Romans 9:6-13

Today, we're going to begin what I believe, I think, God intends to be three more weeks in chapter 9.

In seeing that the large rejection of the gospel by the nation of Israel does not discredit the gospel.

And that's why Paul is beginning to have this conversation.

The fact that the people who should have gotten it more than any other people by human terms should have understood who the Christ was.

The fact that they rejected him does not discredit the gospel.

And in fact, the unbelief of Israel is consistent with God's promises, with God's person, with God's prophecies, and with God's provision.

You guys proud of me? I'm alliterating now.

We're going to look at those four Ps.

And today, we're going to look at verses 6 through 13 and see that the unbelief of Israel is consistent with God's promises.

But before we do that, let's read together all of chapter 9.

Paul writes,

To them belong the patriarchs.

And from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed.

For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.

And not all children of Abraham, because they are his offspring.

But through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise who are counted as offspring.

For this is what the promise said.

About this time next year, I will return.

And Sarah shall have a son.

And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,

though they were not yet born and had not done anything either good or bad,

in order that God's purpose of election might continue,

not because of works, but because of him who calls,

she was told,

The older will serve the younger.

As it is written,

Jacob I loved,

but Esau I hated.

What shall we say then?

Is there injustice on God's part?

By no means.

For he says to Moses,

I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,

and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.

Something that depends not on human will or exertion,

but on God who has mercy.

For the scripture says to Pharaoh,

For this very purpose I have raised you up,

that I might show my power in you,

and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

So then he has mercy on whomever he wills,

and he hardens whomever he wills.

You will say to me then,

Why does he still find fault?

For who can resist his will?

But who are you,

O man,

to answer back to God?

Will what is molded say to the molder,

Why have you made me like this?

Has the potter no right over the clay

to make out of the same lump

one vessel for honorable use

and another for dishonorable use?

What if God,

desiring to show his wrath

and to make known his power,

has endured with much patience

vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

in order to make known the riches of his glory

for vessels of mercy,

which he has prepared beforehand for glory,

even us whom he has called,

not from the Jews only,

but also from the Gentiles.

As indeed he says in Hosea,

Those who were not my people,

I will call my people.

And who was not my beloved,

I will call beloved.

And in the very place

where it was said to them,

You were not my people,

there they will be called

sons of the living God.

And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel,

Though the number of the sons of Israel

be as the sand of the sea,

only a remnant of them will be saved.

For the Lord will carry out

this sentence upon the earth

fully and without delay.

And as Isaiah predicted,

If the Lord of hosts

had not left us offspring,

we would have been like Sodom

and become like Gomorrah.

What shall we say then?

That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness

have attained it?

That is,

a righteousness that is by faith?

But that Israel who pursued a law

that would lead to righteousness

did not succeed in reaching the law?

Why?

Because they did not pursue it by faith.

But as if it were based on works,

they have stumbled over the stumbling stone.

As it is written,

Behold, I am laying in Zion

a stone of stumbling

and a rock of offense.

And whoever believes in him

will not be put to shame.

Join me in prayer.

Father God,

certainly you have been good

to your people.

You have rescued us

from the mire of sin.

The place where we could not

rescue ourselves.

No effort on our part

could have pulled us out

of such a dark

and terrible place.

But you have plucked us

from that place.

You have brought us out of darkness

into your marvelous light.

This is a great work of yours.

You have also given us the scriptures

that we might be guided

in our understanding

of the gospel.

And I pray that this day

as we soak in these eight verses

that you will find us humble

being spoken to from above

as your words are inspired.

The words on these pages

translated from the Greek

are inspired

and they're for us

for this day.

And I pray that we will

accept them

as such.

I pray, Father,

you will not find us

haughty intellectuals

standing over the word of God

as if we are gods

judging you

for what you have said.

And I pray that all of this

is the praise and glory

of Jesus Christ.

It's in his name I pray.

Amen.

So we're going to hone in together

on verses 6-13.

Let me say to you

that what we're going to be studying

over the next few weeks

is heavy doctrine.

But it is joyful

to understand and to know.

I would expect

that you will wrestle with it.

I have and I do.

It's a continual process.

But I would ask

that you let the word of God

speak to your life today.

So let's look together

beginning in verse 6.

Paul says it's not as though

the word of God has failed.

The things he referenced

particularly in verse 4

the adoption,

the glory,

the covenants,

the giving of the law,

the worship,

the promises.

It's not that these things

have failed to accomplish

their goal.

In fact,

they will accomplish

the exact goal

they were set out

to accomplish.

Isaiah 55-11

reads,

My word that goes out

from my mouth,

it shall not return

to me empty,

but it shall accomplish

that which I purpose.

It shall succeed

in the thing

for which I sent it.

Many of you

are probably familiar

with that.

Proceeding that,

there's another verse,

verses,

that you're probably

very familiar with

and we don't often

put them together.

Verses 8 and 9

of Isaiah 55,

God says,

For my thoughts

are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways

my ways,

declares the Lord.

For as the heavens

are higher than the earth,

so are my ways

higher than your ways

and my thoughts

than your thoughts.

So God says to us,

You can't fully understand me

because I am God

and you are not.

and my word

which goes forth

will accomplish

the very thing

that it was sent forth

to accomplish.

So the word of God

has not failed

just because

some of Israel

doesn't believe

that Jesus

is the Son of God,

that He is the Messiah,

their Deliverer.

It doesn't mean

the word of God

has failed.

The word of God

is accomplishing

what it was intended

to accomplish.

He goes on to say

the last half,

for not all

who are descended

from Israel

belong to Israel.

And He begins

to frame for us

as He's done

in chapter 2,

verses 28 and 29

of Romans,

that it's those

who belong to Israel

by faith

that are the true Israel.

Those that are

the recipients

of the promise

by faith,

not by the flesh.

Romans 2, 28 and 29

says,

For no one is a Jew

who is merely one outwardly,

nor is circumcision

outward and physical,

but a Jew

is one inwardly,

and circumcision

is a matter

of the heart,

by the Spirit,

not by the letter.

His praise

is not from man,

but from God.

This has always

been the way

of God.

Abraham was a man

justified by

faith.

He believed

in the promises

of God.

He didn't understand

the full realization

of the promises

of God.

He didn't know

how it was

that all the nations

of the world

would be blessed

in his line.

He didn't know

how it was

to happen,

but he knew

that it would,

and he trusted

that God would do

what he said

he would do,

and that is why

Abraham was justified.

Galatians 3,

7-9 reads,

It is those of faith

who are the sons

of Abraham,

and the scripture

foreseeing that God

would justify the Gentiles

by faith,

preached the gospel

beforehand to Abraham

saying,

In you shall all

the nations be blessed.

So then those

who are of faith

are blessed along

with Abraham,

the man of faith.

Isn't that phenomenal?

The commentary

that Paul gives us

on the promise

given to Abraham,

the Abrahamic covenant,

that the scripture

foreseeing that God

would justify Gentiles

by faith,

preached the gospel

to Abraham

saying,

In you the nations

will be blessed.

It's phenomenal.

And he goes on

to expound on that

in verses 7 and 8

and 9

and 10

and 11 and 12

and 13.

Verse 7 he says,

And not all are children

of Abraham

because there is offspring,

but through Isaac

shall your offspring be named.

This means it is not

the children of the flesh

who are the children of God,

but the children of the promise

are counted as offspring.

For this is what

the promise said

about this time next year

I will return

and Sarah

shall have a son.

Now if you recall

the story

of Sarah and Abraham

long,

long into their years

beyond childbearing age

both of them were,

should not have been

able to have a son.

And God comes

and gives to Abraham

a promise

that he will bless

the nations

in his line.

that his descendants

shall be like

the stars in heaven.

You remember this story?

And Abraham believed him.

He didn't have a clue

how that might happen,

but he believed him.

And Sarah

in her faithlessness

didn't believe

that it would be possible

for her

to bear a son.

Gave to Abraham

Hagar,

their servant.

You recall this

and Abraham

took Hagar

and she had a son

named Ishmael.

Sarah became jealous

of this relationship

and sent Hagar

and Ishmael away.

And it's there

that we see

Genesis 18.10

which is quoted

in verse 9.

About this time

next year I will return

and Sarah

shall have a son.

The promise

is re-given

and then in Genesis

21.12

it says

through Isaac

shall your offspring

be named.

And the point

that he's making

is that it's not

Abraham's lineage,

it's not just

that they came

from his flesh

that makes them blessed,

but it's the promise

that God gave

that makes them blessed.

Verse 8.

This means

it is not the children

of the flesh

who are children of God

but the children

of the promise

are counted

as offspring.

So you have

Ishmael.

You know who

the descendants

of Ishmael are?

The whole Arab nation.

She doesn't exclude

them from the gospel

but that is the direction

that that lineage

took off in.

In many ways

God blessed Ishmael

as an offspring

of Abraham

gave him lands

helped him thrive

but the promise

was for Isaac.

Verse 10.

And not only so

but also when Rebecca

had conceived

children by one man

our forefather Isaac

so Rebecca

is Isaac's wife

twins

she had twins

she conceived

children

though they were

not yet born

and had done nothing

either good or bad

in order that

God's purpose

of election

might continue

not because of works

but because of him

who calls

she was told

the older

will serve the younger

as it is written

Jacob I loved

but Esau I hated.

So Rebecca's

pregnant with twins

and in this time

there was great

favor

on the first born.

So someone pregnant

with twin boys

although we'd say

they're

the same age

in this case

Esau

was born first

and Jacob

was clinging

to his heel

remember the story

when they were born

the same time

they came out

together

but Esau

culturally

was the favored one

Esau was the one

that should have

gotten the blessing

of his father

Esau was the one

that should have

inherited

his father's lands

and then Jacob

was just to serve

the eldest brother

the work here

that Esau

would have done

his work

that would have

merited him

all this favor

was that he was

born first

which we know

isn't actually

a work of Esau

but that would have

been the thing

credited to him

to be the favored one

but what does God say

the older

will serve the younger

and then Jacob

I have loved

but Esau

I hated

for either of them

had done anything

good or bad

we'll talk about

that verse

in just a bit

we'll frame it

in its context

so you can see

that it is

God

who acts

and not

man

I want you to

hone in on a little

phrase

in verse 11

in order

that God's purpose

of election

might continue

not because of works

but because of him

who calls

and it brings us

to the doctrine

of election

we've been anticipating

in chapter 9

it's not the first time

it's been mentioned

in the book of Romans

upon a careful reading

it's introduced

in large part

in Romans 8

Romans 8:29

verse 29

for those whom he foreknew

he also predestined

to be conformed

to the image of his son

in order that he might

be the first foregone

among many brothers

and those whom he predestined

he also called

and those whom he called

he also justified

and those whom he justified

he also glorified

there's a sure confidence

in the act of God

when God decides

something will happen

it happens

God plans the ends

and he works the means

to see that

come to reality

and he's expounding

here for us now

what does that mean

what is election

and simply

election is an act of God

before creation

in which he chooses

a people

for salvation

not on account

of any foreseen merit

in them

but only because

of his sovereign

good pleasure

this is

a biblical reality

it will make your head

spin

I promise

it will cause you

to question

many things

we know to be true

of God

but it is taught

in the scriptures

now with it comes

all kinds

of controversy

throughout the ages

this has been a much

debated doctrine

and I'll say to you

that by and large

those who have held

to the doctrine

of election

have won

that debate

you begin to study

church history

and you will see

that the overarching

understanding

of this doctrine

is that it's true

and it's biblical

it's very clearly

taught

but still

much dissension

has existed

around this

not because of the doctrine

we don't ever blame

the doctrine

for that

because men

don't hold dear

to the scriptures

men want to apply

their own understanding

their own wisdom

and their own logic

to debate

this issue

there have been

many labels

that have been put on

people who believe

these things

Calvinists

Reform

that's the famous

one right now

and I would say

to you

coming to a

new place

in my life

that we should

try

at all costs

to avoid

those kinds

of labels

often it's the

easy way to

communicate

what you may

believe about

a certain thing

but you know

that every label

in this world

comes with

all kinds

of baggage

you have to know

that not just

around this topic

but around

every other topic

in the world

that there is

somebody out there

tossing a rock

in the air

ready to hurl it

at the first person

who says

I am a

because they have

some idea

I had to practice

doing this by the way

to get this right

you can imagine

a rock right

they have some idea

that they do not

like about that

person

and when you take

the label

it all comes

with it

Chris and I

got in a conversation

with a man

who had a bag

of rocks

a couple of months

ago

I am glad

he took them

out one at a

time

and hurled

them at us

rather than

beating us

with a bag

he was

furious

at anyone

that might

say they are

reformed

and I think

that his

emotion

was justified

he had had

some experience

with some

young men

that really

frustrated him

and at one point

I had to say

you are not

mad at me

put down the rocks

let's have a

conversation

let's talk

this out

together

these things

come with

so

much

the doctrine

of election

has not

ever caused

any Christian

to live

one way

or necessarily

another

right

the

Calvinist

that you may

know

that's been

unloving

that's

tried to

shrub

these type

of doctrines

down your

throat

that has

been haughty

has been

arrogant

it's not

the fault

of the

doctrine

it's the

fault

of the

lack

of love

and compassion

in their

life

a couple

of weeks

ago

we talked

about the

danger

of

preaching

truth

but doing

so

without

love

and so

I'm saying

all this

because

what I

want you

to do

if you're

sitting

out there

is put

down

your

rocks

I love

Jesus

Christ

I love

the gospel

I

dearly

love

people

and I

want to

see

God's

kingdom

go rampant

throughout

the earth

I love

the scriptures

I think

that they

are sufficient

and inerrant

they're

complete

there's a

part of

me

that wants

to make

my own

little

theological

system

and then

do my

very best

to read

it into

the scripture

that's

called

isogesis

because I

can kind

of neaten

up the

package

in my

own

mind

what do

I do

when I

do

that

I

become

my

own

God

and what

I'm

really

doing

is

worshipping

myself

and I'm

taking the

revelation

of God

and I'm

patting myself

on the

back

I don't

want to

do that

I want

to be

humble

I want

to say

I am

a created

thing

and you

are the

creator

and if

you have

chosen to

reveal a

truth to

me

even though

it may

not

fully

make

sense

in my

thinking

and I

humbly

!

submit to

that

and then I

ask

why?

why?

why are

you

teaching

me

this?

if this

is a

necessary

thing

for me

to

know

why?

did God

just get

carried away

and begin

writing?

and he's

like

that was

too much

I wish

I hadn't

said that

that's

going to

cause

all kinds

of issues

people are

going to

be so

totally

confused

about

that

if I

could

take

it

back

but it's

already

been

written

the

scrolls

have

been

reproduced

now the

printing

press

is

everywhere

he

didn't

do it

he knew

!

exactly

what he

was

doing

when

he

had

the

writers

of

the

Bible

write

these

words

so

let's

be

humble

together

let me

give you

a great

example

it's a

really

famous

conversation

between

a man

named

Charles

Simeon

and

John

Wesley

Charles

Simeon

in

England

was the

leader

I hope

I'm

getting

this

right

of the

evangelical

movement

of the

Church

of England

so

here's

a man

passionate

about

evangelism

actually

working

to see

the

Church

of

England

become

evangelistic

in their

practice

and

John

Wesley

who

is

the

founder

of

Methodism

also

a

phenomenal

man

John

Wesley

said to be

the

prince

of

Armenians

those

who

would

reject

the

doctrine

of

election

although

he

really

didn't

but we'll

get into

that

later

Charles

Simeon

and

John

Wesley

were

being

pressed

!

to debate

by

lots

and lots

of

us

the

unloving

those

who

really

want

to see

the

big

guys

beat up

on each

other

over

issues

like

this

and

here's

the

conversation

that they

had

as led

by

Charles

Simeon

Charles

Simeon

said

Wesley

A few questions.

Pray, sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature,

so depraved that you would ever have thought of turning to God

if God had not first put it into your heart?

Wesley replied, yes, I do indeed.

Simeon said, and do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God

by anything you can do,

and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?

To which Wesley replied, yes, solely through Christ.

But, sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ,

are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?

Wesley said, no, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.

Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God,

are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?

Wesley simply said,

no.

What, then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God

as much as an infant in its mother's arms?

Wesley said, yes, altogether.

And is all your hope and the grace and mercy of God

to preserve you unto his heavenly kingdom?

Wesley says, yes, I have no hope but in him.

To which Simeon concluded, then, sir, with your leave,

I will put up my dagger again.

For this is all my Calvinism.

This is my election, my justification by faith, my final perseverance.

It is in substance all that I hold and as I hold it.

And therefore, if you please,

instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us,

we will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree.

To which Wesley responded, to this I add nothing.

And that was their great debate that everyone had pressed them to.

To see that really, both of them were Bible-believing men.

And they had been led astray in their framing of their argument.

And Simeon brought it together in such a beautiful way.

Do you believe?

Yes.

Do you believe?

Yes.

How about this?

Nope.

And they all, and they realized, really?

When it all came down to it,

they were right there on the same page together.

Now, these doctrines are important.

They should be talked about.

They should be taught.

But you have to recognize that most of the people that you encounter,

those of us in this room that may not fully embrace the doctrine of election,

we have so much more in common than those things that we have apart.

You know that?

That we're a pretty conservative denomination being Southern Baptists.

We're not debating things like the inerrancy of Scripture.

That's a blessing to us.

It's good that we're debating things that we can debate with Scripture.

That ultimately, we're all walking on a tightrope

between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.

If I'm going to err, if our church is going to err,

we're going to tend to err off the sovereignty of God's side.

So, I usually balance like this.

If I'm going to fall, it's going to be to the sovereignty of God's side of things.

I'm going to neglect the teaching that we are, in fact, responsible for our actions.

If others are going to err, many of our Georgia Baptist pastors,

it's going to be to the other side.

And they're going to neglect teaching that God is, in fact, in control.

You are to act.

You are to work out your salvation with fear and trembling

because it's God at work in you to accomplish His goodwill.

They'll neglect that side.

Why is there so much contention around this?

I honestly don't know.

But I can tell you that one thing I see as a possibility

is that I get held on the tightrope

by those who don't embrace this doctrine in the way that I do.

Those men keep me from neglecting the teaching

that we are, in fact, responsible,

even though God is fully in control.

So, let's look at the Scriptures together.

I want to remind you, before we do that,

that Paul's discussion of this doctrine

as it relates to the Gentiles and to Israel

ends in chapter 11, beginning in verse 33.

He says,

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom of knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments

and how inscrutable His ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord

or who has been His counselor

or who has given a gift to Him

that He might be repaid?

For from Him and through Him and to Him

are all things.

To Him be glory forever.

Amen.

This is a great doxology.

And let's keep in mind that that's where He heads.

In His mind, as He's having a proper understanding of this

and He's pinning it down for us,

that's where He ends up.

He starts in the beginning of verse 9

with a lament over Israel,

His brethren according to the flesh,

those that He has a dear, dear heart for,

His nation.

But He ends in His understanding

by praising God

that He can't fully grasp

the height of God's wisdom and knowledge.

So let's recall that.

This week,

my dear mother shared with me

Job 26.14.

Job says,

Behold,

these are but the outskirts of His ways

and how small a whisper do we hear of Him

but the thunder of His power

who can understand.

Isn't that good?

These are but the outskirts of His ways

and how small a whisper do we hear of Him

but the thunder of His power

who can understand.

We are to understand

and know what God has given us

to understand and know

and accept it by faith.

Someday,

our minds are going to be

blown wide open.

So let's let the Scriptures speak.

John 6.44.

Actually,

turn there with me.

I want you to work with me through.

We're going to go in order

through the New Testament.

I have eight Scriptures for you.

Which is not the extent of the Scriptures

that speak to this topic.

John 6.44.

The words of Christ.

No one can come to me

unless the Father who sent me

draws him.

The Greek word draws

is more powerful in the Greek

than it is in English.

It means literally to drag off.

The picture is of us

clinging to sin.

Have you ever seen a child

throw a tantrum?

They don't want to go out the door

and you've seen that parent

that rather than just like

spanking them and dealing with it

plays the game

and drags them across the floor

and they're like clawing on the carpet.

That's the picture of this word.

That is the way that the Father

draws us to Christ.

We don't love him.

We love sin.

That is our natural inclination

before we are brought

to life in Christ.

No one can come to me

unless the Father who sent me

draws him.

In other Greek literature

that term is used

for the bringing of water up

from a well.

How does that happen?

Does the water willingly

climb up the side of the well?

Never.

Right?

Water is fully subjected

to the law of gravity.

Right?

That term there used

draw as a physical forcing

of something

to come to Christ.

John 15, 16.

Jesus says

and I don't know how

you can get more clear than this

but Jesus says

you did not choose me

but I chose you.

Do I have to

give commentary to that?

I didn't write this guys.

I don't have some special version.

Yours might read

slightly different

but it says the same thing.

Jesus says

you did not choose me

but I chose you.

Acts

13, 48.

Paul's in Antioch.

And he preaches

a beautiful sermon.

I would encourage you

to go through the book of Acts

and just read the sermons.

The times when

Paul and Stephen,

Peter are before people

and they're preaching the gospel.

And at the end of all that

it says in verse 48,

chapter 13,

as many as were appointed

to eternal life

believed.

Can we get around that language?

Those who were in this presence

who heard the preaching

of the gospel,

the word of God

went forth

and it accomplished

what?

Exactly

what it was intended

to accomplish.

As many as were appointed

to eternal life

believed.

Ephesians,

Ephesians 1:3–6

chapter 1,

verses 3 through 6.

Paul writes to the Ephesian

believers,

blessed be the God

and Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ

who has blessed us

in Christ

with every spiritual blessing

in the heavenly places

even as he chose us

in him

before the foundation

of the world

that we should be holy

and blameless

before him.

In love he predestined us

for adoption as a son

through Jesus Christ

according to the purpose

of his will

to the praise

of his glorious grace

with which he has blessed us

in the beloved.

I'm already here

so we're just going to do it.

It wasn't my plan.

About 2, 8, and 9.

Ephesians 2, 8, and 9.

For by grace you have been saved

through faith

and this is not your own doing.

Referring to the faith,

you'll hear arguments otherwise.

Through faith

and this is not your own doing.

It is the gift of God

not as a result of works

so that no one may boast.

All praise and honor

belongs to the one

who saves us.

1 Thessalonians 1, 4, and 5.

You can always turn right,

I promise.

I double checked.

1 Thessalonians 1, 4, and 5.

For we know,

brothers loved by God,

that he has chosen you

because our gospel came to you

not only in word

but also in power

and in the Holy Spirit

and with full conviction.

Paul writes to the Thessalonian believers,

brothers, we know

that you're brothers loved by God

and that he's chosen you.

Why?

Because the gospel came

with the power of God

not just in word

but with the Spirit

and with full conviction.

These people's lives

had been changed.

And Paul witnesses this

in Thessalonian believers

and what does he say?

We know,

brothers loved by God,

that he has chosen you.

It wouldn't have happened

otherwise.

2 Timothy 1, 9.

We're almost there.

He saved us

and called us

to a holy calling

not because of our works

but because of his own purpose

and grace

which he gave us in Christ

before the ages began.

1 Peter 1, 9.

Peter calls us,

you don't have to worry about this one,

Peter calls us

a chosen race.

Revelation 13, 8

speaks of what will happen

to those

whose names

have not been written

before the foundation

of the world

in the book of life

of the Lamb

who was slain.

Again,

in chapter 17, verse 8.

Speaks of the eternal destruction,

the praise of the beast

that will happen

to those whose names

were not written

in the book of life

before the foundation

of the world.

So,

many,

I have heard argue

that, yeah,

Peter,

or Paul,

seems to be a bit

Calvinistic.

He speaks a lot

of this doctrine

of election.

But what about Jesus?

You can find

his words in red.

That's what God will say.

Right?

We've got here

Jesus Christ.

We've got a record

of what's happening

in Acts.

We've got Paul writing

to a number

of the churches.

We have Peter.

We have John

who wrote the book

of Revelation.

You can't

embrace the doctrine

of election,

not understand it

necessarily,

but say,

the Bible teaches this.

Then you really

should at Matthew

tear it out,

throw it away.

And you know,

actually,

all of the New Testament

is in great way

commentary

of the Old Testament.

So why don't you

just go ahead

and take the entire

thing and toss it?

It doesn't mean

you have to be

comfortable with it.

Again,

you don't have to

fully grasp

how it works out

in daily living.

the fact that

God is sovereign

and completely

in control

over all things

and yet I experience

day-to-day choices.

Every day,

I experience that.

That's what I feel

to be true.

How do those things

interplay?

How is it that

I'm held fully

responsible for all

of my actions

yet God is

totally in control?

I don't know.

I don't know.

I would like to be

the wisest guy

and be able to

just lay it all out

for you.

Just have you

completely be able

to wrap your mind

around it.

Convince you

with my reason

that this is the case.

I can't.

I can't do it.

There's some gaps

in there.

But again,

rather than writing

my own

salvation plan

and then having

to hop around

in the scriptures

piecemeal together

little things

that I like

that support

my opinion

of things,

stand over God

and judge Him,

have Him play

my game

my way,

I would much

rather

be humble

and a bit

confused.

Put myself

as the creation

trying to understand

how it is

that God's

working out

His glorious

plan of salvation

in this earth

and why

I am any part

of it

at all.

I'll tell you,

you hang out

with us much,

you're going to hear us

say,

we do not

serve God's grace.

We fail to be grace.

We did.

We are

humble recipients

of God's work

in our lives.

So,

you ask the question,

why does

God's inspired word

make us privy

to God's

elective purpose?

Why?

What purpose

does it serve?

If it seems

that it serves

more harm

than good,

it seems

that this division

and these issues

are rooted

in this type

of teaching,

why?

It causes

confusion.

Why?

Why did

God do this?

How is it

practical?

Have you ever

heard the term

practical theology?

I despise it.

High theologians

talk about

practical theology.

All theology

is practical.

The study of God

has reality

for our lives

every single day.

So,

never buy the lie

that there are

some things

that are just to know

and there are

some things

that you know

so that you can do.

We know

so that we can

do,

think properly,

deal with emotions

properly.

So,

how is this

then

practical

for us?

And I have

three things

for you

and this is

going to

wrap us

to an end.

Three things

that the

doctrine of election

accomplishes

and was intended

to accomplish.

Firstly,

is to serve

as a comfort

to our souls.

It's where

we started

in Romans

Romans 8:28

chapter 8,

verse 28.

I think you guys

all know,

828,

and we know

that for those

who love God,

all things work

together for good

for those who

are called

according to

his purpose.

And then he

goes on

into his

explanation.

For those

he before

knew,

he also

predestined

to be

conformed

to the

image of

his son.

Because this

life is going

to be

difficult.

We are

going to

suffer.

Can you

imagine how

precious

the doctrine of

election would

have been

to first

century Jews?

Those who

were paraded

in Rome

into the

Colosseum

and fed

the lions.

Those who

were put on

stakes and

lit on fire

to light

Nero's

garden parties.

Those today

who when they

accept Christ,

they lose all

ties to their

family.

They may not

be able to

go to

university.

They may be

thrown in

prison.

They may be

killed.

Can you

imagine how

precious this

doctrine would

be to them?

But we're

all so

comfortable.

Right?

We don't

suffer.

We sit on

our couches

and we read

our Bibles

and say,

no, that's

not my

God.

It is

your God

and it's

for you

because you

begin to

live for

Christ.

You will

suffer.

You will

be persecuted.

Even in

this nation,

we begin to

put ourselves

out there

for him.

People are

not going

to like

us.

beyond that,

we suffer

physically.

I have

health issues.

That's part

of the

suffering

that's

included

in this.

And praise

God, I

know that

I am

his in

all the

things I'm

experiencing.

Everything

that goes

on in

my life,

internally,

externally,

are all

for my

good.

Further,

I am

fairly

wretched.

I sin

still.

I've been

delivered from

it and yet

I enslave

myself to

it.

Praise

God that

he's in

control of

my salvation.

That I

can't do

anything to

reject that.

I have

been bought.

I am

in him.

He holds

me firmly

in his

hand.

Nothing can

pluck me

out of

his hand,

even

myself.

John 10,

27-30,

Jesus says,

My sheep

hear my

voice and

I know

them and

they follow

me.

I give

them eternal

life and

they will

never perish.

No one

will snatch

them out

of my

hand.

My

father who

has given

them to

me is

greater than

all and

no one is

able to

snatch them

out of

the father's

hand.

I and

the father

are one.

The doctrine

of election

does that.

It serves

as a comfort

to our

souls.

Secondly,

it causes

us to

praise God.

Rightly

understood,

it causes

us to

praise God.

Malachi 1,

2,

and 3.