The Certainty of Our Sanctification – Romans 8:28-39!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
January 28, 2007 AM
I remember the old comedy TV show Hee Haw where they would sing that uplifting song: “Gloom, despair, and agony on me! Deep dark depression, excessive misery! If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, and agony on me!” Sadly, there are Christians that go through their lives in Christ with much the same view. They often see the light at the end of the tunnel as an oncoming train instead of a ray of hope. When being blessed by God they wonder when the other shoe of God will drop and He will use them for His own personal footstool. Paul relates that believers do not and should not live their lives in this manner. In fact he relates to us the certainty of our sanctification.
Our holy lives in Christ are not dependent upon how we feel, circumstances, or our status in life. Our salvation is something God has planned all along. Yes, predestination is alive and well whether we think about it or not. God predetermines or know who will be saved and those who will not be. Why? Because He has existed for all eternity -- past, present and future -- and He knows all things, is all powerful, and exists everywhere. The Bible clearly indicates that nothing a person does can earn himself a spot in heaven; Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the Gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast." God has always known about salvation. He foreordained that believers be brought into “moral conformity to the likeness of His Son.” Confused? Don’t be. Paul explains it quite well here in Romans for us. Let’s discover for ourselves the certainty of our sanctification.
READ: Romans 8:28-39
There are no mistakes in the kingdom of God. Including you. God has made salvation possible for anyone who wants it. He already knows who will accept His plan of salvation. This does not negate man's choice; rather it is confirmation of God's grace that some do choose salvation. Predestination means to mark out or determine before hand. Predestination may raise some intellectual problems for us, but that is because man tries to wrap his finite mind around an infinite God. However, those who accept the gift of salvation become the ‘elect’ of God. (http://www.allaboutgod.com/predestination.htm) The wonderful truth concerning the certainty of our sanctification is that…
I. Christians are predetermined to be saved! (vv. 28-30)
1. Believers, Paul began, know of sanctification’s certainty, and that knowledge is gained by spiritual perception! Christians know intuitively -- though they may not always fully understand and experience it -- that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him (lit., “to the ones who love God He works all things together unto good”). The things themselves may not be good, but God harmonizes them together for believers’ ultimate good, because His goal is to bring them to perfection in His presence. Our relationship with God is not a static thing, but a growing continual affair. Paul makes it plain that God is at work for us in life to be “conformed to the likeness of His Son.” There are three steps to God’s plan: being called (Romans 8:28), being justified (Romans 3:24), and being glorified (Romans 8:17)! “Glorified” is in the past tense because this final step is so certain that in God’s eyes it is as good as done. To be glorified is another way of saying that God’s children will be “conformed” to His Son; and that is God’s ultimate ‘purpose.’ No longer will they ‘fall short of the glory of God’ (Rom. 3:23).” – (The Bible Knowledge Commentary.) So “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him!” Why? In the certainty of our sanctification, Christians are predetermined to be saved!
EXAMPLE: You can count on me, is not a term that is not as secure as it was decades ago. A handshake and the mutual understanding that the integrity of your name was at stake required you to make good on any promise you made. In our day and age we take lightly not only our word but the word of others. Why? Because we know there is little integrity in the world anymore without a signed contract and a coven of lawyers available to enforce it. Imagine the surprise of the clerk at Wal-Mart when I turned around and handed her back the five dollars too much she had given me in change. Or the surprise on the faces of the local teen when we allow them to play football I our field as long as they keep it cleaned up. We can rest assured in the certainty of our sanctification in Christ, because Christians are predetermined to be saved. How can I know that? Because of God’s promise. It is backed by who He is. It is certain. It is secure.
Knowing that God predetermined our salvation can and should bring us great comfort and peace. It teaches us about the tremendous nature of God’s grace extended toward us as sinful creatures. From the beginning of time, God knew He would save us! This should make each of us not only sit in stunned awe, but it should also help us to understand that in our certainty of sanctification…
II. Christians can be secure in their salvation! (vv. 31-34)
1. Paul taught that believers can be secure in sanctification’s certainty because of their salvation! Paul immediately asks a very pertinent question: “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” The answer is: No one can be against us, not even us! No one can condemn us! Yet, in our spiritual insecurity, we often try to do so ourselves. We often live such guilty lives it smacks of having spiritual neurosis. And the truth is, we do not have to at all. Paul emphatically states that “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Yes, He will! God’s plan for salvation “reaches from eternity past to eternity future which God will carry out perfectly!” Paul then continues by asking, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?” Will Satan? Sure, but his accusations will be thrown out of court, so-to-speak. God will not even listen. Why? Because “It is God who justifies.” And it is only Jesus Christ who can truly condemn us, but it is He “who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us!” “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” (Romans 8:1) In the certainty of our sanctification, Christians can be secure in their salvation!
EXAMPLE: My mother is not a believer. Yet one thing she used to tell us is that she honestly believed that God had given each of her children to her long before “time began.” In her motherly instinct she realized a spiritual truth: God knows us intimately and has known us long before we were born and long before time began. Predestination teaches us that God predetermined at the beginning to make us secure in our salvation. Jesus taught about His ability to keep those who trust Him. He related, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) In the certainty of their sanctification, Christians can be secure in their salvation.
Can you imagine the fact that you have God’s one and only Son, seated in the heavenly realm, at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for you -- right now!? WOW! You see Jesus is so much more than our “good buddy.” He is the reason we can even approach God in prayer. It is because of Him we can rest assured in our sanctification. It is Jesus who makes us holy, not ourselves. But more than that, we are victorious in Christ. In the certainty of our sanctification, Paul would tell us that…
III. Christians are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ! (vv. 35-39)
1. Sanctification’s certainty teaches the believer that they are victorious in life no matter what the outward circumstances! Paul asks his final question here: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” And of course the answer is nothing can and no one can! No disaster and no personage can separate us from the provisional presence of the love of Jesus Christ! God not only knows us ahead of time, but He provides for us in the here and now! In fact, so pervasive is God’s love for us through Jesus that Paul relates that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” We enjoy an overwhelming victory in Jesus! In fact there is nothing in all the universe, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” God is at work in all circumstances of life for our good, to conform us into the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ. That is the certainty of our sanctification. Christians are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ!
EXAMPLE: Victory is not secure until your enemy is completely vanquished and defeated. How can you have a victory when the enemy still has captured land or resources to battle you? In our day there are those who may disagree with what or how the war in Iraq has gone. But no matter what you believe about how it has been handled or why it was started in the first place, one thing is certain: In order to defeat the enemy there we have to be completely victorious. Pulling out too soon or leaving an unsettled condition would be disastrous. It would be like after the Vietnam conflict, after we had pulled out, the Democratic controlled Congress stopped funding and sending arms to the Vietnamese people. Within 18 months their country was taken over by Communist forces. It was horrible for Vietnam and Cambodia where literally millions of people were slaughtered, imprisoned, and tortured. Praise God that He never leaves us in an unsettled state spiritually. In our certainty of sanctification, we know that Christians are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ!
Conclusion:
Christians are predetermined to be saved; Christians can be secure in their salvation; and Christians are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
January 28, 2007 AM
I remember the old comedy TV show Hee Haw where they would sing that uplifting song: “Gloom, despair, and agony on me! Deep dark depression, excessive misery! If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, and agony on me!” Sadly, there are Christians that go through their lives in Christ with much the same view. They often see the light at the end of the tunnel as an oncoming train instead of a ray of hope. When being blessed by God they wonder when the other shoe of God will drop and He will use them for His own personal footstool. Paul relates that believers do not and should not live their lives in this manner. In fact he relates to us the certainty of our sanctification.
Our holy lives in Christ are not dependent upon how we feel, circumstances, or our status in life. Our salvation is something God has planned all along. Yes, predestination is alive and well whether we think about it or not. God predetermines or know who will be saved and those who will not be. Why? Because He has existed for all eternity -- past, present and future -- and He knows all things, is all powerful, and exists everywhere. The Bible clearly indicates that nothing a person does can earn himself a spot in heaven; Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the Gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast." God has always known about salvation. He foreordained that believers be brought into “moral conformity to the likeness of His Son.” Confused? Don’t be. Paul explains it quite well here in Romans for us. Let’s discover for ourselves the certainty of our sanctification.
READ: Romans 8:28-39
There are no mistakes in the kingdom of God. Including you. God has made salvation possible for anyone who wants it. He already knows who will accept His plan of salvation. This does not negate man's choice; rather it is confirmation of God's grace that some do choose salvation. Predestination means to mark out or determine before hand. Predestination may raise some intellectual problems for us, but that is because man tries to wrap his finite mind around an infinite God. However, those who accept the gift of salvation become the ‘elect’ of God. (http://www.allaboutgod.com/predestination.htm) The wonderful truth concerning the certainty of our sanctification is that…
I. Christians are predetermined to be saved! (vv. 28-30)
1. Believers, Paul began, know of sanctification’s certainty, and that knowledge is gained by spiritual perception! Christians know intuitively -- though they may not always fully understand and experience it -- that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him (lit., “to the ones who love God He works all things together unto good”). The things themselves may not be good, but God harmonizes them together for believers’ ultimate good, because His goal is to bring them to perfection in His presence. Our relationship with God is not a static thing, but a growing continual affair. Paul makes it plain that God is at work for us in life to be “conformed to the likeness of His Son.” There are three steps to God’s plan: being called (Romans 8:28), being justified (Romans 3:24), and being glorified (Romans 8:17)! “Glorified” is in the past tense because this final step is so certain that in God’s eyes it is as good as done. To be glorified is another way of saying that God’s children will be “conformed” to His Son; and that is God’s ultimate ‘purpose.’ No longer will they ‘fall short of the glory of God’ (Rom. 3:23).” – (The Bible Knowledge Commentary.) So “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him!” Why? In the certainty of our sanctification, Christians are predetermined to be saved!
EXAMPLE: You can count on me, is not a term that is not as secure as it was decades ago. A handshake and the mutual understanding that the integrity of your name was at stake required you to make good on any promise you made. In our day and age we take lightly not only our word but the word of others. Why? Because we know there is little integrity in the world anymore without a signed contract and a coven of lawyers available to enforce it. Imagine the surprise of the clerk at Wal-Mart when I turned around and handed her back the five dollars too much she had given me in change. Or the surprise on the faces of the local teen when we allow them to play football I our field as long as they keep it cleaned up. We can rest assured in the certainty of our sanctification in Christ, because Christians are predetermined to be saved. How can I know that? Because of God’s promise. It is backed by who He is. It is certain. It is secure.
Knowing that God predetermined our salvation can and should bring us great comfort and peace. It teaches us about the tremendous nature of God’s grace extended toward us as sinful creatures. From the beginning of time, God knew He would save us! This should make each of us not only sit in stunned awe, but it should also help us to understand that in our certainty of sanctification…
II. Christians can be secure in their salvation! (vv. 31-34)
1. Paul taught that believers can be secure in sanctification’s certainty because of their salvation! Paul immediately asks a very pertinent question: “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” The answer is: No one can be against us, not even us! No one can condemn us! Yet, in our spiritual insecurity, we often try to do so ourselves. We often live such guilty lives it smacks of having spiritual neurosis. And the truth is, we do not have to at all. Paul emphatically states that “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Yes, He will! God’s plan for salvation “reaches from eternity past to eternity future which God will carry out perfectly!” Paul then continues by asking, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?” Will Satan? Sure, but his accusations will be thrown out of court, so-to-speak. God will not even listen. Why? Because “It is God who justifies.” And it is only Jesus Christ who can truly condemn us, but it is He “who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us!” “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” (Romans 8:1) In the certainty of our sanctification, Christians can be secure in their salvation!
EXAMPLE: My mother is not a believer. Yet one thing she used to tell us is that she honestly believed that God had given each of her children to her long before “time began.” In her motherly instinct she realized a spiritual truth: God knows us intimately and has known us long before we were born and long before time began. Predestination teaches us that God predetermined at the beginning to make us secure in our salvation. Jesus taught about His ability to keep those who trust Him. He related, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) In the certainty of their sanctification, Christians can be secure in their salvation.
Can you imagine the fact that you have God’s one and only Son, seated in the heavenly realm, at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for you -- right now!? WOW! You see Jesus is so much more than our “good buddy.” He is the reason we can even approach God in prayer. It is because of Him we can rest assured in our sanctification. It is Jesus who makes us holy, not ourselves. But more than that, we are victorious in Christ. In the certainty of our sanctification, Paul would tell us that…
III. Christians are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ! (vv. 35-39)
1. Sanctification’s certainty teaches the believer that they are victorious in life no matter what the outward circumstances! Paul asks his final question here: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” And of course the answer is nothing can and no one can! No disaster and no personage can separate us from the provisional presence of the love of Jesus Christ! God not only knows us ahead of time, but He provides for us in the here and now! In fact, so pervasive is God’s love for us through Jesus that Paul relates that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” We enjoy an overwhelming victory in Jesus! In fact there is nothing in all the universe, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” God is at work in all circumstances of life for our good, to conform us into the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ. That is the certainty of our sanctification. Christians are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ!
EXAMPLE: Victory is not secure until your enemy is completely vanquished and defeated. How can you have a victory when the enemy still has captured land or resources to battle you? In our day there are those who may disagree with what or how the war in Iraq has gone. But no matter what you believe about how it has been handled or why it was started in the first place, one thing is certain: In order to defeat the enemy there we have to be completely victorious. Pulling out too soon or leaving an unsettled condition would be disastrous. It would be like after the Vietnam conflict, after we had pulled out, the Democratic controlled Congress stopped funding and sending arms to the Vietnamese people. Within 18 months their country was taken over by Communist forces. It was horrible for Vietnam and Cambodia where literally millions of people were slaughtered, imprisoned, and tortured. Praise God that He never leaves us in an unsettled state spiritually. In our certainty of sanctification, we know that Christians are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ!
Conclusion:
Christians are predetermined to be saved; Christians can be secure in their salvation; and Christians are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ!
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