Called According to His Purpose

Q: What does the Bible say about God's covenant with Israel?

God's covenant with Israel is based on His faithfulness, not their own righteousness. The Bible emphasizes that the covenant made with Israel is rooted in God's unchanging nature and His commitment to His people. As stated in Malachi 3:6, 'I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.' This reflects that God's mercy and blessings are assured to Israel not because of their faithfulness, but solely on the basis of His righteousness and promises. This relationship serves as a type for the spiritual Israel, the church, where God’s eternal mercies also rest on believers, not due to their own merits but because of Christ's redemptive work.

Q: How do we know all things work together for good?

All things work together for good to those who love God because they are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 assures believers that 'all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.' This promise is not contingent upon the believer's faith but is rooted in God's sovereign plan and calling. It's a reminder that regardless of circumstances—whether good or bad—God is actively working for the eternal good of His chosen people. They are characterized by their love for God, which is ultimately derived from His love for them, ensuring that all actions of God align with His purpose for their lives.

Q: Why is predestination important in Christianity?

Predestination is crucial because it underscores God's sovereignty and purpose in salvation. Predestination is a fundamental aspect of Reformed theology that emphasizes God's sovereignty in the salvation of His people. As articulated in Romans 8:29, 'For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.' This establishes that salvation is not based on human effort or decision but on God's sovereign choice. It affirms that before creation, God had a purpose for each believer, ensuring both their calling and transformation into the likeness of Christ. Understanding predestination fosters humility and gratitude, as it highlights that salvation is entirely by grace, eliminating any basis for boasting in human achievement.

I'm going to speak tonight on
the subject, Something Better Than Miracles. Something Better
Than Miracles. I'd like for you to hear it.
May the Lord be pleased to bless it. Now, the nation of Israel,
without question, the nation of Israel belonged to the Lord. This nation of Israel was was
not always faithful to the Lord. They didn't always do those things
that were pleasing to the Lord. Even the choice men of Israel,
Abraham, David, Solomon, even the choice men of Israel vexed
the Holy Spirit, grieved the Holy Spirit. But God continually
reminded Israel that he would keep his covenant respecting
them, God continually reminded Israel, his people, that they
would enjoy his blessings forever, that they would enjoy his presence
forever. On this basis, not their faithfulness
to him, but his faithfulness to them. not on the basis of
their righteousness, but on the basis of his righteousness in
Christ Jesus. I want to show you that. Turn
first of all to Malachi. This is the last book in the
Old Testament, the book of Malachi. And I want you to look carefully
at this statement which our Lord makes in the book of Malachi,
chapter 3, verse 6. What I'm saying is this, is God's
mercy and God's blessings upon Israel. And no one can deny that
Israel, the nation of Israel, was a peculiar and particular
people to the Lord. They were his covenant people.
And he assured them that his mercies and blessings would not
depart from them, based not on their faithfulness but on his.
Now listen, in Malachi 3.6, for I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob,
you sons of Israel, are not consumed. That's the reason that you're
not consumed. That's the reason that you're
not cast off and cast out. That's the reason that I am the
Lord and I don't change. Now turn to the book of Deuteronomy.
I want you to watch this, Deuteronomy chapter 9. And this is a very
important verse of scripture. I'm going to refer to it again
in a little while. Deuteronomy 9, beginning with
verse 4. Now, this is important. This is the foundation for my
message to you. We're not going to talk about
Israel this morning. We're going to talk about you and me. But Israel is a type
of spiritual Israel. God's dealings with them is a
picture of God's dealings with us. Their tabernacle is a perfect
picture of Christ. Deuteronomy 9, verse 4. Speak
not thou in thine heart after that the Lord thy God hath cast
them out from before thee, talking about the heathen nations, saying,
For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess
the land. Don't say that. But for the wickedness of these
nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee. That's
the first reason. Not for your righteousness or the uprightness
of your heart dost thou go to possess their land, but for the
wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them
out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which
the Lord sware unto thy fathers. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob understand
therefore. that the Lord thy God giveth
thee not this land to possess it for thy righteousness, for
thou art a stiff-necked people. So there's no question. Turn
back to Deuteronomy 7 a minute. Deuteronomy 7, verse 6. Verse
6 of Deuteronomy 7, he says, You are a holy people unto the
Lord thy God. Israel The Lord thy God hath
chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people
that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his
love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number
than any people, you were the fewest of all. But because the
Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath, the covenant
which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought
you out with a mighty hand. His faithfulness, not yours.
His righteousness, not yours. Now then, we are the sons of
God in Christ. We're not a national people,
we're a spiritual people. The Apostle called us a holy
nation. The Apostle called us a peculiar
people, a royal priesthood. God does not dwell among us in
a tabernacle, as he did among the people of Israel. He dwells
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. God has not written his law on
tables of stone and given them to us, but he has written them
in our hearts, and his commandments are not grievous. We do not wait
on an earthly high priest to go into a holy place to make
an atonement for us once a year, for Christ is our great high
priest, and Christ had gone, yea, into the presence of the
Father himself, not with the blood of bulls and goats, but
with his own precious blood. And he has perfected forever
them who are sanctified. We do love God. The love of God
has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Every believer
loves God. If any man loves not our Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. That's what Scripture said. We
don't love him like we want to. We don't love him like we ought
to. We don't love him like we will someday. But every believer
can say with Peter, Lord, you know all things. You know I love
you. And the Lord's blessings rest
upon those who love him. The Lord's blessings rest upon
those who trust him. The Lord's blessings rest upon
those who worship him. And the Lord's blessings cannot
rest upon a man who does not love Christ. It cannot rest upon
a man who does not trust and worship Christ. If any man be
in Christ, he's a new creature. If any man's a new creature,
he's in Christ. As many as are led by the Holy Spirit are the
sons of God. And if anybody's a son of God, he's led by the
Holy Spirit. That's true. But the motivating
cause of God's mercy and God's blessings upon us is not our
love for him, but his love for us. The motivating cause of God's
mercy and God's blessings upon us is not our righteousness.
Or we have to say with Isaiah, our righteousness is our filthy
rags, or our faithfulness. But the motivating cause of God's
mercies in this hour and God's blessings in this hour is Christ
Jesus our Lord. And the covenant of grace which
God hath made with him in eternity. Turn with me to 2 Timothy 2.
What I'm saying is this. Israel, the nation of Israel,
that nation belonged to the Lord. And God promised them his continued
eternal mercies and blessings. But he said it's not because
of your righteousness or your faithfulness or your love for
me, it's because of my righteousness and my faithfulness and my love
for you. And I'm saying that we are a holy nation. We are
the people of God. We are redeemed by the blood
of Christ. We have been brought to know Christ and to love Christ
and to trust him and to worship him. But his mercies upon us
this day are not in any wise or any shape or any form or any
fashion or for any other reason. And he loved us, and he called
us, and he made us his own. 2 Timothy 2, verse 11. It's a fateful saying. We be
dead with him, we shall live with him. That's so. We're crucified
with Christ, we shall live with Christ. God spared him out of
his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not
with him freely give us all things? It's a fateful saying. If we suffer, we shall reign
with him. We suffered with Christ on the cross and we suffer persecution
and tribulation for the glory and the cause of Christ now.
We shall reign with him. We deny him, he'll deny us. That's
so. If we don't continue in the faith,
we shall perish. If we don't continue in the hope
of Christ, we shall perish. Watch this next line. If we believe
not, yet he about is faithful. He cannot deny Himself, His cause,
His purpose. He cannot deny Himself, His covenant,
if we believe not. And can't all of you come in
right there if we believe not? Aren't there times when you do
not believe? Aren't there times when you feel
that you have no faith at all? Aren't there times when you feel
that you have no confidence whatsoever, no assurance whatsoever in Christ
Jesus the Lord? that you have no part and no
interest in his blood and in his grace. Aren't there times
like that? Why, certainly there are. John
Newton experienced it. It is a point I long to know,
and often it gives me anxious thoughts. Am I the Lord's? Do I love the Lord or no? Am
I his or am I not? If I belong to God, why this
dull and lifeless frame? Tell me, is it so with you, you
who call upon his name? But if we believe not, he abideth
faithful. He cannot deny himself. Now Romans
8, my text, verse 28. Romans 8, verse 28. And we know
that all things, that is, God the Father, in his covenant mercies,
in his eternal God the Father, God the Son, as Prophet, Priest,
and King, God the Holy Spirit as Quickener, Convictor, Comforter,
Teacher, all things, all of the Godhead, God Father, Son, Holy
Spirit, all good angels, all evil angels, all good beings,
all evil beings, all good rulers, all evil rulers, all things great
and small. All things, good and bad, all
events, peace or war, famine or prosperity, sickness or health,
sorrow or happiness, life or death, all things. And we know
that all things work together, cooperate. For good, for the
eternal good, not the temporal good, for the eternal good, for
the eternal good, glory and happiness of our souls and bodies. All
these things are working together for good to them who love God. To them who love God. Not because
they love God. Because we didn't love God, he
loved us. These things all work together
for the eternal glory, for the eternal good of those who love
God. Not because they love God. We
did not love Him. We do not now love Him as we
should. This is an identifying mark of
those for whom all things work together for good. The next line is the reason why
all things work together for good. They are the call according
to His purpose. We know that all things, whatever
they are, God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the elect
angels and the fallen angels, demon spirits, principalities,
powers, rulers, spiritual wickedness in high places, all of the all
things, past, present, and future, all things, good or bad, all
things Sorrow or happiness, all things, life or death, all things,
sickness or health, all things are working together for good
to those who love God. That's a characteristic. That's
an identifying mark. They do love God. But the reason
all things work together for their good is because they are
called according to His purpose. We didn't choose God, He chose
us. Christ says that. He says, you
did not choose me. That's what he said to his disciples.
You did not choose me. I chose you. No man can come
to Christ except he be drawn by the Holy Spirit. He says,
you will not come to me that you might have life. He says,
I'm coming in my Father's name and you receive me not. Let another come in his own name
and whom you will receive. This is condemnation. Light has
come into this world. Men love darkness rather than
light. He came unto his own and his
own received him not. We didn't choose him, he chose
us. We didn't love him. Herein is
love, not that we love God, he loved us. We love him because
he first loved us. We didn't seek him. He sought
us. The songwriter says, "'Tis done,
the great transaction's done. I am my Lord's and he is mine.
He drew me. I followed, but he drew me. And
I followed on, charmed to confess his voice divine." We continue
in faith, but he keeps us. Turn to Ephesians chapter 2 with
me. Let's look at this. We love God. Yes, we do. But we love him because
he first loved us. We choose God. I choose Jesus. That's what the songwriter says.
I choose Jesus when I need a friend. I choose Jesus. But I choose
him because he chose me. We do seek the Lord. We seek
his grace. We seek his mercy. We seek his
presence. We seek fellowship with him.
But we seek him because he sought us. In Ephesians 2 verse 8, for by
grace, and grace is unmerited, undeserved, by grace are you
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. When
Almighty God said, Let us make man. Speaking of the Father,
Son, Holy Spirit, let us make man. Let us make man in our image. And God Almighty, out of nothing,
out of nothing, made man. You say, we made him out of the
dust, but he made the dust. So God created man, and then
God breathed into man the breath of life, and man stood up and
became a living soul, a living person, a soul living in a body.
There he is. Well, that man loves God, and
that man walks with God, and that man has fellowship with
God. But everything that that man is and everything that that
man has and everything that that man will ever be is the work
of God. That man is God's workmanship.
Adam is God's workmanship, all of him, his body, his breath,
his spirit, his soul, is God's workmanship. The same thing is
true spiritually of those who are sons of God. Adam was the
son of God. God made him. And that's true
of all spiritual sons of God. We were dead, lifeless, nothing. And God Almighty came down here
and said, let us save man, let us make man, let us restore man,
let us regenerate or remake man. He came down here in the person
of his Son and satisfied his law and justice and righteousness
and all requirements of God's holiness. And he made us, he
breathed into us the breath of spiritual life, his Holy Spirit,
and we became living, spiritually living souls. And we stand today,
and we do, we're sons of God, beloved, now are we the sons
of God. It does not yet appear what we
shall be, but when he shall appear, we shall see him and be like
him. But we are now the sons of God, and we're his workmanship. If there's any love for God in
us, he put it there. He shed abroad his love in our
hearts. If there's any desire for fellowship with God, it came
from him, he put it there. It didn't come from us, he put
it there. If there's any faith in us, he
put it there. Faith is not a product of the
fallen, evil, wretched nature of man. It's the product of God.
Faith is a holy work, and all holy work came from God. Look
at John chapter 1, John the first chapter. Turn over there just
a moment. He did it. We didn't do it. He did it. We
didn't even cooperate with him any more than Adam cooperated
with God when he made him out of the dust. Wouldn't it have
been something if God had formed Adam's body out of the dust and
then stood back and said, Now, Adam, you take the first step
and I'll meet you halfway. Adam, you come to me and then
I'll give you life. Come to me, Adam. I want to.
I've done all I can do, Adam. That's up to you. Move, Adam. Breathe, Adam. Live, Adam. Come
on, Adam. Adam's dead. Adam's got no life. Life comes from God. So God breathes
into Adam the breath of life and Adam can move then. Adam
can embrace God then, Adam can love God then, Adam can walk
with God then, because he's a living person. If God gives the sinner
life, he can move, he can breathe. Look at John 1.11. He came to
his own and his own received him not, but as many as received
him, to them gave he power, the right, the privilege to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which
were born not of blood, that is, not of fleshly inheritance,
they didn't get it from their parents, not of the will of the
flesh, not of the will of man, why did they receive God? Because
they were born of God. Why did they come to God? They
were born of God. Why did they love God? They were
born of God. Why did they come to God and
receive the right to become children of God? Because they were born
of God. We are his workmanship. Turn back to Romans 8 again now.
All things work together for good to them who love God. They
do love him, but that's an identifying mark. The reason all things work
together for their good is the same reason that everything worked
out for Israel's glory, because of God's covenant, God's mercy,
God's grace, and God's righteousness. Our calling is not the result
of anything in us, but according to his love. And our continuance
in mercy is not because of our righteousness, but his faithfulness,
called according to his purpose. Let's look at two other verses
over here in Romans 9, if you would. Romans 9, verses 15 and
16. He said to Moses, I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Now turn to Romans 11, 29. Romans
11, 29. For the gifts and the callings,
the calling of God are without repentance or without change. That's the reason. All things
are working together for the eternal glory and eternal good
and eternal glorification of those who love him. They are
the called according to his purpose. Now I want you to look at the
next few lines. Whom he did foreknow. This means to know before. This means to foreordain. Christ said, I know my sheep. I know them. I know my sheep. Whom God did know before. Whom
God has always known. I know my sheep. Now, there are
some folks who will come before him at the judgment. This is
recorded in Matthew 7, 22 and 23. They stand at the judgment.
Many, he said, many, many will say to me at that day, Why, Lord,
we preached in your name and did many wonderful works and
cast out devils, and I will profess unto them. Now listen to this.
I never knew you. I never knew you. God knows all
men. Are there some people God doesn't
know? We've got to find out what this word, know, means. Here
he is saying, I know my sheep. Here he is saying, those whom
God always knew, foreknew, knew beforehand. But here he is saying
to some people, I don't know you. Well, God knows all men,
all about them. Christ knew their thoughts. God
knows every man's birth, doesn't He? Because He gives them life. God knows every man's death,
because the number of man's months are with the Lord. That's what
Scripture says. God's appointed, He bounds, and He cannot pass.
So God knows their birth, God knows their death, God knows
their deeds. He knows every man's deeds. That's
right, they're recorded against Him. Every evil word, every idle
word, every evil thought is recorded in glory. Recorded by who? God
knows every deed, every thought. God knows every thought. Well,
what did he mean, I don't know you? Why, God knows the wicked
better than you know your wife, because you don't know your wife's
thoughts. God knows her thoughts. Well, whatever he means here,
it's certainly not that he doesn't know about them, and he doesn't
know everything. God knows everything about people
from the sole of their feet to the top of their heads, their
past, present, and future, their thoughts, their deeds, their
imaginations, their motives. What does he mean, I never knew
you? What does he mean, I know my sheep? What's this? Turn to
Jeremiah 31, verse 3. Jeremiah 31, verse 3. Listen
to this. This is what it is. Jeremiah
31, verse 3. The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Now, I wouldn't
I wouldn't offend you, not on purpose, but this no here is
a personal, intimate, love relationship between Christ and his people.
Christ is saying to those at the judgment, I never loved you. That's exactly what he's saying,
I never loved you. I never made you my own." Adam
knew his wife. I never was personally, vitally
united with you. We never became one. That's exactly
what that says. That's exactly what it says.
And verse in Romans 8, 29, for whom he did foreknow this personal,
intimate love union between Christ and his people is an everlasting
union, an everlasting union. Whom he loved, he always loved. I'm telling you the truth. God
never changes. He said, I'm the Lord, I never
change. I'm the same yesterday, today, and forever. Everybody
that shall stand around the throne of God, we're present at the
cross. And everybody who was present
at the cross when God spent his wrath on his Son were present
in eternity in the council halls of eternity when God planned
the cross. The Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world, whom he foreknew, foreloved, were called his brides. And those
who shall be his bride at the marriage supper of the Lamb were
his bride back yonder in his purpose. And if he loves his
bride at the marriage supper of the Lamb, it's because he's
always loved his bride. Turn to Jeremiah 1, verse 5. Listen to him talking to the
prophet Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 1, verse 5, he says,
Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee." Now, don't make that God knew
what I would do and God knows what everybody's going to do.
Don't make that God knew I would do this and I would do that,
God knew that I would accept this or I would reject. God knows
about everybody. And he said to those people in
judgment, I never knew you. And he says, Jeremiah, before
I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, I knew thee. Before you
came out of your mother's womb, I sanctified you and I ordained
you a prophet unto the nations. You were my own, I picked you
out. All right, look back at our text
again. The reason all things are working
together for your good and your glory, not because of your faithfulness
and your righteousness and you're holding on to God, it's because
he's always loved you. That's right. He's always loved
you, and he'll never cease to love you. Never. He knows you. He knows you now,
he always did and always will. And if he doesn't know you now,
he never did. That's right. I know my sheep. For the sheep
I have which are not of this fold, I must bring them to. They'll
hear my voice, they'll follow me. Those whom he foreknew he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. This
is God's purpose in creation. This is God's purpose in the
fall. This is God's purpose in the cross. This is God's purpose
in redemption. This is God's purpose in all
things that he might populate heaven with a people just like
his Son. That's what it's all about. Now,
Jonathan Edwards, wasn't it, wrote that book on God's design
in redemption, history of redemption. And he says that God's purpose
in redemption is to put an end to all things contrary to himself. God's design in redemption is
to restore all the ruins of the fall. God's purpose in redemption
is to glorify himself. The Lord Jesus said, Father,
thou hast come, glorify thou me with the glory which I had
with thee before the world was. But the chief purpose in redemption
in regard to us is that God has set out to make us like Christ. Turn to Philippians 3, verse
21. Even our bodies, that's right,
even our bodies. God set out to make us like Christ
even in body. We know he's going to make us
like him in spirit, in thought. Verse 21 of Philippians 3, who
shall change our vile bodies. our body, that it may be fresh
and likened to his glorious body, according to the working whereby
he is able even to subdue all things to himself." That's what
God set out to do. That's what he predestinated,
what he predetermined. You know, I hear people say,
I don't believe in predestination. I say, well, what do you mean
by predestination? Well, some people are predestinated
to go to heaven, some are predestinated to go to hell. I don't believe
that either, and that hasn't got a cotton-picking thing to
do with predestination. Not one thing in this world.
That's right. Not one thing. You know what
predestination, not used but four times in the Bible, and
every time it's used it has to do with one single thing. God
has predetermined and predestinated. Pre- means to determine before. Predetermined. The destination has been previously
determined. God has predestinated or predetermined
that everybody whom he saves will be like Christ. That's what
it's all about. Now, election has to do with
people. Now, election is a white horse
of another color. You can argue over election now.
You might say, I don't believe in election. But you better not
say, I don't believe in predestination. Because you're in trouble. You're
saying, I don't believe in God, when you say, I don't believe
in predestination. There's somebody running this outfit. There's
somebody determined what time that sun comes up and what time
it goes down. There's somebody determined when this world's
going to come to an end and when heaven and through heaven's in
a new earth. Somebody has determined all these
things. Somebody determined the path of those stars and the path
of that moon and the path of that sun. Somebody determined.
Don't you hope somebody's determined tomorrow? Man, I wouldn't want
tomorrow to be in your hands or my hands. Tomorrow's in God's
hands. God has predestinated and predetermined
all events and all actions of all creatures. for his glory, that they might be like his sons.
All things work together for good to them that love God because
God predestinated these things to work together for their good.
God's predetermined that these things should work together for
his glory. God's predestinated that these things work together
to accomplish his purpose to make them like Christ. Anybody
who does not believe in predestination does not believe in God. Now,
you go to the mill and tell that tomorrow, and I'll back it up.
I believe it. I didn't say anybody who didn't
believe in election didn't believe in God. Now, that's a different
story. I believe God elected the people whom he's going to
make like his Son. I believe God elected the people
he predestinated to be like Christ. Some people don't believe that.
But you better believe in predestination. Because if you don't, you don't
believe in God. Because somebody's boss, somebody's head of this
thing, somebody's running this out, somebody drew the blueprints
of this world before it ever spun out into space. And God
did it. He predestinated it. Election
has to do with people choosing them. Predestination has to do
with these things that concern people. This message was predestinated
to open your eyes. All right, the next thing. Whom
he predestinated, he called. Men do not love God, God loves
them. They don't come to Christ unless
they're made willing. God calls them. The old-timers
used to talk about a general call and an effectual call. You
say, what's the difference? Well, a general call goes to
all men. An effectual call comes to those
whom he foreknew and whom he predestinated to be like his
son. The general call may be the call of nature. By nature,
men know there's a God. By conscience, by the law, the
effectual call comes by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit awakens
and regenerates and opens the eyes, opens the ears, opens the
heart. He enlightens, he gives life, he gives understanding.
whom he called, he justified. Though God is love, God is also
righteous. Now you look at this and remember
it. Though God is love, God is righteous. Though God is merciful, God is
just. And his holy law must be honored
and his justice must be satisfied. No matter how much I love my
son, If I were a judge, and he was
guilty of murder, no matter how much I love him, I'd have to
send him to prison. That is, if I remain a judge,
and a just judge, and a righteous judge, no matter how much I love
him. I may love him, and love him dearly, and always did love
him, but a just judge has to be true to his righteousness,
not just his love. And God is just, and God is love. And here we are, his children,
guilty! Guilty! What's God going to do? He sent
a substitute to take our place. He sent his Son down here to
take our place and die for us. Christ, who knew no sin, was
made sin for us, who had all kinds of sin. He just switched places with
us. The sinless became sinful that the sinful might be sinless.
God can love me and set me free, and God can be just and punish
my sins. He can be both just and justifier. Eighty percent of preachers in
this world don't know that. They don't know the gospel. You
say, why don't we hear things like that? Well, you can't tell
what you don't know. In the morning you can come back
to where you ain't been. And you've got to know that.
It's got to be in here. He called. He justified. Look
at the next line now. Whom he justified, he glorified. Now brethren, listen to me. What
is this glorification here? Past tense. All of these, aren't
they? Aren't they? I'm no English student,
but aren't these all past tense? Whom he foreknew, he predestinated. Whom he predestinated, he called. Whom he called, he justified.
Whom he justified, he glorified. It's already done. This is eternal
glory. This is what the Apostle is talking
about, eternal glory, in view of the certainty of his purpose,
I'm already glorified, just as much as I'm already justified.
Turn to Isaiah 46, verse 10. This is so. Somebody says, that's
not easy. Barney said, I didn't say it
was easy, I said it's so. Well, that's a hard saying. I'm
not saying it's not, but I'm saying it's so. It's so. In Isaiah 46, verse
10, now listen. God says in verse 9, I'm God,
there's none else. I'm God, there's none like me.
I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand, I will
do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country,
yea, I've spoken it, I will also bring it to pass, I've purposed
it, and I'll also do it. I'm the Lord. All things work together for
good to them who love God. Why? Because they are the call
according to his purpose. on whom he always loved, he has
predetermined to make like his son. And whom he set out to make
like his son, he called them, and he had to justify them, and
he also glorified them. And that's the foundation of
it all. It's not my faithfulness and my righteousness and my goodness,
it's his grace. God, though I don't believe,
he remained faithful. He cannot deny himself. Our Father,
we are grateful for the comfort of every precious promise. Let
us take our eyes off ourselves and turn them on Christ, our
magnificent Lord. Take our eyes off of all these
do's and don'ts and turn them upon him, who is the eternal
Redeemer, the eternal Son of God. We love him because he first
loved us. And we pray that Thou would manifest
Thyself in a more precious way to us each passing day, make
us to be more like the Redeemer. We long to see Him. We long for
the day when we shall be like Him. I believe we can say, our
Father, with David, I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy
likeness. For Christ's sake we pray. Amen.

Called According to His Purpose

What does the Bible say about God's covenant with Israel?

How do we know all things work together for good?

Why is predestination important in Christianity?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Called According to His Purpose

What does the Bible say about God's covenant with Israel?

How do we know all things work together for good?

Why is predestination important in Christianity?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book