All right, turn with me in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8 verse 29.
The Bible says, 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.
And the title of my sermon today is, Predestined unto what?
Now as many of you know, there's a false doctrine out there called Calvinism, and they use the
word predestination a lot in their theology, but they have a wrong idea of what predestination
is.
Now the definition of predestinate is just to destined before, you know, that's what
the prefix pre means, right?
So the thing is that they have the wrong view of what we are predestined unto, and they
also have the wrong view of what the condition for predestination is, you know, it even says
right here at the beginning of the verse, verse 29, for whom he did foreknow.
Now if you were to ask Calvinists, they say, well, God predestines people not according
to foreknowledge and not according to a condition, but we know that's wrong, that's not what
the Bible teaches.
But I want to focus today about what we are predestined to, right?
It says right here in verse 29 that he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son.
Now I want to talk about what that means, and it isn't really that difficult to figure
out what that means when you consider that the word predestinate is only used four times
in the Bible, right here in Romans chapter 8 and verse 29 and verse 30, and then in Ephesians
chapter 1, both in verse 5 and verse 11.
So hold your place in Romans chapter 8 and turn with me to Ephesians chapter 1.
So the Bible says, Ephesians chapter 1, and we're going to start at verse 5, Ephesians
chapter 1 verse, I'm sorry, verse 4, the Bible says Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4, according
has he chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will.
So it tells us right here that he's predestinated us unto the adoption of children.
Now a Calvinist might say, well, aren't we already the children of God?
And I would say, amen.
You know, the Bible teaches we're all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, but this
is not what it's talking about.
See if you go back to, there's a clue here right here in verse 4, where it says that
we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
Now keep that in mind and go back to Romans chapter 8.
So we can see in the context that it explains what it means when it talks about the adoption.
If you go up to verse 23, the Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse 23, and not only they,
but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within
ourselves waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body.
Now we know if we believe in Jesus Christ today, our souls are redeemed, right?
We have been redeemed already, but we are still waiting for the redemption of our body.
Okay.
Our bodies were not changed when we got saved.
Our bodies will be changed later when Jesus Christ comes at the rapture.
That is when we will be made incorruptible and immortal like unto Jesus Christ.
So what does the word conform mean as it's used in verse 29?
It just means to take the form of, to be made like unto.
So when it's saying that he predestinated us to be conformed in the image of his son,
it's just saying that God has made it our destiny beforehand, before it happens, that
he will be made like unto Christ.
Now again, if you compare that with Ephesians chapter 1 verse 5, that's the adoption.
That is taking place at the redemption of our bodies.
And we can see this in several other scriptures as well.
Philippians chapter 3 verse 21, the Bible says, who, which is Jesus, shall change our
vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working
whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
And then also 1 John chapter 3 verse 2, the Bible says, Beloved, now are we the sons of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear,
we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
So the Bible says when he shall appear, so that's Christ's second coming, then we will
be made like unto him.
We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
So that is the time that we will be conformed to the image of his son.
It's not saying what the Calvinist would say, that God just chose who's going to be saved
and who's going to be damned.
If you were to ask them, they would say, all of you who believe in Jesus Christ today,
you only believe because God forced you to believe, because he chose you before the foundation
of the world.
But none of the uses of the word predestinate in the Bible teach that.
That's not what it's saying at all.
God did not choose who's going to be saved and who's going to be damned.
He did not choose you to believe.
He chose you because you believe to be changed like unto Christ at the rapture.
All right?
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to preach, and I pray, God, that you please
fill the rest of these preachers with the Spirit and help them, Lord, be able to preach
a word.
In the name of your son, Jesus Christ, God, we pray.
Amen.