FIVE GOLDEN LINKS IN THE UNBREAKABLE CHAIN OF OUR REDEMPTION

Part 13

Rom. 8:29-30

Morning Meditation 1/18/17

Verse 29-30 says, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

This is one of those admittedly difficult passages of Scripture. If the Scripture is God’s Word, and it is, we can expect that we will not understand a lot of what He says. However, we can believe all of it. If one cannot live with an unexplained truth, he will attempt to explain it. Most of those who have written on the theological implications of this passage make statements in their explanation that contradict other important truths that are also clearly taught. I do not want to do that. So that means I will leave you wondering what I believe. Don’t be upset. I also wonder myself! I believe both in the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. There are those who say you can’t believe both. I do.

Now lets look at these five words. First of all, five is the number of grace. Grace is a truth that is married to all five of these words. Lets look first at,

THE WORD FOREKNOWLEDGE

Paul begins by saying, “For whom he did foreknow.” The word “foreknow” translates “proginosko” and means, “to have knowledge before hand.” It is an aorist active indicative verb. It is not a noun declaring a concept. It is a verb and speaks of God in action. The aorist tense refers to the point of time in which this took place. The active voice means that God acted on His own volition to do this. There are two verses I want to mention where this same word is found.

1 Peter 1:20 says, “Who verily was foreordained <4267> before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” I left Strong’s number in brackets so it will make it easy for anyone to check this in Strong’s Concordance. The aorist tense refers to a point of time. This verse tells us when that point of time was.

2 Peter 3:17 says, “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before <4267>, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.” The words “seeing ye know these things before” translate one word. That word is the same as the one I am discussing. Peter is saying that because you have prior knowledge you should be able to avoid “being led away with the error of the wicked .. . .” Their prior knowledge gave them an advantage over falling from their own stedfastness.

All knowledge is based on fact. A fact has to be established before it can be known. Human knowledge is largely knowing something after the fact, i.e., history. God is not restricted to knowing history. He is omniscient and therefore has all knowledge. But whether it is looking back at the facts or looking forward, knowledge is based on fact. For instance, I just got a message this morning through e-mail from our missionary in Australia that a man we have been praying for was saved after a Bible study last night. That is a fact. Now I can know it. (I am not talking about the genuineness of anyone’s salvation but the mere fact of the profession). The fact had to take place before it could be known.

There is no way a finite mind can conceive of an infinite mind. If we could explain God He would cease to be God. We just cannot understand such truths. But that does not keep us from rejoicing in them. I am comforted that God is omniscient and knows beforehand what is going to happen and makes all things “work together for good” to them that love God. The next golden link in the unbreakable chain of our redemptions is,

Paul links these truths together. He says, “Moreover whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate . . .” The word “predestinate” translates “proorizo” and means, “to predetermine, decide beforehand.” It is an aorist active indicative verb. Let’s remind ourselves of what the aorist tense in the indicative mood means. It is a point of time divorced from time an perpetuated forever. It is a fact. I happened we discovered in the verse above, “before the foundation of the world.” Before God founded this earth, and He is its Creator, notwithstanding science has not discovered that yet, He foreknew and predestinated. The word means that He predetermined and decided before hand the things that follow in this passage. This means that God knows where He is going and is working out the plan. This is what Romans 8:28 is saying. It says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” God’s purpose is to save the believer and glorify him and bring him into His presence where he will serve Him forever. God makes all things work together to accomplish this end.

In speaking of foreknowledge and predestination as it is stated in this passage John Phillips writes: “Reduced to its simplest terms the problem can be stated thus: Did God choose me because I chose Him, or did I choose Him because He chose me? To say that God chose me because with His ability to foreknow the future He saw me choose Christ, robs God of His sovereignty. It would mean He has no alternative but to choose those who choose Christ —His choice is governed by ours. It throws the initiative on man. But God is sovereign and acts in accordance with His own will and, as Paul demonstrates in a later chapter, is under an obligation to nobody (9:15-23). On the other hand, to say that I chose Christ because He chose me robs me of my free will (i.e., moral responsibility) and makes me a mere puppet. Human free will then becomes a myth.”

“Can the will of God and the will of man be reconciled, or must we everlastingly go round in circles on this question? Obviously there is no pat answer. If there were, this problem would not have divided Christians for centuries. An illustration, however, might help us see that God, in the exercise of His sovereign will, does not necessarily deprive man of his free will. Imagine two men playing a game of chess; the one player is a master at the game, the other is very much an amateur. The master knows hundreds of moves for opening, pursuing, and closing the game, whereas the amateur plays blindly from one move to the next with little skill and only limited forethought. Both players have free will to make whatever moves they wish. But the master of the game, without in any way violating his opponent’s free will, uses every move the amateur makes to drive him into a corner and take his king.”

“This is just how it is in the game of life. Each of us has a free will and we exercise that will in a thousand ways. The choices we make determine the way we move through life. But above and beyond us and our choices is God. He overrules our every move to make each one conform to His own sovereign will. When one becomes a Christian, God says in effect, ‘My child, it is My will that you should win in this game of life. I will tell you which moves to make. If you are wise, you will bring your life into line with My will.’ God never violates a person’s free will. Even when at last God destines a lost soul to the caverns of the damned, it will be in keeping with this principle. At the last God says in effect to the Christ-rejector, ‘You would not have my Son to be your Saviour; you chose to deny the Lord Jesus a place in your life. Now I will honor your choice. You shall live forever without Him; you shall spend eternity without God and without Christ and without hope.’ Thus man has his free will and God His sovereignty. The illustration is not perfect perhaps, but it does help us see how the two can be reconciled.” —Exploring Romans by John Phillips.

The above quote is the best I have seen to express what I believe about God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. I believe both are true. To try to reconcile them is to assume you know enough to do it. Don’t try. God hasn’t and we shouldn’t. But God declares both to be true. One other thing before I close this.. Don’t be afraid of a word God uses in His Word. I have heard people say, “I don’t believe in predestination. Well, God uses this word and my refusal to examine it is a rejection of the Word of God. Predestination doesn’t threaten the saints it assures and secures them. I do not have to understand it to rejoice in it. God has predestinated us and that means that we will get off at the terminal and not before. And God’s flights never have an engine failures!!!

We will continue with these five golden links in the chain of God’s redemption in the next meditation. May God bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White