chapter 9. And the title of the message this
morning is, The Answers of God to the Objections of Man. The answers of God to the objections
of men. Now, in the previous chapter,
the Apostle delivered to us many great and wonderful truths concerning
the gospel of Christ. He said, you who are in Christ,
there is no condemnation for you. For Christ suffered and
did in His flesh what we could never do. He suffered for sins,
putting them away. And He says that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. Whom He did foreknow, He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. And what is the
result of this, of you who believe in Christ, you who trust in Christ?
Listen, who can condemn you? If God is for you, who can condemn
you? Christ died, yea rather has risen
again. God justified you. Who shall
separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus?
Wonderful things. Wonderful things. And then we
come to Romans 9, and then Paul, in his love for his people, begins
to declare about them, I desire that they should be saved. His
people, the Jewish nation, had cast off Christ. Those to whom
the law was given, those to whom the prophets were sent, they
cast them off. They cast off Christ. And so then, the question, the
objection here is then, Paul, If all those things are true,
if all that God loves He'll never be separated from, if all of
those that God purposed to save will never be condemned, how
do you explain the casting off of the Jewish nation? Did not
God promise to save Israel? And if God did not save Israel,
you're saying, Paul, you're hoping that the Lord would save them.
How could you say that? God promised to save Israel,
right, Paul? And so then, the question is,
is the Word of God of none effect? I'll give you a few of these
passages of scriptures that they would have referred to. Isaiah
45 and verse 16 says, "...and they shall be ashamed and also
confounded, all of them, they shall go into confusion together
that are makers of idols, but Israel shall be saved." And there
it is. That's a promise of God, isn't
it? Israel shall be saved with an everlasting salvation. Now
Paul, how will you reconcile that? In Hosea chapter 1 and
verse 7 it says, I will have mercy upon the house of Judah
and will save them by the Lord their God. I won't save them
by the bow or the sword or by the battle or by horsemen. I'll
save them. I'll save them. Jeremiah 33,
it says, Thus saith the Lord, if my covenant be not with the
day and night, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven
and earth, then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, David my servant.
He said, look, when the day and the night stop obeying me, then
will I cast off my servant. Then will I cast off the nation
of Israel. See, look, Paul, the nation of
Israel has rejected God. Now, how do you reconcile that? Is the Word of God frustrated? Has God failed to accomplish
His purpose? So many people today, among the
free will work mongers, they look at that nation of Israel
over there, and they're waiting for God to come down and set
up some kind of worship service over there, some kind of temple,
some kind of big sign, and somehow that people is going to be saved. Why? Because they're trying to
still reconcile the Word of God. But what they fail to understand
is this, what Paul is declaring in this passage is, yes, Israel
is going to be saved. The problem is you do not understand
who Israel is. Israel is not carnal. It is not just the seed of Abraham,
but rather it is a spiritual seed, a spiritual nation. True Israel is not a carnal people,
but a spiritual people. And this is seen in verse 6 through
verse 8. Look at this together with me.
Not as though the Word of God had taken none effect. He's answering
their objection. For they are not all Israel which
are of Israel, neither because of the seed of Abraham are they
all children. But in Isaac shall thy seed be
called. He's quoting the scripture to them. That is, now he's explaining
it. They which are the children of
the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are counted for the seed. Counted for the seed. You see, Israel then was a type,
was only a picture. of the true Israel of God. Those
who God purposed to save is spiritual Israel. Just as Ishmael and Isaac
were both sons of Abraham, yet Ishmael was cast out and Isaac
was chosen. Just as Jacob and Esau were the
sons of Isaac, yet it is saying, Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. So then what makes the distinction? Now Paul is getting down to what
he had started in chapter 8. He started this with those who
are called according to the purpose of God. He was talking about
the election of God back in chapter 8. Now he's getting to the heart
of the matter. Who makes the distinction between
Israel and everyone else? true Israel, spiritual Israel. We know it's not the distinction
of the flesh. Scripture says that we are born
not of, what's the first thing, blood. You see, men aren't the
sons of God because they're the children of Abraham. That's what
they thought. That's not so. Paul's making
this declaration. And we see this especially in
these two sons of Isaac. In verse 10 it says, "...and
not only Ishmael and Isaac, but this, Rebekah, when she had conceived
by one, even our father Isaac, were the children, being not
yet born, either having done good or evil." Any good or evil. that the purpose of God according
to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth,
it was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it
is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." See then, the true seed of Israel
is spiritual. It is one chosen of God. Israel, that nation as a type,
was chosen of God. You remember what he said about
them. He said, I chose you not because you were the best. Matter
of fact, you didn't have anything. You were nothing. Yet I chose
you for nothing in you. I chose you because I would. I set my love on you because
I would. Now then, this is much truer,
this is in a much more true sense. God does this with all of spiritual
Israel. All spiritual Israel is the elect
of God. And so what makes the difference? The election of God. The sovereign,
free election of God makes the difference between all men. The Scripture here says that
the purpose of God according to election. This is why it was
done. This is why this example was given. This is why it was
written, Jacob have I loved. That you should know. The purpose
of God according to election should always stand. That men are saved not by works
but by Him who calleth. Not by merit, but by Him that
calleth. Now here the Word of God declares
clearly and plainly that the purpose of God according to election
is the root cause of all salvation. This morning, if you're a believer
in Christ, why are you saved? Why are you blessed to be part
of this spiritual nation? What is the root cause? What
is the first cause? It is simply God chose you. God
said, I will have that one. I love that one. That's it. And there was nothing in that
one that would move God to do it. Remember, we had done neither
good nor evil. God, before the world began,
God chose some of Adam's fallen race. God loved some of Adam's
race with an immutable love, God purposed to save some of
Adam's race, and throughout all history, He gave His promises
how that Christ should come and save His people from their sins. And so now we see Jesus, the
Son of God, has come in the flesh. We see that He came to honor
the Law and obtain righteousness by His perfect obedience. Look
now at He was rejected of that fleshly nation and people. See
how He on Golgotha was crucified. And there the Holy Scriptures
are fulfilled. This was no accidental thing,
was it? Nothing of this was an accidental
thing. In salvation, everything to the
minutest detail of providence was ordained of God so as to
fulfill His purpose of saving His people. And Christ is the
center of this salvation. Christ is the object by which
all of the elect are saved. Go to Ephesians. Go to Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 53. Very familiar
passage, but very clear. This is a clear passage concerning
election. Concerning those for whom Christ
died. Let's start at verse 7. We know
this is talking about him. He was oppressed. He was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth.
He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter as a sheep before his
shears was done, so he opened not his mouth. You remember he
did that with Pilate when they beat him? They rejected him. And what? He opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. Who shall declare His generation?
For He was cut off out of the land of the living. He was crucified. He was killed. For what purpose
was He killed? Listen, for the transgression
of my people was He stricken. He made His grave with the wicked
and the rich in His death. That's His borrowed tomb, isn't
it? Because he did no violence, neither were there any deceit
in his mouth. What it's just saying is saying he was righteous.
He was without sin himself. Yet, it pleased God to crush
him. He hath put him to grief. Why? When thou shalt make his
soul an offering for sin. Why was he crushed? Why did it
please the Lord? Because he was made an offering
for sin. For who? He shall see his seed. See who he's doing it for? His
seed. He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his
soul, and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify... Who? Who? Many. Many. And he shall bear their
iniquities. You see, upon the cross, God
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. That's vitally important,
isn't it? Us all. Well, man, who is that? Does that mean, well, as the
Arminian would say, that's all men, without exception. It's
not the context. In the text we just read, He
made His soul an offering for sin. He who knew no sin had pleased
God to bruise Him, to crush Him, for the transgression of My people. You see, Christ was dying for
His people. Christ was dying for the elect
of God. He did it for His seed. Not a
carnal seed, but a spiritual seed that Paul is talking about
in our text. God said, I shall see of the
travail of his soul and be satisfied. Now, listen, was God satisfied? Was God satisfied? Was the offering
of Christ effectual? Did it accomplish what He purposed
it to do? To redeem My people, to see His
seed, Israel. Was it done? Was God satisfied? We know He was. Scriptures are
not ambiguous about this. Neither the blood of bulls or
goats or calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into
the holy place, you listen, having obtained." He got it, eternal
redemption. Eternal. Eternal redemption. For us. Specifically, particularly
for us. For us. Verse 27 of Hebrews 9
of that same chapter, it says, And He appointed unto men once
to die, and after this to judgment. So Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of who? Many. Many. And unto them that
look for Him, He shall appear the second time without sin unto
salvation. Without a doubt, our Lord Jesus
Christ was most victorious. Now the false religious men of
this age, they all agree that Jesus, they agree that Jesus
died for all men without exception. They think that He loves all
men without exception and paid the price for all men's sins. There's one problem with that.
It's not true. That's a big problem, isn't it? There is nowhere in the Word
of God that that religion is upheld. Matter of fact, in the
one chapter we are in in Romans, totally, absolutely, utterly
destroys the idea of universal atonement and universal love
of God. Absolutely destroys it. You see, our Lord Jesus Christ
was cut off for the transgression of his elect, for Jacob, not
for Esau. For David, not for Saul. For
Peter, not for Judas. Why? For Jacob have I loved,
and Esau have I hated. The Apostle Paul concludes the
perfection of Christ and of His offering in chapter 10. It says,
"...but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins,
sat down at the right hand of God, henceforth expecting his
enemies to be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified, those that are set apart by the
eternal love of God. They were set apart and He perfected
them. How long? Forever they're perfected. Forever. And the proof of that success
is what? His resurrection. His resurrection. Therefore we
must conclude that all salvation All the election of Israel and
the salvation of Israel are of the grace of God without merits
or works of men. I like this. I think Philpott put
it this way. Salvation is something done outside
of us. And then it's something done
in us. But it's not something done by
us. It's all done by God. It's all done by God. An election
is not difficult to understand. It's not the fact that you can't
understand what I'm saying. It's the fact that the old man
and flesh despise what is said. Now listen, even among you who
receive it and believe it, even in your flesh there is still
that nature that kicks. And it must be put down. It must be killed. It must be
made to submit to the truth of God, even though you cannot fully
understand God's reasoning. Matter of fact, God doesn't ask
you to understand it. He demands you believe it. He
demands you believe it. Before the world began, God chose
a remnant of people of Adam's race. Christ came to die for
that people. He successfully accomplished
our redemption. The Spirit of God is sent into
the world and they all shall believe on Christ. and be saved until they are brought
into heaven and enjoyment forever with God. The end. Now you understood
every word of that. You remember what Jesus said,
I lay down my life for the sheep. For the sheep. all said husbands love your wives
even as christ love the church and gave himself for yet we who are saying And we are
sure that all the Father chose and gave to Christ, that all
of them will be called and quickened to life and faith. Paul says,
We are bound always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the
truth, whereunto He called you by our gospel to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, you who believe,
You are the Israel of God. Why? Because God loved you. Why? Because he would. You won't
find any other reason. Stop looking. Resign. Rejoice that God loved you. That God called you. That Christ
died for you. But preacher, what of the others?
What happens to those like Esau that God hated? Well, I tell
you, the Scriptures are plain. These men are even as the fallen
angels with no hope. No hope. These men were hated of God and
ordained to condemnation, hated even though they had done no
evil." Anybody's flesh kick up? Anybody's
mind say, I don't under... What? How? How? Don't do it. Don't do it. Jude says this, for these men
that crept in unawares which were of old ordained to this
condemnation. Was Judah's apostasy, was that
surprising or ordained? Pharaoh and his rejection of
letting God's people go, was it left to chance or ordained? We know it was ordained. We know
God set these people up. Matter of fact, He's going to
tell us in just a minute. He said, this is the reason I raised
Pharaoh up at all. It's so that I might show my
power. Now the manifestation of God's eternal love for His
people is experimentally their salvation. That they should be
sanctified of the Spirit, believe on Christ. Now listen, I don't know who
the elect of God are. I know how they're revealed. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Faith is the evidence of election. Never the cause of
election. Always the result of election
and redemption and the calling of the Spirit. And so faith is
the evidence. What is the mark of those that
God hates? Listen, unbelief. Unbelief. Continued, perpetual
unbelief until they die. That's the only mark that I can
sense. Because we're all sinners. I
can't say, well, you know, Rick lied the other day, so he must...
No, no, no. If he goes away and he doesn't
believe on Christ, that's the mark of one hated of God. One hated of God is unbelief. And see, in order for God's love
to be manifest, God must do something for the elect. God must give
us something that we don't have by nature. He must give us a
new heart, a new nature, by which we may believe and love God,
believe on Christ. What does God have to do for
those He hates in order for them to be lost? All he has to do
is leave them alone. The manifestation of the hatred
of God towards men is this. He leaves them to themselves.
Matter of fact, he gives them the desires of their heart. What
is the desire of the lost man, of the natural man? I will not
have this man to rule over me. And God, in hatred for their
very souls, says, have at it. He gives them to themselves. He leaves them alone. We know this is the mark because
the Scripture says, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
He that believeth not shall be damned. Man by nature is already dead
in sins. He cannot come to Christ. He
will not come to Christ. And so Jesus gives us that true
mark. You remember in John 10, He said,
I told you, and you believe not. The works that I do in My Father's
name, they bear witness of Me. You're without excuse. I've told
you the truth. I've told you who I am, and you
don't believe. Listen, you believe not, because... Now why did they not believe? Because you are not of My sheep. What's the mark of your sheep?
My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. And I give unto, listen,
them eternal life. Not you. Not you who do not believe. You I hate. Them I give eternal
life and they shall never perish. You're going to perish. They
will never perish. Now sinner, do you believe on
Christ alone? Do you confess your sin? Do you
know who you are? Have you heard His voice and
followed Him? This is a mark of someone called,
someone loved, someone chosen. But the evidence of the lost
is that he always remains in rejection of Christ until he
dies. Now then comes the objection.
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Now listen, this is not an easy thing to grasp, but it's
necessary for us to believe. God loved Jacob without any good.
And God hated Esau without any evil. Now if you let men just explain
that away, then there would be no objection. Right? If you could
explain that, there would be no need of an objection. But
because we cannot, the natural man obviously objects. How can
this be? God, is there unrighteousness
with God as God? And then what the Arminians said,
well that's just not fair. God must be unrighteous. How
could he hate someone without anything to hate him for? God must be unrighteous. No.
Paul, now from now on, he sticks close to scripture and he just
doesn't try to justify God at all. He says, I'm not going to
justify God. Matter of fact, who are you to
bring God before your bar of judgment? You have no right. God is holy and you're not. God forbid you say such a thing
as that. And I'll tell you why. God said.
That's what Paul is using now. Look at your text. He said, this
is my answer to your objection. For God told Moses, I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy. and I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion." Now the reason men object to
the sovereignty of God's election and grace is because they still
think they have something to offer. That's the only excuse
that you can have. If you reject this idea of God's
sovereign election, it's because you still think you can merit
God's favor in some measure. But if you ever come to the end
of yourself, you'll bow to this because you'll find that there's
nothing you have to offer. And if I'm ever going to be saved,
it has to be by sovereign election. It has to be by sovereign grace.
It cannot be by any merits or will or anything in me because
I have nothing to offer God. And men reject the sovereignty
of God, it's because they think they have something to offer.
They believe they have some spark of life, some ability to make
a decision, when they don't realize they're dead, twice plucked up
from the roots, unable and unwilling to ever come to God. They fail
to see that no man could come to Christ. Isaiah said that if
God had not had a remnant, we would have all been as Sodom
and Gomorrah. So God declares that his salvation
is not of man's will but God's. He says this, So then it is not
of him that willeth. Now would that not destroy all
free will works religion? Is that not clear enough? It
is not of him that willeth. The next line destroys all works
religion. It's not of him that runneth. What is the root of all salvation? But of God that showeth mercy. So why has God saved you? Mercy.
Why God chose you? Mercy. Why did Christ die for
you? Mercy. Spirit call you, keep
you, mercy. All mercy. Today I'm here because
of mercy. God's mercy. What of the rest? For thus saith the Scriptures
unto Pharaoh. Now he's dealing with those that he hated. Pharaoh,
even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might
show my power in thee, that my name might be declared throughout
all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. You get
that? Who does the softening and who
does the hardening? God does. Now make no mistake,
when God hardens a man, he's just doing what the man desires
anyway. Man wants his heart. Pharaoh hardened his heart, didn't
he? And the scripture also said God hardened his heart. Today, you who believe, you believe
because God willed it. If you die in your sins without
ever believing on God, it's because God willed it. Again, if we could explain this
away, there would not be another objection. There is one more
objection. Here it is. Well, God's will
is always done, and it is. If God chose a person to be saved,
and he's saved, if God determined a man to be lost, and he's lost,
how can you blame the man? Isn't that what Armenians say?
How can God do that? How can God send a man to hell
if He ordained him to go? We must be all robots then, right? Isn't that their objection? Isn't
that what Paul says here? He's telling us their objection.
He said, therefore, verse 19, thou wilt say unto me, why hath
he yet found fault? For who hath resisted his will?
How can God be sovereign and man still be responsible? You
know what he answers? Who are you to reply against
God? He's come to the end of himself.
He's not going to justify God. This is just how it is. Deal
with it. This is God. Who are you to reply
against God? Matter of fact, God is the potter and you're
the clay. He'll make exactly what he pleases. Now listen,
to a vessel of mercy, that's good. Isn't it good? I'm glad God's the potter. I'm
glad He took of the same lump and made vessels of honor. I'm
thankful that He made me a vessel of honor. But those vessels of dishonor,
do you suppose they're thankful to God in any measure? Matter
of fact, they prefer to be vessels of dishonor. And what makes the distinction
is this, faith in Christ. That's what he gets to at the
end of that passage. He said, to those that are lost, Christ
is a stumbling stone, a rock of a fence, not to us. Christ is all. Is Christ all
to you? Well, that's because God loved
you. God saved you. God keeps you. Salvation is of
the Lord. Therefore, we don't kick at it,
we praise God for it. We may not understand it, but
we sure believe it, because God said it. May God bless this to
your hearts.