The Mind of Christ

Mark 4:11“You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus answered. “But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables.

Jesus stands in a boat on the Sea of Galilee to preach to a massive crowd on the shore. He shares his most famous agricultural illustration, detailing a farmer scattering seeds onto four distinct types of terrain. This is known as the parable of the sower. Seed is scattered throughout the land and some grows, some grows for a short time and other seed is taken over by weeds. What is being said

here is our work on this side of eternity is simply to proclaim the good news, however it is the Lord who does the work of redemption. This is known as the “golden chain of redemption.”

The “golden chain of redemption” (or salvation) in Romans 8:29–30 “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” This is an unbroken, logical sequence of divine actions. There are five main links—foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification—as entirely the sovereign work of God from eternity past to eternity future, guaranteeing that everyone God saves will reach final glory.

This is the good news of Jesus Christ for us. We don’t have to rely on our works, making God happy with us, or our depth of faith…we simply have and understand that we have been forgiven of our sins past, present and future, that we have been given the gift of faith and repentance, and believe. This is solely based on Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection. Our salvation is secure in the loving arms of Jesus Christ.