Behold Our God

The Text

Romans 8:27-30 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those 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 among many brothers.

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

The Devotion

To proclaim ourselves as Christians is to proclaim that we believe and trust upon Christ as our Saviour and Lord.

At that beautiful moment, when God saved us, we hope and pray that each one of us are immediately surrounded by other brothers and sisters in Christ that are willing to walk alongside with us in love, encouragement, teaching and exhortation. This is called discipleship. This is the grassroots of the Great Commission. It is my sincere hope that no newly saved person is ever alone by themselves in trying to figure this new found faith especially when the cross of Christ has not only saved us to Himself but saved us to one another. Here at ground zero, at the precise moment when the Holy Spirit takes out our hearts of stone, we are then given a new heart and new desires by God. These new desires are to know and love God more and more each day.

But how is it that we are actually saved by God? This is the question that the idea of Ordo Salutis or "The Order of Salvation" attempts to answer.

But one we start knowing a little of the Bible, the better question might be:

What did God have to do in order to save His people to Himself?

In order to answer this, we have to fully dive into the Scriptures to see what God has revealed about what salvation is. We cannot rely on superstition, church history or simply what "feels good”. We must seek out what God says about salvation.

So in this series, we are going to attempt answer questions such as, "Does the Bible teach about God electing us to salvation?”, "Are we predestined by God?”, "What is free will of man?” and "Can a person truly be saved without the outward appearance of a new heart?”.

So in this, we begin with what some theologians call "the golden chain of salvation" found in this passage:

Romans 8:27-30 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those 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 among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

In verse 30, Paul did not simply throw the words "predestined”, "called”, "justified” and "glorified” at us as though their order did not matter. Paul was very careful in ordering those words in the way that to show what were the steps that God took in order to bring you and me all the way home back to him.

God has not simply created Creation to wind up up like a grand cosmic clock, set it in motion and then let it run its course. God has not looked down the passages of time, seen where we have chosen him and proceeds to choose that timeline. God has not left it up to you or me to save ourselves.

What it is so difficult for people to get is that you and I are born weak, depraved, far from God and without divine help, you and I will die and fall under the wrath of Jesus Christ, God Almighty, Who was, and Is, and Is to Come.

Christ did not come to give us a better life than our unbelieving neighbors. Christ did not come so that our favorite politician can be elected as president. Christ did not come so that a good job, nice home, money in the bank, and good long lives.

John 10:10 (CSB) A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

Luke 5:31–32 (CSB) Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 4:18–19 (CSB) The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

John 3:16 (CSB) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Matthew 1:21 (CSB) She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Christ came to save his people from their sins.

The Scriptures

Romans 3:10–12 (CSB) as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.

Genesis 3:1–21 (CSB) Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. So the LORD God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.” So the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the LORD God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children with painful effort. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you. And he said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’: The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.” The man named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living. The LORD God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.

Genesis 6:1–9 (CSB) When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. And the LORD said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men. When the LORD saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved. Then the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” Noah, however, found favor with the LORD. These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.

Genesis 12:1–4 (CSB) The LORD said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Isaiah 6:1–7 (CSB) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth. The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for.

Acts 7:54–8:3 (CSB) When they heard these things, they were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him. Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” They yelled at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him. They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he fell asleep. Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.

Acts 9:1–6 (CSB) Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Psalm 16:11 (CSB) You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.

Psalm 17:15 (CSB) But I will see your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence.