Romans 9-Romans 11 (Click scripture reference for audio access)
"A Retrospective" • 6.24.12 •
Sunday Morning Service, Calvary Christian Fellowship
Intro.
- The doctrine
of sovereign election, the fact that God has lovingly chosen to show His mercy
freely to a specific group of people, generally tops the controversy chart.
- We have just
finished studying Romans 9-11, which
is the section of Romans containing Paul's vindication of God's election. I
know that it has been a challenge for our minds.
- When Paul
considered election, he did not respond as many do today. There is no fear in
his heart. There is not a hint of controversy. He states what he states as a
matter of revealed fact.
- As he does
so, I believe that he presents us with 4 very clear responses that mark a
healthy view of sovereign election.
- The doctrine
of election should prod us to act in the way exemplified by the Apostle Paul.
Text
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The first characteristic that should mark our response to sovereignty is "Passion For The Lost." Look again
at Romans 9:1-3.
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Romans 9:1-3 : "I tell the truth in Christ, I am
not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and
continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my
brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh," : This may come as a complete surprise to some, but sovereignty
sparks passion for souls!
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Paul's heart was for his countrymen. This was the truth that he was willing to
claim in Christ.
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When a person allows Jesus to rule their lives, they become obedient to His
dictates and mirror His passion. In Christ, the truth regarding Paul was that
he was heartbroken.
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He was burdened for them, likening himself to a person in continual mourning at
their present condition. We might translate Paul's heart this way: "I
would do anything to see them saved!"
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Paul would go to any lengths, travel to distant shores and risk life and limb
if it meant salvation for the people of Israel. The book of Acts is a small
testimony to that fact.
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You know that you are off kilter if you study this subject, but you have no
heart or concern for the evangelism of those who are perishing!
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If that has happened, understand that you have let this doctrine cloud your
thinking and you are living in a way that Paul the Apostle and Jesus Christ,
cannot relate to!
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It was Jesus who first came to the Jews and was passionate for them! Consider
some of His final words regarding them, captured in Luke 13:33.
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Luke 13:33 : "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the
prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather
your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you
were not willing!" : Listen to this plaintive
cry. "For all you have done, I still long to bring you under my
protection!"
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Consider everything else that Jesus did. Every miracle, every teaching, every
opportunity was given for this very purpose: Jesus was passionate for His lost
people!
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God has always had a heart for His people and even for those who were not His
people! Unfortunately, God's people sometimes refuse to share His heart.
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Consider His call of Jonah. God called Jonah to preach to the Ninevites.
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Jonah knew that his national enemies, the brutal Ninevites, the capital
dwellers of the country of the Assyrians, were wreckless marauders and a
consistent national threat to Israel.
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They were hateful and hostile towards God's people and God wanted them saved!
What? When God calls Jonah to go left, he immediately goes extreme right!
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When everything in the book obeys God, including the Ninevites, Jonah is left
on a hill, angry and dismayed, not because his mission failed, but because it
succeeded!
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Jonah 4:1-3 : "But it displeased Jonah
exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, 'Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country?
Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and
merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents
from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die
than to live!'" : At the preaching of Jonah,
the entire city of Ninevah repented from their wickedness and a veritable
revival broke out! God spares them.
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Later, God asks Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry?" Jonah in
fierce anger answers back, "It is right for me to be angry!"
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How sad! God wants to be merciful to sinners, like He has been merciful to you.
Will you stand in the way and deny them for the sake of your "righteous"
anger toward them?
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Some believe that election makes Christianity an exclusive club that we need to
protect from those sinners. "Guard that door! Us and no more!"
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Wow, aren't you glad nobody was guarding that doory when you came in!?
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The fact that God wants to have mercy on people and that there are people that
He intends to be merciful toward, should fuel your passion for the lost.
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The second characteristic that should mark our response to sovereignty is
"Prayer For The Lost."
Take a look at Romans 10:1.
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Romans 10:1 : "Brethren, my heart’s desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved." : We have seen His desire. We understand Paul's wish. That is a
good thing. You will never move to prayer until you first have a desire for
something greater than yourself!
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Paul's heart and prayer were moved to pray to God specifically for Israel's
salvation.
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Before anything can happen in a life spiritually, the first thing must happen
in a life spiritually!
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Our prayers are often hindered because we are praying about the fruit of
someone's life and not the root!
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We are praying for behavior modification or are praying for issues that are of
secondary importance. Your prayer for someone needs to be specifically related
to their salvation first!
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Are they saved? If they are not saved, they lack the power necessary to change.
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They must first come to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus, meaning that they
must first come to the end of their sin life and become desperate for the
Savior of Men.
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Second, I would have you know that this entire phrase is written in what is
called the "present indicative." Present refers to now, indicative
refers to every time, past present and future.
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At any time, this was Paul's specific petition before the Lord. Our prayers can
never be isolated to a one time event. We are called of God to petition Him
regularly!
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Please turn in your Bible with me to Luke
11. Jesus shares a story with the disciples about a man whose friend comes
late at night asking for bread.
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The man persists long enough to wear down his friend, who gives of his bread
not because they are friends, but because he has persisted.
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Luke 11:9,10 : "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to
you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to
him who knocks it will be opened." : Jesus
speaks each of these verbs in the present active imperative. Imperative is the
voice of command. We would write it like this: "You must keep asking, keep
seeking and keep knocking."
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When you do, Jesus says the door will be opened to you. You will have what you
ask for, you will find what you seek and you will open the door!
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Immediately, many of us will cry "foul" because if it's a matter of
repitition, then God is simply counting down until He has the correct number of
requests from us.
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At that point, God is just like any other supposed deity that can be swayed by
human notions. I admit that there is a line and a balance that must be towed
here.
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We do not consistently pray to change the heart of God. But we do consistently
pray to discover the heart of God!
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Is God's heart to provide salvation? Is that what He wants to do? We have no
other mechanism in this life whereby we can discover that other than prayer!
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Forget about the results. Forget about what happens or doesn't happen. That is
God's job.
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Your job as a Christian is to pray earnestly, fervently, consistently and
passionately! Do any of those words mark your prayer life regarding the
salvation of those we love?
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If nothing else can be said, let it be said that we prayed until something
happened! Let us all be challenged. Paul's view of election did not hinder his
prayer life!
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The third characteristic that should mark our lives in light of election is
"Participation In The Winning Of The
Lost!" Take a look at Romans
10:14.
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Romans 10:14,15 : "How then shall they call on Him in
whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they
have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless
they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of
peace, who bring glad
tidings of good things!" : This does not appear like a
objection at first glance, but it is. There are remote places in the world. How
can they get the gospel?
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There are people that don't know about this Paul! You can't require that belief
in the gospel is necessary if nobody can come to this? The objection is
ironically the mission!
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Paul admits that they have to call on Him and hear about Him and receive Him.
This is vital.
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Sovereignty requires more than passion and prayer. It requires our
participation in the process. We are a part of how God spreads the knowledge of
His Savior to the world.
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By the way, the gospel message is not the entire Bible. Some have sought to get
out of preaching the gospel by simply reading passages from the Bible.
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Nobody who is unsaved can comprehend the Bible's teaching! We require the help
of the Holy Spirit! Christians have one message for unbelievers: Believe In
Christ! All understand that!
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The gospel is a shortwave transmission covering the major facts relating to
redemption.
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A gospel transmission will include the fact that God hates sin. He hates it
enough to punish Jesus for it. If you believe in Him, He will take what you owe
and give what He's earned!
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Upon genuine belief, you get His righteousness and He takes your filthiness!
From there, He gives you a new nature that is compliant with His Holy Spirit
and a new life that is like His Son!
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That is the good news! That is what a preacher is sent to proclaim! That is
what eternity hinges upon.
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Beyond the clarity that is apparently necessary to some, let us not be fooled
into thinking that this is not also a command to each of us!
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Christ's disciples were each called to share in that work, they themselves
being commissioned by their Lord and ours, to this end!
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Mark 16:15 : "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature." : The word "preach"
is written in the imperative voice. The Great Commission is not the Great
Suggestion. This is a command!
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You might say, "Well, in context, this was actually just written to the
disciples themselves." True. But what happened when the disciples found
themselves multiplied in Jerusalem?
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At some point, there were multiple thousands of believers daily gathering
together, as the church in Jerusalem blew up to mega church status.
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When persecution hit the church, the church was scattered. Far from being
defeated or deflated, that persecution just got them started!
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Acts 8:4 : "Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the
word." : The wind blew the dandelion and the little leaves
went flying in all different directions doing exactly what they had been
taught: To proclaim the Word of the Gospel!
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Look back at Romans 10. Paul quotes
from Isaiah, speaking of the feet of the people who carried the news of a
return from captivity.
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They were going to leave the land of their captivity and return to the land of
freedom.
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Those who heard that news would fall at the feet of the ones who brought the
news and they would kiss them and grab them and weep at them.
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"Thank you for proclaiming this! Thank you for letting me know that this
freedom has come!"
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Paul uses this verse to speak of the Gospel, the feet of those who bring the
news of liberation, being beautiful indeed!
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By the way, do you see why it's vital to show a sinner the depth of their sin?
Part of our problem today is that we sell the gospel as a basis for life
improvement.
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A person needs to be shown that he dangles over the fires of hell, held only by
the floss that is his short life! When he sees that he or she is a captive, the
gospel will really be good news!
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And when they hear the good news of their freedom from their real captivity,
they will metaphorically grab your feet and honor what God has shown them through
your witness!
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Election is one of the greatest motivators for evangelism! It lets us know that
there are some who are waiting to be gathered and we are commanded to
participate!
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In Romans 11:25, Paul tells us that
Israel will be cut off until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in! That means
the fish are biting! Where are the fishermen!? WE are the fishermen!
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Fourth and finally, in light of election, you know that you apprehend election
when you "Praise To The God Who Has
Saved The Lost!" Look at Romans
11:30.
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Romans 11:30-32 : "For as you were once disobedient to
God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been
disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to
disobedience, that He might have mercy on all." : At one time, God showed His mercy to you. He did this, opening
a door to you because the ones that He had invited had decided not to come!
Their disobedience allowed you to experience mercy.
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Now, God has shut the people of Israel into the prison of disobedience and will
one day show them the mercy that we have received, so that He can be the God of
mercy to all!
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All who will ever enter the gates of Heaven and partake of God's salvation, will
be there simply because God showed His mercy! None will have earned it.
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Apart from God's mercy, all would have surely been lost. But God's election
toward Israel and the church will make one new group stand before Him forever!
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God wants to be the merciful Savior to all. He is the merciful Savior of the
true people of Israel, the remnant which has believed in Christ.
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He is the merciful Savior of the wild olive branches that have been grafted in!
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He will be the merciful Savior of all who are numbered of the Gentiles and then
of the Jews at the end of the Tribulation!
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The fact that God keeps all of this together, knowing the who, how and when,
leads Paul to one of the finest hymns of praise recorded in the scriptures.
Listen to it in the NLT.
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Romans 11:33-36 (NLT) : "Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom
and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his
ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give
him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For
everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his
glory. All glory to him forever! Amen." : If the
doctrine of election does not cause you to lift your hands in praise to God,
who has shown the riches of His mercy to all that have believed upon Christ,
you miss the point!
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Sadly, there are those who would re-write this section like this: "Oh how
great is my intellect because I understand what has been said!"
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"I'm glad that I have figured out His decisions, His ways and thoughts!
I'm fairly certain I could give God advice!"
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"All of this was left here for me to put together like a puzzle so that I
can be glorified! My knowledge is truly deep and powers of understanding,
incredibly wise!"
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I do not say this to say that there is anything wrong with systematizing or
codifying the doctrines that we believe.
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However, when those doctrines divide, or raise a heart of pride, a red flag
should be flown! If anyone beside Christ is given glory, then our response to
election is out of line!
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There are some who should be ashamed! Even though that was all spoken
facetiously, and none would ever admit to such feelings, pride is a distinct
problem that praise fixes!
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Are you blown away by God? You should be! Is He beyond your finding out?
Absolutely! What is your response? It should be a grateful heart that praises a
merciful and wonderful God!
Conclusion
- Election
causes a passion for the lost. Is there zeal in your soul for souls that are
lost? What would you do about that today?
- Election
causes prayers to be made for the lost. Is your prayer life filled with zeal
for the unsaved, specifically, consistently calling upon God for their
salvation?
- Election
invites participation in the winning of the lost. Are you God's mouthpiece
where you work? Is anyone looking at your feet and thinking how wonderful they
look?
- Finally, election
prompts praise for the one who has gathered the lost! Is your heart full and
ready to explode with thanksgiving to this God of electing grace? May it be so
for us all!