I sure am thankful that His grace
and His love is relentless. I like that word, don't you?
Relentless. Turn back to Romans chapter 8,
and while you're turning there, tonight I'm going to speak upon
this subject, worry and little faith, out of Luke chapter 12. Worry and little faith. And we're going to observe the
Lord's table together and have a baptism tonight as well. Tom
Fitzpatrick is going to confess Christ and believe his baptism. I've entitled the message for
this morning, the results of foreknowledge and predestination. And last week we considered foreknowledge
and predestination. And this morning we're going
to consider the results of foreknowledge and predestination. Verse 29
and 30, let's read these again. And all of these are spoken of
as historic. Not something that's going to
happen, but something that's already taken place. That's very
important. Verse 29, 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, then he also called. And whom he called, then he also
justified. And whom he justified, then he
also glorified. And this is spoken of in the
past tense. Now this is the golden chain
of salvation, somebody once said. God's foreknowledge and predestination. Whom? He did foreknow. That means he's always known
you. That means he's always loved you. Never a time when he didn't. Before I formed thee in the belly,
I knew thee. Behold, I've loved you with an
everlasting love. That is glorious. Whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate. to be conformed to the image
of His Son. Glorious predestination conformed
to the image of Christ. Now here are the results of this
glorious foreknowledge and this glorious predestination. Whom He did predestinate, them
He also called. And whom he called, then he also
justified. And whom he justified, then he
also glorified. Whom he did predestinate, then
he also called. Am I somebody that God has called? That's a good question, isn't
it? And I want to know the answer to that question. Am I somebody
whom God has called? Now, when we speak of the calling
of God, we got to begin with his purpose. As we read in verse
28, and we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Calling begins with God, whom
he did predestinate. Then he also called. Now the only people he calls
are those people whom he has foreknown and whom he has predestinated. This call of God is not some
general call, but it's His specific call. And you know that you can't
come unless He calls you. It's got to begin with Him. You
cannot come, you may not come, unless He calls you. And that's what the Bible teaches
regarding this thing of the call of God. There's a beautiful illustration
of this found in the book of Esther. If you would turn to
Esther right before Job, the book of Esther. Chapter four. This is Esther's word to Mordecai,
verse 11. all the king's servants, Esther
chapter four, verse 11. And all the king's servants and
the people of the king's provinces do know that whosoever, whether
man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court
who is not called. Who is not called. There's one
law of his to put him to death. except such to whom the king
shall hold out the golden scepter that he may live. Now this is
an illustration of the king in that day. You couldn't come to
him unless you were called. You had no right to come unless
you were called. You know, this lets us know something
about the holiness of God and my own sinfulness. I can't come
unless he calls me to come. The Lord said in John chapter
6 verse 44, no man can come to me except the father which has
sent me draw him. Now, do you and I hear that?
We cannot come unless he calls us. Now, the call of God is the taking
place in time what God determined in eternity. This call is called
in scripture a high calling. The high calling of God in Christ
Jesus. It's called a heavenly calling.
Believers are said to be partakers of the heavenly calling. And it's a holy calling. Second
Timothy 1.9 says, he saved us and he called us with an holy
calling. Now he was the first result of
predestination, calling. Whom he did predestinate, then
he also called. Now may God give me grace to
present this as it ought to be presented, as God would have
it presented. And may God give me and you grace to hear this
as God would have us hear. calling. Now when we speak of
the call of God, we first have to speak of it as a sovereign
call of God. You got to begin there because
it begins with God. You know Mark chapter 3 verse
13, it says when he was calling his disciples, the scripture
points out very clearly, he calleth whom he would. God's call is
a sovereign call. He calls whom he would. just like the sun quickens, whom
he will. This call is the sovereign call
of God. Now, when there's a call, there
is a voice. There's something you hear. When
he calls you, there's something you hear. Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians
2. Verse 13. But we are bound to
give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Now there's two things that always
go together. Can't be separated. The sanctification of the Spirit
and the belief of the truth. Now look what he says in verse
14. Where unto he called you? By our gospel. Now this is the
voice you hear when you're called. You're called by our gospel to
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now someone
that has not heard, someone that has not believed, the gospel
has never been called by God. And that begs the question, What
is the gospel? What is the gospel that someone
hears, that someone believes, that someone receives into their
hearts when God calls them? What is the gospel? Now turn with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. I want you to see this with your
own eyes. I want to see with my own eyes. I Corinthians chapter 15 verse
1, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel. Remember, we're asking the question,
what is the gospel? Well, Paul's telling us here,
what is the gospel? It's the one which I preached
unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand,
by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered
unto you, first of all, that which I also received. How that
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he
was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures. Now this is so important. The
gospel is not Christ died for our sins. If that's what I say
and that's all I say, I have not preached the gospel according
to Paul. It's how that Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures. And he's speaking of the Old
Testament Scriptures. The canon of the New Testament
had not been completed. He's speaking of the Old Testament
Scriptures. And what came to my mind when I thought of how
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures is I thought
of the Passover. Blood was shed. Whoever was in the house with
the blood over the door was saved. Not everybody was in the house
with the blood over the door. Anybody that was in the house,
God said, I'll pass them by. Anybody outside of the house,
judgment. God said. Here's the one, oh
may God give me grace to believe this, to receive this, to see
what he's... God said, when I see the blood, not when you see it,
when I see it. When I see the blood, not when
I see your faith, not when I see your intentions, not when I see
your good deeds, not when I see anything about you. One thing
God was looking for, the blood. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. That's the gospel. That's how
that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.
Now this message that's preached that Jesus Christ shed his blood
for everybody and made salvation possible for everybody, but it's
up to you to either accept it or reject it. If you accept it,
you'll be saved, but if you reject it, you'll be damned. There's
not a drop of gospel in that. That's not the gospel. That's
a message of salvation by works. No gospel in that. The gospel
is how that. Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures. According to the scriptures,
his death was successful. Everybody he died for must be
saved. That's my hope. My hope isn't
in anything that I've done. It's that Christ died for me. That's my hope. No other hope. That's the gospel. Now, he calls
by the gospel. If I believe I'm saved in a message
that is not this message, the message of Christ's perfect work
for his elect, I'm denying the very content of the gospel. If
I believe I'm saved by a message of works or free will, that's
a denial of the very content of the gospel. The gospel is
how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. Now, this call of God is a personal
call. Lazarus, come forth. It was said to Mary, the Master
is come and calleth thee. O Lord, call me. Make haste and come down, for
today I must abide at thy house. This is a personal call. It's
not some kind of general. If he calls, he calls you. John chapter 10 verse 3 says,
He calleth his own sheep. Is everybody a sheep? No, they're
goats. They're goats. A goat will never be a sheep.
And a sheep will never be a goat. And he calls his own sheep. by
name. And this call which comes by
the gospel is sovereign, is personal, is a necessary call. Zacchaeus,
make haste and come down. You know it's always a call down.
For today I must abide at thy house. Now there is only one
reason why Jesus Christ must do anything. He said I must be
about my father's business. When it said he must needs go
through Samaria, it's because one of his sheep was in Samaria.
And he's always going to go after his people. It's a necessary
call. You see, anything God predestinated
in eternity must come to pass. It's a necessary call, and it
is a call to the dead. Lazarus, come forth! And he that was dead came forth. Oh, the hour is coming and now
is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and
they that hear shall live. You know, I pray that God calls
some dead sinner this morning. But if He calls you, He calls
you when you're dead. Dead in trespasses and sins.
Not seeking Him, perfectly happy the way things are. And he says,
live. And all of a sudden, he that
was dead came forth. And beloved, this call of God,
whom he did predestinate, then he also called, is a most effectual
call. Lazarus, come forth! And he that
was dead came forth. He couldn't say no, could he?
He couldn't say, I'm staying right where I'm at. No, when
God calls you, you'll come. It's a most effectual call. Zacchaeus, make haste, come down,
for today I must abide at thy house. And the scripture says
Zacchaeus made haste and he came down and he received him joyfully. That's what happens every time
God calls somebody. 1 Corinthians 1, verses 23 and
24, Paul says, we preach Christ crucified. Now unto the Jews,
that's a stumbling block. Unto the Greeks, it's foolishness.
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, both the
religious and the irreligious, Christ, the power of God, and
Christ, the wisdom of God. Now this is that call that cannot
be resisted. The call of invincible, relentless
grace. It's a call to come down. Right now, this call of God's
calling you It's called come down. Come down from your pride,
your self-righteousness, your arrogance, your high-mindedness. Come down. The way up in the
kingdom of heaven is always down. Down to the feet of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I don't want to be anywhere else,
do you? I want to be sitting at his feet. Down. Oh, may God give me the grace
not to step up, but to step down. And the lower I go, the closer
I'll be to him. This call is a call to holiness. First Thessalonians chapter 4
verse 7 says, God hath not called us to uncleanness, but unto holiness. And it's a call to liberty. Galatians
chapter 5 verse 13 says, God hath called us to liberty. Not
bondage, but liberty, freedom. We're not the children of the
bound woman, but of the free. You know all this bondage? God's
not in that. If the Son hath made you free,
you're free indeed. And this could all be summarized
by all of this call. It's a call to come to Christ.
When God calls you, that's what you do. In your heart, you come
to the Lord Jesus Christ. The spirit and the bride say,
come. And let him that heareth say,
come. And let him that's a thirst,
come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. Freely. Now, the second blessing that
he mentions in our text is justification. Whom he called, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified. Now, like we said last week, with
God there's not a sequence of events. Everything's at once. Do I understand that? No. No,
I don't understand how God can see everything that there's no
Future, there's no past, everything's in the present with God. He doesn't
see in a sequence of events as the way you and I do. But in
our experience, the way we see things is when we're called,
that's when we see justification. But in reality, my justification
took place a long time before my calling. You see, I was eternally
justified in the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
And I was justified when Christ justified me on Calvary's tree.
You see, I'm not justified because of my faith, I'm justified because
of Christ. And when I'm called, I see this
thing of justification. Now, in our experience, calling
comes first. But my justification came before
I knew anything about it. Now, the easiest way to understand
justification is this. It's the sentence of the judge
in a court of law. You're pronounced guilty or you're
pronounced justified. Now, if you're pronounced guilty,
you know what that means? That means whatever you're accused
of, you did it. And if you're pronounced justified,
that means there's nothing to accuse you of. You never did
anything wrong. You never broke the law. You
always did that which is right. You don't have anything to feel
guilty about. You don't have anything to have
a black cloud over your head. You stand before God without
guilt if you're justified. I love the parable of the Pharisee
and the public. And the Pharisee stood thus in
the temple and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that
I'm not as other men are. And he commences to start lying.
I didn't do this and I do that. Everything he said was a lie.
But there was another man, a publican, not the Pharisee, but the publican.
He stood in the back of the temple. He beat on his breast, crying,
God, be merciful to me, the sinner, the worst man to ever live. And then Christ said, I say unto
thee, that this man went down to his house, not merely forgiven,
not merely pardoned, not put on parole, but justified. Justified. Whom he called, them
he also justified. Now there are several key verses
in the Bible that summarize all we believe. I think of Ephesians
2.8, by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of
yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast. That's a pretty good summary,
isn't it? Or what about this, Colossians chapter 3, verse 11,
Christ is all. He's all to God, he's all to
me, he's all in the scriptures, he's all in salvation, he's all.
And then I love this one, Romans chapter four, verse five says,
to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. What a glorious verse. Now, justification is not something
you accept. It's not something you reject.
It's something that God declares you to be. It is God that justifies. Now this is the high court of
heaven. There's no court of appeals for this. It is God that justifies. This is something that God declares
you to be. Now I've given you this outline
10 times at least, and I reckon I'm going to give it an 11th. Justification. Five things scripture
says regarding justification. Number one, justification is
by grace. Romans 3, 24 being justified
freely by his grace. Now God said in Exodus chapter
34, I will by no means clear the guilty. Now, what did he
say? He said, I'll by no means. Under no circumstances whatsoever.
No loopholes. If you're guilty, you will not
be cleared. God is just. All sin must be
punished. Now justification by grace means
that God is able to make you not guilty in a way that you
really are not guilty. I've heard people talk about
justification, say, well, it's a forensic term, you know, it's your standing.
It's not your state, it's your standing. You're standing, God
sees you as not guilty. Well, if God sees you as not
guilty, there's only one reason he sees you as not guilty, because
you're not guilty. Because you stand without fault before God,
because you're holy and without blemish before him. That's what
justification means. Not guilty. Now, justification
is by grace. And justification, secondly,
is by Christ. Knowing that man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ. Galatians
2.16. You see, his life, his perfect
obedience. That's my perfect obedience.
That's my justification. His death. Scripture says we're
justified by his blood. You see, when he died, my sin
was actually washed away, put away. It ain't there anymore. It's gone. It really is gone. Justified by His blood. Justified
by faith, the scripture says. You know what that means? That
means the only evidence that I'm justified is faith. Faith
in Christ. Looking to Christ only as all
my righteousness before God. That's the only way I'm justified.
Now, if you have some, well, I got some evidences that I'm
saved. living better, I'm walking more closely with the Lord, and
I'm reading the scriptures more, and I'm praying more, and I'm
just doing better. I must be saved. You must not
be saved. You think something like that? You just must not
be saved. That's not where an evidence of salvation. Faith
is the evidence of things not seen. Looking to Christ only
is the evidence that I've been justified by His grace, and I've
been justified by Christ by what He did. And justification in
Scripture also says in James chapter 2, you're familiar with
this, man is justified by works and not by faith only. Now, what
did James mean by that? Well, he gives us this beautiful
illustration. God said to Abraham, take now
your son, your only son, the one you love, the one I promised
the Messiah through, take him and offer him up as a burnt offering
to me. And you know what Abraham did?
He did it. And you know why he did it? Because
which of us had thought, could I do that if God told me to do
that to my child? Could I do that? Everyone of
us thought, I don't think I could do that. Well, if God told you
to, you could. I guarantee if you're a believer,
if God told you to, you could. But here's what Abraham believed.
Scripture says he believed that God would raise him from the
dead. Remember he said to the servants, I and the lad go yonder
to worship and will return to you. He believed he was going
to kill him and God was going to raise him from the dead because
God's promise, the Messiah is coming through this young man. And Abraham knew God could not
lie. He believed the promise of God.
Now, if he would have said, If I kill him, then God's promise
won't take place. You know what all that would
mean? It means he didn't believe God. He thought God could be wrong.
But he proved he really believed God by his works when he raised
up the knife, knowing that God would raise his son from the
dead. His works proved he believed what he said he believed. And justification finally is
by words, Matthew 12 verse 37. By thy words you'll be justified
and by your words you'll be condemned. Now listen to me real carefully.
Your words, my words, the things that come out of my mouth will
demonstrate whether I really believe what I say I do. You
see what comes out of my mouth is what I really believe. And
if out of my mouth comes words consistent with the great justification
of God, because I believe it. By my words I'll be justified,
by my words I'll be condemned. Now, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, according
to our text, them he also glorified. It doesn't say He will glorify
them when they get into heaven. It says whom He justified, them
He also glorified. Already done. This is not prophetic,
something that's going to take place. This is historic. This is something that already
has taken place. What is glorification? Boy, that's
a hard one to try to describe, but I guess the closest way I
could describe glorification is being conformed to the image
of Christ. That's glory, isn't it? To be conformed to his image. Now, the first thing that I notice
is the absence of the word shall. He didn't say, he does not say
whom he justified, then he also shall glorify. It says whom he
justified, then he also glorified. Past tense. But I can't see it. Neither can
I. Can you look at yourself and
see you being glorified? Well, it almost sounds offensive,
doesn't it? Me, glorified? I sure can't see it. I know you
can't. That doesn't mean it's not so. You know, faith, once
again, is the evidence of things not seen. While I don't see my
glorification, I believe my glorification. You see, Christ is seated in
heaven at the right hand of the Father. I don't see him, but
I see him and believe him. Turn to Ephesians chapter 2. Verse 4, But God, who is rich
in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
ye are saved, and look at this, and hath raised us up. Not he
will, he hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. Is Christ in heaven right now? I am too, according to this passage
of scripture. Is Christ glorified? I am too. He said, the glory that thou
gavest me, I have given them. Not I will, but I have. Now,
here's the best way I can illustrate this from the scriptures. You
remember that mountain transfiguration? The story in Matthew chapter
17, where the Lord, all you could see was a man. But somehow his face began to
shine as the sun, and his clothes began to glow, and he manifested
his glory. Now, the glory that he manifested
at this time was there before he manifested it, wasn't it?
This wasn't the first time he became glorious. He had this
glory before this manifestation. We couldn't see it until he manifested
it. And when he manifested it, they
saw it. Now there's another scripture
found in Matthew chapter 13, verse 43, I believe it is. Turn with me there. This is the parable of the wheat
and tares, and the Lord ends it up with this statement, verse
43, then shall, look what he calls his people, the righteous. Isn't it wonderful that the Lord
Jesus would refer to you or me as the righteous? That's how
he refers to his people. Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. Now, glory, the righteous will
shine forth as the sun. You don't see it yet, but it's
there right now. Just like the Lord covered his,
our old man covers this glory so that we can't see it. One
day we will, but that does not mean it's not there right now. Near, so near to God, nearer
I cannot be, for in the person of his dear son, I'm as near
to God as he. Dear, so dear to God, dearer
I cannot be. For in the person of his dear
son, I'm as dear to God as he. You see, Christ loved the church
and gave himself for it, that he might present it to himself,
a glorious church. Not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing. but that it should be holy and
without blemish before him. Romans 8, 17 says we're glorified
together with him. And we read where he'll change
our vile body that it might be fashioned like unto his glorious
body. You see, we're already glorified
and all we need to do is get rid of this vile body to see
it. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4,
17, he spoke of the exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Yeah, I'm feeling pretty much
the way I did last week. When I was preaching last week,
I was thinking, you idiot, trying to think of things that are too
wonderful for you. You can't help that. I mean,
David said the same thing. He said, such knowledge is It's
too wonderful for me. It's high. I can't attain to
it. Talking about believers already being glorified, that's high.
But I believe it. I believe it. Because I believe
Him. And I believe the Bible is the
Word of God. And I believe everything in it. And by God's grace, I
want to bow to everything God says in His Holy Word. Here is the results of glorious
foreknowledge and predestination. Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, conformed
to the image of his son. 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. And just a hint into next week,
what shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, For
us in foreknowledge, for us in predestination, for us in calling,
for us in justification, for us in glorification, this golden
chain of salvation. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Amen.