I wish that myself were a curse
from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Now Paul is talking about the
Jewish people. He had great sorrow in his heart
for his Jewish brethren. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to
his own and his own received him not. They did not know him. They rejected the Christ. And
God blinded them. If you'll turn to Romans 11. In Romans chapter 11, beginning
with verse 6, talks about redemption through Christ our Lord. And
says in Romans 11 verse 6, and if it's by grace, then it's no
more works. That's how these Jewish people
were endeavoring to attain everlasting life, was by their works. But
it's no more works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, then is it no more grace. Otherwise,
work is no more work. What then? Israel. Talking about these Jewish people.
Paul's brethren. Israel hath not obtained that
which he seeketh for. They haven't obtained favor with
God or acceptance with God. But the election hath obtained
it, and the rest were blinded. According as it is written, God
hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that should not
see and ears that should not hear, that they should not hear
unto this day. And to his day when he was writing
this, you can say to this day, about now. And David said, let their table
be made a snare. All of their ceremonies, their sacrifices, their Passover,
all of these things that should have pointed them to Christ and
brought them to Christ, the purpose for which these things were given.
But they become a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a recompense
unto them. Let their eyes be darkened that
they may not see. Bow down their backs always.
Another scripture over in 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 or 4. Let's look over there. In 2 Corinthians. Chapter 3, verse 12. It says, Paul is talking about
his own ministry here, and he says, seeing then that we have
such hope, we use great plainness, boldness of speech. And not as
Moses, which put a veil over his face. You remember when he
came down from the mountain and his face shone like the sun,
and people couldn't look at him. when he came down from the mountain
with the laws of God, had to put a veil over his face for
them to even stand in his presence. For the children of Israel could
not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished, but
their minds were blinded. For until this day remaineth
the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament.
They can't see Christ. They can't see Christ the Passover,
Christ the brazen serpent lifted up, Christ the seed of woman,
Christ the son of David, Christ the priest after the order of
Melchizedek. They read those things. Isaiah
53, wounded by our transgression. The Lord our righteousness. All
these things. They can't see it. Untaken away
in the reading of the Old Testament, but disveiled, is done away in
Christ. If God ever reveals Christ to
you, you see Him on every page of the Scriptures. Very clear.
All right, back to my text. Now, these are the people for
whom Paul is praying here, for whom he is so burdened and so
troubled. He makes a statement here that's
most difficult to understand and most difficult for an honest
person to enter into. He says in verse 3, I could wish
that myself were separated from Christ. If that would secure
their salvation, I'd be willing to be separated from Christ.
My kinsmen according to the flesh. Jewish people. Moses said something
akin to that in Exodus. If you want to look at it, Exodus
32. I tried to think about that statement. I could wish that myself were
cursed from Christ for my brethren according to the flesh. And then
I read Moses over here in Exodus 32. Verse 31, when God was so
angry with Israel, and Moses was interceding for
them, he was standing between the Lord God and these rebellious
people. And Moses said in verse 31, Lord,
he returned to the Lord, he said, Oh, this people have sinned a
great sin, and have made them gobs of gold, Yet now, if thou
wilt forgive their sin, there is a pause. And if not, blot
me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." And
I thought while I read that, when I read Paul's words, is
there anybody on this earth for whom I'd be willing to be damned?
I just don't know. I just don't know. I don't want
to be separated from Christ. My Lord was separated from the
Father for me, but not forever. Not forever. But the Lord answered
Moses in verse 33, and He said to Moses, Whosoever hath sinned
against Me, him will I blot out of My book. I'll take care of
that Moses. You take care of your business, and I'll take
care of mine. I'll blot whom I please out of My book. Alright,
let's go back to the text. But that's his intercession. And then he said, he identifies
these people. You know, the Old Testament presents
Christ's coming. The Christ, the Messiah, the
Redeemer. They look for a Redeemer. They look for a Messiah. They
look for Christ. They weren't looking for a lamb. They weren't looking for a Savior
from sin. They weren't looking for sacrifice,
for transgressions. They were looking for a King.
For a great Messiah to restore the kingdoms, the glory of David
and Solomon in those days, and the power and glory of the nation
Israel. That's what they were looking
for. And the Old Testament talks about both comings. How He will
come as the Lamb And then the lion, how he will come as a substitute
and then as a judge. But they couldn't separate these
two covenants. They couldn't. Because they didn't
understand the Old Testament sacrifices. They just didn't
understand them at all. And here he tells us in verse
4, he said, who are these people? Who are Israelites? He didn't
ask the question. He says that this is who they
are. But I asked the question, who are they? Who are these Israelites? These people so blessed and so
blind. So blessed and so blind. And that's this country. So blessed
and so blind. I'll tell you who they are and
look at the things he says about them. Number one, to whom pertaineth
the adoption. Well, that's not spiritual adoption,
Cecil, is it? It can't be spiritual adoption.
Because if a man's, Jim just read it, if you're children,
if you're sons, then you're heirs of God. If you're spiritually
adopted, you're an heir. If you're adopted spiritually
into the family of God, you're an heir. That's what makes a
man a child of God, is by adoption. And he joined there with Christ.
But these people here were not of the adoption spiritually,
but nationally. They were separated people from
the other nations of the earth, the idolatrous, ungodly nations. They were different. God made
a difference. He put a difference between them
and the nations of the world. So they were, in a sense, during
these days, the people of God. He called them, my people, my
people. They weren't all saved, they
were not all children of God, but they were the nation to whom
God... Listen, and He gave the second,
the glory. What's that glory? Well, you
picture the tabernacle out there in the wilderness. You know what
that cloud is over that tabernacle? That's the glory of God. At night,
you know what that fire is, that pillar of fire? That's the glory
of God. And if you were one of the high
priests who went once a year into the Holy of Holies, you
would have been faced with the Shekinah glory of God between
the cherubims. God's glory was manifested to
Israel. That's right. And the covenants,
thirdly, and the covenants, what covenants? The covenant with
Abraham. I'll make you a special people, I'll give you land, I'll
drive out seven nations, give you land, kingdom, milk and honey,
made a covenant with David of your kingdom, there'll be no
end. These people. Fourthly, the giving of the law,
the Levitical law and the moral law. The other nations, what
nations stood at Sinai's mountain while Moses went there to meet
God and saw the lightning and the thunder and the clouds. Israel. No other nation. Israel. And the service of God. What
nation had the tabernacle and the priesthood and the atonement? What nation
had the mercy seat carried on the shoulders of the priest?
What nation walked across the wilderness and God fed them,
miraculously kept them. The services of God were given
to Israel. And the promises. To whom did
he write? God will give you a sign. A virgin
shall be with child. Israel. Unto us a son is given. Unto us a child is born. The
government upon his shoulders. Israel. Every promise The prophets
spoke to our fathers, Paul said. And then he said in verse 5,
whose are the fathers? Abraham, a Jew. Isaac, a Jew. Jacob, a Jew. David, a Jew. Isaiah, a Jew. Elijah, a Jew. Every one of them. Every one of them. All the fathers.
Watch it now. I see to them belongeth the adoption,
the glory, the covenants, the law, the tabernacle services,
the promises, the fathers, number eight, of whom as concerning
the flesh Christ came. To whom was Christ Jesus born?
Mary. In the house and lineage of David.
In the city of Bethlehem. A Jew. Those people. Of whom as concerning the flesh,
Christ is the Savior of all nations who believe. But He was a Jew. He came unto His own. He came
to His tabernacle, His temple. And what's this tremendous statement
about our Redeemer? It's one of the strongest statements
in the Bible concerning His deity. Of whom, as concerning the flesh,
Christ came, who is over all, sovereign, almighty God." Now
watch this. God blessed forever. Amen. Oh, I tell you, is it any wonder
that Paul was grieved over these people who were so blessed and
so blind? And any true minister of God
has to be deeply concerned and deeply troubled over the fact
that people are so blessed and so blessed, have so much and
see so little. Well, he raises this question
in verse 6. Is it over? God made this covenant, raised
up these people, gave the services and the covenants and the adoption
and the glory and the law and the promises and the fathers.
Is it over? Has God failed? Has the Word
been preached in vain? With no effect? Is the covenant
unknown? Is the purpose of God defeated? Not as though the Word of God
had taken on effect, for they are not all Israel which are
of Israel. They are not all Israel which
are of Israel. It is not the natural descendants
of Abraham who make up the true Israel of God, but it is those
who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not those who are
naturally born of Abraham who are sons of God, but those who
are born of God. Look at verse 7. Neither because
they are the seed of Abraham are they children. We are not
children of God. We are not true Israel because
we are children of Abraham. We are not children of God because
we are children of believers. We are not children of God because
we are descendants of any human being. We are not children of
God because we subscribe to a certain brand of theology. But in Isaac, look at this, but
in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Isaac, the son of Thomas, the
chosen one. We are children of God by His
choice. We are children of God by divine
adoption. We are children of God by spiritual
birth. God is our Father. We are children
of God by the redeeming work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We
are children of God by His will, not ours. Turn to 1 Peter chapter
2. 1 Peter chapter 2. It talks about these Israelites
a little bit here in 1 Peter chapter 2. Let's read beginning with verse
7. Verse 6, Wherefore also it is
contained in the Scriptures, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect, precious. Christ is his elect. We are elected in Christ. And
he that believeth on him shall not be ashamed, confounded, Unto
you therefore which believe, he is precious. But unto them
which be disobedient, these are those people who said, we will
not have this man reign over us, but what shall I do with
Jesus which is called the Christ, crucified? We have no king but
Caesar. Unto them that be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling, and
a rock of offense, Even to them which stumble at the Word. Stumble at the Word. They can't
see Christ in the Word. Can't see Him as a fulfillment
of every promise, every prophecy, every picture, every pattern.
And they're disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. But
you, that's not true of you. What's the difference? You're
a chosen generation. Your royal priesthood, king-priest. He's made us kings and priests,
our God. Your holy nation in His holiness
and righteousness. Your peculiar, a purchased people
that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called
you. He called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light, which in times past you were not a
people. Gentiles. You were those strangers
and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. But now you're the
people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have
obtained mercy. So go back to the text, Romans
9. Because Israel rejected the Messiah
and refused the Word, were blinded, does that mean the Word of God
had taken none effect? Oh, no. Verse 6 says, They are
not all Israel which are of Israel. They are not all Israel which
are of Israel. Look at verse 27 in Romans 9.
Isaiah cried concerning Israel, Though the number of the children
of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. Paul said, I am a Jew. There
are some Jews saying, yeah, I'm a Jew, he said. The apostles
were Jews. The early church was full of
Jews. But they're not Israel. It's
not all Israel, which are of Israel. Verse 7, neither because
they're the seed of Abraham are their children, but in Isaac
shall thy seed be called. That's in Christ. Christ is our
Isaac. Isaac is a picture of Christ.
was born supernaturally. There was no way that Sarah could
have a child. And Mary, there was no way she
could have a child. She didn't know a man. And our
Lord was a child of promise. He was a seed. Read verse 8. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God. And see, Israel,
Jews depended on that. And unfortunately, it's true
today. They're blinded to this glorious
gospel of redemption in Christ for all nations. Even now, you'd
have to become a Jew in order to participate in their idea
of salvation. But these are not the children
of God, but the children of promise. accounted for the seed. And then,
you know, a hymn writer said this, Sons, we are through God's
election who in Jesus Christ believe by eternal destination,
sovereign grace, we have received. So praise my soul, adore and
wonder. Oh, why such love to me? God's grace put me in the number
of the Savior's family. But now I want you to watch something
here in these next two illustrations, beginning with verse 9. Now listen
to this. And remember what he's saying.
He's saying in verse 7, you've got to get this before you can
go to verse 9, neither because they're the seed
of Abraham are they children, but in Isaac. Because that is,
they which are the children of the flesh. These are not the
children of God. But the children of promise are
accounted for the seed. For Abraham had two sons. He
had a son called Ishmael. He was Abraham's son. Abraham
did beget, conceive that son. He was Abraham's seed. But he
wasn't a child of promise. For this is the word of promise,
at that time will I come and Sarah shall have a son." That's
right. So here, Abraham had two sons. Ishmael, not a child of promise. Isaac, a child of promise. But
somebody raised this objection. Yeah, but Ishmael had another
mother. Another mother. Alright, so he gives you this
illustration. And not only this, but when Rebecca, had conceived
by one, even our father Isaac. Now here is Isaac, the child
of promise, Abraham's son by Saber. He has two sons. And both of them are conceived
with the same father and the same mother at the same time. And yet God put a difference.
Are you with me? Are you with what Paul is saying?
Paul is saying this, salvation has got nothing to do with who
your father is. Nothing whatsoever. Or who your
mother is. Or who your ancestors are. It's
by grace. It's by God's choice. Because
he said Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Somebody says,
well, they were born of different mothers. Alright. Isaac had two
sons. And God, by His providence, made
them conceive of the same Father and the same Mother at the same
time. And there was one difference
in them. One of them was older. And the
natural flesh says, He is the choice. He is the leader. God
said, No, He's not. Jacob, I love. the younger. Esau hated that. For the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election, election, God's sovereign, particular,
discriminating choice, election, that the purpose of God according
to election might stand, not of works, not of nature, not
of heritage, not of ancestry, not of deeds, not of anything
associated with the human flesh, not even the older. It was said
to her that the elder shall serve the younger. Jacob have I loved
and Esau have I hated. I told one of the men in the
study tonight that one of the things led me to bring this message
tonight and the message I'm going to bring Sunday morning and the
message I may be bringing for the next several weeks. One thing that's bothered me
through the years is what happened to Charles Spurgeon's great church
in London when he died. People have discussed that for
years. That that church I suppose he was one of the greatest preachers
that ever lived. One of the strongest advocates of grace, particular
redemption, election, God's sovereign choice, God's saving grace, salvation
by grace, contrary to any inheritance of riches, works, or deeds. And
yet, just six years after he died, the church under the leadership
of his own son Totally contrary to what that
man had preached for 38 years. 38 years. I'll tell you what
happened. I read just this past week again,
I'd forgotten what it was. I don't know whether I'd read
it before or not, but an account by Ian Murray of the decline
of the tabernacle. Spurgeon had a brother, James
Spurgeon. I think he was older than Charles.
And when Charles Spurgeon became pastor of that church, he brought
in his brother James as associate pastor of that church. Spurgeon was out of his pulpit
quite a bit. James had charge of the services
when Spurgeon was out of the tabernacle. He was a very sick
man. He would be away for a month,
two months, sometimes for four months at a time in Mentone,
France, recuperating from sicknesses. ill health, rheumatism, and other
things. When that tabernacle was first
built and dedicated, his brother James, Spurgeon opened that tabernacle
with a Sovereign Grace Bible Conference. That's where I got
the idea of having one here in Iceland years ago. 1861. They
opened the tabernacle. Spurgeon was such a grace man,
Calvinist, such a strong believer in Sovereign Grace, that he had
five services, five nights in that brand new tabernacle seating
5,000 people, five messages, total depravity,
unconditional election, limited atonement, effectual call, perseverance. His brother, James, preached
the message on particular addiction. The author said, As the years
passed, James ceased to believe in particular
redemption. And Spurgeon tolerated it. He
tolerated a lot of things. He tolerated Dwight L. Moody
coming in there and preaching, and Iris Sankey coming in there
singing. He tolerated these things. And these are one of the dangers.
He tolerated people being members of that church who did not believe
the things he believed about sovereign grace. He tolerated
young preachers that were in his school going out holding
services contrary to the way they held them in the tabernacle.
They had inquire rooms and hand raising and invitations and things
like that. His young preachers did. And he got seriously ill and
left the pulpit and James took it in 1893. in the fall or winter of 1891.
He left for the last time he preached in that tabernacle.
And he died in France. And his brother took over. And he brought a man from America
called A.T. Pearson. He took over as pastor. A Presbyterian. A pedo-Baptist
took over that pulpit of Presbyterian. who did not hold strongly to
the doctrines of grace like Spurgeon did. Oh, he was a covenant theologian
like Presbyterians are. But he wasn't an evangelical
Calvinist. And he stayed there as pastor
long enough that the church began to divine. And then they wanted
Spurgeon's son, Thomas. He had twin sons, Charles and
Thomas. And Thomas, when he was just
in his twenties, in 1877, in his twenties, he went to Australia
as a pastor. And listen to this. I didn't
know this until recently. Thomas Spurgeon, Spurgeon's son,
pastor in Australia, never came back to see his parents but twice
in 15 years. 15 years from Australia. So he was out
of touch with his father's ministry. He was out of touch with the
ministry of the tabernacle. His brother believed no more
in particular redemption. So they called Thomas to be the
pastor and take the place of this man, Pearson. And the tabernacle
burned down in 1896. Four and a half, five years after Spurgeon
died. And they rebuilt it. And they had an opening circus.
And the pastor, Thomas Spurgeon, had as a song leader Iris Sankey
from America, Armenian. Read his book, write his hymns.
F.B. Meyer, a local pastor who opposed
Spurgeon in the downgrade controversy. Alexander McLaren, who opposed
Spurgeon in the downgrade controversy. and who was basically an Armenian
preacher. That's what happened. I'm telling
you this. It doesn't matter where it is
or who it is. And some folks may feel that,
brother man, you need to be more permissive. You need to be more
lenient. No, sir. No, sir. On these, And we love our Paul talking
about his brethren in the flesh. He loved them, but they didn't
know Christ. And as long as Spurgeon was there
with his dogmatism and with his leadership and with his firmness,
it stood because no one would oppose him publicly. But when he was taken away, suddenly,
and it began to work. And men that would not rise up
when he was standing there, would rise up when he's gone. And that's
the reason somebody asked me one time, would you allow a person
to be an elder or a preacher preaching your pulpy who did
not believe in particular redemption? No, sir. Not if I knew it. I would ask every one of these
elders, do you believe Christ died for the whole world or for
his people? For his people. Same thing is true, someone said,
would you take a person into membership in the church who
did not believe in an effectual redemption? Not if I knew it. Absolutely not. We must hold
the old path. Now let me tell you, don't let
them slip. And it doesn't just flop like
this. It seeps out. And the Scripture says they creep
in. They don't walk in waving the
banner of Arminianism. They creep in. Isn't that right? And I've just rededicated my
very soul and ministry, and this is where we stand and we can
do no other. God's Sovereign. absolutely,
unchangeably, immutably sovereign. And He'll save whom He will,
when He will. That's right. There can't be
any compromise. Not on the character of God.
And alright, now what's this question here? When we came to
this, alright, verse 14, somebody said, well, what shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Is God unfair? You know that
same question, Jim, you read in Romans 8, verse 31, what shall
we say to these things? Is God unfair? Let me ask you
a question. The apostle anticipates an objection
against election, against particular redemption, against God's sovereignty
and salvation. He knows it will come forth from
every natural mind, when confronted with God's absolute, immutable
sovereignty in salvation and grace, the natural man cries,
unfair! That's unfair! That's unrighteous
to save one and pass by another! That's not right! That's not
fair! Let me ask you this. To whom
is it unfair? To whom is election unfair? God gave Israel the prophets. Now watch it. I named eight things. He gave Israel the adoption.
Gave them the glory. Gave them the covenants. Gave
them the law. Gave them the tabernacle. Gave
them the mercy seat. Gave them the promises. Gave
them the fathers. And when Christ came, He was born a Jew. And
they stoned the prophets and crucified the Son of God. And
worshipped other gods. Was God unfair to them? God sent His Son into the world.
He sent His Son, made in the flesh, born of a woman, just
as He promised. And when He came, the world spit
in His face. He did no evil. He went about
doing good. He was a perfect man, holiness
embodied. He healed the sick, raised the
dead, offered an eternal life. They took Him outside of the
city and nailed Him to a cross. To whom is He unveiled? God bore
witness to who He is. He sent John the Baptist. The
Father spoke from heaven and said, This is my Son! And they refused Him. He called
apostles and sent them the truth of salvation by those apostles.
He wrote the Bible. and gave it to all of us to read.
And throughout this Bible, we see these words. Oh, every one
that thirsteth, come to the water. He that hath no money, come,
buy wine and milk without price. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. He that believeth on
the Son hath everlasting life. But men make fun of it, ridicule
it, refuse it. Reject it. Turn away from Christ
as the Jews of old. And seek acceptance by deeds
of the flesh. To whom is he unfair? They could come if they would.
There's not anybody in this town, not anybody in this town that
does not know this is God's Word. That Jesus Christ is God's Son.
And He died on the cross for sinners. That's right. But they will not believe Him.
To whom is it unfair? If God leaves them to their own
will, that's what they want. I will not believe. I will not
confess Christ. I will not be baptized. I will
not believe your doctrine. If He leaves them to their will,
to whom is it unfair? Because they say, don't violate
my will. My will is free." All right. To whom is he unfair? They do not believe that God has the
right to violate their will. They cry out against sovereignty.
They said, we want our way, we want our will. There's not a
person in here that knows this scripture and knows his own heart
and knows who God is that wants his will done. Do you want your
will done? I don't, I want his will done. Even Jesus Christ
said, not my will, but thy will be done. To whom is he unfair? Huh? God's
not unfair. God's not unrighteous. His people
cry, Lord, Thy will be done. Thy will be done. But you know,
I'll close with this. Paul just lets God's Word stand. He
doesn't try to defend God. Verse 15, he said, he said to
Moses, I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And it's pure
mercy. It's all mercy. and I'll have
compassion on them, I'll have compassion. So then, it's not
of him that willeth, it's not of him that runneth, it's of
God that shows mercy. God showed us mercy when he brought
us out of our free willism and delivered us from our way and
our will and our desires and revealed his Son in our hearts. But those other folks, verse
17, tall God's scripture says to Pharaoh, for this same purpose
I've raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and my
name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath
he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he'll
harden. And you say then, well why doth he yet find fault? Who
can resist his will? Who have means who can. Nobody
can resist his will. His will is going to be done,
that's right. Absolutely. And Paul replies, Nay, but, O
man, who art thou that replyest against God? Who are we to question
God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel
under honor and another under dishonor? What if God, willing
to show his wrath and to make his power known? Two things God's
going to do. He's going to show his wrath
against sin, His holiness, and He's going to show His glory
and His mercy, the riches of His grace. He's going to show
those two things. He's going to show His judgment against
sin, His wrath against sin, His power, and He's going to show
the riches of His grace in Christ Jesus. And I'll tell you where
I want to be. I want to be among those in whom
He shows the riches of His grace. I don't want God raising me up
to show His judgment and power. And that's what he says here.
He endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath made up
to destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his
glory on the vessels of what? Mercy, which he had aforeprepared
unto glory. He prepared us like he did Jacob,
even us whom he had called. Thank God, not of the Jews only.
but also the Gentile. Isn't it refreshing, reviving,
thrilling? Salvations of the Lord. I'm so
glad. I'm so glad. I'm glad salvation
is not something we do for God. I'm glad it's something God does
for us.