The Children of the Promise

Q: What does the Bible say about the children of the promise?

The Bible teaches that the children of the promise are those chosen by God, born not of flesh but through divine election. In Romans 9, the Apostle Paul discusses the concept of the children of promise, explaining that not all who are physically descended from Abraham are considered his children. This is a pivotal theological point, showing that God's election and purpose go beyond mere biological lineage. Paul specifically emphasizes that Isaac, rather than Ishmael, is the child of the promise, demonstrating that belonging to God's covenant people is not based on human will or descent but solely by God's choice and grace. Therefore, the true children of promise are those whom God sovereignly elects and grants faith in Christ, securing their standing before Him.

Q: How do we know God's election is true?

God's election is proven true through Scripture, which outlines His sovereign choice in salvation, illustrated through examples like Jacob and Esau. God's election is affirmed in Scripture, particularly in Romans 9, where Paul illustrates God's sovereignty by referencing the stories of Jacob and Esau. Both were born of the same parents, yet God chose Jacob over Esau before they had done anything good or bad. This showcases that God's choice is based on His sovereign will and purpose, not human merit or actions. The biblical narrative consistently reveals that God's mercy is granted to whom He wills, not based on human desire but according to His grace. Thus, God's election stands as a foundational doctrine within Reformed theology, assuring believers of their secure standing in Christ through God's sovereign grace.

Q: Why is understanding God's sovereignty important for Christians?

Understanding God's sovereignty empowers Christians to trust His divine plan and assures them of their salvation through grace. Understanding God's sovereignty is crucial for Christians as it brings comfort in knowing that God is in control of all circumstances, including salvation. Romans 9 emphasizes that God's choice of individuals for salvation is based on His mercy rather than human effort or will. This doctrine counters the notion that salvation can be earned or merited, highlighting that it is entirely a work of grace. By grasping this, believers can cultivate deeper trust in God's plan, knowing He works all things for their good according to His purposes. Moreover, it encourages humility, reminding Christians that they are saved by grace, not by their own deeds, leading to a life of gratitude and devotion to the sovereign God who saves.

The Jews were looking for a Messiah. Turn to John chapter 7 a moment. The Jews were looking for the
Christ, the Messiah. They had all of the Old Testament
promises and prophecies. And they were, when our Lord
came, when the Lord Jesus came, they were then looking for their
Messiah. And in John 7 verse 40, after
they'd heard him speak and saw his miracles, many of the people,
therefore, when they heard this saying, said, of a truth, this
is the prophet, that prophet, the one of whom Moses wrote,
who would come, prophet, priest, and king. Others said, this is
the Christ. This is true to the Christ. But
some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the
scripture said? Now they knew the scriptures.
Many of them did. Hath not the scripture said that
Christ cometh of the seed of David, out of the town of Bethlehem
where David was? So there's a division among the
people because of him. They were looking for a Messiah.
Now turn to Romans 9. But these Jews, with their religious
leaders, Pharisees and Sadducees and the Larges and Scribes, what
they expected was a Messiah, the Christ, to restore the nation
Israel. That's what they were expecting.
They thought he would restore Israel to world prominence, where
they were before. Israel now was nothing, less
than nothing, described in Isaiah as a root, as a dry ground. But they wanted their Messiah
and their Christ to restore the great kingdom of David, the kingdom
of Solomon, to confer upon Israel, the nation, here on this earth,
great favor with God. Now they didn't understand, it
says over there that they quoted the scriptures, but they didn't
understand the scriptures. They had the scriptures, they
had the prophets, but they didn't understand the sacrifices. No,
they didn't understand the types, they didn't understand those
pictures of the Old Testament, the Passover lamb and the brazen
serpent lifted up and the atonement, the mercy seat and these things,
they didn't understand those things. They didn't see the Messiah
coming to this earth first as a lamb, a sin offering, an atonement,
a savior for sinners. They didn't see that at all,
not at all. They found their righteousness
in their keeping the Sabbath, outwardly keeping the law, going
through the feast days. all the different ceremonies
and so forth, feast of the tabernacle, feast of the first fruits, feast
of the Passover. And they read the Old Testament
scriptures that referred to the Savior coming. But what they
read and what they emphasized was his coming in a triumphant
and glorious coming. That's his second coming. When he set up his eternal kingdom,
and his kingdom of righteousness, and they took all the scriptures
about that glorious kingdom, when the Lamb shall lie down
with the Lion, and righteousness shall cover the earth, and all
of these promises concerning his second coming, they took
those scriptures and applied them to his first coming. And
they thought, that's the way it's coming, the line of the
tribe of Judah. The reigning king, the monarch,
and David's throne would be established again, and the Jewish nation
would be back in its place of prominence, and that's what they
thought. And that's the way they interpreted
those Old Testament scriptures of the coming Messiah. Well,
the Messiah came. John the Baptist said, Behold
the Lamb of God. The Christ came, the Messiah,
the prophet, the priest, the king. Christ came to this earth
as it is written, the Passover lamb. The priest like Melchizedek,
and the king like David, and how'd they respond? How'd they
respond when they came? They stood here and listened
to what he said, and they said, this is that prophet. Others
said, this is the Christ. They said, but he came from Nazareth,
and the scripture says you come from Bethlehem, from the city
of David. How did they respond? Well, he
was in the world, and the world knew him not. The world knew
him not. But he said he came unto his
own, and his own received him not. Now when he rode into Jerusalem,
they put their clothes in front of the donkey, and they threw
palm branches and all these things. he that cometh in the name of
the Lord, let's make him king." If he had responded to that,
been willing to sit upon an earthly kingdom, then they would have
allowed him to continue. But he came, he said, my kingdom
is not of this world. I came to suffer on a cross.
And they had none of that. They received him not. They received
him not. When Pilate said, Shall I crucify
your king? They said, Let his blood be on
us and our children. I can't think of a more chilling
statement than that. Let his blood be on me and on
all my children. I can't think of anything more
horrible than that. But turn to Acts 13 a moment,
just a moment. Now, as a result of this great
sin in rejecting their Messiah and rejecting the Christ, in
rejecting the Lord Jesus. The Jew is blinded. The whole
nation is blinded. The people are blinded. Gospels
preached to the Gentiles. Listen to this. This is what
I'm talking about. In Acts chapter 13, verse 44, And the next Sabbath
day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of
God. And when the Jews saw the multitude, they were filled with
envy. and speak against those things which were spoken by Paul.
What was Paul speaking about? The Christ, the Messiah, the
Redeemer, the Savior. And they contradicted him and
blasted him. All these Jews did. You see,
they don't want a lamb, they don't want an atonement, they
don't want a sacrifice, they don't understand that part of,
that writings of the Old Testament. They don't, they haven't entered
into it, they know nothing about it. They want to establish their
own righteousness. before God. And they want a Jewish
kingdom, and a Jewish Messiah, and a Jewish Christ, and a Jewish
throne. That's what they look for. And
they blasphemed it. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed
bold, and they said, All right. It is necessary that the word
of God should first have been spoken to you. But seeing you
put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded
us, saying, I set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that
thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the earth. And
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad. They were glad. Jews want no part of an atonement,
a sacrifice, a suffering Savior. But the Gentiles were glad, and
they glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained
eternal life believed. Now what happened to these Jews?
Romans 11. Romans 11. Romans 11. And the Jews, this is what happened. There's a judicial blindness. God just seemed like he sent
down the darkness upon their ears and eyes from then on. From then until this day. Romans
11, verse 5. Listen to this. But even so,
at this present time, there's a rendement, a rendement among
Israel, among the Jews, according to the election of grace. And
if by grace it's 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. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for. How'd they seek it? They sought
it by works, sought it by their own efforts. But the election
hath attained it, and the rest were blinded. According as it
is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that
they should not see, ears that they should not hear unto this
day. And David said, Let their table
be made a snare. What table? A table of showbread. their table of Passover lamb
sacrifice, all of their services, there'll be a snare. Strong delusions. Can't even see what it's typifying,
what it's telling. And a trap, and a stumbling block,
and a recompense in the end. And let their eyes be darkened
that they may not see. And bow down their back, always. Now the blindness of the Jews
Now I want you to go to Romans 9. The blindness of the Jew,
the blindness of the nation Israel, their rejection of Christ Jesus
the Messiah, is what Paul had in mind when he wrote these words
in Romans 9. Paul was very sad over the blindness
of his nation. He had parents. I thought about
when I started reading this and preparing this message, Paul
had maybe brothers and sisters, I don't know what his family
was, but brothers and sisters and probably had uncles and aunts
and cousins and nephews and nieces and friends he grew up with and
young men and women he went to school with, neighbors he raised
with in the city of Tarsus. But now they're blinded. They
are. That's what God said. They're
blinded. God's given them a spirit of slumber. Just like losing
your eyesight, losing your hearing, and losing any understanding
at all. Their table, instead of being
a lesson, becomes a snare. Instead of the Passover lamb,
when they eat the Passover lamb, and shed the blood, and offer
the sacrifices, and keep these holy days, Instead of being inspiration
and instructional and edifying them, it just adds to their condemnation. They're still seeking salvation
in those things. Christ of no effect, no consequence,
and no good. Christ as if he was what they
said he was, a blasphemer, a devil. Only hope, gone. And that's what
Paul had in mind when he Wrote this, he said in verse 1 of chapter
9, I say the truth in Christ, I'm not lying. My conscience
bears me witness in the Holy Ghost. This is a solemn vow I'm
taking. I do not lie. God is my witness.
The Holy Spirit is my witness. Verse 2, I have great heaviness
and continual sorrow in my heart. Sincere affection. He rejoiced
in Christ. But his people, being in blindness
and darkness and sin and under the judgment of God, brought
him great sorrow. When he'd point out, this is
Christ, they couldn't see it. But this promise, Isaiah 53,
if you read it to them, they couldn't see it. He felt a great heaviness, just
like you do. You've got family. God's opened
your eyes to see Christ and your heart to believe him, and yours
to hear the gospel of good news. And you've got loved ones and
friends and classmates and people you work with that are as dead
as this pulpit right here, and as blind as a bat, and as deaf
as a post, where the gospel's concerned. Got no interest. Paul
said, I have great heaviness. I'm rejoicing in Christ, but
I have great sorrow for my loved ones and my friends. Verse 3,
listen to this. This is a startling statement.
I could, if it would secure their salvation,
if it would bring them to see Christ and to love Christ and
to believe Christ, I could wish myself were separated from Christ. if that would bring my brethren,
my kinsmen, according to the flesh, into a knowledge of Christ
Jesus. Isn't that something? He was
willing. You say, well, that's hard to
understand. Well, our Lord was willing to give himself, be separated
from the Father, separated from the Father, to secure our salvation. And Paul was He said, if being
separated from Christ, myself, would secure the salvation of
my friends, I'd be willing. And then he identifies these
people of whom he speaks. He says in verse 4, they're Israelites. They're Israelites. They're Jews. And he speaks and defines the
blessings and advantages that they enjoy. Listen, they're Israelites
to whom pertaineth the adoption. Now, he's not talking there about
spiritual adoption. We know better. We know that
most all of these people were lost. They didn't know God. Like
I said, they didn't understand. Some did. Arendt did. Abel did. Enoch did. Noah did. Abraham
did. Moses did. Isaiah did. David
did. Jacob did. Joseph did. Isaac
did. Some of them did. They saw. Caleb
did, Joshua did. But these Israelites, this pertaining
to the adoption, was that they were the chosen nation. Israel
is a picture of the Church. Israel in the wilderness, in
the Old Testament, is a picture of God's Church, spiritual Israel.
Let me show you over in Deuteronomy, something over here, in Deuteronomy
chapter 7. In Deuteronomy chapter 7, you
know, out of all the people that left Egypt, and how many, two
or three million, out of all the Jews that left Egypt, all
of them now over twenty years of age, only two entered the
Promised Land. Just two. That's all. The rest
of them perished in unbelief. They could not enter in because
of unbelief. They did not believe God. And
so Paul says, brethren, you take heed lest they be found in you
an evil heart of unbelief. A profession of religion doesn't
guarantee a person entrance into the rest of Christ. It's a knowledge
of God in the heart. In Deuteronomy 7, verse 6, listen,
he's talking about the Jews here. This nation, Israel, in the Old
Testament, Deuteronomy 7, 6, Thou art a holy people to the
Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that
are upon the face of the earth. Now, the Lord didn't set his
love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number
than any people. It wasn't something he saw in
you or something contributed by you. You were the fewest of
all people. But because the Lord loved you, That's the reason. And because he would keep the
oath, he swore to your father Abraham, that the Lord brought
you out with a mighty hand, redeemed you out of the house of bondmen
from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. You know, therefore,
that the Lord thy God, he's God, the faithful God, which keepeth
covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments
to a thousand generations. So these people had the adoption,
they were the chosen people. All right, read that next Romans
9 again now. These people, these Israelites,
of whom Paul is speaking here now, they had the adoption, they
had the glory. What's he talking about there?
Well, the presence of God. The presence of God came down
between the cherubims on the mercy seat. In the tabernacle,
the presence of God, the Shekinah glory, it's called, presence
of God, was upon Israel. In that tabernacle, the glory
of God, the cloud, the glory of God led them by day, and the
pillar of fire, the glory of God by night. That glory wasn't
seen in any other nation. There were a lot of nations on
this earth. You can name some of them, the
Philistines, the Egyptians, the Amalekites, the Hittites, the
Amorites, all the other different nations over the face of the
earth. But Israel, these people who said, his blood be on us
and our children, we'll not have this man reign over us. The nation to which Christ came,
he was born a Jew. He came fulfilling the law. He
came fulfilling every type about which they knew nothing. But
they said they rejected him. Turn him down. They said turn their faces from
him. And that glory of God dwelt with
that nation. And not only that, but the covenants.
The covenant he made with Abraham. The covenant he made with David.
There will be no end to your kingdom. Your son will sit upon
an eternal throne, he said to David. That nation had the covenants.
No other nation did. No other nation. There was only
one tabernacle, one mercy seat, one ark, one outpost, one place
between the cherubim. Israel. One nation had the circumcision. And the giving of the law. God
gave the law to Israel. That's Sania. They saw his glory. They backed off. They said, Moses,
you talk to God. Don't let God talk to us lest
we die. They had these things. They saw these things. And the
service of God. What was that? Well, that's the
tabernacle service, the way of worship, once a year. Well, all
during the year, every day, there was a showbird and the lampstand
and the incense and the slay of the animals and the Worship,
the service of the Lord, the priest, the Levites, one of the
twelve tribes, did nothing but take care of the worship of the
Lord. The way of worship, the order of worship, the time of
worship, the sacrifices of worship. When the high priest, that solemn
time when the high priest threw the lamb, let the scapegoat go,
took the blood into the Holy of Holies and offered it on the
mercy seat, where the glory of God was redeemed. They had all
that. And the promises, all the promises of God concerning the
Messiah. In verse 5, who's are the fathers?
They had the fathers. You don't read of prior to our
Lord coming into the world any fathers among other nations.
Abraham was a Jew. Isaac was a Jew. Jacob was a
Jew, Joseph was a Jew, Moses, all of them. They were the nation
of Israel. Why didn't anybody have any other
nation? They had all the fathers. God spake to our fathers by the
prophets. Then what's this next line? And
of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. He was made of the
seed of David, according to the flesh. Born to Mary, heir to
David's throne, in the city of Bethlehem, in David's city, Christ
came. Who is Christ? He's over all.
He's God, blessed forever. That's who he is. God came down
in human flesh, in the flesh of a Jew. I tell you, as I read that, I
know this nation, blinded on the judgment, indictments, Paul
as a brand plucked out of the burning, a remnant, one chosen
here. He said there's a remnant according
to the election of grace, but he said if the Lord hadn't left
to secede, we'd be like Solomon and Gomorrah too. And this nation blinded, and
he said, I pray for them, I pray God will open their eyes. But
he said, these are the benefits and blessings they have. And I thought about this as I
read that just then. What a tragedy, what a horrible,
horrible tragedy that a person, a nation, a people could have
what these people had. and still perish. Is there anybody
here tonight that's had just more than they had? Right here. Wouldn't it be horrible to perish
under the wrath of God, having been exposed to all this? And
we've been exposed to the fulfillment of all this in Christ Jesus.
But it's possible. Oh, yeah, it's possible. It sure
is. Not only possible, it's dead certain for these folks. And that's what I'm going to
preach on Sunday, next Sunday morning. How shall we escape
if we neglect so great salvation as spoken thus by the Lord himself,
not by just prophets and apostles and angels? Well, verse 6, look
at this. But their unbelief and their
blindness and their blindness is not going to change God's
purpose. Listen. Not as though the word
of God had taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which
are of Israel. In other words, Paul says the
unbelief of Israel, the Jews' rejection of Christ, the Messiah,
their refusal to hear the word of God does not make that word
ineffectual, does not change the divine purpose of God. God
Almighty has not failed. The promises of God to elect
spiritual Israel all remain the same and will be fulfilled. You see, he says here in verse
6, the last line, it's not the natural descendants of Abraham
who make up Israel anyway. They are not all Israel which
are of Israel. Everybody's not a Jew that's
a descendant of Abraham. Everybody is not a child of God
that's a descendant of Abraham. Being a descendant of Abraham
does not make a man a Jew or an Israelite. Did you know that? These people wore the names,
and that's all they wore. That I can wear the name of a
doctor, that doesn't make me a doctor. I could wear the name Chief Henry
and that wouldn't make me an Indian. That's right. Ms. Abbott, any of y'all remember
Ms. Abbott? I used to live in an apartment
owned by Ms. Abbott. You do, Ruth. She used
to call me Tony, but that don't make me an Italian. And a man is not an Israelite
because he's called an Israelite, or a Jew because he's called
a Jew. Let me show you that in a few
verses. Turn first to Romans 2. Romans
chapter 2, verse 28. Romans 2, 28. He's not a Jew
which is one outwardly. Neither is that circumcision
which is outward in the flesh. Every Jew is going to be saved. Every spiritual Israelite is
going to be saved. All Israels shall be saved. That's
right. But he's not a Jew, which is
one outwardly. Verse 29, he's a Jew, which is one inwardly.
Look at Romans 3. Romans 3, 29. Listen to this.
Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles?
Yes, of the Gentiles also. seeing as one God which shall
justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision by faith.
Look at Galatians 3, turn over there just a moment. We'll find
out who the Jews are, who Israel is. In Galatians 3, verse 7,
listen to this, Know ye therefore that they which are of faith,
the same as children of Abraham, I'm a child of Abraham. Everybody
who believes on Christ savingly, truly, sincerely, from the heart,
is a son of Abraham. Everyone. Look at verse, same
chapter, verse 16. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. What's that word? S-E-E-D. Not seeds. Abraham and his seed,
all the promises, the promise of life, the promise of sonship,
the promise of adoption, to Abraham and his seed. Who is his seed? Notice, he saith not unto seeds
as of many, but as of one, to thy seed, which is Christ. In Isaac shall thy seed be called. So the promise of life and the
promise of sonship and the promise of adoption was made to Abraham,
and not all of Abraham's descendants and seeds. That promise was made
to Abraham and his seed, Christ Jesus. Now look down here at
verse 29. Same chapter. Verse 26, Galatians
3. You are all the children of God
by faith in Christ Jesus. Verse 29. Verse 27 says, as many
as you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, and
there's neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither bond nor free,
there's neither male nor female, you're one in Christ, and if
you be Christ, you're Abraham's seed, and you're heir, according
to the promise. In Romans 11, verse 26, I was preaching two weeks ago in Louisiana. In that congregation, sitting
on the front row, every service, loving the gospel, is a Jewish
lawyer and his wife. They're just very precious people.
I had dinner with them one day. He's a very prominent lawyer
in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Full-fledged, full-blooded Jew,
and so is his wife. And they'd been brought to the
knowledge of Christ. And I read this verse, Romans
11, 26, And so all Israel shall be saved. That night after the
service, he caught me by the arm, and he said, What did you
say? I said, All Israel shall be saved, ever one of them. He
said, who is that? I said, that's believers in Christ
Jesus. They ever want to go and visit
all Israel. That nation is not a saved nation. That nation represents a saved
nation from all nations. That sacrifice in the tabernacle
didn't save anybody. It represented the Lamb of God
who saves all of his people. everything Israel did, by way
of type and service and pattern and so forth, gave God absolutely
no satisfaction, no pleasure whatsoever. It's just pictures
and types of him who pleased his Father. And that's what,
back to our text, Romans 9, and if somebody says, well, God's
plan's all thrown into kilter and messed up and And God's got
to change his direction. No, no, it's all on schedule. Verse 6, it's not as though the
word of God had taken non-effect, or the purpose of God was frustrated. Why? Because they're not all
Israel, which are of Israel. And now he shows us what he's
talking about. He illustrates that in the case of two boys.
Verse 7. Neither because they're the seed
of Abraham are they children. He said, In Isaac shall thy seed
be called. Now Ishmael was the son of Abraham,
same daddy. They had different mothers, but
same daddy. So if you're going to say the
seed of Abraham, when talking about the seed of Abraham here,
and the Jews and Israel, then Ishmael has as much right to
claim to be a Jew and an Israelite as Isaac did. He came from the
same daddy. He's the son of Abraham, isn't
that right? Ishmael is a son of Abraham, gets his full pledge
as Isaac was a son of Abraham. And that's what he's saying here.
That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the
children of God. Do you understand that? Ishmael
was a son of Abraham, the same as Isaac. But Isaac was the son
of Promise. That's the difference. Isaac
was the son of promise, you see? The children of the promise are
accounted for the seed. Isaac was supernaturally born. Ishmael came along just like
any other baby comes along. Conceived by Abraham in the womb
of an ordinary woman who had ability to conceive children.
It's just a product of the flesh. And that's not the children of
God. They're the children of promise, and they're children
supernaturally born. They're the children born by
the will of God, born not of the flesh, not of the will of
man, not of the will of the flesh, but they're born of God. Read
on there. For this is the word of promise,
that this time will I come and silver shall have a son. You
understand that? All right, he's going to give
us another example now. Not only is the case of Isaac proof that
a man is not a child of God by descent, But a stronger proof is given
in the election of Jacob, because Jacob and Esau were not only
sons of the same father, but they were the sons of the same
mother. And they were not only conceived by the same father
and the same mother, but they were conceived at the same time. And they were born at the same
time. But God made a difference according to his will and pleasure
and purpose even between those. You see, what we're saying here
is that there is an Israel, there is a kingdom, there is a people
of God. But they are not Israel and the
kingdom and the people of God by natural descent or by natural
heritage. or by natural identification,
or by natural works, or natural laws, or natural merit, they
are the sons of God and the seed of Abraham by the will of God,
by the miracle of grace, by an act of God, by birth from God. And he shows that when he says
Here, Abraham the chosen, Abraham the father of the Jewish nation,
and the father of the faithful, and our father, of all who believe
in Christ. They were children of Abraham.
They were children of God. But he's cutting out this thing
one at a time. He said, now, Abraham had two
sons. But one of them was a reprobate, and one of them was a child of
God. And the child of God was born by the will of God. But
then he comes along and says, Now here's Isaac, son of Abraham,
who had two sons, verse 10. And not only this, but when Rebekah
had conceived by one, even our father Isaac, for these children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that this
choice of God, and this purpose of God, and this will of God,
according to election, God's election, might stand. Not of
works, but of him that calleth. It was said to the mother before
there was ever born, before there ever did any good or evil, the elder is going to serve the
younger. And that's backwards according to all the rules and
regulations of the Old Testament. The younger always serves the
elder. The elder is the heir, the elder is the priest of the
home, and the elder is the spokesman of the home. But not in this
case. God overrules and denies and rules out any contribution
that the flesh has to make to this thing of childhood and sonship
for anyone. Oh my! Two sons of Isaac, Jacob
and Esau. Same mother, same father, twins
conceived at the same time, brought forth from the womb. The only
distinction between them is that the one he rejected was born
first. The choice was made before they
were born. It was told to the mother. The
choice was made before they had done any good or evil. The choice
was made according to the will of God, who works all things
after the counsel of his own will. The choice was made contrary
to any choice that man would have made. The elder shall serve the younger.
The choice was made by God who said in verse 13, it's already
written, Jacob have a love, Esau have a hating. The question is not how could
God hate Esau, the question is how could God love Jacob. People
get hung up on this, and preachers, like Barney used to say, God
have mercy on them, but he won't. They say Jacob have a love and
Esau have a love less. How could a holy, infinite God
love anything less? How could he do anything less?
How could God do anything imperfectly? If he loves Jacob with a perfect
love and loves Esau less, then he loves him with an imperfect
love, and he's an imperfect God. Isn't that right? If God loves,
He loves. He said, I've drawn you. He said,
I've loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. God's love is everlasting, unchanging. I'm the Lord, I change not. God's
love is infinite. God's love is beyond explanation. It's an unspeakable gift. And
here you talk about Jacob ever loved and Esau had, I love less.
That's the kind of God they're preaching. He can love less. And I tell
you, if he can love less, you can miss heaven by that much,
too. If God can do anything less than
perfection, then that might be where you come up short. It's
either all of grace or all of works. I do not frustrate the
gospel of God if righteousness cometh along in any shape, form,
or fashion. That cross was a miscarriage
of justice. Christ died in vain. You see, the people who make
up the covenant of mercy, the people who are in the kingdom
of God's dear Son, the people who are called Israel, the people
who are sons of God, the people who are spiritual descendants
of Abraham. They're not sold because they're
created by God. They're not sold because they're
descendants of people who knew God. They're not sold because
they have a form of worship and call God their Father. This all
the Jews did. The people of God are chosen
by God, born of God, redeemed by Christ, and called to faith
by the Spirit of God out of every tribe, kindred, nation, tongue
in the heaven, and they're called Israel. That's right. God chose them,
and God gave them life. And God chose them before they
were born. And God chose them before they did any good or evil.
And God chose them according to His will. And He calls them
sons of Jacob. Sons of Jacob have I loved. Jacob
have I chosen. Jacob have I called. Verse 14,
or what are we going to say then? The apostle anticipates the objection
that's naturally going to come from sinners and rebels and natural
men when confronted with the sovereignty of God and salvation. What are we going to say then?
What shall we say then? These things being true, what's
our reply? What's our reaction? Well, the
natural man's going to cry unfair. Is there unrighteousness with
God? Is God unfair? Is that what you're implying?
Is that what you're going to say? Is that your objection?
The natural man cries, that's unfair! That's unfair, that's
unrighteous to save one and pass by another, to call one and not
call another. It's unfair, it's unrighteous.
But I ask this question, to whom is it unfair? It's not unfair to those he calls, but I say it's not unfair to
those he doesn't call. It's not unfair to them. He came into the world, these
Jews I heard, he came into the world, the fulfillment of all
their scriptures, of all their pictures, of all their promises,
of all their sacrifices, and was told, they were told that
by all their prophets. And God sent them John the Baptist,
spoke to him with his own voice from heaven, this is my son,
gave him miracles to perform, he raised the dead, he gave sight
to the blind, they said nobody spake like this, But they despised
him and rejected him and said, we'll not have him. We'll not
come to God on these terms. Now, when God passes him by,
is that unfair? He came to this world in full
witness. Witness of the prophets, witness
of the scriptures, witness of John the Baptist, witness of
the Father, witness of the Word, witness of the miracles, and
they said, Let his blood be on us and our children." To whom
is it untitled? He came and spoke clearly to
them of the promises of God. He walked this earth and did
no evil, knew no sin, had no sin, died according to the Scriptures. It says when they fulfilled everything
that was written of him in their Bible, they took him down from
the tree. They crucified him and laughed
at him while he died. And if God passes them by, is
that unfair? And the commands are same today.
His word is read from this pulpit, from a television program I preach
on that reaches 120 miles in every direction. People by the
thousands see that television program, and I stand there before
that camera and say, Christ said, oh, everyone that's thirsty,
come to the water, come to the water. But they won't come. They go to the loft. They go
to the morning's bench. They go to Sunset Renter. Christ
said, Come unto me, all ye that labor in heaven and earth, and
I give you rest. Will they come to him? No. They go down to the
front, shake a picture, sign a card, join a church. To whom
is it on fire? Tell me. Spirit of the God said,
Come. Let him that hears it say, Come.
Let him that is at rest say, Come. And he said, I will let
him take the one I like. Will they take it? No. They laugh at you. call you a
heretic, radical, or some other name. They take his name in vain. He says, look unto me, all you
men, the ends of the earth, and be ye saved. I'm God, there's
none else. Well, ain't it? No. To whom is
it unfair then? If he passes them by, you say
it's unfair? Men turn to every conceivable
means this side of hell, to keep them coming to Jesus Christ,
and loving Him, and believing Him, and trusting Him. How can
you say it's unrighteous for God to lead them to their own
natural wills? That's what they want, isn't
it? They want free will. Church right down the road, they
got it right on top of the church. They want their will. They cry
out against any violation of their will. They've cried against
any sovereign act over their will. They've cried against any
authority over their will. I have a free will. Well, all
right. Is it unfair to let you have
your free will? Is that unfair? That's what Paul
asks here. Is there unrighteousness with
God? Is that what you're saying? He says in verse 14, God forbid.
God forbid. that any should charge God with
unrighteousness in defense of a traitor and an enemy of that
God. The very idea to take the side
of natural men with their hatred for God and their determination
to hang the Son of God on the cross and spit in His face, and
you side with those people because God lets them go to hell? How
can you? And it doesn't matter if the
one nearest to you on this earth is of that nature. God's still
not unfair. They hate God. They hate God. They love their natural, impotent
God. They hate God with a passion. But listen to what he says here.
He said to Moses, I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy. Heaven
will be populated. God's going to have a people,
a willing people, a loving people, a grateful people. Heaven's going
to be populated. God's not going to be frustrated.
Christ is not going to be denied. He shall not fail. It's going
to be populated by people like Christ. God will have mercy on
some. You'll have mercy on whom he
will have mercy. He'll have mercy on whom he will.
He said, I'll have compassion on whom I'll have compassion.
And with me, that's fine. Is that all right with you? That's
fine. I make no defense or apology
for God. He doesn't need me to defend
his name. He doesn't need me to apologize for him. I rest
what I believe solely on the scriptures and on God's own words,
and that's enough for anybody who knows that God. He doesn't
require any more. God has spoken, let God be true,
and every man a liar. Is that alright? That's so. But I'll tell you some reasons
why God must elect a people. He has to. or none will be saved. Number one, all are lost and
dead and out of dead. Dead men don't give life to themselves. Dead men are dead. So God must
give them life. Man by nature does not love God. Man by nature is an enemy of
God. His mind is enmity. God must
give him a new heart and a new mind. Spiritual truth is foolishness
to natural men, utter, absolute nonsense. And it'll never make
any sense till God gives them an understanding and a heart
that can understand. Left alone, falsely, no man will
come to God. Christ said the Scriptures, you
search the Scriptures, in them you think you have life. There
they which testify of me, you will not come to me. No man can come to me, has the
ability, or the desire, or the inclination, unless my Father
calls him. That's so. If God doesn't intervene, and
cross our path, and show mercy to us, we'll willingly perish,
and we'll go to hell hating God. There's no repentance in hell.
The rich man in hell never asked for mercy because of his sins. He asked for mercy because he
was hot. He wanted somebody to go tell
his brothers not to come to that place. He didn't care where they
went, just so they didn't come there. No repentance in hell. He that's filthy, let him be
filthy still. He that's unholy, let him be
unholy still. As death finds you, eternity
holds you. People in hell hate God just
as much as they did when they was here on this earth. That's right. Next, do you remember the four
names of Romans 3? The four names? In Romans chapter 3. This is
why God has to elect. It says in Romans 3 verse 9.
What then? Are we better than they? No,
and no wise. We both, we pray before both
Jew and Gentile, all under sin. There's none righteous. Now suppress
none. None righteous. No, not one.
There's none that understandeth. Three, there's none that seeketh
after God. Verse 12, they're all gone out
of the way, they're together become unprofitable, and there's
none that doeth good. No, not one. So to go to heaven, you've got
to be righteous, and you've got to understand, and you've got
to seek God, and you've got to be good. So if God doesn't accomplish
those things for us, then he must put us where we can do no
more harm. No more harm. No more hurt. No more hurt. Brother Barnard
touched my heart one time. He told about his dog down in
Texas. He had a shepherd dog. We called him Old Shep. He's
a boy, 12 or 13 years old, down in Texas. He came in one day
and told his dad that something was wrong with his dog. And his dad said, what do you
mean something's wrong with y'all? He said, he's got a funny look
in his face. He's out there in the yard and
he's growling at me. Something he's never done. And Barney said
his daddy reached up over the man and got the shotgun and threw
two shells in it and threw it up and started out the door.
He said, I grabbed him by the arm and said, what you gonna
do? He said, I got to kill your dog. Your dog's gone mad. And I got to kill your dog. Oh,
he said, don't do that, dad. Don't kill my dog. Let's doctor
him. Don't kill him. He said, son, if you don't kill
him, he'll kill you. Got to put him away, where he'll
do no more harm. And our Lord is going to destroy
every enemy, every enemy of his authority, of his glory, of his
kingdom, of his will, of his word, of his purpose. He's going
to destroy every enemy. Every enemy is going to be his
footstool. He's going to put them where
they can't do any more harm. If he can't break us, convert us,
and bring us to himself, seeking his will, his way, his glory,
he'll put us in hell. He's not going to let you mess
heaven up. See, man messed up this earth, and messed up everything
on it. And God's going to make a new
heaven and a new earth where he dwelleth. Righteousness. And
that righteousness is Christ. And everybody's going to be just
like him. If he can't do that, he'll put you in hell. That's
just all there is to it. That's the way it is, and that's
the way it's going to be. Verse 16, so then, Romans 9,
16 says, I'm going to have mercy on whom I will, and I'll have
compassion on whom I will. You see, when God saves a man,
he really saves him, or a woman. He does it right. If we try to
do it, it'd be a mess. They'd get in there without a
wedding garment. He'll have to throw them out, too. So then,
this being so, it's not of him that willeth. This is the conclusion. Salvation is not of the willeth
man. And I know Billy Graham and the whole shooting batch
talking about it's all up to you, it's your will, it ain't
no such thing. It ain't no such thing, it's
not of him that willeth. Man does not of himself will
to come to God, it's God's will that makes him willeth. That's right. We're born not
of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man. We're born
of the will of God. It's not of him that will it. It's not
of him that will it. Verse 2, verse 16 says, and it's
not of him that will it. That's activity. That's works.
That's charging. That's the law. That's doing.
That's much ado. That's not the way salvation
is. Salvation comes by the will of
God and comes to that man who's resting in Christ. Not running, resting. Not running
for the barren serene, Christ already secured it. He rested. He ceased from his own works
and entered into his rest. It's not of him that willeth,
not of him that willeth, it's of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith, one
more verse, I'll quit. For the scripture saith to Pharaoh,
in other words, God will even use natural men to accomplish
his purpose. God will use men in their natural
state. He'll use even their ways. He'll
use their works. He'll use their rebellion. He'll
use their evil to accomplish his purpose for his elect. In other words, over there, when
he said, God delivered him into your hands, but Acts 2 said,
you with wicked hands have crucified the Lord of glory. God delivered
him into your hands to do what you will to do. And God used
what they will to do to accomplish his purpose in the crucifixion
of his son. Tom read a while ago where they
pierced his hands and feet. God didn't send them there and
say, now pierce his hands and feet. That was how mean they
were. They drove nails in his, that's how they hated him. So
he said Pharaoh here, even for the same purpose. What purpose? What he's been saying, I'm going
to show mercy to whom I will, compassion on whom I will. And
to accomplish this purpose, I raised you up. I raised you up, your
birth. Your situation, your occupation,
your power, your authority were all divinely appointed. You thought
you got that on your own, boy. You thought, oh boy, I worked
hard to be Pharaoh. God made you Pharaoh. You'll regret it till the last
day of eternity that you were Pharaoh, but God made you Pharaoh.
I did that to show my power in you. I did that that my name
might be declared throughout all the earth. That's why I did
that. You know, I want to be a vessel of mercy, not a vessel
of dishonor, don't you? God's going to use everybody
here, but I don't want him to use me to put a stumbling block
in somebody's way. I don't want God Almighty to
use me in my rebellion. to bring trial. His people are
going to have trial, but I said I don't want to be one of them. His people are going to have
sorrow, but I don't want to be one of them. His people are going
to be hurt, but I don't want to hurt them. That's right. Because he raises up these...
You fellows that pastor in churches are going to, you're going to
have people out there in that congregation break your heart.
God put them there. God let them do what they will.
Make you a better preacher. Well, God uses them as if to
make you a better preacher. But God have mercy on their souls.
Those wicked men crucified Christ. And God used them, God used their
hatred and their evil and their ways to put his son on the cross.
But God have mercy on them for doing it. And he won't. See what
I'm talking about? That's what he's saying to Pharaoh.
I raised you up. I put you where you are. I let
you do what you would. So my people could know I'm God. Therefore, verse 18, hath he
mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he'll harden.
How does God harden a man? Just leaves him alone. That's
all. When God acts in justice toward
a man, he acts as he must. When God acts in mercy toward
a man, he acts as he will. That's right. I want to show
you one verse of scripture, Psalm 76.10. And this is all, God's not the
author of sin. Don't even entertain that notion
any more than you would that God's unfair. But Psalm 76.10
says this, "...surely the wrath of man shall praise thee." Even
the wrath of man will praise God.

The Children of the Promise

What does the Bible say about the children of the promise?

How do we know God's election is true?

Why is understanding God's sovereignty important for Christians?

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About Henry Mahan

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The Children of the Promise

What does the Bible say about the children of the promise?

How do we know God's election is true?

Why is understanding God's sovereignty important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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