“For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will. And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:24-30 NASB.

Moving forward to Romans chapter 9 Paul addresses the problem for the entire Jewish community and that is to accept the will of God as being supreme to the frail will of humanity. God is the Potter and Israel is the clay He chose and formed to be His people not because of their righteousness, but because of His choice. 

It is not until the final statements of chapter 9 do we find the Apostle shedding some light on the stark differences between the relationship of Israel and the Gentile world. God chose the nation of Israel to be His people, “I have loved Jacob but I have hated Esau.” In other words, God rejected one and chose the other. Here we see Divine election. However, we see the distinction quite clearly in vv 32-33. Paul points out the fact that we Gentiles have the opportunity to pursue the righteousness of God by faith and not by actions. In his letter to Ephesus, the Apostle writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10.

Now is the moment to address a terrible error made by the Reformers dating back from 1517. I am not certain when the errors became foundational, but I will point to one or two.

• The idea that God’s predestination exactly follows foreknowledge is faulty. Contextually speaking, Paul’s use of the words ‘we’ and ‘us’ indicates that the Apostle refers to the Body of Christ as a whole, not to individuals precisely.
• Some Reformers strongly suggest a principle notion that faith is only available to people after salvation is applied. For them, a lost person is not able to make that kind of decision because of their lostness.

Indeed, our faith in Jesus Christ demonstrates the statement(s) He makes more than a few times, “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24. Most of the time we will remember John 3:16 or John 14:6 when speaking about faith in Christ being how one comes to salvation in the Risen Lord.

But one thing certain our faith demonstrates, with God something is already certain because He has already established that ‘something’ already is present. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. For by it the people of old received God’s commendation. By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible.” Hebrews 11:1-3. In Him all things are made possible, yes? However, we must make certain that what we are asking of Him concurs with the Word of God, not simply our desires.

Jesus is Lord.