Romans 8, 29, or 29B, that is the second half of verse 29, is our text for today. This is the 50th sermon in a study through the New Testament book of Romans. The book of Romans was written by a missionary. One of the reasons why Paul wrote the book was to raise money for a missionary endeavor to Spain. Wouldn't it be wonderful if in the membership of North Shore Baptist Church God would be pleased to call someone out to be a missionary? Wouldn't it be wonderful if that person was you? But even if that person is not you, please know that God does want you to be involved in sending other missionaries. Today's message is 35 handwritten pages and the title of today's message is Predestination's destination. Turn please to Romans chapter eight, and as you do, remember that God loves you in Christ. Remember that for the remainder of this sermon. Remember this for the rest of your life. God loves you in Christ. Romans chapter eight, 29, is our text for today. To add a little bit of context, I'm going to read verses 28, 29, and 30. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, He also justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified. Our Father in Heaven, today as we consider the subject of predestination, I pray to your Lord that this would be a very practical and helpful sermon to your people. I pray to your Lord that we might understand it, that we might learn today and grow in our knowledge. Lord, I pray that we would grow in our praise, that our hearts would be large and our hearts would be soft as we bring you praise and bring you glory for your work in predestination. So help me as I preach. Fill me with your spirit. Lord, help the people as they listen and as they live. In Christ's name, amen. So this morning I have six points. I will unveil them as we go. Point number one is this. The chain is strong. The chain is strong. The section that we are in, Romans 8, verses 29 and 30, is referred to as the golden chain of redemption. The best we can tell, this phrase was coined by a man by the name of William Perkins. He's known as the father of the Puritans. He lived from 1558 to 1602. And in the year 1590, he writes a book called The Golden Chain of Redemption. Last week, we studied the first link in that chain, which is foreknowledge. Simply put, it means that before time began, God the Father, for reasons only known to Him, chose to set His electing love upon certain individuals. He knew them, that is His chosen, His elect, He knew them lovingly before the dawn of time. And as I pointed out last week, it is not what, W-H-A-T, it is not what he foreknew, rather it is whom, W-H-O-M, those whom he foreknew, or those that he loved ahead of time. If you are saved, this truth, this truth of foreknowledge, this reality, this doctrine of being loved before time by God should make you thankful, it should make you humble, it should cause you to be in awe, and it should cause you to be secure in Christ. Now, today we move on to the next link in the golden chain of redemption. We move from foreknowledge to predestination. But before we study predestination, I want you to notice the relationship between all five of the links. This is a strong chain. In other words, how the links of the chain are linked together and how this chain is a unit. The cliche, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, is a very profound observation. You remember when you were a child, you had that little game called Barrel of Monkeys. And it really was a fun game to play because the chain was so tenuous. You would take the one little monkey and you would pick up another monkey and then the chain would be put together. But when one would slip off of the other, then you would have to start over. You would lose or your opponent would win or whatever. It is based, that entire game was based upon the premise that the chain is tenuous and it can easily be broken or consider another game that has a chain to it. I love this game. It's called Red Rover, Red Rover. Those who play Red Rover competitively know that when you get sent over, you're not going to try to break the chain between the two strongest boys, but what you're going to do is you're going to look for the two children who have the weakest grip, and you're going to try to run through there. Well, when we are looking at the golden chain of redemption in Romans chapter 8, 29 and 30, foreknowledge and predestination and calling and justification and glorification, starting with foreknowledge in eternity past and ending with glorification in eternity future, this five-linked chain has no weaknesses. This is not a barrel of monkeys. Everyone, each and everyone whom he foreknew would be predestined, and that is 100% of them. There is no dropout between foreknowledge and glorification. You go to school, you start with someone as a freshman, and then you look at your graduation and you see how many dropouts were there along the way. In this golden chain, there are no dropouts. And only the foreknown will be predestined, and only the foreknown will eventually be glorified. Everyone who is foreknown will be predestined, 100% of them. All of those who are predestined will receive an effectual call, 100% of them. There's no weakness between the links. And all of those who are called will be justified, saved, 100% of them. No weakness in the chain. And finally, everyone who gets called, justified, will be then glorified in heaven. You see, the beauty of the chain is that it can't be broken by the weakest link, for there is no weakest link. For our purposes today, this is a comfort. Knowing that if you were known, lovingly known by God in eternity past, then with absolute certainty, It can be said of you that you were predestined. Again, I read Romans chapter 8 verse 29. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And the chain will not break all the way through eternity into heaven, verse 30. those, that is 100% of those, all of those, and those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Point number two is that the chain is of practical value. It is of practical value. Let's remember that Romans chapter 8 is in the book of Romans and that the book of Romans was written to Roman Christians living in the first century around the year AD 57. Let's remember that these were real people with real struggles. This was not originally written as a systematic systematic theology textbook by a PhD with a bow tie and a gray beard and a sweater vest and a pipe. This was not written by a seminary professor. Now it is true that what is here is in systematic theology textbooks and I would say more so than any other two verses in all systematic theology textbooks. Romans chapter 8, 29, and 30 will appear, and justifiably so, because they clearly inform our soteriology, which is a fancy way of saying our doctrine of salvation. However, let's remember that when God the Holy Spirit initially inspired these truths to us through the quill of the Apostle Paul in AD 57. He, the Holy Spirit, presented them in a section of scripture where The argument and the purpose and the overarching intention was to help actual people who were actually struggling at that time. Real people with real problems, not seminary students trying to win a debate between Calvinism and Arminianism. It was given to instruct and to encourage Christians in the midst of their suffering. Probably the suffering that they were having to endure was persecution or potentially even martyrdom. Let's consider just the context of Romans chapter 8 and look at the amount of ink that is dedicated to the suffering. Romans 8 17. What does it say? And if children, then heirs. Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer with him. These people were suffering provided we suffer with him in order that we also may be glorified with him. But what about verse 18 again suffering? For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us. What about verse 22? It is talking about the fact that the whole creation has been groaning. How about the next verse, verse 23? We ourselves groan. What about verse 31? There's a rhetorical question. And what is the question in verse 31? It is this. What shall we say then if God is for us? Who can be against us? It is implied here that someone must have been against them. And then in verse 35, the context is suffering clearly when it says, who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Those words would not be there unless they were potential realities. The context of Romans 8 is to a group of people who are suffering or who are about to suffer. And so this golden chain is of practical value to hurting people. Consider a chain known as jewelry. You wear it around your neck. It has beauty. I suppose it has value in a pawn shop. but it is of absolutely no practical value. Well, 21st century Calvinist, and I am one of them, tend to treat the golden chain of redemption as if it were a necklace, when in reality, it was written to people who feared for their lives because of persecution. They needed a practical chain, and they got a practical chain. If you've fallen into a pit, and you can't get out, jewelry will be of no value to you. You need a really strong chain which is going to be able to hoist you up. So likewise, the pastor or the seminary student who sits in a comfortable office studying the finer points of predestination in the 21st century is closer to the analogy of jewelry than those in the first century who received this information in the first place. I love theology, but all theology was given in the context of people in real life situations. Here's what I'm saying. You're a Christian in Rome. It's a very real possibility that Nero He's going to send someone to get you. When he sends someone to get you, they're either going to throw you to the lions or they are going to impale you and cover you with tar and light you on fire. Now, what do you need? You need comfort. You need comfort for eternity. That comfort comes in the fact that those whom he foreknew, he also predestined. It is a real practical doctrine for real hurting people. So point number one, the links are strong. Number two, the context is real life struggles. Those are the first two points. Now we move on to point number three. And that is, I would like to distinguish between foreknowledge and predestination. What is the difference between foreknowledge and predestination because at a quick glance on the surface they might seem to be similar or even to be the same thing and Paul wouldn't want to be redundant with two identical links thus making one of them superfluous so we need to ask ourselves what is the difference between foreknowledge and predestination here's the answer foreknowledge addresses the whom that is, the people. Predestination in Romans 8.29 addresses the what. Predestination's destination, the what. In other words, what will happen to the foreknown ones? Or to put it in another way, foreknowledge speaks to the heart and the love of God, whereas predestination in Romans 8.29 speaks to the goal or the intention or the purpose of God. Remember Romans 8.28, the ultimate good to the called ones, that is the ones who are called according to his purpose. We need to ask ourselves, what is his purpose? And we find that answer in Romans 8.29, that is that we who have been foreloved or foreknown will be conformed to the image of his son. that Christ will be the firstborn among many brethren. That is what has been predestined. So foreknowledge is the who, and we won't get fooled again, and predestination is the what. What is going to happen? Think of it this way. You love your child. You have an affection for your child. You want the best for your child. You know that winter is coming. It's going to be cold outside. Therefore, what you're going to do is you're going to buy them a coat. Well, in this analogy, the love that you have in your heart for that child is your foreknowledge. And the decision to buy them a coat is the predestination. So point number one is that the chain can't be broken because it is strong. Point number two is that the knowledge of this chain is an encouragement to hurting people. Point number three, which we've just concluded, is that foreknowledge is love and predestination is purpose, which brings us to our fourth point today, four of six. The fourth item to consider is this, and that is that our conformity to Christ is God's ultimate purpose. Us being conformed to the image of Christ is God's ultimate purpose. Now notice please what the verse does not say. And I myself was shocked to see this, even though I've read it hundreds of times. The verse does not say that we were predestined unto salvation. Although that is true. God did determine who would be saved and how he would save them. If you, though, want to think in terms of what is happening with respect to God being the one who makes a choice in election, I would point you to the sermon last week. That is closer to foreknowledge. The sermon from last week, June 16, 2024, Romans 8, 29a, just like new, K-N-E-W. That sermon last week addressed that more than predestination does. I would also refer you if you'd like to think about predestination with reference to salvation to Ephesians chapter one verses four and five. The last two words of verse four in your English Bible are in love. And they actually belong in verse five in love. He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. Those verses speak more to the subject of salvation. Now our verse today, Romans eight 29 does not deny predestination unto salvation. It certainly is implied seeing as how it is part of the golden chain of redemption and redemption is salvation. However, it is always important to actually look at what the text actually says and not to read it based upon what you think the text says. And according to Romans 8 29, and if you look at it, it is predestination to conformity to the Son of God, to the image of the Son of God, Jesus, not merely a ticket to heaven or an escape from hell. Don't get me wrong, I am exceedingly happy that I have a ticket to heaven. And I will be eternally grateful that I get an escape from hell. And I joyfully acknowledge that if God had not predestined me before time, I would not be with him in heaven throughout eternity. But what I want you to notice here is what the text actually says, and that is that God's purpose in predestination is infinitely deeper and better than just getting us to heaven. And you say, what in the world could be better than heaven? Well, according to Romans 8 29, it is conformity to the image of the Son of God. Again, I asked the question, what is better than heaven? And the answer is that we would actually one day be like conformity to the image of the Son of God. And I think we cheapen and we discount the purposes of God when we view our salvation merely as a transport from this place to the good place. And all too often we view Jesus merely as the agency through which we get to heaven. And I do not deny that he is the agency by which we get to heaven. I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me. There's one name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. There's one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. I'm not denying Jesus as the agency by which we get to heaven. I'm just saying I think we cheapen the work of Christ when we only view it as him getting us from here to there, when in reality in the mind of God, there is a deeper purpose and there is a better purpose and that is that one day we are going to be like Christ. When Paul writes in Colossians 118 that in everything he, Christ, might be preeminent, that preeminence in everything includes even our personal salvation. But the ultimate purpose of God more so then getting you to heaven is the exaltation of Christ. I hope you get that. It is a good thing that you get to go to heaven. It is a better thing that you get to be like Christ. Included in the exaltation of Christ is the predetermining, the preordaining, the predestinating us into the image of his son. And so you say, I don't fully understand what that means. And I say, if you say you don't know what that means, I say, welcome to the mind of God. Neither do I, and neither does anyone else. It surpasses your personal entry into heaven. You see, predestination is more than a decision by which God gets us to heaven. It is a decision whereby God chooses that His chosen ones will one day be conformed to the image of Christ. So where are we so far? We are through the first four points. Point number one was this. It is an unbreakable chain. It's a strong chain. Number two, it is a practical chain. It is a value to hurting people. Number three, the predestination link addresses God's purpose, and number four, conformity to Christ is of greater importance than a trip to heaven, which brings us to our last two points. Point number five, and with point number five, this is the only time today I'm going to ask you to put your thinking cap on, but you cannot daydream through this one. Here is point number five. Engage your mind in this, and that is that Conformity to the image of Christ is not achieved in this lifetime. Conformity to the image of Christ is not achieved in this lifetime. It is granted when we are glorified. What he is saying here concerning conformity to the image of the Son of God does not have anything to do with spiritual growth. I don't even think that Paul is addressing our behavior in any way. I don't think he is speaking to the subject of progressive sanctification in any way at all. I believe that conformity to the image of Christ in Romans 8 29 is a reference to what will happen in our glorified state in heaven. and not how we grow as Christians and how we look more and more like Jesus in the here and now. I hope you get that. I'm going to spend quite a bit of time defending that. But for now, when we read Romans 8.29, that we are to be conformed to the image of his son, it is not a reference to spiritual growth in this lifetime. is a reference to what will be granted to us in heaven in our glorified state. Now a week ago, I believed it differently. And I was prepared coming into this sermon to tell you how you should be growing in grace so as to be conformed to the image of his son. I'm not going to deny that that is something that you should do. I just don't think that that is what this verse is talking about at all. For my entire life, I thought that this was saying that God wants us to be holier in our conduct. Well, he does, but that is not the point of Romans 8 29. Allow me please to demonstrate. And once again, I will take you to the context of Romans eight. Remember earlier, we looked at the context of Romans eight in order to see just the ocean of material concerning suffering. And therefore these verses are practical because the people were suffering. I want you to see likewise that there is a large ocean of ink in Romans chapter 8, which speaks to the subject of glorification of our final state of being in heaven. What will happen when we all get to heaven? Let's study the word of God together. Romans 8, 17. Look at it. Why is all of this happening? In order that we may be glorified with him. Romans 8.18, the next verse. The glory that is to be revealed. Romans 8.19, the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8.21, the glory of the children of God. Romans 8.23, We wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. That is future, that is not now. Romans 8.30, those whom he justified, he also glorified. Therefore, Romans 8.29 conformed to the image of his son is in the context of a lot of verses dealing with our state in heaven. Furthermore, When we look at other New Testament passages referring to conformity to the image of Christ, they are clearly talking about what it will be like when we get to heaven and not our growth in the here and now. First Corinthians chapter 15. The quintessential verse, chapter in all the Bible which explains the gospel that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scripture. It is also the quintessential text in all the scripture about the final resurrection. And in 1 Corinthians 15 49, with reference to resurrection day as its context, it says, just as we have born the image, there's that word, image of the son of dust, that is Adam, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. And when does that happen? That happens on the resurrection day. What happens in eternity is what is being referred to there with respect to us taking on the image of the heavenly man. How about 2nd Corinthians 3, 18? We are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. Philippians 3.21, which is referring to the second coming of Christ. It is speaking of Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body. When does that happen? That happens at the second coming of Christ. 1 John 3.2, beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, that is the second coming, we shall be like him. When does it happen that we are like him? It is when he appears because we shall see him as he is. And all of these verses have a reference to our final state, our glorification in heaven. Now this does not mean that we will become a deity or we will be exalted to the position of Christ and be the unique sons of God. This is what the Mormons believe. The Mormons believe, I mean, here's a good reason to be a Mormon. You get to be a God. I mean, that's good. I mean, where do I sign up? But that's not true. When we get to heaven, we will worship the Lamb. And we ourselves will not be objects of worship. So when I say that we are conformed to the image of Christ, it doesn't mean that we become deity. Nor do we become the unique begotten sons of God. Also, The fact that Paul has our ultimate glorification in view in Romans 8.29 does not deny the fact that we in this lifetime are increasingly becoming more Christ-like. 2 Peter 3.18, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hopefully you are more like Christ now than you were three years ago and hopefully three years from now. you'll be holier in your conduct than you are today. Romans 8.29 does not deny progressive sanctification. It simply doesn't address it at all. And so let's just say for the sake of argument that you have not followed me on point number five at all. I want to restate it. I'm going back and I'm going to give this point a second coat of paint. For those of you that got it, Please daydream because I'm just going to be repeating myself. But let's just say you didn't get it. I'm going to restate it, and then I'm going to simplify it. And then I'm going to speak to you of its practical value. Point number five is this, and that is that conformity to the image of Christ as stated in Romans 8.29 is not achieved in this lifetime. It comes when we are in our glorified state in heaven. God has predestined or predetermined that something good would happen to his chosen ones. He has decided ahead of time, before time began, that his chosen ones, also known as his elect, those whom he foreknow, will be like Jesus when we get to heaven. Now, that's the restatement of the point. Here is the practical value. Those of you that were daydreaming, jump back on the train, because you're gonna need this. Because you will be like Christ in heaven, there is coming a day when you will not sin. And you will not want to sin. And all of the vestiges of total depravity will be reversed and corrected. I remember when I was in seminary, the church that I went to in Columbia, South Carolina, we were gathering on Wednesday night for a prayer meeting and there was a young man that stood up and he prayed this prayer. And it's amazing that you can like remember a prayer that was prayed 35 years ago. And he prayed this prayer and he said, Lord, I want to thank you that there will be a day when I can say, I have not sinned in a million years. Like AA, you get your coin. How much time do you have in? I've got four weeks. Great. How much time you get in? I got in a million years. I have not sinned in a million years. Your passion for an unbridled desire and capacity for praising God will be beyond what your current comprehension can even come up with. So it's like, okay, if you, as you are right now, is going to go to heaven, well, that would be wonderful. I mean, wouldn't that be great? Heaven is a wonderful place. It would be nice to be there. But your capacity being like you are now, not yet, conformed to the image of Christ, not yet with an unbridled passion to praise God, would be far less than what you actually will be when you get there. When we become like Christ, all of the sadness and the twistedness and the confusion that comes with living in a fallen world and being a sinner in a sin-cursed planet with the marred image of Adam tattooed into our minds and our hearts and emotion, it will all be replaced with the love and joy and peace of Jesus. In other words, you're gonna be you, but you ain't gonna be like you no more. You're gonna be like him. And what is that gonna be like? You don't have the capacity to comprehend that, and neither do I. But it is going to be better than you can imagine. For the first time, you'll clearly think correct thoughts. For the first time, you will love selflessly. For the first time, you will actually rest. When I was five years old, I remember this distinctly. I have a very good memory. My parents went down to Raymond Ross's house, and I remember his porch, I remember the house, I remember exactly where the porch was, I remember where I was sitting, and I announced when I was five years old, I'm not going to school. I'm not going to kindergarten. I had a plan for myself. I envisioned a wonderful world whereby I would stay home, not be homeschooled, didn't know what that was, Didn't know what that was until I was an adult. But I would stay home and be with my mother. I would watch cartoons and I would eat cereal and I would spend time with my mother. And I announced boldly to all of these older children, I am not going to school. And I meant it. I had absolutely no foresight, no wisdom, no ambition. I did not see the value of learning how to read. Then my parents stepped in. They intervened, I was forced to go to kindergarten and first grade and second grade and so forth. But all when I was five years old that I could literally see was tomorrow. My parents needed to step in and expose me to the benefits of education because they didn't see the value of that myself. Likewise, if God were to appear in front of you, and to offer you a blank check as to what your destiny would be. Shoot for the stars, just name it, anything that you want. You would by yourself not come up with what he has predestined for you, namely conformity to the image of Christ. We would envision something far short and far inferior to what we are actually going to get one day. What we will get one day is to be like Jesus and there is nothing better than that. And we are so shallow in our expectations of heaven. And we are so dull in our imaginations and short-sighted in view of our final state We do not know how great it is going to be. The glories of heaven will not be of an earthly variety. Heaven is not a place where there is comfortable furniture and well-kept lawns. And it will not be the absence of work or being with our loved ones. It won't be the sights and the sounds of the streets of gold. No, it will be absolute conformity to the image of Christ with respect to holiness and purity. And then we will look at one another and say, wow, I sure was wrong about what I thought this place was going to be like. The delight of being with Christ will be enhanced because we are like Christ. And unless and until we are like Christ, otherwise known as conformed fully to the image of Christ in a glorified state to enjoy him forever unless until that happens we are not going to be able to experience fullness of joy but God will grant us that conformity to Christ and then and only then will we be able to delight in the joys of heaven and Christ himself We have grand visions for ourselves. But they are comparatively like a five-year-old on Raymond Ross's porch saying, I'm not going to school. I know what's best. God, on the other hand, has predestined a future for you to be like Christ. And in the here and now, We cannot wrap our minds around the greatness and the majesty of that statement. But when we get there, and I don't know how much of our lives on earth we will remember, but I have a favor to ask. When you get there, and you're gonna have plenty of time on your hands, when you get there, try to remember this sermon. And try to remember what the pastor said and what the Apostle Paul said about conformity to the image of Christ. And then throughout all of eternity, enjoy that conformity to the image of God's Son. That is the good that Paul is referring to in verse 28. That is the purpose of God, according to verse 28. It is spelled out in an ultimate sense in Romans 8.29, in that one day we will be like him. God before time predestined that it will happen and it will, which brings us to our final point. Number six, Christ is our brother. Again, I read verse 29. And it says, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. Here we go. In order that he, Christ might be the firstborn among many brothers. What has been discussed so far in verse 29 is last week foreknowledge and this week predestination. And that has a great benefit to us. We are loved ahead of time and it has been determined ahead of time that we should be bearing the image of Christ in heaven. Amen and amen. Those are great benefits and we're going to enjoy them. But we ourselves are not God's main concern. We benefit. We are not his main concern. His ultimate goal is bringing glory to his son. And this happens in and through election and predestination. Here we go. Look at the words. In order that or so that he Christ might be the firstborn. Firstborn doesn't mean that Jesus was created. Firstborn means the place of preeminence, Colossians 115. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. He wasn't created, it just means that he is the preeminent one, all glory be to Christ. The word firstborn implies something else too. It implies that there will be others. In a weak attempt, To be funny, I will often meet someone and my wife will be with me and I will say, and this is my first wife, Anna. And they laugh about like you're laughing right now. I jest in doing that because when you say first wife, implied in that is that you've had multiple wives and I haven't, I've only had one. Well, when God states that Christ is the first born, it implies that Christ is not alone, but there others will be there. And not only others, but M-A-N-Y, many other brothers and sisters. Probably a reference to Abraham being told to count the grains of sand or count the stars in the sky and his spiritual offspring would be that many. Or as it says in Revelation 7, 9, after this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb. You're not going to be able to count them. Many, many, many. But the word that I want us to think about as I close the sermon today is the word brothers or brothers and sisters because this implies family. And now it's not surprising that Jesus is the preeminent one in the family, the firstborn. What is baffling here and what I want you to think about devotionally is this, that God predestined or determined that we should be in the family at all. It's no surprise that Jesus is the preeminent one in the family, but the question is, what are we doing there? It is amazing that he is willing to associate with us. I once talked to a young man, he was probably in his late teens, early 20s, He was the second oldest in the family of a bunch of kids, like a ton of kids. And he said that when the family used to go into the supermarket, he would either walk ahead really fast or lag behind so as not to be seen with all of the other siblings because he was ashamed that the family was so large. It was embarrassing to him, so he did not want to be associated with them. Well, here's what Jesus says. Hebrews chapter two verses 10 through 12. For it was fitting that he for whom and by whom all things exist. You know what that is? That is the firstborn. That is the preeminent one. That is the son of God in bringing many sons to glory. should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering for he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source and that is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers he is not ashamed to call them brothers saying I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise He is not ashamed to call us brothers. So in my family, I was the youngest, still am. The next oldest, my brother Paul, is eight years older than I am. I was born in 1961, he was born in 1953. That is an eight year difference. And when I tell you he was the world to me, That is an understatement. He was my life. When he would come home from college, it was the happiest day of the year for me. When he would leave to go back, I was ashamed to cry in front of others and so I would just go in my room and I would cry for hours. I was so sad every time he would leave. I loved him more than I loved any other human being. I idolized him. He was cool. He was popular. He was funny. I got to go hunting with him. First time I ever went deer hunting. I was 12 years old. My dad sent Paul and I out at five o'clock in the morning to go deer hunting. Fade in, fade out. My dad dies and Paul comes to me several years after my dad's death and says, that was pretty funny what dad did to you when we went deer hunting. And I said, what are you talking about? He said, oh, you didn't have live ammunition. He had blanks in your gun. I said, you mean you sent me out there in the middle of the night with blanks? Yeah, dad said to me, he said, Pauly, he won't mean to kill you, but you'll be dead just the same. I'm not sending anymore into the woods with live ammunition. But still, just to be with my brother, it meant the world for me. And I tried to be with him and to tag along into everything that he did. I wanted to be like him. And I was so honored when he allowed it. I was so pleased when he made me the best man in his wedding. It was such an honor for me to be his best man. But the highlight came in 1972 when I was 11 years old. My brother was popular and he had a lot of friends that he could have roomed with at church camp. But instead he chose to share a tent with me. And I was on top of the world. And it meant so much to me that he wasn't ashamed of me. He loved me and he took care of me. Halfway through the week, I wet my sleeping bag. I was both embarrassed and uncomfortable. Paul wouldn't let me sleep in it. He gave me his dry sleeping bag and he took my wet sleeping bag and he loved me and he wasn't ashamed of me as his brother. I was so happy to be in the same family with him. But that is nothing. compared to Jesus, who invites us not only to be in his family, but he is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. Jesus, for some strange reason, gladly owns us as his kin. Jesus is not a cool college sophomore. He's Almighty God. He's the maker of heaven and earth. And He doesn't get a wet sleeping bag from us. We cursed Him. We disobeyed Him. We've been ashamed of Him. When His name comes up, we don't admit that we know Him. We've broken our promises to Him times without number. We have failed to reverence Him. We have sinned, and we have sinned, and we have sinned. And He didn't take our wet sleeping bag in exchange for a dry one. No, He took our sins and our sorrows, and He made them His very own. He took our pollution, and He took our punishment, and He took the full-vented wrath of God, and He drank it to the dregs of death. And he did it for his brothers and his sisters and he wasn't ashamed to do it. And he doesn't offer us a dry sleeping bag in a tent. He offers us perfect positional righteousness in eternity in heaven. He offers us conformity to his own image. not for ten days of camp, but forever. The firstborn among many brothers is Christ, our creator, our redeemer, our friend, our brother, our family member, and he's not ashamed of us. So often when we talk about predestination, it is an academic discussion about God's sovereignty and salvation, and amen, I'm glad that God is sovereign in salvation, but Romans 8, 29 is Predestination which is so much deeper and richer and fuller than that. It is predestination to the image of Christ in glorification and it is predestination into God's family with Jesus as your older brother, the firstborn among many brothers. And all of this, and I mean all of it, all of it, is because God loves you in Christ. I hope you remembered that. I hope you never forget that. 215 down, 218 to go, which means what? Oh, means we're getting there. Oh, praise God. Listen, before I pray, are you one of Christ's brothers? Do you know him? If you don't, today is your day of salvation. For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He is a gentle and a merciful and a kind and loving savior. If you don't even know what it means to call upon the Lord or what the gospel is, please come talk to me or one of the members of this church. We will explain the gospel to you. Jesus is a merciful savior. Come to him today. Let's pray. Lord, I don't know why you chose me. Lord, I don't know why you predestined such goodness for me according to your purpose, but I believe that you did and I'm thankful. And Lord, on behalf of all of the thankful ones right now, I want to ask your Lord again, that this would humble us and cause us to be thankful, cause us to be in awe and cause us to be secure. Thank you, Lord, for the glorious doctrine of predestination. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.