In this sermon, Jimmy Fortunato argues that God's foreknowledge is not a fixed act of determinism, but rather allows for the free will and choice of human beings. He uses the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2 to demonstrate the concept of choice and discusses Romans 8:28-29 to show the importance of God's purpose. Fortunato also explores the idea of knowing in the Bible, highlighting the special relationship between God and believers that comes from conversion. By examining the story of David in 1 Samuel 23, he illustrates that God's foreknowledge is not a fixed decree that cannot be changed, emphasizing the power of human choice.

And the Lord commanded the man saying of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat that was the command given by God but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of him." That was the negative command of God. You got a positive and a negative. You can freely eat and don't eat. That causes, by God's order, a choice for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. You believe God's created order and in God's holiness, you believe that he creates perfectly.

I do. We do, right? He does create perfectly. And his perfect creation of man was with the ability to obey or not obey that was his order of perfectness man was created by God with the potential to disobey and with the potential to obey the potential that God had for man to disobey was not sin on God's part was not God authoring sin in any way it's that he created and he said you can obey or you cannot obey thou mayest freely eat or thou mayest disobey and eat what I told you not to eat that's how God created The act of disobeying God is what caused our human race to plummet into sin. Adam's action, Eve's action, caused us, caused us to plummet into sin.

Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. That's the message we preached, all have sinned. Why is that important? To answer this question. Did God cause Adam to sin?

No, God did not cause Adam to sin. God didn't say, hey look, don't worry about it. It's kind of my fault because I kind of forced you into it. That is not in any way the character of God. God doesn't say you couldn't help it.

God doesn't put forth, well Adam and Eve, That's just the way I made you know in his perfect creation He gave them an ability to choose or To choose to obey or not obey God held Adam responsible for his sin and I have news for you and myself this morning God holds us responsible for our sin and if you are a boss of a company or if you are a parent or if you're a grandparent watching the grandkids on the weekend you know that you are going to hold who is under you responsible for what they did. When dad tells you to clean your room young people you have a choice to obey or disobey and if you choose to disobey God was your dad was not the author of that you were you made a choice we see that clearly in our everyday lives God is not punishing Adam for something that God did, God is punishing Adam for something that Adam did. We all understand Satan is the father of all lives not God. You have your father the devil. That's not God, he's not the author.

Now go to Romans chapter 8 because we have a word that comes up in verse number 29 and we'll be doing well I'll just get into it Romans chapter 8 we'll just pick up where we're at. Verse 28, where we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. We preached on that last week and then it starts off with for whom he did for known and we have this concept of God's for knowledge I'm going to use a personal illustration and we'll see if you can insert an illustration for you personally to help you get some understanding as a as a retired jiu-jitsu instructor, I'm speaking to you as If you were if I were to go back and I'd be teaching a class and the first class that I'd be teaching was, I would want to show someone how to escape from the bottom position when somebody is on top of them. Now I have some knowledge of what's going to happen. I have some foreknowledge.

I can almost guarantee that the person on the bottom is going to panic and they're going to push up as soon as somebody takes them down and gets on top of them. They're laying on their back, somebody's on top, and they're gonna push up. I don't force them to do it, I don't make them do it, I don't even cause them to do it matter of fact I will tell them whatever you do on the bottom don't push up and you know what inevitably happens every single time without fail that person will push up and every time they push it, you know how you train them out of pushing up. You keep putting them in an arm lock. Oh, that's why I don't push up.

Yeah. What is that? That is an illustration I'm trying to get you up some for knowledge. So if you men might be in charge or a foreman of a job or you're, you have some oversight over a group of men or women in your workplace and you've got somebody new that comes on the job and in your head you've already got figured out I already know the first five mistakes that guy's gonna make what why because you've got some foreign knowledge okay so when we come to this word it's not a forcing or a making of God but it's an inevitable I kind of know the way it's going to go. You've got some sin.

Adam sinned. Everybody since Adam sinned. And guess what you're going to do? Sin. Okay.

You're going to sin. But when we read Romans chapter eight, verse number 29, it says for whom he did for know he also did predestinate now when it says he also did predestinate I'm going to say this next week we're going to start to unpack that word so hold that thought on that but this this phrase he also did predestinate is based upon God's foreknowledge But God's foreknowledge is not a fixed thing that cannot be changed. We're going to see some of that this morning and we'll see some of that this afternoon. An example is a sinner, a sinner who has no choice. Now think back to Genesis 2.

Did Adam and Eve have a choice Do you as a sinner have a choice? You can obey or not obey God. You can trust or not trust God. Your total depravity, which would be completely overtaken by God's irresistible grace, because you are unconditionally elected, and now through the limited atonement, you are now able to persevere to to the end you know what that is that's the tulip let me spell tulip for you h o g w a s H hogwash is what it is it's hogwash you have a choice to trust Christ or not trust Christ you are totally depraved but God has created you with the ability to trust and obey or not trust and not obey When we think in terms of TULIP, we have an incomplete understanding of God's foreknowledge if we only define it as something that will happen and we fail to put into that definition of something that could happen. God in his perfectness accounts for both.

I want to show you an example of God, well let's go to 1st Samuel 23. Let's get there first. All the way back past the book of judges, keep flipping right past Ruth will come to 1st Samuel and I'll come to chapter 23. 1st Samuel 23. I'm going to show you the fixed foreknowledge of God that was completely changed forever.

Let's read the verse and see if you agree first Samuel chapter number 23 look at verse number 11 it says this is David and it says and He's running from Saul in verse number 11. It says, Will the men of Calia deliver me up into his hand? This city's in Calia. And then he asks this question, Will Saul come down as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant." Okay let's find out what the Lord said, and the Lord said, he will come down that's God's position on it keep reading verse 12 then David said he asked another question to God will the men of Calia deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul watch the Lord's answer and the Lord said they will deliver the up God's foreknowledge was this David asked him a question and God says, David, here is what's going to happen.

Those men are going to deliver you up in Calina. Now if God's foreknowledge is a fixed purpose that cannot be changed, We've got a problem. Where's the problem preacher? The problems in the next few verses, let's keep reading. Verse 13, then David and his men which were about 600 arose and departed out of Calia and went whatsoever they could go and it was told Saul that David was escaped from Calia and he forbear go to go forth and David abode in the wilderness and strongholds and remained in a mountain in the wilderness and diff and Saul salt him every day but God delivered him not into his hand when David made a choice to get out of that town guess what changed help me help me church God's foreknowledge is not a fixed decree that can't be changed because if it was, there would have been no escape for David.

He would have had to have stayed there and God would have had to have delivered, or those men would have had to deliver him up. But David made a choice and he changed the outcome because it wasn't a fixed decree. Wasn't a fixed decree. Are you a sinner? Is your future hell?

If you're saved then but when you were lost were you headed for hell you got a choice to make you can either sit in Kalea and be delivered up from the throat by Satan and hell and just die in your sins or you can make a choice to trust Jesus Christ as your Savior and you won't be delivered up by sin get out of chilea trust Christ look at John 3 John chapter number 3 answers it I know we all know it but I would like us to get our eyes on it and read it and see it one more time one of the most beautiful passages of Scripture John chapter number three verse number 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have what ever lasting life for God sent not a son the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be what say he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed on the name of the Son of God. You've got a choice to make.

Based on what happened in Genesis chapter 2, that same principle and order is there. You can believe or you can believe not and this is the condemnation that light is come in the world men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were equal for everyone that doeth evil paid at the light neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproof But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God. God created man and he said come whosoever will come and the Spirit and the bride say what? Come. And let him that heareth say what?

Come. And let him that athirsteth do what? Come. And whosoever will let him what take of the water of life by paying with your good deeds help me no by joining a church by getting water baptized by praying to Dali statues by flipping beads no by freely accepting the offer given by Jesus Christ. And he says come and come and come and take freedom.

It's a gift freely offered to whosoever will. It's not a fixed decree. Well why go out to the Pride Festival and preach? It'd be a complete waste of time. And if we go there and someone doesn't trust God, they can't blame God because they ended up in hell.

The only person they have to blame is themselves. The Bible says in John 5 40, and ye will not come to be that you might have life. You don't come, you don't have something. You come and take it, it's freely offered, you have something, you turn a light. You don't come, bad news.

Go back to Romans 8. I want to take a little different perspective now and let's look at Romans chapter 8 verse number 29 for whom he did for no. Notice that the verse starts with the word for it's the reason that verse 28 was given. We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are of the called according to his purpose for. It's defining now and unpacking verse 28.

It's the reason for it because it's looking back to the word purpose. God's purpose was to reconcile sinners to himself reconcile sinners to himself. And God has foreordained that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would come live a perfect life, die on the cross, three days and three nights later rise again and be seated at the right hand of the Father and whosoever will come and receive the water of life freely will receive eternal life and will be given the Holy Spirit of God to dwell within them while on this earth to now go out and preach that message that has been foreordained that is fixed that is God's purpose because God knows all of his ways okay that is God we can't deny God's purpose verse number 29 for me did for now we often predestinate watch this to be conformed to the image of his son. We're going to close with that idea at the end of the message. I want to look at this right now that he might be the first born among many brethren.

So when you are brought into a relationship with Jesus Christ he is now exalted as the first born among many brethren which is his church and his church has the Holy Spirit and we are part of the brethren and the brethren is his church well the Tom is preaching this morning someone from the live stream from India made a little comment. Tom is never going to have the opportunity probably to sit in that person's living room and minister to them in their location and he probably won't ever show up at their local church. Is Jesus Christ the firstborn of money brethren? Guess what that man, if he's a believer guess what church is part of the same one with heart just in a different locale make sense it's it's it's Christ's body is so much more than a fixed location. So much more than that.

In verse number 28, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. We preached on them to them who are the called according to his purpose. God has an absolute fixed, definite unchanging purpose on all of his ways. That's important to note because his purpose will be fulfilled. And notice it says in verse 29, not for what he did for no, for whom.

That would be in reference to obviously people. The perspective I'd like to offer now is knowledge is for knowledge in reference to acquaintanceship, being acquainted with someone. In 1st Corinthians 8, you don't have to turn there, but the Bible says, but if any man love God, we talked about this last week, the same is known of him. There's a knowing, there's a special knowledge that can't exist unless the other person is present you can understand this knowing concept because this word knowledge and knowing is used differently throughout the Bible husband and wife get married they come to know each other it's a special intimate knowledge there's an acquainted ship their parents and their children and children with their parents there's a knowing there and a care there okay there's an aspect of that in the context of this verse Because again Romans 8 is Romans 7 was the funeral March Romans 8 the wedding March. This is the high in Romans 8 for the believer we're talking about believers And as we do that, let's go to Galatians 4.

I'd like to point out something here. Galatians 4. If You look very carefully, I know that the word know or knew shows up quite a bit, and sometimes when we read passages of Scripture, they're too wordy for us and it trips us up. So I'd like us to really concentrate on verses number eight and nine. How be it then when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them, which by nature are no gods.

There was a time in verse number eight when all of us or if you're not saved this morning this is you verse 8 if you're saved this morning there was a time when you knew not God but I did know yeah you might have known of him but not this way but not this way verse number nine but now after that you have known God or rather or known of God how turn ye again the weak and beggarly elements where until you desire again to be in bondage now the reference is if you're saved why would you go back to the silly things you used to do but the also is the reference is you didn't know God now you know God there was a time when there wasn't an intimate personal knowing of him and of him knowing you. It's called conversion. Praise the Lord for it. Praise the Lord. It's dependent upon our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and when you got converted when I got converted that moment you became known of God praise his name amen that's the starting point the starting point that you've got a hint of reference to in Romans chapter 8 verse number 29.

It's a converted person. Foreknowledge is not an act of fixed determination. I want to show you a contrast. So we need to get two passages. Matthew 7.

I can just read it to you but I'd rather you flip there Matthew 7 and 1st Corinthians 2 we know these verses but I believe it's helpful in this in this lesson to look at them both and read them both. Romans 7 23. Bible says in verse number 23, and then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart for me that working they can but wait a minute didn't God know them I mean he created them what does it mean That person was never one convert. It is a reference to the special knowing you are known of God. The moment you've been converted.

So when you read Matthew chapter 7 verse 23 and it says and then will I profess unto them I never knew you what do you think this all of a sudden like somebody else created this person it's like I don't even know it's a conversion tax That person never came to a personal saving faith in Christ. And so God says, depart from me ye that work iniquity. We'll talk more about that tonight because we got the foreknowledge and knowledge of God's Sunday this will be. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 2. Let's look at this and contrast it.

First Corinthians 2 verse number 9 will contrast this with Matthew 7. It says, but as it is written, verse number nine, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Notice the clear contrast, depart I never knew you, work iniquity to Now, God has some fixed determined purpose for those who are in no other place. Now that's a beautiful thought and a lot more comforting than having it lay on our hands. And notice it says the things which God hath prepared.

God knows all of his ways. He's prepared some things. We look at things because of our human perspective and because we are living in time, but our God is an eternal God. He doesn't have a past, a present, and a future like we do because he's eternal. We use terms like eternity past and eternity future as we try to understand something in time, but God, he is eternal.

He is outside of time. He sees the beginning from the end it's hard for us to wrap our minds around that because we can only comprehend things in time you know you read you look at some of these charts you know you look at Larkin's charts and you see all the you know the timeline as he goes through the prophetic week of Daniel 70th week all that stuff's great God's already solid he's eternal okay it's it's his purposes it's his way we are we are trying to understand that foreknowledge is not an act of fixed determinism it's related to a union that you and I have with the Lord Jesus Christ God's eternal we have a time-lapse reality God has a timeless reality and purpose man I and that purpose that timeless purpose is connecting Romans 8 28 and Romans 8 29 together. Praise the Lord for an eternal, his eternal being. If you're here this morning and you are living a life that is lost, and you don't know God, this morning could be the point of your conversion where you come to be known of God and that point when you are converted and you become known of God he does have a new destination a new purpose for you that he will accomplish.

And I want to show you why. Now this is only built on the foundation of faith, we talked about that earlier. Only on the foundation of faith can you be foreknown of God. I want to look at one more verse of scripture this morning before we close I'd like us to go all the way back to the Old Testament to the book of Amos all the way back to the book of Amos and you'll have to go all the way past Daniel past Hosea you'll come to the book of Amos. We don't we don't go there much but we're going to be there this morning.

I want to show you something. Hosea Joel Amos, verse well chapter 1. We're not going to read all of it but in Amos chapter number 1 and Amos chapter number 2, God's going to go over all the sins and he's going to list all of the judgments that's coming let me show you in verse number 30 thus saith the Lord for three transgressions of Damascus he's gonna he's gonna list the coming judgments in verse number six he says Thus saith the Lord for the three transgressions of Gaza. He's coming after Damascus and Gaza and now Tyrus in verse number nine for three transgressions of Tyrus. He gets to Edom for three transgressions of Edom in verse 11.

Verse number 13, For thus saith the Lord the three transgressions of the children of Ammon. By the time you get to chapter number 2 he's going after Moab in verse number 1. And verse number 4, thus saith the Lord for the three transgressions of Judah. Why is he going after Judah? Well it says because they have despised the law of the Lord and have not kept his commandments.

They had a choice to make, they chose not to keep them. That's what's going on. Look at verse number six, thus saith the Lord for three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof because they sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes. Look at verse 10, And I also brought you up from the land of Egypt, speaking of Israel, and led you 40 years through the wilderness to possess the land of the Amorite. Bad news, they don't want to keep God's commands.

But something is very interesting By the time we get to chapter 3, regarding what God says of Israel, let's read it. Amos chapter number 3, watch what it says in verse number 2. Number two you only have I known and of all the families of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquity in Hosea he says, I didn't know thee in the wilderness and the land of great drought. It is breaking God's heart because that nation was set apart as a separate nation. God, he loved that nation.

And everything he set up for them to do was for them to put on display God's glory to show we're different than all the other nations. Cut said I told you only you and they failed to keep his commitments and it breaks God's heart. You know what's going to happen one day? Ezekiel 37 is going to be fulfilled. That nation is going to get life.

You know what that nation is going to be able to do? They're going to look back and say, God, we could have never done this. We could have never done this we could have never done this on our own we're so wicked we turned on you we despised your commands but God did something to that nation because they were set apart. Are you saved this morning? Are you saved this morning?

You can look back because now you are known of God and you can say God I could have never done this myself I'm so wicked I'm so unclean I've disobeyed all your statutes and you can look back and say, God, there is no way I would ever be able to do this. Thank you for giving me and breathing on me the Holy Ghost and putting me into your body, your church. You know, when we look back at Genesis and we praise God and we think, man, I'd love to have World of Creation week, we look back in Genesis and we say, man, that's just a great miracle. God took a void, dark earth and he created it into something beautiful. You think that's a great miracle?

Compare it to your conversion and it's nothing. The greater miracle isn't that God made a beautiful earth and created all the birds and the land and the sea and the skies. No, The greater miracle is that God could take somebody like you and somebody like you and somebody like you and somebody like me that's void and our hearts are dark and covered with sin and God can create you into something beautiful. That's the greater miracle praise God for his salvation praise God who all blessing flows praise God that he takes you from the gutter most and he puts you to the uttermost and he tells you take the gospel to the uttermost so you can grab some more out of the gutter most as we're on our way to the uttermost praises me praises me and his purpose in Romans 8 is his purpose God God knows all of his ways and he is going to conform you and you and you and me to his image and you could look over to your neighbor right now you can look over to your spouse and your kids right now and you can both say to each other there ain't no way he's gonna do nothing to you because it's not according to your purpose or my purpose, it's according to his purpose.

He can do it. That is his purpose. We are going to be like him. Praise God for his purpose. Is perfect.