The Order of Salvation. Election (Part 5 - Final).

God's Decree: To Predestine a People to the Image of Jesus Christ

Alright! I've been a little unorderly about it, but my conscience is finally free to talk about what predestination actually is! I wouldn't have been able to do this satisfactory to my own conscience, had we not clearly gone over why God predestines people, and addressed the incorrect answer that popular opinion gives to that question. But here it is, a very beautiful thought indeed: our destiny set to be made into the image of Christ by Almighty God Himself.

Our destiny is a sure thing because He who predestined it is powerful enough to fullfil His decree.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.
(Eph 1:11)

What is our destiny?
The defintion of destiny is insteresting. Dictionary.com said it is "inevitable course of events in a man's life". Webster 1828 says it is a "future state or condition". The Greek for destiny had to do with "being placed", or put in a certain spot. All these defintions are very similiar. Our destiny in the end is the place, state, and condition in which we end up at and the course of events that led us there.


To what were we destined since the beginning of the world?
What does our future life hold? What will be our end? Well, that question was answered even before you were born. For those who were in Christ, for us who are in Christ, and for those who will be Christ, the course of our life is one that conformes us to the image of Christ, and it's end, salvation. This course of events and end were planned by God and then empowered by God to take place. Scripture puts it this way,

For those whom God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that Christ might be the firstborn among many brothers. Those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.
(Romans 8:29-30)

Foreknew Predestined Called Justified Glorified

The course of events for our lives is that we are conformed to the image of Christ in this life through being called and justified in Christ, and it's end is glorification - to see and be with Jesus Christ our God forever (and we'll continue to be conformed to the image of Christ). In light of observing the predestined, notice that this salvation of ours was so sure before the foundation of the earth that God even writes it to us here in Romans in the past tense! Even glorification, which hasn't happened yet, is spoken of as if it already had happened!

I've answered why this is important to acknowledge for our Christian walk in past posts, but anyone who is honest can probably see several things that this dramatically changes in the life of believer if he accept it. So I'll leave you to ponder that.


What about Human Responsibility?
Because this question excists, many have denied the clear teachings of predestination. The quesiton is, if God truly saves a man, then what right does He have in condemning men, seeing that He doesn't save them.

This very question comes up in the Bible actually. The answer is offensive, human-degrading, and God-glorifying. The answer is so harsh that it might even make people's head turn red. After Paul said, "God has mercy on whomever He wants to show mercy, and He hardens whomever He wants to harden" (Rom. 9:18), the question was asked, "Why does God still find fault? For who can resist the will of God?" (v.19). How does Paul, or to be more correct, God Himself, answer this question? He writes,

"But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?"
(Rom. 9:20)

This answer hurts our human pride! We see very clearly that God holds us responsible for our sin, yet takes full responsibility for saving a man! How unfair? How terrible of God? Is that how you react to these things? We are thrown into the dirt, helpless and in desperate need of God's power... but, that's really where we're supposed to be anyway, right?

The Westminster Confession of Faith speaks on this issue very wonderfully by saying,

"God, by the decision of His own will, and with infinite wisdom and holiness, from all eternity freely and unchangeably ordained everything that happens. Yet He ordered all things in such a way that He is not the author of sin, nor does He force His creatures to act against their will; so that ordinary processes of cause and effect are not nullified but are instead established."

Eph. 1:11; Rom. 11:33; Heb. 6:17; Rom. 9:15, 18; Jas. 1:13, 17; 1 Jn 1:5;
Acts 2:23; Mt. 17:12; Acts 4:27-28; John 19:11; Prov. 16:33



We are nothing to answer back to God. We have indeed chosen sin. We have indeed rejected Him. But thank our Eternal God, who choose before the foundation of the world, to save His Church in Jesus Christ through faith in Him.