The title of the lesson, beginning
in verse one of chapter 11 of the book of Romans, is The Election
of Grace. You know, most people who claim
to be Christian, I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that
most people either despise the biblical doctrine of election,
or they don't really know anything about it, And a lot of times
they'll try to discredit the biblical doctrine of election
by claiming that it's a doctrine of pride. Oh, you think you're
elect. You see, that kind of thing.
The chosen few. And then they talk about the
chosen few and the disposable majority. But first of all, the
thing that we have to understand is that the doctrine of unconditional
election is in the Bible. And whatever it says about it,
that's the way it is, whether you like it or I like it or whatever.
You know, this is one of the things, when I came in to really
start studying the Bible, and I didn't, you know, when I really
began to study the scriptures, I came to see, well, I don't
want to put something in there that's not there, and I don't
want to ignore anything that is there. But at the time, I
didn't have a good motive. I've told you all how I went
to the Bible to study the scriptures to prove a gospel preacher wrong.
And so when I began to see these things, I didn't like them, and
I can confess loudly, I don't believe it. I just don't believe
the Bible, but I do now. And that change didn't come about
of my own free will. It didn't come about because
of my goodness. But here's the point. I saw early
on that whether I believe the Bible or not, this is what the
Bible says. And so the doctrine of election,
you know, the Lord, go back to Romans nine just for a minute.
The doctrine of election is set from Genesis to Revelation, but
here's a good, here's one of the best explanations of it concerning
Jacob and Esau. You know how, we studied this,
verse 11. It says, for the children being
not yet born, neither having done any good or evil. Now that
removes all pride if you understand the doctrine of election biblically.
In other words, he's talking about Jacob and Esau. Now people
say, well, he's talking about nations. Well, you know, get
off, that's just a diversion is all. Jacob have I loved, Esau
have I hated. Lord, why did you love Jacob?
No reason. It wasn't because he did any
good or evil. Jacob was a sinner and deserved nothing but God's
hatred. Then God, why did you hate Esau? Well, it had nothing
to do with Esau doing good or evil. See, all this came about.
But Esau was a sinner and deserved, and God gave him what he deserved,
but God decided not to give Jacob what he deserved. Now, you say,
well, I don't like that. Well, okay, take it up with God,
because he's the one you've got to deal with there. It's not
me. And it says here, it says, before
they having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God
according to election might stand. Did you hear that? that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that calleth. It's all of God. And he says
down in verse 15, here's the reason. He said, he said to Moses,
I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I'll have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. And that's God's way of doing
things. And I didn't write these words. These are words that Paul
wrote under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And so it's basically a situation,
you know, of saying, you know, this is the way God is, now shut
up and go on. Really? Now, you know, this is
the way it is, now deal with it. You know, you say, well,
I don't believe it. Well, God says it's true. So when you go over to chapter
11, listen to what he says. He says, I say then hath God
cast away his people. Now God has a people. And in the Bible, if you go through
Genesis to Revelation, they are defined with different words,
different phrases. God's people. And who are God's
people? Well, they're the elect. They're
the church. They are the chosen few. I mean,
if that phrase offends people, that's too bad. Few there be
that are chosen. Does the Bible say there's a
chosen few? Yes, few there be that are chosen.
Many are called, but few are chosen. They're the redeemed
of the Lord. When we talk about election,
we know that whatever God does in his purpose, in his mind,
in his choice, in his action, that God must do those things
and think those things on a just ground. Isn't that right? And
so if we talk about the doctrine of election, apart from God's
justice satisfied for his elect in the person and work of Christ,
then we're not talking about biblical election. You see, that's
the problem that the Jews had, the unbelieving Jews. They believed
they were the elect of God, but their reasoning was wrong. The
ground of the election wasn't unconditional. They believed
they were God's elect because their pedigree was from Abraham, because they kept the law. People today, they'll say, well,
that means God looked down through the telescope of time and he
foresaw what you would do by the way of cooperating with him,
obeying him, believing him, and he chose you on that basis. Well,
my question is, is that what the scripture teaches? And the
answer is no. Go back to Jacob and Esau. And that's what we call conditional
election. But the Bible doesn't teach that.
That's the same error of unbelief that the unbelieving Jews made.
Same thing. People don't like the doctrine
of election because God's the one who does the electing. They
want to be the one who does it. And so I heard a fellow on TV,
a false preacher, saying the way he had election figured.
Boy, I'm glad that he did some figuring, you know. I mean, just
read it on the page. You don't have to figure it.
But he said, God votes for you, Satan votes against you, and
you cast the deciding vote. Well, where is that in scripture?
Is that what the Bible teaches? No. Well, God has a people. And like I said, they're identified
by many different phrases in the scripture. The justified,
the saints, believers, the household, the family of God. Now, this
question, he says, listen to it, verse one, I say then, have
God cast away his people? God forbid, for I also am an
Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. Now
this question comes in light of the fact that Israel as a
nation, at one point in time, in a very temporal, temporary,
ceremonial way, not eternal, not savingly, but in a very temporal
way, they were marked out and chosen by God for a special purpose,
and therefore they were called the elect of God in that sense,
all right? And, of course, we know what
the main purpose for God choosing that nation. And, of course,
it's a picture. It's a great picture of how God
chooses his people because there was nothing in Israel for God
to look and say, well, no, that's the best of the best, so I'm
gonna choose them. The main purpose that God chose
them for in a temporal, ceremonial, temporary way was to bring Christ
through that nation according to the flesh. They were the instrument
through which God was going to bring salvation to spiritual
Israel, and we'll talk about that in just a moment. And he
chose them just out of his sovereign purpose, not for any good or
any power or anything in them. They were a rebellious people
all through their history. And it's a good picture of how
God saves sinners But God chose that nation in a temporal way
for his purpose, and he promised to deliver them and keep them
together until what the book of Hebrews calls the time of
reformation. And that wasn't John Calvin and
Zwingli and Luther and all that. No, the time of reformation was
the time that Christ would come. Time of change. I'm gonna talk
a little bit about that today in the main message. So God brought
them through and he made promises to Israel, which again were temporal,
temporary, ceremonial, but they were not eternal promises. Promises of eternal salvation. Because that only goes to God's
spiritual people. So God has a people. And so,
this question is asked like in the same way back in Romans 9. Back in Romans 9, the fact that
the majority of the physical nation of Israel rejected Christ. They rejected the truth and perished
in unbelief. Well, back in Romans 9, he asked
the question, well, was God's promise, was his promise to save
his people of none effect? In other words, wasn't God powerful
enough to do what he promised to do? And because of his weakness,
therefore they perished? Was that the problem? And he
said, God forbid. They are not all Israel, which
are of Israel. And he goes on to show it's the
children of the promise who are counted for the seed. And who
are the children of the promise? Believers. Those who believe
in Christ. Well here, it's hath God cast
away his people? Did God change his mind? He started
out with them in good favor and now because of their rebellion,
he changed his mind and he's cast them away. Has God cast
away his people? And Paul answers with the same
kind of emphatic language that he always does when questions
like that come. God forbid. Don't even think
such a thing. Don't even imagine that God would
fail to do what he's promised to do or that he would go back
on a promise that he made. And so the question comes, in
light of Israel, the vast majority of the nation, Rejecting and
perishing in unbelief. Does that mean God has cast away
all Israelites that he promised to save? And Paul says, God forbid,
I am an Israel. Paul was an Israelite. You know
what the word Israel means? It means prevailing with God.
That was the name God gave to Jacob. Remember when he wrestled
with the angel. And he wouldn't let him go until
he was blessed. And that's a picture of a sinner
who sees that he has no hope except that which comes from
God's power and goodness and grace in Christ. And God changed
his name from Jacob, the cheat, the supplanter, to Israel, one
who has prevailed with God. Now, how does a sinner prevail
with God? There's only one way, and that's pleading the merits
of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So Paul says, I'm an Israelite,
He said, I was born physically of Abraham. Over in Philippians
3, he said, I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews and of the tribe of Benjamin.
The reason he invoked that is because that was an honored tribe.
You remember the two tribes that made up the southern kingdom
were Judah and Benjamin. And so what he's talking about
here is that God has not cast away his people whom he promised
to save. Look at verse two. God hath not
cast away his people which he foreknew. And any biblical translator
or scholar that's worth their salt knows that that word foreknew
in the Greek and the Hebrew means much, much more than just a prior
cognition, a prior knowledge of something that's gonna happen
in the future. It's not that God looks down
through a telescope of time. That's not what foreknow and
foreknew and foreknowledge means. It's not that God just saw through
a crystal ball. Or that he just knows the future.
That word foreknew, foreknowledge, foreknow, it means foreordained. That's what it means. And that
means that God marked it out this way. God chose a people
and he has never cast away his people which he foreknew. He has never done that. Now,
the idea of an elect remnant is not new with Paul. Again,
it goes all the way back to the Old Testament. Isaiah spoke of
the elect remnant. Now you know what elect is, that
God chose a people. You know what a remnant is, that
means a small piece. That means a small part. What
is the biblical notion of the remnant teaches? It teaches us
that God didn't choose everybody. Isaiah said, had it not been
for a remnant, we'd all perish like Sodom and Gomorrah, the
whole kit and caboodle. And so the election of grace
that comes to us through the merits of Christ, obedience unto
death, is the only hope of salvation that any of us have. In other words, here's what I'm
saying. If God hadn't chosen a remnant, none of us would be
saved. That's what Isaiah preached.
And they didn't like it. People don't like it today. Same
message. We're all sinners. And we all
deserve damnation. That's what we deserve. If you
don't see that, you haven't been convinced of sin. We need a righteousness
we cannot produce. We can't even contribute to it.
That's why we need Christ. That's why we need a mediator.
That's why we need a redeemer. That's why he's the Lord our
righteousness. So Paul, when he talks about
his people here, now he's speaking specifically, God has a remnant
out of every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation. Now that's
clear in the Bible. Jew and Gentile. And that's been
one of the themes of the book of Romans from the very beginning,
hadn't it? I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it
is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first. And to the Greek, that means
the Gentile also. for therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. So God has a people, but here
Paul was specifically talking about the remnant that comes
out of Israel. Look at it, God hath not cast
away his people which he foreknew. What, that word W-O-T means no. Don't you know what the scriptures
say? That's what he's saying. Don't
you under, see now, Paul appeals to the word of God, not to the
reasoning of sinful human beings. God has, has God cast away his
people? Has God, it's almost like he's
saying, well, is there any, has God cast away all Israelites? Isn't there no hope of any Jew
being saved? And Paul says, God forbid, I'm
an Israelite. Peter was an Israelite, James
was an Israelite, Andrew, John, they're all Israelites. Go back
through the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. From Abraham on, there were Israelites. So he says, God has not cast
away his people which he foreknew. What's he saying there? He said,
no, there's an elect remnant even out of Israel, even out
of the Jewish nation, just like the Gentile nation. Don't you
know what the scripture says? Verse two. What ye not what the
scripture saith of Elias, now that's Elijah, he goes back to
Elijah and he says how Elijah maketh intercession to God against
Israel. Here's a prophet of God and he
says make intercession against Israel. You know what Elijah
was doing? Everybody was after him. I think
Jezebel was after him. He was fleeing and the people
were against him. And he prayed to God, God punish
him. And Elijah, he got the alone
syndrome. I'm the only one. And so Paul
quotes here from First Kings 19 verse three. And here's what
Elijah said, Lord, they've killed thy prophets. Dig down thine
altars and I'm left alone and they seek my life. They want
to kill me And that's something Now why
is it that they wanted to kill they killed the prophets and
They hated the God that the prophet what that means is when it says
they've dig down thine altars Not only did they want to kill
the prophets. They wanted to kill the God that
the prophets preached and Have you ever had anybody, I've
had over the years, talking about the gospel, election and grace,
and salvation truly by grace, I've had people say to me something
in the form of, well, I won't serve a God like that. And that's kind of metaphorically
Even though this physically did happen, that's kind of metaphorically
brought forth and they dig down thine altars. They didn't want
anybody to worship to God like that, you see. And now they want
to kill me, Elijah said. But look at verse four. But what saith the answer of
God unto Elijah? What did God say to Elijah? This
comes from 1 Kings 19, 18. God said, I have reserved to
myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of
Baal. And that's what the problem was
in Israel at that time, Baal worship. Well, he said, I've
reserved. What does that mean, I reserved?
God said, I've reserved. It means God had 7,000 men. Now, is this literally 7,000
males? I don't think so. I think he's
talking generically here. 7,000, is it literally 7,000? It could be, I don't know. It
could be just saying however number, usually the number thousand
is a Hebrew idiom that means an unspecified number. Okay? Seven is the number of perfection.
So here's what we know is being said here. Whether it was 7,000
individuals, here's what he's saying. All whom God chose in
Christ and purpose to save, they're gonna be saved, Elijah. You're
not the only one. They haven't bowed the knee to
Baal. Well now why, why had God chosen them, reserved them, left
them to himself? Left them out, the word literally
means left, left them out of the number of the condemned and
brought them into the number of the redeemed. Now why did
God take these particular ones, including Elijah, choose them
for himself, and bring them to a saving knowledge of Christ.
That's what it means. If they haven't bowed, they're
not worshiping the idol. They're worshiping the true and
living God as he reveals himself as a just God and a savior based
upon the blood, the righteousness of the Messiah to come. So why
did God do that? And not choose everybody. Well, these 7,000 who are there,
I'll tell you what, I bet they were a good, moral, religious
bunch of people. Is that the reason? No, God sent
in some preacher and he got them all down the aisle and got them
into the baptistry. No. Why did these 7,000? Well, look at verse five. He
gives us the answer. We don't have to speculate on
this. Our opinions don't count. Even
so, then at this present time, also there is a remnant according
to the election of grace. Now, what do you know about the
remnant according to the election of grace? What does that mean?
Well, go back to Romans 9-11. For the children, being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil. Okay. What does that tell you? The
election of grace is not based upon anybody doing good or doing
evil. It's God's sovereign choice.
How did God make that choice? I don't know. I know he's not
arbitrary. He's not up there throwing dice
or spinning a roulette wheel. He says that the purpose of God
according to election might stand not of works but of him that
called. That's what we know about the election of grace. So go
back to Romans 11 verse five. Even so then at this present
time. Now Paul, now he's referring
back to Elijah in Elijah's day, but Paul is saying I believe
in his day. He said even at this present
time also there's a remnant of the Jews According to the election
of grace, there's a remnant who have been brought to believe
the gospel, who've been brought to see the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ. And then he says in verse six,
now if it's by grace, it is no more of works. They're saved
by grace. And how does grace come? Grace
and truth comes by Jesus Christ. Grace reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ. I was reading an article the
other day by an old writer, and it was a good article, but he
left out a very important point. He was talking about the glory
and the beauty of God's grace. And he said something like this,
he said, the glory and beauty of God's grace is in its freeness. Isn't that beautiful? If we know
what we are by nature, there's glory and beauty in the grace
of God, because God's giving me and Christ what I don't deserve. And he said, there's glory and
beauty in the grace of God because of its power. God's gonna save
all whom he foreknew. And then he said there's beauty
and glory in God's grace because of its provision. And that's
a good outline. Because by God's grace through
Christ, we have all spiritual blessings. Everything that God
requires, he gives us through Christ. Here's what he left out. The beauty and glory of God's
grace is in its justice. What? Yeah. God doesn't love
apart from justice. God doesn't give freely apart
from justice. God doesn't show mercy apart
from justice. How do you know that? Because
that's why Christ came and died on that cross, folks, to satisfy
the justice of God. You see, if you look at the grace
of God apart from the justice of God, you don't have a biblical
view of grace. Again, Romans 521, grace reigns
through what? Righteousness. And what's another
word for righteousness? Justness. Satisfied. Unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord. And so when he says, if by grace,
then it's no more works, he says, otherwise, grace is no more grace.
Have you ever heard people say, well, that preacher, he mixes
works and grace? No, he doesn't. He just preaches
works. Because if it's of works, it's
no more grace. So if you interject the works
of man as far as attaining or maintaining salvation, you've
denied grace. If you make salvation conditioned
on us in any way, to any degree, at any stage, you've destroyed
grace. It's all conditioned on Christ.
It's based upon the righteousness that he established in his obedience
unto death as my surety, my substitute, my redeemer. He says, but if
it be of works, then it's no more of grace. That's plain,
isn't it? Otherwise, work is no more work. How can you get any clearer than
just the plain words of scripture there? Grace and works cannot
mix. Cain and Abel cannot have fellowship
in that sense. And so there is no mixture. Keep that in mind. It's all of
grace. All right.