Romans 8:29, 30: "God's Plan for Salvation"

Paul will now detail out for his readers, God's perfect plan of salvation. We learn from this, as we did with the last section, that every point along the way is God-initiated, and God glorifying. This is an amazing text to show the progression of salvation through the eyes of God. It can also give comfort to those who might struggle with the idea that they can lose their salvation. I believe the text clearly shows that since God is the author and perfector of our faith, he will see us through to the end.

Paul continues his thoughts from v. 28 in which he described God's sovereignty in working out all things for the good of those who "love God, who are called according to His purpose". He now transitions to God's sovereign plan for us in salvation. "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined", Paul begins. When I first heard about the idea of predestination, I was completely turned off by it. There is something inside of all of us that wants to take credit for our salvation. We want to know that we had some choice in the matter. I thought to myself that election would basically render us equal to robots. However, the more you study the scriptures you understand that our salvation is completely the work of God "so that no man may boast". It wasn't until I understood the complete and utter depravity of man that I was to see that we couldn't ever desire to choose God, therefore, it must be God that chooses us. As we have learned all through the first 8 chapters of Romans, we are all sinners and left to ourselves we would never choose God. It is only when we understand our complete and utter depravity and inability to save ourselves that we can deeply understand the magnificence of God's grace. Without our understanding of our condition there is no need for a savior. Does this leave us completely helpless in the matter of faith and salvation. No, it does not. God's Word is explicit in God's absolute sovereignty, yet completely clear that man has the responsibility to respond. Perfectly clear? No - but we must understand that in God's perfect mind this is completely feasible, and is, in fact, completely the case. MacArthur writes, "Scripture is clear that repentant faith is essential to salvation and is the first step that we take in response to God, but repentant faith does not initiate salvation. Because Paul is here depicting the plan of salvation from God's perspective, faith is not even mentioned in these two verses". Foreknew is from proginosko, which is a word that carries with it an intimacy. It is a deep rooted personal before-hand knowledge of someone. Does this mean that God looked down the corridors of time and saw who would choose Him and declared them as redeemed? It could not mean this because then our salvation would be dependent on us choosing God, and we have learned that no one would choose God left to themselves. MacArthur writes, "If that were true, salvation not only would begin with man's faith but would make God obligated to grant it. In such a scheme, God's initiative would be eliminated and His grace would be vitiated". Therefore, we must understand that in God's perfect sovereignty He has foreknew and foreloved those He would choose to save. He deeply knew me before I was even born as a child of His. Ps. 139: 15-16, "My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them". Also, in Jer. 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you". Spurgeon, in his book "Lectures, book 2" wrote, "I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite sure that if God had not chosen me I should never have chosen him; and I am sure he chose me before I was born, or else he never would have chosen me afterwards; and he must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why he should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that doctrine". The bible is clear that God will never turn away any who would seek, "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out" (John 6:37). However, He also made it clear that no one would come to Him unless the Father initiated it, "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44). Our finite minds must balance between man's responsibility and God's sovereignty, however, with a humble understanding that even our faith is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9). A good example of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility can be found here.

"Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will" (Eph. 1:4-5). Predestined means to, "literally mark out, appoint or determine beforehand" according to MacArthur's commentary. We can draw from the example of Christ as well, as Jesus was crucified "by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). All this to say that as our sinful minds may desire the need to take credit for something, we have to understand that everything in the plan of salvation turns everything back to God, and gives Him all the due glory He deserves. MacArthur writes, "Much contemporary evangelism gives the impression that salvation is predicated on a person's decision for Christ. But we are not Christians first of all because of what we decided about Christ but because of what God decided about us before the foundation of the world. We were able to choose Him only because He had first chosen us, 'according to the kind intention of His will'".

Paul explains to us that God foreknew and predestined us "to become conformed to the image of His Son". This is the whole purpose of salvation is that we are conformed to the image of Christ. God's desire is for a collection of His people to become more and more righteous until that day it is perfected and we can fellowship with Him in all eternity as we are conformed to the image of His Son. MacArthur writes, "Consequently, ever true believer moves inexorably toward perfection in righteousness, as God makes for Himself a people recreated into the likeness of His own divine Son who will dwell and reign with Him in heaven throughout all eternity". We can see Paul's full progression from His statement in v.1, that "there is therefore now no condemnation", to seeing the work of the Spirit led life of the believer, to our adoption as sons and daughters, to divine heirs of God, to our completion of being conformed to the image of His Son and given our glorified bodies in eternity with God.

Paul slips in a little statement that acts almost like a parenthetical statement, then he picks back up with the plan for salvation. This statement is "that He might be the first-born among many brethren". This statement does not speak of Christ being created or born, but rather, is a statement of his rank and position as preeminent. MacArthur writes, "God's primary purpose in His plan of redemption was to make His beloved Son the first-born among many brethren in the sense of Christ's being uniquely preeminent among the children of God". Our purpose is to worship God in all eternity, giving praise to the preeminent Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:18 shows our Lord as head of the church, but also preeminent and first place in everything, "He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything".

Paul then picks up again back with predestination and "whom He predestined, these He also called". This is where God's plan intersects our lives here on earth, and He uses the Holy Spirit to draw us to Him, illuminate our eyes and minds to trust in Him with faith that saves. A person cannot respond outwardly to God's call unless inwardly the Holy Spirit has already called Him. MacArthur brings up the hope that this statement should give us, "The Lord's sovereign calling of believers gives still further confirmation that we are eternally secure in Christ. We were saved because God 'called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity'" (2 Tim. 1:9). It should be a relief to us as Christians that God does have a plan and is in control of our salvation. If I could fall in and out of the graces of God based upon my works, I would be in a wretched position. Instead, I can walk in confidence knowing that if I do sin, "He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins".

The next link in the chain of salvation is from those He has called to "these He also justified". For those that God foreknew and predestined, He called them by His Holy Spirit, and through the righteousness of Christ being imputed to them through faith they are declared righteous, or justified, in His sight. It is a one time act in which God declares His children as righteous for believing in His Son, whose perfect righteousness is then given to us as if it was our own. Again, we can see that so far everything in this chain of events is initiated, empowered, and maintained by God.

And lastly, Paul gives us the last step in salvation which is when God takes those He justified and "these He also glorified". As Paul spoke of earlier, just as the earth groans to be returned to its original state, so we should also long to be in our glorified state. This is the pinnacle or completion of our salvation in which we live eternally with God, sinless and without fear to stand before our holy and perfect God. MacArthur points out, "This promise of final glory was no uncertain hope as far as Paul was concerned. B putting the phrase these He also glorified in the past tense, the apostle demonstrated his own conviction that everyone whom He justified is eternally secure". It is a rich truth and a great comfort as a believer to know that "He who began a good work in [me] will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil 1:6). We must see that God has his hands on every part of our salvation so that all glory goes to Him. And practically, this should give us confidence to know that "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined . . . and whom He predestined, the He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified". Therefore, if we were to say that a Christian can lose their salvation we would be calling God a liar.