God’s Grace Revealed - Romans 9:1-18
February 4, 2007 AM
By Pastor Lee Hemen
People often want to argue the injustice they seem to find in predestination. They think that it is unjust because they do not have a choice, yet they forget the underlying truth of God’s sovereignty. It isn’t a matter of personal choice, which we enjoy, it is a matter of God being omniscient. Knowing all things. Either God is God or He is not. If He is God then He is the one who chooses and not us. He is the one in control and not us. It is His plan and not ours. However the believers, and especially the Jews of Paul’s day, struggled with this concept as well. Why? Because they felt that they were God’s chosen people and therefore should have special privilege in God’s choosing. Paul would say, “Hogwash!” God’s predestination revealed God’s grace.
Recently I listened to a speaker who claimed to be Jewish even though he did not believe in God at all. In fact, he did not believe in religious expression or experience. My immediate thought was, “That is impossible! You cannot say you are Jewish and not believe in God!” Paul has made it plain that the argument of special relationship or kinship held no water. To be a Jew one had to be one inwardly, spiritually. Real spiritual circumcision occurs inwardly, not because you were born a Jew or follow a ritual. What then is the benefit of being a Jew or for that matter claiming to be a Christian if it depends upon predestination? Good question. Predestination is God’s plan and we are all part of it. In fact, it is God’s grace revealed.
READ: Romans 9:1-18
For Paul God’s grace was revealed in knowing that…
I. Spiritual kinship, not ethnic origin, determined who was a true Israelite! (vv. 1-9)
1. Paul was convinced of God’s plan for his people and ultimately for all people! He gives us seven historic and factual examples of God’s plan of predestination for the Jewish people: 1) Theirs is the adoption as sons; 2) theirs the divine glory, 3) the covenants, 4) the receiving of the law, 5) the temple worship and the promises. 6) Theirs are the patriarchs, and 7) from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ!” Paul’s “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” was derived from his knowledge of how God had worked through his “own race” and was now working through Jesus! The anguish came from his knowledge that his own people did not readily accept God’s plan of salvation through the Messiah, Jesus! For Paul, however, because of Jesus he knew that “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” Why? “It is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” “The promise,” for the Jews, “was stated: ‘At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.’” The spiritual truth of this is the fact that anyone can enjoy the blessings of being God’s child through genuine faith in Jesus Christ. That is a true child of Abraham. This was God’s plan all along. Spiritual kinship, not ethnic origin, determines who is a true Israelite!
EXAMPLE: I watch a TV show called “Myth Busters.” It is where a team of people take everyday myths we have heard over and over and test them out to see if they are true or not. They want see if they will really do what the myths say they can do or not. You know, like a man running and hitting a window in a skyscraper and falling to his death. Or, making a cannon out of tree stump. Or, trying to jump out an airplane, land on a rubber raft in mid-air, fall, and be able to land in one piece and slide down a snowy hillside. During these crazy stunts Adam, one of the team, will usually saying something like, “I am so glad when a perfect plan comes together.” What he means is something usually blows up or falls apart. They never know what will ultimately happen no matter how hard they try to figure the outcome. That’s because we do not know the future and there are so may unknown variables. Yet, God knows. He knew that even though He chose the Israelites to be His people, He knew why, and He knew what the outcome would be – Jesus Christ. This was God’s plan all along. Spiritual kinship, not ethnic origin, determines who is a true Israelite!
For Paul God’s grace was revealed in knowing that …
II. God’s favors are not determined by anyone or anything outside of Himself! (vv. 10-18)
1. Election is not dependent up what we do but upon God’s divine purpose! Paul proves that God has the divine right to decide who He calls, how He calls them, and when. It is not dependent upon what we may do. God has known the way it would be long before we came along! He used strong language to get his point across to his Jewish brothers: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” He did not mean God actually hated Esau, but rather used this to get their attention. It was plain to Paul that just being Jewish would not save you. We struggle with God knowing who will be saved and who will not because we place it as predetermination instead of predestination. God does not predetermine, but in His foreknowledge He knows who will and who will not accept His free offer. And He knows His ultimate eternal plan for mankind and all of creation. The same was true with the Israelites. Paul anticipated this objection. God is not unjust. “With the Lord our God there is not injustice of partiality.” (2 Chronicles 19:7) God gives “mercy” and “compassion” on those He chooses. God’s election is based on who He is not on who we are. Even “Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac,” Paul would write. “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls….” He would continue, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” God raised Pharaoh up for “this very purpose” which was “that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” There it is. The reason of God’s predestination that we struggle so much over. His will, not ours. His way, not ours. His thoughts, not ours. God’s favors are not determined by anyone or anything outside of Himself!
EXAMPLE: You may ask, “And this is a good thing?” YES! Because if God worked by predetermination then we have no freewill whatsoever. We are but mere pawns in some cosmic comedy. But in His glorious mercy and grace, God gave us the choice. We, as finite beings have no idea who will or will not choose to follow God. He knows because He is God and He has always known. This does not insinuate He is malicious or uncaring. It means that even in His infinite majesty and power He understood us from all eternity and sent His one and only Son Jesus to die for us! Even… while He knew… who would reject Jesus and those who would say “Yes, Jesus come into my heart. Be my Savior and Lord.” That is awesome! That is powerful! That is cosmic in scope! God is sovereign! God’s favors are not determined by anyone or anything outside of Himself!
Conclusion:
Spiritual kinship, not ethnic origin, determined who was a true Israelite! God’s favors are not determined by anyone or anything outside of himself!
February 4, 2007 AM
By Pastor Lee Hemen
People often want to argue the injustice they seem to find in predestination. They think that it is unjust because they do not have a choice, yet they forget the underlying truth of God’s sovereignty. It isn’t a matter of personal choice, which we enjoy, it is a matter of God being omniscient. Knowing all things. Either God is God or He is not. If He is God then He is the one who chooses and not us. He is the one in control and not us. It is His plan and not ours. However the believers, and especially the Jews of Paul’s day, struggled with this concept as well. Why? Because they felt that they were God’s chosen people and therefore should have special privilege in God’s choosing. Paul would say, “Hogwash!” God’s predestination revealed God’s grace.
Recently I listened to a speaker who claimed to be Jewish even though he did not believe in God at all. In fact, he did not believe in religious expression or experience. My immediate thought was, “That is impossible! You cannot say you are Jewish and not believe in God!” Paul has made it plain that the argument of special relationship or kinship held no water. To be a Jew one had to be one inwardly, spiritually. Real spiritual circumcision occurs inwardly, not because you were born a Jew or follow a ritual. What then is the benefit of being a Jew or for that matter claiming to be a Christian if it depends upon predestination? Good question. Predestination is God’s plan and we are all part of it. In fact, it is God’s grace revealed.
READ: Romans 9:1-18
For Paul God’s grace was revealed in knowing that…
I. Spiritual kinship, not ethnic origin, determined who was a true Israelite! (vv. 1-9)
1. Paul was convinced of God’s plan for his people and ultimately for all people! He gives us seven historic and factual examples of God’s plan of predestination for the Jewish people: 1) Theirs is the adoption as sons; 2) theirs the divine glory, 3) the covenants, 4) the receiving of the law, 5) the temple worship and the promises. 6) Theirs are the patriarchs, and 7) from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ!” Paul’s “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” was derived from his knowledge of how God had worked through his “own race” and was now working through Jesus! The anguish came from his knowledge that his own people did not readily accept God’s plan of salvation through the Messiah, Jesus! For Paul, however, because of Jesus he knew that “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” Why? “It is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” “The promise,” for the Jews, “was stated: ‘At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.’” The spiritual truth of this is the fact that anyone can enjoy the blessings of being God’s child through genuine faith in Jesus Christ. That is a true child of Abraham. This was God’s plan all along. Spiritual kinship, not ethnic origin, determines who is a true Israelite!
EXAMPLE: I watch a TV show called “Myth Busters.” It is where a team of people take everyday myths we have heard over and over and test them out to see if they are true or not. They want see if they will really do what the myths say they can do or not. You know, like a man running and hitting a window in a skyscraper and falling to his death. Or, making a cannon out of tree stump. Or, trying to jump out an airplane, land on a rubber raft in mid-air, fall, and be able to land in one piece and slide down a snowy hillside. During these crazy stunts Adam, one of the team, will usually saying something like, “I am so glad when a perfect plan comes together.” What he means is something usually blows up or falls apart. They never know what will ultimately happen no matter how hard they try to figure the outcome. That’s because we do not know the future and there are so may unknown variables. Yet, God knows. He knew that even though He chose the Israelites to be His people, He knew why, and He knew what the outcome would be – Jesus Christ. This was God’s plan all along. Spiritual kinship, not ethnic origin, determines who is a true Israelite!
For Paul God’s grace was revealed in knowing that …
II. God’s favors are not determined by anyone or anything outside of Himself! (vv. 10-18)
1. Election is not dependent up what we do but upon God’s divine purpose! Paul proves that God has the divine right to decide who He calls, how He calls them, and when. It is not dependent upon what we may do. God has known the way it would be long before we came along! He used strong language to get his point across to his Jewish brothers: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” He did not mean God actually hated Esau, but rather used this to get their attention. It was plain to Paul that just being Jewish would not save you. We struggle with God knowing who will be saved and who will not because we place it as predetermination instead of predestination. God does not predetermine, but in His foreknowledge He knows who will and who will not accept His free offer. And He knows His ultimate eternal plan for mankind and all of creation. The same was true with the Israelites. Paul anticipated this objection. God is not unjust. “With the Lord our God there is not injustice of partiality.” (2 Chronicles 19:7) God gives “mercy” and “compassion” on those He chooses. God’s election is based on who He is not on who we are. Even “Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac,” Paul would write. “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls….” He would continue, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” God raised Pharaoh up for “this very purpose” which was “that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” There it is. The reason of God’s predestination that we struggle so much over. His will, not ours. His way, not ours. His thoughts, not ours. God’s favors are not determined by anyone or anything outside of Himself!
EXAMPLE: You may ask, “And this is a good thing?” YES! Because if God worked by predetermination then we have no freewill whatsoever. We are but mere pawns in some cosmic comedy. But in His glorious mercy and grace, God gave us the choice. We, as finite beings have no idea who will or will not choose to follow God. He knows because He is God and He has always known. This does not insinuate He is malicious or uncaring. It means that even in His infinite majesty and power He understood us from all eternity and sent His one and only Son Jesus to die for us! Even… while He knew… who would reject Jesus and those who would say “Yes, Jesus come into my heart. Be my Savior and Lord.” That is awesome! That is powerful! That is cosmic in scope! God is sovereign! God’s favors are not determined by anyone or anything outside of Himself!
Conclusion:
Spiritual kinship, not ethnic origin, determined who was a true Israelite! God’s favors are not determined by anyone or anything outside of himself!
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