We are a forgetful people in a land of distractions. Our minds are easily captivated by trivial and temporary inducements. New things quickly become old. In our mind’s eye even glory tends to fade and warnings tend to wane. It is no wonder that we who are invisibly united to Christ and visibly in and not of this world live in constant need of renewal. And what is true for the Christian is true for the church. This is a series that seeks to renew the mind of the church. Not so much by reviewing what she is called to do as much as what she is called. As with the Christian so with church, her God-given identity defines her. We who are the church are a people for God and none other.
Before we return to the book of Romans, we will be looking at the what scripture says about the Church, in its nature, how she expresses herself in song, and how the church cares and equips for its members.
The messages from this series can be found here:
Manny Pereira - August 20, 2023
Certainty in Christ - Part 1: Foreknown and Predestined
This message traces the flow of thought to the principle of certainty in Christ. It introduces the first emphasis, which is that all certainty derives from being chosen in Christ. It then shows how all who are chosen in Christ are foreknown and predestined in Christ.
Certainty marks the purposes and promises of God. And all the promises of God find their “Yes” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). The Christian’s hope for glory is exclusively anchored here—in Christ. Here, Paul grounds and explains the golden guarantee (8:28) as a certainty in and for Christ (8:29-30). While these verses have been rightly recognized as the golden chain of salvation, they point to much more. Christ occupies the central position in this unbreakable sequence of divine links. The guaranteed certainty of glory is emphatically in and for Christ, which is purposed to induce and fortify both hope and holiness in us.
Scripture References: Romans 8:29-30
