Romans 8: 29-30

"For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."


This verse is a warm security blanket. Once you are saved, you become one of the firstborn called by God. Back in the day, the firstborn was the only true heir. And also, since the called was predestined, you can not lose your salvation. But the rub, of course, is when do you know YOU (ME) were truly saved. IE: truly called by God to be His elect. Pretty high position to say about yourself, right? But then again, those who are not called, don't know it and don't care. The Bible does say that not all are saved but it is God's desire that everyone come to an intimate relationship with Him. But being omniscience, He knows. It is not up to us what happens to the innocent - babies - or the people "in the jungle" that never have a chance to know who Christ is, or of the Bible. It is already determined.


I was going to get into a whole, Calvinism vs Arminianism", but I'll let you do your own study on that. This is a simple, 5 point chart, that shows the different camps. http://the-highway.com/compare.html

According to Arminianism:
Salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes the initiative) and man (who must respond) - man's response being the determining factor. God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for those who, of their own free will, "choose" to cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace. At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; thus man, not God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of salvation.

According to Calvinism:
Salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the Triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.