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| Rightly dividing Romans 8:29-30 is as rare as this snow leopard. |
29 ¶ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
These
two verses of the Holy Scriptures are probably the most tortured and abused
passages of the Bible. Even the elitist Calvinistic folks messed it up big
time!
A
few obvious facts about the passage:
1.
The object acted upon by the divine activities are co-extensive throughout, an
EXACTLY SAME number of, and EXACTLY SAME people are involved in each activity
of God, not one more and not one less, that is, every action spoken of applies
to EVERY elect, without any exception. That's pretty obvious... "whom he
did... he also... whom he did... he also..."
2.
The divine activities - foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification
and glorification - are all the sole activities of God.
-
All these activities are by the free and sovereign grace of God, i.e. not
conditioned upon anything in, by or of the objects. Those acted upon in these
divine activities are completely passive, absolutely incapable of helping or
even cooperating. In fact, they, by nature, were actively in ENMITY and
REBELLION against God.
3.
Those acted upon in these divine activities are EQUALLY ACTED on:
-
they are ALL EQUALLY foreknown, predestinated, called, justified, and glorified
- no one more, and no one less. Every free grace divine action applies to
ABSOLUTELY EVERY ELECT, in absolutely equal and same extent. No exception. The
activities here deal with, and secure ETERNAL salvation for the elect.
4.
The divine activities stated here are all that are necessary for the ETERNAL
salvation of every elect, without exception; nothing else is needed.
-
There is no room to place other activities into the five-link chain. The
five-link chain is complete and DOES NOT NEED other activities of God; it DOES
NOT PERMIT any activities of man.
- Why
is there no regeneration… sanctification… conversion… repentance, etc etc?
-
Ask if you wish to know.
5.
This passage says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, ZILCH about all those needful activities
that involve human instrumentality (means) and are needful for the TEMPORAL
salvation of God's children already made fit for eternal glory. If you imagine
any such activities necessary for eternal salvation, then you have prostituted
the pure gospel of grace, denied true monergism, and end up with a synergistic
view of salvation, which is so common even among many Calvinists!
6.
One more observation: all the divine activities are expressed in the simple
past tense... even glorification of all the elect!
-
The explanation is quite simple. Since all these are divine activities, and God
has decreed to do them, they are considered as good as have been completed.
Those activities are absolutely certain and assured of their execution and
accomplishment and immutable fulfillment.
When
this passage is properly understood, then eternal salvation by God's free grace
is adequately appreciated. I know many people have some objections.
The
gospel of free grace declares Eternal Salvation, WITHOUT any human means! (You
must not confuse this with saying that temporal salvation by the obedience of
God's children is without means. The gospel ministry is vital for the temporal
salvation of God's children. Your inability to distinguish the two is the
source of your confusion!)
There
is the ETERNAL salvation which God in Jesus Christ has completely and perfectly
worked out for His people, and applies it to each elect by His Spirit,
perfectly fitting each for eternal glory; no human instrumentality is involved
the eternal salvation. God alone purposed it, Christ alone accomplished it, and
the Spirit alone applies it.
-
This is the true context/sphere of 'divine sovereignty' in salvation.
There
is the TEMPORAL salvation which God's children (those already bestowed with
eternal salvation by God's free grace) have to work out for themselves with
fear and trembling for their well-being and usefulness in this present life.
The
gospel ministry, administered through human instrumentality, is the divinely
ordained means for this specific purpose of saints working out their own
salvation: Titus 2:12 - " teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the
great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous
of good works."
-
This is the true context/sphere of 'human responsibility' in salvation. God's
children are held responsible to work out their own salvation through obedience
to the Father's will.
The
measure to which men cannot distinguish eternal salvation from temporal
salvation is the same measure to which they are messed up in their
understanding of salvation by grace alone! They give lip service to salvation
by grace alone but in reality, are all work-based salvation to a different
degree... EVEN the Calvinists!
The object acted upon by the
divine activities are co-extensive throughout, an EXACTLY SAME number of, and
people are involved in each activity of God, not one more and not one less,
that is, every action applies to EVERY elect, withOUT any exception.
Necessary
implications:
-
The call is the effectual call because ONLY in the EFFECTUAL CALL is every
elect called. This is God calling an elect out of his native state of sin and
death to that of grace and eternal salvation.
There
is absolutely no gospel call here because there are God's children (regenerated
elect) that are incapable of being called by the gospel, either because of
inability or not reached by the gospel call., therefore no opportunity to
believe.
Gospel
call has to do with the temporal salvation of God's children. And there are
God's children who are not called by the gospel. The gospel call is NOT
NECESSARY for the eternal salvation of God's elect. It is the eternal salvation
by God's free and sovereign grace that enables a child of God to believe.
However,
because the Calvinists being ignorant of the distinction between ETERNAL
salvation and TEMPORAL salvation, insist that the gospel call is necessary for
one's eternal salvation!
2.
The justification here is the vital justification by God's free grace because
this aspect of justification is true of every elect. This is God's act of
justifying the condemned by applying the righteousness of Christ to him
personally and forgiving him his sins... when he is utterly incapable of
believing, being under the condemnation of sin and death.
-
Justification of life, applying Christ’s righteousness give warrants to eternal
life…
There
is no justification by man's act of believing here because there are God's
children who are INCAPABLE of believing... either because of their inability to
hear or not called by the gospel.
However,
because the Calvinists being ignorant of the distinct aspects of justification,
confuse the VITAL justification by the free grace of God as the EXPERIENTIAL
justification by their faith in Christ.
There
is so much confusion on this most basic subject. I hope reading and thinking
through this article has helped to dispel some confusion, outright lies and
fables, blatant inconsistencies and fiction.
