“I STILL DON'T KNOW MY PURPOSE”
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
(Romans 8:28, 29)
“I still don't know my purpose...(Jesus) saved me for something, but I don't know what for.” An inmate in our local jail sent me a letter. He wanted to get close to God but said that he could not seem to. He wanted to know His purpose in life but wasn't sure what it could be. A lot of people are searching for the purpose of life. Knowing God's purpose gives us hope, because it shows us that we are here for a reason. It shows us that our trials in life have a meaning behind them and that nothing is in vain. God's Word gives us the answer to the question, “What is my purpose?” in Romans 8:28-30.
“According To His Purpose”
First of all, we learn from verse twenty-eight that God has a purpose for our lives. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Many people have determined their own purpose for living, but God tells us that He has a purpose for our lives that is far greater than anything we could create. If you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, then God has a wonderful purpose for you! Notice in this verse, the Bible says that Christians are “...the called according to his purpose.” If the President of the United States were to call you today, you can be sure that there would be a purpose behind it. When God called you to salvation, when He invited you to receive the Lord Jesus as Savior, there was a purpose in it. God has called us “according to his purpose.” God's purpose is more important than that of the President. It is more important than the purpose of a king! The Bible says that Jesus Christ is “...Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14b) The Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords has called you, and His call is of paramount importance!
What This Call Means
The call of God means certain things for my life. It means, first of all, that I can know that all things work together for my good. That is what the Bible says in Romans 8:28. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” In the next two verses, the Bible explains that there are five things that are working together for our good. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29, 30) The first thing is God's Foreknowledge. The second, is His Predestination. The third, His Calling; the forth, Justification. The fifth thing that works together with the other four for our good is Glorification. All of these things are necessary to accomplish God's plan for your life. All of them work together to accomplish that plan.
God's Foreknowledge and Predestination have to do with what God knows and determines. Justification is something that has already happened in your life if you are saved. Glorification is something that will happen in the future. We will study these subjects in a moment, but first let's answer an important question.
What Good is All This?
The good that God is working to accomplish in your life is His purpose—His will. To the Christian who says, “I don't know what my purpose in life is,” God tells us that He is already accomplishing His will and purpose in our lives. The Bible goes on to tell us exactly what God's purpose is. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:29) God's purpose is to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. God's purpose, in other words, is to make us like Jesus! The good thing about all of this is that, no matter what you go through in life, God will always work all five of these things together for your good. If nothing else is going right in life for you, these things are. The Bible says, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31, 32) These things, which we are about to study, show us that God is for us. God gives them to us freely because we are with Christ. When my friends and I went to London, England in 2006, we toured Parliament. We were treated very kindly by the British guards, even though we had to go through security several times, (it's a long story). But, imagine how we would have been treated if we had walked into Parliament with the Queen! God gives us the royal treatment because we are with Christ. “...how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Now, let us look at these things, and study them more closely.
“Foreknow"
The Bible says, “For whom he did foreknow...” Did you know that God knew you before you were even born? God said to the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) God knew all about you before you knew about yourself! If you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior, God also chose to know you in a special way. God foreknew you, or knew you beforehand. You did not know God. You may have known about Him, but you did not know Jesus Christ as your Savior. God knew you; though, and now that you are saved, God knows you as one of His children.
“Predestinate”
Those whom God knew beforehand, He also predestined. People talk about destiny and what their destiny is in life. God has predetermined what every Christian's destiny will be. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Before you were born, God knew you. Before you were born, God predetermined your destiny.
By the way, if you are reading this and you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, don't let this confuse you. God wants to save everybody, not just a select few! First, realize that you are a sinner. Realize that the price of sin is death and that if you die without Jesus Christ, you will spend eternity separated from God in Hell. Then, realize that Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross and the Bible teaches that after three days, He rose again from the dead. Realize that God wants to save you, no matter who you are and no matter what you have done. Then, simply trust Jesus Christ to be your Savior. If you will put your faith in Jesus Christ, He promises that you have everlasting life with God. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
If you have believed in Jesus Christ, then He has saved you, and the good news is that He also has predestined you. God has a destiny for you as a Christian. What does the Bible teach that our destiny is? “...to be conformed to the image of his Son...” That is God's purpose for every believer. It is our destiny to be like Jesus Christ, to be conformed to His image.
“Called”
This is talking about God's call to salvation. If you are saved today, it is not because you picked up the phone and dialed God's number. You were running from God. Before you ever came looking for God, He looked for you. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) God called you to salvation and you answered! When you did, God justified you.
“Justified”
Justification means that God declares me to be just as if I had always had the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Justification is more than mere forgiveness. Let us suppose that a man who is dressed in filthy, worn-out clothes, and who hasn't had a bath in weeks, is invited to a kind person's home to clean up. His dirty, old clothes are thrown away and he takes a bath until he is sparkling clean. He then leaves the house, clean as can be, without any clothes! That is forgiveness. Justification, though, is when the man takes a bath, is washed perfectly clean, and is given a brand new suit of clothes to wear. When God saves us, He doesn't just take our sins away. He gives us the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ! When God looks at us, clothed in Christ's righteousness, He declares us to be innocent of sin and righteous in His eyes. This is justification.
“Glorified”
It would be too bad if God gave us the righteousness of His Son, changed our lives, and then left our aging bodies to die and be forgotten. God's plan is complete salvation, both of the inside and the outside. Glorification has to do with the time when our bodies will be made like the body of Jesus Christ. Those who are alive will be transformed immediately when Christ returns. Those who are dead will be raised from death. Glorification is the end. It is the goal of God's purpose. We will be completely conformed to the image of His Son.
God Is Changing Us Into The Image of Jesus Now
I resemble my dad. He is seventy-six years old with straight, white hair. He is also partially bald. I am thirty years old. I have brown, curly hair and I am balding. But dad and I really do resemble one another, not necessarily in looks; but in mannerisms, thoughts, way of life. I even dressed like dad before I got married and my wife started trying to make me look younger. We talk about someone being “a spitting image” of someone else. God wants to change us, gradually, into the image of our Savior.
It is clear that God's purpose for our lives is that we be like Jesus. We will be, perfectly like Him one day, but right now we should be progressively becoming more and more like Him. God wants us to be kind like Jesus. He wants us to do good works like Jesus. He wants us to forgive like Jesus. Wasn't Stephen like Jesus when he died as the first martyr of the Christian church? As he was being pelted with rocks the Bible says, “And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60) He was being like Jesus who said, as He hung on Calvary's cross, “...Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do... (Luke 23:34) God often uses the things that happen in our lives, good things and bad, to conform us to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Can you learn to forgive your enemies? Can you learn to pray for those who treat you wrong? Can you show the kindness of Jesus Christ to those around you? Can you win souls like Jesus Christ did—explain to lost sinners how to go to Heaven when they die? One day, we will be just like Jesus Christ. Until then, God is slowly conforming us to His image. There is a great purpose for your life, and it is to be like Jesus Christ, in word, in deed, and in attitude. In every area of life, God is working to make us more and more like His Son.
Walking Into A Freight Train
God has been teaching me about praying for my enemies and about the attitude that I should have towards them. He has been teaching me about some areas in my life that are not what they ought to be. I have a choice to make and so do you. Some Christians choose to fight against what God is doing in their lives. They walk contrary to the will of God. But, fighting with God is like walking into a freight train. You will get knocked down every time. Some of you reading this, God is trying to do a work in your life and you always seem to be getting knocked down. You go back to your old, sinful ways, and God judges you. You say, “Why do things in my life always turn out wrong?” Maybe it is because you are walking against God's will. If you will turn around and follow Christ and do what the Bible says, you will find the blessings that come, as God changes your life from the inside out.
Mistaken Identity?
After John the Baptist was executed, King Herod, who had him put to death, heard about Jesus. He said, “...This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.” (Matthew 14:2) Most people would say that they would like to be more like Jesus, but here, Herod says that Jesus must be John the Baptist! What a man John must have been! Of course, John was just trying to be like Jesus Christ. In Herod's mind, there was a family resemblance. There was a likeness. When people see us, they should see Jesus in the way we live our lives. If they do, we will be fulfilling the purpose for which God has saved us.
Like Jesus
Now you know what your purpose is, and that should give you hope. No matter where your life is today, if you are saved, one day you will be like Jesus Christ. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:29) Jesus was the “firstborn among many brethren” that is, He was the first to rise from the dead with a perfect, resurrection body. One day, at the resurrection of believers, our bodies will be changed into perfect human bodies that can never die, never get sick and never grow old. In Philippians 3:21, the Bible says that Jesus Christ “...shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” No matter where you are right now, your future is guaranteed. It is your destiny to be like Jesus.