ unto salvation, thereby on the condition that the individual chooses God.
Unlike the “Once saved, always saved”…(in other words, God chooses who will be saved and who will be lost and your will has nothing to do with it) we hold to more of a Armenian stand on predestination.
Years ago when I was struggling with these 2 theories, the Lord showed me 2Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (everyone say “ALL”)
Hey, If it’s totally up to God’s will, and man has no say in it… then according to 2Peter…everyone will be saved. But the truth is our will is involved in the work of salvation. We have a choice
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Romans 10:9 …that if (it’s a choice of your will… “If”)… you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says,
“Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
So it’s not everyone…it’s those who call on the Name of the Lord.
The key is, Predestination is based upon God’s foreknowledge.
That’s how Rom. 8:29 begins… “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”
Speaking to Christians,1Peter 1:2 says, “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…”
How about Matt 26:75 as an example of how this works.
“And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” …
Did Peter have a choice of weather or not to deny the Lord? YES!
With his own free will, he chose to deny the Lord 3 times.
And so, Jesus simply told him what he was going to do. How?
It was according to His foreknowledge. (selah)
Jesus knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, & next week, & next year…And He knows what you are going to choose even before you choose it…and that’s how predestination works.
God elects (chooses) individuals to salvation based on His foreknowledge of who will believe in Christ, thereby on the condition that the individual chooses God. (free will)
Illustration of wide road…narrow path door “whosoever will…”
“Predestined from the foundations of the world.”
SALVATION.
Who can be against us?....