For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 8:29-30
This is the Golden Chain of Salvation, made of five unbreakable links. All those foreknown are predestined. All predestined are called. All called are justified. All justified are glorified.
No one falls out of the chain, because God secures us. Salvation is not the work of man for God, but the work of God for man. It is all of grace. If God chose you, he can keep you and protect you. You are safe and secure. You are loved and chosen.
The first link, “foreknew,” does not mean that God looks ahead and sees what we will do. Rather, it means he has loved us and known us in advance. One scholar writes: “‘Know’ … is used in a sense practically synonymous with ‘love’ … ‘Whom he foreknew’ is therefore virtually equivalent to ‘whom he foreloved.’
This fits in with Moses’s great statement: “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples … But it was because the Lord loved you .” (Deut. 7:7)
God is sovereign in salvation, so all credit goes to God. No credit goes to me. “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).
Yes, there are questions about these matters. Yes, the Bible teaches human responsibility. Yes, we cannot fully reconcile God’s sovereignty and human free will. But the Bible teaches both, and so we hold to both. Gladly.
J.I. Packer points out that all Christian people believe in God’s sovereignty in salvation, even if they deny it.
Two facts show this. In the first place, you give God thanks for your conversion. Now why do you do that? Because you know in your heart that God was entirely responsible for it. You did not save yourself; he saved you …
There is a second way in which you acknowledge that God is sovereign in salvation. You pray for the conversion of others … You ask God to work in them everything necessary for their salvation. So our thanksgivings and our intercessions prove that we believe in divine sovereignty. On our feet we may have arguments about it, but on our knees we are all agreed.”