The Ordo Salutis

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We're in the midst of our study on the doctrine of salvation – tonight, we come to a part of that doctrine that may not be as familiar to many of you, the ordo salutis.  Don't worry, I'll give you a definition of that in a few minutes, if you're not familiar. One of my hobbies is oil painting – it hasn't been one I've used much recently within the last several years – but it's one I have a great affection for.  When I learned oil painting, part of our education involved examining the painting of the masters, and then duplicating their paintings.  We examined even in large photos which showed the direction and style of their brush strokes.  You say, is that really the best way to approach a painting – I mean, what does such a technical analysis accomplish; why not merely appreciate it at the emotional level?  Because to fully appreciate the overall impact of a work like Claude Monet's Autumn[SR1] , you must first grasp the marvelous and meticulous detail work that makes it such a masterpiece.  Some will glance at the painting and say that's nice, that's attractive, that's pretty – but those who really delve into the art that is the master's gain a fresh appreciation for it.  When we study a masterpiece in that way, it brings not only understanding to the student, but it brings glory to the artist.  That's what we begin to do tonight with the great doctrine of biblical salvation – God has accomplished the salvation of wretched rebels against Him and against His sovereignty, and He's done it at great personal cost. That is the universe's greatest masterpiece – so it's right that we should carefully, meticulously study all its wonderful parts.

What exactly are the parts or components of the great salvation we enjoy, and in what order do they fit together to form this drama of redemption?  Theologians call the answer to that question the order of salvation, or in Latin, the ordo salutis, the order of salvation. Now, much has been, and continues to be written and spoken about this issue – why?  You say, what's the point?  Well, let's, first of all, ask and answer the question, what is the issue? Louis Berkhof defines the ordo salutis in this way – it is "the process by which the work of salvation, wrought in Christ, is subjectively realized in the hearts and lives of sinners.  It aims at describing, in their logical order, and also in their interrelations, the various movements of the Holy Spirit in the application of the work of redemption" – the applying of Christ's work to your life and mine.  It deals with both the logical order of events that occur at the moment of salvation – you see, from the standpoint of time or chronology, faith and justification occur at the very same moment in time, but logically, which comes first; that's the question that the discussion of the ordo salutis seeks to answer – and the chronological order of events that relate to our salvation that occur either before, as in election, the moment of salvation, or after the moment of salvation, our glorification. It tries to put all of those events in their proper biblical order.

Now, I'm going to start with this next question because some of you are sitting there saying, yes, and?  What's the point, why does this matter?  What is at stake?  I mean, isn't this like so much wrangling, like the medieval debate about how many angels can stand on the head of a needle?  Will this really make any difference in my life?  First of all, let me chastise you for that last question – "how will it affect me" is the wrong question to ask; that is a very man-centered approach.  It betrays a mindset that you are tempted to believe the devil's lie that the universe does in fact revolve around you.  As creatures made to bring glory to God, the real question is, does it matter to God; how will it affect Him and His glory?  Well, I intend to show you tonight that it does matter to God – He took great care in His word to show that His work in the application of redemption is carefully constructed and ordered – so, our understanding of that plan and praising Him for it will bring Him great glory.  In addition, if He thought it was important for us to know, then it must be.

In addition to that, to answer your question, does it matter, there are some very practical reasons your belief about the order of salvation does matter – let me just give them to you.  First of all, your ordo salutis, your order of salvation, both reveals and determines your doctrine of salvation.  You say, I didn't know I had an ordo salutis; I didn't even know what it was until a moment ago.  Everybody who has ever interacted with the truth about eternal salvation revealed in the scriptures has a basic order of salvation etched into their understanding – it may be correct, or it may be terribly flawed, but it's there.  You see, by nature, as human beings, we tend to systematize things – your bedroom and your office has a storage system; it may not be readily apparent to others observing it, but it has one.  The fact that some of those systems are simply unknowable to anyone else doesn't change the reality that there is, in fact, a system – and the same is true with our understanding of salvation.  You have organized its parts, to whatever extent you understand them, into a meaningful system – and here's the key; that system, in your mind, is either man-centered; that is, salvation is all about man; or your system is God-centered; salvation is intended, after all, to bring God glory. Moreover, if you wrongly systematize the biblical data about salvation in your mind, it will lead you down the path toward an utterly man-centered faith.

Secondly – and, I hope, as we go along, I'll prove these to you; I'm making these observations, and then we'll look at what the scriptures teach – number two, it matters because your order of salvation will affect and perhaps determine your approach to evangelism.  If you believe that man, for example, is the first to act in salvation, then where will you center your efforts?  On man – you will ultimately be willing to use any method or technique to elicit a decision.  The most infamous, or famous example of this, is the invitation system that is practiced in many churches – many of you have suffered through many a verse of "Just As I Am."  Where did that come from?  Well, most agree that it came into prominence in the 1830's with a man by the name of Charles Finney, who popularized it through what was called the mourner's bench. That system, that method of evangelism, that tool in evangelism grew out of Finney's thoroughly Arminian, perhaps even Pelagian, theology – man had sufficiently been enabled to respond to the gospel without divine assistance, so get Him while He's there.  On the other hand, if you believe that God is the first to act in salvation, using His word, you will be content with a straightforward presentation of the gospel – you see how it can affect even your approach to evangelism.  Your order of salvation, that system you have in your mind, can either give you great peace and confidence, or it can rob you of your assurance – almost without exception, those who believe that salvation begins as an act of God embrace the twin doctrines of the perseverance of the saints and the eternal security of the believer.  If God began it, He'll complete it.  On the other hand, those who believe that salvation begins with an act of man, at least if they're consistent, tend as well to believe that man can, by sin or by an act of the will, forfeit that salvation.

The last reason I think it matters is ultimately your order of salvation can even affect how effectively you glorify God.  If you believe that you initiated your salvation, then you really deserve some credit for how bright you were, how wise you were, how humble you were, how obedient you were, how insightful you were, in choosing Christ – and that robs God of His glory.  This is a very insidious problem for us as human beings – I love what C.H. Spurgeon said; he said, "Such is the depravity and fallenness and pride of the human heart that, if it can't earn its entire way to heaven, it's happy to have just a small part in the last mile."  It matters.

Now, briefly, what are the primary views in contemporary, popular Christianity?  I'm not going to give you the Roman Catholic view, the Lutheran view, because those are not ones that you have to deal with constantly; let me give you, first of all, the Arminian ordo salutis. And, if you aren't thoroughly familiar with Arminianism, stand by – in a few weeks, we'll get to that whole discussion. They say it begins with the universal, external call; that is, someone teaches or preaches the gospel, and a person hears that.  They respond with repentance and faith; they choose to embrace that gospel – justification follows; sanctification, perseverance, occurs.  Now, the key thing I want you to see in this is that if they include regeneration at all – and some Arminians wouldn't – it would be after the exercise of my will, in repentance and faith.

Now, let me give you one more – this is more of the popular view; if you ask most people on the street if they could systematize what they believe, this is where they would go. They would say, well, there was certainly election; God chose, for whatever reasons – and there's a lot of debate; we'll get to that when we get to election – then there's the effectual calling; that is, God draws a person to Himself, then that person responds in faith, and often this is a simple belief in the gospel message; yes, it's true, I believe that.  Then comes regeneration, that act of God whereby He makes the heart alive; justification, sanctification, and eternal security.  Now, again, what I want you to see is that regeneration, that act of God whereby He brings life, follows my belief in the truth, my embracing of the truth.

Where I want us to come, though, is what does the Bible teach?  I want us to examine the exegetical evidence for a biblical ordo salutis – we're going to construct a framework for understanding what the Bible teaches about this, passage by passage, element by element. We're taking apart, if you will, redemption – we're enlarging and looking at each brush stroke to see the masterpiece that is salvation.  The foundational framework where we need to begin is Romans 8 – we're going to take the text and we're going to see what God has to say.  Romans 8 gives us the first four elements, or components, of a divine order of salvation.  Verse 29, Romans 8 – "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would become the firstborn among many brethren."  Now, it's clear in this passage – let me read verse 30 while we're reading.  "And these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."  Now, it's clear, as I read that passage, that there is an intentional, sequential order that Paul lays out here.  Notice how he begins with God's eternal purpose in eternity past, and he ends with glorification – there's obviously a flow, a timeline, if you will.  First of all, there's election – it's reflected in two words, foreknew; that is, God knew before – we'll hopefully come back to this when we get to election.  This is the ultimate source of salvation; God's knowing or choosing before for the purpose of establishing a relationship.  And He predestined; that is, He determined before – this is the ultimate goal of salvation, to bring glory to Christ by conforming us to Christ's image.  These two terms together speak of election – that's the first in the divine timeline of salvation.  Then comes effectual calling – verse 30, "Those whom He predestined, He also called."  And, again, we're going to look at each one of these in the coming weeks, so, if you're unclear about what a specific one means, stay tuned, we'll get there.  Then comes justification – you notice he says, "Those whom He called, He also justified" – and then comes glorification, "And these whom He justified, He also glorified."  So, when we start our little timeline of the ordo salutis, reading from left to right, we have election, then comes the effectual calling, then comes justification, then comes glorification. So, that's sort of the start of our little timeline – starting, obviously, with election in eternity past, then moving forward to the end of time, glorification.

Now, where does faith fit in here?  Well, we can pretty easily put faith into this scheme, because often scripture records that faith is the instrument by which justification is received.  For example, Galatians 2:16 says that "a man is not justified by the works of the law," but he is justified "through faith." He says it again, "so that we may be justified by faith."  Now, that means – and there are a lot of other references, by the way; Romans is full of them, as you can see with what I've put on the screen there, particularly in chapter 3 – making the point that faith must precede justification.  If we are justified by faith, then faith must come before justification.  So, let's look at our scheme again – this is what it looks like, adding faith; we now have election, effectual calling, faith, justification, and glorification.

Now, what about repentance?  Well, repentance is a pretty easy one, too – we can place it pretty quickly, because it's often tied in the Bible to faith.  For example, in Acts 16:31, when asked how to come to know Christ, Paul answers to the jailer there, "'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved'" – there's faith.  When Peter is asked in Acts 2, he says, "'Repent,'" and you will receive "'forgiveness of sins.'"[SR2]   They're often tied together – you'll see it in several other passages.  Acts 20:21, Paul says, "'Solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.'"  Faith and repentance are intimately tied together.  Also, in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, "For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols" – there's repentance – "to serve a living and true God."  You turned from idols, repentance, and you turned to God; there's faith – so, they're often tied together.  They are, as one theologian puts it, "inter-dependent graces, each occurring in conjunction with the true and proper exercise of the other."  In other words, you can't have true faith without repentance, and you can't have true repentance without faith; they are ultimately and intimately tied together. So, repentance and faith, in our little chart, fit side-by-side in the flow of the order of salvation – so, you have election, effectual calling, then faith and repentance working together, leading to justification, and then to glorification.

Now, let's move on to another in that order, and that's the issue of adoption.  Adoption – such a marvelous truth; I don't think we spend enough time here; I'm looking forward to getting there in our study – we have been adopted into the family of God as His children.  Think about that a moment – that's an image God wants us to embrace to picture what He has done.  Where does it occur in this process?  Well, turn with me to John 1:12.  Now, he says, "As many as received Him" – let's go back to verse 11.  Christ "came to His own," that is, His own things, His own world that He made, "and those who were His own," His own people, "didn't receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, even to those who believe in His name."  Now, the word translated receive is a kind of tense in the Greek that speaks of a sort of point in time – you received, at one point; it speaks of the first expression of our faith as the instrument by which we appropriated Christ at the moment of salvation, we received Him.  It's a picture, it's a word picture, to receive Christ is a word picture of faith.  Then, he changes to the actual word; he says in verse 12, "even" – so, now he's going to restate what it means to receive Him – "even to those who believe in His name."  So, to receive and to believe are the same thing, but one speaks of that first expression of faith at the moment of salvation; the other is a present tense; that is, it's a continual thing – it speaks of the constant reality of faith.  You don't believe once and move on – faith continues to be a reality in your life, if you're in Christ.  It is the instrument, faith is, by which we continue to appropriate Christ and His benefits throughout our Christian lives.  Now, notice that those who have exercised faith in this verse, those who have received Christ, those, even those who have believed in Him, enjoy, according to verse 12, adoption.  "As many as received Him" – once you come in faith to Christ, "to them He gave the right to become the children of God."  So, that means that faith must logically come before adoption – you see that?

But does adoption come before or after justification?  Well, it makes sense – here, we have to use our heads a little bit – it's logical to assume that God would not adopt us as children until after He had forgiven our sins and imputed the righteousness of Christ to us.  And so, let's put adoption after justification – so, going back to our little chart here, we now add adoption; it's connected to justification, but follows faith.  So, election, effectual calling, faith, repentance, justification and adoption, and then glorification.

Now, we come to the real debated issue, and that is, where does regeneration come?  Regeneration is, of course, the new birth – it is when God grants to you a new principle of life, when He breathes life into a dead soul. When we get to regeneration, we'll see that there are several biblical images for regeneration, and they're beautiful images. One of them speaks of creation – Gary mentioned it a few minutes ago – that to be regenerated is to be made all over again; new creation.  Another image that's often used is the image of resurrection – you were dead, and God made you alive; these are powerful images of this reality of regeneration. But where regeneration fits in our little timeline is, in many ways, the most crucial issue, and the most hotly debated – does the Bible tell us where it fits?  Does it come, as some would say, after faith, or does it come before faith? The Bible does tell us, and it tells us in several passages, I believe, very definitively.  John 1:12-13 – now, watch again what happens here – verse 12 clearly speaks of faith; notice the end of verse 12 again.  "Those" – let me give you a literal translation – "the ones who are believing," now going into verse 13, "these are the ones already having been born, not by blood, nor by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man, but by God."  In the original text, the verb tenses are very clear that regeneration, this new birth, as the Bible calls it as well – that's the other image that Christ uses with Nicodemus in John, and has used here as well – that image of the new birth, regeneration as a birth, we're told here that it precedes faith; that those who exercise saving faith do so because they have already been born by the will of God.  In other words, you would never have believed if God hadn't first made you alive.

Now, does the rest of scripture support this?  Well, turn over a couple of chapters to John 3 and look at what Jesus tells Nicodemus.  He says, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again,'" – there's regeneration; born from on high – "'he cannot see the kingdom of God.'"[SR3]   Most commentators agree that "see" here is a picture of faith.  He says it again in verse 5, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit'" – this is probably a reference, by the way, not to water baptism, but back to Ezekiel's prophecy; we'll talk about this when we get to regeneration, where Ezekiel prophesied that God would sprinkle clean water upon us and purify us from our sins, and He would put His Spirit within us and write His laws on our hearts; you remember Ezekiel 36.  Christ says, "'unless one is born of water and the Spirit'" – unless one is regenerated – "'he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'" It's impossible to become a Christian without being born again first; you can't enter the kingdom without this.

But let's move on to John's first epistle – this one, I think, is very clear.  1 John 5:1 – John writes, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God."  Whoever believes – again, let me translate this for you with the Greek tenses literally put; "everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten out of God" – having been begotten comes first, and then comes the believing.  Now, you might look at that and say, well, wait a minute; couldn't that simply mean that Christians exercise faith and have experienced the new birth but not that one caused the other?  Well, perhaps you could come to that conclusion, but that's not how John [SR4] speaks.  Go back – he makes it very clear back in 1 John 3:9; here, using the same construction, he makes it clear that he intends a cause-and-effect relationship.  Verse 9, "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because he is," he has been, "born of God."  Now, what's he doing here?  He's saying that it is impossible for this person to sin as a pattern of life, this believer to sin as a pattern of life, because he has been born – he's making the point of cause-and-effect.  The cause is, he has been born of God; the effect is, he's not going to live in a lifestyle and pattern of sin.  So, John [SR5] uses this kind of expression to drive home that there is a cause-and-effect.  Robert Reymond writes this, "John's established pattern of speech would suggest that he intended to say that God's regenerating activity is the cause of one's believing that Jesus is the Christ, and conversely that such faith is the effect of regeneration."  In other words, regeneration, the new birth, comes first, and as a result, there comes faith and believing.

There's also a theological argument for regeneration preceding faith – you say, wait a minute; where's chapter and verse?  Well, I'll show you one in a moment – but, at the same time, let me say that there are a number of key Christian doctrines that are deduced from the scattered assertions of scripture.  For example, the doctrine of the Trinity – there's no single verse that you can go to that clearly and succinctly teaches the doctrine of the Trinity.  We see assertions about God and His nature in various places, and when we reconcile those, we arrive at the doctrine of the Trinity.  Same thing with the two natures of Christ, the fact that He was fully God and fully man – there's no single, one text you can go to that teaches the full-orbed doctrine of Christ's natures.  The key theological argument for regeneration, or the new birth, coming before faith, is the argument for moral inability – you remember, we talked about moral inability a number of weeks ago; where did we end?  We ended at John 6:44 – look at that passage one moment – and I'm not going to take the time to fully exegete it again; if you weren't here, I encourage you to get that tape on moral inability – but in John 6:44, He says this.  "'No one'" – there's the universal negative; there isn't a single person that's an exception.  "'Can'" – this speaks of the power, or the ability.  No one has the power or strength or capacity to "'come to Me.'"  This is a universal picture Christ uses for faith – to come to Christ is to come to Him in faith.  He says it is impossible for a single person to have the capacity to believe in Me, "'unless'" – here's the exception – the only exception is that "'the Father who sent Me draws him,'" the Father who sent Me literally compels him. The word is often translated to drag, as we saw when we looked at this text together.  When you look at the text of scripture, folks, it's clear – I hope to you; it certainly is to me – that regeneration precedes faith.  You cannot believe when you are dead.

I worked, as you know, in a mortuary when I was in seminary – I've mentioned it several times – there is one distinguishing characteristic of every dead person; they have no capacity to do a single thing, and that is what we learned.  Gary earlier mentioned Ephesians 2 – look at Ephesians 2, because I think Paul, crystal-clear, makes the point here.  He says in verse 1, "You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind.  [We] were by nature children of wrath," sons of wrath, "even as the rest. But God"[SR6]  – you see, we were in a condition of spiritual death, and the only hope we had was for God to act, and that's exactly what Paul says God did.  "But God, [who is] rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead"[SR7]  – when we were lifeless, unable to respond, unable to respond to any external stimuli in the spiritual world.  God is the subject of the next verb, verse 5, God "made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." And only after that in verse 8 does he mention faith – you see, the flow of redemptive history in your life and mine was the same; it was God's grace, and if He hadn't acted, you and I would still be dead in our sins; we are unable, Christ says in John 6:44, unable to come to Christ, except we're drawn by the Father.

So, let's take a look at our chart now – essentially, we have election, effectual calling, and regeneration – I've put it on the same line with effectual calling, and I'll explain why when we get there – those two come after election, then comes faith and repentance, and then justification and adoption, and finally, glorification. Now, there are just a couple of more elements to add, quickly – one of those is positional or definitive sanctification.  You see it at the moment of salvation; the Bible says we were set apart unto God – here, he says, you have been "sanctified," if you're a believer, in Acts 20:32.  He says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 1:2; he says the saints in Corinth "have been sanctified" – that means that; it's not speaking about progressive sanctification, that process of becoming holy; it's speaking of what happens at our salvation when we are set apart from sin unto God.  1 Corinthians 6:11 says "Such were some of you" – he's just described a terrible litany of sins – "but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified."  Again, he's speaking back to the moment of salvation.  Acts 26:18, Paul says God sent me "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me."  So, it follows faith – we see that in that last verse – it follows faith, and it precedes and initiates the progressive pattern of sanctification whereby we put off sin – and, of course, it complements the fact that we persevere, we continue to grow in holiness.  So, we'll spend more time on that when we get there.

But let me just give you the full picture – here's what we've learned; this is what it looks like. You begin in eternity past with election, you have effectual calling and regeneration, faith and repentance, positional sanctification, justification and adoption occurring together, progressive sanctification and perseverance, then following that, and ultimately, there is glorification.  Now, let me add a couple of clarifying bars here - when do these things happen? Well, election happens in eternity past, effectual calling and regeneration, faith, repentance, positional sanctification, justification, adoption – all those great words happen at one moment in time, at the moment of your salvation.  Progressive sanctification and perseverance occur the rest of our life on Earth, from the moment of salvation until we die, or Christ returns – and our glorification will occur at the Second Coming, when we are changed and given a new body.  That's when these events occur in the flow of our lives, or in the case of election, long before we were a gleam in our Father's eye.

Now, I also want to add one other clarifying bar, and that is, who does these things?  Well, election is obviously a divine act alone, done in eternity past.  The effectual calling and regeneration are also divine acts done at the moment of salvation.  Faith and repentance are both divine and human acts; positional sanctification, justification and adoption are divine acts.  Faith and repentance are a combination – God gives us both the faith and repentance to believe; we actually do repent and believe, but God is the one who gives it to us – so, it's a combination.  In the case of positional sanctification, where God sets us apart; justification, where God declares us righteous; and adoption, where He makes us His children, those are all divine acts.  Progressive sanctification and perseverance are a combination again – you and I obey, we continue to believe, we continue to pursue Christ, and God preserves us, and God protects us and "is able to … present us faultless before His presence with exceeding joy."[SR8]   Glorification is completely a divine act.

Now, very quickly, what difference should these truths make in our lives?  What difference should they make – first of all, if you really understand what we've studied tonight, it should cause your evangelistic methods to be permeated by prayer and the ministry of the Word instead of manipulative techniques.  Look at 2 Corinthians 4 – Paul begins with, in verse 1, "Therefore, since we have this ministry, … we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame," and here, he says our ministry isn't crafty; we're not "adulterating the word of God" – instead, we simply "[manifest the] truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."[SR9]   See, there it is, it's simple, this is how we minister.  "Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing"[SR10]  – he says, listen, I understand the problem I've got, and that is, the people I'm communicating this truth to can't see it; they're blind!  Verse 4, "the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so they [can't] see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."  So, how do you respond when the people you're trying to give the message to can't see it?  He says, it's easy – verse 5, "we do not preach ourselves, but [we preach] Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake."  He said, we just preach a simple message about God and the gospel, because, verse 6, here's the key, because this is what I believe, Paul says – the same God who, in creation, said "Let there be light;" He is the same one who will say "Let there be light" in the dark, unbelieving hearts of unbelievers.  So, he says, this is God's work; I don't have to manipulate them, I don't have to adulterate the Word, I don't have to trick them into walking an aisle or raising their hand, because they're never going to believe unless God says, "Let there be light!"  It affects our evangelistic methods.

Secondly, it should strengthen our confidence that God will complete the work He's begun in us. Philippians 1 – we studied this in detail when we went through the book of Philippians – verse 6 says, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."  You know what Paul is saying?  He's saying, because I embrace the ordo salutis we talked about tonight, because I believe that God began the work, I have great confidence that He will finish what He started – He's going to complete it.  Isn't that a great confidence and comfort?  The fact that I didn't initiate my salvation gives me comfort and confidence because I know God did, and God is going to finish what He started.

Thirdly, it should bring hope and comfort – this is the knowledge of the truth we talked about tonight – should bring hope and comfort through the difficulties of life. Turn to Romans 8 – we were there earlier.  You have maybe never seen this connection before, but we all quote Romans 8:28, "we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  That is a great comfort, isn't it?  I mean, sometimes, it's quoted tritely, but when we really meditate and think about that reality, think that there isn't a single circumstance in life that God won't cause to work together for our good, it is a great source of comfort.  How can I know that – on what basis can I be sure of that?  Well, look at the next verse – "For," because, here's how I know it, here's how I know that everything in this life will work for my benefit and for my good; it's because God has an eternal plan of salvation that He is working out.  "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He[SR11]  would be the firstborn among many brethren, and those whom He predestined, He called, and those whom He called, He justified, and those whom He justified, He also will glorify."  [SR12] Listen – as you face the pressures and the trials and the difficulties of this life, there is nothing more comforting than knowing that God is working it all together for good because God has a plan, and He had a plan in eternity past for you and for me, and He's working that plan out in time, and He's going to finish it – and whatever we endure and whatever trouble we go through, Paul says it just works for us, an "eternal weight of glory."[SR13] 

Finally, the knowledge that God initiates salvation should create in us a great sense of security in the love of God.  Look again at Romans 8 – we looked at verse 28, verse 29 and verse 30, at the divine plan and the benefit in this life from it – but notice how he continues.  Verse 31, "What shall we say, then, to these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"[SR14]  God is working His plan, and He's going to give us whatever we need!  He gave us His Son – what else is He going to hold back?  "Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who declared us righteous – who is the one who can condemn us?  Christ Jesus is He who died, who was raised and who, right now, intercedes for us at God's right hand – who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?"  [SR15] Verse 37, "In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced," Paul says, "that neither death" – that's what most people fear most in this life – "death, nor life," anything that life can bring, "nor angels, nor principalities" – it doesn't matter what powers are out there – "nor things present," what I'm enduring now, "nor things to come," what I might face in the future, "nor powers, nor height, nor depth" – and here he waxes eloquent – "nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."[SR16]  Why?  Because in eternity past, God set His love upon you, and He has worked His plan, and He has begun a work in you, and He will complete it.  The knowledge that God is the one who initiated your salvation should create a great sense of security – nothing can separate you from Him and His eternal, unchanging love.  Let's pray together.

Father, we are overwhelmed at Your wisdom – "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God."[SR17]  Father, Your ways are past finding out – we praise You and adore You for such a plan.  Father, we acknowledge that we were dead in trespasses and sins, unable to respond to You in any way – and we would still be dead if You hadn't been rich in mercy and made us alive, given us faith and repentance as a gift with which we could respond to the message of the gospel.  Father, help us to glorify You for Your greatness, for Your goodness, and most of all, for Your grace in Christ to us.  And, Lord, I pray tonight for someone who may be here who hasn't experienced that new life, who still remains dead in trespasses and sins, controlled by their lusts and cravings, living under Your wrath – Father, I pray that tonight would be the night when they turn to You in repentance and faith and embrace your Son, so that You, again, may receive the glory.

We pray it in Jesus' name.  Amen.

 [SR1]Claude Monet had several paintings with “autumn” as part of the title, but Edouard Manet had a painting whose full title was “Autumn” - not sure if Tom cited the wrong artist here.

 [SR2]From Acts 2:38.

 [SR3]John 3:3b.

 [SR4]Tom misidentifies the author as James here but later makes a correction.

 [SR5]At this point, Tom corrects himself regarding the author of the epistle.

 [SR6]Ephesians 2:1-4a.

 [SR7]Ephesians 2:4b.

 [SR8]Based on Jude 1:24b from KJV.

 [SR9]Based on and quoted from 2 Corinthians 4:2.

 [SR10]2 Corinthians 4:3.

 [SR11]Tom accidentally used the pronoun “they” here.

 [SR12]Romans 8:30.

 [SR13]From 2 Corinthians 4:17.

 [SR14]Romans 8:32.

 [SR15]Romans 8:33-35.

 [SR16]Romans 8:38-39.

 [SR17]Romans 11:33a.