From Eternity to Eternity - Romans 8:30

-Introduction

-Romans 8 is certainly a wonderful chapter. 

     -Rom 8:28-30

     -Within these verses we find some very interesting, intriguing and encouraging topics:

       the foreknowledge of God, predestination, God’s calling, justification, glorification.

-In this lesson, I want to focus on Romans 8:30 - a verse that takes us from eternity to

  eternity - from eternity’s past into eternity’s future.

-The Foreknowledge of God and His Predestined Plan

-Isaiah 46:10

-Rom 8:28 - purpose - (Vines) - prothesis - “a setting forth”

     -Moses Lard, in his commentary on Romans, referred to this word as a “placing or setting

       before” (pg 280).  He went on to comment, “God as it were set before him the whole

       human race with their entire destiny.  All that man is or shall be stood before him - sin,

       redemption, glorification - all were naked and open to his eye.  It was there that the

 Logos was foreordained before the foundation of the world, 1 Pet i:20, to be the lamb of

 God that takes away the sin of the world; and from that point forward he was ever

 viewed as slain.  There the whole gospel was ideally perfected; in a word, the whole of

 time, with all that shall transpire in it, was in vision as completely before God as it will

 ever be in fact when it is past” (pg 281).

-So, from eternity’s past, God has known eternity’s future.  God has never said, “I didn’t see

  that coming.”

-With His foreknowledge, He could then interweave His plan through the intricacies and

  complexities of human history - utilizing specific individuals and nations to accomplish His

  will.

      -Notice, God has predestinated a plan whereby mankind can be saved.  God does not

        ever remove mankind’s freedom of will and predestinate individuals to be saved or lost

  as Calvinism would have us to believe.

-Acts 2:22-23 - God had foreknowledge of Jesus’ sacrifice; yet, He did not force any

                          individuals into the path of rejecting Jesus and crucifying Him. (2:36- “ye”)

-Acts 4:26-28

-Acts 13:44-46 - “ye put it from you,” “judge yourselves”  (Matt 23:37 - “ye would not”)

-Eph 1:3-5

-1 Pet 1:2 - Notice, obedience is still a requirement within God’s predestined plan.

-Called

-Rom 8:28, 2 Tim 1:8-9 (God was not motivated to call us due to something done by
  mankind which would prompt/merit such a blessing.)

-God - due to His love, grace, mercy, etc. - calls us by the Gospel.

     -2 Thess 2:14, 1 Thess 2:13 - We need to answer God’s call through obedience to the

       Gospel and then let the Gospel work within us. (1 Thess 2:12, Eph 4:1)

-Justified

-In Christ, we are justified - Rom 5:1.

-1 Cor 6:9-11

     -Some who have lived sinful lives sometimes have a hard time accepting the fact that

       they can be forgiven of their sins.

     -Some of the Christians in Corinth had lived some very sinful lifestyles.  Yet, through

       their obedience to the Gospel, they stood justified in the sight of God.

            -justified = “Just as if I’d” never sinned

            -There is nothing that we can do on our own to obtain justification.  We can only be

              justified through the blood of Jesus.

-Heb 10:16-23

-Glorified

-So far, we’ve considered God’s foreknowledge - the formation of His plan whereby man

  can be saved.  That plan was formulated in eternity’s past.  We’ve considered the manner

  in which God calls mankind to His offer of justification.  His call and His offer of

  justification continue in the present. 

-But, what about the word “glorified.”

-Even though it is given in the past tense, it actually refers to eternity’s future.

     -Remember, God knows the end from the beginning.  With such foreknowledge, God

       can refer to future events with such certainty that they are stated as if they have already

       happened when they are yet in our future.

            -consider some of the O.T. prophecies - i.e. Isa 14 & the prophecy regarding the king

              of Babylon - When the prophecy was issued, it was a future event.  Yet, the tense

              used gives the information as if it had already happened.

-Rom 8:15-18

-2 Cor 4:17; 1 Pet 5:1; 1 Cor 15:12-23, 49-58

-Summary and Invitation

-So, we can see how one single verse - Rom 8:30 - takes us from eternity’s past into

  eternity’s future.

-With foreknowledge, God designed a plan that included Jesus dying for our sins.  He calls

  us through the Gospel of Christ to receive the spiritual blessings made available through

  the Gospel of Christ.  Once such blessing is justification and the hope of eventual

  glorification.

-So, have you responded to God’s call?  If not, obey the Gospel of Christ - believe in Jesus

  (Jn 3:16, 8:24), confess your faith (Matt 10:32, Rom 10:9-10); repent of sin (Lk 13:3,5;

  Acts 17:30); be baptized into Christ for forgiveness (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38)

-If you’ve responded to the Gospel already, have you remained faithful?  Have you been

  walking worthy of the calling?  If not, confess your shortcomings, repent and pray for

  God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24).