GOD’S PURPOSE – PART 2 ROMANS 8:29-30
INTRODUCTION:
These two verses teach us the purpose for which we have been
called and give us the progression of salvation from God’s perspective. His purpose for calling us is two-fold, first, to conform us to the image of His Son but His primary purpose is that His Son would have preeminence among those called by God for salvation. God supreme purpose is to glorify the Son.
The progression of salvation is like a chain of five links with each part connecting to the next part. The five parts are: foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. We have already looked at foreknowledge which means to predetermine or foreordain but it also has attached to it the knowledge of predetermined relationship, foreknowledge is based on love. God has a predetermined love for those whom He has predetermined to save. Let’s look at the other four links in the progression of salvation.
I. PREDESTINATION (Romans 8:29b)
a. The second part or link in the chain of salvation is
____________________. (Acts 4:27-28)
b. What was God’s predetermined ___________ for Jesus Christ?
That He would die for mankind.
c. Let’s look at what the believer chosen by the foreknowledge of
God is ______________ to:
1. Predestined to be ________________ to the image of
God’s Son. (Romans 8:29)
2. Predestined to ______________ as sons through Jesus
Christ to Himself. (Ephesians 1:4-5)
3. Predestined according to His _____________ which
includes an inheritance. (Ephesians 1:11)
II. CALLING (Romans 8:30a)
a. Paul goes on in verse 30 to give us the next link in the chain of
salvation, and it is __________.
b. This inward calling of believers by the Holy Spirit is just another confirmation that we are eternally ___________ in Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2;13-14)
c. Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that God ______________ unbelievers for condemnation.
d. We have many ________ in the Bible that for us are paradoxes but because they are clearly taught in Scripture, we believe them.
e. Therefore, we must understand that if a person goes to hell, it is because he ___________ God and His way of salvation. (John 3:18; John 1:12-13; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:3-4)
f. God in choosing believers for salvation does not choose on the basis of who that person is or what that person has done but chooses solely on the basis of His sovereign ___________ and love.
III. JUSTIFICATION (Romans 8:30b)
a. Paul moves on in verse 30 to give us the next link in the chain
of salvation, calling is linked to __________________.
b. Simply defined justification is a believer being made ________
with God by God. (Romans 3:21-24; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
IV. GLORIFICATION (Romans 8:30c)
a. The last link in the chain of salvation is linked to justification
and with the final link our salvation is complete, that final link
is ___________________. (2 Corinthians 4:17b)
b. If you have not noticed, but glorification or our future _______
is a recurring theme in the book of Romans. (Romans 5:1-2;
8:18, 21; 2 Thessalonians 2:14)
c. This was Paul’s sure ________ of salvation.
CONCLUSION:
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:10, “For this reason I endure all
things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” (2 Timothy 2:10, NASB95) This morning we have looked at the chain of salvation, or the progression of salvation from God’s point of view. God is the one who carries out each of these links of salvation, and He will complete the whole chain, and no one can undo what God has done. The One who chose us in eternity past and predetermined our destiny and called us to Himself and declared us right with Him will bring our salvation to completion when He glorifies us. Do we understand all this and how God works? No, but we believe it because the Bible teaches it and we believe that God’s Word recorded for us in infallible and inerrant and we rejoice in our salvation knowing that it is completely and only a work of God in us, and He who saved us will keep us saved and bring our salvation to completion. Our eternal security is in the faithfulness of God.