Twice
in the opening paragraph Paul uses the word predestined in verse 5 and again in
verse 11. I know when we hear the word
predestined we are thinking that’s not
good, what if I am not predestined to be saved.
does what Paul is saying mean that we have no choice in the matter, God
has already decided who gets saved and who doesn’t? No, by no means is that what Paul is saying,
quite the opposite in fact, Paul is saying all mankind has been chosen to be
saved. I think the real problem we have
is not with the idea of predestination but the real problem is we don’t get to
make the rules. I am a person who is
good at finding loopholes in the rules; I get a certain satisfaction out
it. When I was in college I would find
loopholes in the rule book in order to receive what I wanted. I believe if we were all honest we all want
to be able to make the rules. The
problem here is that Paul is saying there are no loopholes if you want to be saved
it is only through Christ, truly giving your entire self over to God, and
playing by His rules.
“having
predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His
will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made
us accepted in the Beloved.”(Eph 1:5-6) What Paul is saying here is that all mankind
has been chosen to be a part of Gods family, but that a price had to be
paid. We do not just get to say I
believe in God and Christ and therefore gain entrance into Heaven. No we must go through Christ, we must allow
God to rule our lives. Romans 8:28-30
tells us: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love
God, who are called according to his purpose. For
those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of
his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.
And those whom he
predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and
those whom he justified he also glorified.”
Notice here in Romans where Paul is talking about those who are saved,
he says they have “been conformed to the image of His Son.” We like to think that as long as we live a
somewhat good life, go to church and make sure our kids read the bible and go
to church we are going to make to Heaven, but that is not what the bible
teaches at all.
We
are told that we must become like Christ, we are to obey the word of God. God has set perimeters for us to live under,
we may not like that but that doesn’t change it. God reminded Job of this in Job 39 through
40. God is the great creator and Judge
not us, God make the rules not us. But
for those of who decided to give our lives to God, to accept the grace He has
to offer, Paul has this to say to us; “In
Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to
the
riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in
all wisdom and prudence, having
made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which
He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the
fullness of the times He might gather together in one all
things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are
on earth—in Him. In
Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the
purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be
to the praise of His glory.”(Eph 1:7-12)
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