Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. In the 11th chapter of
Romans, Paul uses God's preservation of the 7,000 who had not bowed
the knee to Baal to illustrate his preservation of a remnant
to teach the clear lesson of God's sovereign grace. There
is no other explanation which ensures the deliverance of those
whom he has determined to save. Even so, then, at this present
time also there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise
grace is no more grace. But if 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. This is a totally
unpalatable doctrine to the religious flesh of men, which is certain
that men can and will do something to earn God's favor. In fact,
men by nature so strongly believe in this idea that they are willing
to blaspheme God and accuse Him of unrighteousness in doing exactly
what He said He would do. For He saith to 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, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Grace and merit are two mutually exclusive concepts. There is
no mixture of the two. Favor shown on the basis of merit
or activity is the payment of a debt, whereas mercy is bestowed
according to the sovereign prerogative of God. A man cannot be said
to deserve mercy. Mercy and grace are closely related
as we see grace occurring as a result of God's mercy. But
they are not synonymous, since all of God's creation are the
recipients of His mercy in one form or another. while grace
is mercy applied to a particular people for a particular purpose,
who has saved us and called us with the holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. The Lord's
creation of Satan is a testimony to his sovereign prerogative
to do as he will with his creation. Who can bring an accusation against
him who knows the end from the beginning and orders all things
to occur according to his good pleasure? Satan is indeed the
embodiment of evil, the father of lies, and one whom the Lord
has been pleased to use in the unfolding of his purpose in the
earth. We see this manifested as he
pointed out his servant Job to Satan and dared him to try to
turn Job away from seeking the Lord. We see it when he would
use Satan to tempt the Lord Jesus in all points like as we are.
And we see the utter triumph of Christ over Satan foreshadowed
as he succumbed to none of Satan's bold attempts to turn him aside.
We see it as he entered into Judas, a vessel before prepared
unto destruction, and unwittingly fulfilled the purpose of God
in delivering Christ into the hands of his tormentors, that
he might become a propitiation for the sins of his people. When
a man has given eyes to see the state of man by nature and the
helpless condition that he has willingly entered into, he cannot
help but be struck dumb with amazement that the Lord did not
destroy men completely, let alone ordain some to eternal life in
the everlasting covenant. and not simply to deliver them
from certain destruction, but to raise them up to be trophies
of his grace, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding
riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Thus we see Zechariah reporting the Lord's rebuke unto Satan,
which centers around his everlasting love for Jerusalem, that is the
holy city, which is synonymous with his kingdom, made up of
that elect remnant which he has redeemed with his own blood.
He said that she is an ember which is snatched out of the
fire, which would have ultimately consumed it. An ember in the
fire has no power to keep itself from destruction. It is of the
Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions
fail not. They are new every morning. Great
is Thy faithfulness. One of the greatest descriptions
of God's amazing grace to His elect children is found in Ezekiel's
prophecy. Thus saith the Lord God unto
Jerusalem, Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan.
Thy father was an Amorite, thy mother an Hittite. And as for
thy nativity, in the day that thou wast born, thy navel was
not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee. Thou
wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None I pitied thee to
do any of these to thee, to have compassion upon thee. But thou
wast cast out into the open field to the loathing of thy person
in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee and
saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, When
thou wast in thy blood, live. Yea, I said unto thee, When thou
wast in thy blood, live. Has the Lord made you to live? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.