It's been a few weeks since we
were in Romans, so it's a little harder to follow the context,
so I wanted to go back and pick up a couple of verses that we'd
looked at previously. We'll look at verses 9 through
13, Lord willing, this morning, but look at verses 6 and 8. We
see, 6 through 8, we see that there are two Israels and two
seeds. This is important to understand.
seem to understand this. He said in verse six, not as
though the word of God has taken none effect for they are not
all Israel, which are of Israel. That's two different Israels
right there. They are not all spiritual Israel,
which are of earthly Israel. That's clear, isn't it? They're
not all God's Israel, which are Abraham's Israel. Neither verse
seven, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children
of God? That's so clear. He clarified,
he's very careful to explain this, isn't he? There's really
not much excuse for misunderstanding it. We just hadn't looked at
it, if we don't understand this, at least in our head. But in
Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, These are not the children of God. Esau was an
Israelite child of the flesh, but he wasn't a child of God.
God said, I hate Esau. Not complicated at all, is it?
But the children of the promise accounted for the seed. Seed of Abraham. and the seed which is made up
of the children of the promise. Two seeds. Two Israels, two seeds. Paul has explained this for a
reason. In establishing, you notice there
in verse six he said, not as though the word of God had taken
on effect. Why would he say that? Well,
he's establishing that though the earthly children of Israel,
the earthly nation, had generally speaking rejected Christ, and
were lost. They were flat lost. He says
later in this same context, my heart's desire and prayer to
God for Israel is that they might be saved. Because they're lost. They're steeped in religion and
tradition and the law and they don't know Christ. But just because
that's true, that doesn't mean God's promise to His people was
of none effect, because his promise wasn't to earthly Israel, it
was to spiritual Israel. The children of the promise,
those are the ones that are counted for the seed. Now in verse nine,
he continues this line of thought. Look at verse nine. For this
is the word of promise. This is God's gracious, spiritual,
Covenant promise. This is how it happened at this
time. Will I come and Sarah shall have a son? 100 years old and
can't have a son, but she's gonna have a son. That's how God's
promise works It doesn't happen by natural generation. It happens
by supernatural grace and power That son was Isaac the promised
son in whom we also see this same truth of God's spiritual
Israel contained within earthly Israel. Turn to Galatians 4 and
let's look at it. If we listen carefully for a
little while this morning, you'll understand something that very,
very few people understand. Verse 21. Isaac now we're talking about
the promised son that Sarah had Isaac verse 21 Tell me you that
desire to be under the law. Do you not hear the law? For
it is written that Abraham had two sons The one by a bondmaid
that's Ishmael. That's when they reasoned among
themselves and they said well, it doesn't look like You know,
God promised us a son, but it doesn't look like it's gonna
happen unless we do something about it. So Abraham went in unto the
the bond woman, and had Ishmael, but the other by a free woman,
Sarah. For it is written that Abraham
had two sons, but look at verse 23, but he who was of the bond
woman was born after the flesh, according to the wisdom of the
flesh. God's not gonna follow through
on his promise, we've been waiting too long, so we're gonna make
something happen. That's not how God's people are
saved. But he of the free woman was by promise. That's how sinners are saved,
by God keeping his promise to save his elect. Which things
are an allegory, verse 24, for these are the two covenants.
These two sons, these two mothers are the two covenants. The one
from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage. That's the covenant
of the law. That's according to the flesh. We keep God's law. That's where
the Jews were. That's where the earthly Israelites
were when Paul said, they're lost. They're keeping the law
and saying, God's going to be pleased with my law keeping.
No, he's not. We hadn't kept the law. We just think we have.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. For this
Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to Jerusalem, which
now is. Earthly Israel right now, they're in bondage with
her children. But Jerusalem, which is above
God's spiritual Jerusalem is free, which is the mother of
us all. That's all believers, all of his children. For it is
written, rejoice thou barren that bearest not, break forth
and cry, thou that travailest not, for the desolate hath many
more children than she which hath a husband. Now, we brethren,
as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then, he that
was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit,
even so it is now. That's true now. Those who believed
in their law keeping, the Pharisees, they wanted to kill everybody
that believed on Christ. They still hate us. And if they
could get away with it, they'd kill us now. Those who are convinced
that they're gonna be saved because of something they did, hate free
grace and everybody that preaches it and believes it. And the one
who is himself the embodiment of it, the true Lord Jesus Christ. They talking about a Jesus that
they love over there. No, how they love him, they're
singing about. But they don't know the Christ of scripture.
They hate him and everybody that's with him and in him and knows
him. preaches him, believes on him. It's that same way now. Paul said it's that way now,
and it is now, today. Nevertheless, what sayeth the
scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the
bondwoman shall not be heir. And that's, as Paul is saying,
that's Israel and her children now. They're just, they're not
the sons of promise. Manifestly, they're not, because
they reject the Lord Jesus, Christ. And they shall not be heir with
the son of the free woman. So then brethren, brothers, my
brothers and sisters in Christ, we're not children of the bond
woman. We know that it's not after the flesh. It's not of
him that will author of him that run. It's of God that show us
mercy. We know that it's by God's grace
and promise and covenant. We're not the children of the
bond woman. We're children of the free by his grace. And isn't that clear? Now look
at verse 10 back in our text. And I'm gonna read verse 10 and
I'm gonna skip verse 11 and read verse 12 and I'll explain why
in a little bit. And not only this, not only now
what he just said, that Sarah had two sons and Isaac was the
son of promise. And that's a picture of God miraculously
saving his people from among earthly Israel. All right, and
not only this, but when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even
by our father Isaac, Isaac is the son that was born in verse
nine, and now he's the father also of two. When Rebekah also
had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, it was said
unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. How come? Because
God loves one of them. He loves the younger, and he
hates the elder, that's why. Jacob have I loved, as it is
written, it is written in heaven, God's word that's everlasting.
Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated. And here's another
example of the difference between earthly Israel and spiritual
Israel. Jacob and Esau are not only both Jews, they're both
brothers. And they're not only both brothers,
they're twins. And one of them, they're both
of earthly Israel, but only one of them's of spiritual Israel. God loved one and hated the other. So do you see how that explains
what Paul is teaching here? He starts out by saying that
Israel is lost. and that he had great heaviness
and sorrow over them. But he understands when he says
that now that some imagine that just being an earthly Israelite
automatically guarantees God's blessing. So he's quick to add
that though Israel is lost, this does not mean that God has gone
back on his promise to Israel. You need to understand which
Israel he made the promise to. God's promise is to His elect
spiritual Israel, Isaac and all of the children of the free woman.
That's us, brethren in Christ, believers in Christ. Not the
children of the bondwoman. They shall not be heir. And He
just said in that text in Galatians that Israel now and her children,
they're children of the bondwoman and they shall not inherit with
the children of the free. His promise is to Jacob and not
to Esau. The seed, the seed, singular,
to whom all the blessings of God are promised from the beginning
is not Abraham's natural seed, but Christ, in whom all of God's
elect are chosen heirs of all of God's covenant blessings.
Galatians 3 16, let me read it to you while you've got all this
in your mind Listen to this verse now to Abraham and his seed where
the promise is made Not his earthly seed He saith not and to seeds
as of many but as of one The promise was made to one and to
that seed which is Christ Is that clear? Now, how does
that let Jacob in? Because he's chosen in Christ. He's loved in Christ. He's predestinated
in Christ. Look at verse 11 now, because
it tells why God said what he did to Rebekah. Why did God say
what he did to Rebekah? Jacob have I loved, and Esau
have I hated. Here's why. For the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand." Not of works, not
of law keeping, not of all the things that the
Pharisees were so proud that they did. I fast twice in the
week, I give tithes. Not of that. but of him that
calleth. That's who the promise was made
to, and that's who's gonna be saved. Not earthly Israel, not
earthly anybody. God's elect. The purpose of God
according to election. What is the purpose of God according
to election? Turn to Ephesians chapter one.
This, I believe, is the clearest declaration of God's purpose
according to election. Ephesians 1, 3. Now listen to
it. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. The promise was made
to Abraham's seed, Christ, and we blessed in him. in Christ,
according as He hath chosen us. That's what election is. It's
choice. It's God's choice of His people
from eternity unto salvation. According as He hath chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children. Well, I'm not an Israelite. It
ain't about that. You're adopted into God's family. How? In Christ, the seed. The promise wasn't made to Israelites. It was made to the seed. And
you obtained the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself
because he flat was pleased to do it. Do you see that? According
to the good pleasure of his will. I get excited about this because
this is so glorious, isn't it? How beautiful. God's purpose
of electing grace that includes a rich like me. He made that
promise to me when he made it to the seed. because I'm blessed
in the seed. To the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us, Jew or Gentile, accepted
in the beloved. That's how you're accepted of
God, in Christ. Of God are ye in Christ Jesus,
who has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. You see how that the promise
being made to the seed, that is Christ. You see how I get
in on that? That passage in Ephesians there
is pretty clear, isn't it? That's how I get in on God's
promise to His Son. The covenant that He made with
His Son, and with me because I'm in His Son. Oh, before I was ever born, I had not done any good or evil.
It has nothing to do with anything that I've done or anything that
I am by nature. It's not of works, but of him
that calleth. I had not believed nor rejected. I had not followed nor walked
away. God's favor is not based on that. What is God's blessing
and favor based upon? Jacob have I loved. It's based upon the love of God
in Christ and everybody that he loved and everybody that he
chose from eternity he made a covenant with and he calls them his Israel. Because earthly Israel is a beautiful,
typical picture of them. Chosen, though the most despised
and worthless nation in God's earth. Oh boy, you're anti-Semitic. No, I'm just telling you what
God's book says. He chooses the base and the weak and the despised. And the nation of Israel, he
said, I didn't choose you because you were great. You're a stiff-necked
and rebellious people. The off-scouring of the earth.
But he said, because I loved you. Jacob have I loved In eternity. He said his affection upon an
elect people in Christ and to those people he made all the
promises Because the promises are yay and amen only in Christ
Chris have I loved you see why this is I get a little bit worked
up over this Why did he love us? Look at Ephesians 1-4 again. Look at verse 4. According as
He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. He loved us in Christ. Chosen
in Him. Standing in Him. Blessed of God
in Him. Look at those words all through
Ephesians chapter one in him in him in him That's how I get
in on it That's why he loved me Because I'm his I'm his son
In the lord jesus christ. I'm holy and without blame before
him In the lord jesus christ He loves us in christ and because
he does and always has Every blessing of God is promised to
us and is ours in Christ. I hope that's clear. Let's bow
in prayer.