Moses wrote over in Deuteronomy, the secret things belong to the
Lord our God. But those things which are revealed
belong to us and to our children, that we may walk in all the words
of our God. Well, there are so many secret
things that we do not know. So many, many, many. In fact,
the Apostle Paul himself said, we know in part. We preach in
part. We see through a glass dimly.
But one day, one day, when that which is in part shall be done
away, we will know even as we are known. That'll be a day when
we shall know all these things, even as we are known of our God.
But there are some things that we know. There are some precious
promises revealed in his word that we've been taught of God.
Our Lord said, all that come to me are taught of God. And
the Holy Spirit, our Lord said, will take the things of mine
and show them to you. And we're taught of God. There's
some things we know. Briefly. We know that the Son
of God has come. We know that. And that he has
given to us understanding. That we may know him that's true. And that we're in him that is
true. And this is the true God. And this is eternal life. We
know that. Then Peter said, we know this,
we know we are not redeemed from our vain conversation received
by tradition from our fathers by the deeds of the law, or by
silver and gold, or by the works of the flesh. We know that. We
know we are redeemed before God with the precious blood of his
Son. as of a lamb without spot or
blemish, who barely was foreordained before the foundation of the
world, but was revealed in these last days for you, who are kept
by the power of God through faith." We know that. And Paul said,
I know whom I have believed. I know him. He prayed that he
might know him more and better, but he said, I know him. I know
whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded. confident that he's
able to keep that which I committed to him against that day. I know
that. And then we know this, and we
take great delight and joy in this. We know this, that though
this earthly tabernacle, this body crumble and decay and perish
and fold it up, we have a house. We have a building. a house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And in this body we
groan, but we earnest a desire to be clothed upon with our body
which is from heaven. For to be absent from this body
is to be present with our Lord." We know that. And then my text,
Romans 8, 28. Just look at it here, Romans
8, 28. And we know. And we know that all things,
and I dealt with this last Wednesday night, but just briefly, all
things, God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. And when you
say that, you say all things. But also I'll add, and all things
past, present, and future, but all things past, present, and
future are in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And all angels,
good angels or bad angels, good spirits or bad spirits, principalities,
powers, rulers of the darkness, all things, pleasant and unpleasant. It says here they work together. They work together under the
ordination, under the direction, according to the wise purpose
of my Heavenly Father, for my eternal good, that's what it
says, not my present enjoyment particularly, or my present comfort
particularly, but they work together for our eternal good and for
his glory. And we know that all things,
all things, are working together for good. For whom? For whom? Now, this is not a
blanket promise made to all of Adam's race. But this promise
refers to a particular people. It says all things work together
for good to them who love God. All men do not love God. All
men may love a God, the God of their imagination, the God of
tradition. But these people love the God
of revelation, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the scriptures, the
God of creation, the God of sovereignty, the God of holiness, the God
of providence, the God of purpose, that God. They don't just tolerate
him, they love him. They're glad he's God. They rejoice
in himself, not just in his benefits, but in himself. They love God. They delight in the presence
of God. They walk with God. They talk with God. They love
Him just as He is, just as He revealed. They love God. And
listen, and they are the called, be called, be called according
to His purpose. That's what we studied in our
Sunday School lesson this morning. Peter the Apostle said, Brethren,
give diligence. Give diligence. Make it the most
important thing of your life. To make your calling and election
sure. They're one and the same. Those
whom he elected, he called. Those whom he called, he elected.
It's one and the same. Let me show you that in the scripture.
Calling and election is one and the same. Peter made it one and
the same. He said, make your calling and
election. You can't have an election without a calling. And you can't
have people called who are not elected, because they won't come. So turn with me to three scriptures.
First to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, beginning
with verse... 1 Corinthians 1, beginning with
verse 23. 1 Corinthians 1, 23. We preach
Christ crucified. We preach Christ's crucifixion
unto the Jews as a summoning block, unto the Greeks as foolishness,
but unto you who are called. Now these are the people we're
talking about, all things work together for good to them who
are called. But to them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom
of God. Because the foolishness of God, now there's no foolishness
with God, but this is what men call foolishness. But even what
men think is foolishness is wiser than they are. What men call
weakness, the weakness of Christianity, the weakness of religion, the
weakness of those who are religious, that's what they say. But that's
still stronger than they are. For you see your calling, brethren,
not many wise men after the flesh are called. Not many mighty,
doesn't say not any, says not many. Not many noble are called. But God hath chosen. You see,
I told you, calling and election is one and the same. Not many
mighty, not many noble, not many wise in this world are called.
But God had chosen. See this? And they're the ones
that are called. Read on. God had chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise. God had chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
God had chosen the base things of the world, things which are
despised, that God chosen. Yea, and things which are not. No bodies to bring to naught
the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. Choosing and calling, one and
the same. Turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. Those whom he chose, he called.
Those whom he called, it's because he chose them. In 2 Thessalonians
2 verse 13, listen. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13. Paul has been talking about people
who do not love the truth and perish. But he says in verse
13 of 2 Thessalonians 2, 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, whereunto He called you
by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He chose you before the world
began to receive that glory, and then he called you. Whom
he chooses, he calls. Now turn to 2 Timothy, chapter
1. 2 Timothy, chapter 1, and reading
beginning with verse 8. 2 Timothy 1.8. And Paul says, now Timothy, verse
8, 2 Timothy 1, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of the
Lord. Don't be ashamed of the truth of the gospel. Don't be
ashamed of me, his prisoner. But be thou a partaker of the
afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God, who hath
saved us. Who saved us? God did. It was
the power of God that saved us and called us. He called us. He chose us, he saved us, he
called us with a holy calling, not according to our works. It
didn't depend on our works. But it's according to his own
purpose and grace, given us in Christ before the world began,
but is now manifested by the appearing of our Lord. That's
true. That's not deep doctrine. That's just good doctrine. It's
just true. It's just true. Now, back to the text, Romans
8. We know that everything, all
things, are working together for good to them who love God
and who are called according to his purpose. That's what Paul
said over there in 2 Timothy. Not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, given us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. Now, verse 29. For whom
he did foreknow. He did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Now, I want to take these words
one at a time and look at them intently like we've never looked
at them before. It says, For whom he foreknew. It doesn't say what he foreknew,
it says whom he foreknew. I hear people say, Well, the
foreknowledge of God is this. He's saying that God saw what
people would do. He's not even talking here about
what people are going to do. He's talking about the people
themselves. It's whom he foreknew, not what he foreknew, whom he
foreknew. He knew them. He knew them. He said he knew them and ordained
them to be his own. Over in Jeremiah, if you want
to turn to Jeremiah 1, chapter 1. of Jeremiah, I believe it's
verse 5. Jeremiah 1, verse 5. The Lord is speaking to this
man, Jeremiah, and he says in verse 4, the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I
knew thee. He didn't say, I knew what you
do, he said, I knew you. Before you came out of your mother's
womb, I sanctified, I set apart you. I ordained you to be a prophet
unto the nations." God knows people. He foreknew them. Now when those people appeared
at the judgment in Matthew 7, they said, Our Lord had said,
Not everyone that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom
of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is
in heaven. Many were saying to men that day, Lord, their claim
to heaven was based upon what they did. They said, Lord, we
preached in your name. We cast out devils in your name.
We did many wonderful works in your name. They did those things,
and God knew they did those things. He knew they did those things,
but he said, I never knew you. I never knew you. This is what
foreknowledge is. It's foreknowledge not of events
and things, though he knows all events and things. He ordains
them. He brings them to pass. But this
is not foresight of faith or foresight of good works or foresight
of righteousness, it's a declaration of his special love and knowledge
of them. He foreknew them. Turn to John,
chapter 10. Listen to this. John 10, verse 13. Verse 14, John 10, 14. I am the good shepherd. I know
my sheep. I know my sheep. I'm known of
them as the father knows me. Even so, I know the father and
the sheep. This is the way I know my sheep,
as the father knows me and as I know my father. I know my sheep. Whom he foreknew. You see what
I'm trying to say? And this so-called explanation
for knowledge is God knowing what people are going to do.
That's not what he said. He says, whom he foreknew. Not what, whom. Now turn, if
you will, to 2 Timothy 2. 2 Timothy 2. This is powerful here. Verse 19. Listen to this. 2 Timothy
2, verse 19. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God. The foundation of God. What's
the foundation of God? It's the foundation of all things.
It's the basis. It's the covenant. It's the kingdom.
It's the salvation of a people. It's spiritual blessings. Complete
and everlasting salvation. The new heaven. The new earth.
a kingdom of people, holy and beloved, conformed to the image
of his Son, the foundation of God, the purpose of God, the
will of God. That's the basis. All right.
It says the foundation of God standeth sure. How's it going
to stand sure? Because God laid it. God laid
this foundation. According to his sovereign pleasure,
according to his eternal purpose, according to his free grace.
And it'll stand. It stands sure. Nothing we build
will stand forever because the foundation is weak. But this
foundation God laid, and it stands sure. It's not the work of men's
hands or the work of their wills. This foundation is on the rock
Christ Jesus, the rock of ages, the tried stone, the sure stone.
I lay in Zion for a foundation, a tried stone, a sure stone.
He that believeth shall not be ashamed. It stands sure. However,
watch this. The purpose of God has this seal.
Words are so important, and I try in my study to find out what
words mean in the original language, what they mean, and what they
mean in our language. The foundation of God, the purpose
of God, the covenant, the new heaven, new earth, all the future,
stand sure God laid this foundation, and it has a seal. A seal, number
one, a seal is a stamp of approval. A seal is a mark of the genuineness
and certainty and security. A seal is the person, firm, unchangeably,
attesting to this fact. What is the seal of this glorious
foundation, the purpose of God? Here it is. The Lord knoweth
them that are his, whom he foreknew. I know my sheep. I know them. And this is the seal of that
great and glorious purpose. God knows them that are his.
And let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. turn to the Lord. This is what
our Lord prayed in John 17. Turn to John 17 a moment. I told
you we were going to look at these words as intently as we've
ever looked at them. That's what I'm doing. Whom he
foreknew. Whom? That's the key to it, he
foreknew. The foundation of God, stand
assured, having this stamp, this mark, attested to by this fact,
God knows them that he is. All right, look at John 17, our
Lord praying for his people here, verses 1 through 3. These words spake Jesus, lifted
up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, thou hast come, glorify
thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee, as thou hast given him
power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as
many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee, the only true God, Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. Verse 9, I pray for them. I pray
not for the world, I pray for them which thou hast given me.
They are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine. I am glorified in them. Now verse
22, And the glory which thou hast given me, which thou gavest
me, I have given them. that they may be one as we are
one. I in them, thou in me, that they
may be made perfect in one. And the world may know that thou
hast loved, thou hast sent me, and thou hast loved them as thou
hast loved me." All right, back to the text, Romans 8, verse
29. Whom he foreknew. Now, what's
this next word? whom he foreknew, them whom he did know, them he did
predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his Son. The
word predestinate only occurs in the scripture four times,
just four times, that's all. and twice in Ephesians 1. And everywhere the word predestinate
occurs in Romans 8 and Ephesians 1, it says this, that God has
a special knowledge of them whom he foreknew, a special love for
them, and he has predetermined in his eternal mind, in his everlasting,
unchangeable purpose and decrees, that they will be one day perfectly
conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has predestinated
those whom he knew to be like Christ, perfectly conformed to
his image. Sons of God, heirs of God, join
heirs with Christ Jesus. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called sons of God.
It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know when he
appears, we're going to see him as he is, the glorified, risen,
glorified man in glorified flesh. We're going to see him as he
is, as he is, right now at the right hand of God, the man Christ
Jesus, the Lord our righteousness, and we're going to be like him.
God has predestinated everyone whom he knows. whom he elects,
for whom Christ died, to be conformed to the image of Christ. That's
what the word predestination means. Let's go over to Ephesians 1
and look at it first. It says, "...predestinated us
to be conformed to the image of his Son." That's what he says
in Romans 8. Let's look at Ephesians 1 and
see what he says. Verse 3 through 5. Listen. Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he chose
us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy without blame before him, in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. according to the good pleasure
of his own will. Christ is the Son of God. He
has predestinated all of his sons to be like Christ. And we shall be, because God
has predestinated it. And then over here in Romans
8, he says something at the end of verse 29. Verse 29 says, Whom
he foreknew, whom he did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that Christ might be the
firstborn among many brethren. And in all things, he might have
the preeminence. That is the name of Jesus, every
knee should bow, every tongue shall confess, he's the Lord,
he's the firstborn. Now listen to me. He's the firstborn
of God, the only begotten of the Father. He's the firstborn
with respect to all creatures. and creation. He's before all
things, and all things were made by him. He's the firstborn and
heir of all things. The government's on his shoulders.
The rule is his. The kingship is his. The priesthood
is his. The inheritance is his. He's
the firstborn son, and everything's his. We partake of it because
of our union with him. He's the heir of all things.
We're joint heirs. being married to Christ. He's
the firstborn of all the Saints, the sons of God. They're all
created by him, in him, for him, and will be like him. He's the
firstborn from the dead. He's the first to rise by his
own power to an immortal life in glorified flesh to die no
more. And in so doing, he brings many
sons to glory with him. And all of these should be like
him. It's not what he foreknew, it's
whom. Whom he foreknew. He also did
predestinate, unchangeably predestinate, having the power to work all
things according to his purpose and will, that they all will
be like his son, that he might have all the preeminence and
be the firstborn among many brethren. All right, the third word, moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he called. Them he called. Pastor, how can I know if I'm
indeed known, predestinated, and called? I'll try to answer
that. And the very first fact with
which I would deal as this. The very
fact that you're interested in this subject, in this Savior,
in this salvation, indicates that evidently you've been called. The world's not interested. There's
none that seek after God. There's none that understand
it. There's none righteous, no, not one. There's none good. The
natural man receives not the things of God. He takes no delight
in the things of God, but here you are, sitting here with the
Bible open. Why? Because you love it, because
you're interested in it, because you desire to know the things
of God, because you desire to know God. That in itself is of
the Lord. That in itself. But our election
is known by our calling. That's what Peter said, make
your calling and election sure. And our election is known by
our calling. Paul said in Galatians 1, God
who separated me from my mother's womb called me by his grace. He called me. 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2, let's turn over there again. 2 Thessalonians chapter
2, verse 13, I'll read this again. In verse 13, it talks about the
election. We're bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, the love of the Lord, because God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief in the truth, whereunto he called you.
He called by our gospel. And Paul said to the Thessalonians,
he said, our gospel didn't come to you in word only, just in
doctrine or creed. It came to you in power. It came
to you in the Holy Ghost. It came to you in much assurance.
And you became followers of the Lord. And you became examples
to those about you. And you became witnesses of the
gospel. And you turned from your idols
to serve the living God, and to wait for his Son from heaven.
You called, and you responded. This is what our Lord said about
the disciples in John chapter 17. Turn over, I want to show
you what he said here. in his priestly prayer. In John 17,
he says in verse 8, he says in verse 8, I have given
them the words you gave me. Now that's exactly what I've
done this morning, give you the words that God gave me. This
is the word of God. Christ said I've given my disciples
the word you gave me. And what was their response?
They received them. They received it. And secondly,
and they've known surely that I came from thee, and they believed. I gave them the word, they received
it, they knew it was from you that you sent me, and they believed. And that's how you know you're
God's elect. Do you believe? Turn to Ephesians
chapter 1 again, and Paul deals with this subject also in Ephesians
chapter 1. In Ephesians 1, let me just show
you this and you can study it later, but in the first three,
first of six verses, Paul talks about the work of the Father
in redemption. And this is what he said, He
chose us, He chose us, He predestinated us. Verse 6, He accepted us in
the beloved. In verses 7 through 10 or 11,
he talks about the work of Christ. Verse 7, in whom we have redemption. Verse 9, he made known unto us
the mystery of his will. Verse 11, in him we obtained
an inheritance. That's the work of the Son. Now,
look at verse 13, in whom you trusted. You who were chosen. You who were predestinated. You who were accepted in Christ,
you who were redeemed by his blood, enlightened by the Lord
Jesus, in whom you trusted when? After you heard the word of truth,
after you heard the gospel of your salvation, in whom, after
you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit, the promise.
Now, my friends, the old-timers used to talk about a general
call, a general call that all men hear. And it comes in several
ways. A general call. There's a light
that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Just about
everybody in the world will acknowledge there's a God. That a man named
Jesus died on a cross. That religion will do something
for people if they have it and are serious enough in it. There's
a light that lighteth every man. And then another call is the
heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth his
handiwork. The things that God has made,
creation, God is revealed in the things he's made. They're
clearly seen. The law of God written on the contents. And
the gospel is preached. Hebrews 4, 2 says, the gospel
was preached to Israel and the wilderness, but it did not profit
them because it wasn't mixed with faith. So there's a general
call that goes to all the women. Life, the creation, the heavens,
the conscience, and the gospel. But then there's an effectual
call. I'm going to show it to you in John 10. A call that comes
to the sheep. A call that comes to the sheep.
This is the effectual call. Whom he foreknew. He predestinated
to be like Christ. and whom he predestinated to
be called by his gospel. Now listen, John 10, verse 24. Then these Jews, in came the
Jews round about him. These were religious men, they
were in religion. They believed there was a God.
They kept certain days and all, but they looked at Christ and
they said, how long do you make us to die? If you be the Christ,
tell us plainly. The Lord answered and said, I
told you. And you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. This is what he's saying. Even
the miracles I do. I told you, the miracles I do.
Even Nicodemus said, well, no man can do these things except
God be with him. But you didn't believe. You believe
not. Because you're not of my sheep.
You're not of my sheep. I said unto you, my sheep here.
That's one of the marks of a sheep, and the sign of a sheep. He'll
hear the shepherd, he'll follow the shepherd. You're not my sheep. You've heard these things, you've
seen these things, but you didn't believe them. You're not of my
sheep. But whom he foreknew, whom he
predestinated to be like Christ, he called. Now listen. My sheep
hear my voice. I know them. He said whom he
foreknew. I know my sheep. And they follow
me. That's how you know your election. My sheep hear my word. They hear
my voice. They hear my gospel. And they
believe it. And they follow me. That's how
you know. And what do I do for them? I
give them eternal life. And they'll never perish. And
no man will ever pluck them out of my hands. You see, my father
gave them to me He chose them in me before the foundation of
the world and gave them to me, gave them to me to be their charity,
their representative, their Savior, their Redeemer. He gave them
to me. He put them in my hands. And all that my Father giveth
me will come to me. And him that cometh to me I'll
never cast out, because I came down from heaven not to do my
will. I came to do the will of him that sent me. And this is
the will of him that sent me, that of all which he hath given
me I'll lose not one, but I'll raise them up at the last day."
That's the foundation of God that stands sure, having this
seal, He knows them that are here. I know my sheep. I know
them like the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I
give, I preach to them, and they hear my voice. And they come
running. And they follow me. Another shepherd,
they won't hear him. Another voice, they won't hear.
They'll follow me. And I'll give every one of them eternal life.
And they'll never perish. Back to my text, and I'll move
along here. Whom he foreknew. Whom he foreknew. Not what, whom. He predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his Son. And whom he predestinated
to be like Christ, he called him. And whom he called, he justified. Justified. Now listen to me carefully,
just a few more minutes. I looked up that word carefully
again. It's powerful. It means to render
just. Just. Second word, innocent. Innocent of all charges. It means to be holy. It means
to be as righteous as God. Who? Them. Them whom he foreknew. whom he predestinated like Christ,
them whom he called to the gospel, them he justified. Who do it? He did. He justified. God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself, not charging their trespasses unto them, but
charging them to him. And he was made sin for us, that
we might be made innocent, that we might be made holy, that we
might be made just and righteous in him. He justified them. He did it. How did he do it? Romans 5. How in the world did
he do that? Romans 5. Let me tell you how
he did it. Romans 5, verse 8. But God commended his love toward
us, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, much more
than being justified, innocent, righteous holy, not guilty by
his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
And not only so, but we also join God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom we have now received an atonement at one point. My, my, my, my, my. whom he foreknew. He did also predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son. Whom he predestinated to
be conformed to the image of his Son. He called them, and
they heard, and they came, and they followed, and he justified. Holy. With his garments on, I'm
as spotless as his Near, so near to God, nearer cannot be. In
the person of his Son, I am as near as he. I am a son, innocent. And whom he justified, he glorified."
Every one of these words was past tense. Did you notice that? He predestinated, he called,
he justified, he glorified. All past tense. You know why?
Because our God declares the end from the beginning. It's
already set. It's determined. He calls those
things which be not as though they were. He said Jesus Christ
is a lamb slain from the foundation of the world. But he didn't die
until 2,000 years ago. All those decades and centuries
and millenniums that took place before he died. But he was dead
in the mind of God. He was dead in the purpose of
God. He was dead as far as the God Almighty's salvation is concerned.
He's the Lamb slain for Abraham too. And I tell you this, if
He foreknew you and purposed to make you like Christ and called
you to the gospel and justified you, you're already glorified.
You're already seated with Christ in the heavens and there's four
reasons for that. All the elect are already glorified.
Number one, in Christ their head and representative, they're glorified.
Where the forerunner has already entered in for us. And we're
seated in him. Secondly, in view of God, with
whom there's no such thing as time. There's no yesterday, today,
and tomorrow with God. It's all eternal present. What
God decrees is always so. Thirdly, with respect to the
redemption accomplished, if the redemption's accomplished, then
the inheritance is reserved for you. How can an inheritance be
reserved? Because it's already bought and
paid for. And then fourthly, insofar as the place is prepared
and ready for us, we're glorified. And our Lord said, I go to prepare
a place for you. And if I go into a fireplace,
I'll come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am,
there you may be also." I'll tell you this. Rather than being
a doctrine as a basis for argument, or a doctrine, as some people
say, the hated doctrine of election, predestination, or a despised
doctrine, this is the most beloved, beloved doctrine in the Bible
to me. It's most beloved. It's my home.
If salvation is left in any shape, form, or fashion to me or anything
I've done or will do, I'll never be saved. But if God foreknew
me in Christ and purposed to make me like his Son and called
me, and by his blood washed me, and by his righteousness made
me holy and innocent, and he's already justified me and glorified,
I'm happy. I rejoice because I can't do
it.