“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30 NASB

Entering this passage can be daunting at many levels, however, we must understand the absolutes flowing from God’s expectations. God’s grace as seen in Ephesians chapter 2 empowers every person to believe and receive the gift of salvation as explained by Jesus Christ in John chapter 3. There we find Jesus teaching His friend Nicodemus, “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.” John 3:16-18. Here we find His grace expressed in man having the ability to receive or to decline the gift of salvation. “But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved! — and he raised us up together with him and seated us together with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.” Ephesians 2:4-10. God’s Word does allow for every person to effectively respond to God’s call for salvation, “Yes” or “No.”

God’s call for all men to be saved is the emphasis of the Christ as He was dying on the Cross, However, before the Crucifixion, Jesus visited one named Zacheus to whom He said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10. 

God’s foreknowledge of the decisions of mankind does not affect how we respond to His grace. Those whom He calls (everyone) are all predestined to conform to His image, but not everyone agrees to follow Jesus’ call for salvation. And those who choose not to follow the Savior are condemned to the Lake of Fire. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:10-15.

Let no one step outside the contextual boundaries of the Word of God. For this reason, we must read the inspired Text…all of it… to grasp the meaning of It. But Paul does write,  “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” The Lord calls and predestines everyone to be saved, but many do not heed the call, “”Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14.

Jesus is Lord.