Sunday night Bible study – Review notes
As we think through and study about “being the Christians we say we have become” a question should come to mind. How did I become a Christian? Or as Dorothy Sun might say “how did I get my born again?” The apostle Paul has taken the first eight chapters in Romans to fully develop this doctrine of justification by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone. We concluded several weeks ago in our study based on Romans 4 that yes we are heirs of the world according to the promise of God, and underneath that promise is the righteousness of God by faith. But there is even something else that is foundational to that and it is the sovereign grace of God, which is the guarantee of the promise. So we are now diving into the first 13 verses of Romans 9 as we study what Paul has to say about God’s sovereign grace as it relates to our salvation.
The hardest part for me over the years in studying Romans 9 is to take my American cultural predisposition out of the way. This is the land of the free and I heard growing up this phrase “if it’s to be then it’s up to me.” Even though you may have never heard that phrase exactly you were surrounded by that mentality if you are an American. As I have said before a fish doesn’t know it is wet and Americans don’t know they are arrogant. Don’t tell the American church that people aren’t coming to Christ because they will design plans, programs and events to get them in the church, down the aisles and even praying the prayers. Then when you have great preachers and evangelists like Billy Graham and Vance Havner show up they will make statements like this “up to 70% of the people in the evangelical church are more than likely not saved.” Here a typical response to that kind of preaching “hey, don’t you tell me whether or not I am saved and don’t you even question me on that subject because I got baptized and joined a church at age 12 and my mother told me I was saved at that time.”
And years later they end up in a city like Charlotte with mega and seeker friendly churches that bring in the crowds and yet there is very little transformation of life. If you should happen into full time ministry and start asking probing questions about their salvation and spiritual life then you start to get a handle on the problem. Before we get into the final part of our review notes let me take a quick side trip based on my previous point. I have probably conducted interviews in the hundreds over the last 10 years using the following three questions primarily to men over breakfast, lunch, dinner or Bible study:
1. Are you having a consistent and meaningful devotion time with the Lord Jesus on a daily or regular basis? By that I mean if a friend, elder or pastor were to call you that week you could relate what God has been saying to you and what you have been saying to God as a result of your devotions.
2. You are discipling or being discipled via fellowship with other believers where there is an atmosphere of teaching and admonishing one another to and for the glory of God.
3. You know and understand your spiritual gift mix and are plugged into a local church body and ministering to others consistent with these gifts.
In all the interviews I had less than 5 men answer affirmative to all three questions. What am I saying? Bottom line there seems to be a tremendous apathy and indifference today to the things that were so precious to our church fathers, to the writers of the Scripture and to Christ Himself. If our behavior in the church is off, then we must conclude that our thinking is also off. I for one, firmly believe that much of our thinking is off because we have neglected for the most part great doctrinal truths like the one found in Romans 9. Take a survey of some fellow Christians and ask them the last time they heard a sermon series on Romans 9. I am willing to bet you there will be few if any that can remember any public teaching on this particular chapter and doctrine. (By the way we are still on the side trip so just bear with me.) The reason is because we have heard that doctrine divides and sense no one can understand this subject of election anyway we need to avoid it and just be unified in Christ. I have heard the following from new and mature Christians, “that subject is a mystery, it just a mystery and there is no way to reconcile the sovereignty of God with the free will of man and we shouldn’t try to understand it because “it’s a mystery.”
Well that my friends is a cop out and if you are going to take that attitude then you may as well take Chapters 9-11 out of your Bible. We as Christians must come to understand that genuine unity in the body of Christ happens only when we understand, embrace and live out the truth that is in the Bible. Romans chapter 9 is not asking you what you think about God’s plan for His salvation of the elect. Who can counsel God? The apostle Paul is writing an inspired epistle to tell you what God says about how and why He saves His elect. God is counseling us on this doctrine and His is the only opinion that counts. I will conclude my side trip with this final series of statements and then on with our review. I believe that many American Christians have a blind spot in this area of their Bible reading and study. They either think or live in this way “God is as sovereign in my life as I allow Him to be.” They tend to read this particular doctrine from the mindset of if I was God then this is the way I would save people. My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ you are not God and His ways and thoughts are much, much higher than our ways and thoughts.
So let’s continue with the last part of our review of Romans 9:1-13. Do you remember the argument and crisis that Paul is dealing with in Romans 9? Paul says that God word stands (verse 6) and he proves this by teaching that God elects some and not others. We even see in the first 5 verses that Paul is grieved and sorrowful and if he could he would trade his salvation for those that are eternally lost. Even though that is theologically impossible it does show you that Paul’s desire for the lost was genuine and not casual even though he taught and believed in the doctrine of divine election.
In order to prove that God elects some and not others Paul then gives 3 examples, 2 Old Testament verses and 2 subsequent illustrations that come from those verses. Basically Paul writes there is an:
1. Ethnic or biological Israel and then within that group there is a true Israel.
2. There are the descendants of Abraham and then within that group the children of Abraham.
3. Finally Paul mentions there are children of the flesh and then within that group the children of the promise.
You should be able to see the parallels in these examples and how they square with what Paul is teaching about the doctrine of election. Those that are true Israel, children of Abraham and children of the promise are the elect. So the human mind rises up and naturally ask the question – well how did they get to be elect? The apostle Paul then covers the life of Abraham and Sarah and the stories of Ishmael and Isaac. In the next illustration Paul covers the story of Isaac and Rebecca who had twins named Esau and Jacob.
I have covered these in detail with previous reviews but would ask you to keep this in context with the argument that Paul is making for God’s word standing because He elects some and not others.
Now we work our way down to verse 11 and here is what we read - for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls.
This breaks down into three points:
1. So that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand or paraphrased in the following way “God’s electing purpose.” Last time I gave a detailed review of this and would ask that you review this, here is the LINK before moving to our next two points.
2. Not because of works
3. But because of Him who calls
Paul is now going to give us a negation and then he will give us an affirmation. Once again if you keep the flow of Paul’s argument constantly in your mind it will help as you come to these verses. It also helps to ask questions and then dig for answers as you come to what Paul is writing in Romans 9. Here is a good question – why does Paul say now that it is not because of works? Do you see why this little phrase is so critical to this argument of election? Because if Paul doesn’t write this then someone may conclude that God’s choosing of Esau or Jacob wasn’t actually done prior to their birth but after they had done either some deeds that we either good or bad.
It is time for another brief side trip but necessary if we are going to fully grasp this doctrine of election. There are some in the mainstream evangelical church that make the following argument. Before I tell you the argument let me say this, they are wonderful people, I know many who think this way and I love them as brothers and sisters in Christ.
What they believe has not and is not considered heresy and in no way do I want to insinuate nor cast any dispersions on their understanding and explanation of this doctrine of election. However though I understand their argument(s) I absolutely disagree with them.
They come at this argument by saying election is synonymous with foreknowledge and foreknowledge is basically foresight. The fuss is over not are we elect but how did we come into our election – did we choose God or did God choose us? The group I disagree with explains God foreknowledge or foresight in this way. Since God knows the beginning from the end, He stands outside of time and looks down through the corridors of time as it were. When He looks He sees those who at a point and time choose Him by their human free will and at that time He then chooses them. So by this definition of elect – the elect are those who make a self-determining choice to receive Christ as Savior.
Allow me to restate the argument one more time - The simple foresight view states that God's predestining some to eternal life and some to eternal death is based on his looking forward into history prior to creation in order to see what we would do. In other words, it is asserted that God, prior to creation, looked down through the corridors of time to see who would believe in him and who would not.
Here is one of my arguments as to why I think this view of foreknowledge is wrong. If Paul agree with that line of logic then why does he need the phrase before they (Esau and Jacob) not because of works. Paul writes that because he knows that God when He looks through the corridors of time He is not looking for good or bad work, He is not looking to see if there is any merit, or anything earned because God is electing based on sovereign grace. There the time factor has been totally removed from the equation. It doesn’t matter what they did past, present or future, it doesn’t matter about future works or even the faith that God could see someone appropriate because His election is not based on any of these things. The doctrine of election is God’s sovereign grace to choose some and that choice is not based on what that person does but that decision rests in God alone.
I will go to a future argument though we have not studied this verse as of yet. At the end of verse 13 Paul writes that God says “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated.” Immediately the person in Paul’s day and those who I have taught say this “well if God chooses one in lieu of another then He can not be a just God.” Do you see this and is that what the natural mind comes out with when you initially hear this doctrine? Paul had heard the objections and he is ready for them and here is how he argues. Side note – if Paul were of the foresight definition that I gave you a moment ago he would simply have said “There is no injustice with God is there? May it never be because when God looks down through the corridors of time then He elects those who in their free will choose Him. Wouldn’t that be how the logical flow of thought would go in order for Paul to prove that God is not unjust? But notice that is not at all how Paul argues this verse but rather the very opposite of that thinking by saying in verse 15 “For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
The doctrine of election has nothing to do with man choosing God but it has everything to do with God choosing man.
Still not convince are you? Well then let’s take a detailed look at the Greek word for “foreknowledge” and see if it coincides with this word foresight that is used by those whom I disagree.
The verb "foreknew" occurs 5 times in the New Testament;
Acts 26:5 - since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion.
Romans 8:29 – For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
Romans 11:2 - God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?
1 Peter 1:20 - For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you
2 Peter 3:17 - You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,
The noun "foreknowledge" occurs two times in the New Testament;
Acts 2:23 - this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
1 Peter 1:2 – according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Many New Testament Greek scholars defines foreknowledge as follows:
In Scripture "know" has a pregnant meaning, which goes beyond that of mere cognition. It is used in a sense practically synonymous with "love," to set upon, to know with peculiar interest, delight, affection, and action;
The word know can be imported for the word foreknow in not only 8:29 but in Romans 11:2 - God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?
Bert's paraphrase in the following verses with the understanding of the word foreknowledge
Genesis 18:19 - "For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him."
Bert paraphrase - "For I have set my favor, delighted in him...
Exodus 2:25 - God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.
Bert paraphrase - "...and God favored them."
Psalm 1:6 - For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
Bert paraphrase - "For the Lord delights in the way of the righteous..."
Psalm 144:3 - O LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?
Bert paraphrase - "O LORD, what is man that You set your affection on him..."
Jeremiah 1:5 - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."
Bert paraphrase - "Before I formed you in the womb I delighted in you..."
Amos 3:2 - "You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."
Bert paraphrase - "You only have I set my favor upon among all the families of the earth..."
Hoses 13:5 - I cared for you in the wilderness, In the land of drought.
Bert paraphrase - "I knew you in the wilderness..."
Matthew 7:23 - "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'
Bert paraphrase - "And then I will declare to them, I never set my affection upon you..."
1 Corinthians 8:3 - but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.
Bert paraphrase - "but if anyone loves God, he is favored by Him."
Galatians 4:9 - But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?
Bert paraphrase - "But now that you have come to have God's love or affection placed on you..."
2 Timothy 2:19 - Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness."
Bert paraphrase - "...The Lord sets His favor on those who are His..."
In summary:
Therefore the word foreknowledge in these verses mean what God does and not just what God sees when He looks into the future.
If you are still with me at this point congratulations as I know this is a long and technical section. There is one more argument and that is the last part of the phrase “but because of Him who calls.” I will write about that tomorrow as I think you now