Not Ashamed-Part 34- Election and Redemption

Introduction- Romans 9:6-18 (33)

Last week here in Paul’s letter to the Roman church written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God we saw the deep burden that Paul carried for his brethren the Israelites.

It is my hope that each of us would carry a similar burden for our loved ones and neighbors who are yet lost.

The passage before us tonight deals with a subject that has been the source of much contention and argument throughout history.

Here we find the idea of God’s election and in this we are faced with the tension between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.

The scriptures teach that God is sovereign over all and also that man bears personal responsibility for his own choices and actions.

There is naturally a tension between these two principals that is difficult for us to resolve nevertheless we can be sure that both are true.

This passage will help us to understand some of the interplay between them.

The Word of God Still Stands (Vs. 6-8)

This passage begins with Paul addressing the idea that some might have that the Word of God was no longer in effect for the Israelites.

He will here show that the Word of God still stands and that God’s promise has not failed.

The appearance that God’s Word had been invalidated was due to the misunderstanding of the nature of the promise.

This is why Paul mentions the fact that there are some of the Israelites who are not part of Israel.

Romans 4:12–13 KJV 1900

And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

The promise was not to those who were born Israelites but to those who belived God. Some had forfeited the promise because of their own unbelief while others were made recipients of the promise because of their faith.

The birth of Isaac as contrasted with the birth of Ishmael is used to distinguish between these two opposing ideals.

Ishmael was the child of the flesh because though he was Abraham’s son he was the product of the fleshly schemes of Abraham and Sarah.

Isaac was the child of promise because he was the product of faith in God and belief in His promises.

So these serve as an illustration of those who would seek righteousness through fleshly means and those who would simply believe God and take Him at His Word.

God’s promise had not failed rather many had failed to understand the nature of the promise.

Election (Vs. 9-13)

The conversation now turns to the choosing of God and His selection of one individual over another.

Why was it Ishamel over Isaac and then an even greater example is why Jacob over Esau?

It must be noted that the choosing here is not with regard to salvation but with regard to the place of each in the plan of God for the nation.

It is clear that God chooses to place individuals in different circumstances and to allow them to fulfill different roles in His plan.

God chose Jacob as the child through whom the promises would be fulfilled while Esau was to fill a very different role in God’s plans.

The natural order would have Esau be the one to inherit the blessing as the first born but God chose instead to cause Jacob to inherit it in his place.

This was not on the basis of their merits for God chose Jacob before his birth.

In verse 13 we have a statement which is a quotation of an OT scripture and we must be careful not to misunderstand what is meant by it.

Malachi 1:2–3 KJV 1900

I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: Yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, And laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

This does not speak of Jacob and Esau as individuals but rather as representatives of nations. Jacob as representative of the nation of Israel and Esau as a representative of the nation of Edom.

The word hate here is a term of comparison between the two expressing primarily the special unmerited favor that God demonstrated towards the nation of Israel as compared to the position of the nation of Edom (the descendants of Esau) in God’s plan.

Unrighteousness with God (Vs. 14-18)

Again here Paul addresses an expected question arising from the previous statements.

One might ask is God unrighteous in choosing to demonstrate special favor to some above others?

The reality is that God cannot possibly be unrighteous for He is the very standard by which righteousness is determined.

At this point Paul turns to another illustration of this point, that of Moses and Pharaoh.

Exodus 33:19 KJV 1900

And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

God spoke to Moses of the fact that He would extend His grace and His mercy to whom He would on the basis of His sovereign choice.

The truth is that no one is deserving of the least of God’s mercy and grace and yet God sovereignly chooses to extend it.

It would not be unrighteous for God to condemn all and refuse to extend grace and mercy to any. The fact that anyone is saved or chosen to be used by God is a magnificent demonstration of His love.

The focus then turns toward Pharaoh whom God chose to use in a particular manner through hardening his heart.

Exodus 9:16 KJV 1900

And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

His purpose for Pharaoh was that through his refusal to let the Israelites go free, He would demonstrate His power and glory through the various plagues that would come as a result.

It is important however to note that it is said of Pharaoh first that he hardened his own heart before God ever hardened it.

It was not as though Pharaoh had no opportunity to repent. When he proved obstinate in his resistance to God, God simply hardened his heart further to serve his own purposes that He would be glorified as a result. God simply removed the restraints.

Just Judgment (Vs. 19-24)

Again Paul imagines the questions that might arise from this teaching and addresses them head on.

One might say is God just to hold me responsible when He has sovereignly elected to place me in the circumstances I am in?

The initial answer to the question is simply that we have no right whatsoever to question God’s choices.

Isaiah 55:8–9 KJV 1900

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith 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.

God places every man and woman into a particular set of circumstances and chooses to use each individual according to His sovereign purpose.

Some are given unique opportunities for special service as vessels unto honor while others are given only the opportunity for common service which is the actual meaning of a vessel unto dishonor referencing common household vessels used for ordinary purposes.

God may choose to suffer long with those who deserve judgment in order that He may make know the riches of His glory through the mercy He has shown.

Whether God judges or forbears ultimately He chooses to do what will ultimately bring glory to His name.

Vessels of Mercy (Vs. 24-29)

The fact that there are some from among both the Jews and the Gentiles who are saved and are become the people of God is a testament to the mercy of God.

Hosea 2:23 KJV 1900

And I will sow her unto me in the earth; And I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; And I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; And they shall say, Thou art my God.

God has mercifully extended His grace not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles.

Isaiah 10:22–23 KJV 1900

For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, Yet a remnant of them shall return: The consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, In the midst of all the land.

This is the quotation Paul is giving in verse 27 and this again speaks to the fact that not all who claim to be a part of the nation of Israel will actually be saved.

Verse 28 refers to the fact that God will one day finish the work He is doing upon earth abruptly and the final judgment will be handed down.

The true people of God have always been looked upon as a remnant and it is this remnant that has carried on the work of God throughout generations so that others could come to faith.

Were it not for God’s mercy in leaving this remnant then all would be judged and none would be saved.

Righteousness by Faith (Vs. 30-33)

These final verses bring the attention back to where the conversation originated with the thought that God had rejected the Jews and had now chosen to receive the Gentiles.

This brings our attention back to the parameter that God has set for the attainment of righteousness.

The majority of Israel had failed to attain it not because God had rejected them but because they attempted to attain it through works rather than faith.

A great many Gentiles had attained to righteousness because they sought it by faith rather than by their works.

The ultimate conclusion that is to be drawn from this passage is that only those who believe shall be accepted of God and that the sole qualification for acceptance with God is faith in Jesus Christ.

Some have stumbled because they have refused to believe on Him and have attempted to attain righteousness through their own means but these will ultimately find themselves rejected unless they repent and believe on Jesus.

Conclusion

One important conclusion to be drawn from this passage is that the election spoken of in scripture is not in reference to God choosing some to be saved and some to be lost but is rather referring to the choices God makes in choosing to place some individuals in positions of unique advantage over others based upon His sovereign purposes.

The most important conclusion that we can draw from this passage is that faith is what matters. Whether it be a Jew or a Gentile no one finds acceptance with God apart from faith.

We must also recognize that though there may seem at times from our limited perspective to be a contradiction between them both God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibilty are taught in the scriptures. This we will see to a greater extent in the following chapters.

God is just and He only does what is righteous so we can be sure that His electing to show mercy and grace is according to righteousness and is never unjust.