God's Purpose 120812

Romans 9:6-13, 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 are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Christians often stumble over Romans 9-11 because they fail to see what it is really all about. They see the word "election" and immediately rush to judgment. God's process of election, or selection, is not based on his looking over the human race to decide who is good enough and/or bad enough. That is a view held by many Christians. That view of God's choosing really grows out of human pride. Since it is proposed by Christians it naturally follows that being a Christian means that God sees something about us that makes us special. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have nothing in ourselves that makes it possible for us to be chosen by God. The reason for election, or selection, is to fulfill the purpose of God.

Paul wants to assure us, in this section of Romans, that, not only does he desire with the deepest commitment that his kinsman be saved but he also wants us to know that God did not fail in regards to Israel. God is not feeble, nor is he unable to fulfill his own purposes! On the contrary, the God we serve — the Creator of the universe – can do anything he chooses, anytime he chooses, without consulting us.

Now, Did God fail in regards to Israel?

He did make a promise to his friend Abraham. Let us read together… Genesis 12:1-3, Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

This is a great promise! He promises this man, who has no children, that he will make him a great nation and will make his name great. He promises to bless those who bless Abram and curse those who dishonor Abram. And last of all, he promises that all the families of the earth will be blessed in Abram, or Abraham as he will later be called.

Most of you know the story. Abram, at his wife's suggestion, takes her servant into his bed and produces a child through her. Then several years later, God causes Sarah, Abraham's wife, to bear a child who was the one God intended all the time. It is easy to see that the child of the servant was of the flesh. Only Isaac, the child given by God as a result of a miracle, is a spiritual descendent of Abraham. At the same time the descendents of Isaac were not all faithful people. In fact…

Israel was faithless. Turn with me to, Judges 2:11-13, And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.

The generation that came out of Egypt, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, had died in the wilderness because of their unfaithfulness. Now, the next generation was faithful to the Lord only as long as Joshua lived. At Joshua's death they turned from serving the Lord the following the Baals. This is so amazing to see! They had seen the result of turning from the Lord when they were children. The generation before them had crossed the Red Sea, been given water from a rock, they were fed manna (the bread of heaven), and when they complained were given meat to eat. Now their children, who had crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, seen the walls of Jericho fall at a shout, and then, in battle after battle had taken the land away from the Canaanites who worshiped the Baals. Now they turned away from the living God to worship idols. Suffice it to say that worship of the Baals and the Ashtaroth had a sexual element that resulted in licentious lifestyles. The book of Judges demonstrates how this kind of unfaithfulness to God recurred generation after generation. The people would fall away, God would allow them to be persecuted, they would cry out to God in repentance, God would send a deliverer. Then, they would soon fall back into flesh centered pagan worship. But, God always retained a remnant…

God retained a remnant. Read with me… Romans 11:1-5, I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! 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 seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

From the days of Elijah, after generations of people had fallen away from God, they were forced to acknowledge that Jehovah is God. Elijah had invited priests of Baal to Mount Carmel in Israel. He had them erect an altar to their God and then ask their God to light the fire. After they prayed for most of the day and nothing happened Elijah built an altar to Jehovah, the Lord of heaven. He had large volumes of water poured over the altar he had erected. And then with a simple prayer fire came from above and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the water in the ditch around it and the dust! After having seen all that and verbally proclaiming, "The Lord he is God! They turned back to their old way and Elijah felt abandoned. He thought he was the only faithful person left until God told him, “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” You see…

There have always been two Israel's.

Example, Isaac and Ishmael. Read with me Galatians 4:22-28, For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.

It is easy enough to say, in this example that Paul uses, "Of course, Isaac and Ishmael are clearly different!" One Ishmael was born of a slave woman. His inheritance could not be equal to that of Isaac who was born to Sarah as a result of God's gracious intervention. You might even say that this is not even a good example because of the difference between the two mothers. Paul's point is simple, the children of promise are a picture of the church today. We too, are children of promise. We are sons and daughters of Abraham, the father of the faithful. And it does not matter whether we were born Jewish or Gentile. It matters only that we have been saved by grace through faith not depending on works but as a gift of God. So, to make the point even stronger, Paul gives us another…

Example, Esau and Jacob. Please read with me the second illustration, Genesis 25:21-24, And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.

Isaac prayed for his wife because she was barren. God heard his prayer and soon there was morning sickness and all the other evidences of new life coming into the family. It is very exciting to feel the movement of the baby. Possibly it was very surprising to Rebecca when she felt a lot of movement. In fact, the movement was so violent but she said, "why is this happening to me?" So she went to the Lord in prayer. We do not know exactly how she did this. I assume she brought a sacrifice and after offering the sacrifice waited before the Lord for an answer as to what was happening. God told her in plain words several things: first, two nations were in her and two peoples would be divided from each other. Next, one would be stronger than the other. And then, the older shall serve the younger. It would have been easy enough for God to have used the older of the twins to carry on the godly line. Instead, he chose the younger and weaker of the two showing that it was God's work not man's. Jacob was chosen and Esau was rejected. Unlike Isaac and Ishmael, these two men had the same mother as well as the same father. Not only that, but they were in the womb at the same time. There was no distinction in them except that they were fraternal twins not identical twins.

Read with me… Malachi 1:2-3, “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.”

As Paul would say, in our text for today, "in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls" God does not select based on our good works or faithfulness. He selects based on his own purpose and he does not have to consult with us as to what the selection should be. I do not understand how election works other than God has the right over his own creation to do with us as he will. Somehow, he allows us to respond to him according to his purpose by his grace. I am so grateful that God sent his son to deliver the faithful. Remember the words of Luis Palau, "God has no grandchildren!" No one receives salvation because they are the child, or a descendant of, a believer. Throughout history there have been mixed together, even in the same family, believers and unbelievers. They are…

The faithful and the faithless. Read the words of Jesus in, John 8:31-38, So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Jesus went on a little farther to say, "You are of your father the devil". He was speaking to the Jews who believed in him and showing them that they had no birthright salvation. They could only come the Father through the Son. So there was in the group confronting Jesus believers and unbelievers. All of them were Jews and physically descendents of Abraham. But that physical descent did not make them true children of Abraham. None of this is man's work. Salvation is all of God. You see…

All mankind failed — but God did not!

Adam sinned and we all fell! Read with me please, Romans 5:12, Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Sin came into the world through one man and death through sin. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Remember, it was not a surprise to God when Adam sinned. We are not a social science experiment being conducted by some great benevolent power. God had a purpose and a plan to fulfill that purpose. Before the creation of universe God had already seen the church, the believers of all ages, gathered in glorious adoration and praise of the living God. His plan was so complete that it included our failure.

But God had a plan that included our failure. Now, let us read from Romans 5:19, For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Not by our obedience but by the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ many are made righteous. Not become righteous by our choice but "made righteous". This is God's work not ours.

Do I understand it all? No, but I believe it all. God's word is true and can be trusted in all respects. Please put your faith in him.

I watched some of the Olympics the past two weeks. When athletes from other countries won a gold medal I am impressed with their skill but when athletes from the USA won a gold, as did Gabby Douglas, I am impressed with their skill and proud to be an American. But that pride in America, in our heritage, does not in any way increase my chances of salvation. My only hope of salvation, as is yours, is only by grace, by faith alone, in Christ alone.

Paul the apostle took great pride in his Jewish heritage. He grieved over the fact that his people, by and large, were not believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And, if he could, would be willing to be cast out for their salvation. But he could not do that he can only pray that God would save. His prayer was answered because God has saved some from Israel in every generation of the church.

God's purpose has remained the same. Read with me, 2 Timothy 1:8-10, Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

God purposed to call out a chosen people, a holy nation, a people for his possession. He did this so that we could proclaim his excellence. No one comes to him based on their own merits. His purpose and grace were given to us in Christ Jesus. Please note, "before the ages began". He never promised that all the physical descendents of Abraham would be saved. He did promise that the spiritual sons of Abraham would all be saved..

Many would argue that God's purpose had failed because Israel failed so many times in history. We need to be clear, God's purpose will never fail because of humanity. God does not depend on people, in fact, just the opposite, people depend upon God! Paul's argument is pretty simple. Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and, not all Abraham's offspring are his children. Only those who come to God by faith are Abraham's descendents since he is the father of the faithful. This has always been God's plan and purpose that man should be saved not by works of righteousness but by God's choice of grace.

All Scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.