Chapter 9. Andy Davis is going to preach
for us tonight and I asked him what he was preaching on and
he said the title of the message is, Is There Love After Adultery? And I thought that will get a
lot of hits on the internet. It's kind of funny, you look
at that sermon audio, I think the message that it has the most
downloads is, All Dogs Go to Heaven. Any kind of interesting
title, and then if you have a message, How Does God Save Sinners, nobody
hits it, you know. But I thought, it's out of Hosea,
and I'm looking forward to hearing that message. But in Romans chapter
9, I have entitled the message for
this morning, Why I Love Election. Now, before I get into the meat
of the message, I want to give the answer because I love the
God of election. That's why I love election. I
love the God of election. But I hope you'll pray for me
as I attempt to bring this message. I want to bring it the right
way. And I hope you'll hear. And it's
my hope that if you do not love the God of election, you will
love the God of election by the time this message is over. why I love election. A couple of weeks ago, a pastor
of a church here in central Kentucky was defending his belief that
the Bible is not all inspired. And he said his reason for making that statement public
was because of Paul's injunction forbidding women to speak in
the churches. And he said, you know the Bible's not inspired
because that is just cultural. That has nothing to do with truth.
That is just cultural. And he said that someone wrote
him in response to that and said, how in the world Can you pick
out which part's inspired, which part's not? I mean, how do you
have the wisdom and the ability to say, well, that part's inspired,
but that part's cultural. Don't you have to believe that
it's all inspired? And he replied like this. He
said, well, even the people who say they believe it's all inspired
don't really believe it's all inspired. He said, let me prove
this to you. He said, there's no doubt that
Paul teaches in Romans chapter nine, election. And nobody believes
that. So you believe it's inspired,
but not really. Well, I believe it's all inspired
and I believe election. Why I love election. And I really do. I love the God
of election. I really do. But first, what does the Bible
mean by election? We just read 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, but
of him that calleth." What does the Bible mean by this term election? Well, the word elect simply means
to choose. If I elect something, I choose
it. That's all the word means. Look
in John chapter 15 for just a moment. John chapter 15, verse 16. The Lord says to his disciples,
you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Literally, you have
not elected me, but I have elected you. How many different ways
are there to take that? You've not chosen me, but I have
chosen you." Now, this reality of God's election, you read in
the Old Testament and it's obvious that God chose Israel over the
rest of the nations of the world, isn't it? He didn't choose the
Amorites. He didn't choose the Hittites.
He didn't choose the Jebusites. He didn't choose the Canaanites.
He chose Israel and he made Israel his special, peculiar people. God made a difference between
Israel and everybody else, didn't he? It's in the Bible. That's
what the Bible teaches. You take the angels. There are
some fallen angels, demons. Satan is a fallen angel. I think
that reference in Revelation to he drew the third part of
the stars from heaven, I think that's a talking about a third
of the angels fell. Now, the ones who didn't fall
are called by Paul in 1 Timothy chapter 5, the elect angels. The only reason they didn't fall
is because God chose them not to fall. He is the difference. He is what caused them to not
fall. And I know this, if God doesn't
keep me from falling, I will fall. And you will too. We're
aware of that. But the angels that did not fall
are called the elect angels. And God chose the individuals
that he would save and Jacob and Esau, these two twins out
of the same womb are used to describe God's election. But once again, verse 11, for
the children. Well, let's look in verse 10.
And not only this, but when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even
by her father Isaac, for the children, these twins that were
in her womb, 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, the elder Esau shall serve the younger, the opposite of
the way we would have thought it would have been. As it's written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Now, what I'm talking about is
not some obscure teaching found in obscure portions of the Word
of God. It is a necessary part of what
we call the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the Lord Jesus,
during his earthly ministry, spake of the elect frequently. He said if it were possible they
would deceive the very elect. For the elect's sake, those days
shall be shortened. These are the words of the Lord.
He shall send his angels and gather his elect. Shall not God
avenge his elect? Throughout the epistles that
Paul and John and Peter wrote, throughout the epistles, the
saints are constantly called the elect. Paul said, put on
as the elect of God, holy and beloved, boughs of mercies. Knowing,
he said to the Thessalonians, knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God. When Peter writes his general
epistle, he begins it with these words, writing to the people
who are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
And then when he closes the epistle, he says, the church that's at
Babylon elected together with you, salute you. This was in
the everyday language of the early church. John writes to
the elect lady. That's who he writes to. And
he says, the children of thy elect sister greet thee. This
was the common language of the early church. If you would have
said to somebody in the early church, do you believe in election? They'd say, well, yeah, who doesn't? Who doesn't? I mean, that's a
common belief. Now, election. is God being God. It's all it is. It's God being God. The children, speaking of Jacob
and Esau, being not yet born, they didn't have any good, they'd
never done anything good, they'd never done anything evil, hadn't
been born yet. Children, having done neither good nor evil, that
the purpose of God according to election, God's choice, might
stand, that salvation might not be by works. Is that good news to you? Good
news to this sinner. Salvation doesn't have anything
to do with my works. Salvation is according to him
that calleth. Salvation is by grace. Verse 13 is a quotation from
Malachi chapter 1, the last book of the Old Testament. Let's go
ahead and read it. Hold your finger there in Romans 9 and turn to
Malachi chapter 1. Verse 1, the burden of the word
of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the Lord,
yet you say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's
brother, saith the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob. And I hated
Esau and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons
of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, that's the
descendants of Esau, we are impoverished, but we will return and build
the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
they shall build, but I'll throw down and they'll call them the
border of wickedness and the people against whom the Lord
hath indignation forever. Now that's this description of
those people that God says, I hate. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. Now election, listen real carefully,
election, God's choice, his ancient choice of his people before time
began is a necessary part of the gospel. If there were no
election, there would be no salvation. You believe that? If there were
no election, there would be no salvation. Now somebody says,
well, do you need to preach on election? Is it in the Bible? I think that answers that question,
doesn't it? Yes, it's in the Bible. You can't read, just like
that fellow said, he was, when he was talking, if you believe
the Bible's, if you really literally believe Bible, you've got to
believe election. So nobody, yeah, yeah, it's in the Bible.
He was right about that. And it's the very truth of God.
It's the very foundation of salvation by grace. God's choice of His
people. It's God being God. Now, somebody
may ask the question, can you preach the gospel and not preach
election? Well, if you can preach the gospel
and not preach the character of God, yeah, you can. But you know
you can't do that. If you can preach the gospel
and not preach salvation by grace, I reckon you can, but you can't
do that either, can you? If you can preach the gospel and obscure
the glory of God because God says in Exodus 33, and we're
going to look at this in a few moments, this is my glory, my
choice of my people. If you can preach the gospel
and hide the glory of God, yeah, you can preach the gospel without
preaching election, but that's impossible, isn't it? You cannot,
listen to me, you cannot preach the gospel and not preach election. It is impossible. And you know,
I make no apology for saying that. I know it's so. Now, I want to ask you a question. When
you hear these words quoted from the Old Testament and then Paul
quoting it in the New Testament, Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. I want you to look within your
own heart right now. I want to do the same. Be honest. Does this make you
bristle? Does this bother you? Do you
think That's not fair. How could that be fair? You don't really like it. Now, if those are my feelings, really, I'm not reconciled to
God. If I think that's not fair, it
bothers me. It troubles me. I don't like
this. I almost wish it wasn't in the
Bible. What I'm doing is I'm sitting in judgment on God. I'm
saying I'm more fair than he is. I don't agree with what he's
doing. I don't like this. I'm not a worshiper. I'm God's
judge. I'm sitting in judgment over
him. I'm not really on the Lord's
side. I'm a judge. I'm not a worshiper.
I'm a judge. I hear this statement, Jacob
have I loved and Esau have I hated. Now, if I'm not staggered by
Jacob have I loved, I think, man, of course he does. He's
a man. He ought to love him. You know,
it's expected. It's a given. Jacob have I loved. If I'm not
staggered by Jacob have I loved, but I'm staggered by Esau have
I hated, that's what I have a real problem with. How could he hate
Esau? Now here's the question. How
could he love Esau? Esau was a profane man, the scripture
says. He was a wicked man. He would
sell his relationship with God for a bowl of soup. a mess of
pottage. He didn't care a thing about
God. As a matter of fact, Esau hated
God with an evil hatred. And God hated him with a holy
hatred. Now understand, God's hatred
is not like our hatred. Our hatred is dark and vindicative
and wicked and evil. When we hate somebody, it comes
from the evilness of our heart. It's a bad thing. But God's hatred
It's because he's righteous. It's because he's holy. It's
because he hates sin. That is God's hatred. Does God actually hate men? Well,
Psalm 55 says, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. And that's
a large demographic. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. That's what the Bible says. So you can't get out of the Bible,
well, God loves all men without exception, because no, the Bible
doesn't teach that. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Now listen real carefully. The
amazing, staggering thing is that he loved Jacob. That deceitful, You read the
history of Jacob. I mean, he was a deceitful, sinful,
conniving, unstable man. In this scripture, Jacob have
I loved and Esau have I hated. Jacob and Esau are not the point.
God is the point. Election is God being God. That's all it is. God being God. Now why do I love election? Because
I love the God of election. God is God. He controls. It's not just an empty title
with Him. He controls everything because He's God. And I like
being that way. Somebody says, I don't like this.
Well, I do. I really do. I love God being God. And let
me give you the reasons now why I love election. Now you see this is not some
obscure teaching. It's part of the wolf and wharf
of the gospel. It's just true. But let me give
you these reasons why I love election. Well, I've already
said this half a dozen times, but first of all, because it's
God being God. This is the God of the Bible.
He's not God by an empty title, but he can't make sure his will
is done. This is this God who wants certain things but can't
get them. He's got to wait and see what men let him do. That's
a man-made God. That's an idol. That's a figment
of man's imagination. That's not the God of the Bible.
The God of the Bible is the God who elects. And I love election. I love the God of election. But
let me give you some more reasons why I love election so much.
Here's my second reason. gives a real sinner hope. That's what it does. It gives
a real sinner hope. You see, don't you love that
scripture says 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. If salvation is
dependent upon any work in me, something that I've got to do,
it's even dependent upon my response. I have No hope of ever being
saved. I know that if it's left to me,
all I'll do is sin. That's it. I know that. But election says that salvation
is by grace, the absolute, sheer, free grace of God. It has nothing
to do with your works. Now, it might discourage someone
who is hoping to be saved by the works because it says you
can't be saved by your works. I can understand somebody like that
doesn't like election. As a matter of fact, I can remember when
the Lord first dealt with me. I remember when I was confronted
with the doctrine of election. the God of election. That's a
better way to put it, not just the doctrine of election, the God
of election. I can remember finding out that that means there's absolutely
nothing I can do to save myself. And I remember at first, I was
mad. I was angry. This is not fair. I can't do
anything to save myself. And I saw I was in the hands
of a sovereign God who could do with me whatever He was pleased
to do. You know what He made me do? Have mercy on me. I can't do anything to save myself. If you don't do something for
me, I'll be damned. Oh, have mercy on me. That's what election does. It
causes somebody to ask for mercy. It opens up wide the door of
salvation for anyone. Don't think, well, election keeps
people from being saved. No, it doesn't. That's God's
purpose in salvation. If there were no election, no
one would be saved. But this opens up wide the door
of mercy for sinners. If you're nothing but a sinner, would that be you? Then this
opens up wide the door of mercy. God saves sinners. I love election because it glorifies
God. Turn with me to Exodus chapter
33. Paul quotes this in this ninth
chapter on down when he's defending against the objections he knew
men would have to election. But Moses says in verse 18 of
Exodus chapter 33, he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And what a question. Now think
of what Moses had seen at this time. He'd seen the ten plagues. He'd seen the Red Sea part and
the children of Israel march through. He'd seen the manna
come down from heaven. He'd seen the rocks bitten and
the water flow from it. He'd seen God write the law with
his own finger. And he says, I've not yet seen
your glory. Wow. What is your glory? What do you call your glory? And look how God answers, verse
19. And he said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee. I will proclaim the name of the
Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious
and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Now God says that
is his glory. I'll be gracious to whom I will.
Look how Paul quotes this in Romans chapter 9 verse 14. Paul knew the way we would all
naturally respond to election. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? Is God unfair? He asked that
question before, and I have too, and you have too. Is God unfair?
God forbid. For he saith to Moses, verse
15, I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I'll have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth." Now that's
Paul's quotation from Exodus chapter 33. God calls this his
glory. And listen, it's God's glory
that he can take somebody like me and say, I'm going to save
him. That's God's glory. That he can take someone as sinful
and unsavable as me and say, I'm going to save him. Oh, how
that glorifies God. Election glorifies the God of
glory. Now, I love election because
it's linked to the great truth of union with Jesus Christ. You know, there's so much mystery
that shrouds election, isn't there? To think that God has
always known me, that I was chosen, accepted, and the beloved, that
I've always been known in Christ, that I've always been viewed
in Christ. But listen to this scripture. according as He hath
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. As glorious, as
mysterious, but somehow every believer has always been united
to Christ. Now, when the Lord chose His
people, it's not like He chose them and then put them in Christ. This is mysterious, I don't know
how to explain it, but I was in Him, therefore I'm chosen. United eternally to the Lord
Jesus Christ, according as He hath chosen us in Him before
the foundation of the world. You can't really, and I can't
really grasp anything apart from union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
God loves this fellow talking to you right now. God loves me. I'm accepted in the beloved.
And the reason he loves me, the reason he views me with favor
is only one reason, because I'm in Christ. And I don't need any
other reason, do you? I don't need any other reason.
I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough
that Jesus died and that he died for me. I'm in him. I'm in him. Accepted in the beloved. What a glorious place of acceptance. I love election. not only because
it glorifies God, not only because it's linked to the great truth
of union with the Lord Jesus Christ, not only because it opens
the door for sinners, but your election magnifies the grace
of God. Jacob have a love. And what was
lovable in Jacob's character? I mean, you read about that man
and you think he was deceitful. He was a heel. It was said that
as soon as he came out of the womb, he was holding on to his
brother's heel. He was a deceptive man. He stole
his brother's birthright through deception. When he came into
his dad's presence, what a phony. He came into his dad's presence
and lied to his dad. Are you Esau? Yeah, I'm Esau. Well, you don't sound like Esau.
Come here, let me smell you. He had Esau's clothes on, so
he smelled like Esau. He put a skin, something on him,
so he had hairy arms like Esau. And his dad said, Are you really
Esau? Yes, I'm Esau. He was a liar
and a deceitful man. And God said, I love it. What grace. What grace that God
could say. And I identify with Jacob so
much. I know what grace that God could
look at me, a deceitful fraud. I was talking to John Walmsley,
I said this a few weeks ago, and then I just tickled. He said,
he said, the word that best describes me is a fraud. And you know,
every believer feels that way about themselves. Hypocrite,
fraud. God loves them. Aren't you glad? Jacob have I loved, God said. Oh, how that magnifies his grace. He doesn't have to find one reason
in you to love you. All of his reason is found in
the Lord Jesus Christ. I love election because it's
the great stripping doctrine. It strips us of all hopes of
being saved by our works. You ever get fronted with the
doctrine of election, you'll know, this is what you'll know.
You cannot be saved by your works. You're utterly and completely
in God's hand. It's up to him to save you. You
believe that? that you're utterly and completely
in His hands, and you can't do anything to get Him to save you. You're in the hands of a sovereign
God. Oh, it's such a blessed thing
when I'm stripped of all hopes of self-salvation, because it's
only when I'm stripped of the hopes of any kind of self-salvation
that I say, God, be merciful to me, thee, sinner. Election is the great stripping
doctrine. It's called the election of grace. And then election is the doctrine
that produces true humility. There's only one response to
election. Why me? Why would he look down in love
upon me and choose me? Why? You don't see any reason
in yourself why he would have done it. It's the great doctrine of humility. And then election is the doctrine
of thanksgiving. Paul put it this way in 2 Thessalonians
2 verse 13, but we are bound to thank God always for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you unto salvation. Can you thank God for election?
It's the doctrine of divine thanksgiving. Another reason I love election
is because it guarantees my holiness and blamelessness. According, Ephesians 1, 4, according
as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him. Now, the only way I'll be holy
is for him to choose me to be holy. And the only way for me
to be without blame is for him to cause me to be without blame
through the death of his son. But election guarantees my holiness
and my blamelessness, my justification. Yes, I love election, what it
does for me. And I love election, I guess I've
sort of already said this, But election opens up the door for
sinners. You can't be too bad to be saved.
Because it doesn't have anything to do with any goodness or badness
in you. It opens up the door wide for
mercy. The only thing that will keep
you from loving election is self-righteousness. That's it. Self-salvation, this
opens up wide the door for sinners. And I love election because election
is such an encouragement for evangelism. Everybody, when they
first hear of election, they say, well, that'll destroy evangelism. That'll destroy our motive to
witness and to seek to tell others the gospel. That's just not so. I'm preaching to you right now,
aren't I? All the great missionaries of the past have all believed
in election. And they wouldn't have even bothered to go if they
didn't believe in election. Listen to the scripture. When Paul is
in Corinth, the Lord said to Paul, be not afraid, but speak
and hold not thy peace. For I'm with thee and no man,
she said, has heard on thee. For I have much people in this
city. That was his reason to evangelize.
God said, I have much people in this city. So Paul was willing
to do whatever he said. I can do all things for the elect's
sake. that they may also obtain the salvation that's in Christ
Jesus. Now, here's my last point. I love election because this is what causes worship. Turn with me to a very familiar
scripture, Matthew chapter 15. Now let me say this, I have never worshipped, not
real worship, oh I might have been religious, but I've never
worshipped until I have worshipped the God of election. Now let's look at this scripture,
Matthew chapter 15 verse 21. Then Jesus went thence, and departed
into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan,
a Gentile, came out of the same coast, and cried unto him, saying,
Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David. My daughter is
grievously vexed with a devil." Now, can you even imagine a more
horrible position to be in? Her daughter was demon possessed,
vexed. Oh my. And look how the Lord
responded to her. Verse 23, but he answered her, not a word. She asks for mercy
and he ignores her. She prays for his favor and she
does not hear from him. He answered her, not a word. Have you ever dealt with the
silence of God? When you've prayed and he didn't answer? Your prayers don't get any farther
than the ceiling, so it seems. He answered her, not a word. Verse 23, and his disciples came
and besought him saying, send her away, she crieth after us.
Now, what I gather from that is she continued to cry. Even though he didn't answer,
she didn't quit crying. You know, men ought always to
pray and not to faint. And there's never a reason for
you or I to give up. There's really not. Doesn't election
keep people from seeking the Lord? No, no. He answered her
not a word, but she continued to cry. And they said, send her
away for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am
not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now,
what is that but election? He said, I didn't come to save
everybody. I only came to save the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. All that is, is election. Verse 25. Then came she, and
what? What? Worshipped Him. You only worship when you see this. Then came she and worshipped
Him, saying, Lord, help me. If you don't help me, I won't
be helped. She didn't say it's not fair if you'd only come to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. She came and bowed before
him and said, Lord, help me. When I find out I can't save
myself, I'm in God's hands. Lord, help me. Help me. If you don't help me, I will
not be helped. I need your help. I need your
grace. I need your favor. I need your mercy. That was her
response. Lord, help me. Verse 26, but he answered and
said, it's not meat to take the children's bread and to cast
it to dogs. He says to this woman, my bread, the children's bread,
it's only for the children. It's not for dogs. Now, what
if the Lord said that to you? My grace is for my children.
It's not for dogs, not for folks like you. It's for my children.
How would you respond? How would you, if he said this
to you, put yourself in this woman's place. If he said this
to you, would you get mad? Well, how did this woman respond?
Would you say this is not fair? I mean, here I'm asking for mercy. What's wrong? How does this woman
respond? Verse 27, and she said, truth,
Lord. If I ever heard the truth, that's
it. That's the truth, Lord. I'm nothing more than a dog.
I confess that. I have no problem with that.
I'm nothing more than a dog. I'm not fit. to even think of
myself as one of your children, and I'm not looking for a place
setting with the children. But, oh, even the dogs are dependent
upon the crumbs that fall from the master's table, and I'd be
so appreciative if just a few crumbs would fall my way." Most people would say she needs
to get a healthier self-image. She needs some help. But what
did the Lord say about this woman's response? Verse 28, then Jesus answered
and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. You see, election never discourages
a sinner, never has, never will. It causes worship. Then came
she and worshiped. It'll cause worship with the
children. Those who don't worship the God of election, well, I'm
sorry. I'm sorry. I feel bad for you. I feel bad that you can't see
the beauty and the glory. But if you're a sinner, you love
election. Let's pray together.