And I would like you to take your Bibles and turn this morning back to the book of Romans, to the eighth chapter of Paul's letter to the Church in Rome. We have been studying this eighth chapter for some weeks. In particular, we have been studying Romans chapter 8, verse 28 through 30 for the last few weeks, and I would like to read that section before we begin. Romans chapter 8, verse 28. The Apostle Paul has been speaking of comfort in suffering and in sorrow. In the immediately preceding verses, he has acknowledged that sometimes we know not how to pray as we ought. But in the midst of the things that we do not know, he says in verse 28, and we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose. For, whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whom he foreordained, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified." This passage breaks down into two large parts. In verse 28 you have this great promise, a promise that surely every Christian has found to be at one time or another an anchor to his soul in the midst of very distressing times, this great promise that to everyone who loves God all things work together for their good, that the sovereign God of the universe takes all things, even things which in themselves are very bad and very negative and very evil, God takes all things and so works them together that they finally eventuate in good to the child of God. We considered the good, that it does not necessarily mean that all things work together for our good health or for our financial prosperity or for our good social standing, but that in the context, the good has reference to God's eternal purpose for us, primarily that we be made like Christ and all things work together to that good end, that God is determined to use everything to make us like the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the first part of the passage, this promise in verse 28. The second part of the passage in verses 29 and 30 is given as an argument to prove or to support or to substantiate this promise. The promise is that God will work everything together for good. And then Paul's statement is for or because God does this and God does this. God foreknows, and God predestines, and God calls, and God justifies, and God glorifies. And the point is that if God does all of those things, if salvation from beginning to end, if this whole panorama of salvation at every point is initiated and controlled by God, if that is true, surely this God who controls all of those things is able to take the bits and pieces of our individual history and work them together so that we might actually fulfill his purpose and be made like Christ. Now that's a broad overview of the passage. What I would like us to do this morning is to somewhat briefly, not in two minutes, but still somewhat briefly, for us to go back over these five things which Paul says God does. It will serve as review for those of you who have been regular attenders. It will serve as introduction to those of you who have not been regular attenders. And then what I would like to do this morning and in one following sermon, for us to take up the implications of God's five works in salvation. These works again, he foreknew, he predestined, he called, he justified, And he glorified five things which God does. The first two have reference to his mind and his decrees, his work in that sense, before the beginning of time. Before the beginning of time, he foreknew some. Before the beginning of time, he predestined some. The last three of his works mentioned in this passage have to do with his work in time. At a point in time, he calls individuals. He justifies individuals. And at a point in the future, he actually will glorify individuals. So let us take these five and briefly consider them and then look at the implications of the whole. In the first place, he foreknew. There are certain ones whom God foreknew. The word means simply to consider before. It means to know or to think about beforehand. It means to think upon certain ones in a way upon which others are not thought upon in a very real sense. In thinking upon some in a special way and not upon others, it means, in a very literal sense, to prefer one over another. It means to know some in a unique way, unique in contrast to God's knowledge of others. It means to know some or to think upon some in a distinguishing way. And it really does mean, in fact, to love some beforehand. It is in that way that the word is used in such a passage as Amos 3, verse 2, where God speaks about His knowledge of the nation of Israel. It says there, God says to the nation of Israel, You only have I known of all the families of the earth. It doesn't mean that God was ignorant of all the rest of the families of the earth. He didn't know anything about them, but He did have some awareness of Israel. It means that Israel was thought upon, known in a unique and distinguishing and special way from all the other nations of the world. The passage does not say that God foresaw some. It does not say that God stood back in the beginning of the corridors of time and looked ahead and foresaw certain people. It says He foreknew them. He knew them. He thought upon them in a way which He did not think upon others. This thinking upon some, this knowing of some, according to the scriptures, is the basis for the doctrine of election. The doctrine of election is that God set his mind upon certain people and chose. to take those certain people, bring them to Christ, and deliver them from their sins. Before they were ever born, He fought upon them, He pitied them, He loved them, He chose them to be the objects of saving grace. The doctrine of election is the source of much humility. And it's usually set forth in the Bible in the context of giving thanksgiving to God. It is not set forth ever in the context of controversy, but it is set forth in the context of giving praise to God. One of those passages is Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3, where Paul says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundations of the world. And the connection between God's forethought upon some and his choosing them to be his people is set forth in first Peter chapter one, where it says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the elect who are sojourners of the dispersion, according to the foreknowledge of God. The first thing that God does, the first step in this five steps set forth by the Apostle in this place, is that God thinks upon certain ones. He knows them beforehand in a special way. And upon the basis of that thought and upon the basis of that knowledge, he chooses some to be his people. The second step that is set forth by the Apostle Paul in this passage is that he predestines them. Look again at the text, verse 29. For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained or predestined them to be conformed to his Son. Those very people that were the object of his special thought, that were the object of his discriminating knowledge, those very people are taken now and set aside for a specific end. The word predestined means to appoint beforehand, it means to determine beforehand. It's an act of God's mind where he determines something to take place. But because God is the absolutely sovereign God, unrivaled in power, who will in fact do everything that He determines to do, for God to determine in His mind to set them apart for a specific end means in fact that they will come to that certain end. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 11, it says that God works. all things according to the counsel of his will." Whatever he thinks, whatever is the counsel of his mind, it says he works those things out. He doesn't just think, he doesn't just theorize, he doesn't just wish that something might happen. What God's mind determines, he actually works out. And so when it says here that he predestines or foreordains, that he appoints them to something, the issue is that when he does make that appointment, when he does make that decree, it actually will happen because God works everything according to the counsel of his own mind. Now appreciate from this passage the specific thing which God does predestine these people to. It is not merely that he predestines that their sins will be forgiven. It is not merely that he predestines or pre-plans or decrees that they will go to heaven. Notice it says that he decrees, he predestines, he foreordains that those people that he especially thought upon will actually be conformed to the image of Christ. They will become Christ-like. They will be so wrought upon, so affected by divine grace, so influenced by the Holy Spirit, that in their character and in their conduct, they will really be made like Christ. People aren't born into the world like Christ. People are born into the world with all manner of selfishness and wicked inclinations. But God is saying, Paul is saying rather, that those ones whom God especially thinks upon, He pre-plans that they will be so changed that they will be like Christ, that in this life they will begin to be like Christ, and in the final day when the Lord returns, they will be transformed fully. And as much as creatures can be like Christ, they will actually be made like Christ. Now, appreciate one more thing before we leave this, the motive of God in this. What is God's purpose in predestinating some to be conformed to Christ's image? According to this passage, it is so that Christ might be the firstborn among many brethren. It is so that the Lord Jesus Christ would be in a place of preeminence. It is so that he would have a family of brothers who are like him, and that among that great family of Christ-like human beings, he would be the most imminent of all. He would be preeminent. The motive of God is not merely His pity for us, the motive of God is not merely His love for us, but it is to exalt His Son. And so in order to set His Son in the place of highest honor, He has predestined that many human beings would be made like Christ and that among them the Lord Jesus would shine forth with brilliant glory and honor. Now, those are the first two things that the passage says God does. Both of those things are a matter of his mind, a matter of his decrees, a matter of things that were set up in his mind before the beginning of the world. Now, the third thing that Paul draws attention to is not something that happened in his mind in the past, but it is something that he actually works out in the history of individual lives. It says in the third place that he called Look again at the text. Verse 29, For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whom he foreordained, them he also called. Now, we can't take time to go back over everything that we've studied under this heading, but you'll remember that the idea of calling in the Bible is used in three different ways. There is calling in reference to a vocation, to a work that God gives you. Paul was called to be an apostle. Some of you are called to be plumbers. Some of you are called to be teachers. Calling in reference to a vocation. The word is also used, calling, in reference to God's general invitation for people to come and believe the gospel, that wherever the gospel is preached, wherever people are invited to believe, that is a calling, that is a general call to all who will hear it to come and to have Jesus as their Savior. But there is a third way that it is used, and it is the way that is primarily used in the New Testament, and it is the way that it is used here. And that is where calling is used in reference to God's sovereign, effectual work in the life of a sinful person. That work where God takes someone who does not love Christ and he brings that person to a place where inwardly he does love Christ. and it becomes a full disciple of the Lord Jesus. You remember back when we first came to this text, I quoted to you the definition of calling from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and I would just remind you of that definition. The question is question number 31. What is effectual calling? And this is the answer. Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit whereby, convincing us of our own sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our will, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel." What is effectual calling? Well, it is where God's Spirit comes to an individual. Here's an individual who does not love the Lord. He does not understand the gospel. He's basically oblivious to spiritual things. He may know something about them, but in terms of his interest, he's basically oblivious. When God effectually calls someone, the Holy Spirit comes to them. And they may not perceive at all that the Holy Spirit has come to them, but the Holy Spirit comes to them. And the Holy Spirit begins to do a work in them. According to the confession, the first thing he does is convince individuals of their sin and of their misery. Now, the Holy Spirit is not morbid. But that's a work that's necessary for people to appreciate the gospel. When God calls someone to be his own, he sends a spirit to them to convince them of their need. It may be to convince them of their sinfulness in terms of this. It may be that God impresses upon them the knowledge of God's law, as he did the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul's testimony, you remember, was that God came and pressed upon his conscience the tenth commandment concerning coveting. And he realized that he was very guilty of coveting. And when he began to realize that, he could no longer be self-righteous. He could no longer be content. He began to feel guilty. He says it became like he was dead before God. In a sense, he was dead. Well, God used the Tenth Commandment by the Spirit, pressing upon Paul's conscience to make him see his need. He uses other means to make some people sense their need and their misery. But when God calls someone, he sends the Spirit to them to make them sense that need. No one becomes a Christian and remains a Christian because of just intellectual interest. People become Christians and remain Christians when they are convinced of their sin and misery before God and how desperately they need a Savior. But when God calls someone, the Spirit not only comes and does that, the Spirit, according to the answer of the confession, comes and enlightens our mind concerning the gospel and concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. It may be that he informs the mind. It may be that he comes to someone who didn't really know much at all about Christ, and the Spirit teaches that person about Christ. Or it may be that it's not so much a matter of information. It may be like some of you children who have been raised and you've known things about Christ all of your life, but it's never been significant to you. It's not meant anything to you. When God calls someone, he comes and he informs them and he makes them to appreciate the truth about Christ. The fact that Jesus is the son of God becomes something more than an academic idea. It becomes something of great amazement and wonder. The fact that Jesus humiliated himself. and took the body of a human being and the nature of a human being and took our sins upon himself, is no longer a matter of intellectual doctrine. It becomes something of the most profound import to the mind when God calls someone because the Spirit enlightens the mind concerning the relevance of Jesus, the Son of God, dying and bearing the sins of His people upon His very being. The Spirit of God does more than that, though. The Spirit of God comes and convinces of sin and misery and enlightens concerning Christ. But it's also that when God calls someone, the Spirit comes, and in the language which is so wonderful in the Confession, He persuades and enables us to receive Christ. He makes you want Christ. He doesn't drive you somehow against your will to force you into becoming a Christian. He persuades you. He makes you want Christ more than anything else. He makes you see him as more important than riches or prosperity or social standing. He persuades you that the Lord is more valuable to you than anything that could be desired. And he not only persuades you, he enables you. He gives you faith to believe. He gives you repentance to turn from your sins. He works powerfully in your mind and in your soul and your will. to enable you to turn from the things that would keep you from being a Christian and to come indeed to Christ. That's effectual calling. That's what this passage is speaking of. There are certain ones whom God sets his mind upon, those very ones God predestines to be made like Christ. And at a point in time, God goes to each one of them and calls them. in the sense that we have been speaking of in the last few moments. Now, the fourth thing that is said here is that God justifies these. He knows them in a distinguishing way. He predestinates them to be like Christ. He calls them at a point in time and gives them faith and repentance and love for Christ. And the fourth thing is says in this passage is that he justifies them. Verse 30, whom he called them he also justified. Now we could spend hours reviewing what the Apostle Paul has set forth concerning the subject of justification. It was tempting actually to preach a whole sermon on the subject of justification, but it seemed that for those of you who are regular attenders that that would be an improper repetition of things that we have done before. So let me just try to briefly remind you of the basic things that must be in our mind concerning justification. And perhaps I should just say, just take a pause here, I am somewhat apologetic for the nature of this sermon, because I realize we're going point after point after point, and there's a lot of material. I understand that. But I do believe it's a necessary way to proceed so that all of these things, at least in part, are before us before we begin to try and make the applications. In God's providence, the past sermons have been strung out over a number of weeks with several interruptions. So bear with me. It won't always be so many points one after another. But there are several things that must be in our mind concerning the matter of justification, this fourth work of God in the passage. Justification should be thought of as a legal activity. It is a legal declaration that a person is right or a person is righteous. Justification implies a fixed standard of conduct. And when a person is justified, it is a statement that he is right, that he is OK, that he is righteous. In terms of that standard of conduct, remember some time ago we used an illustration, something like this. Pretend that you're a traveling salesman. And you have an expense account. And that expense account is the standard by which you determine how much you can spend. You're allowed $100 a week. You can spend it on your lodging and on your food and on your business entertainment. But the standard is you can spend $100 a week. So here you're this traveling salesman. You turn in your expenses at the end of the week. The boss calls you and he says, justify these expenses. What is he asking you to do when he says that? Well, he wants you to demonstrate that your conduct was right. He wants you to demonstrate that your spending was right. He wants you to demonstrate that here's the standard, $100 a week, and those expenses are justified in the light of that standard. And if you can justify them, that means that you follow the standard. And if you can't, that means that you were found guilty according to the standard. Well, when thinking of justification from a biblical standpoint, you have some of the elements of that illustration. God's law has been given to us as the standard for our righteousness. God's law, not religious opinions. not how we stack up in comparison to our neighbor, not whether we happen to be better in one sense or another from somebody else that we compare ourselves to. None of those things are the standard. God's law is the standard. God's law, as summarized in the Ten Commandments, God's law as set forth in all of the details of the statements of the scriptures. All men are measured against the standard of God's law. And the scriptures say that all men are found guilty when measured against this standard. The passage that I would ask you to look at is in Romans chapter three. I trust that this passage for many of you now has become very, very familiar yet. teaches what I have just been trying to say. Verse 19, we know that whatsoever things the law says, it says to them that are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God. Because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. When men stand before God, and the law is brought out as the standard by which our conduct and by which our thoughts will be judged and measured, no one will be justified. No one will be able to say, I have lived and thought and spoken rightly in accord with this law. No one will be able to say that. The law will close every man's mouth. No one will be able to offer an excuse. No one will be able to give extenuating circumstances. No one will be able to say, God, I know I didn't keep the law, but every man's mouth will be stopped. All the world will be judged guilty before God's law. No one will be justified on the basis of the law. Rather, the law will expose every one of us to be guilty of transgression of that law. Now, all of that is presupposed in this matter of justification. There is a standard. We're all going to be judged by that standard, and every one of us will be found guilty by that standard. And this is where justification comes in. Against that backdrop, the scriptures say that God takes sinners who are not justified on the basis of their obedience to the law. God takes those sinners and he justifies them. He declares them to be righteous. The scriptures say that God does this. Chapter eight and verse thirty three says that it is God that justifies several scriptures in the book of Romans says that is God who justifies ungodly men. It is not that God finds someone who has obeyed the commandments and says, here's someone that obeys the commandments. I'll say justified in reference to him. It is that God takes ungodly men. Chapter four and verse five, God justifies the ungodly. How does God do that? How does God justify the ungodly and still himself be just? Well, the scriptures say, And this must not be misunderstood. The scriptures say, as unbelievable as it is, the scriptures say that God takes divine righteousness and gives it to those who believe the gospel. The scriptures say that God takes the very obedience of Jesus Christ to the law. God takes that. and gives it to those who believe the gospel. And because believers have Jesus' obedience, they are declared to be just. You've heard the illustrations. It's like a man who is in poverty, has no wealth. He has a bank account with zero dollars in the bank account. Some wealthy person takes billions of his dollars, transfers them electronically from his bank account to the pauper's bank account. And all of a sudden, the pauper being no businessman, doing nothing to deserve anything, having no skills to earn that kind of money, all of a sudden, all of that wealth is his. and all of the privileges that go along with that wealth, and all the social standing, and all the opportunities to have. Everything associated with that wealth is his in a moment, simply because it was given to him. That's the picture which the scriptures set forth in reference to justification. Here is a sinner, an individual who does not keep God's law, has not pleased God. God takes the very obedience of Christ, gives it to him, He didn't earn it. He didn't desire it. He didn't do anything to merit it. God gives it to him. And now having that, when God looks upon him, he declares him to be justified. It would be like the banker looking at the pauper on one day and saying, you are a bum. And the next day, having seen the billions of dollars wired into the account, would say to him, you are a wealthy man. When God looks at us according to his law, apart from Christ, he would have to say, you are a sinner, you are condemned, you'll be justly cast into everlasting punishment. But when the immensity of Jesus' perfect obedience is transferred to our account, God looks upon us in the light of that account And he says, you are justified. You are righteous in the sight of the law, not because you are good, but because you have Jesus righteousness in your place. God justifies ungodly men on the basis of Christ's obedience being given to them. God justifies ungodly men through faith. He never justifies anyone. He never says anyone is just because they have obeyed him, because they have worked for something. It is only when there is faith that the Lord God calls that person just. Justification is a once for all event. Once this obedience of Jesus is transferred to your account, it's settled. There can be no debt drawn against it. It is forever yours. And that obedience of Christ is forever. And I underscore this, that obedience of Christ is forever the only basis of your acceptance with God. You will never grow in grace so much. You will never progress as a Christian so much that you begin to so please Him that now your present conduct makes you acceptable to Him. You will always sin. You will always fall short. You will do good because of the Spirit's work within you. You will please Him to be sure, but it will never be a perfect obedience. And you will always, always, always be going back to this gift of righteousness of the Lord Jesus as your one and only basis of acceptance with God. But because it is certain, and because it is once for all, no matter how much you decline, no matter how weak your faith, no matter how small your gifts, no matter how useless you seem to be in God's kingdom, this gift of Christ's righteousness is constantly and always a sufficient basis for you to be accepted by God in whatever state of spirit you are in. Now there is a fifth thing that is said to be the work of God. God looks upon some and especially knows them. He takes those ones and he predestines them to be made like Christ. He takes those very ones at a point in time and calls them and gives them faith and repentance and persuades them to leave their old life and accept Christ. These very people that he calls, he justifies. He gives Jesus' obedience to them and declares them righteous and accepts them forever. And then it says, these very ones he glorifies. I won't take as long here because we've been studying the preceding verses and they have to do with this very subject. But the point is, you remember from the preceding verses that the whole world is groaning in travail Sin is upon the world. Sin is upon all human beings. There's sickness, sorrow, war, famine, stillborn babies, horrible things on the earth. The whole world is groaning under this weight and burden of sin. The passage says that even we who are Christians, even we who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we too are groaning with the rest of the world. God has not chosen to deliver us from all these sorrows. God has given us grace and forgiven our sins and promised to work everything together for good. But he's not delivered us from all of the sorrows of other people in the world. And so we with them are sorrowing, waiting, the passage says, waiting, hoping, confident in this coming day. when we will be fully adopted at the day of the redemption of our bodies, when the Lord Jesus Christ will return and we who love Him will be made perfect in body and perfect in soul, where there be no sin, there be no sorrow, where God will even recreate the heavens and the earth, wherein only righteousness will dwell. And so we live in a time where we're constantly asking ourselves questions. We're asking, why does God allow this? And why does God allow this? And why do our children die? And why does this happen? And all we can say at the present time is that God has not promised presently to deliver us from this. But there is coming a time when there will be no more such questions, because all will be well. All sin and all sorrow will be gone and we'll be glorified. We'll be made like Christ fully. As much as a creature can be like Christ, we will be fully in character and in conduct made like him. our personal salvation will be full and complete. The point of all this is that from the very first conception of redemption when God thought upon some individuals all the way through these steps to the future when God will take everyone whom he has especially thought upon and glorify them and deliver them fully from sin and sorrow all along the way These five things and everything that can be conceived between them, these things are the work of God in saving his people. Now, I'd like us to begin to consider some implications from the fact that these five things are all the work of God. The first is perhaps the most obvious. It is that complete and final salvation is certain for all of God's people. There are many people who seem to doubt whether or not salvation is certain. But this text teaches us that complete and final salvation is certain for all of God's people. Everyone who trusts in Christ for salvation will be completely saved now and forever. There'll be many differences among God's people, many differences. Differences of background, differences of gift, differences of usefulness. Usefulness will be somewhat determined by a whole host of different things among God's people. We'll have different blessings. We'll have different trials. Some of us will see our whole families converted to Christ. Others will see only some and bear the grief of that divided. There'll be many differences among the people of God. But each one of us will be completely and fully saved. There is no difference among the people of God concerning this. Every one of us will be completely and fully saved. And according to this text, there are two reasons why that is so. The first is that salvation is certain because it is the work of God from the beginning to the end. If salvation was at any one point the work of ourselves, at that point it would fail. And we would have reason to doubt and reason to fear and reason to question whether having begun will actually continue. But salvation is certain, complete, full, whole salvation is certain in the first place because it is, in fact, the work of God. Notice this text in Romans chapter eight. At every point, it is he, verse 29, he foreknew, he foreordained. Verse 30, he called, he justified, he also glorified. At every case, it is God who is the one who is said to be the one at work. When you think back at what happened before the beginning of time, he foreknew and he predestined, you say, well, of course, there was nobody else around. It had to be all of God. Of course. But then people go on to say that when it comes to these things that take place in history, such as calling, well then, that very much depends upon us. That very much depends upon our responding in faith, and that very much responds upon our responding in repentance and the rest. Just appreciate, whatever legitimacy there may be to that argument, just appreciate that this text says that in the same way that God alone foreknew God alone predestined in the same way it said He did these other things as well. When no one was around to have any input in His foreknowledge and in His predestination, He did all of those things by Himself in the same way. He calls people by Himself. He justifies people by Himself. And He glorifies people by Himself. It is certainly true that calling involves us. It is certainly true that we believe and we repent to be sure. But the point of the passage is that God makes it happen. God himself calls us. He doesn't throw the offer down on the table and then everything hangs on whether or not we will choose to respond. God persuades us to respond. God makes sure that his eternal counsels are worked out. He persuades us to believe. He persuades us to repent. That's what calling is. From first to last, this is indeed the work of God. He is the one who ensures that we will be saved. And when you decline and when you confront the ugliness of your remaining sins, you who are Christians, you must understand this, that though you are weak and though there are many things that will cause you shame, you will not be lost because your salvation does not, in the final analysis, depend upon what you do. It depends upon the faithfulness and the power and the ability of God. God foreknows, God predestines, God calls, God justifies, and God glorifies. But the fact that our salvation is certain is not only because it is the work of God from beginning to end. Salvation is certain because all the parts set forth in this passage are inseparably linked together. These things for knowledge, predestinations, they can be spoken of separately. They can logically be thought of separately, but they do not exist separately. They are all together. They are all together fixed in God's mind. Notice the way the phrases link these ideas together. Look again at verse 29. Whom he foreknew, He also foreordained. The word also inextricably binds those two ideas together. The very people that are foreknown, they also are foreordained. Look in verse 30. And whom he foreordained, them he also called. Whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified. And I'm trying with my voice to underline the word also in each one of these places. They have to stand or fall together. This great work of God set forth in these five steps is total and complete and inseparable. God doesn't foreknow some and then the rest of the events not apply to them. Every one that God foreknows, he also predestines and he also calls and he also justifies and he also glorifies. It's impossible for you to be called. It's impossible for you to be given faith and to be given repentance and be persuaded to embrace Christ and then not finally go to heaven, because the text says those he calls, he also justifies and those he justifies, he also glorifies. You're going to go to heaven. It's impossible for you to be called, for you to be given faith and for you not to be justified. It's impossible if you sit here this morning with faith and determination to please God, it's impossible for you not to be justified. All of these things stand together. And for that reason, it is certain that every one of God's people will actually be glorified because all of these works do in fact stand together. Another evidence that they stand together, the first and most obvious is these connecting phrases, also, also, also. But there is another evidence that these things are inseparable. And it's because of the tense of the verb that is used. You notice in your English translations, it says these things all happened in the past. Now, the Apostle Paul wrote this in the first century. And of course, at the time he wrote this, he could honestly look back and look and say in the past that God foreknew and in the past that God predestined. And he could say at the moment that he wrote it, in the past, many people were called. But he couldn't say at the time that he wrote it that everybody had been called because there were centuries of people yet to come who would be called. He couldn't say that everyone had been justified because there are centuries of time left where there are unjustified people who would become justified. And certainly no one had been glorified at that point. But he says it all in the past tense in the English versions. In the original language, that's in an aorist tense, which means they were all done at the same time. Now, how can you understand that? How can you fit it into your mind that at the same time God foreknew some and predestined some and glorified some when in fact not enough that hadn't happened? God had not in time glorified them. Well, I'd like to read to you the statement of a learning commentator who I think grasps the idea very well. This must be understood from the standpoint of God's perspective in history. Paul is speaking of that God who sees the end from the beginning, and in whose decree and purpose all future events are comprehended and fixed, so that in predestinating us, he at the same time, in effect, called, justified, and glorified us. All these were included in his eternal purpose. When God sits down and determines something, if we may use that anthropomorphism to sit down as if there was a time, I should scratch that from the illustration. When we appreciate that God, who exists everywhere in time, that God who knows the end from the beginning, that God who is certain to do everything that he thinks to do, when God, predestined, in effect it is as if it were all finished, We were all called, certainly, yet to be worked out in history. We were all justified, certainly, yet to be worked out in history. We were all glorified, certainly, yet to be worked out in history. But certainly, nonetheless, because everything that God determines will come to pass. And so these things, I say, all stand together. Number one, because of the phrases, also, also, also, also. But number two, because of the tenses, they were all accomplished at once. in the eternal mind of God. In history they are worked out progressively, but at once fixed at one point of time in the eternal mind of God. It is absolutely certain that all of God's people will be fully and finally saved. All of God's people are equally the object of God's special foreknowledge. All of God's people are equally the object of His predestinating decree. All of God's people will be conformed to Christ. All of God's people are equally subject to his divine work of calling. All of God's people are equally justified, and all of God's people shall be equally glorified. There is no doubt, there can be no question of the certainty of the salvation of all of God's people. Now, that subject occupies much of the rest of this chapter, and so I'll leave it at this point. But that is probably the central and most obvious implication of these five things being linked together. Now, that certainty that God's people will all be saved does not in any way cancel out or undermine the many texts in the Bible that call us to the necessity of staying in the faith. There are many passages that tell us to discipline ourselves, that tell us to take hold of ourselves, that tell us to keep ourselves in the love of God, that tell us to beat our body, keep it under, lest indeed we should be castaways in such passages as that. This certainty does not in any way undermine those passages. It simply guarantees that when we engage ourselves in those required disciplines, we shall not fail. We shall be kept because of the power of God. The fact that God chooses to use those means should not confuse us. We should simply engage ourselves in those means with great confidence that we shall succeed in the use of those means because all of God's people will certainly be saved. The second implication from this passage is in reference to assurance. There is an important lesson here. concerning personal assurance of salvation. Do you understand what I'm saying? It is one thing to say in theory and in general and in the abstract, it is one thing to say that all of God's people will certainly be saved. It's another thing to know that I personally am accepted by God and will at my death be received into heaven, and will at the day of the Lord's return be glorified." That's another matter altogether. It's one thing to say it's true in the abstract in reference to all God's people. It's another thing for me to have assurance that I am one of those people and that I will certainly be saved in the last day. Well, this passage has a great deal to say to that matter of personal assurance of salvation. There are many people that come to these kind of doctrines and it fills them with questions. They ask these kind of questions. How can I know whether or not God foreknew me? How can I know whether or not God set his mind upon me? How can I know whether or not God has predestined me to be conformed to the image of Christ? Some ask, how can I know that God has declared me righteous? I've heard no voice. The heavens don't ring with the declarations. So and so is this day declared to be righteous. How do I know that I will be glorified? Granted that all the people of God will be glorified, but how do I know that I have been the object of such discriminating thought and love and predestination? You can't see those things. You can't see whether God was knowing you before the beginning of the world. You can't see his decree of predestination. And you can't hear his declaration of justification, and no one yet has such pre-science that they can see the day of the return and know whether or not you're glorified by sight. How can you know? Those are the kind of questions that these doctrines may raise in people's minds. But what I want you to appreciate is that one of these five things can be seen. Calling can be seen. You can't see God's eternal decrees. You can't see the future glorification. You can't hear the voice declaring you righteous. But calling is objective. It can be seen. When God calls someone, what happens? You remember the review of just a few moments ago. When God calls someone, he sends his spirit to them. He persuades them of their sin and misery. He persuades them of their need for Christ and enables them to have Christ. The spirit gives faith and the spirit gives repentance. And there is a new life as a consequence of calling. You can see that. And so the question should not be, how do I know whether or not God thought upon me? How do I? The question should be, do I see the evidence of calling? Do I have faith in Christ? Do I long for Christ? Am I repentant? Am I living a life where I'm eschewing my sins and endeavoring to be done with them? Am I really hoping in Christ to save me? If you can say yes to that, then because these five things are inseparably linked, you can know with absolute certainty that you were the object of God's divine forethought. You can know that you have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ and that because you've been predestinated it actually will happen. You can know without doubt that you have been declared righteous in the courts of heaven. And you can know without doubt that you will in fact one day be glorified if you can see the one observable and outwardly objective link in this chain, if you can see calling in your life. Now, if you don't have any faith and you're not living a life of repentance and you're not hoping in Christ and there is no longing for Christ, then you have reason to worry. But if you can see those things, then biblical logic, not logic in itself, but biblical logic, should constrain you to have all of the confidence and security and hope which these biblical doctrines are meant to instill. You are not some freelance religionist. You are not just groping about with a groundless hope that maybe God will be merciful to me. If you have been called, if you have faith and repentance, you can know that you, undeserving you, have been thought upon particularly and discriminately from before the foundations of the earth. You can know that. You can be confident that whatever the accuser of your soul might make you fear, whatever shame your sins might press upon your consciences, you can know that you have been declared righteous in the courts of heaven because these five things stand together. And if you've been called, you've been justified never to suffer condemnation again. So I say that this passage has very important implications for the assurance of faith. You ought not to doubt God's love for you. You ought not to doubt the special place you have in his mind. You certainly ought not to doubt your acceptance on the basis of the imputation of Jesus' righteousness if you can see faith and if you can see repentance in your life. And the third implication that I would make before we close is that God did not write this section in the Bible to confuse those who are yet unbelievers. God did not write this section in the Bible to confuse those who are not yet Christians. Some of you who are children and some of you who are adults You might hear these things about God, especially looking upon some and not others, about God predestinating some and not others, about God calling them and not all. You might look upon those things and become very confused. You might hear about those things and think, well, if these things are true, what hope is there for me? If these things are true, some of you might reason, there's really nothing for me to do but lay back and see what God will do. Some of you might reason, there's nothing for me to do. God's sovereign, he'll do what he wants to do. It's confusing, but what can I say? Some of you may be reacting that way. This passage is not written to confuse you, and it's certainly not written to instill that kind of question. I think it's a bit of good spiritual advice to those who are not Christians, but who are confused by these ideas. I think it's a bit of good spiritual advice to advise you to not think upon the things that are unknown to you. but to think upon the things that are known. To not think upon the things that aren't revealed in the Bible, but to think about the things that are clearly and certainly revealed in the Bible. And what are some of those things? One of them is that you can't save yourselves. And some of you have come to that appreciation already. You can't change yourselves. You know that. Some of you have tried and failed. Some of you have made yourselves externally more pleasant. But you know the depravity of the heart and you know that you can't. That's a certain thing that's in the Bible. You can't save yourself. There are other things, though, that are well known to you. You know that God has extended a sincere invitation to you. Your family has invited you to believe the gospel. The preachers have invited you to believe the gospel. Perhaps you've read passages in the scriptures where God invites you to become a Christian, where God invites you to repent or to forgive. That's something that's certain. God does invite you as an individual to come to Christ and to believe the gospel. It's also certain that God has commanded you. It's not only that he has invited you, he has commanded all men everywhere to repent. That's certain. Set your mind upon these things that are certain. It's also certain, and you should know, that in the light of the invitations, in the light of the commandments, Do you have an argument to use to come to Christ? You can literally come to God, not with an arrogant spirit, not with a debater's mindset, but you can honestly come to God with a humble argument. Oh, God, you have invited me to come. You have commanded me to come. There are so many things that I'm unsure of about calling and predestination, but you have invited me and commanded me. You can plead that with God. And you know those things to be true. He has invited you. He has commanded you. And therefore, you know that you have warrant. You have an argument. You have a handle on God's heart, a handle on God's promise, not to wrench Him into submission to you, but something to remind Him of that should be for your encouragement. You know these things. They're certain. And you know, too, that God commands you to seek Him. And he promises that all that would draw near unto God, God would draw near unto him. God did not write these mysteries about his eternal decrees and his mind and his absolute sovereignty. God did not write these things to confuse unbelievers. He wrote them for the security of the saints. And you ought not to set your mind upon the things that you don't understand. Set your mind upon the things that are certain and clearly understood to you. Recognize. Recognize how much you need Christ. And recognize that He promises to save you if you would come to Him. Recognize that He demands you change your life and repent of your sins and leave them in obedience to Him. Recognize that He asks you simply to trust Him to save you. Recognize those things. Come to Him on the basis of those things. And you will surely be saved. And you will see the evidence of calling in your life. And you'll be able to reason back. Praise be to God. I was the object of His divine foreknowledge. I was the object of His predestination. I have been called by His grace. Oh may the Lord May the Lord stir us who are Christians to appreciate the greatness of this salvation which God has wrought. And may you who are not Christians, may the Lord deliver you from confusion and set your mind upon the certain promises and commandments for you to come. Let us stand together and pray and be dismissed. Our God and Father, we bow our faces before you and we thank you for the great salvation that you have planned and worked in our lives. We admit to you that when we consider these things that we are far beyond the ability of our minds to comprehend. But we do accept what you've written and we glorify you for your mercy toward us and for your willingness to love sinful people. We thank you, our God, that you have not been so offended by our race and by us as individuals that you would just hate us and throw us off forever. We thank you that our rebellion against you and our dislike for you did not cause you to forever abandon us. We thank you that you set your mind and heart upon some and that you have brought grace to many in this room. And we who have been the recipients of that grace do sincerely thank you. that with all of our sins and dullnesses you have nonetheless loved us and made us to be your own. And we plead with you that in the light of your great mercy and in the light of the known and felt needs of many in this place, many children and several adults in this place whose needs are large, who are not forgiven, who do not love you, who do not have faith, who do not have repentance, O God, you are the one who calls, and therefore we appeal to you and pray that you would call them to believe the gospel, and that we would be more and more a people who appreciate your great work of saving grace. Do demonstrate the power of the gospel in the lives of unbelievers in this place this day. Be merciful to them. Draw them to yourself. Cause them to love you and to love Christ. We ask together in Jesus' name. Amen.