God’s Election by Grace! - Romans 11:1-10
February 25, 2007 AM
By Pastor Lee Hemen
An 8-year-old girl wrote to a Christian leader, seeking advice. She wanted to know how she could get her daddy to carry her picture. She said her dad had a photo of her little brother in his wallet (the boy looked like his dad). And he carried a picture of his pretty 15-year-old daughter too. But when this 8-year-old gave him a photo of herself, he put it in a drawer. It seems that she wasn't good enough for her daddy.
To be rejected for anything can leave a huge emotional mark on a person’s life. Of course, it depends upon what you are rejected from and why. However, rejection can carry a heavy burden in a person’s life. It would be especially hard to learn that your whole ethnic group or nationality were rejected by God! How worse would it be then if you were chosen by God, yet ignored that election? J. A. Meads Jr. began a sermon with: "The reason you and I cannot ignore God can be stated in one word: Israel. No other nation has been known as a 'chosen people.' No other nation has as much to say about the love, the patience, and the anger of God. Through Israel, God has given the world an object lesson about His nature." Paul understood this quite well. He knew Israel had been chosen of God, and in this “election” God expected His people to live in faith. Paul understood that God’s election is by grace and should never be ignored. Let’s discover why this morning…
READ: Romans 11:1-10
Since the foundation of the Christian church, martyrs have laid down their lives for their faith in Christ. In this generation, thousands of believers have suffered imprisonment, persecution, and death for their faith. “In fact, more people have perished for their commitment to Jesus in the last hundred years than in all previous centuries put together” – rbc.org. Although we may be spared from such costly loyalty to Jesus Christ, we may experience rejection by family and friends, or we may encounter misunderstanding, ridicule, and loneliness. Rejection by people will happen sometime in our life. But for the Christian, rejection by God will never occur. Yet, Paul’s readers were insecure in what Paul was trying to teach them so Paul belays their insecurity by telling them that…
I. God’s election by grace means He has a plan (vv. 1-5)!
1. God can never reject those He loves! Paul’s, “I ask then” is literally, “Therefore, I say.” The apostle’s question is, “Did God reject His people?” In the original Greek the question is asked to elicit a “NO” in reply: “God did not reject His people, did He?” Paul then presented himself as spiritual and physical proof of what he was trying to teach them. He had responded by faith to Jesus Christ and had received God’s provided righteousness, and yet he was an Israelite and of the tribe of Benjamin! If Paul, a faithful Jew, could receive Jesus as Savior, than all Hebrews could! He goes on to relate, “God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says…?” If God had kept a “remnant,” a small portion of the Israelite nation during the trying times of Elijah who were loyal to Him by faith, He certainly could do so now! And, in fact, God had done so! He told Elijah, “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” In God’s infinite foreknowledge He had done so: “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace!” It is amazing to understand that in His wonderful foreknowledge God has already provided for those who would come to Him! Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37) While we may not know who is part of the “remnant,” God knows. Paul teaches us that God’s election by grace means He has a plan!
EXAMPLE: Calluses can be built up on person’s fingertips through constant use, like when guitarists practice over and over, they will build calluses up that help them to play. The same is true for broken bones. A callus can build up to help the bone heal. However, calluses can also make that are in which it forms, less sensitive. This is why God in Scripture relates that the hearts of the Israelites were hardened like Paul states in verse 7. I can remember practicing and practicing until my fingertips became insensitive to the wire strings of my banjo. It took a lot of time to make them so they could not feel anything. Spiritually this can occur as well when people’s hearts are hardened or callused against God. This is what occurred. God told the prophet Ezekiel, “But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.” (Ezekiel 3:7) In fact, He goes on to state that He alone will harden their hearts in order to bring about His will. It was God’s plan all along. Paul teaches us that God’s election by grace means He has a plan!
Little children feel the pain of rejection when one of their peers is chosen instead of them to recite a poem or sing a song. As they grow older, some of them are not going to be chosen for the varsity team. Some of them are going to be turned down by a girl they want to date. Some may marry and have their mate leave them for another person. They may wonder why the Lord allows them to be rejected. They may ask, “Was I good enough?” “Did I do enough of the right things?” “How could I have been better?” Paul again relates a wonderful truth to us in the fact that…
II. God’s election by grace means it is never by good works (vv. 6-10)!
1. Being good, is not good enough! After his historical illustration Paul drew a conclusion for his day: “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace (lit., “a remnant according to the election of grace has come to be”).” Paul was only one of thousands of Israelites in his generation elected to faith. Paul added that this choice is totally by God’s grace. He would relate, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) In fact, we are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do!” (Ephesians 2:10) Remember Paul had bluntly stated that the Israelites had “pursued [salvation] not by faith but as if it were by works!” (Romans 9:32). Like insecure children, the Jews zealously sought to be accepted by God on the basis of works and the righteousness of the Law (Romans 10:2-3). However, they were not accepted by God through their works; only the “elect” were accepted, because of God’s sovereign choice by grace: “What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened!” It may be disconcerting for us, and I am sure it was for Paul’s readers to grasp, but God’s grace is, remember, by His choice and according to His redemptive plan. God closed the hearts and minds of those who would reject His grace. He “gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day!” The same is true for all who reject God’s grace. While God dulled the acceptance of some, he opened the eyes and ears of others to faith. Paul teaches us that God’s election by grace means it is never by good works!
EXAMPLE: Our dog Molly, when she is caught doing something she is not supposed to, will run to her bed, lay real flat, wag her tail, and look real cute. It is as if she were saying, “See, I am not so bad, am I?” “I am a good dog!” Sadly, there are those who live their faith the same way. They run and hide by doing as many “good” things as they possibly can thinking that “Surely God will love me because I am being good!” “I am not so bad, am I?” While it might be adorable when a little dog does it, it is pathetic when a human being tries to win God’s favor by doing good deeds rather than accepting Him by faith. If good deeds saved anyone Jesus never had to die on the cross and rise from the dead. Paul teaches us that God’s election by grace means it is never by good works.
Conclusion:
God’s election by grace means He has a plan, and God’s election by grace is never by good works. Dennis DeHaan writes that, “Many people seem to get along well without God. But just as the world today can't ignore Israel, so also it can't ignore Jesus Christ, who came from Israel. As the One who created the universe, He is God (Colossians 1:15-17). As the One who died on Calvary's cross, He is the world's Savior and Redeemer (vv.13-14). Trust Him to save you today.”
February 25, 2007 AM
By Pastor Lee Hemen
An 8-year-old girl wrote to a Christian leader, seeking advice. She wanted to know how she could get her daddy to carry her picture. She said her dad had a photo of her little brother in his wallet (the boy looked like his dad). And he carried a picture of his pretty 15-year-old daughter too. But when this 8-year-old gave him a photo of herself, he put it in a drawer. It seems that she wasn't good enough for her daddy.
To be rejected for anything can leave a huge emotional mark on a person’s life. Of course, it depends upon what you are rejected from and why. However, rejection can carry a heavy burden in a person’s life. It would be especially hard to learn that your whole ethnic group or nationality were rejected by God! How worse would it be then if you were chosen by God, yet ignored that election? J. A. Meads Jr. began a sermon with: "The reason you and I cannot ignore God can be stated in one word: Israel. No other nation has been known as a 'chosen people.' No other nation has as much to say about the love, the patience, and the anger of God. Through Israel, God has given the world an object lesson about His nature." Paul understood this quite well. He knew Israel had been chosen of God, and in this “election” God expected His people to live in faith. Paul understood that God’s election is by grace and should never be ignored. Let’s discover why this morning…
READ: Romans 11:1-10
Since the foundation of the Christian church, martyrs have laid down their lives for their faith in Christ. In this generation, thousands of believers have suffered imprisonment, persecution, and death for their faith. “In fact, more people have perished for their commitment to Jesus in the last hundred years than in all previous centuries put together” – rbc.org. Although we may be spared from such costly loyalty to Jesus Christ, we may experience rejection by family and friends, or we may encounter misunderstanding, ridicule, and loneliness. Rejection by people will happen sometime in our life. But for the Christian, rejection by God will never occur. Yet, Paul’s readers were insecure in what Paul was trying to teach them so Paul belays their insecurity by telling them that…
I. God’s election by grace means He has a plan (vv. 1-5)!
1. God can never reject those He loves! Paul’s, “I ask then” is literally, “Therefore, I say.” The apostle’s question is, “Did God reject His people?” In the original Greek the question is asked to elicit a “NO” in reply: “God did not reject His people, did He?” Paul then presented himself as spiritual and physical proof of what he was trying to teach them. He had responded by faith to Jesus Christ and had received God’s provided righteousness, and yet he was an Israelite and of the tribe of Benjamin! If Paul, a faithful Jew, could receive Jesus as Savior, than all Hebrews could! He goes on to relate, “God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says…?” If God had kept a “remnant,” a small portion of the Israelite nation during the trying times of Elijah who were loyal to Him by faith, He certainly could do so now! And, in fact, God had done so! He told Elijah, “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” In God’s infinite foreknowledge He had done so: “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace!” It is amazing to understand that in His wonderful foreknowledge God has already provided for those who would come to Him! Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37) While we may not know who is part of the “remnant,” God knows. Paul teaches us that God’s election by grace means He has a plan!
EXAMPLE: Calluses can be built up on person’s fingertips through constant use, like when guitarists practice over and over, they will build calluses up that help them to play. The same is true for broken bones. A callus can build up to help the bone heal. However, calluses can also make that are in which it forms, less sensitive. This is why God in Scripture relates that the hearts of the Israelites were hardened like Paul states in verse 7. I can remember practicing and practicing until my fingertips became insensitive to the wire strings of my banjo. It took a lot of time to make them so they could not feel anything. Spiritually this can occur as well when people’s hearts are hardened or callused against God. This is what occurred. God told the prophet Ezekiel, “But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.” (Ezekiel 3:7) In fact, He goes on to state that He alone will harden their hearts in order to bring about His will. It was God’s plan all along. Paul teaches us that God’s election by grace means He has a plan!
Little children feel the pain of rejection when one of their peers is chosen instead of them to recite a poem or sing a song. As they grow older, some of them are not going to be chosen for the varsity team. Some of them are going to be turned down by a girl they want to date. Some may marry and have their mate leave them for another person. They may wonder why the Lord allows them to be rejected. They may ask, “Was I good enough?” “Did I do enough of the right things?” “How could I have been better?” Paul again relates a wonderful truth to us in the fact that…
II. God’s election by grace means it is never by good works (vv. 6-10)!
1. Being good, is not good enough! After his historical illustration Paul drew a conclusion for his day: “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace (lit., “a remnant according to the election of grace has come to be”).” Paul was only one of thousands of Israelites in his generation elected to faith. Paul added that this choice is totally by God’s grace. He would relate, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) In fact, we are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do!” (Ephesians 2:10) Remember Paul had bluntly stated that the Israelites had “pursued [salvation] not by faith but as if it were by works!” (Romans 9:32). Like insecure children, the Jews zealously sought to be accepted by God on the basis of works and the righteousness of the Law (Romans 10:2-3). However, they were not accepted by God through their works; only the “elect” were accepted, because of God’s sovereign choice by grace: “What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened!” It may be disconcerting for us, and I am sure it was for Paul’s readers to grasp, but God’s grace is, remember, by His choice and according to His redemptive plan. God closed the hearts and minds of those who would reject His grace. He “gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day!” The same is true for all who reject God’s grace. While God dulled the acceptance of some, he opened the eyes and ears of others to faith. Paul teaches us that God’s election by grace means it is never by good works!
EXAMPLE: Our dog Molly, when she is caught doing something she is not supposed to, will run to her bed, lay real flat, wag her tail, and look real cute. It is as if she were saying, “See, I am not so bad, am I?” “I am a good dog!” Sadly, there are those who live their faith the same way. They run and hide by doing as many “good” things as they possibly can thinking that “Surely God will love me because I am being good!” “I am not so bad, am I?” While it might be adorable when a little dog does it, it is pathetic when a human being tries to win God’s favor by doing good deeds rather than accepting Him by faith. If good deeds saved anyone Jesus never had to die on the cross and rise from the dead. Paul teaches us that God’s election by grace means it is never by good works.
Conclusion:
God’s election by grace means He has a plan, and God’s election by grace is never by good works. Dennis DeHaan writes that, “Many people seem to get along well without God. But just as the world today can't ignore Israel, so also it can't ignore Jesus Christ, who came from Israel. As the One who created the universe, He is God (Colossians 1:15-17). As the One who died on Calvary's cross, He is the world's Savior and Redeemer (vv.13-14). Trust Him to save you today.”
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