One of the things that is just
so glaringly bright in these scriptures that we've been studying,
and this is why it's sad when you see people who profess to
believe the Bible either ignore or deny these truths of God's
sovereignty. God's election of grace, God's
sovereign mercy and grace. But one of the things that is
just so glaringly bright in these passages of scripture, God's
inspired word is the fact that it comes home again to each and
every true believer. that if it weren't for God's
grace and if it weren't for his power and his goodness, we would
be lost forever. And that includes all of us.
He here, in this passage, he talked about that God has not
cast away his people whom he foreknew. And who are the people
whom God foreknew? Well, that's his elect. As I
said, any Bible scholar worth their salt knows that word foreknew
and foreknowledge. It doesn't mean precognition,
that God just knew something before it happened. God is not
a fortune teller. He's not a crystal ball gazer.
He doesn't look down through any telescope of time. I always
wondered this, and this is even before I was made a believer
by the power of the Spirit. I'd hear people say, God looked
down through the telescope of time. I'd say, well, who made
that telescope? You know, he'd just find it somewhere, and if
he made the telescope, you know, maybe he had something to do
with looking at what he created himself, you know. But, you know,
people don't think like that. They think in terms of ourselves.
It's like man is the center of the universe, and God just exists
for our pleasure, and especially for our glory, but that's not
the way it is. God is God and we're nothing.
That's basically what the scripture teaches us and especially in
our sin. We're deserving of nothing but
death and hell. But we can take heart, we can
rejoice because God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew. And those are God, that's God's
word. And who are these he foreknew?
Well, they are believers. They are graced with spiritual
life and glory. And so that's how we know them.
Well, as you know, all of this is said in light of the fact
that Israel, the nation Israel in the Old Testament under the
Old Covenant, were called God's people, God's children, sometimes
God's vineyard, but the majority of that nation was just like
all of us by nature. If left to ourselves, we reject,
we rebel, we will not believe God's way of salvation. And so
that's what he's addressing now when he asked the question, has
God cast away his people, which he foreknew, God forbid, God
hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew. God has a
people that he chose out of every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation,
and gave to Christ before the foundation of the world. And
he sent his Son into the world to redeem them from their sins,
to pay their sin debt for their justification. And he sends forth
the spirit to sanctify them under the preaching of the gospel,
to bring them to believe this truth, to convict them of sin,
of righteousness, and of judgment, and bring them to Christ. And
he's not cast away any of them. Well, look at verse seven, and
he says, it's all by grace now. None of it's by works. There
is no mixture of grace and works. It's not that grace is God getting
me started and then my works finish the job or seal the deal.
There's no mixture, he says. Look at verse five. He says, even so then at this
present time, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. You see, those who would tell us that election is a doctrine
of pride, they don't know the election of grace. Ask yourself,
if you're a believer, why did God choose me? Well, it was not
for anything in me. In other words, it was totally
his sovereign mercy and grace, not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. God said,
I'll be merciful to whom I will, I'll be gracious to whom I will.
And he says, if by grace, then it's no more of works, verse
six. Otherwise, grace is no more grace, but if it be of works,
then it is no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more work.
You can't mix these two. If you see a preacher who claims
or his people claim that he preaches a mixture of grace and works,
let me tell you what he's preaching. He's preaching works. He's not
preaching grace at all. And so when we talk about work
for salvation, work in order to attain it or maintain it,
you're not talking about anything of grace. Now you may call it
grace. Satan has his counterfeits, you see. Those false preachers
in Galatia who were Jewish claimed to be a Christian, but they wanted
to bring Gentiles under the law, the old covenant law. Circumcision,
keeping of the Sabbath. And I'll guarantee you their
reasoning was, well, I know you're saved by grace, but you've got
to do this in order to be really saved or really righteous or
to earn your rewards, that kind of thing. Well, they're preaching
works. And Paul called it another gospel.
And you know, in the Greek, there's two words for another. There's
one word that means another of a different kind. And there's
another one that means another of the same kind. But when he
says it's another gospel, that word is another of a different
kind. It's foreign to the gospel. Well, look at verse seven. He
says, what then? Israel hath not obtained that
which he seeketh for. Now, back in chapter nine, he
tells us exactly what it was that Israel was seeking for.
Look at chapter nine, verse 31. But Israel, which followed after
the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness."
They were trying to keep the law in order to be saved. They were trying to keep the
law in order to be forgiven. in order to be right with God.
That's what righteousness is, justified. It means how a sinner
is made right with God. And Israel was seeking righteousness
by their works of the law. They didn't attain it. Why? Verse
32, because they sought it not by faith. Now, what is it to
seek righteousness by faith? It's to seek it in Christ, who
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. And
so Israel, back here in verse seven, Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for. Now there were many in Israel
who thought they had obtained it. If you look at the parable
of the Pharisee and the publican, Luke 18, remember who he was
talking to? He was talking to those who judged
in themselves that they were righteous in themselves and despised
others, rejected others. We're holy, we're righteous,
you're not, stay away from me, that kind of thing. It's, you
know, holier than thou. And that's who he was preaching
to. And he brought up the Pharisee. And I always tell people, I was
telling a guy a couple weeks ago about this. He wanted to talk to me about
the scriptures. He was doing some work here. And he was talking
about how he was wanting to study. He mentioned the Pharisee and
the publican. And I told him, I said, do you remember what
the first three words that came out of the Pharisee's mouth?
He said, well, no. He said, the Pharisee said, I
thank God. I'm not like other men. You know,
the Pharisee would have told you, he'd say, I'm not taking
credit for myself. I thank God that this is the
way I am. And then he began to boast of
what he didn't do and what he did do because basically what
he's saying is I thank God that he enabled me to work my way
under righteousness. But what the publicans say, God
be merciful, literally be propitious to me the sinner. And that's
the way it is, you see. People are convinced that as
long as they give God credit for whatever it is they think,
that that's enough. But I always tell people this,
be careful what you give God credit for. He may not want credit
for that. You can say, well, you know, I go to church, I give my tithe,
I do this, I do that. I thank God that I do that. Does that mean that your righteousness
is wrapped up in what God has enabled you to do or enabled
you not to do? People say, well, I know I'm
saved because I was a drug addict, now I'm not. Well, I'm glad you're
not a drug addict anymore if you were, I'm glad of that. But
if that's what saved you, you hadn't attained what you're looking
for. But look at verse seven, again, he says, but the election
hath obtained it. Now, is there any clearer? I
mean, look at it. And the rest were blinded. The rest were hardened. You know, the Bible talks about
God's hardening, God's judgment against those who refuse to believe. And think about that. Now, here's
Israel. They didn't obtain it, but the election did. Now, basically,
all of God's elect, the Bible tells us, will obtain righteousness,
not by their works, but by God-given faith in Christ. Paul told the
Thessalonians, he said, I know your election of God, because
the gospel came to you not just in word, but in power. And that
power is what brings a sinner, that's the Spirit's power, to
bring a sinner in the new birth to faith in Christ and repentance
of dead works and perseverance in the faith. Looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith. Knowing that I'm justified,
I'm made right with God, not based upon what I do or based
upon what God has enabled me to do. It's all based upon what
Christ did and accomplished and finished on the cross in his
death When he died, he was buried, he arose again the third day,
the work's done, the work's accomplished. By one offering, he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. How do we obtain that perfection? It's only by, listen, there's
no perfection in us. Now you might say, well, the
Holy Spirit indwells us and he's perfect, but we're not him. We're
not God. There's no perfection in us.
It's all in Christ. Now one day we will be perfect
in ourselves when we die and go to be with the Lord. But we're
waiting on that. We haven't attained that yet,
Paul said in Philippians 3. That's final glory. That's when
we leave this flesh behind. But the election hath obtained
it. Now he's speaking specifically of God's elect, among the Jews. God has a remnant according to
the election of grace. And so the election describes
any and all sinners, Jew and Gentile, who seek salvation by
God's grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. But as I said, he's specifically
referring here to God's elect among the Jews, and he identified
them earlier as the remnant according to the election of grace. But
it's the same with all of God's elect. They're remnant according
to the election of grace. And the rest were blinded. Well,
the rest refers here to the non-elect, or those who were not chosen
and not reserved, who never come to faith in Christ. As I put here in your lesson,
they willingly remain in that state of ignorance, unbelief,
and rebellion, as Peter said in 1 Peter 2, whereunto they
were appointed. And I know people don't like
that. because they'll talk about, well, you believe you're a member
of the chosen few. Well, where did the term chosen
few come from? Came from the Bible, didn't it?
Few there be that are chosen. Many are called, but few are
chosen. Somebody's a member of the chosen
few. Now, the only thing I can tell you is we have to look at
this from the human perspective when we see these things and
hear these things. God has a people. People will
say, well, why don't you just preach only to the elect? I'll
tell you why, because God didn't give me a list of names, addresses,
and telephone numbers. That's why. Here's what God has
told us to do as a church, as a witness in this world. Go in
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And
you tell them, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. Here's what I'm telling everyone in this building and
everyone's listening by live stream and everyone who hears
this on CD or whatever. Your only hope for salvation
is the sovereign mercy and grace of God in Christ. Now you seek
him. If you're looking for righteousness,
you're not going to obtain it by your works and your efforts.
You're not gonna get there that way. The Bible says that. That's
God's revealed will by way of commandment. Seek righteousness
in Christ. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness. Seek salvation by Christ. It's
not your business to sit around trying to figure out who the
elect are and who they're not. The Bible tells us the elect
are those who are brought to faith in Christ to find all the
righteousness God requires. of them in Christ, based upon
his obedience unto death, the merits of his righteousness imputed.
All the forgiveness of all my sins by his blood. The preacher
who stands up and tells people, now God will only forgive you
based upon your repentance, is lying to you. God's forgiveness
is based upon the blood of his Son. He said it all the way back
in the Old Testament. He said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. He didn't say, now should we
repent? Yes. Should we cry in sorrow
over our sins with godly sorrow? Yes. But God didn't say, when
I see the blood, God didn't say, when I see your tears, I'll pass
over you. God didn't say, when I see your
faith, I'll pass over you. God said, when I see the blood.
And that means Christ, the Lamb of God. Now, those who continue
in their rebellion, it says here, God blinds them, God hardens
them. You know, the Bible speaks from
both perspectives. Think about Pharaoh. The Bible
says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, but the Bible says
that God hardened his heart also. The Bible talks about vessels
of wrath, fitted for destruction, vessels of mercy who were prepared
for that, for what God has planned for them. But from the human
perspective, we can see that they willfully and stubbornly
reject God's way of salvation, and therefore God's judgment
is upon them. And that's the way we're to look
at. Now, I have in your lesson here, fallen man is naturally
blinded by the darkness and deception of his own heart. The heart is
deceitful, desperately wicked. Who can know it? Jeremiah 17,
nine. So don't look within yourself to find truth, look to God's
word. Christ said, I am the way, I
am the truth, I am the life, no man cometh unto the Father
but by me. And this blindness, this final
reprobation, that's what he's talking about, it reveals the
sinfulness and the depravity of a sinner going about trying
to establish a righteousness of his own and not submitting
to the righteousness of God in Christ. But God has determined,
think about this, God has determined to open the eyes of His people. The election hath obtained it.
The rest were blinded. But what do we say when God brings
us to Christ? By the Spirit in the new birth,
we say, I was blind, now I what? Now I see. And I wanna tell you
something, if He reveals this to you, you can't get away from
it. You can't do it, you might try, but you can't. I was deaf,
now I hear. And I can remember, I don't know
the exact day that I was converted, but I can remember that time
period when I totally in my heart rebellion
against God's truth. But then the Lord sent a preacher
and he preached a message and that just got my, I remember
the message that got my attention. I still wasn't converted because
I didn't believe, but I thought, now I need to know more about
that. I've never heard that before. But that's what he does. You
know, whenever we see these issues of God's sovereignty and man's
responsibility, the Bible tells us, how we are to react. And I read this over in Romans
chapter nine in verse 30, when he says, and what shall we say
then? Well, here's what we'll say. The Gentiles, the gods elect
among the Gentiles, they sought righteousness by faith in Christ.
They looked to Christ for salvation. The Jews, they looked for righteousness
by their works of the law. Now, what are we to do? Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's true.
There's not one person who's ever truly called upon the name
of the Lord who wasn't saved because God is the creator of
that person, both physically and spiritually. We look back
here at Romans 11, look at verse eight. He says, according as
it is written, so he goes back to God's word now. God hath given
them the spirit of slumber, and the eyes that they should not
see and ears that they should not hear unto this day. Israel's
rejection of the truth was a problem in Isaiah's day. It was foretold,
you remember when God commissioned Isaiah to preach in Isaiah chapter
69, or Isaiah chapter six? And he tells him in verse 10,
he said, now you're gonna go preach, but they're not gonna
hear you. You think that's God looking down through the telescope
of time? No, that's God just telling him the truth. Why would
God have Isaiah go preach to people that he knew that he was
not gonna open their eyes? For his glory. You say, well,
that's not good enough for me. I know it. That's the problem. Remember what Paul said when
he said, he said, I don't have anything to brag about because
I preach the gospel. He talked about who's sufficient
for these things and what he'd say. He said, to some, the message
that I preach is the savor of death unto death. To others,
it's the savor of life unto life. The fact that there's a small
group of people here believing this is a miracle of God's grace. But Paul said, it's the savor
of death unto death to some, savor of life unto life. Either
way, I'm victorious, he said. Because why are you victorious,
Paul? Because Christ is preached. That's the victory. And I've
often told you, if you compare Peter in Acts chapter two, when
he preached and the Spirit descended and 3,000 folks were saved, but
you compare that to Stephen in Acts chapter seven, who preached
the gospel and nobody was saved at that time, and they killed
him. I'm telling you, according to
the Bible, And this doesn't make any sense to the natural man
now. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit.
According to the Bible, Stephen was just as successful in his
ministry as Peter was. And you can't see that naturally. That doesn't sound like too good
of an evangelistic plan to most churches. But here's what he
says, he says, God left them to their own sinful, self-righteous
desires and judgment, the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should
not see and ears that they should not hear. Sin and unbelief are
just grounds for God to condemn a sinner. Christ's righteousness,
which is the gift of God, is a just ground upon which God
saves sinners. And it's the only ground of salvation.
And although Israel was blinded by God and remained in their
blindness, the blame was theirs. That's what he's saying. The
rest were blinded, and to this day, it's the same way in Paul's
day. We'll look at verse nine. He
said, and David, the psalmist, and he's quoting here from Psalm
69. David said, let their table be made a snare and a trap and
a stumbling block and a recompense unto them. Verse 10, let their
eyes be darkened that they may not see and bow down their back
all way. What he's talking about here
in Psalm 69, as he quotes it, was their continued rebellion
against God and rejection of his truth. And so Paul showing
this, that this is all, this is no surprise, you see. God's
not being taken by surprise here. And we shouldn't either. Now
I agree, you know, Brother Mahan, you say, well, we ought to preach
to everybody in our audience and expect everyone to believe.
Have a positive attitude. Knowing that if God the Spirit
doesn't work, no one's going to believe. And that's true. And so Paul's saying, this is
nothing new. Listen, this should not surprise
us. It shouldn't make us go away
dejected. That's what he's saying. When
we go out and we preach and we do all these things, we put the
gospel on television, we put it in print, we don't see thousands
responding, and I mean, every now and then I'll have somebody
come up to me in the store, you're that preacher on TV, you know,
I listen to you every Sunday, you know, all that kind of thing,
you never see them. And never hear from them. But who knows,
I mean, I don't know. But we ought not get discouraged
over this. This is the way it is. This is
the way God purposed it and planned it. Now you can argue with him all
you want, but this is it. But when David talked about their
table, a trap and a snare, he's talking about their religion.
He's talking about those are emblematic of the old covenant
elements of worship. which Israel took and turned
into a self-righteous system of legal works. That's what happened. You know, the old covenant, why
was it given? Why did God give the law to Israel
through Moses? That sin might have bound. It
was sort of like, you might say, it's like a mirror so they could
see themselves and see how wicked and depraved and inadequate and
weak they were. and that it might, in those types
in the pictures and in the preaching, that it might turn them away
from their works and turn them to Christ for salvation, for
righteousness, for forgiveness. That's why the law was given.
But their table had become a snare, it had become a trap. because
instead of leading them away from themselves, it caused them
to turn into themselves because of the hardness of their hearts.
And when David says, let their table be made, he's not talking
about personal vengeance here. He's talking about in the same
way that he said in one of the Psalms, he said, I hate every
false way. And I was thinking about that
driving, riding to church this morning, riding to worship. And
you see all these buildings with all these cars. And I do feel
sorry for the people, I do. Because I know if it weren't
for the grace of God, I'd be right there with them, worshiping
an idol. But one thing that popped into
my head coming over is, you know, I really hate every false way.
And I'll tell you why I hate every false way, because it leads
sinners to hell. Now the whole issue here is this.
God is sovereign and his people will be saved. I have no doubt
of it. There's not going to be any vacancies
in glory. Not one, not one empty seat. They will all be filled. And
that's why we preach. That's why we witness. That's
why we do all of these things. And you know, You know, the scripture
says there's more joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth
than over the ninety and nine that need no repentance. That's
why we shouldn't get dejected. The election hath obtained it. God's people shall be saved for
his glory.