As you can see this morning on
the screen, the title of the message is Salvation is God's
Work. You know, before God brings you
to the gospel, everything is vented toward mankind in some
way, toward us in some way, and that we always think that this
thing's all about us. I want to be saved. What can
I do to be saved? Rather than toward God and what
He's done in salvation. Well, this morning, the title
is Salvation is God's Work. And it's mainly dealing with the Scriptures in Romans 8 beginning
in verse 28 through 31. And I begin reading here in verse
28 here. It says, and we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God to them
who are called according to his purpose. 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. 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. What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? Now, as we begin looking at verse
28, first part, it says, and we know. Of course, Paul is speaking
here to the church at Rome, he's speaking to believers. And he
says, and we know. Realizing the reality of these
truths of, one, God and his sovereign grace in Christ and our Redeemer,
and also realizing the certainty of our future hope and glory
and the earnest of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us as our
comforter, realizing these things, we can be assured without a doubt
that God works all things, all things together for his glory
and for our good. Notice those who love God. It is said of them, there, to
them that love God, no man by nature loves God, as we're born
into this world. How can we love God when we don't
know Him? We don't know the true and living
God. So we don't come into this world loving God. So this describes
those who have or will in time be born again by the Spirit of
God, and who has or will be given faith and repentance, These are
the ones whom God the Holy Spirit has already or will shed the
love of God abroad within their hearts. Once God calls us by
His grace, His elect are able to see and we're able to understand
who He really is. We're able to love God because
we're able to see how that He first loved us in Christ. He
sent Him to save us by His grace. Concerning God's calling, that
it speaks of here. We're going to look a little
more in detail in verse 30 concerning that calling. Now, in verse 29,
it says, for whom he did foreknow. Some claim this means God merely
saw beforehand or peered into the future to see who would believe,
who would know him. But this foreknow means foreordain,
foreopponent, from eternity. It describes God's eternal purpose
and includes all that he has determined and purposed to do
prior to human history, before this world was created. In the
language of scripture, something foreknown is not simply that
which God was aware of prior to a certain point in time. but
also includes the idea that that which God has determined beforehand,
foreknown, is reserved for those matters which God favorably,
deliberately, and freely chose and ordained. This is God's foreknowledge
by which he loved the people of his choice, not because of
any good in them or any good that somehow or another he foresaw
they'd do in the future. This foreknowledge regards the
everlasting love of God to his own people and his delight in
them. It is in this sense that he knew
them. He foreknew them from everlasting
and affectionately loved them. And this is the foundation of
their predestination and election. and of their conformity to Christ,
their calling, their justification, and their glorification. It is
God's sovereign will and purpose. In Romans 9, beginning of verse
11, it says, and it's speaking of Sarah and Abraham and the
two boys that they were gonna have, and it speaks of them here,
and it says, for the children, being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
unto her, to Sarah, the elder shall serve the younger, that
it is written, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Many deny
the great truth because they think it makes God unjust and
unfair. Paul deals with these objections
later in Romans 9 and shows that God is not unjust, nor is he
unfair. In describing God's sovereignty
in all things, God deals with these objections that he had
here by using an inanimate object, an object like a piece of clay,
an object that cannot do anything except just lay there. After
the Apostle Paul has stated these things in our previous verse
here, the Jews question God's ability to choose whom he will. So to this the Apostle replies
in Romans 9 beginning verse 20. Nay, but, O man, who art thou
that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why'st thou made me thus? Hath not the potter
pierced over the clay? over the same lump to make one
vessel, one to honor, and another one to dishonor. My mine always
go back to North Georgia and up in there where they have these
potters that sit at that potter's wheel and they take that lump
of clay and they just pound it over here and they start their
process of molding and making that vessel that they're going
to make, and it's how they want to make it. They mold it around,
and then it comes out that object that they've chosen to make. Now, one might say, doesn't God
promise that whosoever will shall call upon the name of the Lord?
Yeah. In Romans 10, 13 it says that,
it says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. And yet God also says that he
chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Ephesians
one, beginning in verse four, it says, according as he hath
chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world. When
a preacher of the gospel, the true gospel, delivers a message,
he doesn't know all of the individuals that might be out there listening
to it, all the hearers that are out there. He doesn't know exactly
who might be the elect or non-elect. His command by God is to go into
all the world and to preach this gospel here, good news of salvation
by Christ. Look at Mark 16, 15. And he said
unto them, this is Christ speaking, go ye in all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. The purpose
for preaching the gospel is for God to call out his elect, and
he does it by delivering to the world a message, a gospel message
of who God is as a just God and a savior and who God is as he
saves sinners. Those who believe this gospel,
this gospel that's preached out to all the world, they give evidence
that they're one of God's elect. Those that believe not simply
show and evidence that they are of the non-elect at that time. And if they continue in this
unbelief, now that's very important, if they continue in this unbelief,
they will perish in their sins. And we know, we've even heard
our pastor speak of this. When he first heard the gospel,
he didn't like it. He rejected it completely. But
God used it to cause him to start searching him out. And he began
that process of searching God out. And he came to, by the Holy
Spirit, came to know and understand who he was and believe. Now,
I find out minds may not fully understand these truths, but
we believe these truths because God tells us in his word I believe
that God determined for it to be like this in order to show
us just how awful sin is and the depravity of our own hearts.
God made it like this in order to show us that if he does not
come in the power of his spirit and do a miraculous work in our
hearts, no matter how many times the gospel of his free grace
is preached, We will never come to the true and living God. We
won't believe. By nature, we'll reject the true
and living God. We'll come to a God of our own
making, one of our own imagination, one that we've conjured up in
our mind based on what we've heard all our life prior to that
point from either our parents or loved one, friends, whatever,
preachers on TV, And we'll make that God up in our own mind. All of us know that before coming
to the true gospel, we all had some idea of who God was. And
we didn't get that idea out of thin air. We got it by nature
and by what we've been taught up to that point of who He is. And that's what we'll come to. We won't come to the true God
of scripture. just God and Savior. There will be, however, no excuse
in the end. No one will be able to blame
God for their unbelief. I thank God that he does make
some men willing in the day of his power. Like I said, I'll
go back to this again. Just because somebody comes in
and hears the gospel and rejects it, it doesn't mean in the end God won't use it to cause them
to start searching him out and finally believe him. So, don't
ever give up hope in your loved one, your friend, whatever, that
have heard the gospel. Now, if they don't hear the gospel,
it's a different matter. But if they've heard this, that's
the reason God commands us to go out and preach this gospel,
deliver this gospel. And it don't mean just for a
preacher or a minister standing in a pulpit, it can mean individually
as you talk to your neighbor and your friend. And that all
encourages to grow in grace and knowledge that we'll be able
to tell them who God is, tell them about this God of the scripture. Now Romans 8, 29, here, the last
part, says, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son. Predestinate means to determine
or decide beforehand. Peter referred to this as the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God in Acts 2, 23. It says,
him, speaking of Christ, being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. This, of course, is speaking
of the death of Christ for the redemption of his people. God
meant it for good in the salvation of his elect, but men, they crucified
him, meant it for evil. They crucified Christ out of
the evil of their own hearts. Paul describes predestination
as the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will, Ephesians 1.11. In whom also we have obtained
an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things at the counsel of his own will. When
Paul assures us in Romans 8.28 that God causes all things, work
together for good to them that love God, to them that are called
according to his purpose. He then follows in verse 29 with,
for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate. Paul uses
God's word of predestination as a reason why we can be assured
of this truth. In short, predestination, far
from being a cause of being a division among individual is given that
it might bring comfort and assurance. The fact that God has predetermined
the destiny of his people does not remove man's responsibility
to seek the Lord. Sinners perish eternally because
they refuse to seek the true God and true Christ, and all
men by nature will refuse and will continue to do so unless
or until God works His powerful work of the new birth by His
Spirit. We see also here that the gospel
of God's predestinating purpose is that His chosen, justified,
redeemed, and adopted and regenerated people, according to Romans 29,
be conformed to the image of His Son. the Lord Jesus Christ. As man was originally created
in the image of God and lost that image in the fall, that
image is restored in salvation by grace. When the redeemed are
perfectly glorified and conformed to be like Christ, perfect and
sinless as glorified saints. Now, the last part of Romans
8, 29, says that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren, speaking of Christ. Christ has all the
preeminence and superiority among the many brethren. God's purpose
to glorify himself includes Christ's preeminence. All of our salvation
was conditioned on Christ, and he alone satisfied those conditions,
and he married it for us all spiritual blessings. He was the
first to be resurrected from the dead, the firstfruits, and
the firstborn. His resurrection is a sure and
certain pledge of the resurrection and final glory of all those
that are in Christ, all those that come to true faith and repentance. Now, we'll see in this next verse,
verse 30, salvation is entirely God's Word from beginning all
the way to end. Romans 8, 30. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, or whom God decided to choose to save
from old eternity, them he also called. Under the preaching of
the gospel, God the Holy Spirit will come in time to regenerate
and convert each one from whom he did predestinate. In whom
he called, them he also justified. It is God that justified by the
blood and by the righteousness of his dear son alone. In whom
he justified, them he also glorified. God will in time bring each and
every one of his elect to final glory. Now each one of these
things have already taken place in the eternal mind of God and His purpose. Now that's hard
to wrap your mind around, but it's already taken place in God's
mind from eternity. Some of these acts, our calling
and glorification, does take place in time in our existence. Now, one may ask, how can we
know if we are predestined to be conformed to the image of
Christ? The answer is found in this verse, moreover whom he
did predestinate, them he also called. To be called refers to
the effectual, the powerful, invincible calling of the Holy
Spirit in the new birth by the preaching of the gospel. Let's
look at a few verses that back this up. First of all, John 1,
beginning verse 12. But as many as receive him, receive
him in the gospel call, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man, but of God. That's that new birth. Also in
John 3, beginning of verse 3, Jesus answered and said unto
him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. Also in Acts 13, 48, and
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified
the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained, or appointed,
or predestinated, to eternal life believed. Men by nature
of their own wills, as they call it, their own free will, they
will not come to Christ for salvation, because we naturally, we love
that darkness that we're in, and we're rebellious toward the
true and living God of Scripture. Look at John 3, 19. And this is the condemnation,
that light is coming to the world, that's that gospel light, coming
to the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their
deeds are evil. For everyone that doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved. John 5, 40 says, and this is
Christ speaking, it says, and you will not come to me that
you might have life. Do we believe Scripture? Do we
believe God's word? Christ said, you will not come
to me that you might have life. And John 6, 44 says, no man can
come to me except the father which hath sent me draw him in
the new birth, the preaching of the gospel. And I raised him
up at the last day. Now these things are plain in
God's word. And by nature, false preachers and religions
all over the world, somehow or another, it's not presented. If any come to Christ, it's the
power of the Holy Spirit and new birth. According to John
1, 11, it says, he came to his own, his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were
born not, as I said again, not of blood, nor the will of the
flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. Look back at 8.30, the
last part of that verse. It says, in whom he called, them
he also justified. This calling of God, The Holy
Spirit, which brings a sinner to faith in Christ and repentance
from dead works, gives evidence that they've been justified by
God or declared righteous, not guilty. Faith does not justify
a sinner before God. Christ's righteousness imputed
justifies a sinner before God. Faith in Christ is the fruit
and the evidence of justification is not the cause. The cause and
basis of our justification is entirely attributed to the righteousness
of Christ. Justification cannot be attributed
to man's works, not even our faith, and that according to
Romans 3 beginning verse 19. Says, now we know that what thing
soever the law saith, it saith of them that are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of law,
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. And then back,
the last part of verse 30. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. To be glorified refers to our
final glorification at the second coming of Christ when we will
be reunited with our new glorified spiritual perfect bodies and
be perfectly conformed to the image of Christ. Look at 1 Corinthians
15 beginning with verse 50. Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In the
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the
trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. What
we just read concerning our final glorification has not happened
yet in our experience. But there are two things to keep
in mind. One, it has happened in the mind of God. According
to Romans 4.17, it says, for it is written, I made thee a
father of many nations before him whom He believed even God,
who quickened the dead and calleth those things which be not as
though they were. All things, whether past, present,
or future, are sure and certain in the mind and in the purpose
of God. All things, all based on the promises of God and the
faithfulness of Christ our Lord. God purposed all things. all
things will be fulfilled in time. And two, it's sure and certain
to be our experience because of the sovereign power of God,
God's grace in Christ, who is risen, and he's the first fruits
of believers who have died. First Corinthians 15, beginning
of verse 20, but now in Christ is Christ risen from the dead,
and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by
man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own
order, Christ the firstfruits. Afterward, they that are Christ,
that belong to Christ, that are in Christ at his coming. Let every true believer glory
in the grace of God by which we are predestined, called, justified,
and will be glorified. This brings joy and peace to
believing in the midst of all these afflictions and trials
that we go through in this life. And boy, we've gone through a
lot in the last year. We're told plainly that It is
God's will that we enjoy this absolute certainty of salvation,
which neither the world nor the powers of hell can break. I'm going to read a few verses
that show us just how sure and certain our salvation is. In Hebrews 6, beginning verse
16, it says, for men barely swear by the greater, and an oath for
confirmation is to them an end of strife, wherein God willing
more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability,
the unchangeableness, God doesn't change, of his counsel, confirmed
it by an oath, that by two immutable, unchangeable things, in which
it was impossible for God to lie, We might have strong consolation
who have fled for refuse to lay hold upon the hope set before
us. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure
and steadfast, and which entered into that within the veil. Speaking of Christ, that's our
hope. All my hope is in Christ, totally. Isaiah 40, beginning
of verse one. Comfort you, comfort you, my
people, sayeth God, sayeth your God. Speak ye comfortably to
the Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sin. Lastly, in John six. Boy, this whole thing in John
6 is such a blessing. All that the Father giveth me,
this is Christ speaking, shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. Now this is Christ speaking.
Do you believe what He just said? Or do you believe not? The last verse that we'll look
at this morning, verse 31. What shall we say then of these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us? What should
our response be to all these things of God's purpose and grace
in Christ Jesus? If God is for us in all these
areas of salvation, righteousness, eternal life and glory that we've
talked about this morning, Who can be against us? The conclusion
here is that nothing and no one can stand against us successfully
because we're saved and secure eternally because of the glorious
person and finished work of Christ. We're truly and eternally safe
and secure in Christ. And we will one day be perfectly
like him. As our title suggests, these
verses that we've just dealt with this morning declare that
salvation is entirely God's work. Whom God foreknew, he predestined. Those he predestined, he also
called by the gospel. And those he calls, he also justifies. And whom he justifies, them he
also glorifies. As verse 31 says, what shall
we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? Salvation is God's Word. Amen.