Latest / Reformed Thinking / From Calling to Glory Providence and the Unbreakable Purpose of God

Transcript

From Calling to Glory Providence and the Unbreakable Purpose of God · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Welcome to Reformed thinking. Imagine for a second that you
0:04
were sitting in a dimly lit room in Rome.
0:07
The year is 8057. You're meeting in secret with,
0:10
you know, just a really small group of believers.
0:12
Just. Trying to stay under the radar.
0:13
Yeah, and just over the hill, Emperor Nero is consolidating
0:18
his reign, and these terrifying rumors have already started.
0:22
Oh, the whispers. Yeah, whispers that he plans to
0:25
use people like you as literal human torches to illuminate his
0:30
imperial gardens. Which is just a staggering thing
0:32
to even try to picture. It really is.
0:35
I mean, the anxiety in that room is palpable.
0:37
And in the middle of that sheer, paralyzing terror, a letter
0:41
arise from the Apostle Paul. You'd probably expect some kind
0:44
of survival guide. Right, right.
0:46
You'd expect him to offer a political strategy or maybe, I
0:49
don't know, a plan to overthrow the government, or at least some
0:52
immediate practical advice on how to hide.
0:54
Yeah, something tactical. But instead he sends a letter
0:57
that climaxes with this massive cosmic lesson on eternal decrees
1:01
and divine Providence it. Seems so out of place at first
1:05
glance. I mean, when you think about the
1:06
sheer terror those believers faced reading a theological
1:09
treatise on predestination and God's sovereign boundaries might
1:13
seem completely disconnected from their reality.
1:17
Like it belongs in a classroom, not a survival bunker.
1:20
Exactly. But what our source texts for
1:22
today point out is that Paul knew something vital about human
1:26
suffering. He knew that when your world is
1:28
falling apart, flimsy platitudes will not hold you up.
1:32
Yeah, you need something with absolute structural integrity.
1:35
OK, let's unpack this because in this deep dive into our source
1:39
material, we are looking at 2 expensive texts.
1:42
Right from calling to glory and the immutable decree.
1:45
Yeah, those two and both of these texts analyze the back
1:48
half of Romans chapter 8, specifically verses 28 through
1:51
39. They look at how Paul
1:53
constructed an airtight, logical framework of salvation in
1:56
Providence specifically designed for suffering believers.
2:00
And reading Romans 8 without understanding that 1st century
2:03
Roman context is it's like watching a movie with the volume
2:07
turned off. That's a great way to put it.
2:09
You see the action, but you totally miss the tension.
2:13
The church in Rome was incredibly fragile at this
2:15
point. I mean, Paul didn't even plant
2:17
this church, right? He.
2:18
Hadn't been there yet. But he is writing to them
2:20
because they're sitting on a a massive cultural fault line.
2:23
A fault line that was actively rupturing.
2:26
Honestly. Because our source texts argue
2:29
that to grasp the sheer magnitude of what Paul is doing
2:33
we have to look at the socio political upheaval.
2:35
This specific congregation was facing so the Roman church
2:39
originally started as a mixed community of Jewish and Gentile
2:42
believers, but a massive disruption occurred just a few
2:45
years earlier, in 8049. The edict.
2:48
Yeah, the Emperor Claudius issued a sweeping edict
2:51
expelling all Jews from the capital city.
2:54
The Roman historian Suetonius actually records this event.
2:57
Oh, right. He notes that the expulsion was
2:59
due to constant riots over a figure he called Crestus.
3:04
Which, I mean, most historians agree is just a Roman misspell
3:07
or misunderstanding of Christ. Yeah, almost certainly.
3:10
The Jewish community was basically arguing over whether
3:12
Jesus was the Messiah. It spilled into the streets and
3:16
Claudius just got annoyed and decided to kick everyone out.
3:18
Precisely so. Overnight, the Jewish believers
3:22
are banished from the imperial capital.
3:24
They have to pack up their families and flee.
3:26
That's just leaving everything behind, yeah.
3:28
And this leaves the Gentile believers behind to lead and
3:32
shape the Church. For five years, the Church in
3:35
Rome operates completely without its Jewish founders.
3:38
Which changes everything. It does.
3:40
The culture of the church shifts.
3:42
It becomes distinctly Gentile and his customs, its leadership
3:46
style and you know, it's daily practices.
3:48
And then, of course, the political winds shift again.
3:50
Claudius dies in 8054, The edict lapses, and the Jewish
3:54
Christians flood back into the city.
3:56
But they are walking back into a church that looks completely
3:59
different than the one that left.
4:00
I mean, you can easily picture the massive cultural friction
4:04
there. Oh, the sources highlight that
4:05
this friction was literally everywhere.
4:07
Just think about the daily realities.
4:09
You have Jewish believers returning who still hold to
4:12
strict dietary laws and Sabbath observances, and suddenly
4:16
they're sitting next to Gentile believers who have been, well,
4:19
eating whatever they want and leading the church for half a
4:22
decade. Everything became a point of
4:23
tension. Who leads the service?
4:26
What foods are appropriate at the communal meals?
4:29
It was a mess. Paul is writing his letter into
4:31
that fiercely fractured environment.
4:34
He's using the Gospel of grace as the great equalizer to level
4:37
both Jewish pride and Gentile arrogance.
4:40
But the internal squabbling, as bad as it was, paled in
4:44
comparison to the external threat.
4:46
Oh, without a doubt. They are living in the literal
4:48
shadow of the Empire. I mean, the Palatine Hill, the
4:51
seat of Imperial might, is right there.
4:53
Looming over them. Yeah, to confess Jesus is Lord
4:58
in that city wasn't just like a religious preference, it was
5:01
high treason against Caesar. The shadow of Nero is
5:04
lengthening over. Them it was a terrifying,
5:06
suffocating reality. The texts point out that within
5:09
a decade of Paul writing this epistle, Nero would be throwing
5:12
believers to the wild beasts in the arenas for public
5:15
entertainment. So when Paul lists those
5:17
specific threats in Romans chapter 8, verse 35,
5:22
tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness,
5:26
danger, and sword, he's not employing ornamental rhetoric.
5:31
No, that was the daily weather report for a 1st century Roman
5:34
Christian. Exactly.
5:36
He is naming the precise instruments of execution waiting
5:39
for them outside their doors. Which makes the surrounding
5:41
cultural mindset of the time even more oppressive, I think.
5:44
Oh for sure. If you walked out into the
5:46
streets of Rome back then, the Pagan worldview you encountered
5:49
was completely dominated by fatalism.
5:52
Right. The Greco Roman world lived in
5:54
constant paralyzing terror of blind fate.
5:57
They called it Fathom. Fathom They also feared the
5:59
capricious goddess of fortune, Tish.
6:02
In their literature and their mythology, the gods were petty,
6:05
unpredictable, and entirely indifferent to human suffering.
6:08
Like Destiny was just viewed as a cruel, deterministic machine.
6:12
Yeah, and against that terrifying backdrop of
6:14
meaningless suffering, the author of the immutable decree
6:18
shows how Paul introduces the biblical doctrine of God's
6:21
Providence. It's such a stark contrast.
6:23
It really is. Paul uses the concept of God's
6:26
Bulo, his sovereign plan or council.
6:29
The Pagan gods were indifferent, throwing lightning bolts at
6:32
random, but the goddess Scripture meticulously
6:35
orchestrates history with a specific goal in mind.
6:39
I think a modern analogy helps picture this distinction
6:42
actually. Like what?
6:43
Compare the Pagan view of life to being trapped in a massive,
6:47
malfunctioning factory. OK, the gears are turning
6:50
blindly, heavy machinery is swinging wildly on broken
6:53
chains, and it is crushing people at random.
6:57
There is no supervisor, no plan, no logic, Just cold mechanical
7:01
chaos. We just hope the Wrecking Ball
7:03
doesn't swing your way. Exactly.
7:05
But the sources point out that Paul's view of Providence is
7:07
completely different. It is like a master architect
7:10
meticulously constructing a grand, soaring cathedral.
7:13
I like that in this building process there are sharp chisels
7:16
and heavy hammers, and they strike the stone forcefully.
7:19
But every single strike has a specific benevolent design.
7:23
The chisel isn't swinging blindly.
7:25
Right. It is held by the hand of an
7:27
expert Craftsman shaping the stone for a glorious final
7:30
position. The architectural blueprint
7:32
analogy is spot on, and the sources take that architectural
7:36
idea even further. They point out how knowing this
7:39
history completely changes how you read a verse like Romans
7:42
820. 8 All things work together for good.
7:45
Yeah, when Paul wrote that to people facing the sword, it
7:48
wasn't a promise of a pain free life or earthly prosperity.
7:52
It was a guarantee that even the executioner's sword was
7:55
subordinated to God's grand plan.
7:58
Wow, so the very mechanism the Empire used to destroy them was
8:02
sovereignly hijacked by God's Providence to accomplish their
8:06
sanctification? That's right, and that shifts
8:08
the ground entirely. It really does.
8:10
It forces us to look at the larger literary architecture.
8:13
Paul's letter. Because Chapter 8 doesn't just,
8:16
you know, drop out of the sky. No, it's carefully built up.
8:19
How do we even arrive at the soaring promise?
8:22
Well, we have to trace the progression of the argument from
8:24
calling to glory scribes the book of Romans by saying if the
8:28
Bible is a ring, Romans is the diamond, and chapter 8 is the
8:32
brilliant apex of that stone. The absolute peak.
8:35
Right, but you cannot start at the apex.
8:38
Paul begins in Romans chapters one through 3 by establishing
8:42
the absolute universal guilt of humanity.
8:44
He holds nothing back. Both the Pagan Gentiles and the
8:47
religious Jews are locked under the righteous wrath of God.
8:51
He makes a devastating, airtight case that fallen humanity is
8:55
spiritually dead. Honestly if Paul were writing a
8:57
self help book today it would be the worst seller of the year.
9:00
Absolutely. Chapter 1 you can't do anything
9:02
to save yourself. Chapter 2.
9:03
You are still spiritually dead. Very encouraging stuff.
9:06
Right. He quotes the Psalm saying none
9:08
is righteous, No, not one. No one understands, no one seeks
9:14
for God. It levels the playing field
9:16
completely. The moralist and the Pagan are
9:19
in the exact same sinking boat. That total leveling is necessary
9:23
for his argument once he establishes that no one can
9:25
climb their way to God. He introduces the grand remedy
9:28
in chapters 3 through 5, which is forensic justification by
9:32
grace alone through faith alone. He uses Abraham as this
9:36
historical paradigm. The argument is that God imputes
9:40
the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to the sinner's
9:43
account, completely apart from human works or law keeping.
9:46
So we have the bad news of complete ruin followed by the
9:49
good news of complete justification.
9:51
Yes, But then in chapter 6 and seven, Paul tackles the messy
9:55
reality of the Christian life. He details the agonizing
9:59
struggle that follows justification, the daily battle
10:03
with the indwelling flesh. It's a brutal reality chapter
10:06
it. Is he ends Chapter 7 with that
10:08
despairing, visceral cry. Wretched man that I am, who will
10:12
deliver me from this body of death?
10:14
It is right there, standing on the precipice of total human
10:18
inability and frustration with the flesh, that Paul catapults
10:21
the reader into Chapter 8. Which is quite the transition
10:24
the. Sources note how this chapter is
10:26
framed by two massive of structural declarations.
10:29
It begins in verse one with the verdict of the courtroom.
10:32
There is therefore now no condemnation.
10:34
And it ends with a promise. Yes, it concludes in verse 39
10:38
with a promise of the battlefield.
10:39
No separation. Everything in between explains
10:44
the mechanisms of why that verdict and that promise stand
10:47
firm. But even within chapter 8, it is
10:50
definitely not a utopian picture.
10:52
Paul talks extensively about groaning.
10:55
Yeah, that word comes up a lot. He says creation is groaning
10:58
under the curse and believers are groaning inwardly, waiting
11:01
for the redemption of their bodies.
11:03
He even says we are so weak we don't know how to pray as we
11:06
ought. This perfectly describes the
11:08
tension of the already and the not yet.
11:11
We are already justified. Our legal standing is secure,
11:14
but we are not yet glorified. The difficult middle ground.
11:17
Our bodies still breakdown, we still face depression, we still
11:20
face persecution. We live in that brutal middle
11:22
space. So here is where I want to press
11:24
into the psychology of this, because I was struck by how the
11:27
texts handle this tension. OK, go ahead.
11:30
When a believer is in that valley, groaning under the
11:33
weight of a severe medical diagnosis or an unexplainable
11:36
tragedy, and they are lying awake at 2:00 AM so weak they
11:40
cannot even form a coherent prayer, how does an abstract
11:44
theological doctrine about eternal decrees actually offer
11:47
any real comfort? Doesn't a lecture on
11:50
predestination feel a bit cold in the ICU?
11:52
What's fascinating here is how the author of The Immutable
11:55
Decree makes a brilliant observation about this Paul's
11:59
pastoral strategy is the complete opposite of what modern
12:02
psychology suggests. Modern therapeutic approaches
12:05
often tell us to look inward, to find our inner strength, or to
12:09
validate our shifting emotions. Which sounds nice, but.
12:12
But when when subjective feelings collapse, and when our
12:15
own prayers dry up, looking inward only leads to despair
12:19
because there's nothing left in there.
12:21
Wow, that's so true. Paul points out that the
12:23
objective, unshakable decrees of Almighty God are the only thing
12:26
strong enough to act as a concrete floor when you're
12:28
falling. A concrete floor.
12:30
He points out that the Spirit intercedes for us when we cannot
12:33
pray and the eternal plan holds the believer fast.
12:37
The doctrine of God's sovereign decree is the safety net under
12:40
the tightrope of our groaning. So when your grip on God fails,
12:44
his grip on you does not. Precisely.
12:47
That brings us to the core of this text, the sequence of
12:50
actions Paul lays out in verses 29 and 30.
12:53
This is often referred to historically as the Golden Chain
12:56
of Redemption A. Very famous concept.
12:58
Yeah, we really need to decode the mechanics of grace happening
13:02
in these two verses. Well, From Calling to Glory
13:05
breaks down the exegetical structure of this chain
13:07
beautifully. Paul engineered an airtight
13:10
grammatical framework here. How so?
13:12
Under the inspiration of the Spirit, he uses a relentless
13:15
sequence of correlative pronouns, the Greek word tutus
13:18
meaning. These paired with the
13:20
conjunction chi meaning also. So the rhythm of the text reads
13:24
those whom these also. Yes, those who he foreknew, he
13:28
also predestined. Those whom he predestined, he
13:32
also called. This syntax creates a
13:34
hermetically sealed logical argument.
13:36
It's not a loose collection of ideas, it is a forged chain.
13:40
Exactly. The sheer mathematical logic
13:42
here is undeniable. If you track the subjects from
13:44
the beginning of the chains, at the very end there is a 0
13:47
attrition rate. The specific group foreknown at
13:50
the start is identical in number to the group glorified at the
13:53
end. There are no dropouts.
13:55
Nobody slips through the cracks. If you are in the first group,
13:58
you are guaranteed to be in the last.
14:00
Which is why the sources argue that this passage, totally
14:03
dismantled, was the idea of conditional grace.
14:06
So if God has drawn this unalterable boundary around a
14:09
person's destiny, how does it actually start?
14:13
That brings us to the first link, foreknowledge from the
14:16
Greek word per genesco. OK.
14:18
Let's dig into that. The text, the Immutable Decree,
14:21
takes direct aim at the common Armenian interpretation of this
14:24
word. That alternative view suggests
14:27
God simply looked down the corridors of time.
14:30
Like a crystal ball. Yeah, acting somewhat like a
14:32
cosmic fortune teller foresaw who would choose him by their
14:35
own free will and then based his election on that foreseen human
14:39
action. Now, if I am understanding the
14:41
author's logic, that view effectively elevates fallen
14:44
human will above God's decree. It does.
14:47
It turns God into a reactor, simply responding to what humans
14:50
decide to do first. It also raises a massive
14:52
philosophical. Problem.
14:53
Oh, a huge one. If God foresees a choice in the
14:56
future, that choice is already certain and fixed.
14:59
So who made it certain? If it wasn't God, then there is
15:03
some force of fate operating above God.
15:06
And beyond those philosophical problems, a thorough word study
15:09
shatters that corridor of time view.
15:11
Tell me more about that. The sources trace the biblical
15:14
usage of the concept of knowing, particularly looking back to the
15:18
Hebrew mindset in the Bible. God knowing someone carries the
15:22
weight of intimate covenantal affection.
15:25
It's not just intellectual data. Right.
15:27
The author points to Amos chapter 3 verse 2 where God
15:29
tells the nation of Israel. You only have I known of all the
15:32
families of the earth. But wait, God obviously knew
15:35
about the other nations, of course.
15:37
God possessed cognitive awareness of the Egyptians and
15:40
the Babylonians. He's on mission, but He only
15:42
knew Israel with a distinguishing choosing,
15:45
relational love. Therefore, foreknowledge here
15:49
means to set a distinguishing intimate affection upon someone
15:52
beforehand. It is for loving, not
15:55
foreseeing. That relational understanding
15:57
changes everything. It means God didn't just foresee
15:59
a fact He 4 loved a person. It's a huge difference.
16:03
And that flows naturally into the second link, predestination
16:07
from the Greek word pariza. Let's breakdown that root word
16:10
hariza. OK, It is where we get the
16:13
English word horizon. It means to mark out a boundary.
16:17
Picture a master surveyor taking his instruments and drawing an
16:21
absolute unalterable property line around a piece of land.
16:24
That line is fixed. But the sources are quick to
16:27
point out that the goal of this destiny isn't just a cosmic fire
16:30
insurance policy to escape hell. The text says the goal is to be
16:33
conformed to the image of the Son, the word symorphis.
16:37
Right. God decrees the end, but He also
16:40
decrees the shape of that end. He predestined his people to be
16:43
remade in the flawless image of Jesus Christ, so that Christ
16:46
would be the first born among many brothers.
16:49
The father is gathering a family.
16:50
Yes, to display the glory of the Son.
16:52
The destiny is holiness. So if God has drawn this
16:56
unalterable boundary around a person's destiny and eternity
16:59
past, how does he actually activate that in real time when
17:03
the person is currently walking around as a rebel?
17:05
That brings up the third link, calling from the word Calais.
17:10
We have to distinguish this from the general outward call.
17:13
Like what? Like a preacher standing on a
17:15
street corner giving a sermon. Anyone walking by can hear the
17:18
sound waves, but many reject the message.
17:20
The author makes a sharp distinction here.
17:22
Right? Yes.
17:23
The call in this specific chain is the effectual inward call,
17:28
because the grammar insists that everyone in this chain who is
17:31
called goes on to be justified. It cannot be an invitation that
17:35
depends on human cooperation. Because human cooperation often
17:39
fails. Precisely.
17:40
The sources use a striking example from the Gospel of John
17:43
to illustrate this mechanism. Picture Jesus standing outside
17:46
the tomb of Lazarus in John Chapter 11.
17:49
Lazarus is a rotting corpse. He's been dead for four days.
17:52
He cannot hear an invitation. He cannot process a logical
17:55
argument. He cannot weigh the pros and
17:56
cons and make a decision to cooperate.
17:58
He's dead. Jesus does not offer an
18:00
invitation. He issues a sovereign command.
18:03
Lazarus, come forth. And the command itself carries
18:06
the life giving force needed to obey it.
18:08
Yes, the call creates the very life it demands.
18:13
That is the effectual call. The Holy Spirit acts upon a
18:16
spiritually dead center, regenerating their heart, giving
18:20
them eyes to see the beauty of Christ, and granting them the
18:23
gift of faith. They come willingly, but they
18:26
come because their will has been totally renovated by that
18:29
sovereign call. Which propels us right into the
18:32
4th Link justification or DKU. I think we need to spend some
18:37
time unpacking how this actually works conceptually for you, the
18:41
listener. It's crucial to understand.
18:43
This is a forensic legal court term.
18:46
It is a declaration of legal righteousness by a judge.
18:48
From Calling to Glory spends considerable time contrasting
18:52
this biblical view with the Roman Catholic doctrine of
18:54
infused righteousness, which was codified at the Council of
18:57
Trent. That distinction is a big deal.
18:58
Huge The infusion model suggests that God pours grace into a
19:03
person, enabling them to do good works, and God justifies them
19:06
over time based on that internal cooperation.
19:08
Which sounds exhausting. It creates a treadmill of
19:11
anxiety. You never know if you have
19:13
cooperated enough. You are always checking your own
19:16
spiritual pulse, wondering if you are truly justified.
19:20
It brings us back to that broken X-ray machine we talked about
19:22
earlier. Looking inward for legal
19:25
assurance is terrifying because our obedience is always flawed.
19:28
But the biblical concept of justification is not an internal
19:31
process. It is an external legal
19:34
declaration. Picture a courtroom.
19:36
All right, I'm picturing it. God the Father sits as the
19:39
supreme judge, the Sinner stands in the dock completely guilty,
19:43
the Ledger of their life filled with debt.
19:46
Justification operates on the mechanism of double imputation.
19:49
Double imputation, yes. The believer sin is imputed or
19:53
credited to Christ on the cross, where it is fully punished.
19:57
In exchange, the perfect, active, lifelong obedience of
20:01
Jesus Christ is imputed or credited to the believer's empty
20:04
Ledger. The great exchange.
20:05
The judge slams the gavel and declares the Sinner legally
20:08
righteous, not because they are inherently good, but because
20:11
they are clothed in the flawless record of the sun.
20:14
That brings an immense sense of peace.
20:16
The verdict relies entirely on Christ's finished work, with 0.
20:20
Personal merit mixed in 0 which leads to the final and perhaps
20:24
most mind bending link in the chain glorification, the word
20:28
boxezu. I was struck by how the texts
20:31
handled this final step. It's fascinating.
20:33
It is obviously a future event. We are still sitting here in
20:36
mortal bodies. Yet the author points out a
20:39
strange grammatical quirk Paul uses here.
20:41
This is one of the most remarkable grammatical features
20:44
in the entire New Testament. Paul places the verb glorified
20:48
in what Greek scholars call the proleptic or prophetic aorist
20:52
tense. Meaning what exactly he writes.
20:54
It as a past tense, completed action.
20:56
Those whom He justified, he also glorified.
20:59
Why would he write about receiving a future resurrected
21:02
sinless body in the past tense? Because Paul is looking at
21:05
salvation for the vantage point of ecarnity, he speaks of a
21:09
future event in the past tense. Because in the mind of God, the
21:12
believers final glorification is as finished and certain as their
21:16
justification in the past. That is heavy.
21:18
When God Almighty decrees a thing, it's future fulfillment
21:22
is an absolute settled fact. There is no contingency plan in
21:27
heaven. So we move from this tight,
21:30
unbreakable chain of salvation into the broad, massive anchor
21:33
of Providence, right? Here's where it gets really
21:35
interesting. Romans 828 And we know that for
21:38
those who love God, all things work together for good for those
21:42
who are called according to His purpose.
21:44
Let's look at the epistemological baseline here.
21:47
The foundation of how we know. It yeah, the author focuses
21:50
heavily on the 1st 2 words we know from the Greek word
21:53
waitamin. That specific word implies
21:55
objective Apostolic certainty. Notice Paul's tone here, in the
21:59
midst of stream groaning, facing the threat of Nero's lions.
22:04
Paul does not say we hope things turn out OK or we have a
22:08
mystical hunch that things will get better.
22:09
He doesn't cross his fingers. No, he points to a revealed
22:13
bedrock fact. It is a confident assertion of
22:16
reality. And the scope of this reality is
22:18
comprehensive. All things panta.
22:21
I appreciate how the immutable decree takes aim at modern
22:24
theological views like open theism here.
22:26
Oh, that's a vital critique. Open Theism basically argues
22:30
that God is looking at the future like a blank canvas.
22:33
He gave humans ultimate free will, so he doesn't know for
22:37
sure what choices they will make.
22:39
He is just really good at reacting in real time to human
22:43
decisions, trying to steer history in a generally positive
22:47
direction. The author argues that this
22:49
single word panta dismantles that perspective entirely.
22:54
If God is just reacting, he cannot guarantee that all things
22:57
will work out. He.
22:58
Just be guessing. But Paul says God is not a
23:00
cosmic bystander trying to make the best of a bad situation.
23:04
He orchestrates every single molecule, every tragedy, every
23:07
persecution and every triumph. Nothing is rogue.
23:10
Nothing slips past the boundary of His sovereign will.
23:13
Even the sinful actions of men, like the crucifixion of Christ
23:16
itself, are bounded and governed to accomplish God's grand
23:19
design. But the texts caution that we
23:22
have to define the word good in that verse carefully, because
23:25
otherwise you end up with the prosperity.
23:27
Thus oh. That's a dangerous trap.
23:29
The prosperity preacher reads All things work together for
23:32
good and tells a stadium full of people that this means a job
23:35
promotion, earthly wealth or perfect physical health.
23:39
From Calling to Glory calls that a catastrophic misreading of the
23:43
text. The good is defined explicitly
23:46
in the very next verse. The good is being conformed to
23:49
the image of his Son. Sometimes the instrument God
23:53
uses to conform a believer to Christ is severe suffering.
23:57
The prosperity gospel empties this verse of its true weight.
24:01
By turning it toward temporary earthly ease, Paul anchors it in
24:05
eternal holiness. The highest good for human being
24:08
is not a comfortable life. It is to reflect the glory of
24:11
Jesus Christ. Paul then shifts his argument to
24:14
prove this point using logic. In verse 32, he uses an argument
24:18
from the greater to the lesser. He who did not spare his own
24:21
son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him
24:25
graciously give us all things? The author calls this one of the
24:28
most logically devastating arguments in Scripture.
24:31
Let's trace the mechanics of what Paul is saying.
24:33
OK, let's trace it. How do we know God will give us
24:36
the persevering place necessary to make it through suffering to
24:39
final glory? Look at the cross, if the Father
24:43
did not spare his own Son, but actively crushed Him under
24:47
divine wrath. As Isaiah 53 verse 10 says, it
24:50
was the will of the Lord to crush him.
24:52
Right. If he did that, then the
24:53
hardest, most agonizing action has already been taken.
24:56
The logic is brilliant. Honestly, if God was willing to
24:59
pay the infinite price of His Son's blood to purchase you when
25:02
you were an enemy, it is a logical absurdity to think He
25:06
would suddenly get stiff and withhold the lesser daily graces
25:09
required to keep you saved now that you are an adopted child.
25:13
And Paul takes that mathematical certainty straight into a
25:15
metaphorical courtroom. In verses 33 through 39, he
25:18
poses these massive, defiant questions to the universe.
25:21
Like what? Who shall bring any charge
25:23
against God's elect? The answer God justifies.
25:27
The Supreme Judge has already cleared the Ledger.
25:29
Who is to condemn? The answer points entirely to
25:32
Christ. Christ died, Christ rose, Christ
25:35
reigns, and Christ intercedes. I love that the defense against
25:39
condemnation is entirely Christological.
25:41
It has to be. When Satan the accuser points
25:45
out a believer's sin, and let's be honest, the accusations are
25:48
usually factually accurate because we still sin.
25:51
Sadly, yes. The defense attorney does not
25:54
stand up and point to the believer's recent good behavior.
25:57
The defense is the substitutionary atonement, the
26:00
public vindication of the empty tomb, the absolute authority of
26:05
Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father, and his ongoing
26:08
high priestly intercession. The entire Triune God is fully
26:11
engaged in securing the believer.
26:13
The sources highlight how Paul marries this soaring theology
26:17
with brutal reality, too. He doesn't pretend this legal
26:20
security means a shield from physical harm.
26:23
He quotes Psalm 44. For your sake, we are being
26:26
killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be
26:28
slaughtered, he acknowledges. The righteous suffer terribly.
26:31
But through it all, they are more than conquerors.
26:35
How? Not by escaping the wounds, but
26:38
by being preserved straight through them, right?
26:40
The executioner's sword might sever their head, but it cannot
26:43
sever them from the love of Christ.
26:45
That is the conquest of inseparable love.
26:48
The worst the empire can do is send them to the very
26:51
glorification God decreed in eternity past.
26:54
It's a total victory. So, moving into the practical
26:57
application, how did the sources suggest we apply this massive
27:01
theological fortress to daily life?
27:04
First, they argue, it demands that we reject false systems of
27:07
assurance. Yes, the texts systematically
27:09
show how this passage demolishes several false refuges.
27:13
First, it destroys legalism and moralism.
27:16
OK, you cannot climb a ladder of self improvement to secure God's
27:19
love. The entire chain rests on God's
27:22
initiative, not human merit. But it equally destroys
27:25
antinomianism, That is the idea that grace is just a pillow for
27:28
disobedience and and antinomian sleep where holiness doesn't
27:31
matter because you are secure. Right.
27:33
The author points out that the text explicitly says we are
27:36
predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ.
27:38
Therefore, the text demands that we pursue holiness, putting sin
27:42
to death by the Spirit. It's not option.
27:44
But the mechanism is different. We do it with confidence,
27:47
knowing God is actively working in us to accomplish His decree.
27:51
We did not work for our salvation.
27:53
We work it out because God is working it in.
27:56
The sources also argue it dismantles Armenian instability,
28:00
which places final security and autonomous human choice,
28:03
creating a terrifying fragility. Because if you can choose your
28:06
way in, you can choose your way out.
28:08
Exactly, and it rejects mysticism and pragmatism which
28:13
seek private revelations or church growth techniques instead
28:16
of resting in the objective revealed gospel.
28:20
When you clear away all those false systems, you are left with
28:22
a doctrine that equips you to handle suffering without
28:25
bitterness. That's a.
28:26
Huge practical benefit. If you are listening to this and
28:29
you have just received a devastating medical diagnosis,
28:32
or you are facing severe cultural hostility for holding
28:34
to biblical truth, this isn't just dusty theology.
28:38
The texts argue that you are not the victim of blind fate.
28:41
You are not caught in a meaningless mechanical tragedy.
28:45
You can look at the darkest Hour and know it is bounded, filtered
28:48
and governed by a Father who is actively using that specific
28:52
trial to conform you to Christ it.
28:54
Completely removes the panic it does.
28:56
I have to ask the question that always comes up when discussing
28:59
these doctrines and the sources tackle this head on.
29:02
The evangelism question. Yeah, if God has already
29:04
predestined the precise, unalterable number of people who
29:08
will be glorified, why should anyone bother sharing their
29:11
faith? Doesn't this kill evangelism?
29:13
If we connect this to the bigger picture, the author of the
29:16
immutable decree argues that this is actually the only
29:20
framework that guarantees evangelism will work.
29:23
How so? God ordains the ends, but he
29:26
also ordains the means to those ends.
29:28
Think about the condition of humanity we discussed in
29:31
chapters one through 3. Totally depraved.
29:33
Right, because human hearts are dead in sin, hostile to God.
29:36
No amount of logical persuasion, emotional manipulation, or
29:39
clever apologetics will save them.
29:41
If salvation depended on human reasoning, evangelism would be a
29:45
fool's errand. As we said earlier, dead men
29:48
don't respond to logic, but we preach the Word boldly because
29:52
we know the Spirit works through that specific means to
29:56
irresistibly draw the elect. The text quotes Jesus in John
30:00
chapter 10 verse 27. My sheep hear my voice, and I
30:04
know them, and they follow me. So you share your faith with
30:07
absolute confidence. Yes, because you know God has
30:10
people in that city and he will use your voice to call them out
30:13
of darkness. So what does this all mean for
30:15
the person listening right now? Let's bring this down to the
30:18
ground. Yeah, let's do that.
30:19
Your assurance, your peace, your ability to stand firm in a
30:22
hostile world. It does not rest on the strength
30:25
of your memory. It does not rest on the
30:26
temperature of your affections on any given Tuesday, thank
30:29
goodness. It rests entirely on the
30:31
Trinitarian work of Almighty God.
30:33
You wake up a believer each morning for one reason, because
30:37
the omnipotent God sustains you through the night.
30:40
He foreknew you, He predestined you, He called you, He justified
30:43
you, and He will glorify you. It acts as a theological
30:47
fortress. When your conscience accuses you
30:49
of past sins, you answer with Christ's imputed righteousness.
30:53
When Providence appears dark and painful, you answer with the
30:57
promise of His sovereign design. Your grip on Him may be weak,
31:02
but his grip on you is unbreakable.
31:05
As we wrap up this deep dive into our source material, I want
31:08
to leave you with a new angle to ponder on your own.
31:11
If your future glorification is so absolutely certain that God
31:14
speaks of it in the past tense, how does that change the way you
31:17
view your biggest failure from yesterday?
31:19
That's a great question. If the author of History has
31:22
already written your final chapter in unalterable ink,
31:25
perhaps the ink spilled on today's page is just shading for
31:27
a masterpiece you haven't seen yet.
31:29
Thanks for listening.