The Un-Understandable Balance

Romans 9:6-33

I believe that Romans 9 is one of the most mysterious and difficult chapters in the Bible.

Chapter nine begins a new section in Romans speaking directly to Israel’s place in the plan of Salvation.

What about Israel being God’s chosen people?

Paul began in verses 1-5, as we looked at last week, to reaffirm his love for Israel’s people, and his great respect for Israel’s position.

In verses 4-5 he went through an incredible list of gifts given to Israel by God’s Grace:

They were given the name of Israel

They were given the Adoption

They were given the Glory of God - The Shekinah Glory

They were given the Covenants

They were given the Law

They were given the Service - the ability to serve God in the Tabernacle and Temple.

They were given the Promises

They were given the Heritage

They were given the Messiah

Now Paul in the rest of the chapter begins to answer some questions that he perceives will be asked regarding Israel, and their relationship with God.

I have entitled tonight’s sermon “The Un-understandable Balance” because The truth of God’s Word has to be balanced completely.

All of the revelation of God has to fit together in order to be true, or none of it can be trusted.

But the problem is: Men much smarter than me have been wrestling with this for over 2000 years and they haven’t figured it out yet.

I doubt I am going to be the guy to explain it all!

I am just going to do my best tonight to share what God has laid on my heart tonight.

I know there are many that believe they have figured out the balance between Free will and God’s Sovereign Election.

Good for them, however, In most cases I see biblical flaws.

So How much is God in control of the details of history? Does he choose who becomes Christians, or do they choose it themselves?

We are going to take a walk through the rest of chapter 9 tonight and see that even though we cannot completely understand this balance, we can see four essential truths we need to understand about God’s Election and Man’s Free Will.

Before we go any further, I know people who refuse to use biblical terms because they are afraid that their people will take them and run with those terms and go to heretical ends.

I am just going to keep preaching the Word, every word.

I will just have to trust that God will help you understand His balance, just like He is going to have to help me understand His balance.

So the first Essential Truth we need to understand is that there is:

I. No National Election

All of Israel’s people are not saved, just because they were born into the family of Abraham.

6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:

7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.

10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;

11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

A. It’s Not by Birth

It’s not because they are of the seed of Abraham.

The children of the flesh is not what brings salvation - but the children of promise are counted for the seed.

God chose to use a man - Abraham

In Abraham God chose to use a family - Israel’s 12 sons

In that Family God chose to use Judah

In Judah God chose to bring about the Savior of the World.

But that does not mean that all of Israel is saved because God chose Abraham and his descendents.

This doesn’t mean that God has failed to keep His promises to Abraham.

He fulfilled His promises to bless the nation of Israel, and to bless the world through Israel.

But salvation is not about ethnic identity.

Secondly Salvation, or God’s Election, is:

B. Not by Works

10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;

11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Two sons, two choices made, and thereby two outcomes.

Notice it doesn’t say, “For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, God elected one over the other.”

No it says, “that the purpose of God according to election might stand.”

The purpose that God had in these two boys, His choice between the two stood…not based on their works…but because He is God.

Now if we look at the illustration that is being given here, it is obvious that God knew before they were born what they would do.

Esau made the choice to sell his birthright

Esau made the choice to be angry at his brother, and try to kill him.

Esau’s children made the choice made the choice to be violent against Jacob’s descendants:

Obadiah 10–14 KJV

10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, And thou shalt be cut off for ever. 11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, In the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, And foreigners entered into his gates, And cast lots upon Jerusalem, Even thou wast as one of them. 12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; Neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; Neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. 13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity: Yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, Nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; 14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; Neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.

God knew what Esau would do, and He knew what Jacob would do and He chose - And yet God’s choices are not based upon our decisions - that is the un-understandable balance of Sovereignty and free will - they are both true!

BTW - God does not say that He hated Esau from the womb, he just says that He chose Esau would serve the younger Jacob from the womb.

So God’s Election is not based on National Election.

The Second Essential truth we need to understand about God’s Election is that there is:

II. No Unrighteousness in God’s Choice

14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Paul asks, what can we say here? Is God unrighteous for having mercy? Or more importantly is there any unrighteousness in God at all?

Did God do something wrong by showing mercy to Jacob and not to Esau?

First we need to understand:

A. Mercy Is Not Deserved

The very definition of mercy tells us that it is not deserved.

Does God owe us salvation? of course not.

God does not have to give mercy to anyone, and He would still be righteous.

The emphasis is not on who he gave mercy to, but that we have no right to expect it.

It is not deserved - God has every right to give mercy to whom He will give mercy and have compassion on whom He will have compassion.

B. Mercy Is Not Earned

16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

It’s not a matter of the will - Oh I wish I could have mercy

It is not a matter of running - strenuous effort - Gotta earn it

But God shows mercy!

And does so as He chooses.

Balanced with all of Scripture he has offered his mercy to all who will return to Him.

2 Chronicles 30:9 KJV

9 For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

He is not withholding his mercy, he is choosing to give it to those who turn to Him.

But the emphasis is here - Who are you to question God’s choice?

C. Mercy Is Not Guaranteed

17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

I mean by this that God will not always strive with man.

His mercy will not be pearls cast before swine.

He knows what will happen in the end, just as he knew what would happen with Pharaoh.

And even still, Pharaoh had the chance to turn.

It is no accident that Pharaoh is chosen as an example here.

Five times Pharaoh hardened his heart every time God came to him to let his people go, but five times he hardened his own heart before God ever hardened it.

God is not unrighteous in His choice to have mercy on one or to harden the heart of another.

We do not and cannot see all of the attempts that God has made to touch the heart of those who reject Him.

We cannot see how He has placed the Word of God before them, or a Christian example before them, or how the Holy Spirit has tried to convict them.

We don’t have enough information to judge the situation, and we certainly do not have enough righteousness to judge God Almighty!

The Third essential truth we need to understand is we have:

III. No Right to Accuse or Excuse

19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

Now in this section He is doubling down on the fact that we have no right to accuse or excuse God for his choices.

He is sovereign!

He starts by anticipating the question from his opponents:

Why does he then hold us at fault, if we cannot resist His will.

They say, “If God is the one who is in control of who hears and believes, how can he condemn those who are simply playing the role he has assigned them to play?”

Human logic takes us there, I know…but we are not dealing with human logic.

We cannot fit God or His Sovereignty into our box and expect to explain it all away.

The bottom line is we have to believe and confess the Lord Jesus.

Romans 10:9–13 KJV

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

But he also says that God is sovereign.

The bottom line is you cannot give the final answer.

You are not qualified!

First of all:

A. Know Your Place

20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Who are you to argue against God?

Will that which has been made argue with the maker?

Doesn’t the potter have power to make of the clay whatever he wants it?

You are the clay - know your place!

B. Know Your Use

Continuing the idea of the clay Paul says...

21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

No doubt Paul must hear their objection in his mind, “Wouldn’t a good God save everyone?”

Paul has already established that sin is our choice…not God’s!

If God uses your free choices to reject Him as a way to display his Glory? v. 22-23

All things are for His Glory!

I don’t think we will every be able to fully understand that statement until we get to heaven.

I told Georgina on Friday, God’s choice to give Bob cancer is for His glory - I want to say “It’s not worth it.” - But that thought is tainted by sin and selfishness.

One day we will understand the importance of God’s Glory!

Author Tim Keller - “If God had mercy on all or condemned all, we would not see his glory. I don’t think Paul is giving us much more than a hint here, but it is a very suggestive hint. For the biggest question is: If God could save everyone, why doesn’t he? And here Paul seems to say that God’s chosen course (to save some and leave others) will in the end be more fit to show forth God’s glory than any other scheme we can imagine.”

But for all of this we can hold to the truth …and

C. Know God’s Mercy

25 As he saith also in Osee (Hosea - Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name), I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

27 Esaias (Isaiah - Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name) also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

He is saying here stop trying to explain it and realize the wonderful, incredible, inexhaustible mercy of God!

God chose us, who were not God’s chosen nation to be come His chosen people!

We who were not God’s people now are the children of the living God!

in verses 27-29, he is saying Even though just a small remnant were saved out of the vast number of Israelites…Just look at the mercy he had - He could have and they deserved to be wiped off the face of the earth like Sodom and Gomorrha.

We deserve no better!

Mercy is not deserved - we have no right to accuse or Excuse God’s mercy.

IV. No Election without Faith

God does not give a place for removal of free will.

30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

We see in this passage the two views of thought - By the Law and By Faith.

He says:

A. By Law - It All Seems Skewed

30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

You mean to tell me, Paul is anticipating the response, that the gentiles who never tried to follow the Law have attained righteousness by faith?

Humanly speaking, it seems that if you follow the law for righteousness that you should be able to attain to righteousness.

But he has already gone through that with us…it doesn’t work because we cannot keep the law.

But When we look at it in God’s Way

B. By Faith - It Is Balanced

32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Why? Wherefore did they attain righteousness?

Because they did not seek righteousness by faith, but by the works of the law - they stumbled at that stumblingstone.

They stumbled over the truth of Jesus and His mercy.

Conclusion

We will never be able to explain the balance between God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Free Will to the point where there will not be any argument over it…that is until we get to heaven and see the truth face to face.

If we focus only on Free Will - we become the source of our salvation - we obtained salvation because I chose Christ.

If we focus only on Sovereignty and Election - We have no choice and if we are saved we’re saved. Might as well relax and go along for the ride!

The imbalance in theology leads to heresy.

Stand firm on all of scripture and realize we will not be able to figure it all out!

It is the Un-understandable Balance!

I love a quote I read this week from A.A. Hodge

I believe it is applicable to this argument as well as the argument he presents...

“Does God know the day you’ll die? Yes. Has he appointed that day? Yes. Can you do anything to change that day? No. Then why do you eat? To live. What happens if you don’t eat? You die. Then if you don’t eat, and die, then would that be the day that God had appointed for you to die? …Quit asking stupid questions and just eat. Eating is the pre-ordained way God has appointed for living.”

Bottom line - Salvation is offered to you by the grace and mercy of God.

It is in your power to choose!

Jesus said, Whosoever will may come!

If you are hearing my voice today, you have not gone too far that God’s mercy can’t reach you.

Paul used Hosea as an example here in this passage.

Hosea’s wife left him and cheated on him, not once but twice.

She became a prostitute, Who in their right mind would take her back - Hosea did - and so does God who gave Hosea the grace to do it.

God can and will save anyone who comes to Him through faith.

But don’t ever get to the place where you become complacent to the mercy of God.

Realize, yes you chose God…but God chose you first!