Would you open your Bible to
the fourth chapter of the book of Acts? We'll begin reading. At verse
23 on their release. Peter and John went back to their
own people and reported all that the chief priests. And elders
had said to them. When they heard this. They raised
their voices together in prayer to God. Sovereign Lord, they
said, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything
in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit
through the mouth of your servant, our father, David. Why do the
nations rage and the people's plot in vain? The kings of the
earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against
the Lord and against his anointed one. Now that is the word that
is normally translated Christ. In the Old Testament it would
have been translated Messiah. Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate
met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this
city To conspire against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed. They did what your will had decided
beforehand. Now those two words are only
one word in the Greek language. Pro Rizzo. And that is the word
which in most other places that it's found in the New Testament
in most other places It is translated by some version of the word predestined. Now, Lord, consider their threats.
And enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal
and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name
of your holy servant, Jesus. Now there is hardly a word in
all of the English Bible which evokes such strong emotions as
the word predestination. Mention it in almost any group
and people will quickly polarize to one or the other opinion regarding
that word. And can get quite emotional about
it. No one's neutral. The humanist. Hates this word. For to him,
such a truth belittles man. It makes him nothing more than
a puppet, they say. If God is predestined all things.
then we are simply doing those things which God ordained beforehand
that we would do, just like puppets dance on the strings controlled
by the puppeteer. But if you could see within the
hearts of those who hate this biblical truth, we would discover
that the haters of this doctrine are not satisfied to be mere
men. When I say the haters of this
doctrine, all of us by nature are. You see, what we don't like
about this doctrine, generally referred to as predestination,
is not that it makes us something less than men. It's that it makes
us something less than God. Do you remember the first temptation? The very first temptation in
the Garden of Eden was not simply to eat the fruit. I suppose that
Eve would have been able to resist that temptation. It was not the
fruit itself that tempted her. It was what the devil said the
fruit would do for her, and that is this, that it would make her
like God. And I don't mean like in the
sense of desire and appreciate. She thought it would give her
the same power, the same wisdom, and the same authority that God
has. She didn't like, evidently, did
not like the subservient position of being one whose entire destiny
was in the hands of the One who had made her. He didn't like
that. The first temptation was the
temptation to make oneself to be like God. And you know, that
is what has been ruining us ever since. Man has been trying to
be God ever since the devil first tempted Eve to try it. And one
way Or one obstacle to that, shall I put it that way, one
obstacle to that is the truth of this absolute sovereignty
of God whereby He aforeordained, or ordained beforehand, or predestinated
everything that happens. That's a pretty big obstacle
to us being God when He's calling all the shots. But the believer loved this doctrine.
For he finds it in the Scripture. But more than that, he loves
this doctrine because any other belief will belittle his God
and will make his God to be the puppet in the hands of men. And make no mistake, this is
no small or trite doctrinal matter. This isn't something that, a
doctrine that we should simply say, well, let the seminarians
discuss it. Let the guys going to Bible school
discuss this deep doctrine brethren it's not a deep doctrine it is
not difficult to understand. God ordained beforehand everything
that happens. This issue is nothing less than
determining who is in whose hands. Either. I am in His hands, or He is in
mine. Either He determines what shall become of me, or I
determine what shall become of Him. You see, there can only be one
King. And anybody, even among human
kings, Now there were good ones and bad ones, and there were
ones who were more kingly than others. But one thing about kings
is every one of them insisted that they were the only authority,
and all other authorities were to submit to theirs. Now I'm glad that among men in
this country, I'm glad we don't have kings. I'm glad that we've got the system
of government we do. I'm glad that we're not subject
to the whims of a single man. But I am delighted that I am
utterly subject to the will and purpose and predestinating sovereignty
of the God of scriptures. I can trust him. The reason that
the founders of our nation would have no king is because, wisely,
they don't trust men. Men are not to be trusted. God
can be. He is a king, all of whose decrees
are absolutely right and just and good. And even though most people oppose
this truth, the belief that God has ordained everything that
happens is the only logical conclusion that we can come to. Can a story
go in any direction other than what the author writes? Can a
work of art or a work of craftsmanship be anything other than what the
artist or craftsman makes it to be? Paul in dealing with this
particular issue in Romans chapter 9 says, shall the thing that
is made save to him that made it? Why did you make me like
this? If a guy paints a picture, can
the picture turn around and say, well, I want to be something
else. This isn't right. I want to be blue right here.
I want a tree here. No, a picture is whatever the
author paints it to be, or whatever the artist paints it to be. Now,
the Bible does not spend much time trying to prove this doctrine. I only know of one case that
it ever makes an argument for it. Rather, it just assumes it. Same way with creation. The Bible
does not try to prove that God created the heavens and the earth.
It just says He did. It starts at that point. It assumes
it to be true. So let's look at there are six
scriptures where this word appears and let's look at what the Bible
has to say about this important doctor because you know some.
It doesn't matter what men have to say about it. That's the truth. I believe in predestination.
But you know something me believing in it doesn't make it so does
it. Another person may say, I do
not believe in predestination. Well, them not believing it doesn't
make it not so. We have only one source of truth,
one authority for it, and that's what the scriptures say. And
let's just look at what the scriptures say and be ready to believe and
rejoice in whatever God has recorded for us regarding this truth.
Now, here in Acts chapter four, verse 28, We have what we might
call the predestination that started it all. The predestination
which gave rise to every other predestination. It says here,
now Lord, excuse me, verse 28, they did what your power and
will had decided beforehand should happen. Now here's a great definition
of predestination and how it works itself out in this world.
Here is the definition of it. God deciding beforehand what
men will do. Now, that's not real hard to
understand, is it? But we have it right here in the Scriptures. This isn't a Baptist view. This
isn't a Reformed view. This isn't a Catholic view, not
a Methodist view. It is the Scriptural view. It's
written right here in black and white, inspired by the Spirit
of God and recorded for all the ages. This is what predestination
is. It is God deciding beforehand
what men will do. It is not God seeing beforehand
what men will do. It is not merely him being like
some master prophet who is able to look down through the ages
and figure out what it is or see what it is men are going
to do. It's God deciding what men shall do before they ever
do it. Yeah, he decided all these things before there were any
men to do it. So predestination is God deciding
what men shall do beforehand. And how does it look in this
world? How does God's predestination
express itself? They did. What he beforehand
determined. Now if I asked you why are you
here this morning. There may be a lot of answers
you give you so I'm here because I wanted to be here and that's
good I'm glad you were motivated that way. You can say well I'm
here because I felt that I ought to be here. Well that's not quite
as good but we'll take whatever reason brings you here. But I'll
tell you the ultimate why. For you being here this morning.
God beforehand determined you would be here. And he not only
determined that you would be here, he determined every minute
detail of this creation so as to bring it to pass. He didn't just ordain. That one
event. You're going to be here. He ordained
the however many years of earth history there has been or human
history and all the events to bring to pass you being here. And our Lord Jesus Christ, if
we say, well, why was he crucified? We might say, well, he was crucified
because The Jewish religious leaders
of that day saw him as a threat to their power and influence
over their kinsmen. Well, you'd be right if you said
that. You could say, well, it was in part because the fellow
who was in charge of that area, in charge of Judea, the Roman
proconsul, I think is what he was called, pilot, is because
he was a politician at the very core of him. And he figured in
his mind it would be better to let this one man be crucified
than to endure all the complaining that the people were doing about
him. And you know something? If you
said that, you'd be right. That's one of the contributing
factors. And if you were to say, well,
Jesus Christ was crucified because the Scriptures predicted that
he would be, and the Scriptures must be fulfilled, you'd be right
in saying that. But when these people, and remember
these are believers, this is the very early church, this is
believers, and this is their prayer to God. And God did not
bother to correct them in what they prayed to Him. They said
that Jesus was crucified because God determined beforehand that
that's what men would do. And they did it. Do you realize what this scripture
is teaching us, among many other things, is that we will do what
God predetermined that we would do as surely as the character
in a book does exactly what the author writes that he will do. You say, well, that leaves me without a choice.
It depends upon what viewpoint you're looking at. We can get
real philosophical about this. I don't know how beneficial it
will be, but let me just use this example. You know the story of Romeo and
Juliet, and I've used this illustration before. William Shakespeare predetermined
everything that everybody in that book would do. He determined
every detail in that story. came from William Shakespeare's
hand and everything he writes happens in the story and it doesn't
happen unless he writes it. And yet in the story Romeo chooses
to take his own life. They say who made the choice. You see the point I'm trying
to make the problem with this predestination thing the problem
we naturally have is we fail to recognize or are unwilling
to recognize that God is above us, just like the author is above
all the characters in the story he writes. You may say, well, Romeo isn't
real. Well, he isn't real like Shakespeare is real. He's just
a real character. Shakespeare is a real author.
You say, but I'm real. Yes, you are real, but you aren't
real like God is real. You're a real creature. He's
a real creator. And that makes all the difference
in the world. This thing we call history, this thing we call our
lifetime, this few years as our brother read our lives, 70 years,
80 years, and they pass away with a moan. Pretty insignificant
in the big scheme of things, but this thing we call our lives,
it exists only because God predetermined that it would exist. And not
only did He decide that you would exist in His story, He predetermined
everything you would do. People say, well, if you do that,
you're going to say that God even predestined the bad things. Well actually I don't have a
problem with saying that. But if someone does have a problem
with that. Notice what it is here that God predestined. He
predestined the most wicked thing that men ever did. They crucified
the Lord of glory. We say God would never predestine
that a man sin. Read the book. He predestined
that those chief priests and the high priests and the Pharisees
and Pontius Pilate and his cold-hearted soldiers, he predestinated that they would
gather themselves together and shake their fist at him and say,
we'll not have this man to rule over us. Instead, we will crucify
him. And they did exactly that. Oh, let us be humbled to know that our destiny The
fact that we exist. The kind of existence we shall
have. And what eternal destiny shall
be our portion. Was determined by God. Before
any star ever twinkled in the heavens. Before he said let there
be light. He laid out the plan of everything
that would happen. Now, if you'll look with me over
at Romans chapter 8, I said we'll look at, actually
we're going to look at every place in the New Testament where
this word appears. And we'll learn from these places
what it means. Romans eight. I have written down. The wrong
scripture it's twenty nine Romans eight twenty nine. For those
God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness
of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. Here's what Paul is saying, that
all those God foreknew, what does it mean to foreknow a person?
Well, do you remember that when the angel came to Mary and said,
you're going to have a child and her response was this. How
can I have a child when I have not known a man? Well, you take that same word.
And it is one of the general words
for no. But this use of the word no. This meaning of it to know intimately
so much as to be involved with. You take that word and just simply
put the word to mean beforehand and you've got the word for no.
And when it says that God for knows his people, we can go back
to that psalm in which the psalmist says Lord Val has known me. And I don't think the psalmist
meant there that, you know, we got introduced here three or
four years ago when I went down to the front of the church and
shook the preacher's hand and signed the decision card. God
has known His people. He has been intimately involved
with them all of time and even before eternity. And those He
knew like that, because He knew them and because He loved them,
He laid out a destiny for them that was wonderful. And this
destiny is very simply that they would be made like the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now let me ask you something. If you knew that God predetermined
that you would be like Jesus Christ, Would you have any problem
with his predetermination? If you realized, if you knew
in your heart that God had predestined you to be like the Lord Jesus
Christ, would you have any trouble with the doctrine of predestination? For God's people, Predestination
is a glorious doctrine, for it gives them a glorious destiny.
He predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that
His Son might be the firstborn among many brothers. You see, everything about this
universe is centered around the Lord Jesus Christ. And if there
was a guiding force, if there was a guiding principle in God's
predestinating of everything, it's this. It's His Son. Everything about God's eternal
decree bears some relationship to His Son to set Him forth as
the reason for the universe. For the Scriptures say, For by
him, through him, and for him was everything made. Why are there trees? There are
trees for Christ's sake. Why are there rivers? There are
rivers for Christ's sake. Why are there stars? They were
made for the Lord Jesus Christ. And you can go right down to
just everything that was made. The Bible says God has made everything
for Himself, even the wicked. They serve His purpose. And you
see, we are predestined to be made like the Lord Jesus Christ, not for our sakes, but for Christ's
sake, that He might be glorified as the firstborn among many brothers. Now, that brings great benefit
to us. But remember, this predestination thing starts with the Lord Jesus
Christ, just like election starts with the Lord Jesus Christ. Because
the first elect, the first person called the elect of God, is found
in Isaiah 42, Behold mine elect, my servant whom I uphold. And it's a prophecy concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. And all of us, then, who are
God's elect, are electing Christ. And all of us who are predestinated
to be conformed to the image of Christ, we were predestined
in and because of the Lord Jesus Christ. The next case of this word is
found in the next verse, and those he predestined he also
called, that is, those who he predestined to be conformed to
the image of Christ, he called every one of them. And he didn't
just call them up with an invitation. He didn't call them up on the
phone and said, how would you like to be like Jesus? He didn't
say, how would you like to go to heaven? I got an offer for
you. God is not a telemarketer. That's
not how he calls. The call of God is an effectual
call or an effective call. Everybody He calls comes. Everybody to whom He speaks the
word of the gospel believes it. Now I'm preaching this morning
to what, 25, 30 people, something like that? And I can't make you do anything. I probably can't even argue you
into doing anything. I can't convince you of anything. But God can. I'm preaching these
words not in the hope that my preaching of them is going to
have any effect in your heart whatever. I'm preaching them
in the hope that God will join Himself to the Word preached.
And He will call you. If I call you, you know who you're
going to come to? You'll come to Me. I don't want you to come to me.
You come to me, you'll be in as big a mess as I'm in. I can't
save myself, I certainly can't save you. What does the scripture
say? That Christ is able to save to the uttermost them that come
to God through him. I don't want to convince you
of anything. I don't want you to believe anything
because I said it. Rather, I pray that God will
call you by his gospel. And if he does, you'll come to
him and you'll bow to him and you'll own him as Lord of all. Those he predestined, he called. Without predestination, there
is no call. Now think on that. Without predestination,
God doesn't call anybody. Because he calls only those he
predestines. All right, let's move to the next scripture. Predestined
to be conformed to the image of Christ. Predestined and therefore
called. And by the way, in Romans 8,
28, that's such a well-loved scripture. It says that all things
work together for good to them who love God, who are the called
according to his purpose. according to that purpose which
he predestined. You know, we love to think that
everything's going to work out for good to them that love God.
Why do you think it will? It will because God's in control
of everything. All right, look here, 1 Corinthians
2, verse 7. No, says Paul. We speak of God's secret or hidden
wisdom. A wisdom that has been hidden
and that God destined. Now the translation we're using
doesn't put the prefix pre on there. This is exactly the same
Greek word proerizo. God predestined for our glory
before time began. Christ was predestined. And the
actions of the men who crucified our Lord Jesus Christ were predestined. We, who have been called according
to the purpose of His grace, have been predestined to be made
like the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Gospel that you and I
believe, the Gospel of God's grace, was predestined. I was brought up in a form of
Um, religion called dispensationalism. Uh, it's actually an, uh, a complete
way of interpreting the scriptures, but most often, uh, it, it, it
shows itself in particular views of prophecy. And I was taught
this, that God's original plan was that Adam not fall. And that got messed up. And then
God's next plan was that. I believe I've got this right,
I think there's seven dispensations. The dispensation of human government. But that fell through and God
wiped out the world with the flood. And there's other dispensations. I can't remember them all, but
then there was the dispensation of the law. The dispensation of God and the
Jews in Israel. And that didn't work either.
So we're here now. We're not on plan A. We're not
even on plan B or C or D. We're up to about plan E now.
And that is the gospel. And eventually, they think he's
going to go back to a modified version of plan D and restore
the Jews to their former way of worship. Brethren, according to this text
of scripture, the gospel is plan A, and it's the only plan that
ever was, because it was a plan predetermined, put in place,
etched in something more irrevocable than stone. The law was put in
stone, but even stone wears out. You ever been to an old graveyard?
You can't even read what's written on those stones. Just the elements
are enough to eventually obscure them, that you can't read them
when they're born, when they die, what the name was. But the gospel is not written
in stone. The gospel is written in the
unchangeable decree of God from before the foundation of the
world. This gospel was predestinated
for our glory before time began. Have you noticed this? With the
exception of God predestinating the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus
Christ, every time the Bible mentions predestination, It comes
out to the good of those who are predestined. Now, I'm not
saying that he did not predestine things unpleasant, even destruction
for people. I'm just saying this, when the
scriptures talk about predestination, in every case except the experience
of the Lord Jesus Christ, in every case it brings about a
glorious experience. Predestination is not a doctrine. which says that people who otherwise
would have shared in the glories of heaven shall end up being
in hell. No, sir. Predestination is that
doctrine of Scripture that says that had God left things to men,
all men would have most certainly gone to hell. But He's determined
everything by His power, and most certainly will these people
whom He has chosen be with Him. Predestination is a doctrine
of glory. It is a doctrine derived from
the glory of God and a doctrine which ends in the glory of everyone
whom he has predestined to be conformed to the image of his
Son. So far, as I look at this, I
haven't found a thing about predestination that I don't like. Oh, I'm so
glad this is in God's hands. Would you want God to come to
you? Not just just search your own heart, knowing what you are.
Would you want God to leave your soul in your hands? There is a predestined, excuse
me. There's it defines predestination
and acts. It says. that God predestined according to His will and power? And isn't that the problem we
face? That our will is perverse and our power is nothing? Therefore,
does not predestination teach us that the very thing which
would prohibit us from entering into His blessing, a dependence
on our will and power, It's just rendered of no problem at all.
Because now things happen. By his will and power. Ephesians chapter for one. We're going to start in verse
3. Praise be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now nobody have any problem with
that. Nobody calls themselves a Christian would have any problem
with that. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Who has blessed us in the heavenly
realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Oh, that's just wonderful. Oh, those blessings aren't in
me. They're not in the church. They're not in the hands of the
preacher. They're not in our obedience. They're in Christ. God has deposited everything
He has for sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He that has
Christ has everything. Isn't that wonderful? We go shopping. We've got to
go to different stores. If I want food, I've got to go to a grocery
store. If I want nuts and bolts, I've
got to go to a hardware store. I realize Walmart's trying to
make it so you've only got to go to one store, but even they
don't have everything. You've still got to go to several
stores to get everything you need. Brethren, everything you
need in the sight of God is in one place, gathered together
in one person. And when you have Him, you've
got it all. Even if you don't understand
everything you need, you still have everything you need. Well, this glorious truth on
what is it founded. Verse 4, For He chose us in Him
before the foundation of the world. To be holy and blameless,
he didn't choose us because we made ourselves holy or because
we made ourselves blameless. He chose us in order to make
us like that. In his sight, and then it says
in love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through
Jesus Christ in accordance with the pleasure of his will. Now
what does it mean to be adopted when we think of being adopted?
We think it means you were an orphan. And somebody found parents
for you. Or whoever was gave birth to
you felt they couldn't do right by you or didn't want to, and
they gave you up for adoption. Whatever that's, but that's not
what the scriptural concept of adoption means. That's not. What
it meant that word meant back in that day, it actually meant
to make someone an heir. One of the common places in which
it was practiced in Rome was when generals who went out conquering
in the name of Rome, they became fabulously wealthy. And if one
of their soldiers or one of their commanders did a really good
job, they would adopt him. Now, these were grown men they
were adopting. And what it meant was is that they were granted
the full rights of being a son in that general's household,
which meant they could come and go in the household as they pleased.
They could eat at the general's table and they were made heirs
of the general's estate. And God has predestined, now
think of this, God has determined beforehand That we. Would be his children. Welcome
in his home. Eating at his table. And he makes it even more clear. In verse 11. In him we were also chosen. And
I don't know why. They went with the word chosen
there, because it's not the same word is choose over in verse
four. It actually means to be made
an heir. In him we were made heirs of
God. Having been predestined. According. To the plan of him
who works out everything in conformity. With the purpose of his will. I don't know what it means to
be an heir of God. I can't imagine what all of that means. What
is it to be written into his will? What kind of things must
it be that God has prepared? For those whom he calls sons,
I can't begin to tell you. I know where they are. there
in Christ. I know when I shall receive all
of it, when I am with Christ. And I know what condition I'll
be in when I receive it all. I'll be like Christ. But the Scriptures do not reveal
all that it means to be an heir of God. But I know this, being
an heir of God sure beats being an employee of God. Working hard
all week, trying to earn your pay. Or being a slave of God. Indebted to Him, working hard,
trying to just pay off your debt so you can walk away a free man. I'm an heir. And the wonderful
thing about this inheritance, as you compare it to the inheritances
of men, so often People inherit vast
sums of wealth. And what does it do? It corrupts
them. It harms them. And in due time, they've freed
it away and they've got nothing. There is no problem like that
with God's inheritance. Whatever it is He gives does
not ruin us. It glorifies us. And there's
no way we can ever fritter it away. For it is an endless reserve
of the blessings of God. Predestination. It may cause our flesh to rise
up. Because in our flesh is that
principle. Put into words by that poet.
I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. That's what everybody wants.
But I read what the scriptures say about predestination. And
I say, you know something? I'd much rather God decide what
happens to me than me decide it. because I tried for a while and
I did nothing but make a mess. I can wake up in the morning
full of fleshly power and say today I will follow God and I
won't get out the door before I've made a mess of the whole
day. I can say On one day, I am determined
to be like Christ. As much as any man alive can
be like Christ, I am determined to be like Christ. I thank God
it isn't me that's determining it, but God, because I've seen
what's come of my determinations to be like Christ. Nothing. When
I determined to be like Christ, I proved who my first father
was, Adam. I want to lay hold of all the
blessings of God. I want everything that God has
for me. I'm going to get it. And before long, I find myself
chasing after all the world, all that the world says it will
give to me. I'm glad that God has predestined that I shall
obtain everything He determined for me. God is a predestinating God.
I'm glad.