Choice and Command...Rom 8:29-30

Rom 8:29	For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30	Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

One big question that had always bothered me was about whether a person was 'predestined' by God to receive salvation or be condemned to hell?

From Rom 8:29, the Scripture says that God 'foreknew' (pro-ginōskō in Greek), which means knowledge (ginōskō) before hand (pro). What this meant is that the omniscient God knew whether you and I will receive Christ! Then the next question would be that if God foreknowledge of rejection by some of us the gift of salvation, why does He still allowed that to happen? The answer is in the magnificence of God's love for us.

God's love for us is perfect, and this perfect love involved letting us free (totally free!) choice, even when we choose the path of destruction, though that would grief God greatly (2Pe 3:9), as He is not willing that any should perish.

2Pe 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

God has made the choice since the beginning, to give His only begotten Son as the sacrificial Lamb for the world's salvation. Now it's our turn to make our choice of acceptance or rejection.

However, our free choice stops here! Once we choose to accept the gift of salvation in Christ, the rest is predestined, decided, declared and imposed upon us by God, whether we choose them or not, praise God!

Once we believe and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, God commanded that:

1. The blessings of health and prosperity are for us to enjoy
2. We are judged righteous in Christ
3. We are given the same status as Christ in heavenly places

We do not have to make any more choice but just to obey, as the above are all God's command for our lives! However, we need to know and believe this so as to enter His rest (Heb 3:18).

Hbr 3:18

And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

Let us therefore daily thank God and rededicate our choice of making Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and to remind ourselves daily the blood bought blessings, the righteousness of Christ and our status in heavenly places, so that Jesus death would not be in vain, AMEN!