Predestination

Romans 8:29-30


For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

At the very least we have to be very careful with these verses because this is talking about God and how He thinks and what He does. We are told in Isaiah 55:9 - As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. We have to make sure that as we read this we don’t read in to it more than is there and definitely guard against coming to the conclusion that we know all about God or any part of God from a couple of verses. With that said lets look at these verses a little closer.

For those whom He foreknew, - Who did God pre-know? Everyone. It would be silly for us to assume that God only foreknew those who would be saved. God foreknew everyone and the decisions that they would make. He is all knowing.

-He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, - What did God predestine? That it was His will for everyone that He knew beforehand to be conformed to the image of His Son. This does not say that God predestined who would be saved but rather that it was predetermined that God desired that everyone become like Jesus. How do we know that He intended this for everyone?
   
    I Timothy 2:3-4 - ...God our savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.
    II Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
    Romans 10:13 - For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
    Matthew 18:14 - Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
    I John 2:2 - He is the propitiation for the sins of the world.
    I John 4:7-10 - God sent His son to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.
    John 3:15-16 - whoever believes in Him will have eternal life, for God so loved the world
    I Timothy 2:6 - Jesus became a ransom for all
    II Corinthians 5:14 - one man died for all men
    Mark 16:15 - He sent His disciples into all the world
    Acts 17:30 - God is declaring that all men everywhere should repent
    Romans 5:18 - Jesus is the justification for all men.
    Hebrews 2:9 - Jesus tasted death for everyone
    And many others.

Obviously God’s desire is that everyone will become like Christ. But when sin entered the world it changed what God planned for everyone. How do we know He predestined us to be like Christ? Because this was the plan from the beginning, it was predetermined that man needed a way to be made right with God.

    Acts 2:23 - This man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
    Ephesians 2:10 - For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  - God prepared beforehand that we were created by Jesus and in Jesus for good works. And it is God’s desire that we walk in those good works.
    Ephesians 1:4-5 - Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will. - God chose for us that we should be Holy and blameless and He even determined beforehand that we should be adopted as sons through His son Jesus.  In other words God intended for us to be Holy and blameless but sin entered this world and our lives and God provided a way for us to be adopted back into His family through the sacrifice of His own son.
    II Thessalonians 2:13 -  But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. - God determined the plan by which man could be made righteous again before anyone was even born. And that plan involved man’s decision and acceptance of His son and man’s faith in the truth.

-so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; - Jesus here is referred to as the firstborn. Jesus was not the first to be born but rather the first born of those in Christ. And as such he has all the privileges of being the first born. He is first in rank or honor. He is seated on the right hand of God.  He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is the first and most important man.

-And whom He predestined - And who did He predestine? He predestined all to be conformed to the image of Christ.

-these He also called - And who did He call? Everyone. He determined beforehand that all should be conformed to be like Christ and then he called all to repentance and faith in Christ.

    Matthew 9:13 - "But go and learn what this means : 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
    Mark 2:17 - And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
    Luke 5:32 - "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."
    Acts 2:39 - "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself."
   
-and whom He called, these He also justified - Did God justify everyone? No He did not. So now there is a problem. And Jesus is the justification for that problem. The word  “justified” means to make righteous in the sight of God. Only Jesus’ blood shed on the cross can justify us before God. Only those that accept that by faith can be saved.  It is only those that accept the call by faith that are saved and only they are justified. We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ’s atonement for our sins.

    Romans 3:28 - For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
    Romans 5:1 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Romans 5:9 - Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
    Galatians 2:16 - nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
    Galatians 3:11 - Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident ; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith."
    Galatians 3:24 - Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

-and whom He justified, these He also glorified. - God knows all things and knows who would be saved. He predetermined that they would be conformed to the image of Christ. God would call all men and it was predestined that for those who accepted Jesus Christ by faith they would be justified. And it was also predetermined that those who have faith in Jesus for justification would be glorified. Glorification is us no longer being conformed to be like Christ but actually being like Christ. Our glorification has not yet occurred but it was determined beforehand that we would be glorified if we have faith in Jesus for our justification.

    John 7:39 - But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
    John 12:16 - These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
    John 12:23 - And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

    So when was Jesus glorified? When He accomplished the work that God sent Him to do.

    John 17:4-5 - "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

    Jesus glorified God then God glorified Jesus and Jesus was in God and we receive our glorification because we are in Him.

    Romans 8:16-17 - The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

These verses are a clear picture of God’s promise to us. God desired for all men to be like Christ from the very beginning. When sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, Satan lied to Eve and told her surely you will not die. Surely God will not punish you for eating something that is good for food and something He placed in the middle of the Garden that He made for you. Go ahead and sin, go against what God told you not to do, it will be all right. And she listened to Satan and ate the fruit and gave it to Adam and he ate it as well. Sin first entered the world. As a result man from that point on was separated from God and the only way to be made right with God was provided by God. He determined beforehand that He would send His own son as a gift to die for mine and yours and everyone’s sins. Only those that accept that gift are saved. Everyone else stands before God at judgement and declare that they decided that they could get to heaven a different way rather than the one and only way that God provided. They will spend eternity in hell as a result. To suggest that these verses imply that someone goes to heaven because God predetermined who would go to heaven and who would go to hell is at the very least dangerous. Because now you are making God out to be a liar. When he said that He sent His son for the entire world or that He is not willing that any should perish how can you explain these many, many verses. Did He send His son for everyone or not? He was sent for everyone and each man has to make a decision to accept Him or reject Him and those that reject Him spend eternity in hell. These verses show us a part of what God does in salvation but these verses do not show us any of what man is responsible for. Each person determines their own fate but no man can save himself.  These verses do show a line of what God does, but man is given the free will to jump out of line at any point on this line. God calls all, some accept and some reject and those that reject are no longer going to be justified or glorified.