“And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:30
If you are a Christian, it is because God called you; he chose you before the beginning of time to be one of His children, adopted by faith into the family of God. Romans 8:29 (the verse just before today’s focal verse) says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
To be sure, some aspects of how God’s foreknowledge and predestination work in the context of our free will are probably impossible for us to fully understand on this side of heaven. But if you are a believer, you can know that you were chosen by God to be one, “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” (Titus 3:5) What a wonderful mystery.
Salvation is 100% the work of God and you can be certain that if he called you to believe by faith you are eternally secure. Reread the verse above, particularly where it says, “those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Both ‘justified’ and ‘glorified’ are in the past tense. Interesting, because we have not yet been glorified, but it is so certain that Paul writes as though it has already happened.
This should be greatly encouraging to us because it means God sees us as righteous in Christ (justified) and destined for glory. It should inspire us to live good and Godly lives, to be in practice what we already are in position.
As a believer are you striving to be in practice what God has already granted you in position?
“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” (2 Timothy 1:9)
Having begun as a guest speaker in 2005, Dan was appointed Interim Pastor in 2008 and has been serving Maple Root Baptist ever since. As a small group leader and Chaplin for the Connecticut Tigers, Dan has a heart for the lost and the God that saves them.