So we are continuing and going to finish now chapter 9 this morning, Lord willing, that I don't fall over on the stage.
! And so let's begin this morning by reading together, beginning in verse 25, and we'll go through the end of the chapter.
As indeed he says in Hosea, those who were not my people, I will call my people.
And who was not beloved, I will call beloved. And in the very place where it was said to them, you are not my people, there they will be called sons of the living God.
And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved.
For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.
And as Isaiah predicted, if the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have become like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.
What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is a righteousness that is by faith.
But that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.
They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.
And whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.
Join me in prayer.
Father God, we thank you for the precious gift of your word.
We thank you that you inspired Paul to write these words to the believers in Rome.
And that they were recorded and preserved throughout bloody, bloody years of history.
And many attempts to eradicate Christianity from this world.
That these words have survived and have been brought to us for our good this day.
We pray, Father, that you will be generous to us by your Spirit.
That we might hear and understand the value found in these verses this morning.
And we pray this in the precious name of Christ.
Amen.
So, Paul has been building a case from the beginning, just to remind you again where we've been.
It's difficult often to fit our text into the proper context if we don't talk about it.
So, he's built this case from the beginning of Romans that our justification before God, our right standing, is by faith alone.
That it cannot be attained by works.
Whether a Jew who has the law and works at it that way, no matter how zealous they were to attain justification by the works of the law, they were not able to.
Or a Gentile who doesn't have the law, but yet we have the law of God on our hearts.
And therefore, we are just as guilty before him for transgressing that law.
So, all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, chapter 3.
Right?
And therefore, all of us need a Savior.
All of us need a way back to God.
The only way that could be accomplished was through the blood, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
There must have been a payment for sin.
For God to be fully just, all sin must be punished.
And for the sins of the church, they were punished in Christ.
He took the wrath of God on our behalf.
And we turn to the more practical part of these doctrines.
And he gets us into chapter 8.
He begins to talk about the internal struggle that happens as we still carry on the baggage of our flesh.
It's still difficult to live in this life.
We have the Spirit of God abiding within us.
And yet, it still is so hard.
But once we're regenerate believers, we don't just snap our fingers and things start working for us, do they?
We still have to battle and struggle with our flesh.
And beyond that, there are exterior issues happening to us.
Because we're Christians, the world hates us.
And we're going to suffer.
If you live a godly life, you will suffer for your faith.
And more, we'll suffer just in this world because it's fallen.
It's not the way God intended it to be.
There's sickness and pain.
We're going to suffer.
And then Paul encourages us.
Verse 28.
I hope you're familiar with this.
And we know that for those who love God, all things work for good.
All things.
The momentary trouble of this world is not to be compared with the future glory.
And he drives in a more pointed way the doctrine of election.
See, verse 29 of chapter 8.
For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of a son,
in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
And a question then arises, both in his mind, and I'm sure in the minds of many people he has talked to,
well then what about the Jews?
What about the Jews?
We understood them to be God's people.
We thought they were God's chosen people.
But look at the scores of them that are rejecting the gospel.
Look at how many of them have totally turned their backs on the coming of the Messiah.
The one that they are eagerly waiting for.
And yet, they've rejected him.
And he laments that in the beginning of chapter 9.
He says that he himself wished that he could be accursed, cut off from Christ,
for the sake of his brothers, for the Israelites.
They're the ones that have received all these privileges, verse 4 and 5.
All these blessings of God.
All these things that were meant to show them the Christ.
That they might receive him when he came.
Why haven't they?
Verse 10 and 11 gets into that.
So, it seems so random at this point that he unpacks the doctrine of election for us in chapter 9.
He deals with some of the objections to it.
But it's not at all.
Because the question for these early Christians was,
weren't the Jews God's people?
Weren't they his chosen?
Weren't they the elect?
And look what's happened.
So, it would seem that their disbelief discredits the gospel.
If they were God's special people and they're not receiving it,
then hasn't that somehow discredited the gospel?
The gospel that's been carried now to the Gentiles as well?
So, we've looked at the chapter in that light.
Beginning in verse 6.
That the large rejection of the gospel by Israel does not discredit the gospel.
In fact, it's consistent in verses 6-13 with God's promises.
And we saw together how the promises he made contained within them his sovereign grace.
So, we look at Jacob and Esau.
Before they had done anything good or bad,
God said, Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated.
Second half of verse 11.
In order that God's purpose of election might continue.
Not because of works, but because of him who calls.
And the following week, it was last week,
we looked at how their rejection is consistent with God's person.
Verse 14-24, Paul uses three first-person direct quotes from God
as he asks these questions.
What shall we say then?
Is there injustice on God's part?
And he answers emphatically, by no means.
No, no, no.
But then God's response to that.
We want to fully understand how the justice of God works.
We want to totally unwrap that and understand it in entirety.
But God's simple response to that is,
I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
And we talk about how God is God,
and you are not.
You are a created thing, a pot later on.
And how is it that you as a pot would ever question the potter,
the creator?
We know that there is a tension in the scriptures
between God's sovereign election and man's responsibility.
I will never deny that we must believe.
Repent.
Turn from our sin and believe.
Know that there's nothing good within ourselves.
There's no possible way that we can ever have
a right relationship with God apart from Christ.
We must believe that.
The Bible teaches it to us very clearly.
And so it seems to be a paradox.
It seems to be inconsistent.
You'll hear me call it an apparent paradox,
because it's not.
I don't understand why it's not.
But God said it, and therefore I believe it.
I hope that over the past couple of weeks
you've positioned yourself humbly under the word of God.
Let it come down to you as his words,
the creator God, to a created thing,
and begun to try to see how this doctrine will work
into your life and then spill out of it.
So, we're going to deal with the last two ways
that Israel's large rejection of the gospel is consistent.
It's consistent with God's prophecies,
and it's consistent with God's provision.
So first, let's look at how the unbelief of Israel
is consistent with God's prophecies.
And we find this in verses 25 through 29 of chapter 9,
where Paul quotes from my favorite prophet, Hosea.
You see there in verse 25 and verse 26.
So let's turn to the book of Hosea together.
We're going to take a little jump away from Romans for a bit.
Spend a little time in Hosea to understand this passage,
this incredible commentary on this Old Testament prophet.
Hosea's ministry was in the latter half of the 8th century.
There's some debate about how long exactly it was.
The book itself is a little bit ambiguous
as to the starting and stopping point.
Somewhere between 35 and 66 years
are the guesstimates of how long Hosea ministered.
It's important to know, though,
that it was during the most turbulent time in Israel's history,
just prior to Assyrian exile.
And it's also important to know,
in a moment, you'll understand why,
but it's important to know that he was a contemporary of Isaiah.
His ministry started a bit before,
I think 15 to 20 years before Isaiah came onto the scene.
But they were both together ministering to Israel
at the same time in the latter half of the 8th century.
And Hosea had a very unique calling.
Many of the prophets were asked to do interesting things
to display God's gracious call to his people.
Hosea's, I think, most of all.
He was called to live a real-life pageant
out in front of Israel
as God told him to go take a wife of Hordom,
a harlot.
One who either was that before he married her
or who, in marrying her,
he knew she would be unfaithful to him.
And it was meant to be a picture
of how Israel is with God the Father,
with their holy husband.
So let's look together at verse 2 of chapter 1 in Hosea.
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea,
the Lord said to Hosea,
Go take to yourself a wife of Hordom
and have children of Hordom,
for the land commits great Hordom
by forsaking the Lord.
So he went and took Gomer,
the daughter of Deblame,
and she conceived and bore him a son.
Now this is probably the only child
that he had biologically.
We know that because of the language
that she conceived and bore him a son.
The others were not.
She conceived again, verse 6,
and bore a daughter.
It doesn't say bore him a daughter,
it just says bore a daughter.
So more than likely,
these were children of unfaithfulness.
And he has three.
He has a son,
and then a daughter,
and then a son.
And God gives them prophetic names
that meant something significant.
The first was Jezreel,
which means to scatter.
The second was Lo-Ruhamah,
or no mercy.
And the third was Lo-Ami,
meaning not my people.
It seemed like such a miserable home.
This must have been...
People must have looked at this situation
and just shook their heads at it.
But they should have, right?
They should have looked at this situation
and recognized that this was a picture
of who they were.
That they had been betrothed to God,
and yet they betrayed Him.
They went out and sowed their oats
and had children,
spawned sin.
It was meant to be disgraceful
and look despicable.
So he has these three children.
And then verse 10 says,
Yet the number of the children of Israel
shall be like the sand of the sea,
which cannot be measured or numbered.
And in the place where it was said to them,
You are not my people,
it shall be said to them,
Children of the living God.
That's verse 26 in chapter 9, right?
That's what he's quoting.
You are not my people,
it shall be said to them,
Children of the living God.
So it continues to play out.
There's some action on Hosea's part.
His wife actually leaves him,
and he does some things
that God orders him to do,
some ways in which he protects her.
And the whole thing is meant to be a picture
of the way that even when
we're unfaithful to God,
he continues to be faithful to us.
Hosea finally goes on God's command
in chapter 3.
We won't be reading this today,
but he finally goes,
as God commands him,
and he buys her out of the slave market.
She has gotten herself into a situation
where she now owes so much money
that she's being sold as a slave.
And he goes and he buys her
for a great price.
A huge price.
When you read this,
it just lifts off some things.
We don't really know how much that was.
But the people in Israel understood
the price he paid for her
was immeasurable.
And it's a picture of God
buying us out of the slavery market of sin
with the immeasurable price of Christ.
It's such a cool, such a cool story.
So I want you to go back and read it
at some point later on.
But look with me in chapter 2,
at verse 14.
God says,
Therefore, behold,
I will allure her
and bring her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.
And there I will give her vineyards
and make the valley of Accor
a door of hope.
And there she shall answer
as in the days of her youth,
as at the time
when she came out
of the land of Egypt.
And then skip down to verse 21.
And in that day,
I will answer,
declares the Lord,
I will answer the heavens
and they shall answer the earth.
And the earth shall answer
the grain,
the wine,
and the soil.
And they shall answer
Jezreel.
The same name of the first son,
right?
Which means to scatter,
but it also means,
in Hebrew,
to plant.
To sow.
So he flips the meaning
of the word.
Jezreel.
In verse 23,
And I will sow her
for myself
in the land.
And I will have mercy
on no mercy.
And I will say
to not my people,
you are my people.
And he shall say,
you are my God.
And there's the paraphrase
in verse 25
of chapter 9
in Romans.
And you are welcome
to flip there again
if you'd like.
But verse 25,
Paul quotes,
As indeed he says
in Hosea,
Those who were not
my people,
I will call my people.
And her who was not
beloved,
I will call beloved.
Remember our
no mercy,
our character,
his daughter,
Lo-Ruhamah.
This can also be
translated as
beloved.
So Paul is
quoting
the same,
but using a different
meaning of the Hebrew word,
a different,
a synonym,
so to speak,
of the Hebrew word.
And Paul gives us
incredible
commentary
on this.
So when we're reading this,
the Israelites are
being prophesied to
by Hosea,
and we're thinking,
okay, so God
is speaking to
the Israelites.
They have been,
they've betrayed him,
but yet he is God,
so he's calling them
back to himself.
He's going to
love them just the same.
He's a faithful God,
gracious and merciful.
His loving kindness
never ends.
This is what they're
reading here,
but Paul expands it
for us,
doesn't he?
Because what did it say
in Romans chapter 9,
verse 24?
After he has
gone on to talk about
how some vessels
are prepared for destruction
and some are prepared
for mercy,
to be this display
of God's glorious grace
to the vessels of mercy,
it says,
even us,
Paul says,
even us,
wretched,
wretched sinners,
whom he has called,
not from the Jews only,
but also from the Gentiles.
And so here we see
Paul's commentary
on Hosea
is that when God says,
those who are not
my people,
I will call
my people,
it's this great
expansion of the gospel
beyond just
the original
people of faith,
the Jews,
to the Gentiles.
The one full of the Spirit
reading Hosea
would have said,
that's awesome.
He's not just talking
about Jews.
He's talking about
the world.
The gospel now
is going to go forth
from just a people
to the people,
to peoples.
peoples.
This should cause us
to rejoice
the doctrine of election.
Seeing that the Jews
have rejected the gospel
doesn't discredit it
at all.
Because God is
sovereignly working
and calling
His people.
Right?
Verse 6 of chapter 9,
But it is not as though
the word of God
has failed,
for not all
who are descended
from Israel
belong to Israel,
and not all
who are children
of Abraham
are because they
are His offspring.
But through Isaac
shall your offspring
be named.
So we
are Israel.
We are the
descendants
of Abraham
by the Spirit.
That is
awesome,
awesome
truth.
And it goes on
in verse 29.
And as Isaiah
predicted,
concerning
the people of Israel.
Right?
I just lost my place
in my notes.
And Isaiah cries out
concerning Israel.
Excuse me,
in verse 27.
And as Isaiah cries out
concerning Israel.
So he has now
talked about the gospel
expanding to the nations.
And now he's saying,
but as Isaiah cried out
concerning Israel,
though the number
of the sons of Israel
be as the sand of the sea,
only a remnant of them
will be saved.
Where is that language
familiar?
We were just there
in Hosea,
weren't we?
Do you recall
Hosea said that the
people of Israel
should be numbered
as the sands of the sea?
Do you recall
that Hosea
was ministering
to the people
of Israel
a bit prior to
Isaiah
coming on the scene?
So Isaiah
takes this language
and clarifies
for us.
Gives us
some greater
understanding
in Isaiah chapter 10
verse 22 and 23.
For though your people
of Israel
be as the sand of the sea,
only a remnant
of them
will return.
And he's talking about
return
from Assyrian
exile.
Destruction is decreed
overflowing
with righteousness.
For the Lord
God of hosts
will make a full end
as decreed
in the midst
of all
the earth.
And as Isaiah
predicted,
verse 29,
If the Lord of hosts
had not left his offspring,
he would have been
like Sodom
and become
like Gomorrah.
Also could be
translated
survivors.
So we see
that the gospel
has expanded,
it's gone out,
gone to all the world,
and yet
has not rejected
the Israelites.
Has not rejected
the Israelites.
Paul himself,
an Israelite,
had received
the gospel of grace.
God has not
turned his back
on his original
special people.
Just that the promises
were not what they
thought
at first.
People have always
come to God
by grace alone,
through faith alone.
Always.
And now,
in Christ alone.
The people of old
were justified
before God
because of their faith.
They didn't even
understand how it was
that God would
fulfill his promises,
but they believed
that he would.
Now we know
exactly how he
fulfills his promises
in Christ.
All the promises
of God are
yes and amen.
So he hasn't
rejected Israel.
Chapter 9,
verse 6.
Again,
it's not as though
the word of God
has failed.
Shepherds
in these days
were hired hands.
A shepherd
never owned
his own sheep.
If you owned sheep,
if you had that
kind of wealth,
you hired somebody
to come along
and tend your sheep
for you.
And if a shepherd
was washing the sheep
and didn't do his job
as he should,
and one of those sheep
was carried away
by a lion,
some other threat,
a bear,
remember David
slaying both
a lion and a bear,
one of the sheep
was carried away,
they would actually
go after the remnant
of that animal.
They would try
to bring back
some piece
of the animal
to prove
to the one
who had hired them
that something
had eaten
the animal.
Not that they were
stowing away
a special flock
for themselves,
cutting out a little
of the flock
and putting it
over someplace
for their own good,
or not that they
had slaughtered
and eaten it
themselves,
but that something
had happened
and had carried
that animal
away.
Amos 3,
11 and 12.
Amos wrote,
Therefore,
thus says the Lord
God,
an adversary
shall surround
the land
and bring down
your defenses
from you,
and your strongholds
shall be plundered,
thus says the Lord.
As the shepherd
rescues from the mouth
of the lion
two legs
or a piece
of an ear,
so shall the people
of Israel
who dwell in Samaria
be rescued
with the corner
of a couch
and part
of a bed.
So,
God will,
in fact,
Jesus Christ
will,
in fact,
rescue a remnant
of Israel
to prove
that they're his
and that he did
his job well.
Now,
at this point,
so many of us,
so many of us
want to say,
but how is it fair?
How is it fair?
How is it possible
that this is the God
that we serve?
Isn't that the question
that was asked
in chapter 9,
verse 19?
You will say to me then,
why does he still
find fault?
For who can resist
his will?
Your perspective
of you
is so,
so wrong.
You have not yet
come to grips
with how holy
God is
and how very
not you are.
Mankind
is utterly
spoiled
by sin.
We inherited it
from Adam,
that original sinner,
we are the same.
We are
wretched
before God
apart from Christ.
We are as
filthy
rags.
Ask me later,
I'll explain to you
what that symbol,
that picture
is of.
Recognize that we were
created in the image
of God,
yes,
but that was
spoiled.
world.
A mirror
meant to look
at
perfect,
you've got all
these mirrors
in your house,
they're perfect,
glass,
coated with silver
on the back,
no flaw in them
whatsoever,
but sin
smashed that
mirror to pieces.
We can only see
a bit of the
reflection of God
and who we are
apart from Christ.
Christ,
you have a high
view of man
if you question
God's election.
The question you
should be asking
is why would God
save any of us?
We have all
rejected Him.
We have all stood
as His enemies.
He has set before us
a path
and we have said,
no,
I'm good.
We have said
as all sin
begins with
Satan,
Adam and Eve,
I want to be
God.
I want to be
like Him.
I want to be
the master of my
own life
and I will do
things my way.
We have tried
to set up
our own kingdoms
within the
kingdom of God.
Build armaments
up and battle
against Him.
Why would He
have mercy
on any of us?
Because He's God
is the answer.
Because He's God
and He loves us.
That's what your
mind should do.
Your mind should
be blown open
by the doctrine
of election
to the goodness
of God
towards you.
Right?
Not His unfairness
to others.
If God were
fully fair,
none of us
would be redeemed.
All of us
would be destroyed.
You hear that?
Have you ever
felt the weight
of your sin?
Read through
the scriptures
that men
who have beheld
God,
who have looked
at His holiness,
what do they say?
Whoa,
to me,
Isaiah,
I am a man
of unclean lips.
They fell
on their faces
recognizing
how insignificant
they were
in comparison.
person.
So do you have
a higher view
of yourself
and of mankind
than you should?
Now in turn,
we are humans.
Right?
We should
sympathize
with those
who are lost.
We were once
lost ourselves.
And there's
the great compulsion
for gospel spread.
There's the reason
that we get out
and we love people
and we share
the gospel with them
and we serve
their needs
because we too
were once sinners.
Because we've
experienced the
great gospel of grace
and we want others
to experience it as well.
That becomes
the compulsion.
Election drives us
to that.
It doesn't make us proud.
Rightly understood,
election never
makes you proud.
Never causes you
to sit on your hands
thinking in some way
you're God's special
chosen one.
In fact,
it should humble you.
It should put you
on your face.
It should make you
so appreciative
that all you
care about
are the things
that God cares about.
Because he has
loved you
in spite of you,
not because of you.
That is a proper view.
If you walk out
of here on any Sunday
and you are not
both abased
and gladdened,
we have failed
to preach the gospel.
Let me explain.
If you walk out
of here proud
of who you are,
we failed
to show you
who you would be
apart from Christ.
But if you don't
walk out of here
gladdened
in the good news
of Jesus Christ,
then we failed
to show you
how glorious
you now are
in Him.
What you were
was vile
and spoiled.
What you now
are in Christ
is beautiful
and perfect.
It should abase
and gladden
every Sunday.
And that's what
gives us
the motivation
and the drive
to keep going
and loving
and keep pushing
and driving
through this world
where we will suffer
if we live godly
because we remember
who we were
and now who we are
because of the great
love of God
to us.
That's what
election should do.
You know,
many people
who don't care
for the doctrine
of election
who stand
in direct
opposition to it
are those
who have experienced
Christians who do
believe in the doctrine
of election
and live
totally contrary
to it.
Please don't be
one of those people.
People need to hear
this truth
for their good
and for the great glory
of Jesus Christ.
Romans 11,
1 through 6.
I want to drive
this point again
that the Israelites
have not been
rejected.
I ask then,
and we'll talk about
this in coming weeks,
I ask then,
has God rejected
his people?
By no means.
Again,
that emphatic,
strong,
strongest Greek language,
no,
he's not.
For I myself
am an Israelite,
a descendant of Abraham,
a member of the tribe
of Benjamin.
God has not rejected
his people whom
he foreknew.
Do you not know
what the scripture
says of Elijah,
how he appeals
to God against Israel?
Lord,
they have killed
your prophets,
they have demolished
your altars,
and I alone am left,
and they seek my life.
But what is God's
reply to him?
I have kept
for myself
7,000 men
who have not
bowed the knee
to Baal.
So too at this
present time
there is a remnant
chosen by grace.
But if it is by grace,
it is no longer
on the base of works,
otherwise grace
would no longer
be grace.
So you see here,
you have Elijah
that cries out to God,
destroy Israel.
I'm the only one left
that hasn't bowed
the knee to Baal.
You destroy them
because they deserve it.
And God says,
wait a second,
Elijah,
I've actually preserved
for myself a remnant.
I'm still working
with my people.
So recognize
that that's the truth.
What does he say
there at the end?
If it's by grace,
it is no longer
on the basis of works.
And so secondly,
and finally today,
the unbelief of Israel,
their large rejection,
is consistent
with God's provision,
his way of salvation.
That's what I mean by that.
I had to get the P
to fit in there.
But with his way
of salvation.
And we see that
in verse 30 through 33.
That's been a little while
since we read it,
so let's read it together again.
What shall we say then
that Gentiles
who did not pursue righteousness
have attained it?
That is a righteousness
that is by faith.
But that Israel
who pursued a law
that would lead to righteousness
did not succeed
in reaching the law?
Why?
Because they did not
pursue it by faith.
But as if it were
based on works,
they have stumbled
over the stumbling stone
as it is written,
Behold,
I am laying in Zion
a stone of stumbling
and a rock of offense.
And whoever believes in him
will not be put to shame.
There's a continuing drive
throughout the book
of Romans.
Justification by faith,
not by works.
Justification by faith,
not by works.
The law
is a righteous picture.
It's meant to be
the way
those of faith live.
We can't do it
apart from the grace of God.
It was fulfilled
in Christ.
Jesus starts the Sermon
on the Mount
out that way.
Right?
He didn't come to abolish
the law,
but to fulfill
the law.
It's in him
is the yes
and the amen.
Right?
And the Jews
were zealous
in their pursuit of God,
but they missed
the point.
Right?
They missed the point.
The law
was meant
to point them
to Christ.
The sacrificial system,
when they betrayed the law,
was meant to show them
the need
of a final
and ultimate sacrifice,
but they missed it.
Right?
Their hearts
were darkened
and they thought
somehow that they had
the patent on God,
that they owned him.
They thought
they were God's manager.
They missed the point.
So,
it's by faith,
grace alone,
through faith alone,
and Christ alone,
forever,
right?
As our song says.
And so,
they stumble
over the stumbling stone.
Isaiah 8,
14 and 15.
And he will become
a sanctuary
and a stone of offense
and a rock of stumbling
to both houses of Israel,
a trap and a snare
to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem,
and many shall stumble on it.
They shall fall
and be broken.
They shall be snared
and taken.
Also,
Isaiah 28, 16.
Therefore,
thus says the Lord God,
Behold,
I am the one
who's laid a foundation
in Zion,
a stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone
of a sure foundation.
Whoever believes
will not be in haste
or will not be disappointed
or will not be put to shame.
In all ways,
that word can be translated
from the Hebrew.
So,
Christ himself
is the cornerstone,
the necessary element,
the way that was laid out
that all things be built
around him.
That's the purpose
that the cornerstone
served
in building
in this time.
Extremely valuable.
Without it,
the whole building
would fall.
And Christ is that cornerstone.
Yet,
for those
who think
they can reach
God
by works,
as they're pursuing
God in works,
Christ is laid
in front of them
and they fall over him
and they're crushed.
They're destroyed
because they're works.
That's ultimately
what all of our works
are going to buy us.
But our faith
in Christ
buys us eternity
with him.
Romans chapter 4.
We're going to go back
and I want to re-read
to you
the argument
he makes
concerning Abraham.
So,
so Abraham
was given a command
to get up and go,
leave his people,
to go to a promised land.
He was given a promise
that God would bless
the nations in him.
It would seem
in reading the narrative
without any commentary
whatsoever
that it was Abraham's
obedience,
his working
that was the value.
Right?
But it was his faith
that justified him.
It was his faith
in believing
in the promises of God.
The working,
the getting up
and the going
was the result.
It was the action.
It was the evidence
of his faith.
His willingness
to sacrifice
his own son
was the evidence
of the fact
that he believed God.
He believed
that God was going
to bless the nations
in him,
that his offspring
were going to be
as the stars,
but yet God
was calling him
to kill his only
son.
He believed
that God was going
to do the thing
he said he was going
to do,
and therefore
the taking of Isaac
and his apparent
willingness to kill
his son at God's
command was the
evidence of the faith,
but it was the faith
that justified him.
So, look with me
at chapter 4.
What then shall we say
was gained by Abraham,
our forefather
according to the flesh?
For if Abraham
was justified by works,
he has something
to boast about,
but not before God.
For what does
the scripture say?
Abraham believed God,
and it was counted
to him as righteousness.
Now to the one
who works,
his wages are not
counted as a gift,
but as his due.
And to the one
who does not work,
but believes in him
who justifies the ungodly,
his faith is counted
as righteousness.
Just as David
also speaks
of the blessing
of the one
to whom God
counts righteousness
apart from works.
Blessed are those
whose lawless deeds
are forgiven,
and whose sins
are covered.
Blessed is the man
against whom the Lord
will not count his sin.
Is this blessing
then only for the circumcised
or also for the uncircumcised?
We say that faith
was counted to Abraham
as righteousness.
How then was it counted
to him?
Was it before
or after he had been
circumcised?
Which is a work.
You get that, right?
Circumcision would be a work.
It was not after,
but before
he was circumcised.
He received the sign
of circumcision
as a seal
of the righteousness
that he had by faith
while he was still
uncircumcised.
The purpose was
to make him
the father of all
who believe
without being circumcised
so that righteousness
would be counted
to them as well.
And to make him
the father of the circumcised
who were not merely
circumcised,
but who also walked
in the footsteps
of the faith
that our father Abraham
had before
he was circumcised.
So you're catching that?
Interject in there
anything he did
as a result of his faith.
It wasn't his works
that justified him
before God.
It was his faith.
Ephesians 2, 18-21
Through him being Jesus,
we both have access
in one spirit
to the Father.
So then you are no longer
strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens
with the saints
and members
of the household of God
built on the foundation
of the apostles
and prophets.
Christ Jesus himself
being the cornerstone
in whom the whole structure
being joined together
grows into a holy temple
in the Lord.
I want to answer
all of your questions.
I have some answers
to some questions,
but there are so many
that I cannot answer.
How it is
that this tension exists
between God's sovereignty
and man's responsibility
is beyond me.
And let me tell you,
it's beyond anybody
who claims they understand it.
No one understands it.
The scripture doesn't speak to it
in its completion.
For us,
it's to accept
both of those truths.
God sovereignly elects his people.
He calls them.
He regenerates them.
He causes them
to believe in him.
Yet we are held accountable
for our faith.
If we do not place
our faith in Jesus Christ,
we are condemned.
But if we do,
we are glorified.
We hold the responsibility.
This doctrine is not meant
to discourage your faith.
It's meant to encourage it.
If you have affections
that are moving towards God,
that's not natural.
Your flesh does not desire God.
But if you're being moved
towards him,
you can rest
that he is at work
in your life.
Repent.
Believe.
Do that for the first time today
if you never have.
Do it again
and again
if you ever have.
The answer to everybody,
to all of our problems,
is repent.
Believe.
Turn from your sin.
Turn to God.
He's the only one
that can put us back
in right relationship
with him.
We remind you
that this doctrine
does some very specific
practical things for us.
Specifically,
it serves as a comfort
to our souls.
I was just talking about this.
Romans 8, 31.
What then shall we say
to these things?
If God is for us,
who can be against us?
If we are gods,
who can stand against God?
It should comfort your soul
in any trouble
you may experience.
Right?
It could be the very words
you need to speak
to somebody around you
that may be experiencing
something difficult.
If God is for you,
who can be against you?
You are His.
It should cause us
to praise God.
If we are humbled,
properly humbled,
because of who God is,
we will be moved
to praise Him.
If we understand
who we are
apart from Him,
we will praise His name.
Remember that Paul
is moving this entire argument
to the end of chapter 11
to this beautiful doxology.
It's a glorious doxology.
Oh,
the depths of the riches
and wisdom
and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable
are His judgments
and how inscrutable
His ways!
For who has known
the mind of the Lord
or who has been
His counselor
or who has given
a gift to Him
that He might be repaid?
For from Him
and to Him
and through Him
are all things.
To Him be glory forever.
Amen.
That's where your heart
should be
as you consider
these things.
It should also
encourage us
to evangelism.
I told you the story
of how I'm
trying to be a hunter
a couple of weeks ago
and I don't really
I've not killed anything yet
so I think I'm going to
kill someone
before I call myself
a hunter.
But I've been trying
and I've actually been
hunting here on this property.
There's some deer
that move on it
and I told you
that if God
guaranteed
how something
would happen
like He said
listen
you go in those woods
you're coming out
with a deer
I promise you
this morning
you're going to
drag it out.
I would be so
encouraged to go.
But when I wake up
at 5 o'clock
in the morning
wondering
if I should get up
and go
I'm kind of
trying to hack
the stuff out
of my lungs
and trying to get
ready for the day
and get going
and it's kind of like
I really want to
go sit in the woods
for an hour
before dark.
I really want
to go do that.
If there was a guarantee
that I'd get the deer
that morning
I would definitely go.
This last Friday
I was sitting
in the woods
and hadn't been sitting
for more than
5 minutes.
I was sitting
in a blind
on the ground
and I wasn't there
more than 5 minutes
and a buck
walked out
right next to me
and I didn't hear it
until it was
right next to me
so all I can figure
is that it was
bedded down
in the ditch
behind the tree
I was sitting against.
I heard 3 steps
and it was standing
right here
and it walked around
in front of me
I mean my feet
were out
straight in front
of me
and I probably
could have scooted
and kicked it.
It was that close
it was right there
and I won't tell you
the rest of the story
for the sake of time
I didn't kill the deer
it was really dark
and it got scared
by a truck
and ran away
but if I could
guarantee that again
like if I knew
that tomorrow morning
when I'm planning
on getting back out there
that that was definitely
going to happen again
I would go right?
I'm motivated
to see this happen
I would sit down
at the base of the tree
with my bow drawn
because that would have
been an easy shot
right?
So knowing that God
has people
and God intends
to call them
and he's going
to do it
should motivate us
to go
experience him
by seeing him
fulfill his plan
be part of
his redemptive purposes
chapter 10
verse 14 and 15
here's
recall
this isn't random
this isn't like
10, 14 and 15
let's pull it out
of its context
what has Paul
been talking about?
he's been talking about
the sovereign election
of God
right?
that's
it's consistent
that some of Israel
was meant to reject him
so that the Gentiles
can be brought in
he says
how will they call on him
in whom they have not believed
and how are they to believe
in him of whom they have
never heard
and how are they to hear
without someone preaching
and how are they to preach
unless they are sent
as it is written
how beautiful are the feet
of those who preach
the good news
Paul himself recognizes
that God uses means
for his end
and guess what church
we're the means
God loves us enough
to include us
in his master plan
it's glorious
and all of these things
are a result
of our affections
being moved
towards God
this great joy
that we have
as a result
of God's
unfounded love
in our own being
poured out upon us
immeasurably
for us
that will motivate
the proper living
that we need
to glorify him
let's pray together
God bless you