I want to welcome everybody here
this morning. If you want to, you can go ahead
and turn to the book of Romans. We're going to continue our study
here in Romans. And this morning, we're going
to concentrate on two points of scripture, two main points. One of the points is God's election
of grace. The other point is the sinner's
inability to save himself because of our depraved, sinful, fallen
nature. My title here, The Election Hath
Obtained, is taken from verse 7 of Romans 11, and hopefully
by the end of this sermon you will be able to see more clearly
what I'm talking about when it says here in Romans 7, 11 verse
7, the election have obtained. Some individuals don't like to
bring up the doctrine of election. And I guess it's because they're
afraid that it'll offend people and get them upset. Therefore,
they'd rather just kind of steer away from it and not deal with
it. I believe in avoiding this truth
of scripture, the doctrine of election. It's much more about
compromising God's truth and thereby avoiding persecution,
which will come when you tell people the truth about God's
sovereign electing grace in salvation. Another reason all men by nature
get upset and get mad is when they hear someone tell them what
the scriptures say concerning their depravity. the depravity
of all men born of Adam. And the reason they get upset
is that it hurts and it offends their self-righteous religious
pride and strips them of all notions of a free will salvation
based on their works. All of us, before God gives us
eyes to see our true natural state, We really do believe that
we're able to do something to save ourselves, or that we can
be enabled to do something to save ourselves and to appease
this angry God. But let's look at what God says
of the state of all men by nature in Romans chapter three, beginning
of verse nine. What then? Are we better than
they, knowing no wise? For we have before proved, both
Jews and Gentiles, all nationalities, no matter where you come from,
that they're all under sin, all sinners. As it is written, there
is none righteous, no, not one. There's none that possess and
have, has a righteousness that meets up to that perfect standard
that God requires. No, not one. There's none that
understand it. There is none that seeketh after
God. Now we seek a God, a God of our imagination, one that
we've conjured up in our own minds. They're all gone out of
the way. They're together become unprofitable
or worthless. There is none that doeth good,
no not one. Now, we know that there's a lot
of what we would call good deeds done in this world. feed the
hungry, clothe the naked. When you have floods and tornadoes,
there are people out there helping other people. These are good
deeds. But we're talking about, when it says none doeth good,
this is talking about what God requires as far as salvation.
This is what we're talking about here. You see, these statements
in God's words completely puts all men on the same level. No
matter where you come from, no matter what culture you come
from, No matter what your nationality is, it puts all in need of salvation
by God's sovereign electing grace in and by Christ alone. Before
we begin our verse-by-verse study this morning by way of introduction
and looking back, let's look back at Romans 11 verse 5 that we went over the last study
that we had. It says, Even so then, at this
present time also, As it was in the days of Elijah, that's
what Paul is speaking of here, there is a remnant according
to the election of grace. It is clear that God chose some
of the Jews of the nation Israel, a choice that was determined
before this world was ever created. It is also clear that God's choice
was not and has never been conditioned on the center. How could salvation
ever have been conditioned on the sinner when God has already
chosen them into eternal life? And this was before this world
was ever created. It was before we were ever born
or had done any good or evil, according to election. As we've
seen back in Romans 9, beginning at verse 11, which states this,
Father children, speaking of Jacob and Esau, being not yet
born, neither having done 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, that is,
it was said unto Rebecca, she was the wife of Isaac, she's
the one that was the mother of these two boys, Jacob and Esau,
it was said unto her, The elder, or Esau, shall serve the younger,
Jacob, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
hated. God has an elect people that
he did foreordain unto eternal life, and that before this world
was created. Look at Ephesians 1, beginning
at verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father by Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. according as he hath chosen us
in him, in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Now,
how are we going to be holy and without blame before God in love
if it's not by the righteousness of Christ freely imputed to our
account? That's the only way we can stand
holy and without blame before God. It has to be not works that
we do because they're not good enough. It has to be because
of the righteousness of Christ that's accounted to us, freely
imputed to our account. The election of these individuals
is the source and spring of all the blessings of grace, both
in time and in eternity. These individuals, known as God's
elect, his sheep, were given to Christ their surety. Christ
became responsible for each and every one of them. They were
secured in an everlasting covenant of grace, which was made not
with men. God didn't make this covenant
with men. It was made between God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. Now, God's elect children are
taken special care of by divine providence. He watches over each
and every one of them. And in time, they're called by
sovereign grace, justified by the shed blood of Christ the
eternal Lamb of God, and sanctified, or set apart, and at last will
be glorified. Let's look at what is said of
God's adopted sons, His elect, adopted in Christ our Lord. Look at Hebrews 2, beginning
at verse 10. For it became Him, it became
God the Father, for whom all things, and by whom all things
in bringing many sons unto glory. These many sons are God's elect. They are sons by election and
by adoption. To make the captain of their
salvation, this is Christ, perfect through sufferings, for both
he of both Christ, both Christ, that sanctified, and they, these
are the many sons, God's elect, who are sanctified, are all of
one. the elect are one with Christ,
for which cause he, or the Lord Jesus Christ, is not ashamed
to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto
my brethren in the midst of the church. I will sing praise unto
thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, behold,
I and the children, these are the many sons, God's elect, which
God hath given me. Now this is Christ speaking,
given to God the Son in that everlasting covenant of grace.
Now this choice of God is owing to grace and grace alone, free
unmerited favor, not works. It can never be attributed to
the free will of man. It must be by God's choice. and by God's grace in Christ.
Up to this point, the Apostle Paul had made it clear that salvation
was not by the works of law, but by grace alone, all conditioned
on Christ alone, on his righteousness alone. It was stated back in
Romans 11 verse 6, and if by grace, if salvation's by grace,
then is it no more works, otherwise grace is no more grace, but if
it be of works, then it's no more grace, otherwise work is
no more work. Now, you can't have both. You
can't have grace and have works, too. They can't be mingled together
in any way. It's either grace, either salvation
by grace, or either it's going to be based on what you do or
don't do, your works, in some way. Now, Paul begins here in
verse 7 of Romans 11, with what then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it,
and the rest were blinded. The question that we'll consider
here in verse 7 is what then? What else can be said concerning
God's dealing with this nation Israel? Paul had made this very
clear, so clear that there should be no argument or question concerning
God having not cast away all the people of the Jews of the
nation Israel, nor had he cast away any whom he foreknew. whether in time, whether in the
time of Elijah, nor in the time of the apostles, nor in any other
time. God has always reserved some
of the nation Israel for himself, and this reserving of the people
of the Jews to call is a remnant according to the election of
grace is owing to God's previous choice of them, of which choice
is attributed not to their works, not to their works, any work
they've done but to the free and sovereign grace of God. After
having proved that God will save all spiritual Israel, both Jew
and Gentile who seek salvation by his grace through faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul draws a conclusion that should encourage
all sinners who hear the gospel to seek salvation by grace and
not by their works. Paul says here that Israel hath
not obtained that which he seeketh for." Why? It was because physical
Israel, not spiritual Israel, physical Israel, or the majority
of the nation Israel sought salvation and righteousness by their works,
just like men do today. Look at Romans 9.31. But Israel,
which followed after the law of righteousness, they followed
after it, have not attained to the law of righteousness, but
they didn't attain to it. Why? Look at Romans 10, 3. 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.
No sinner, no sinner, whether you're a Jew, a Gentile, or any
other nationality, will attain salvation from God by their works. because a sinner's works can
neither atone or make satisfaction for his sins or make him righteous
before God. God's law was never given for
the sinner to keep in order to gain their salvation. Let's look
and see, look here at the purpose of God's law here in Romans 3,
19. Now we know that what things
whoever the law saith, it saith to them who under the law that
every mouth may be stopped. and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in God's sight, for
by the law is the knowledge of sin." And that's the purpose
of the law. It should shut our mouths and
cause us to flee to Christ for salvation by His righteousness,
not by our deeds of law, by things that we do or don't do. Who then
will obtain salvation? since salvation cannot be obtained
by our deeds of law. Well, the scriptures say in Romans
11 verse 7, that Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh
for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
The election hath obtained it. Well, why did the election of
God obtain salvation? Was it because the elect of God
are in some way a little bit more moral, a little bit more
godly than those who perish? The answer to these questions
is absolutely not. In no way do the elect deserve
God's grace any more than those who perish and are eternally
separated from God. If God has so gracefully brought
you to see and understand that there is nothing that you can
do, nothing that you've been able to do, in order to obtain
salvation by your deeds of law, your works of law. If God has
shown you that salvation must be by the doing and dying of
Christ alone, his righteousness, that is freely imputed to your
account, if God has revealed these things to your heart, your
mind, your affections and will, then you know and you're convinced
that salvation is according to the election of grace and not
by your works of law. Paul had already shown that the
election describes any and all sinners, again, whether you are
Jewish or Gentile, who seek salvation by God's grace in and by the
Lord Jesus Christ. Believers see that according
to Romans 10, verse 4, it says, for Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Believers see
that. Believers see that Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness. He's the one that obeyed the
law in every jot and till perfectly, went to the cross, paid that
sin debt for all those he represented, worked out a righteousness that
God will accept. Believers see that. Seeing that
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, we're then
convinced that if any sinner is ever saved, if any sinner
is ever saved, God has to do the saving. Look at 2 Thessalonians
2, beginning verse 13. But we are bound to give thanks
always 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 for the truth, whereunto he called
you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He called each and every one
of his elect in the preaching of the gospel, this gospel that
identifies the true living God, the gospel that shows the sinner
that he has no hope for salvation by his works. His works is not
good enough. You've got to have a perfect
righteousness. Now, then in the last part of verse 7, it says,
and the rest were blinded. This refers to God's just judgment
upon the Jews who refuse to submit to and believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Look back at what Christ says
in Matthew 13, beginning at verse 12. For whosoever hath to him
shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever
hath not for him shall be taken away, even that he hath. Therefore,
speak I to them in parables. This is Christ telling his disciples
here why he spoke in parables to these Jews. Therefore, speak I to them in
parables, because they seeing, see not. They hear what he's
saying. They seeing, see not. And hearing, they hear not. Neither
do they understand. They don't understand what he's
saying. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which
saith, by hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand, and
seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. For this people's
heart is waxed gross, or it's grown dull. The picture here
is as a drunken man who's just lost all of his senses. And their
ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed.
at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their
ears and should understand with their heart and should be converted
and I should heal them. Now, they were blinded by their
own self-righteousness, their own religious pride and willful
unbelief. This blindness and final reprobation
reveals the sinfulness of sinners going about trying to establish
a righteousness of their own, which is an open attack. upon
God's glory and directly opposed to Christ and a salvation based
on His blood and His righteousness. Those who did not obtain salvation
were fully responsible to seek and expect salvation by God's
grace in Christ and reject everything else. They were fully responsible
to submit to Christ's righteousness as the only way of justification
before God. The problem was their unbelief.
Just like the people of this day, they just will not believe
that God saves by Christ's righteousness alone. We think that we have
to add to that work. Something that we, we just got
to do something. Whether it be you're going to
church, you're praying, you're giving, or your faith. Most people
think that salvation's conditioned on their believing, on their
faith. They say that Christ died for all men without exception.
And that salvation is an offer to you. And that the difference
between heaven and hell, the difference between being saved
and lost, is whether you accept this salvation offer. This is
what most of these religions out there teach today. Y'all
know that's so. Friends, this is not grace. This is works.
And the God of the Bible will not have any part of it. It must
be a perfect work which only Christ can provide. It must be
Christ's righteousness alone is our salvation. See, our believing
is not, our salvation is not based on our believing. Our salvation
is based on Christ, His work at the cross, His blood, His
righteousness. That's what we look to. We don't
look to our faith. But false religion teaches that
he came here and he died for every single individual. So if
you say that and you believe that, you have to go to work. You have to say it's your faith
that makes the difference. It's something within the center
that made the difference between heaven and hell. The last part
of verse 7 says, and the rest were blinded. Romans 11, 8, here
the next verse says, according as it is written, God had given
them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see and
ears that they should not hear until this day. Israel's rejection
was a great problem in Isaiah's day, and it was foretold by the
prophet as God revealed the future of Israel to him and to his hearers. Look at Isaiah 610. Make the
heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and shut
their eyes. lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,
and convert, and be healed. In Isaiah 29 10, for the Lord
had poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and had closed
your eyes, the prophets and your rulers, the seers, those seers
are those that that were thought to be able to predict the future.
Their eyes were closed, too. It says he had covered them also. As it was in Isaiah's day, it
was also true in Paul's day. For Paul says, until this day,
God left them to their own sinful and self-righteous desires. And
in judgment, he gave them the spirit of slumber, eyes that
they should not see and ears that they should not hear. Listen,
friends, this world here is not going to last forever. It's not
going to last forever. God's Spirit is not going to
always strive with men. And that according to Genesis
6, verse 3, it says, And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not
always strive with man. Now, this is meaning that there
is coming a time when the gospel will not continue to be preached.
Now, this verse is quoted up here in Genesis. As God speaks
to Noah here before the flood, God said this just before he
destroyed the world with the flood. Noah was a preacher of
righteousness, but there came a time when God said to Noah,
get in the ark and close the doors. Time's up. Just as it
was in the days of Noah's, so will it be in these last days
when God will say, it's time for Christ to return. There is
a day when those who continually reject the gospel will pass the
point of no return. We cannot know the time of this
for every individual, but it is sad and it's an awesome truth
that should stir up any sinner who hears the gospel to believe
it now and not delay. Believe this gospel now. What
gospel? This gospel that identifies the
true God and the true Christ of Scripture. The gospel of the
good news of salvation based on Christ alone. And in some
way, throw away those thoughts that you're going to be saved
by your works. I've said this before many times when I first
started hearing the gospel, that God was going to justify me based
on Christ's righteousness alone, and it didn't have anything to
do with me. I said to myself, I know God's not going to save
me unless I do something. Well, that's what the natural
man will do every time. He'll go there. As the Apostle
says in 2 Corinthians 6-2, we then, as workers together with
him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God
in vain. For he saith, I have heard thee
in the time excepted, And in the day of salvation have I circled
thee, or provided help and relief. Behold, now is the accepted time.
Behold, now is the day of salvation. Unbelief is the cause of condemnation,
but Christ's righteousness is the ground of salvation, as it
is the gift of God to all those that come to Christ by faith.
Look into Christ alone. Look at John 3 beginning verse
19. And this is the condemnation that light, this light is speaking
of the gospel. This light is coming to the world.
But men love darkness rather than light because their deeds
are evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither
cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But
he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may
be manifest that they are wrought in God. He that doeth truth,
he that is finally convinced by God of salvation based on
Christ's righteousness alone. Although Israel was blinded and
rejected according to God's decree, the blame was their own, not
God. The depravity of man's fallen
nature is a source of his ungodliness, which provokes God's wrath. These
Israelites willfully sinned against God, clear testimony. They killed the prophets and
they crucified Christ, and they bitterly attacked God's promise
of grace alone. Now, let's look again at verses
7 and 8 of Romans 11. These verses are dealing with
fallen sinful creatures, not with innocent people. This hardening
is a judicial punishment or a punishment resulting from a judgment that
God inflicts because of sin. When God hardens an individual,
he's not forcing a good person who wants to do right to do evil.
He is punishing a sinner by giving him up to sin, just leaving him
alone. God does not punish without an
existing cause in the guilty. Condemnation supposes positive
criminality. The only way that a sinner can
escape this condemnation and punishment is to be declared
by God to be not guilty, not guilty. be declared by God to
be not guilty, to not have our sins charged to our account.
Look at what Christ says about condemnation in John 3, beginning
at verse 17. For God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world, both Jew
and Gentiles is what he's speaking of, through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned, But he that believeth not is condemned already. See,
we're born into this world all by nature condemned because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Men are in themselves sinful and commit sin voluntarily. And
for their punishment, they are hardened and finally perish in
their sin. and their destruction is the
execution of a just sentence of God against sin. God knows
what men left to their own inclinations will do, and as to those who
are finally condemned, God determines to abandon them to their depraved
inclinations, their tendencies, and their desires, and hards
them in their rebellion against him. This judicial abandonment
is consistent with the holiness of God and the free moral agency
of man. You see, man by nature does have
a will to choose. We choose every day. We make
all kinds of choices. The problem is the nature that
we all have and that we're born with is in bondage to sin due
to our fallen Adam. We make all kinds of choices
in serving all different kinds of gods of our imagination. The
problem is that we will not choose to serve the true God of Scripture. God has to make us willing to
serve Him, and He does it in the day of His power. He comes
in power by His Holy Spirit, convincing us of who He is and
how He saves the sinner. Romans 11 beginning at verse
9 here, 9 and 10, our last scriptures that we'll deal with, says, And
David said, Let their table be made a snare and a trap, and
a stumbling block and a recompense to them, or a payment to them
for their unbelief. Let their eyes be darkened that
they may not see, and bow down their back always. In Psalm 69,
David predicted the rejection of Christ by the Jews and the
majority of the Jews. And so Paul rightly applies David's
testimony to his own present day and time to reveal that the
blindness of so many Israelites would not seem so strange. David's
denouncement concerning the enemies of Christ did not imply a malicious
or vengeful spirit of David. David was speaking by inspiration
of God and declaring God's future judgments against those who continue
in their unbelief. God's elect all those that are
chosen of God and brought to faith and repentance, they realized
that if it were not for God's amazing grace, we would be in
the same condition of unbelief. We know who made us to differ,
because by nature, as we're born into this world, we're no different
than an unregenerate sinner. We're all by nature ignorant
of God's way of salvation by Christ alone, his righteousness
alone, and we all by nature go about to work out a righteousness
of our own, not submitting ourselves to the righteousness of God.
It says here that their table, this is symbolic of their religion.
It includes all the particulars contained in the Mosaic economy,
which was given to Israel to lead them to Christ and salvation
by his blood and righteousness. But rather than seeing Christ
in these pictures and in these shadows and types, they willfully
perverted all of this to their own destruction. And therefore,
it became a trap and a stumbling block. The phrase bowed down
their back always. With the majority of the nation
Israel, they were bowed and bent toward continuing to in their
rejection of God's way of salvation. David foretold that God would
let them continue and perish in what they insisted upon, which
was legalism, bondage, and a salvation conditioned on themselves and
their works. They sought righteousness, but they sought it by their works
of law, just like men do today. All this is meant to show us
the necessity of being diligent to seek salvation by Christ alone.
The writer of the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews 2, beginning at verse
1, says, therefore, we ought to give more earnest heed to
the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let
them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and
every transgressions and disobedience received a just recompense or
reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed
to us by them that heard him. Nothing should have a priority
over this gospel that we believe. We ought to make it our life
to know Christ and more of him. Faith comes and grows by hearing
the gospel. The Israelites had heard the
gospel, but they would not believe it according to Hebrews 3.16,
which says, For some, when they heard, did
provoke, albeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. Also
look at Hebrews 4 too. Foreign to us was the gospel
preached, as well as unto them. But the word preached did not
profit them, not mixed with faith in them that heard it. The majority
of the nation Israel insisted on establishing a righteousness
of their own. just like they do today by their
efforts to keep the law. Therefore, they perish in unbelief. But all Israel, all spiritual
Israel, all of God's elect, the election of grace that we're
talking about, shall be saved. They will all be born again and
be brought to faith in Christ and repentance of dead works
and former idolatry. Well, in closing, We open our
study this morning with Romans 11, 7, where it states that Israel
hath not obtained that which he seeketh. And then in Romans
9, 31, states that Israel followed after the law of righteousness.
They sought after righteousness, but they did not obtain that
which they sought after. Why? Because they sought it by
their works of law and not by faith. Not by looking to Christ
alone for righteousness and eternal life. Then the last part of verse
7 says, but the election hath obtained it. The elect of God,
they obtain righteousness and eternal life. They have been
chosen of God, which is the election of grace. God has graciously
provided for them what they could not provide for themselves, which
is righteousness. They were chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world, given to Christ their surety.
God the Son, the Word that was made flesh, and the wealth among
us. In the fullness of time, Christ
came to this earth, and he fulfilled all righteousness on their behalf,
on the behalf of all those that the Father gave him in that everlasting
covenant. Christ walked on this earth in
perfection, the Lamb of God, without spot or blemish, perfect
in every way. Then, due to the sins of God's
elect, being imputed or charged to his account, to Christ's account.
He went to the cross in order to pay the sin debt that was
owed and incurred by the elect. In this transaction, the Lord
Jesus Christ worked out a righteousness that God the Father imputed to
the account of his elect, all those that Christ stood in their
place as surety to pay that debt. You see, God's God's elect obtains
righteousness and eternal life, but it's not by their works of
law. It's by Christ's work alone. His righteousness alone. That
is legally imputed and charged to their account. The election
hath obtained righteousness and eternal life, and the rest are
blinded. And they're blinded due to their
own self-righteousness and their own religious pride. rejected
God's gospel of a free salvation based on Christ alone.