God Gave His Son | Sermon 12/19/2021

Apologia Utah

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Sola gratia means grace alone. And so We will be doing that in Romans chapter 8.

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So if you want to turn to Romans chapter 8 in your Bible That's where we're gonna be parked at all service today

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Romans 8 this sermon is called God gave his son God gave his son.

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I Think what you're gonna find in this In sola gratia is it's so connected with sola fide by by faith alone

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You really don't have one without the other faith alone grace alone. They come so much

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Connected together so you'll find some similarities between our justification by faith sermons these past two

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Sundays But I also think you're gonna find some new things and I pray that the Lord You know shines a light there for you as you continue to learn more of God's Word so Romans chapter 8 verses 28 through 34

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Here now the words of living in true God and we know that God causes all things to work together for good

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To those who love God to 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

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So that he would be the firstborn among many brethren and these whom he predestined

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He also called and these whom he called he also justified and these whom he justified.

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He also glorified What then shall we say to these things if God is for us who is against us?

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He who did not spare his own son, but also with him freely. How will he not freely give us all things?

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Who will bring a charge against God's elect God is the one who justifies

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Who is the one who condemns Christ Jesus is he who died? Yes rather who was raised?

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Who's at the right hand of God who also intercedes for us? Thus ending the reading of God's holy and inspired word.

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Let's pray father Please bless the message speak through me today now

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Lord God help us to Help us Lord to not just be so jaded to these terms and to these truths help us

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Lord to always be in wonder Help us always to Marvel at what you've done through Christ Lord, please illuminate the scriptures now help help your people

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Lord help me to further understand This great and wonderful grace that you've given us and as always

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Lord I pray that you would help me to speak in a way that is helpful And it would be clear and it would be true pray this all in Christ's name.

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Amen So again sola gratia Grace alone.

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We are saved by grace alone But what is grace?

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What is grace in? the New Testament the Greek word is car ease car ease and the

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Greek English lexicon in the New Testament says grace is a Beneficent disposition towards someone that which one grants to another the action of one who?

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volunteers Volunteers to do something to someone else not otherwise obligatory

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It's it's not something you're forced to do you give to someone something out of your own volition

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In the case of the Bible it is not just regular grace. It is divine grace

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Divine grace grace from God is so much more than grace that we can extend to one another as creatures

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Some catechisms call it unmerited favor Unmerited meaning you can't work for it

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No, you can't you can't do anything to work for it to earn it this benevolence of God and beyond that there is

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Nothing in this recipient whereas they contain for instance a set of qualities or character that is

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Worthy of a bestowal of grace from God Meaning there's there's nothing in you

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That God finds just so wonderful that he desires to give you his grace

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That is not what the Bible shows In fact, we've been learning.

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It's quite the opposite That what all mankind truly deserves is

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God's just wrath and holy justice due to our sin and his incorruptible nature

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Mercy then is not giving to someone what they deserve You can you can picture a criminal groveling towards the judge a man who deserves

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The worse the system has to offer and the judge does not give him the sentence worthy of his crime

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That's mercy Not giving him something he deserves grace.

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However is Giving something good to someone who doesn't deserve it

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Grace is going beyond mercy and the judge not only removes the penalty but gives a reward to an undeserving criminal

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And when we start to understand who we truly are before a holy God We will then recognize that all of this life is grace

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All of this life is grace. It is grace that God Creates this world and then allows us to live in it

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He could have done none of that he but he has shown us his goodness through the act of creation one of those profound acts of grace

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God displayed to mankind Was first seen in the garden we've talked about it a lot over the past couple weeks

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God could have required the lives of Adam and Eve for their transgression

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But he gave grace to them. He didn't kill them and as we know in Genesis 3 15

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The proto -evangelium the first gospel the promise of a coming Messiah Who will usher in the most gracious act?

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Humanity will ever and has ever seen that is promised there God's grace continued it continued throughout history and calling out

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Abram Abram from a polytheistic land of er

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Right and calling him to a place where he'll he will have an inheritance. He will have innumerable innumerable descendants, excuse me

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God's grace had shown on Israel in the exodus from slavery in Egypt and entrance into the promised land and throughout the era of judges and kings and exiled

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God preserved a remnant for himself by his grace But then grace became incarnate

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It took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ In the gospel of John in chapter 1 we are told of the deity of Christ and the

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Word made flesh It says then in chapter 1 of the gospel of John it says for from Christ's fullness

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We have all received grace upon grace for grace and truth came through Jesus Christ In our sola fide sermon in Romans 4 the text spoke about one who earns a wage opposed to the one who doesn't work, but receives

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Justification by God and it's credited as a favor There is economic language there

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So that with respect to the Lord we are Debtors who cannot pay that's what we see.

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We are debtors who cannot pay Think of think for instance of the parable of the unforgiving servant or the ungrateful slave a

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King who wished to settle accounts with his servants came to one who owed him 10 ,000 talents

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Do you know how much that is a? Talent was in that time worth 6 ,000 denarii or what or what would have taken 20 years of daily work of a six -day workweek

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That's just one talent One talent would have taken 20 years to work off so the 10 ,000 talents would be 60 million denarii and Don't think 60 million dollars.

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That's not what we're talking about here It would have been much much more than that and possibly into the far end of the trillions if we considered money in our day

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To work off that debt to work off 10 ,000 talents would take a man 200 ,000 years of working every day for for a six -day workweek and That's and that's really not even the point that Jesus is is trying to make for us to reach this year count or or a money

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Figure that's not the point Jesus is using Metaphorical language so as to say it's a debt that you could never pay it could never ever be repaid and it is

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That amount of eternal value that Christ bought you with According to 1st

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Corinthians 6 20 when he says you were bought with a price You were bought with a price that is of eternal value more than anyone could ever purchase

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That's grace It's freely given in the famous epic by Puritan John Bunyan called the pilgrims progress

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Christian the main character enters into the house of the interpreter. I Recommend you get the pilgrims progress read it to your children.

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It's wonderful It says this in another place. There was a fire burning against a wall and one continually throwing water on the fire

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But the fire still blazed higher and hotter What is the purpose of that asked

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Christian? The interpreter begins the person throwing water on the fire is the devil

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Still you see the fire burns brighter Come around the wall here and you will see why

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On the other side of the wall was a person secretly pouring oil on the fire

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Interpreter says this shows you why is it is hard for the tempted to understand how

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God's grace is maintained in the soul This is the way Christ continues to supply grace in the soul of the believer through all the cold showers of the world and the temptations of the devil

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So the devil the devil wishes he could add to your debt that's been paid He wants to add to your debt that's been paid already

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He wishes he could throw water on the fire of grace But Christ pours the oil of his sacrifice and resurrection on that fire and it burns brighter still

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That's the image. That's a glorious image Our passage in Romans 8 today will give us a deeper look into how that grace was administered and applied to us

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We will see how our redemption was ordered. In fact in this passage is what's called the golden chain of redemption

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We'll take a look at that a chain that God has fashioned and cannot be broken in the life of a believer from start to finish we see

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God as the initiator and Simultaneously the one who accomplishes these salvific components

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So in our sola gratia sermon It is my desire that you all see the work of God in redeeming you and your total inability to accomplish these things yourself

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Then you will fully understand grace. So let's begin that now verse 28

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It says and we know that God Causes all things to work together for good to those who love

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God to those who are called according to his purpose So God causes

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God initiates he decrees Isaiah 46 makes the definitive statement as such when the

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Lord says for I am God and there is no other He says I am God and there is none like me who did who declares the end from the beginning

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He declares it This whole thing this whole creation is

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God's operation. It's God's prerogative as The creator he has the rights over his creation

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What right do we have except for the ones afforded us? We've talked about the

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Almighty speaking things into existence much like this world He declares the end from the beginning

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What you've read in the past What you see today with your own eyes and what will occur in the future is

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God's very plan Every Christian in a way is a functioning

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Calvinist, even if they don't claim that title We all pray that his kingdom will come that his will will be done

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We we want his will to be done over ours Right. What about what about my free will you know?

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We'll get into that We we say Lord save my sister Lord. Stop this calamity

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Lord. Please do this in the future we all want his sovereignty, but then act like it's not good enough and As opposed to our so -called autonomy

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Our God isn't the God of deism that says he creates everything

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Okay, he sets the world in motion. He pulls the cord on the back of the earth and And it makes it come alive and he walks away.

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That's the God of deism He is a Impersonal God doesn't interact with his creation in any way.

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He is away from his creation. That's deism He is impotent to sovereignly impact anything for the sake of his own goals and desires

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Essentially, it's on autopilot It's on autopilot. That's what that's what that's what they would say, but that's not our

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God That's not our God. That's not the God of the Bible who creates and is so far above everything and everyone and yet Knows every star by name

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Knows the number of hairs on your head The God who doesn't even let the falling of a sparrow from a nest escape his attention

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He is an intimate and personal God who is equally sovereign above all

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Understanding God's grace begins with an understanding of his sovereignty over Everything and everyone

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What does he cause? He causes all things To work together for good the word is sinner ghetto for Work together where you kind of hear that that uh that buzzword synergy sinner ghetto

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Is work together for good? He he takes what we believe to be the good and the bad and he works them together

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All together in a way that will only Result in good it will only result in good

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How is that possible? it is mysterious in a sense in God's magnificence.

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He takes it all and makes a good result And he doesn't he doesn't do that do all of that Irrespective of his creatures.

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He does this working out for someone It says he causes all things to work together for good to those

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Who love God those who love God and are called? This is not a calling in us, right like a calling to do something

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That's not what it's saying here. This is an action that God performs You could even say the called -out ones.

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This is an effectual calling to salvation and They are one in the same for those who love

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God and those who are called So this promise is for those who are born again

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Redeemed and justified by God those capable of loving

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God who have a new heart What does this verse mean for us though?

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The providence of God in his decrees set forth in creation are working in such a way for our ultimate good

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Because here's the reality about this promise for the believer There's not one thing in your life that won't work together for your good.

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There's not one thing You realize the grace that's wrapped up in this promise

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He says it was all things all things that that means things like past past abuse inflicted the the broken home you grew up in when your mom and dad divorced when you're

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When you lost your dad or mom as a young child and they died the chronic illness you walk through the diseases you've inherited due to the fall old addictions old scars

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The anxiety that plagues you so often the loneliness you feel the depression

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You don't get why you have the anger problem the children You've lost the barren or closed womb the evil mankind commits all around us the persecution

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You endured and the tyranny of malicious men all of it all of it

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All of it God will work together for good Because the wealth is of the wicked is stored up for the righteous

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We see that that principle in the Word of God the wicked won't inherit the land But the righteous will stay in it

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We see these promises throughout scripture that even things evil things that occur Are going to impact

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God's people in a positive way Ultimately in the end He says according to his purpose

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To those who are called according to his purpose. It's back To his plan and decree.

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He has a purpose for what you're walking through There's purpose for what you're walking through now.

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He calls you to keep trusting to keep walking We go. How's it gonna look though?

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He says it's gonna look good How's it gonna feel though? It's gonna it's gonna feel good.

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It's gonna be really good This isn't just a verse a minister reads at funerals

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This verse is not for the dead but for the living Those in Christ who are dead are experiencing the good and it's only gonna get better He took honestly if you think about he took the worst thing the death of his only son and made it the best thing

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He took what what would be perceived as the worst thing the death of the Son of God and he made it the best thing

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That is grace brothers and sisters verse 29 For those those whom he foreknew he also predestined

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To become conformed to the image of his son so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren

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Excuse me foreknew We typically read this word in a way to make it say prior knowledge

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But foreknowledge Flows out of his sovereign decree towards those whom he elected to salvation.

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What do I mean? We aren't saying that God simply foresees events

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For no is an action from God. It is not a passive receiving or collecting of knowledge as Things unfold right or as maybe he looks through the corridors of time as some say

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Listen when it says God foreknew he foreknew people

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For those whom he foreknew he foreknew people not events

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Not actions. It was people whom he foreknew. Why is this important? because God's foreknowledge in this way is

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Explicitly his intimate relationship with those he predestined salvation

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That is what foreknew is before you even existed God had intimate relationship with you and Again, that's not to say you were a spirit at some point

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The Bible makes it clear you when when you were when you were conceived you came into being then

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But God somehow foreknew you You know before I formed you in your mother's womb

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I knew you I consecrated you he tells that to Jeremiah, right? It is this foreknew this foreknowledge this intimate relationship with those whom he elected to salvation

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Think about the Old Testament times when it says a man then knew his wife Oftentimes to know someone in the

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Old Testament was to know them in an intimate way a sexual way Of course,

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I'm not saying this is the way that God knows us, but it connotes that sense of intimacy, right an intimate knowing

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Dr. James White says in reference to this word It is it is God's choosing to enter into a loving relationship with the elect

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Prior to their even coming into existence that is from eternity past Pro Gnosko, that's the word for new and that word is also in first Peter chapter 1 verse 20

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It says that Christ was foreknown before the foundations of the world by the Father So if we take the way that some people look at foreknowledge, it's like, okay wait the father

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Look through the future and knew he'd have a son and he loved that would that would undermine and ruin all of The gospel and all of Scripture that is not what for no means

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The father has always been an intimate relationship with the Son before the world was

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Ephesians 1 4 says God chose us in Christ before the foundations of the world

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In fact Ephesians 1 is just so rich. I would read it read that after this sermon, honestly

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In Romans 11 verse 2, it says that God will not reject those whom he foreknew and Verse 5 gives it gives us the reason why it says because they were chosen by grace

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Listen if God has to look through time to see what we would do Number one, he'd no longer be sovereign

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Independent and autonomous and number two it would require he learned something

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You get what I'm saying? He must he must learn to see what you will do He'll look through time and I'll see what you will do, but this goes against God's very nature

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God doesn't need to learn anything. He is self -sufficient. It says he is omniscient

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He is that is to say all -knowing all -knowing He forenews he

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I'm sorry. He foreknows in an intimate relational way and those whom he had this

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Intimate relationship with he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. It says Predestination is an important doctrine and must be handled with a lot of care no doubt every church has a view of predestination in some way and You know when when you come face to face with it it can it can be hard to sometimes

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Fathom there's so much. There's so much in the Bible regarding predestination But at the very basic level predestination as shown in the

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Bible means that our final destination in this life Heaven or hell is decided by God.

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That's what the scriptures show We could look at it after this even more closely together and it's it's not decided while we live our lives

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It's not decided before we get to heaven or hell Right it is decided before we even come into existence before we've even done anything

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And in man's broken free will we choose what we desire due to our our nature we choose sin

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That's what the Bible says. We choose sin every time apart from Christ Without the intervention of God, no one would choose him and all would perish in hell.

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That is what the Bible shows So that from eternity past God decided to make known his glory and grace

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By saving some and passing over others Some receive everlasting life in the presence of their

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God and some receive what they want They receive their sin and therefore they receive hell to say it plainly if not for election if not for the

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Sovereign choosing of some by the intervention of God then all would perish in hell if there was no election all

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Would go in hell all would go to hell. It's a hard truth

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The fact is God is not obligated to act at all He is not obligated to give mercy in any way, but he decides to The elect get mercy and grace while the non elect receive justice the elect receive

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Mercy and grace on the basis of Christ Receiving the justice that the elect should have the punishment that they should have

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We don't know. We don't know perfectly the answer as to why God did not elect every single person to ever live to salvation

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We we can only see some key scriptures to understand why? Romans 9 read

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Romans 9 right after this sermon as well Romans 9 points to how How much more glory he will receive because of this decision, okay?

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We must trust trust the judge of the earth will do right that his ways are higher than our ways

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The question we should be asking ourselves isn't why he didn't save everyone.

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That's not what we need to be asking Why didn't you say everyone save everyone God the question if we rightly understood who we are and How holy

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God is the question we'd be asking is why God would you save any? Why would you save any the way that we've rebelled against you?

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That's predestination. We'll get more into that as we continue to go through books of the

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Bible If you have questions about that, let me know these Predetermined ones

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Affectually called by God now able to love God will be conformed it says to the image of Christ You see in Genesis 1 it says we were made in the image and likeness of God the imago de image of God But our sin tries to distort the image of God in us and in others

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Jesus now restores that for the Saints The power of sin has lost in your life because of Christ So the image of God is renewed in you by being conformed to the image of Christ.

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I like to think of it in the functions of justification and sanctification That is to say when

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God sees us He sees the perfection of his son. That is justification.

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That is a new image and Now by the power of the Spirit we can perform good works that God has prepared beforehand we can attain holiness and godliness as We are conformed to the image of the

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Son. That's Sanctification that's the process. We're all in now after Christ has rescued us

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Becoming more and more like him as our Christian walk progresses That's not to say today today we had

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LDS outreach and we mentioned eternal progression to a to a Mormon And he said yeah,

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I'm co -heirs with Christ. I'm gonna I'm gonna have a universe of my own. I'm gonna be a god

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That's not what that that's not what I'm that's not what being conformed to the image of the Sun is

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Okay, the Bible never says we will take on Christ nature or deity

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Okay that I just need to mention that considering the context we live in That's something he promises to do to the predestined ones, right?

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He promises. He'll conform them to the image of Christ and What this leads to is to adoption into the heavenly family

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John chapter 1 going back to John 1 verses 12 through 13 says but as many as received him

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Jesus To them he gave the right to become children of God Even to those who believe in his name

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Who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God Again Mormons will say we're all sons and daughters of God and other religions, too

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I'm not trying to pick on just them, but that's not true. We're not all sons and daughters of God We are not all children of God.

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It says here that he gave them the right To become children of God those who believe in him

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You must believe in God by faith and then you become a child of the

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Living God. That's what it says here. That's adoption my friends so if your family despises you because of your gospel witness or Or maybe you have a deadbeat dad.

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You now have a family and you have a father, right? You have an elder brother who earned all of this for you that is

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Jesus Christ the firstborn that's what it says The first so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren

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That word is prototokos in the Greek prototokos. It is not a familial label

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It is not a family label, but it is a title of status Firstborn is status.

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He is preeminent He has high rank it doesn't literally mean firstborn

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Israel was called God's firstborn David. Although the youngest brother was called the firstborn

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Christ is the preeminent high -ranking Firstborn he receives all the inheritance and all the

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Dominion all that the father would give him That's what that title means It does not mean that he was created or or born first or anything like that it is a title of preeminence verse 30 and These whom he predestined he also called and these whom he called he also

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Justified and these whom he justified he also glorified This my friends is the golden chain of redemption

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Even though it's not repeated here. I think it's clear for new in verse 29 is at the beginning of this order of redemption and And if anyone wanted to expand it upon these words in this verse, it could be read like this

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Those whom God had intimate relationship with before their existence He predestined them before the foundations of the world to salvation

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And he called them to himself through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit He justified them by applying the righteousness of Christ to their account as they believed by faith given to them from God and he glorified them

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Glorified them that they have an eternal abode with the Living God and So you cannot remove a single link from this chain without it being completely affected and rendered useless

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Do you notice here the called are? Also justified This isn't a general call of the gospel

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But this is an effectual call inwardly completed by the Holy Spirit All the times it says these these whom he predestined these these these

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These are all in the same group. Okay? They aren't in different camps

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There's not some who are predestined and not glorified if that makes sense

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There's not going to be some whom he foreknew and had an intermittent relationship with who won't be glorified or or justified when these these links in this chain are all people who are one of the same thing, okay, and It shows that God Is the one who does it

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Notice they each begin with he God begins each action

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God did this he did this he did this he did this Not the recipient

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God predestined God calls God justifies God Glorifies he is the initiator

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He is not just the catalyst but the substance of these actions He performs them

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This is a and this is a good translation to because it adequately portrays the

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Greek These verbs are all in the past tense. See that last verse. They're all in the past tense

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That is called the aorist past tense in Greek This indicates an action that has already happened

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That is to say it is fact it is done. It is fact the aorist past tense

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That leaves us with the question about glorification though, right it says glorified

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Why would Paul use the aorist form of the verb for? glorified

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The inspired apostle is trying to emphasize The whole of our salvation is as good as done.

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It is completed Predestined called justified glorified done done completed by God by giving

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Glorified this this form which will be a future event for us Which would have been a future event for the

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Roman Church as well. He is insinuating The certainty of the accomplishment.

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It's certain Have you believed on Christ today? You are justified now by God and Don't have any doubts

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Just as he justified you he will also glorify you. I Think this points to of course many things but glorified probably in some ways points to an incorruptible body in an incorruptible domain with an incorruptible

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God for certain FF Bruce makes a compelling point about glorification and sanctification in the

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Tyndale commentary. It reads this Why does Paul move directly here from justification to glorification?

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Everyone's kind of like hey, we're sanctification in there. Where is that? Did did did Paul miss a step?

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Because we're being sanctified right now people have asked this question and it says without saying anything about the

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Christians present experience of Sanctification by the power of the Spirit. Why does he?

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Go from one to the other partly No doubt because the coming glory has been in the forefront of Paul's mind

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The Apostle knew he was going to be with the Lord one day, but even more because the difference between Sanctification and glory is one of degree only not one of kind.

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What does he mean? He says sanctification is Progressive conformity to the mind or image of Christ here and now here and now glory glorified

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Glorification is perfect conformity to the image of Christ there and then right

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Sanctification is glory begun Glory or glorification is sanctification

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Consummated done completed Paul looks forward to the consummation of the work of grace the consummation guaranteed by its inception

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He who began a good work and you will complete it into the day of Christ Jesus Amen, I look at this passage and Think how could anyone?

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Believe that we can lose our salvation, right? You have a lot of people go man, those those guys they believe in eternal security, they're just they're just crazy and they call us mad and and No, I understand there's some hard passages that deal with those things

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But but when you look at the fact even thinking back to our our high priest sermon

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Christ took his own blood and he shook it on the mercy. See it is completed It is it is done.

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You look at these promises in Romans 8 and and it's like how could anyone lose what

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God has given? Everything is in past tense for those whom he foreknew those who he predestined called justified glorified it is done

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That's why this process shows not to be what's called synergistic which means we work with God That you've decided to partner with God together and you guys you and God will accomplish those chains in that link

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I don't think that's what scripture shows I don't think we make an agreement with God to together accomplish this chain of redemption

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I don't I don't see that it is what's called a monergistic work. It is the work of God only

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That's what and that's what guarantees it Because if it was up to us if we if we had to uphold part of this chain it would break but it is

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God's chain He upholds it. He secures it. I Once had someone tell me

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Years ago. They said we were talking about Calvinism and reform doctrine and he said well look

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I Like four of them points. I don't like one of them they said let me ask you something and he and he thought he thought he had such a

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He thought he had such a zinger a gotcha and he said let me let me give something to you

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How do you answer this and he said when someone wants to give a gift to you?

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You have to hold out your hand and you have to receive it and take that gift and put it in your pocket

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You're doing something there. You have your hand out. You're standing there. You receive the gift And so yeah, that would make sense

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If the Bible didn't show that we were dead in our trespasses and sin We were dead as dead and we can't stand we can't open our hands

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We can't receive anything and put it away in our pockets because the Bible says we are dead.

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We need a resurrection We need what Jesus did to Lazarus to come alive to to receive these things, right?

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So and so with that said it's all the work of God Does the person whose heart stopped on the hospital bed

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Grab the defibrillator paddles and and help the doctor, you know pump himself, you know, he can't he's he's out

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He he's his heart stopped So that anyway, I just thought of that Verse 31.

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Do you want to go to the next slide? What then shall we say to these things if God is for us who is against us?

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Sometimes this verse makes me think of that Chris Tomlin song You know, and if our

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God is for us, nothing could ever stop us. Yeah, you guys know it, you know Man they really need getting new singers up here.

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That's what you guys been thinking for weeks Look I'm not beating up on this song, right?

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Who could ever stop us I just think of that though, that's You know, it's interesting

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This isn't like a verse and I don't think Chris Tomlin saying that but I'm sure people have some people have probably used this verse

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Just like they've used in Philippians. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me they they use it in the in the football game or whatever like that when

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Paul is talking about like nearly dying and and And you know going through so much persecution and suffering and he says

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I've gone through there's so many things I've hungered I've had plenty I've I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and we're like I can play football tonight and You know, that's

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I just don't see that people have used this same thing. If God is for us who is against us

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I'm gonna take charge of my life and nothing's gonna stop me sort of thing That's not what it is.

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These were saints who had to meet in the dead of night in Rome. They had to meet in secret

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Secret meetings secret locations lest they be found out and tortured and martyred

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These are the same people who Paul says just a few verses Later that they are being put to death all day long.

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They're considered as sheep to be slaughtered That's what he says of them in verse 36.

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These people went through horrific Sufferings and loss for the sake of the gospel in Christ's name

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So, what is he saying if God is for us who can be against us? This isn't saying someone can't hurt you because God is for you

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Look at the context of the verse He says in that first part what then shall we say to these things?

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What things is Paul talking about? He's talking about verse 30 right before what are these things?

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What shall we say to these things the fact that God? Predestines God calls

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God justifies glorified. What do we say to that? What do we say to verse 30 and he says well if God is for us who can be against us?

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the God That God is the one who performs this so great a salvation It's saying if God did all those things who can undo them

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Who can reverse what God has wrought? right if God is the one who justifies and Glorifies who can contend with the hand of the

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Living God in? The Greek if God does these on our behalf on our behalf

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That's where anyone going against us would then be going against God Who could who could be against us if they even tried they'd be going against the

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Living God This is very similar to Psalm 118 verse 6.

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It states. The Lord is for me. I will not fear What can man do to me?

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What can man do to me now if God is for us? What can man do to me now because you know what it says in verse 8 of Psalm 118?

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It is better to take refuge in the Lord to take than to trust in man The whole world could rally together against us, but they will never

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Remove us from his possession They will never reverse the redemption that he has securely accomplished in Christ They could all come together

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But they could never undo what he has done. There's nothing that will keep us from the shelter of our great

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God verse 32 He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all how will he not also with him freely?

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Give us all things How is God for us? He did not spare his own son for us

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This would no doubt point the Jewish reader back to Abraham's great faith in His willingness and readiness to offer his own son

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Isaac on the altar to God This very that very account foreshadows the delivering over of Christ by the

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Father This time Aram isn't substituted it wouldn't work to remove the guilt of sin

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Hebrews makes that clear Christ was the substitute made in our place the foreknown predestined called

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Justified and glorified have the Son delivered over for them Therefore the ones not called nor predestined

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To salvation did not have the Son delivered over for them They did not have an atonement for sin.

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There isn't some universal atonement there is an atonement for those in Christ, that's what the

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Bible demonstrates a sacrifice isn't made generally a Sacrifice is made for specific people

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Salvation was made certain for his people in his atoning work on the cross and so Salvation wasn't simply made a possibility for all people that day

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He he he accomplished it. It wasn't made a possibility. He secured it

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It's it's done. He the atonement actually does something if the atonement was just a possibility then then no one would be saved

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But he he he dies for specific people. It's called the vicarious atonement a

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Substitutionary atonement that means to say Christ literally took your place

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You should have been on the cross and Christ died on the cross for specific people for his elect

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He actually accomplishes something in his death burial and resurrection Otherwise, the work is not a efficacious to save it's not powerful enough

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If God delivered his one and only son over to death on the cross to pay the penalty for his elect

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How could he not give us every other promise? He's given

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Freely give that's grace He freely gave his son, which is grace.

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He will freely give by his grace all these promises You can count on God to make good on his promises

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Because he's already done the unthinkable He's already done the unthinkable he says he gave his one and only son the biggest gift isn't necessarily the

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Justification or the glorification saying what what are you talking about pastor? We've been arguing that this whole time

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The the biggest gift is Jesus Christ You get Jesus Christ you have

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Jesus Christ now and all that he offers We have a Savior Sure, the kingdom of God is like a treasure buried in a field

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But the reason the kingdom of God is valuable like a treasure is because Jesus Christ is there

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Because Christ is there Verse 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect

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God is the one who justifies? This question is rhetorical

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Who will bring a charge against God's elect its function is to specify the impossibility of the proposed action

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There there essentially is no answer to the question who? There's no one no man.

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No demon. No devil Not one thing can approach and bring a charge against God's elect nothing

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That's the purpose of the question Paul brings us into the legal court with forensic language here

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The judge of the earth. I said it last week has slammed the gavel down He has brought the righteous verdict because of the imputation of the righteousness of his son

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Who who can go before the bar and bring an accusation against God's chosen?

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He's his predestined ones. No one It was never our works that brought about that verdict.

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Anyways, God is the one who declares Righteousness upon the account of sinners we learn that We cannot justify ourselves

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That's what it says. God is the one who justifies. He's the one who justifies.

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He is the judge No charges can be brought He justifies for every for every single thing

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You've done in rebellion to your creator and every sin you do in the laps of the flesh as a believer not one

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Person can bring a charge against you for these things. No one Satan the accuser of the brethren makes charges in vain

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Does he not understand the power of Christ's work in God's Justification Isaiah 54 17 says this this isn't just a verse about spiritual warfare it says no weapon that is formed against you will prosper and Here it is and every tongue that accuses you in judgment.

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You will condemn This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication is from me declares the

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Lord Every tongue that accuses you you will condemn You're not condemned.

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They are This is the heritage of the Saints your vindication is from the

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Lord last verse verse 34 Who is the one who condemns?

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Christ Jesus is he who died? Yes rather was raised Who is at the right hand of God who also intercedes for us?

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Who can condemn? Paul already said it at the beginning of this chapter

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Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That's Romans 8 1

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He declared it how could anyone condemn the elect when

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Jesus was condemned for them That's what he's pointing to These questions really just point us to the fact that there are no answers to them

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Jesus's work in his death and resurrection are pitted against The condemnation that's mentioned here.

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They are opposite now his his work Ejects the question of condemnation from the courtroom

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Paul is saying who can bring a condemned sentence of death

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You can't He says because Jesus Christ already died who can bring a sentence of death upon you.

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You can't Jesus already died You can't there's no more sentence of condemnation who can condemn no one

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Condemn is another legal term. It says here It says here his legal representation is ongoing that is to say

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Christ intercession Right, it says Christ Jesus is he who died?

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Yes, rather who was raised who is at the right hand of God who intercedes for us. It's his intercession so after after raised

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Jesus was crowned king to sit at the father's right hand Not before he as I said is high priest and sacrifice offered his blood in the heavenly tabernacle upon the mercy seat his presence and exaltation

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Sitting on the throne is our intercession. Okay It speaks to his accomplished work.

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He doesn't Jesus doesn't need to plead with the father to forgive us our sins Okay He sits there

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Christ sits there on his throne like a monument like solid rock and on that monument is inscribed and engraved

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Saying it is finished That's what his intercession is That's what his sitting at the right hand of God is is is to say that it's done his presence is saying it's completed

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He died he was raised Christ the once -for -all sacrifice wrapping up now

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So, how do we respond to all these glorious truths? How do how do we respond to what we've just learned?

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Paul has demonstrated To the Christian that he or she can have full assurance of their salvation because it's all the work of the living and merciful

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God We are taken through this spiritual excitement in a way this building up from Romans 1 to now if you read

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Romans all the way through and you come to chapter 8 you just you're hitting this glorious climax here in the text a

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Triumphant conclusion has been established and we now see what this means

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If all this has been done by God by his grace alone If it's all his grace then what then then verse 35

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Then who will separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our

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Lord Just as it says will tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword

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Just as it is written. We are being put to death all day long We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered but in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loves us

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For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor height nor depth nor things

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Present nor things to come nor any other create thing in all the world will separate us from the love of God Which is in Christ Jesus our

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Lord. That's the promise now The love that Christ gives his own father is for you now

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You realize that the love that Jesus Gives his father the way in which he loves the father he gives to you and you will never be separated from that love

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Nothing in all creation or in the heavenlies or in the spiritual places can take that love away from you

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And what did we do? What did we do? We did nothing. We did nothing the grace of God through Christ is just about unfathomable

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If it wasn't divinely written in Scripture and proclaimed to us through the gospel it would be hard to believe

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But we believe Right brethren, we believe Praise God for his glorious grace.

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Let's pray father. Please bless the message that went out

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Lord we praise you for such grace Lord that we were like dry bones and you gave us muscle and sinew and flesh

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That we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but you made us alive in Christ Lord, thank you for accomplishing our redemption

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God that you're the faith given to us is just that it's a gift by your grace

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Lord that your justification your calling is a gift that your

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Sanctification and your glorification all these chain links are a gift from you

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God and we cannot break them Lord you Fashioned them like a great welder you brought this chain together and it cannot be broken by man

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God we thank you for these promises. We thank you for these truths We thank you

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God that you're working all things together for our good God we have to believe that through some of the suffering that a lot that many of us have experienced

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We have to believe that you're working all things together for good that there's a purpose in the loss that we've experienced and we believe that By faith

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Lord, we believe that by faith. How will you not freely give us all things now in Christ?

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so Lord, please help us to walk with this truth daily in our lives help us to Lord store it in our hearts and in our minds

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Lord, thank you for this. Please bless your people with this sermon pray this all in Jesus name.