[01:00:03;22 - 01:00:09;46] Hey, when we were singing the last stanza of that hymn, [01:00:12;16 - 01:00:13;53] I thought about Steve Gaines. [01:00:15;16 - 01:00:18;08] Steve has finished his race. [01:00:21;00 - 01:00:22;01] He finished well. [01:00:25;01 - 01:00:29;51] You know, we look at a cemetery as a place of death. [01:00:32;00 - 01:00:36;32] But let me tell you, a cemetery is a ground for resurrection. [01:00:38;36 - 01:00:40;13] Because when Christ comes, [01:00:41;17 - 01:00:43;13] every born again believer is gonna pop out of that grave [01:00:44;14 - 01:00:45;25] with a brand new body. [01:00:47;00 - 01:00:52;10] The Bible says he'll be absent from the body and he'll be present with the Lord. Let me tell you where Steve Gaines is this morning. [01:00:53;49 - 01:00:55;58] He's spending his first Sunday in heaven. [01:00:57;50 - 01:01:00;09] And I can just see him worshiping right now. [01:01:01;48 - 01:01:03;39] He's probably trying to sing a little bit. [01:01:06;11 - 01:01:18;52] Hey, let me just pause just a moment. Let's pray for Donna and the family. Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you so much for Steve. I thank you for his ministry. [01:01:19;58 - 01:01:21;29] I thank you for his integrity. [01:01:22;46 - 01:01:24;10] I thank you, heavenly Father, [01:01:25;28 - 01:01:28;53] that Steve placed his faith in Jesus a long time ago. [01:01:30;19 - 01:01:36;58] And that the moment that Steve breathed his last breath, he was instantly in your presence, Lord. [01:01:38;27 - 01:01:39;58] Thank you for the hope of the gospel. [01:01:41;15 - 01:01:55;20] Lord, I pray for Donna. I pray for Steve and Donna's kids and grandkids. And I pray that you would just envelop them in your love, in your grace, in your mercy, in your comfort, and your peace. [01:01:56;44 - 01:02:00;44] Lord, we love you and thank you for the grace of God, [01:02:02;06 - 01:02:03;27] the mercy of God. [01:02:04;59 - 01:02:18;08] So, Lord, as I preached this morning, I pray that you would feel me, anoint me. Lord, use me this morning to communicate your truth for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen. [01:02:20;20 - 01:02:20;56] Salvation. [01:02:23;58 - 01:02:30;41] We toss that word around like it's a red rubber ball that a child has and plays with. [01:02:32;18 - 01:02:40;24] Preconceived notions about salvation produce an endless array of questions. Questions like these. [01:02:41;36 - 01:02:46;47] If salvation is a free gift, do I still have to obey God? [01:02:48;49 - 01:02:51;29] Can a Christian lose his or her salvation? [01:02:53;18 - 01:02:59;51] Does salvation require that I believe in the resurrection of Christ? I actually had a guy ask me that one time. [01:03:01;24 - 01:03:05;17] If salvation earned by works are received by grace through faith, [01:03:06;18 - 01:03:10;00] how much faith do I need to be saved? [01:03:12;07 - 01:03:14;04] Questions about salvation abound. [01:03:15;56 - 01:03:18;17] We think we know what salvation means, [01:03:19;27 - 01:03:30;15] but the richness of the word eludes us many times. For many, salvation has become a get out of hell free card. [01:03:31;16 - 01:03:35;57] Ken Keithly made this observation. [01:03:37;32 - 01:03:40;01] Salvation is not something Jesus gives. [01:03:41;57 - 01:03:43;40] Salvation is something He is. [01:03:45;02 - 01:03:48;06] One does not receive salvation from Jesus. [01:03:49;07 - 01:03:59;13] You and I receive Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, for who He is, and in receiving Him, we receive salvation, redemption, and eternal life. [01:04:00;19 - 01:04:06;48] Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." [01:04:08;10 - 01:04:14;36] A saving relationship with Jesus Christ is not a contractual agreement. [01:04:15;43 - 01:04:19;40] It is a covenant relationship with the Son of the living God. [01:04:21;01 - 01:04:25;16] Coming to grips with the proper understanding of salvation [01:04:26;17 - 01:04:40;45] is far more important than any human endeavor that you will ever engage in. Jesus said this, "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and to forfeit his soul?" [01:04:42;04 - 01:04:44;16] Your life in this world is like a vapor. [01:04:45;42 - 01:04:52;14] It's here one moment and it's gone the next. God created you and your mother's womb with their mortal soul. [01:04:53;15 - 01:04:55;50] Your life in eternity is endless. [01:04:57;12 - 01:05:02;28] I want you to hear that it is endless. Your life here is very, very, very, very short. [01:05:04;07 - 01:05:16;17] Grasping the true meaning of salvation is absolutely essential. We cannot get by on a superficial understanding of this important word. [01:05:17;18 - 01:05:22;19] This morning I must ask you, are you saved? [01:05:24;03 - 01:05:29;54] Have you received the salvation that can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ? [01:05:31;48 - 01:05:38;16] Last week we explored one of the great Bible promises, Romans 8, 28. [01:05:39;17 - 01:05:46;14] Some have called this verse a soft pillow for a tired heart. [01:05:47;38 - 01:05:57;29] In Romans 8, 28, Paul wrote, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose." [01:05:58;58 - 01:06:02;49] One look at this verse, "And some of you might be thinking today, [01:06:04;09 - 01:06:10;32] Paul, how can you be so sure? Now you ask that because you're going through a difficult time. [01:06:11;32 - 01:06:13;47] It's hard for you right now. [01:06:15;17 - 01:06:22;44] And you just wonder how we can know for sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that this promise is true for you. [01:06:24;22 - 01:06:34;44] Well, without Romans 8, 29, and 30, the amazing promise of Romans 8, 28 is just wishful thinking. [01:06:36;15 - 01:06:55;02] How God accomplishes our good is a mystery to us. How he accomplishes his purpose is clarified in verses 29 and 30. Look at the last part of verse 28. [01:06:56;47 - 01:07:02;59] "To those who are called according to his purpose." But what is his purpose? [01:07:04;57 - 01:07:10;31] So instead of wading in the shallow end of the pool of theology today, [01:07:11;51 - 01:07:19;39] we're going to cast our preconceived notions about salvation aside, and we're going to the deep end. [01:07:20;56 - 01:07:41;57] We're not going to wade anymore. We're going to dive in, and we're going to swim in the deep end of theology, and we're going to look today and next week at five power-packed theological doctrinal words that provide the clarity we need when it comes to this matter of salvation. [01:07:43;38 - 01:07:54;15] They are so closely connected that they've been rightly described as a golden chain of five unbreakable links that are forged in heaven. [01:07:55;17 - 01:08:03;45] Each of these words speak of God's supernatural activity in this matter of salvation. [01:08:05;20 - 01:08:17;31] Before we jump into these words, I want to present to you the truth that sort of ties these five links together, these five links of the golden chain of salvation. [01:08:19;03 - 01:08:26;02] And here's that truth. God is the author of salvation. [01:08:27;22 - 01:08:28;59] God is the author of salvation. [01:08:30;27 - 01:08:43;12] We do not initiate salvation. God initiates salvation. He's planned it. He's provided for it. We get an end on the good end of this, salvation. [01:08:45;24 - 01:08:50;14] Now these five words that we're going to look at this week, we're going to look at two of those words today. [01:08:51;35 - 01:08:57;02] I was going to do all five, but the more I studied, the more I realized there is no way I could cover these five words. [01:08:59;24 - 01:09:06;31] These five words are all verbs, and all the verbs are in the past tense. [01:09:08;09 - 01:09:12;19] They describe for us how God has carried out His eternal purpose [01:09:13;20 - 01:09:17;33] and how God will always finish what He starts. [01:09:19;33 - 01:09:42;15] So with humility and a teachable spirit, let's allow the Holy Spirit to take the first two of these words and give us a firm foundation to begin to understand this term that has become so commonplace in our culture today. The term is salvation. [01:09:43;58 - 01:09:45;05] Here's the first word. [01:09:47;32 - 01:09:48;47] God's foreknowledge. [01:09:51;30 - 01:09:53;07] Look at verse 29. [01:09:54;54 - 01:09:57;06] "For those whom He foreknew." [01:09:58;40 - 01:09:59;30] Well, who foreknew? [01:10:00;47 - 01:10:01;41] God foreknew. [01:10:03;28 - 01:10:06;15] Do you realize there's nothing that God does not know? [01:10:07;17 - 01:10:15;10] Do you realize that there's never been a single moment of time throughout all of eternity when God did not know everything? [01:10:16;32 - 01:10:18;52] Do you realize that God knows everything about you? [01:10:20;13 - 01:10:22;37] He knew everything about you before you were born. [01:10:27;38 - 01:10:35;02] So the first word we're going to look at today is the word foreknew. He foreknew. For knowledge. [01:10:36;39 - 01:10:52;02] Now, this special knowledge includes all that He has considered and purpose to do prior to human history. I want you to understand that the two words we're going to look at today, foreknowledge and predestination, [01:10:53;16 - 01:10:57;51] both of them predate the creation of the world. [01:10:59;19 - 01:11:01;02] Now, that doesn't blow your mind. [01:11:02;05 - 01:11:17;57] I don't know what would. I tell you what it does for me. It leaves me in a state of absolute awe and wonder at this thing that we call salvation and how God crafted it before He even created the world. [01:11:19;49 - 01:11:27;34] Now, this term foreknew goes beyond awareness. It's not awareness. [01:11:29;42 - 01:11:39;14] This term is reserved for those matters which God favorably, deliberately and freely chose and ordained ahead of time. [01:11:41;44 - 01:11:53;57] In its verb and noun form, this word, this verb foreknew appears five times in the New Testament in either a noun form or a verb form. [01:11:55;24 - 01:12:02;12] For instance, in Acts 2, 22 and 23, we see this same Greek word. [01:12:03;48 - 01:12:08;11] Notice what the Bible says. "Men of Israel, listen to these words." [01:12:09;26 - 01:12:12;03] This is Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost. [01:12:13;18 - 01:12:14;16] Jesus anasirim. [01:12:15;17 - 01:12:39;14] "A man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst." Just as you yourselves know, this man delivered over, now look at this, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. [01:12:40;15 - 01:12:47;46] You ought to take that word foreknowledge, you ought to underline that at Acts 2, 23. [01:12:49;13 - 01:13:01;17] And then 1 Peter 1, verses 20 and 21, "For he," that's Jesus, "was foreknown," there's the word again, "before the foundation of the world, [01:13:02;18 - 01:13:39;55] but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and your hope are in God." Let me tell you, my faith and my hope in getting to heaven is not in Chuck Herring. It's not in the fact that I stand in this pulpit and I preach the word of God today. My faith and my hope is in the salvation that the sovereign, holy, mighty, amazing God developed before the foundation of the world. [01:13:42;18 - 01:13:54;14] Believers are foreknown in the same way the Lord Jesus is foreknown before the foundation of the world. It was determined by the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, [01:13:55;15 - 01:14:14;17] that Jesus would be the savior of the sinful human race. Aren't you glad that the Trinity got together, planned a way for sinners to be saved, and ordained Jesus to be the one who would be the savior of sinners? [01:14:15;18 - 01:14:26;41] Even our Lord's death on the cross was foreknown and foreordained before the world was formed. [01:14:28;13 - 01:14:34;47] The Bible says that Jesus was crucified, listen to this, before the foundation of the world. [01:14:37;06 - 01:14:39;15] Now let that soak into your mind just a moment. [01:14:40;16 - 01:14:44;35] And you may say, "Well, Pastor, my mind cannot absorb something like that." [01:14:46;15 - 01:14:47;57] Well, I have trouble absorbing it too. [01:14:49;18 - 01:14:56;28] It's a mystery, but it is a fact. It is a glorious, wonderful fact. [01:14:58;01 - 01:15:11;21] Therefore, in the same way, it was predetermined and foreordained by the foreknowledge of God that you, as a born-again believer, would be saved by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. [01:15:12;45 - 01:15:14;46] There's no other way for you to be saved. [01:15:16;05 - 01:15:18;17] You will never get to heaven on your merit. [01:15:19;35 - 01:15:22;02] You will never get to heaven because you're religious. [01:15:23;42 - 01:15:24;15] Never. [01:15:26;32 - 01:15:35;16] It's foreordained by the foreknowledge of God that you would be saved by trusting the Lord Jesus as your personal savior and Lord, [01:15:36;17 - 01:15:38;42] just like the three who were baptized today. [01:15:40;40 - 01:15:45;42] Before the foundation of the earth, God knew us intimately. [01:15:47;29 - 01:16:01;18] In fact, the word knowledge here, foreknowledge, that word knowledge refers to the kind of knowledge that a husband has with his wife. It's an intimate knowledge. [01:16:02;19 - 01:16:12;50] Therefore, in the same way, God knew us intimately and made a free, sovereign choice to save us in Christ Jesus. [01:16:14;07 - 01:16:14;40] Aren't you glad? [01:16:16;46 - 01:16:18;10] Now, that baffles me. [01:16:20;25 - 01:16:28;17] I don't understand how God could know me intimately and sacrifice his son for me on the cross of Calvary. [01:16:29;18 - 01:16:31;45] That blows my mind. [01:16:33;35 - 01:16:51;15] But this is what Paul is stating here in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 and 4. Paul wrote, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." [01:16:52;16 - 01:17:05;57] Look at verse 4. "Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him." [01:17:10;06 - 01:17:15;18] God didn't choose to save you because he knew ahead of time that you would believe in Jesus. [01:17:16;19 - 01:17:25;48] If that were true, then your salvation would be based upon your own merit, not the mercy of God. [01:17:27;18 - 01:17:39;24] No, God didn't choose to save you because he knew ahead of time as a sovereign omniscient God that one day you would choose to believe in Jesus. No. [01:17:42;23 - 01:18:09;51] In 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, the Bible says, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontus and Galatia and Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ." [01:18:10;58 - 01:18:19;24] "And to be sprinkled with his blood, may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure." [01:18:20;33 - 01:18:25;49] Hey, how is it swimming in the deep end of theology or the poo of theology? [01:18:27;55 - 01:18:32;17] I tell you, folks, we've been in the shallow end too long. [01:18:33;32 - 01:18:44;45] If we're going to be ready to face the challenges of living in a world that's getting so close to the coming of Christ, we've got to stay in the deep end more and get out of the shallow end. [01:18:48;16 - 01:18:58;16] I tell you, when you're in the deep end, you're swimming in the deep end of theology, it prepares you to protect your family theologically and spiritually. [01:18:59;17 - 01:19:08;42] Because the enemy is always out here sowing his lies, denigrating God's plan of salvation. [01:19:10;49 - 01:19:16;19] Wayne Grudem, in his systematic theology book, wrote this, and this is a good point. [01:19:17;20 - 01:19:23;10] "People who remain in unbelief do so because they're unwilling to come to God. [01:19:24;36 - 01:19:30;55] And the blame for such unbelief always lies with the unbelievers themselves, never with God." [01:19:33;27 - 01:19:40;17] If you're here today and you've never repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus, and God forbid this happened, [01:19:41;18 - 01:19:46;54] but God forbid that you end your life without ever believing in Jesus. [01:19:48;54 - 01:19:58;38] I want to tell you, on Judgment Day, when God sends you to hell, you will never be able to blame it on God. [01:19:59;40 - 01:20:01;55] You know why? Because you're here hearing the gospel. [01:20:03;17 - 01:20:12;52] You're hearing that Jesus loved you and died on the cross for your sins and was raised from the dead so that you could be justified before the Father. [01:20:15;02 - 01:20:32;50] And if you go to hell, it'll be because you chose to reject Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. God's foreknowledge and election remind us that God alone initiates salvation. [01:20:34;53 - 01:20:51;04] This thought should humble us and help us to realize that there is not one shred of merit in any of us that contributed to the salvation of our souls, not a single shred. [01:20:53;29 - 01:20:59;21] Our inclusion in the family of God is through the grace and mercy of God. [01:21:01;32 - 01:21:06;22] So I say it to you again, God is the author of salvation. [01:21:07;52 - 01:21:19;57] This first word foreknowledge, God knows everything about you. And he knew everything about you before the world was created. [01:21:21;58 - 01:21:32;14] And yet he still chose to save you without violating your freedom to choose to believe in Jesus. [01:21:33;16 - 01:21:41;09] So here's the second word in this wonderful golden chain that was forged in heaven. [01:21:43;11 - 01:21:51;34] It's God's predestination. Number two, God's predestination. I know when you hear that word, cold chills go down your back. [01:21:53;00 - 01:21:57;13] But I tell you, it's not as mysterious as you might think it is. [01:21:58;14 - 01:22:03;17] It's a very important part of the chain of salvation. [01:22:04;36 - 01:22:09;26] First, there is foreknowledge. Then there is predestination. [01:22:10;56 - 01:22:13;09] Look what the Bible says in verse 29. [01:22:14;19 - 01:22:21;15] He, that being God, also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son. [01:22:22;17 - 01:22:28;26] God predestined you to become conformed to the image of his son. [01:22:30;10 - 01:22:40;57] Now, the word predestined means to decide beforehand, to predetermine. [01:22:42;18 - 01:22:45;14] In the present context, the emphasis is not election to salvation. [01:22:46;15 - 01:22:55;21] Rather, God has predestined believers to be conformed to the image of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. [01:22:57;40 - 01:23:03;23] Now, what was God's predetermined destiny for Jesus, the Son of God? [01:23:04;49 - 01:23:12;16] Well, his predetermined destiny for Jesus was that he would be incarnated into this sinful human race. [01:23:13;18 - 01:23:21;05] That he would live an absolutely perfect life, no sin whatsoever. [01:23:23;10 - 01:23:28;33] And at the end of his life, at the age of about 33, he would be hung on a cross. [01:23:29;55 - 01:23:36;15] And God the Father would swoop up all the vile, putrid sin of the human race, including yours, [01:23:37;16 - 01:23:40;45] and lay it upon his son. [01:23:43;21 - 01:23:53;21] And the Lord Jesus would die on the cross for our sins, and God the Father would pour out his wrath against his son instead of against us. [01:23:55;15 - 01:24:12;20] Amazing. The evil and powerful men who crucified Christ could not have done anything to him if it had not been God's predetermined destiny for him. [01:24:13;48 - 01:24:19;16] They couldn't have laid a hand on him if it had not been God's destiny for his son. [01:24:20;17 - 01:24:34;15] Because of the predetermined destiny of Jesus Christ, God has predestined every believer to salvation through Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross. [01:24:35;17 - 01:24:49;11] In Acts 4, verse 27 and 28, the Bible says, "For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, [01:24:50;28 - 01:24:59;14] both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand, [01:25:00;19 - 01:25:12;16] the hand of God, and your purpose, the purpose of God, predestined to occur." There's that word "predestined." [01:25:14;35 - 01:25:17;04] This word is never used for the unsaved. [01:25:19;04 - 01:25:22;23] It is only used in relation to those who are saved. [01:25:23;40 - 01:25:46;12] Let me make this statement to you. I want you to get this. I want you to remember this because sometimes we hear this stuff down the quarters of our churches, the quarters of theological education. We hear this sometimes that God sometimes predestines people to go to hell. [01:25:47;45 - 01:25:48;33] Now look at me. [01:25:49;49 - 01:25:51;18] Everybody look at me. [01:25:52;30 - 01:26:02;07] That is not true. There's nowhere in this Bible that says that God predestines people to go to hell. [01:26:03;22 - 01:26:03;54] Nowhere. [01:26:05;43 - 01:26:13;43] In fact, the Bible says that God's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. [01:26:14;44 - 01:26:29;54] The Bible says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Notice it says, "Whoever what believes in him." [01:26:31;57 - 01:26:37;44] That's the verse that got John Bramlett on his knees. [01:26:39;45 - 01:26:46;16] That's the verse that led to John Bramlett repenting of his sin and placing his faith in Jesus, John 3 16. [01:26:47;17 - 01:26:57;15] Listen, people are condemned because they refuse to repent of their sins and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. [01:26:59;03 - 01:27:01;23] John chapter 3 verse 18, listen to it. [01:27:02;50 - 01:27:07;02] "He who believes in him," that's Jesus, "is not judged. [01:27:08;19 - 01:27:24;33] He who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." So why is somebody judged and sent to hell? It's because they've chosen not to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. [01:27:26;14 - 01:27:32;17] Now think about the emphasis of predestination in this context here in verse 29. [01:27:33;18 - 01:27:48;29] God, the sole author of salvation decided, let's say that I'm speaking to believers here today. Let's just assume that everybody in this room is a believer, okay? [01:27:49;42 - 01:27:58;20] So God, the sole author of salvation decided what he was going to do with you before he chose to save you. [01:27:59;56 - 01:28:00;45] Think about that. [01:28:02;21 - 01:28:06;55] So what does it mean to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ? [01:28:08;42 - 01:28:22;02] In first John 3 2, chapter 3 verse 2, the Bible says, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. [01:28:23;19 - 01:28:37;25] We know that when he appears, when he comes again, we will be like him because we will see him just as he is." [01:28:39;19 - 01:28:44;16] Now let's think about being conformed to the image of Jesus for just a moment. [01:28:45;18 - 01:28:53;11] It means two things. It means we will be like Jesus physically at some point in the future. [01:28:55;26 - 01:28:59;43] We're actually going to have the same kind of body that Jesus has right now in heaven. [01:29:01;07 - 01:29:02;00] Is that not neat? [01:29:04;08 - 01:29:13;08] What kind of body did Jesus have in heaven? The same glorified and immortal body he was resurrected with from the dead. [01:29:14;29 - 01:29:15;11] Same body. [01:29:16;46 - 01:29:17;56] Think about it. [01:29:19;02 - 01:29:32;18] God determined that the believer, the one who believes in Jesus, will receive a new body that will never experience sickness, [01:29:33;19 - 01:29:50;17] that will never experience sadness, that will never experience sorrow, that will never experience weakness or disease or aches or pains or even death. [01:29:51;18 - 01:30:07;10] In Philippians chapter 3 verses 20 and 21, Paul wrote this to the Philippian church, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior." [01:30:08;29 - 01:30:30;49] The Lord Jesus cried, "I'm telling you, I am eagerly waiting for Jesus to come, who will transform," look at this, "who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." [01:30:32;45 - 01:30:40;14] You see, Jesus is not only omniscient knowing all things, but He's also omnipotent having all power. [01:30:41;15 - 01:31:05;58] And Jesus takes His resurrection power, and when He comes again and you come out of that grave, let's say you die and you're in the grave and you're in heaven with Jesus spiritually, but your body is still in the grave. When He comes, I'll tell you, friend, He will take His resurrection power, snatch you out of that grave, and give you a body just like His. [01:31:07;00 - 01:31:11;53] Whoo! (Laughter) [01:31:14;17 - 01:31:25;45] But there's a second truth about being conformed to the image of Jesus. Not only are we conformed physically, we're also conformed spiritually. [01:31:27;52 - 01:31:35;14] We will be, listen, there's coming a day when Christ comes, or we die and we go to meet Him in heaven, [01:31:36;15 - 01:31:43;44] there's coming a day when we will be perfectly holy and righteous. [01:31:45;44 - 01:31:50;19] Oh, don't you look forward to that day. Don't you look forward to the day when you'll never be tempted to sin again. [01:31:51;54 - 01:32:02;17] Don't you look forward to the day you'll never have to drop to your knees and confess to Jesus that you said something you shouldn't have said, or you did something you shouldn't have done. [01:32:03;18 - 01:32:09;43] We'll be perfectly holy and righteous inside and out for all of eternity. [01:32:11;10 - 01:32:27;15] In 2 Corinthians 5, 21, Paul wrote, "He made Him that Jesus who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." [01:32:28;16 - 01:32:43;14] In Ephesians 1, verse 4 again, just as He chose us in Him before the foundational world that we would be two things, holy and blameless before Him. [01:32:44;15 - 01:32:56;18] You realize that when you go to heaven, when you see Jesus, when you live with Him for all of eternity, that you will do so without a sin nature. [01:32:57;58 - 01:33:10;08] Your sin nature will be eradicated. You will never sin again. This is just a glimpse of what the future holds for the believer. [01:33:12;35 - 01:33:19;39] The believer will gradually be conformed to the image of Christ on this earth as they grow spiritually. [01:33:20;42 - 01:33:22;13] That's called sanctification. [01:33:24;13 - 01:33:33;00] The more you read your Bible, the more you come to church, the more you serve Jesus, the more like Jesus you become. [01:33:34;50 - 01:33:45;10] I'm not sure we could ever fully grasp the reality of perfection that awaits us. This is God's plan of salvation. [01:33:46;59 - 01:34:07;52] When we take the word salvation and we dumb it down and we use it in a superficial way, we miss the depth of the stuff we're talking about related to salvation. Now notice this last part of verse 29. [01:34:09;46 - 01:34:25;58] So let me read verse 29. "For those whom He foreknew, God foreknew, He also predestined, God predestined, to become conformed to the image of His Son so that," here's the purpose. [01:34:28;12 - 01:34:36;43] "So that He would be the firstborn among many brethren." [01:34:37;51 - 01:34:50;15] Now from a Jewish perspective, the firstborn son received the lion's share of the blessing and the inheritance. [01:34:51;16 - 01:34:57;06] And that's exactly what He's speaking of Jesus here. [01:34:59;07 - 01:35:15;17] Beyond what God has planned for the one who received Jesus as Savior and Lord, His eternal purpose, God's eternal purpose is to exalt Jesus by making Him preeminent. [01:35:16;18 - 01:35:32;45] That's why the Bible says that one day every knee will bow of those who are in heaven, on earth, and unto the earth, and every knee, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That's the preeminence of Christ. [01:35:34;03 - 01:35:40;16] There is no one greater and no one more glorious than the Lord Jesus Christ. [01:35:41;17 - 01:36:06;59] In Colossians 1.15, Paul wrote of Jesus, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." In Colossians 1.18, "He is also head of the body, the church, and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have," listen, first place in everything. Everything. [01:36:11;50 - 01:36:29;17] God redeems us and conforms us to the image of His Son that the Lord Jesus might reign over a redeemed, glorified, and eternal kingdom of saints who follow Him. [01:36:33;24 - 01:36:43;17] So here's the truth that binds the golden chain of salvation together with an unbreakable connection. [01:36:45;00 - 01:36:49;15] Here it is. God is the author of salvation. [01:36:50;17 - 01:36:58;02] Every smidgen of your salvation is initiated by God. [01:37:00;19 - 01:37:05;47] Today we've dealt with God's foreknowledge and God's predestination. [01:37:07;26 - 01:37:20;14] I want you to look at verse, let's look ahead to verse 30, which I'll be preaching next week. So you definitely want to be back next week because we're going to spend some more time in the deep end of the theological pool. [01:37:22;35 - 01:37:36;17] Look at this, "And these whom He predestined, He also called, and these whom He called, He also justified, and these whom He justified, He also glorified." [01:37:37;18 - 01:38:01;19] J. Vernon McGee explained this text like this. He said, "If God foreknew a hundred people," let's just take a round figure. "God foreknew a hundred people, then He predestined a hundred people, and if God predestined a hundred people, He called one hundred people. [01:38:02;58 - 01:38:21;29] And if He called one hundred people, He justified one hundred people. And if He justified one hundred people, then He glorified one hundred people. It's not as if God starts out the salvation processes and loses some people along the way. [01:38:22;44 - 01:38:23;57] That will never happen. [01:38:26;18 - 01:38:39;07] I'm telling you, if you put your faith in trust in Jesus, this unbreakable chain of salvation will ensure that you'll be with Jesus forever. [01:38:40;44 - 01:38:43;13] You'll serve Him and glorify Him and worship Him. [01:38:45;06 - 01:38:56;09] So let me ask you a question. Do you have confidence that you've experienced the salvation God has made available? Do you have that confidence? [01:38:58;16 - 01:39:03;22] If you are, then you need to know that you are eternally secure. [01:39:05;37 - 01:39:12;45] Or are you growing spiritually and becoming more like Jesus? Because that's what God planned for you even before He saved you. [01:39:14;00 - 01:39:14;19] You get that? [01:39:15;20 - 01:39:23;21] He knew what He wanted to do with you before He saved you, even before He formed the world. [01:39:24;50 - 01:39:35;11] I love what it says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works," listen, [01:39:36;22 - 01:39:39;17] "which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." [01:39:40;18 - 01:39:46;43] God knew what He wanted to do with you before you were ever birthed out of your mom's womb. [01:39:49;18 - 01:39:51;04] What a mighty God we serve. [01:39:52;44 - 01:39:59;41] He deserved praise and glory, not only in this life, but for all eternity. [01:40:01;17 - 01:40:16;11] So I ask you today, if you're a born again believer, if you've received this salvation that comes only through Christ because you received Him, [01:40:19;01 - 01:40:22;15] then I ask you, are you growing more like Jesus? [01:40:23;16 - 01:40:28;29] Hey, in just a moment, in fact, I'm going to ask our worship team to come, our staff to come. [01:40:29;42 - 01:40:37;26] In just a moment, I'm going to invite you, who are saved, you're saved, you know you're saved. [01:40:39;17 - 01:40:43;52] You're confident that you've repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus. [01:40:45;14 - 01:40:51;56] And I ask you this morning, are you growing into the likeness of Christ? [01:40:54;11 - 01:41:02;46] Maybe the Holy Spirit has hammered your heart and say, you know, you're not growing, you're not becoming more like Jesus. [01:41:04;15 - 01:41:05;16] Here's what I would do if I were you. [01:41:06;17 - 01:41:13;17] I would allow the Holy Spirit to bring me to this altar. [01:41:14;51 - 01:41:25;40] I would bow my knees to Jesus and I would ask Him, Lord, help me not to clog up your process. [01:41:27;47 - 01:41:38;44] Help me to read your word. Help me to pray. Help me to grow spiritually. Help me to be conformed to your image in this life, not just when I get to heaven. [01:41:41;49 - 01:41:46;21] So you come in just a moment, but some of you are here [01:41:48;15 - 01:42:07;44] and you've been deceived by your preconceived notions about salvation. Let me say this to you. You've received enough truth today to know that we do not receive salvation from Jesus. [01:42:09;17 - 01:42:16;16] We receive Him and in receiving Him we receive salvation, redemption and eternal life. [01:42:17;17 - 01:42:23;07] What do you mean, pastor? Listen to John chapter 10 verse 9. Listen to what Jesus said. [01:42:24;25 - 01:42:36;15] Jesus said, "I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find a pastor." [01:42:37;16 - 01:42:46;43] Let me tell you, salvation is found in a person. It's not found in a religion. It's found in the person of Christ. [01:42:48;32 - 01:43:23;16] And I'm going to invite you to leave your seat in just a moment after I pray and come to one of these staff members and just tell them that today, I want to make sure that I'm saved. Let me pray, Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray that through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that You would take this powerful word, these two power-packed words that we've looked at today, foreknowledge and predestination. [01:43:24;17 - 01:43:31;30] And I pray You would use it to bring people to faith in Christ. Oh, Lord, we'd love You. [01:43:33;49 - 01:43:45;14] Use it to take believers who have gummed up the process of becoming more like Jesus and bring them to this altar, [01:43:46;16 - 01:44:04;31] break their hearts, lead them to repent and to unclog the conduit that leads to conformity to Your image, Lord. [01:44:06;11 - 01:44:10;17] In Jesus' name, amen. Let's stand and worship and You come. [01:44:10;17 - 01:44:16;56]