Galatians 1:13-16
13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen…
Foreknowledge is an ability and attribute that only God has. Since he is omniscient, (all-knowing) he knows everything about everything in both the past, present, and future. So, foreknowledge means he knows what will happen before it happens. All events are present knowledge to the great I AM. As we look at the above verses, we see the life of Paul described from birth up to his day of preaching the gospel (which was his present day at the time of the writing of Galatians.) He was called by God and separated to be a preacher of the gospel while he was still in his mother’s womb. He lived to fulfill that calling, but notice that between the time of his birth and his time of preaching he would be a zealous persecutor of the church. This is an important thing to understand.
God’s foreknowledge is not to be equated with the false fatalist belief that God has predetermined everything that will happen. All through his life, Paul made his choices as to how he would live. Even though he would get saved on the road to Damascus, he had lived a life of hatred against Jesus Christ (and what he considered an anti-God religious movement that would eventually be called Christianity.) It is obvious that Paul made his choices rather than God making them for him. (God did not predetermine them) God knew what Paul would do but God would not have chosen for Paul to sin against the church with his vicious persecution. Paul made his own choices in his life.
Consider this today as a source of great comfort. Even though we may have done some wicked things in our lives, it does not change God’s plans for us. Paul was considered the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) but God’s grace was still greater than his sin. When he received Christ as his Savior, he was forgiven and placed on that path of representing Christ to the “heathen”. God knew what he would do but Paul lived his life as he chose. God knew how it would turn out because of foreknowledge but did not predetermine how it would turn out.
God’s grace is a wonderful, amazing thing but do not frustrate it with wrong choices. Trust the Lord and live for him wholeheartedly. But also understand that God can still use you after a life of sin, for his blood can cleanse us from all sin and his grace can carry us through.
In Christ’s Service,
Bro. Adrian Moore
2 Cor. 4:5
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