“…If God is for us, who can be against us?” Rom 8:31
At work we use a phrase to determine the firmness of a decision that has been made. We ask if the decision is “cast in stone?” In other words we are asking “Can this decision be changed?” A question that might arise in our continuing imperfection is, “Is our justification cast in stone?” “If justification is by faith and our faith wobbles, are we still justified?” “Is our relationship with God cast in stone?”
Paul answers this by showing that justification is an action of God that falls in a specified sequence of His actions. V.29 There are no action words for us here…these are God’s actions alone.
1. Foreknew - If God foreknew you, you can be certain that He predestined you, called you, justified you and glorified you. When He foreknew you, he knew your, sins, your dark closets, warts and all.
2. Predestined- If God foreknew you, He established a predetermined destiny for you. It’s a moral destiny to become Christ-like in your character.
3. Called- If God predestined you, He called you. In our relationship with God, He calls for us before we call to Him. Those who are called can know that God is working all things for your good. V.28
4. Justified-If God called you, He justified you…declared you righteous. Justification has been an emphasis of Romans. Here we see it as an action of God toward all He foreknew.
5. Glorified-If God justified you, with certainty you can know that you will be glorified. Heaven is a certainty.
In these actions of God, Paul has moved us from a human perspective to a divine perspective in order to say, “Yes, your justification is cast in stone!”
So how should we respond to these actions by God? Clearly we can conclude that God is for us and if God is for us, it doesn’t matter if anyone or anything is against us. How can the fact that he is for us be illustrated any more dramatically than the gift and sacrifice of His Son? All the things that would stir humans to shake their fist at God and question His existence cannot separate us from His love. In fact we are more than conquerors in all these things. Our justification is cast in stone and the motive behind it all is love!
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I remember you used to always tell me this when I was a kid - "If God is for you who can be against you". :)
ReplyDeleteHey Bro! I am getting a lot out of your Romans study and even more from the comments. I am reminded of how God chose me despite the person that I am. He chose me despite the sin He knew would be in my life. He chose to take both the bad and the good parts of me. In my human-ness, I would only take the good and leave the bad much like picking around the lettuce on a combo plate :o). I can't say that I understand the concept or why He would choose to put up with my sinfulness, but I believe for whatever reason that He chose me and I am very humbled by that.
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