WWUTT 164 Shaped In the Image of Christ?

James said to count it all joy, my brothers, when you face trials of various kinds, because, as we're going to read in Romans today, those trials are helping to shape us more into the image of Christ, when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand the Text, a daily study of God's Word, that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will.

Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. Open your Bibles to Romans 8, verses 26 through 30, as we'll finish up our study of this paragraph today.

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the

Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the

Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love

God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.

And those whom He predestined, He also called. Those whom He called, He also justified. And those whom

He justified, He also glorified. Yesterday we looked at that oh -so -popular Romans 8, 28.

We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

And we kept in contact with that, verse 29. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.

So the good that is being talked about in Romans 8, 28 is being conformed to the image of Christ, which is being talked about in Romans 8, 29.

This is like one of those quintessential examples that you can use to understand context.

Because Romans 8, 28 is just that famous passage for being taken out of context.

It's just that use -all verse that a person can apply to just about anything.

And it's the Christian version of all things happen for a reason. Well, the good that's being talked about there is being shaped in the image of Christ.

All that we go through in this life, everything that we are experiencing, good or bad, is being used to shape us more like Christ.

It's this process of sanctification, that we would give glory to God in all things, in all circumstances.

As Paul said, that that is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. It's 1 Thessalonians 5,

I believe, verse 18. Give thanks to God in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

So as we go through difficult circumstances and great circumstances, all of these things are to be used to give glory to God.

And in this way, we get shaped more and more into the image of Christ. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to pray with my wife, who was having a very difficult afternoon.

We just stopped right there in the driveway. And I held her hands and prayed for her that the

Lord would give her peace. That the next thing that she had to do that day, being surrounded by friends, would be a great encouragement for her.

Give her a breather from the stuff that she had to do earlier in the day and just be filled with the joy of the

Lord, being able to rejoice in Christ, having experienced all the things that she experienced that day.

That was the way that I was able to serve my wife with that yesterday. There are days when she has served me, when she has known that I have been frustrated with something and has been the one to grab my hands and say, let's pray about this right now.

And it's really difficult to be upset at your circumstances when someone that you think is just so strikingly gorgeous and beautiful is holding your hands and praying for the joy of the

Lord in your life. How do you get grumpy about that? So in any and all circumstances that we go through, these things are to shape us more into the image of Christ.

I think also of James chapter one, where James says, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Now it's not that we attain that perfection in this life. We haven't gotten there yet, because remember something that we read in Romans chapter eight, where Paul said,

I considered that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us. So we're not going to attain that level of perfection as long as we're on this earth and inhabiting this flesh, but it is a perfection that we seek to make our own because Christ Jesus has made us his own, as Paul said to the

Philippians. So James here, count it all joy, my brothers, count it all joy.

I mean, those four words right there kind of give you the description of the whole context of what he's talking about there.

Everything, count it joy, count it all joy, when you meet trials of various kinds.

Now, that's a great way to put that, because previously when Paul is talking about sufferings, you're thinking about stuff that brings you pain or persecutions or stuff like that.

I mean, that's suffering, right? But here, James puts it in a much broader context when he says, count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds.

So it's not just stuff that it's really, really hard. It could be the light, mundane stuff and still giving joy to the

Lord, even in those circumstances. Cut yourself shaving, give joy to the Lord. I mean, really, the stuff that is that small, that would seem inconsequential.

Are you a kind of person that is quick to swear and throw down your razor and be frustrated because you nicked yourself shaving?

I mean, what kind of discipline does it take? And even those small tasks to give joy to the Lord, even in those kinds of circumstances, can you, by nicking yourself with a razor, still give glory to God and it causes you to long all the more for that day when

Christ will return, where there will be no more nicking with razors? You know? I mean, just in things like that, in every single thing that we do, giving all glory to God.

Everything. And this is really what Paul meant when he said to the Corinthians, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

Everything. Even in our regular tasks, even in the stuff when it comes to nourishment, giving thanks to God for our daily bread and our water supply, you know, those kinds of things.

It would be the joy of the Lord in all that we do. Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds.

It's like the junk drawer of the stuff that we experience. Trials of various kinds.

In anything and everything that we go through, we give glory to God. What a great exercise in the praise that God is due for the salvation that we have in Christ Jesus, that in any and every circumstance that we go through, we are giving praise to our

God. So anyway, going back to Romans 8 here, verse 29, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son.

This concept foreknew or this concept of foreknowledge, that's one that really tends to get abused.

People will often use that word foreknew as God knew before we made a choice that he was going to make that choice.

And that's how that word foreknew gets used. Well, that's really silly. Like they'll dismiss the whole sovereignty of God aspect that God has already predestined from before the ages began who would be adopted as his sons and daughters in Christ and who would not.

They want to dismiss that. No, no, no. God would never make anybody do anything. But he knows in advance the choices that we are going to make.

He doesn't make us make those choices, but he knows that we're going to make those choices. That's really silly, because if he knew that we were going to make that choice, then how could we possibly have made any other choice?

Clearly, that was already set up for us to make that choice and you can make no other one. I've brought that argument up before with somebody who's using the whole foreknowledge argument.

Well, God doesn't make us do anything, but he knows what it is that we're going to do. And so I'll say, well, if he knew what you were going to do, then how could you have made any other choice?

And they'll still like deny that that's the logical conclusion of that. No, no, no.

You're twisting my words anyway. But that's not what foreknowledge means. When we read about God foreknowing us, what it means is that he placed his affection on us before we were even born.

So before our parents had even decided what our names were going to be, before they even knew what sex we were going to be,

God had already placed his affection on us from before the ages began.

We read in Psalm 139, my frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance. In your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me when as yet there was none of them.

God has written our days before one of them came to be. He loved us and placed his affection on us through Christ, his son.

Before the ages began. We read this in Ephesians chapter one, starting in verse three, blessed be the

God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love.

He predestined us in love. He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved.

I mean, that really gives you the context here of verse twenty nine, those whom God foreknew. He also predestined to be conformed to the image of of his son

Christ in love. He predestined us in order that Christ might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Let's add in verse thirty because I'm supposed to finish up this paragraph today. I can't say verse thirty for tomorrow.

Those whom he predestined, he also called and those whom he called. He also justified and those whom he justified.

He also glorified. So here's what we've got. Here's the order of these things here. Verse twenty nine.

Those whom he foreknew, he also predestined those whom he predestined. He also called those whom he called.

He also justified and those whom he justified. He also glorified. This is the order of salvation.

This is how a person gets saved for God has placed his love and affection on those whom he foreknew and predestined them to be called in and shaped in the image of Christ, called in the spirit.

Those whom he called, he also justified. Those whom he justified, he also glorified.

I once had a young man in my church that was testing me on my understanding of how a person gets saved.

Now, at the time that he asked me the question, I didn't realize that he was challenging me. I really thought that we were just friends and he was asking a question.

I might have answered his question or come about it a little bit different way if I knew that he was trying to contest with me because he hated the whole concept of God having predestined us for salvation before the world began.

It's what the Bible says, but he hated the concept. He's trying to test my understanding of that and he says to me, how does a person get saved?

I gave him a biblical answer of what a person should do to be saved. He said, no, no, no, I mean the process.

What happens first in the process of salvation? And I said, well, according to Romans 8 .30,

those whom he predestined, he also called. Those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified.

And he said, no, no, no, I don't want you to quote me a Bible verse. I want you to tell me what you think the process of salvation is.

And I said, I just gave it to you. I mean, you're trying to tell me to give you my opinion without the

Bible. Well, my opinion means nothing. This is what scripture says is the process of salvation.

God has predestined us for salvation. By his spirit, he has called us. Those whom he has called, we have been justified according to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins.

And those who have been justified by that very particular gift and act on the cross,

God has also glorified. Now there is a glorification that we are going to receive on the day of Christ, but there is a glorification that we exist in even now as we are in Christ.

We read in Colossians chapter three, verses one through four. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God in glory.

OK, so our life is hidden there in glory with Christ. And when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

So we are hidden there with Christ and have not yet appeared there with Christ. But that day is still to come when our lowly bodies will be made to be like his glorious body.

But this is that. So anyway, the point being that there is a a state of glory that we exist in even now in this process of salvation.

We are foreknown by God. We are predestined. We are called.

We are justified and we are glorified. The order of salvation given to us there in Romans 8, 29 through 30.

There was a work of salvation being done before you were born and before you could make any decision good or bad.

Something we're going to talk about more as we get into Romans chapter nine. Our great

God, we thank you for the deep doctrinal truths and theology that is being given to us here in this letter that Paul wrote to the

Roman Christians 2000 years ago, still teaching us and guiding us in these things.

Even now, as we study these things and we get filled up more and more with the knowledge of God, may it increase our praise, our love and affection for our

God and savior and the things that you did for us, not just to give us life, but to give us eternal life through Jesus Christ, our

Lord, to the praise of your glorious grace, teach us to count it all joy and the things that we will experience today as we go throughout our day and help us to realize the things that we experience are being used to shape us more in the image of Christ to whom we give glory and all things.

Amen. Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas.