By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 19-27.
1.1.1. We looked at
“The Three Groaners” : believers
awaiting the return of Christ and resurrection of their bodies, creation who
longs for the restoration of the earth and glorification of believers, and the
Holy Spirit who groans within believers in intercession as they pray to the
Lord.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses
28-30 of chapter 8.
1.2.1. This morning
being Resurrection Sunday, 2006, we are going to spend some time considering
the importance and centrality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1.2.2. Morris, “The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is
the crowning proof of Christianity. Everything else that was said or done by
Christ and the Apostles is secondary in importance to the resurrection. If the
resurrection did not take place then Christianity is a false religion. If it
did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth.”
1.2.3. 1
Corinthians 15:12-20, "Now if
Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among
you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no
resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not
been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we
are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God
that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not
raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if
Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your
sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we
have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are
asleep."
1.2.4. The
It
was June 18, 1815, the
Late in the day it flashed the signal: “W - E - L - L - I - N - G - T - O - N -
- - D - E - F - E - A - T - E - D - - -.” Just at that moment a fog cloud made
it impossible to read the message. The news of defeat quickly spread throughout
the city. The whole countryside was sad and gloomy when they heard the news
that their country had lost the war. Suddenly, the fog lifted, and the
remainder of the message could be read. The message had four words, not two.
The complete message was: “W - E - L - L - I - N - G - T - O - N - - - D - E -
F - E - A - T - E - D - - - T - H - E - - - E - N - E - M - Y!” It took only a
few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned into joy, defeat was
turned into victory!
So it was when Jesus was laid in the tomb. Hope had died in the hearts of
Jesus’ most loyal friends. After the frightful crucifixion, the fog of
disappointment and misunderstanding had crept in on the friends of Jesus. They
had read only part of the message. “Christ defeated” was all they knew.
But then on the third day the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding
lifted, and the world received the complete message: “Christ defeated death!”
Defeat was turned into victory; death was turned into life!
1.2.5. We are
likewise going to continue in our study of the book of Romans today, and we are
going to consider two incredible truths which could only be true if Jesus
Christ indeed has risen from the dead :
1.2.5.1. The fact
that for the believer that the Lord causes all things to work together for good
in his/her life.
1.2.5.1.1.
God is in control of all events that affect the
believer and He causes all of them to work in orchestration to bring about good
in the believer’s life.
1.2.5.2. The Unbroken
Chain that the believer has entered into and which guarantee him an eternity in
glory with the Lord.
1.2.5.2.1.
The five links in the unbroken chain for the believer
are: We are foreknown, predestined,
called, justified, and glorified.
2. VS
18:28 - “28 And we know that
God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are called according to His purpose.”
- Paul tells us that everything
that happens in a believer’s life is working out for good
2.1.
This verse is perhaps the most comforting promise in
God’s Word that Christians have been given, especially in relation to the
difficult and disappointing things that we go through in life.
2.2.
In this verse, Paul first of all speaks of something
that he says that ‘we know,’ and he is saying this for I believe one of
three reasons:
2.2.1. It was common
knowledge or common sense.
2.2.2. It was
something that was always part of the apostolic teaching therefore it should be
known.
2.2.3. It is
something that is known because the Old Testament scriptures clearly speak on
the subject.
2.3.
It is not the laws of nature at work that cause ‘all
things to work together for good,’ rather Paul writes in this verse that it
is ‘God’ who does this. This is a
supernatural work on His part in causing this result to come about.
2.4.
What is it that works together for good in the life of
a Christian? It is ‘all things.’ This phrase ‘all things’ cannot be
limited in any way. It doesn’t just mean
the difficult trials and sufferings of life, it also encompasses the fun and
enjoyable things that occur in life, the mundane and seemingly inconsequential
things, plus everything else as well.
2.5.
It is God who overrules in each and everything that
happens in a Christian’s life and causes it to work together for good. This does not mean that God removes the hard
and the evil things that occur in a Christian’s life, rather it means that He
allows and overrules even those things and causes them to work together for
good.
2.6.
There is an interesting verse in James 5:11 about the
life of Job, “11 Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard
of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that
the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.” As we look at the story of Job we see that
Satan first appeared unto God and obtained permission in order to bring the
trials and suffering upon Job which occurred.
So, Satan has not the authority or power to do anything but what God
gives him permission to do. Satan is not
the opposite of God. God is infinitely
more powerful than Satan. However, as
this verse points out, God overruled in the great evil that happened in Job’s
life in his losing all of his children to death and having boils break out all
over him. James reminds us to consider
the “outcome” of those trials, because in doing so we will come to grips
with the fact that God used them all for good, and that God abundantly blessed
him and showed that He is “full of compassion and is merciful.” God will work even the trials of Job which we
may go through to also work together for good as He did in the life of Job.
2.7.
Not only does God use the trials and sufferings of a
Christian in his life, He also uses the “temptations” that he goes
through. “Temptations” in a
Christian’s life cause him to come on his
knees to God in prayer for strength and help. “Temptations” cause a Christian to
become humbled, which is probably his
greatest need. “Temptations” are
used by God to strip off a Christian’s self-righteousness
as he comes to realize that in his own strength and will power he is powerless to
overcome. “Temptations” cause a
Christian to realize the love and
graciousness of God, as the Christian comes and receives the Lord’s
strength and help.
2.8.
Even when a Christian sins, the Lord uses that failure
on his part for his own good.
2.8.1. Though it is
never the Lord’s will for one of His children to commit sin, which is
disobedience towards Him, none-the-less when we do sin God overrules and causes
even that sin to work for our good.
2.8.2. “Sin”
in a Christian’s life causes Him to come to God and receive more of God’s grace.
2.8.3. “Sin”
in a Christian’s life causes him to appreciate
more greatly God’s grace and mercy.
In the story recalled in Luke 7, Jesus said that the woman who wiped His
feet with her hair, anointing them with her tears and perfume, loved much
because she was forgiven much. David’s
sin had the same effect in his life as we see from Psalm 51 and he also loved
God much.
2.8.4. “Sin”
in a Christian’s life does just as temptation does, it strips him of his pride and self-righteousness.
2.9.
The Greek word translated as ‘work together’ is
the word from which we get the word “synergy.” It means the working together of various
items to create something that is much greater than the sum of the individual
parts. This is what the Lord is causing
to occur in the Christian’s life by the sum total of all of the things that are
occurring.
2.10.
Who are the ones to whom what Paul is writing
applies? Those who ‘love God’ and
‘called according to His purpose.’
Therefore, we know that what Paul is writing only applies to
Christians. All things are NOT working
together for the good of the unsaved, except perhaps to bring them to the point
in which they will desire to repent and receive Christ as their Lord and Savior.
2.11.
It is interesting that Paul does not write that these
things apply to the one who is merely “saved.” Rather, he writes that these things apply to
the one who ‘loves God.’ Perhaps
the first work produced by God in the life of one who is genuinely saved is to
produce a “love for Him.” If a
person does not “love God,” then he cannot have come to know God as his
personal Lord and Savior, for to do so is to have this love for God placed into
his heart, at least to a certain extent.
2.12.
“Love” in the New Testament is primarily not a
feeling or emotion, but rather an action performed by someone out of a sense of
unconditional and voluntary commitment.
Therefore, “obedience” to God is a true test of whether or not a
person loves God. In John 14:15, Jesus
said, “15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
2.13.
In this verse, Paul writes that those to whom it
applies are those who ‘are called.’
This presents us with a bit of a dilemma, because we know that God calls
all men to come to repentance. Jesus said
in Matt. 22:14, “14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”” In Acts 17:30, Paul preached that God was
calling all men to repent, “30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of
ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent.” Because of these scriptures concerning God
calling all men to salvation, yet few responding, and other scriptures which
state that God calls men to specific ministries and offices, theologians have
come up with the concept of a “GENERAL CALLING OF GOD” to men for
salvation, as well as an “EFFECTUAL CALLING OF GOD” to men for specific
ministries and offices. If there be such
a difference necessitated because of these two different ways in which God
calls out to men, then this calling referred to by Paul in this verse is the
second type, the “EFFECTUAL CALLING OF GOD,” and this is because Paul
writes in verse 30 that the one’s whom God has called, He will also glorify,
the final act of God in man’s salvation from sin.
2.14.
Finally, Paul writes that those who are called by God,
are called ‘according to His purpose.’
In writing this, Paul is stating that the calling of God is specific
in nature and origin. It does not
originate with man and his plans or counsel, but with God, and it is for the
plans which He has made for men from before the creation of the world.
2.15.
As we Christians learn from God’s Word that nothing
that happens in our life is random or coincidental, but rather is being
purposed by God, then we can rest in Him and His plans and leading in our life,
plus we can endure the best as well as the worst that life offers us. Further, if we know that God is overruling
even all of the worst to work it together for our good, then we can trust Him
in every situation, no matter how difficult or trying. I believe it is this verse more than perhaps
any other which gives steadiness to our lives for it helps us to endure and
persevere through all that comes our way in life.
2.16.
This verse should cause us as Christians to allow
everything and anything that happens to us in life to bring us closer to
God. Nothing that happens should be
allowed to drive a wedge between us and God.
2.16.1.
Have you allowed difficulties and disappointments to
push you away from the Lord? If so, let
this verse draw you back close to the Lord. How can this verse not draw you close to the
Lord no matter what you situation may be?
3. VS 8:29 - “29 For whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the
first-born among many brethren; 30 and
whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also
justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” - Paul tells us about the unbreakable chain of
justification for the believer:
foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and glorified by Him
3.1.
As we enter this next study in the book of Romans, we
see that the apostle Paul is doing what I have mentioned many times already in
going through the book. He is developing
the doctrine of the “Assurance of the Believer’s Salvation.” Everything that is written in this chapter
bears upon this one theme of Assurance of Salvation for the believer.
3.2.
In this next section of scripture consisting of the
next two verses, Paul begins to unfold what Bible commentators have called, “The
Unbroken Chain.” Each link in this
chain of events is something which the Lord Himself “has done.” God, who is eternal, sees each of these
events as having already happened. The
five items in the chain are:
foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and
glorification. God Himself will complete
each of these things in the life of one who has come to truly know Him as their
Lord and Savior.
3.3.
Concerning this whole idea of God’s predestination, it
is good that we first take a step back and look at this from God’s
perspective. To non-believers, the idea
of predestination is looked at with scorn and sarcasm usually. They see in the scriptures the fact that God
chooses some people to salvation, and they often mock the Bible and say that a
loving God wouldn’t choose some and not others.
Likewise, non-believers often look at the doctrine and believe that if
their fate is determined, then there is nothing that they can do about it, so
they figure that they might as well live however they want to live regardless
of God’s will for their life. This is a
very wrong conclusion because the gospel is to be preached to all, and there
are very many verses such as John 3:16-17 that use the word “whosoever,”
which indicates that the way to receive salvation is open and available for
anyone to receive. So then, if the
non-Christian rejects Jesus Christ as His Lord and His Savior in this life,
then it is totally His fault. This is
especially the case since there is no scripture in the Bible that says that
God predestines the non-believer to go to hell. Rather, God’s Word says only that He
predestines some to salvation. This is
one of those eternal concepts that our finite mind cannot comprehend.
3.4.
Likewise, when the Christian looks at the doctrine of
predestination, he should realize from scripture that his salvation is totally
the work of God, and to God must therefore go all of the glory. Even the faith that a Christian has in order
to be saved is a gift from God as Paul wrote in Eph. 2:8-9, “8 For by grace
you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift
of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”
3.5.
There are many in the church who have looked only at
what the scripture teaches concerning God’s sovereignty and choosing of man,
and they have ignored the fact that man also must choose God. There is no fatalism involved here when it
comes to God and salvation. God never
intended to create robots who have no choice but to obey Him, but rather He has
created man as a free-moral-agent who can and must choose to willing submit his
life in faith to God through Jesus Christ for salvation. God foreknows those who will come to
salvation and with this foreknowledge He has also chosen them to salvation from
all eternity, however men must also choose Christ as their Lord and Savior and
commit their way and their plans unto Him, live for Him. No one can have assurance of his salvation
through Christ if he goes and lives his life however he chooses while he holds
onto the fact that he once made a commitment to Christ for salvation.
3.6.
When a Christian considers this doctrine concerning
God’s predestination and choosing, he should take off his shoes as did Moses,
for he is on holy ground. This is a
doctrine that is too wonderful to behold.
God sees all of the links completed for the Christian.
3.7.
This doctrine of predestination is probably a subject
that should not be brought up with non-Christians because they will not
understand it, and it will probably cause them to be driven away from the Lord
if you try to explain it to them. This
is a doctrine only for the saints to think about and draw strength from. This is a doctrine that should give that
stability to a Christian that having assurance of one’s salvation should give.
3.8.
FIVE LINKS in “The Unbreakable Chain” for the
Christian:
3.8.1.
The first word
in this unbroken chain is “foreknow.”
3.8.1.1. This Greek
word that is translated ‘foreknow’ in the one from which our word “prognosticate”
comes. Strong’s Greek Dictionary has the
following definition for this word :
1) to have knowledge before hand
2) to foreknow
2a) of those whom God elected to salvation
3) to predestinate
3.8.1.2. This word
speaks of God’s “foreknowledge” of events, and we know that the
scripture is very clear that God knows the end from the beginning of all things
that have occurred and will occur. God
spoke the following through Isaiah in Is. 46:9-10, “9 “Remember the former
things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10
Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have
not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish
all My good pleasure’.”
3.8.1.3. Likewise,
the Lord spoke this to Jeremiah in Jer. 1:5, “5 “Before I formed you in the
womb I knew you,And before you were born I
consecrated you; I have appointed you a
prophet to the nations.””
3.8.1.4. In another
scripture that reveals God’s foreknowledge, the apostle John wrote Jesus’ words
concerning the anti-Christ in Rev. 13:8, “8 And all who dwell on the earth
will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation
of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” The names of those will be saved was written
in this book before God created anything.
3.8.1.4.1.
The Book Of Life was written before anything was
created. Is your name written in it?
3.8.1.5. However,
this word means more than just to foreknow.
Some believe that God simply foreknows everyone who will be saved, and thus
they are predestined by Him, however this word also implies that “God
foreordains people to salvation.” It
simply makes sense that if God truly foreknows everything that will happen that
He must also choose what He desires to occur.
It also implies that since God knows each person’s heart, He knows
exactly what truth that each person shall be exposed to in his life. Since God is totally just, He then also
determines what is fair for each person to hear and be exposed to as far as
truth is concerned. Then, if people
reject the gospel to their own damnation, it is also the case that they have no
one to blame but themselves.
3.8.1.6. We must also
come to grips with the fact that if God had not sent His Son to die for the
sins of mankind, but just sentenced and sent us all to hell, we would not have
a just cause to complain since justice is actually what each person who has
ever lived truly deserves. Therefore, in
every person’s case it is true that it is only because of the mercy, love,
and grace of God that we could ever be able to come to salvation. In 2 Tim. 1:9 Paul wrote about how that each
person who has come to salvation has come as a result of God’s own purpose, “9 who
has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works,
but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus
from all eternity.”
3.8.1.7. Spurgeon
once said, “If God hadn’t chosen us before the creation of the world, He
wouldn’t have afterwards!”
3.8.2.
The second link
in the unbreakable chain is “predestined.”
3.8.2.1. Strong’s
Greek Dictionary has the following entry in it for this word :
1) to predetermine, decide beforehand
2) in the NT of God decreeing from eternity
3) to foreordain, appoint beforehand
3.8.2.2. Before the
creation of the world, each person who ever will come to salvation was “predestined”
to come to salvation. In many places in
the New Testament where this is written about:
3.8.2.2.1.
Paul wrote about this, as we can see for instance in
Eph. 1:5,11, “5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ
to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, ...11 also we have
obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who
works all things after the counsel of His will.”
3.8.2.2.2.
Colossians 3:12, " As those who have been
chosen by God, holy and beloved."
3.8.2.2.3.
1 Thessalonians 1:4, "Knowing brethren beloved
of God his choice of you."
3.8.2.2.4.
2 Thessalonians 2:13, "We should always give thanks
to God for you because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation."
3.8.2.2.5.
2 Timothy 2:10, "I endure all things for the
sake of those who are chosen."
3.8.2.2.6.
1 Peter 1:1-2, “”"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens,
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are
chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying
work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May
grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure."
3.8.2.3. In this
verse, Paul reveals that the purpose for which God has foreknown and
predestined people, is that they might be ‘conformed to the image of His Son.’ The scripture says that Jesus Himself was in
the image of the Father, and now He is conforming Christians into the image of
Jesus. Paul wrote in Col. 1:15, “15 And
He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.”
3.8.2.4. This process
of being conformed into the image of Jesus is the process of being made holy
and Christ-like in character primarily.
However, we have also seen how that the Christian is to inherit the
resurrection type of body that Jesus currently has. This Greek word translated ‘image’ is
a word which primarily carries the concept of “likeness.” Just as the likeness of a president is upon
every American dollar, so God is in the process of transforming each Christian
into the very “likeness” of Jesus Christ.
3.8.2.5. Because
God’s plans for each of His children is that they be conformed into the image
and likeness of His Son, then we see also why it is also true ‘that He might
be the first-born among many brethren.’
3.8.2.6. Each of us
who are Christians have been called according to God’s own purpose, as we saw
in verse 28. Each of us therefore must
have the sense in our life of having had God come and interrupt our life and
plans when He called us. Now, we must
have that excitement and joy, plus the commitment to God to fulfill all of the
things that He has planned for our life.
3.8.2.6.1.
We Christians must realize that God’s calling for
our lives is not something that involves only the future, rather it is
something that we are to be about and doing every single day of our lives. We are to follow God’s calling for our lives
one day at a time.
3.8.2.6.2.
Since we Christians know that it is God’s purpose and
will in our lives that we be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, and
that one day He will transform us, we ought to now hunger and thirst after more
of Jesus in our life. We should never be
satisfied with our spirituality and never feel like we have arrived, but rather
we should be always seeking to know Him more, as well as to be made more like
Him. Jesus said in the Sermon on the
Mount that we are “blessed” (or happy) if we hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for we shall be filled.
3.8.2.7. We
Christians must be humble as we realize that it is not because of anything
innately good or righteous about us that the Lord has chosen and predestined us
to salvation, but rather it is simply just because of His choice that we are
saved.
3.8.3.
The third link
in the unbreakable chain is being ‘called.’
3.8.3.1. Each person
who has been foreknown and predestined must in this life then be ‘called’
unto salvation. We noted in verse 28 how
that there was the “universal” call of all people to salvation, as seen
in all of the “who-so-ever” passages in the New Testament, however this
type of calling is the “effectual” calling of God.
3.8.3.2. The “effectual”
calling of God is that which only Christians experience when they follow the
Savior to salvation and then their life is brought into conformity with His
plans for their life. This is the type
of calling that the New Testament refers to whenever it mentions a Christian as
having been called by the Lord.
3.8.3.3. The author
of the book of Hebrews wrote about this effectual calling for Christians in
Heb. 9:15, “15 And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in
order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the
transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have
been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
3.8.3.4. Peter also
wrote about this calling in 1 Peter 2:9, “ 9 But you are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has
called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
3.8.3.5. For each
person who comes to salvation, the Holy Spirit must make a very specific call
to salvation in their life, to which they respond. Jesus said in John 6:44, “44 “No one can
come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on
the last day”. Likewise, Jesus also
said in John 6:39-40, “39 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of
all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and
believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last
day.””
3.8.4.
The fourth link
in the unbreakable chain is to be ‘justified.’
3.8.4.1. We already
saw in chapter 5 verse 1 what it means to be ‘justified’ before
God. God makes a person to become right
with Him, made to be in a relationship with Him such as if he had never
sinned. That is what it means to be ‘justified.’
3.8.4.2. It is this
concept of being ‘justified’ that led the first reformers out of the
Roman Catholic church. When they
realized that God had already made them ‘justified’ based upon their
faith, then they began to realize that there was really no purpose for that
church any longer.
3.8.4.3. If people
are truly brought to the place of being ‘justified,’ then they should
also realize that the sacraments of the church can in and of themselves do
nothing for them, since in the Roman Catholic Church’s philosophy the
sacraments are designed to impart God’s grace by the receiving of them. However, God’s Word teaches that a person is
made to be ‘justified’ the moment that he trust in Christ for salvation.
3.8.5.
The fifth and
final link in the unbreakable chain is being ‘glorified.’
3.8.5.1. We have
already seen in this very chapter of Romans the theme of the Christian sharing
in Christ’s resurrection body and glory is guaranteed for the Christian. Each Christian will share in the very
resurrection glory which Christ presently has.
3.8.5.2. The Greek
tense for this verb ‘glorified‘ is aorist and indicates that it is a
completed action, however it is a future event.
In God’s mind the event is completed for every believer and therefore it
is written of by Paul here in what has been called “the prophetic past.”
3.8.5.3. In Phil.
3:20-21 Paul teaches about the fact that believers will receive a glorified
body just like that of their Lord, “20 For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who
will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of
His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things
to Himself.”
3.8.5.4. Likewise, in
1 Cor. 15:42-44, Paul writes about the glorified body that all believer’s will
have when they are resurrected and go to be with the Lord, “42 So also is
the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an
imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown
in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised
a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”
3.8.5.5. Glorification
is promised to the Christian, and it is the last link in this unbreakable
chain. If a person has come to salvation
in Christ, then he can rest assured that he will also be glorified also when
the Lord returns for His church.
4. CONCLUSIONS
:
4.1.
We have celebrated Jesus’ resurrection today and seen
some of the incredible results of that resurrection in our lives.
4.2.
As we consider this study and how that we ought to
apply these wonderful truths concerning the five links in the unbreakable chain
of justification for the believer, we must first of all come to grips with the
fact that these promises do not warrant us to go out and live however he wants
to in this world. Paul has already
written about that in Rom. 6:1 saying, “God forbid! How can we who died to sin live any longer in
it?” It is a contradiction in terms
to think that a Christian can live in sin after coming to salvation. The Christian is a person who has come to be
made into a new creation, all things becoming new, and he/she have died to the
old sinful lifestyle.
4.3.
The genuine believer in Christ is one who demonstrates
the reality of his having come to saving faith in Christ by continually abiding
in Christ. Though he may fall in the mud
and sin at times, he always gets back up and confesses and repents of his sin
and continues to follow Christ. Thus, he
will never be the branch that will be plucked out and thrown into the fire.
4.4.
The wonderful hope that these truths give us as
believers show God’s commitment to each of us as believers to see us all of the
way to eternity. God did not call us to
salvation knowing that we would eventually fall away. When God foreknew and predestined us to
salvation, He also knew that we would be called, justified and glorified. He is committed to seeing that work of
salvation completed in our life and He will give us everything that we need
from His incredible power, bounty, mercy, and grace to see that we also make it
all of the way to glory with Christ.