Go ahead with me and turn in your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you this day, to the book of Romans chapter 9.
! I am always and forever dependent on God's favor in preaching. I'm always looking to Him for grace.
And this day, I feel the weight of that a little bit more. This could have possibly been the worst week for us to start at 10.30.
I've had a very busy week. We took a bunch of the college students to Tallulah Gorge yesterday, which is a young man's game.
And I am having to admit that I'm no longer a young man. I'm very sore this morning.
Last night, I was doing some more studying, and we were watching the steward children, so our family went from 4 to 8 in a day.
And we were downstairs as Sam was going to the grocery store, and I had a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other hand at 9 o'clock,
hoping to stay up for a few more hours. And I had drank about half a cup of coffee.
And then the next thing I knew, Sam was shutting the door coming home.
And I had fallen asleep with a cup of coffee sitting on my chest in a book just like this for about 20 minutes.
And so I'm tired.
I also, I'm a type 1 diabetic, and for the last hour, I've been trying to get my blood sugar level up.
And I've drank lots of sugary liquid, so I might be bouncing off the walls in a minute.
But I'm also recouping from that.
Beyond that, we have ahead of us just the weight of opening God's word.
Lord, it's a privilege to even get to hear these words, as we so often take for granted the fact that we even have it in our language,
and that we can read.
More than that, it's a privilege to get to preach it to you this day,
to get to spend a good bit of my time each week studying it to bring to you.
So I'm saying all that to say, I need grace.
Let's pray together for that.
Father God, I pray this morning you'll bless the reading of your word.
You'll bless the preaching of it, and you'll bless the hearing of it.
Nothing of any value happens here this morning apart from you.
And so by your spirit that dwells within those who are known by Christ,
I pray, Father, this day we will learn and we will grow, we will love you more,
and we will be turned to love the world more as a result.
I pray that in all things this day, Christ is exalted above everything.
And I pray this in his precious name.
Amen.
So we have taken a pretty big break over the summer from our expositional verse-by-verse preaching of the book of Romans.
We stopped, took a little kind of a topical series break through the summer,
and we are back at the time, back to Romans chapter 9.
And to this point in Romans, Paul has, in varying ways and kind of over and over again, to our benefit,
laid out a case for justification before God by faith alone.
We're not saved by our works, we're not saved by our lineage,
we're not saved by any type of status we may have, or anything else whatsoever,
but by the goodness and loving kindness of God.
God has bestowed that upon those who are his,
and it has nothing to do with anything we've done to earn that favor.
He gives it to us freely, the very definition of grace itself.
In chapter 8, he speaks to us about God's sovereign goodness that sustains us
as we endure the battle that rages within,
between our flesh and the spirit that now abides within us,
as well as the suffering that will endure from external sources.
And he hinges all of this upon the sovereign goodness of God towards those who are his.
So let's read together verse 28 to the end of the chapter.
Of chapter 8, just to be clear.
And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose.
For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,
in order that he might be the firstborn 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.
What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all,
how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
It is God who justifies.
Who is to condemn?
Christ Jesus is the one who died.
More than that, who was raised.
Who is at the right hand of God.
Who indeed is interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Such tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
As it is written,
For your sake we are being killed all the day long.
We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
No.
In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
And if you're a Christian this morning,
your heart must be saying amen to something like that.
So then we begin chapter 9.
And we go from chapter 9 to 10 to 11
to talk about the doctrine of election.
And intermixed in all of this,
we see Israel and what has happened to Israel.
What is going on?
If God is sovereign over all things,
and Israel was his special people,
why is it that all of Israel has not turned to Christ at this point?
And Paul starts out with a lament.
In verse 2 of chapter 9, he says,
I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart
over the lostness of the Israelites.
And he begins to work that out.
It seems kind of random, interjected, where it's at.
And I can assure you that it's not,
and we're going to come to understand that further in the coming weeks.
But it just feels like, Paul, couldn't you have just skipped
from the end of chapter 8 to the very end of chapter 11?
Oh, the depths of the ridges in wisdom and knowledge of God.
Couldn't you have just jumped over all this really challenging stuff
about election and Israel and how that all plays together?
I have had some times this week that I really wish he had.
I have been literally studying my brains out
for the past couple of weeks on this.
And I can say to you, I'm not sure I'm ready yet
to understand it in its entirety.
I have sensed in our congregation an eager expectation,
a good expectation, for this place in Paul's letter
to the Roman Christians, coming to chapter 9 and learning from it.
But my fear is that as individuals,
you're either, one, not prepared to learn the truth contained therein,
for multiple reasons.
Maybe you just need to grow up a little bit,
or maybe you don't know me well enough to know my heart,
to know that I love the Scriptures,
and I love people, and I want to see the kingdom advance.
This concerns me.
But secondly, and I actually fear this most,
that you believe that you've already taken hold
of all that is offered in the doctrine of election,
that you think you've totally wrapped your mind around it,
and you hold to it tightly, and what you've been waiting for
is for us to get to 9 and me prove you right.
Me to arm you to go out and be self-indignant
and tell everybody how very, very smart you are.
And for those two reasons, I need another week.
I need seven more days.
And what I hope is accomplished in those seven days
is two things.
I want to better prepare my head.
There's some really,
I'd encourage you to read 9, 10, and 11.
There is some weighty stuff in here,
and some things that even on the surface seem contradictory.
There are varying opinions across Christendom
from men I highly respect on these issues.
And I labor to do the work myself.
I labor to look at the language
and to study well on my own.
But I also want to look to as many sources as I can,
men that are wiser than me,
because they're most men are,
and glean what I can to properly bring to you
what can be understood of the next three chapters.
So I want to better prepare my head,
but mostly I want all of us to better prepare our hearts.
The doctrine of election is weighty.
It is taught throughout all of Scripture.
I will not for a moment back down
that it is in fact the teaching of Scripture,
but it has been very divisive.
Currently in the Southern Baptist Convention,
which we are a part of,
it is ripping things apart,
and I believe that God's going to put it all back together.
I believe this is going to be to the benefit of the convention
and not to the detriment of it.
But there have been some statements that have come out
and signed by a bunch of guys.
There's been a lot of positioning.
Much of it is political,
and it can be sickening at times
for those of us who stand on this side
of the understanding of the doctrine of election.
We receive the Scriptures from above.
You get that, right?
God's Word is breathed out by God.
It comes down to us from above.
And as Christians,
we are to humbly submit ourselves to it.
All of your questions will not be answered by this book.
Understand that.
It doesn't clarify everything for us.
It gives us exactly what we need, though.
There are some ends that seem so loose
and hanging out there.
If this is so, how can this be so?
There are things that appear to be paradoxical,
appear contradictory.
They're not, but they appear that way
as we begin to study.
You will not solve the world's questions
from the Scriptures.
All of them.
But we should humbly submit ourselves to the Scripture.
Let it come down to us.
And say to God,
when you don't answer something,
that's okay.
When I can't completely work this out
from your inspired Word,
that must be for a reason.
Let me give you an example of that.
Romans 9, 20.
Paul says,
Who are you, O man,
to answer back to God?
Up to this point,
he has been directly quoting God
from the Old Testament.
He doesn't use the prophets.
He doesn't quote Moses.
He's directly quoting God
as we work through this doctrine of election.
What it means for us.
Okay?
And then there's a question asked.
Which seems to be a very reasonable question
in verse 19.
It's a question I had asked
before I ever read Romans 9, verse 19.
Seems very reasonable.
And I want a clear answer to it.
In my flesh,
I really want to know
how it can be then.
I want a clear answer to it.
And Paul says,
Who are you, Nathan Rainer?
How dare you question God?
God says to us,
Be quiet.
I have spoken.
And it is for you to try to understand.
Are you with me?
We do the opposite so often.
Particularly with this topic.
We turn the whole thing around
and we stand over the Word of God
and have it serve us.
Right?
There are fancy terms for this.
Right?
That is called,
when we stand over the Word of God
and we read out of it
what we want to hear,
that's called eisegesis.
We pull out,
we apply to what we think
the Word of God has to say
about God and His character.
And we don't practice that.
Faithful Christians
do not practice that.
We practice exegesis.
We look at what the Word of God
actually says.
And we wrestle with it
and we come to understand it
in that way.
Humble yourself.
Submit yourself
to God's revelation
to us.
So we need to prepare our hearts.
And I pray that we'll all approach
the study of God's
holy, inspired,
absolutely perfect
Word to us
with great reverence
as we begin this time
throughout the fall.
So,
let's turn away now
from the book of Romans
for this week.
We'll start next week.
And turn with me
to the book of 1 Corinthians
chapter 13.
I'll have you know
just so you can join me
in this chuckle.
I decided to
change this path
when I woke up
with a cup of coffee
in my hand
last night.
You have those moments
in your life
where
it's as if
God
were just a little louder.
He would have been audible.
It really felt like
God said something to you.
You can almost
taste the fact
that He's telling you
to do something different
than what you were already
intending to do.
And that was one of those
moments for me.
So,
I'm going to begin reading
in chapter 13
verse 1.
I'm going to read
the entire chapter to you.
I'm just praying
that you'll
really listen
to these words.
Chapter 13 verse 1.
If I speak in the tongues
of men and of angels
but have not love
I am a noisy gong
or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have
prophetic powers
and understand
all mysteries
and all knowledge
and if I have
all faith
so as to remove mountains
but have not love
I am nothing.
If I give away
all I have
and if I deliver
my body
to be burned
but have not love
I gain nothing.
Love is patient
and kind.
Love does not
envy or boast.
It is not arrogant
or rude.
It does not insist
on its own way.
It is not irritable
or resentful.
It does not rejoice
at wrongdoing
but rejoices
with the truth.
Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never ends.
As for prophecies
they will pass away.
As for tongues
they will cease.
As for knowledge
it will pass away.
For we know in part
and we prophesy in part
but when the perfect comes
the partial will pass away.
When I was a child
I spoke like a child.
I thought like a child.
I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man
I gave up childish ways.
For now we see
in a mirror dimly
but then face to face.
Now I know in part
then I shall know fully
even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope,
and love abide.
These three.
But the greatest of these
is love.
Not just a passage
to be read
at a wedding.
Right?
Paul takes a pause
here in 1 Corinthians
chapter 3
is that the Corinthians
had become
over consumed
with gifts.
Much arguing
was going on
in the church.
Too much emphasis
being placed on
the gifts of the Spirit.
And Paul doesn't
belittle the gifts.
They're valuable.
They're given to the church.
They're graces to us
for our growth in Christ.
However,
here in 13
he shows us
a still
more excellent way.
The very end of
chapter 12
he says,
and I will show you
still
a more excellent
way.
And I want to draw
your attention
to the first three verses.
It's primarily
where I want to sit today.
The first three verses.
And you see him
speak of some gifts.
Speaking in the tongues
of men and angels.
Being an eloquent speaker.
I'm sure you know
somebody like that.
I don't count myself
amongst them
who just speaks
so well.
Has that gift of gab.
Can captivate you
with their words.
And of angels
that speak prophetic things.
But if these people
don't do so
from love,
what are they?
noisy gongs
and clanging cymbals.
Not appealing
sound at all.
Just
talk.
Prophetic powers.
Understanding all
mysteries
and all knowledge.
Faith to remove
mountains.
But not love.
Nothing.
Give away
all that you have.
These pious acts.
Deliver up your body
to be burned.
To be martyred
for the sake of Christ.
But you don't do it
from love.
You gain
nothing.
And notice that
the gifts themselves
are not likened
to noise
or called nothing
or devalued.
The gifts have value
but it's the person
who exercises it
without love
who is
a noisy gong
called nothing.
Is devalued.
If your giftedness
the things that
God has given you
is practiced
apart from love
then it's motivated
by selfishness.
You're doing it
for
you.
The Christian life
should
necessarily
be characterized
by Christian love.
The doctrine of election
I would
just love it
if every time
somebody really
wraps their mind
around the fullness
of the doctrine
and what it means
for them
I wish we could
quickly lock them
in a cage
with a mirror
and let them
argue with themselves.
I'd give it a year.
I've stood in this place
the arrogance
that comes from
thinking we've arrived
at some grand truth
that other people
don't get
and how it becomes
our mission
to go around
informing everybody
how stupid they are
and how brilliant
we are.
it's grace
to us
if you understand
anything I say
this morning
anything I say
this morning
that you can even
hear me say
if you understand
anything I say
this morning
is a grace
to you.
Understanding a truth
of scripture
makes me no better
than anybody else.
It's just
a grace
a free gift
given to me
and how I should
use that
to be
from
Christian love.
What I do
with that
should be
from Christian love
because the gifts
are given
for the edification
of other Christians.
Not for the demeaning
of other Christians
they're given
for the edification
for the building up
of other Christians.
In Romans 1
verse 11 and 12
Paul says
for I long to see you
that I may impart
to you
some spiritual gift
to strengthen you.
That is
he clarifies
that is
that we may be
mutually encouraged
by each other's faith
both yours
and mine.
And so the gifting
that we're given
is given
to operate
from faith
for faith.
That's how we're
meant to operate
from a dependency
on God
to give us
proper motivation
to use
and exercise
those gifts
for the sake
of faith
to increase
other people's
dependency on God.
Now
God may use
noisy gongs
and clanging cymbals
and men
who are nothing
and men
who are gaining
nothing
by their action.
God
in his sovereign
will
can use
their gifts
even when
improperly motivated.
That can happen.
So I'm not
lessening God's
ability here.
What I'm telling you
is that we
rob ourselves
of the joy
that is
given to us
when we
properly love
and use our
gifts
as such.
Use our knowledge
as such.
Matthew 27,
21-23
you have a
group
standing in front
of God
to be judged
and it says
not everyone
who says to me
Lord, Lord
will enter
the kingdom
of heaven
but the one
who does
the will
of my Father
who is in heaven.
On that day
many will say
to me
Lord, Lord
do we not
prophesy
in your name
and cast out
demons in your name
and do many
mighty works
in your name?
So these are
people who are
doing things
that are good
that are gifts
that God
could use
to advance
his kingdom
and then I
will declare
to them
I never
knew you
depart from me
you workers
of lawlessness
So our
activity
in the spiritual
gifting
in the things
that God's
given us
to turn around
and give to the church
should be motivated
by love
because that
is the evidence
that we are Christ
Now we must be
careful at this point
Our culture
has lost sight
of what love
is
If you type
into Google
definition of love
you'll get
lots of definitions
just look in the feed
you'll get all kinds
of definitions
about love
being this emotion
this affection
for
I mean it really
misses the point
Love is
ultimately
it's an affection
for another
but it's an affection
that seeks
their highest good
over yours
it seeks
their highest good
And so
we quickly
and I think
so many Christians
do that
we trade love
for the truth
and we don't think
that the two
can coincide
we think they're
mutually exclusive
that if we're going
to love one another
and by that
we mean
get along
and have cozy feelings
when we show up
to church together
that we
must dismiss
the truth
because sometimes
the truth
hurts
but proper love
seeks to confront
the fallacies
in somebody's life
proper love
helps people
grow
in Christ
so hear me
carefully
I'm not saying
we shouldn't talk
about hard doctrines
I'm not saying
you shouldn't call
people out
for their sin
but you should do
so
from a motivation
to love them
not yourself
and you know
the difference
I don't have to
give you examples
you know
when you're
teaching somebody
something because
you love them
and you want them
to grow
and when you're
teaching somebody
something because
you want to be
right
guess what
we are all
wrong
God is right
so glad
he uses us
as vessels
verse 2
I'm going to
shorten the verse
just a bit
not to be
unfaithful to the
scripture
but I want to
talk about
specifically
having prophetic
powers and
understanding all
mysteries and all
knowledge
but you don't have
love
you're nothing
and Paul uses
himself
in this case
certainly in my
mind if anybody
was able to
boast in having
prophetic powers
and understanding
all mysteries and
all knowledge
it would have
been Paul
he wrote the
vast majority
of the New
Testament
certainly if there
were things being
revealed in a new
way to an
individual in time
it would have
been Paul
the prophetic
powers he's speaking
about here I
believe are not
the way we would
refer to prophetic
powers now
a prophet now is
someone who draws
people back to the
truth of God
who shows people
the black and white
of situations
and helps the
people of God
stay intact
and on purpose
with God
but in this
time I think
it was a special
time when there
were new
revelations of
God coming to
the people of
God like these
letters Paul
himself never
calls himself a
prophet he
calls himself
apostle one who
is sent but he
never calls himself
a prophet and I
would imagine as
he's pinning these
letters he's being
carried along by the
spirit and he
never knew that
someday they would
be canonized and
they would be in
millions and
millions and billions
of which to be
sure copies of
the scripture and
that they would be
used by God to
guide Christians for
ages he didn't even
call himself a
prophet surely but
he could have and
he said in Ephesians
2 20 that the
church is built on
the foundation of the
apostles and the
prophets something to
be desired the
prophet speaks
directly from God
the prophet receives
messages straight from
the source what an
amazing thing that
would be and on top
of that this
hypothetical person
Paul speaks of
understands all
mysteries and all
knowledge he has all
the facts and all
the meaning he has a
mind filled with God's
truth and all of its
outworking you could
say this man is
theologically omniscient
he gets everything
if there was ever a
gift to be envy this
would be it I can
as a guy that has to
prepare sermons every
week boy do I wish I
had all wisdom all
understanding of all
mysteries and all
knowledge that would
make life phenomenal
just in my study of the
beginning of Romans
chapter 9 as Paul
laments over the
Israelites he speaks of
the benefits that they
had received from God
and one of the things
they received was the
glory to them belongs
the glory and I spent a
good portion of this
week studying the Old
Testament because when
he talks about the
glory he's talking about
the physical manifestation
the dwelling of God with
the Israelites which
started in the Exodus
when he went before them
as a cloud in the day
and as a pillar of fire
by night and ended in
the book of Ezekiel when
his glory his physical
dwelling in the temple was
lifted up and taken from
the Mount of Olives we're
going to talk about that
more next week so I've
been reading a lot from
Exodus to Ezekiel this
week what do I wish I
just already had all that
information in my head
wouldn't that be
phenomenal to know it
would be incredible but
what Paul says is I have
all that do you know
what kind of preacher I
would be if I had all that
I could pull stuff out of
my head at random I could
just take you through all
of the scriptures at any
moment of any day but I
don't have love I'm nothing
so what is a guy like me
who is a very very far
degree from that what am I
if I have not love less than
nothing I'm less than
nothing because I can't be
this guy this hypothetical
character so I'm less than
nothing if I don't have
love the equation he gives
us is gift knowledge minus
love equals nothing
Matthew Henry said on this
a clear and deep head is of
no signification without a
benevolent and charitable
heart and John Calvin said
love alone is the rule
governing our actions the
only guide is the right way
to use the gift of God God
approves of nothing that
lacks it no matter how
magnificent man may think
it without love the fairness
of all virtues is mere
veneer it is empty jangling it
is not worth straw in short it
is rank and offensive so at
this point you might say
why should we even study such
topics wouldn't it be a lot
easier if we just skipped
let's get to the end of the
glorious end of chapter 8 in
Romans and let's just skip over
to the practical outworking in
chapter 12 let's just jump right
over the top of it some of you
might say if if knowing things
causes us to be responsible for
teaching those things with love
for proving and rebuking people
in love and that's such a hard
thing to do then why do it do we
focus too much on doctrine on the
truth of God as a church and and
I'm going to tell you that the
answer to that question is no and
I hope you never ask the question
again there's no such thing as
over emphasizing doctrine there is
such a thing as under emphasizing
love Paul's not saying to us that
love is better than all these
things and all these things should
be dismissed Paul saying that all
these things are valuable to us and
they should always be accompanied by
love
do not fall prey to the lie that the
truth and Christian love are
mutually exclusive it's not a choice
we don't have to choose between the
truth and love he's not saying choose
between truth and love choose love
he's saying combine truth and love for
the sake of Christ's church this
teaching Romans 9 10 and 11 has great
value for us you might say okay well
you've kind of been talking like it's
gonna be really challenging how is it
that it has great value for us it
shows us a greater picture of Jesus
Christ any study of scripture ought a
greater magnify Jesus Christ our
vision statement Wes said it this
morning Christ the only church exists
to experience proclaim and display the
supremacy of Jesus Christ in all
things and you know how we do that we
preach the Bible because if you preach
the Bible that happens the Bible is
constantly uplifting Jesus Christ even
some of those boring parts in the old
Testament that you don't understand
someday we'll get there I hope you
understand I hope you understand how
everything in the scriptures points to
Jesus Christ this church is about the
centrality of Jesus Christ to all
things we must be careful this is why
we we as a general habit preach verse
by verse expositionally because we must
be careful not to allow the enemy to set
our agenda for us he'd have us avoid
this kind of teaching the enemy wants us
to feel like we're dangling out on the
end and anything we might do on any
given day will push us off the edge will
no longer receive the goodness and
loving kindness of God the doctrine of
election teaches the opposite it teaches
us that nothing can take us out of God's
hand there is no thing even yourself that
can remove you from the hand of almighty
God he is sovereign over all things I
can't fully work that out there are some
things of questions that pop up in my
head and I go what does that mean what
does that mean for this what about this I
don't know I don't know but there are
things taught to us the doctrine of
election being one of them that are
supremely valuable for us and cause us to
live proper Christian lives during all
of our cromwell's reign as Lord
protector over all of England a young
soldier was sentenced to die as a result
of some egregious offense the young woman
to who he had been engaged pleaded with
cromwell to spare the life of her
fiance all to no avail the young man was
to be executed when the curfew bell
sounded at the appropriate moment as he
had done for many years the sextant of
the church grabbed the rope and pulled
on it repeatedly but unlike any time
before the bell made no sound the young
woman had climbed into the bell tower and
had wrapped her body around the clapper
said it could not strike the bell with
every pull of that rope her body was
pummeled and smashed against the sides of
that giant bell but she refused to let go
until the clapper stopped swinging when
the sextant finally stopped tugging on
the rope the young woman managed to
climb down from the bell tower and
stepped out to meet those who had
gathered to watch the execution she was
bruised from head to toe and was
bleeding terribly when she explained what
she had done the overwhelmed cromwell
commuted the sentence a poet who was
there that day gathered with the crowd to
see the execution captured the scene
with these words at his feet she told the
story showed her hands all bruised and
torn and her sweet young face still
haggard with the anguish it had worn
touched his heart with sudden pity lit his
eyes with misty light go your love lives
said cromwell curfew will not ring tonight
the doctrine of election is the blessed
truth that for the church of Christ the
curfew bell will never ring that's why it's a
value to us that's why we're gonna spend
three chapters talking about it and the
implications for Israel and I hope that
you will come and learn that you'll come up
underneath the word of God not me but
underneath the word of God humbly let it
speak to you you won't stand over it
passing judgment on it as if you are God
but you will learn from the most holy
who stays the ringing of the curfew bell
let's pray together
together