Alright, let's go ahead and get
back to our study here and we'll get a little bit further down
the road in our verses. So we just looked at Romans chapter
8, and we've seen that the context that Paul is writing in is not
a national context, but an individual context. Again, he is speaking
to Jews and Gentiles, and in Acts the message was to Jews
and Gentiles, and he made no distinction. Here, he is not
making a distinction about ethnicity, but he's making a distinction
about those who are the called according to God's purpose, those
who will be glorified, those for whom Christ died, and he
calls them the elect of God. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? So it is the elect of God who
will not be charged before God. Now that's a blessed thing, brethren.
Boy, whenever you get that in your heart and get that in your
mind, that is a blessed rest and comfort to know there shall
be not any charge laid to God's elect. I don't know about you,
but whenever I sin and I sin often, that sin and Satan can
come and try to condemn me, try to guilt me, and try to lay its
charge against me. But when I come to the scriptures
and I see there shall be no charge laid to God's elect, that there's
nothing going to be able to separate us from the love of God. And
what a beautiful thing that is to know. But that is the context
as we enter into Romans Chapter 9, which is very clear on God's
unconditional election. Look with me now, if you would,
at Chapter 9. Paul says, starting in verse
1, he says, I say the truth in Christ and I lie not, my conscience
also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have a great
heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish
that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen,
according to the flesh. Now, I want to stop right there.
If Paul is talking about national election, And if national Israel
are God's elect, we just heard Paul say in Romans chapter 8
that there is no charge laid to God's elect and that all those
that he foreknew, they're gonna be glorified, okay? So, the end
result is glorification for all those people, the elect. If this
is talking about national election, then why is Paul's heaviness
and continual sorrow of heart towards his brethren, his kinsmen,
according to the flesh? If there is no possible way that
any charge can be laid to that elect, that kinsman in the flesh,
then why is Paul heavy-hearted and sorrowful? If he knows that
they're going to be saved, Listen, I could easily say this, you
know, I have a heaviness and a continual sorrow for all my
friends and family who don't know Christ and don't know the
true gospel. I have a heaviness and sorrow
for that, okay? Now, with me saying that, that
means that there is a possibility that they may never come to Christ,
that they may never know the truth, right? If I say that,
So if Paul here is making the claim, I have a great heaviness
and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself
were accursed. So he knows that some of his
kinsmen, according to the flesh, are going to be accursed or are
accursed. So that to me tells me this is
not talking about national election. It's talking about individual
election. For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according
to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption
and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and
the service of God and the promises." Were those things that was given
to ethnic Israel? Absolutely. They were called
as a people for a specific purpose to carry these very things. The
giving of the law, the covenants, the service of God, those promises
that were given to them ethnically, nationally, okay? Those were
those. And he says, Who are the fathers
and of whom are as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is
over all, God bless forever, and amen. If you remember, Christ
came first to the Jews. That was the place, that's where
He came. He didn't come, whenever He came, He wasn't born of a
virgin in Rome. He wasn't born of a virgin in
any of the Greek towns. He came to Israel. That's where He chose to come
out of. And I think one of the reasons
why in the Scriptures I think may bear this out in not so many
terms, but because Israel was nothing. It was the least. It
was the smallest among peoples. Disregarded by most as insignificant,
but it was out of that that Jesus was born of a virgin to come
to die, to manifest the salvation of the eternal covenant. He said,
Whose are the fathers and of whom is concerning the flesh
Christ came, who is overall God blessed forever. It's not as
though the word of God hath taken none effect. Okay? So God is saying, so despite
that fact, Despite the fact that Christ, that I'm a kinsman like
you, despite the fact that you are Israel, despite the fact
that Jesus came and was born of Israel and ministered among
Israel, despite that fact, it's not though that God's Word has
taken none effect. Why? Because not all or excuse
me, they are not all Israel, which are Israel. Now wait, he's
talking about his kinsmen. He's talking about the ones who
received the promises, the covenants, the service of God. He's saying
not all, they are not all of Israel that are of that group. So that means that there's talking
two groups of people, right? Either that or Paul, or if you
want to take it back a step further, the Holy Spirit. It's crazy. Not all that are of that people
are of that people. Now there's two Israels, and
as we see throughout the teaching of all the scripture, we see
that there's always been two Israels. There's always been
the spiritual Israel of God, and there's been the ethnic Israel
of God, the national Israel of God, okay, that God had made
a people who were no people. Abraham came from among other
people, and God made a people from Abraham, and they became
known as the Israelites. That was their name. but here
we see Paul says God's word has not taken none effect for they
are not all Israel which are of Israel neither because they
are the seed of Abraham are they all children again If national
election is in view here, then why is Paul making this distinction?
Why is Paul saying not all that are of national Israel who are
the elect of God are of the elect of God? That would be what he
would be saying. He was saying then not all that
are of Abraham's seed, they are Abraham's seed. See, it doesn't
make any sense. It says, neither because they
are the seed of Abraham are they all children. He's saying the
children that are in view in this, the called, the whom, the
foreknown, the elect, are not the seed according to the flesh.
They're not the ones who are called children. The ones who
are called children are the ones who are inside the spiritual
Israel. Thank you. It says, But in Isaac shall thy
seed be called. Do you remember that Abraham
had a seed before Isaac? Remember his name? Kids remember
his name? Isaac's older brother? I mean,
uh, yeah, Isaac's older brother. Ishmael. Ishmael was Isaac's
older brother. Abraham and Sarah was old and
couldn't have kids, and God came and said, you're gonna have a
kid. But some time went by, and they got Abraham, Sarah got a
little antsy, waiting on God, and decided to take things into
their own hands, so to speak. And so Abraham had a son by his
handmaiden, or Sarah's handmaiden, uh... hagar and hagar bore abraham
a son and his name was ishmael so ishmael uh... was and i believe
was it what was the twelve years older than i think i think it
was twelve years old anyway i can't remember but anyway he was a
he was older than isaac but it was isaac who god had promised
and through who the promise was made Ishmael was just as much
the seed of Abraham as Isaac was. But if you read the account,
God told Abraham to cast out Hagar and to cast out Ishmael. Now, if this is a national election,
then Ishmael would have been a part of that. Hagar would not
have been a part of that, but Ishmael would have been a part
of that. Ishmael was of the seed of Abraham. That means that Ishmael
was Abraham's child or in his line of family. Okay? But he says here in verse 7,
neither because they are the seed of Abraham or of the lineage
or of the family of Abraham, Are they all children? Were they
not children? Was Ishmael not his child? Absolutely,
but he's saying, but Ishmael wasn't counted as a spiritual
child. It says, Neither because they
are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. Isaac was a child of miraculous conception. But it was. Abraham was past his age. Sarah
was past her age. God promised this child, opened
up the womb and the loins of both, and they had a child. They
shouldn't have had a child. They were too old to have children.
They had a child. And so now, here is Isaac, a
child of promise. A child that God promised. And
so, This was a picture that there would also be children of Abraham,
who was given faith to believe God and to follow Him, that will
be the same, a miraculous birth, not of human origin, but of divine
origin. A human origin would be Ishmael. A divine origin would be Isaac.
Isaac came by promise. And so it says, these are the
ones who are counted for the seed. So again, here, Paul is
making a distinction between national Israel and spiritual
Israel. And so he's talking about election
in an individual level because he's saying all those who are
of Israel nationally are not of Israel spiritually. And all
those who are the children of the flesh of the seed of Abraham
is not counted as the seed spiritually. Verse 9, For this is the word
of promise, at this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a
son. And not only this, but when Rebekah... Let me just stop there.
Notice what he says there. For this is the word of promise,
at this time will I come. Isaac was never born until God
came. If you remember all those years
before, after God had promised, Sarah and Abraham wondering when
is it going to happen? When is it going to happen? When
is it going to happen? Is it going to happen? Is it going
to happen? Is it going to happen? And then they decide to do Ishmael,
have Ishmael on their own instead of waiting on God. See, there's
a lot of false converts that comes in churches because men
want to make converts of their own. They want to make people
and all they do is make Ishmael's. But what do we do? We wait on
God. He has promised His people will
come to Him. That He will save His people
from their sins, and that He did, and that He will draw them
to Himself. And He is doing that. And so
that comes by not natural birth, but by spiritual birth. And only
God does that. Spiritual birth comes when God
comes. Not when man preaches or man
debates or man convinces. It comes when God comes. And
here Paul is saying the same thing. It was at that time, will
I come and Sarah shall have a son. The only time that God's people
are going to become evident is whenever God comes. And I'm not
talking about coming at the end, I'm talking about whenever He,
by the Spirit, quickens them. And there they are. And not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac. Now, what's
changing here? Some could say, well, okay, well,
there's a difference there. There was Ishmael, who was by
a handmaiden, that wasn't Sarah, okay? It was Abraham and Sarah
who was the promise, and God made them the covenant parents,
and from those two parents, Hagar wasn't even a believer. Hagar
wasn't of the covenant family. See, it has to be a covenant
family for your children to be considered the seed. People believe that today, by
the way. They still believe that if a husband and a wife are Christians,
that automatically I'm a Christian if I'm a kid. If they're my parents
and they're Christians, then I'm a Christian because of them.
That's not true. Not one of you kids are Christians
or will be Christians, can be Christians, ever become Christians
because of me and your mom. That don't work that way. It's
an individual thing. God either saves you or He doesn't.
And here is the proof that it didn't matter whether it was
two different wives and only the one that came from the chosen
husband and wife made the lineage. Here he says, here's one where
there's the husband and the wife was made a promise And it says
in verse 11, another verse that really rang my bell, like Acts
13, 48, for the children being not yet born, that means they
were still in the womb, still in the belly of Rebecca, having
done any good, neither having done any good or evil, that means
they hadn't done anything morally wrong or morally right, they
hadn't done anything, they're just babies in the belly waiting
to be born. Before they had ever done neither
anything good or evil, it was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger. But according to what? The elder
is going to serve the younger. Why? Because the elder was better
than the younger, or the younger was better than the elder. The
elder loved God, or the elder despised God, and the younger
loved God. Jacob loved God, Esau didn't.
As a matter of fact, doesn't the Bible say that Esau despised
God? Is that why God chose Jacob and
not Esau? No, what was the purpose? The whole purpose that Jacob
was chosen and Esau was rejected according to God's purpose that
election might stand. that the purpose of God according
to election." Now, let's just stop there again. Every word
counts and I believe that we need to take the Bible for what
it's saying here. God is then saying that election was the
purpose of God for why some believe and some reject as in the context
of Paul in 8 and 9. And if we go back to Acts 13,
the message of Paul that was being preached among the Gentiles. If we look at the context here,
we see that Paul is making a case for why there are some of Israel
that are believing, some of Israel that are not believing, and why
some of the Gentiles are believing. Those who were ordained to eternal
life believed. Well, who are those who were
ordained to eternal life? Well, it's not got anything to
do with whether you've done good or bad. It's according to the
purpose of God in election. See, election is the purpose
of God, not the afterthought of God. It wasn't the, uh-oh,
Adam fell, so I'm gonna have to fix this, and so I'm gonna
choose to save some and not others. That's what the, and I'll use
this term so you'll, in case you encounter it, that's what
the low Calvinists believe. The other name for them is We
are called superlapsarians. They're called sublapsarians,
okay? We believe that election is before
or above election, or above Adam and sin and death coming into
the world, or they believe that it comes after Adam sinned. That election happened after.
Election was God's purpose before Adam ever was created. And so
He formed Adam, created Adam with the nature so that sin and
death would come and that in that He would separate from that
group of people, that one lump, He would separate out two different
vessels, the vessels of honor, vessels of dishonor, as we'll
begin to read here in just a minute. But see, that's what Paul is
getting at. This is talking about individuals, not nations. He
says that the purpose of God according to election might stand
not of works, but of him that calleth. That's why he said Jacob will be served by Esau. It was said unto her, The elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written. Now what does that
mean? Some people are just saying, some people are saying, well,
that just means that Israel is over there in the Middle East.
That means all those Arabs and all those people of Esau are
always going to serve the needs for ethnic Israel. Have you ever
heard that? I've heard that. I used to believe
that. I used to believe that's what this was talking about.
But that's not what it's talking about. It says, it was said unto
her, the elder shall serve the younger as it is written. Now
he's saying, he's gonna define, he's going to, Paul here by the
Holy Spirit is about to interpret to you the verse in the Bible
that said, the elder shall serve the younger. Whenever God told
Rebecca, the elder is gonna serve the younger, Paul is interpreting
by the Holy Spirit to you what that meant. As it is written,
he uses another verse of scripture that is found in Malachi. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. How is that the interpretation? Well, that's what Paul interpreted
it as. Now, your qualms is not with me, it would be with the
Holy Spirit. who had Paul write this exactly
this way. The serving of the older to the
younger is the same as Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? Is it unrighteous for God to
hate one and love the other? Some people think so. Some people
think, well, that's unrighteous for God to hate somebody. God
is the God of love, so He has to love everybody. Well, just
because the God is the God of love, The Bible says that God
is love. They didn't say that God is the
God of love. It said God is love. Meaning that love derives from
God. That in his essence God is love. But the Bible also shows that
God can dispense that love on whomever he chooses. And he doesn't
have to dispense that love on whomever he chooses. And this
is what Paul is saying. He's saying that Rebecca was
told that God's love would be shown to Jacob and not Esau. And if you go back to the account,
you'll see that Jacob was just as wicked as Esau. He was just
as ungodly as Esau. But Jacob was brought to a place
where he believed and followed and obeyed God. Esau never was. Jacob was loved. That loving
of Jacob brought Jacob into not only a quickened life, but also
a life that believed God, received, directed his faith and love and
his obedience to God. And that's what happens to us.
Those who come to Christ, who love Christ, who love His Word,
who believe the Gospel, are those whom God has set His love upon. He loves us with an everlasting
love. And you say, well, that doesn't
have anything to do with election, and you're taking Malachi out
of context. Well, turn with me back to Malachi,
because I want to show you that it absolutely does have to do
with election. Malachi chapter 1, verse 1. It says, The burden
of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. So this is what God
is saying. So God is speaking here. I have
loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say, Israel, wherein hast
thou loved us, Israel? Was not Esau Jacob's brother,
saith the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob. So the question here is, Israel
is asking, how do we know that you love us? What is the basis
of knowing that you have loved us? Verse three, and I hated
Esau and laid his mountain and his heritage waste for the dragons
of the wilderness. So the answer that God give them
on showing how did you love me was the fact that God chose or
set his love upon Jacob and not upon Esau. How do we know that God elects
individually? Because one will be saved. The other will not be saved.
Jacob was brought to faith. Esau never was brought to faith. Isaac was brought to faith. Ishmael was never brought to
faith. And you just go down the line.
The question that I asked last week of the two, let's say we
had twin brothers here, okay? Twin brothers who were born and
raised in this church. Their parents came here and been
coming here. They were born and they raised
those twin boys, sit right there in that pew. Their whole entire
life, clear up till they were 30 years old, say. hearing the
same messages, hearing the same, in the same fellowship, listening
to everybody, seeing the service and the work and the love and
the communion among all the brethren here, experiencing the same things
under the same parents, under the same message, with the same
group of people that God had placed them among, and yet one
comes to Christ, the other rejects Christ. Twins, sharing a chromosome,
I guess, I don't know, I'm not a scientist. Sharing a womb,
coming out within seconds of each other, thinking almost the
same thoughts, looking just alike, acting just alike. Why does one
choose God and not the other? Was it because one was smarter
than the other? One was brighter than the other? One was cuter
than the other? Couldn't say that, they're twins,
right? Now, unless they were not identical twins, I guess.
But anyway, what made the difference there? The difference was as
God set His love upon one and that love, the Bible says, we
love Him because He first loved us. If anyone's going to love
God, it's because He first loves you. He has set His love upon
you. Shed His love abroad in your
heart and caused you to love Him by that new life, a spiritual
life. That's what Paul is saying here.
If you take this and you expand out, see, we try to get so wrapped
up in just a few little words that Paul is saying, instead
of looking at how this is expanded throughout all the scripture
and how Paul is drawing in these Old Testament scriptures to prove
his point. You guys think, and that was
the thought of Israel. Isn't that what the Pharisees
even told Jesus? Whenever Jesus was laying claims
to them and say, hey, what do we got to worry about? We're
Abraham's children. He said, if you were Abraham's children,
you would believe me, because Abraham saw me in his day. He
believed me. But you guys don't believe me
because you're of your father, the devil. Can you imagine how
that chapter hide? The children of Israel are the
children of the devil. Can you imagine that? That's
what Paul is drawing here. Paul is drawing from those Old
Testament scriptures to show these Israelites who are saying
that this can't, your message of election and Gentiles and
all this kind of stuff, this isn't from God. And Paul is saying,
listen, it is of God. We had it wrong all this time.
We had it wrong. The Israelites had it wrong.
Us Pharisees had it wrong. The teachers of the law, we had
it wrong. Because not all that are of Israel are Israel. That
to one, God will say He loves, to the other He says He will
hate. And no, God is not unrighteous for doing so. And some will say,
well, God is unrighteous. No. And so he goes into verse
15 and he says, For he saith unto Moses, I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, so it is not of him that willeth. So your will has
nothing to do with whether God chooses you or not. So that discards
the whole notion of God looking down the corridor of time and
seeing who willeth and then He electeth. God does not electeth
on your willeth. Because here it says, It is not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. It doesn't sound like Pharaoh
had a choice. but to be a vessel or an instrument
of damnation that God might show his power in. If that's the case,
then we must submit to the fact that God does these things. Thou wilt say then to me, why
doth he yet find fault for who has resisted his will? Nay, but,
O man, who art thou that replyest against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump, here
again we're going back to Adam, of the same lump to make one
vessel unto honor and unto another dishonor? Now, whenever the potter
goes and he gets that lump of clay to sit down, he already
has it in his mind an idea of what he's going to do, right?
He's got an idea in his mind that I'm going to take this lump
of clay and I'm going to break it off and I'm going to form
this one into a cup and I'm going to mow this one into a bowl. And so he took the same lump
of clay, and he forms one into a cup, and he forms one into
a bowl. But he already before that one
lump was even picked up and gathered and split, he already had it
in his mind, I want to make this lump a bowl and this lump a cup. So that would show you why we
are supra lapsarian, why we believe God elected before Adam fell
is because we believe that God intended that there would be
two groups of people and that he would create the two groups
of people by one man bringing sin and death into the world
and thus out of that one lump separating one for honor, one
for dishonor. Because, listen, if he would
have taken a group of people that were never fallen, never
unspiritual, never in bondage, then there wouldn't have been
grace, would there? That wouldn't be grace. That would have been
they've just always been. Now, legally, we've always been.
But here, brethren, we have, in fact, and indeed, transgressions,
we are the same as that one lump. But He has elected us before
the foundation of the world that He would form us into this one
and form these into this one. That's what Paul is bringing
forth here. hath not the potter power over the clay of the same
lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to show
His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction?" So again, two groups
of people with two intents from the very beginning. The intent
of one was to show his wrath and to make his power known,
and he fitted them for destruction, and that he might make known
the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had
aforeprepared unto glory." So two groups of people intended,
one for honor, one for dishonor, one to make His power known,
and to be fitted for destruction, the other that is riches of His
glory might be shown as vessels of mercy." And He prepared that
before unto glory. "...even us whom He hath called."
There that word is again. Even us. Remember that us is
still in the context of chapter 8. Paul is still in the same
letter under the same passage of thought is saying this us
is going back to the called in verse 28. even us whom he hath called not
of the Jews only." Okay, so that right there tells me it's not
an ethnic thing. It's not a national thing because it's not of the
Jews only. So election, it's what he's talking
about, is not of the Jews only but also of the Gentiles. as
he saith also in Osea, I will call them my people, which were
not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it
shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto
them, Ye are not my people, There shall they be called the children
of the living God. Isaiah also cried concerning
Israel, through the number of the children of Israel be as
the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. So here again,
the context is saying, although ethnic Israel may be as the number
of the sand of the sea, only a remnant of that sand of the
sea will be saved. for He will finish the work and
cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the
Lord make upon the earth. And as Isaiah said before, except
the Lord of Sabbath had left us a seed, we had been a Sodom
and been made like unto Gomorrah. What shall we say then, that
the Gentiles which follow not after righteousness have attained
to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith? But Israel
which followed after the law of righteousness hath not attained
unto the law of righteousness? Wherefore, because they sought
it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for
they stumbled at that stumbling stone, as it is written, Behold,
I lay in Zion a stumbling stone, a rock of offense, and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. Why would Paul say that if the
elect were just ethnic Israel, and ethnic Israel was going to
receive all the promises, including glorification. For I bear them record that they
have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they
being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. For Moses describeth
the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth
those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is
of faith speaketh on this wise, say not in thine heart who shall
ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above.
or who shall descend into the deep, that is, to bring up Christ
again from the dead. But what saith it? The word is
nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the
word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him up from the dead, thou shalt shout, be
saved." Now remember, this goes after it has already been taught
to us that only those who believe are the ones who are foreordained
to eternal life, that only those who confess or have been put
in the mouth are the ones that God has placed that in their
mouth. So, it isn't saying, if thou
wilt confess with thy mouth as a condition, it's saying that
this is the statement of fact. For if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Past tense, you've already been saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. It doesn't say, For with the
heart man believeth for righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made to get salvation. It says, Unto the heart of man
believeth unto righteousness. I believe that a righteousness
has been given to me, not my own. I've believed that Christ
is my righteousness. That's believing unto righteousness.
And then with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation, that
I have been saved by His righteousness. See, the mouth that says that
Christ is their righteousness and that I am saved by that righteousness
is the one who has been saved. For the scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed, for there is no difference
between the Jew and the Greek. Now if God, again, if this is
all about national election, then why is Paul going so far
out of his way to say there is no distinction between Jew and
Gentile? Jew or Greek. He says, There
is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile, for the
same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. Who are
the ones that call upon Him? The ones that shall be saved. The ones whose heart believeth
unto righteousness and mouth confesses unto salvation. The
ones whom God has called. For whoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath
believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God. Now here this is where men want
to make the preaching of the gospel the means in which people
are quickened or come into salvation. But go back, remember he just
quoted Isaiah, Lord who hath believed thy report and to whom
hath the arm of the Lord been extended. The ones who believe
the report are the ones whom the arm of the Lord have been
extended. Isaiah made that clear. The ones who are believing are
the ones who made... So believing and the arm of the
Lord being extended go hand in hand. The ones who believe are
the ones whom the arm of the Lord extends to. Ain't that what
Acts 13, 48 said? For all those who were ordained
to eternal life believe. The ones who God extended His
hand to in grace and gave to Christ those whom God has given,
those who are the called according to His purpose. Brethren, the
contexts are so very clear here who this is talking about. It's
talking about individuals. So then faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God. That word there is rhema by not
the preaching of the Word of God, but by God's voice Himself. Faith comes by God saying, have
faith. But I say, have they not heard?
Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth and their
words into the ends of the world. But I say, did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke
you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish
nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold and saith,
I was found of them that sought me not. I was made manifest unto
them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, all day
long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and
gainsane people. I say then, hath God cast away
his people ethnically? And the answer was no. God forbid,
for I am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe
of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people
which he foreknew What ye not, what the Scripture
saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel,
saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down
thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life? But what
saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved unto myself
seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of
Baal." Even so, so just like then in ethnic Israel, when Elias thought, oh, woe is
me, I'm the only one here. God is saying, even so at this
present time, also there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. So yes, there is a remnant from
Israel that are being saved. There is a remnant from every
nation, tribe, and tongue that will be saved. He says, even so then at this
present time, there is a remnant according to the free will of
man, according to the choosing of man, according to the accepting
into the heart of man, accepting membership. being baptized. Now, according to the election
of grace, we were elected to grace by being elect in Christ. We are elected into Christ so
that we might be given grace. So it's the election of grace.
God elected to give grace upon those He gave to Christ. That's what we've been talking
about since last week. God making a choice, a distinction,
a separation, an elect. And if by grace, and it is no
more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be
of works, then it is no more grace, otherwise work is no more
work. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it,
and the rest were blinded. Who blinded them? It wasn't men
that blinded them, it was God that blinded them. According
as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes
that will not see, ears that should not hear unto this day.
And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap,
and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them. Let their eyes be
darkened that they may not see, and bow their back always. I
say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid,
but rather through their fall salvation has come unto the Gentiles,
for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the
riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches
of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness. For I speak to
you Gentiles, and as much as I am the apostle of the Gentiles,
I magnify my office. If by any means I may provoke
to emulation them which are of my flesh, and might save some
of them. 05. For if the casting away of
them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving
of them but life from the dead? 06. For if the first fruit be
holy, the lump is also holy, and if the root be holy, so are
the branches. 07. And if some of the branches
be broken off, and thou be in a wild olive tree, were grafted
in among them, and with them partakest of the root, and the
fatness of the olive tree. Boast not against the branches,
but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might
be grafted in. Well, because of unbelief they
were broken off, and thou standest by faith. be not high-minded
but fear for if God spared not the natural branches take heed
lest he also spare not thee behold therefore the goodness and severity
of God on them which fell severity but toward thee goodness or excuse
me on them which fail severity but toward thee goodness if thou
continue in his goodness otherwise thou shalt be cut off and they
also if they abide not still in unbelief shall be grafted
in for God is able to graft them in again for if thou were cut
out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and were grafted
contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall
these, which be the natural branches, be grafted unto their own olive
tree? For I would not, brethren, that
ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise
in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel,
unto the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel
shall be saved, as it is written, there shall come out of Zion,
the deliver and shall turn away godliness from Jacob. Now that
verse 26 is not talking about ethnic Israel is talking about
spiritual Israel, because he's talking about the Gentiles and
the Jews all coming to believe, thus all Israel will be saved.
If he was just talking about the Israelites, he would have
not said anything about the Gentiles and the grafting in, them being
included into the promises. None of that would have been
part of that. Okay? He would have just continued
on. But he says, For this is my covenant, and so all Israel
shall be saved as it is written, there shall come out of Zion
the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away
their sins, as concerning the gospel, they are enemies for
your sake, but as touching the election, they are beloved for
the Father's sake. For the gifts and calling of
God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have
not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their
unbelief. Even so have these also now not believed, that through
your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded
them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O
the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding
out. Who hath known the mind of the
Lord, or who hath been his counselor? or who hath first given to him,
and it shall be recompensed unto him again. For of him and through
him and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Well,
I don't think that there could be a clear context to those chapters
8, 9, and 10 than the fact that God is individually electing
people from every tribe and nation. And that while, yes, he began
in Israel, among Israel, that was, that was, he's the root. They were the, they were the,
the olive branch. And yes, there were others that
were grafted in. that were of the tree. Brethren,
that doesn't mean that Israel is anything special because the
other ones were brought in and became heirs just as much as
the rest. We'll stop right there, brethren.
There's a few more verses I'd like to look at on election.
Lord willing, next week as well, I'd like to go into Ephesians,
Thessalonians, and Timothy and see where God has shown election
there as well. So anybody got any comments or
anything to add? All right. Well, let's stand
and have a word of prayer.