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Voddie Baucham - The Word of God has not Failed · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: It's a very appropriate song for us to sing today
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  Speaker 1: as we look at Romans chapter 9, verses 6 through 13.
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  Speaker 1: Because if we are not careful, we could fall into
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  Speaker 1: the trap of believing that somehow God has demonstrated a
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  Speaker 1: pattern of not being faithful to His people. And in fact,
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  Speaker 1: that is the question today. to which Paul turns his
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  Speaker 1: attention in this particular paragraph. The question of whether or
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  Speaker 1: not God has failed. Whether or not God's word has failed.
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  Speaker 1: Whether God has forsaken those whom he said he would
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  Speaker 1: not forsake, particularly Israel. Paul, in the first five verses here,
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  Speaker 1: talks about his own distress over the state of his kinsmen,
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  Speaker 1: over the state of ethnic Israel. And he then answers
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  Speaker 1: the question that is raised by the condition of Israel
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  Speaker 1: in both that time and this. And that question that
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  Speaker 1: is raised is this one. Has God's promise failed? Has
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  Speaker 1: His word to them failed? Has God turned His back
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  Speaker 1: on His people? And that is an important question because
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  Speaker 1: if you believe that God somehow turned His back on
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  Speaker 1: His people, on His elect, Israel, and somehow changed partners
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  Speaker 1: in the middle of the dance, then what gives you
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  Speaker 1: any hope that He won't do the same thing to you?
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  Speaker 1: This is... A crucial question. Paul answers the question in
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  Speaker 1: the first part of chapter 9, verse 6. His answer
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  Speaker 1: continues on through chapter 11. So, Romans chapter 9, verse
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  Speaker 1: 6a is the thesis statement, if you will. Verses 1
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  Speaker 1: through 5 is sort of an opening paragraph. Verse 1-5
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  Speaker 1: is a prologue. Verse 1-5 asks the question. The answer
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  Speaker 1: is given in the form of a thesis statement, and
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  Speaker 1: then it is explained, it is teased out over the
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  Speaker 1: rest of this section of Genesis 9-11. Let's look again
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  Speaker 1: at the first opening prologue. Beginning in verse 1, I
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  Speaker 1: am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying.
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  Speaker 1: My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that
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  Speaker 1: I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
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  Speaker 1: For I could wish that I myself were accursed and
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  Speaker 1: cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,
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  Speaker 1: my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and
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  Speaker 1: to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the
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  Speaker 1: giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To
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  Speaker 1: them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to
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  Speaker 1: the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all,
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  Speaker 1: blessed forever. Amen. Here's the thesis. But, verse 6, but,
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  Speaker 1: We've just come out of major doxology at the end
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  Speaker 1: of chapter 8. And again, chapter 8 ends that section there.
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  Speaker 1: And there is major praise, major doxology at the end
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  Speaker 1: of chapter 8. There is a crescendo. Paul is at
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  Speaker 1: an all-time high. At the end of chapter 8. Now
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  Speaker 1: he has come crashing down in the first five verses
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  Speaker 1: of chapter 9. And we know that chapter 11 ends
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  Speaker 1: with another doxology with great praise. But how does Paul
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  Speaker 1: get from this opening salvo, this opening paragraph in chapter 9,
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  Speaker 1: where he is at an all-time low, to again being
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  Speaker 1: at a crescendo of doxology and praise at the end
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  Speaker 1: of chapter 11? How? How? The answer is found succinctly
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  Speaker 1: in the first part of verse 9. But it is
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  Speaker 1: not as though God's word has failed. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. It is not as though God's word has failed.
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  Speaker 1: Paul basically says here in a nutshell, Do not look
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  Speaker 1: upon the experience of Israel as you see it in
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  Speaker 1: the here and now and try to gauge whether or
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  Speaker 1: not God's word or promise has failed. There are a
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  Speaker 1: couple of reasons that you can't do that. The first
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  Speaker 1: reason he's going to get to is the identity of Israel,
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  Speaker 1: true Israel. And eventually the last reason he's going to
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  Speaker 1: get to is an eschatological hope. But we shall not
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  Speaker 1: get ahead of ourselves. The question is, has God failed Israel? Now,
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  Speaker 1: it's important because usually we get to Romans chapter 9,
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  Speaker 1: and we think that Romans chapter 9 is all about
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  Speaker 1: election and predestination, and it is about election and predestination.
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  Speaker 1: But these statements about election and predestination are couched in
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  Speaker 1: the context of this statement about God's election of Israel
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  Speaker 1: nationally as a people for His purpose. So are we
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  Speaker 1: talking about national Israel or are we talking about individual election? Yes. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: God elected a people for a purpose. But this passage
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  Speaker 1: is also... about the election of individuals unto salvation. And
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  Speaker 1: you have to keep both of these in mind as
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  Speaker 1: we go through chapters 9 through 11. Now, those who
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  Speaker 1: are on the more Wesleyan, Arminian side of the fence
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  Speaker 1: argue that chapter 9 is really all about national election,
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  Speaker 1: national Israel, because that's the only way that you can
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  Speaker 1: get around these pointed statements about election and predestination. Because
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  Speaker 1: this is as clear as it gets on the issue
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  Speaker 1: of election and predestination. The only way you can get
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  Speaker 1: around it is to do some gymnastics and say that
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  Speaker 1: Romans chapters 9 through 11 are about national election only,
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  Speaker 1: corporate election only, and not individual election and salvation. There's
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  Speaker 1: a small problem with that line of argumentation. It's chapter 10.
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  Speaker 1: chapter 10 not national at all look with me if
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  Speaker 1: you will just go forward turn the page we don't
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  Speaker 1: even have to go there because you know chapter 10
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  Speaker 1: and let's begin there in chapter 10 let's begin in
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  Speaker 1: verse 8 then you tell me if this sounds national
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  Speaker 1: to you but what does it say the word is
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  Speaker 1: near you in your mouth and in your heart That
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  Speaker 1: is the word of faith that we proclaim. Because if
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  Speaker 1: you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and
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  Speaker 1: believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
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  Speaker 1: you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes
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  Speaker 1: and is justified. And with the mouth, one confesses and
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  Speaker 1: is saved. For the Scripture says, everyone who believes in
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  Speaker 1: Him will not be put to shame. For there is
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  Speaker 1: no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord
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  Speaker 1: is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who
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  Speaker 1: call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name
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  Speaker 1: of the Lord will be saved. That's not national. That's individual. Individual.
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  Speaker 1: And even the nation and the corporate body is made
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  Speaker 1: up of individuals. So you have two things at play here.
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  Speaker 1: And it's very important to keep that in mind as
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  Speaker 1: we go through this section, that there are two things
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  Speaker 1: at play. But that one thing that is at play
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  Speaker 1: is quite significant. Listen to this from Kim Riddlebarger. Romans 9,
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  Speaker 1: 6-29 includes one of the most controversial topics in all
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  Speaker 1: Christian theology, the question of God's sovereignty in relation to
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  Speaker 1: the election of certain individuals unto salvation and others unto damnation.
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  Speaker 1: Paul does not raise the subject of election to give
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  Speaker 1: people something interesting to speculate about, but to answer the
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  Speaker 1: difficult question raised earlier in this chapter. If the gospel
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  Speaker 1: goes first to the Jew and only then to the Gentile,
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  Speaker 1: why is it that Israel presently stands under God's curse?
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  Speaker 1: Does God keep his promises? Did God reject his people?
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  Speaker 1: Or is Israel's present state of unbelief a part of
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  Speaker 1: God's larger redemptive historical purpose in bringing salvation to the Gentiles? Thus,
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  Speaker 1: Paul introduces the subject of God's sovereign purpose in election
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  Speaker 1: as the means of answering these difficult questions. Are we
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  Speaker 1: talking about God's sovereignty? In election and salvation of an individual. Yes.
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  Speaker 1: Are we talking about Israel? Yes. Yes. It's not one
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  Speaker 1: or the other. It's both. And those who fall on
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  Speaker 1: the Armenian side of the ledger, who believe in the
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  Speaker 1: sovereignty of man in salvation, that it is man's will
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  Speaker 1: that determines salvation. God has cast his vote. The devil
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  Speaker 1: has cast his vote. Now it's time for you to
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  Speaker 1: cast the final vote. Remember that famous Dwight L. Moody tract?
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  Speaker 1: Those who fall on that side of the ledger have
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  Speaker 1: to view this from that national lens. But it's not
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  Speaker 1: necessary to do so exclusively. And you'll see that here
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  Speaker 1: in this text. Let's read the paragraph. Down through verse 13.
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  Speaker 1: But it is not as though God's word has failed.
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  Speaker 1: For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.
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  Speaker 1: And not all are children of Abraham because they are
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  Speaker 1: his offspring. But through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
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  Speaker 1: This means that it is not the children of the
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  Speaker 1: flesh who are the children of God, but the children
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  Speaker 1: of promise are counted as offspring. For this is what
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  Speaker 1: the promise said, about this time next year I will
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  Speaker 1: return and Sarah shall have a son. And not only so,
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  Speaker 1: but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man,
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  Speaker 1: our father Isaac, though they were not yet born and
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  Speaker 1: had not done anything, and had done nothing, neither good
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  Speaker 1: or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue,
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  Speaker 1: not because of works, but because of him who calls,
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  Speaker 1: she was told, the older will serve the younger, as
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  Speaker 1: it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
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  Speaker 1: There's the paragraph. It is clear. and unambiguous as to
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  Speaker 1: the nature of salvation, predestination, and election. But it's difficult
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  Speaker 1: for us because we do not like the idea that
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  Speaker 1: we are not in control. This is the land of,
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  Speaker 1: I did it my way. This is the land of
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  Speaker 1: I pulled myself up by my own bootstraps. This is
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  Speaker 1: the land of if you want something done right, you
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  Speaker 1: got to do it yourself. This is the land of me, myself,
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  Speaker 1: and I. This is the land of I don't need
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  Speaker 1: nobody's help. This is the land of I am sovereign.
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  Speaker 1: Nobody tells me what to do. This is the land of,
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  Speaker 1: you're not the boss of me. That's our culture, folks.
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  Speaker 1: And in our culture, we do not like the idea
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  Speaker 1: that God saves whom he chooses to save. We like
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  Speaker 1: the idea, I was smarter than the next guy, so
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  Speaker 1: I figured it out and asked Jesus into my heart.
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  Speaker 1: I was more godly than the next guy. So I
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  Speaker 1: was sensitive to the gospel when he wasn't. I was
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  Speaker 1: just innately better than the next guy. Therefore, I came
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  Speaker 1: to Christ and he didn't. There was something in me.
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  Speaker 1: That I exercised that he didn't exercise. And I'm standing
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  Speaker 1: before God, at least in part, because of my own merit. Now,
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  Speaker 1: we would never say those things openly. But you better
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  Speaker 1: believe we hold to them. That's our culture. That's who
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  Speaker 1: we are. That's what we've been taught. Now, to be fair,
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  Speaker 1: there are some people who are on a different side
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  Speaker 1: of the ledger. There are people on the other side
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  Speaker 1: of the ledger who don't want to boast outwardly out
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  Speaker 1: of arrogance, but instead they want to protect God from
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  Speaker 1: being mean. And so they're on this side of the ledger. No, no, no, no, no,
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  Speaker 1: because that We've got to protect God from election because
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  Speaker 1: election means that there are people who are going to
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  Speaker 1: hell who were sent there by God. And God is love.
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  Speaker 1: And how can God be love and hell be real?
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  Speaker 1: There's a book coming out by Rob Bell creating all
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  Speaker 1: of these problems right now. The title of it is
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  Speaker 1: Love Wins. That in the end, love wins. God is love,
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  Speaker 1: and a loving God would not send people to hell
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  Speaker 1: unless they were just absolutely outright dead set on going
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  Speaker 1: there themselves. And they so wanted to go there that
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  Speaker 1: they shake their fist at God and say, no, I
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  Speaker 1: choose hell rather than you. Election doesn't allow you to
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  Speaker 1: say that. Election forces you to plant your feet, square
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  Speaker 1: your shoulders, and say, God is sovereign. And he will
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  Speaker 1: pour out his wrath on those in hell in order
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  Speaker 1: to vindicate his justice. And it will be right. Whether
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  Speaker 1: I like it or not. Because God's not running for God. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: He was the only one around when the election was held,
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  Speaker 1: and there's never going to be a recount. He didn't
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  Speaker 1: need your vote. He didn't need mine. He's God. That
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  Speaker 1: makes us uncomfortable. But the question is, is it true?
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  Speaker 1: Let's look at the Scriptures. Again, verse 6a. But it
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  Speaker 1: is not as though God's word has failed. We look
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  Speaker 1: at the situation in Israel. And God is not sitting.
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  Speaker 1: Basically what Paul is saying to his audience is that
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  Speaker 1: God is not sitting in heaven twiddling his thumbs trying
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  Speaker 1: to figure out what went wrong with the people whom
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  Speaker 1: he chose. That's not what happened. By the way, if
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  Speaker 1: that is what happened, you and I have absolutely no
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  Speaker 1: security in our salvation, in our election whatsoever. Because if
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  Speaker 1: that's what happened, then that means that God can elect
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  Speaker 1: someone and somehow his election not be secure. The first
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  Speaker 1: problem with the idea that God has failed is that
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  Speaker 1: failure is not in keeping with Paul's teaching in Romans 8.
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  Speaker 1: What did he just say in Romans 8? Look with
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  Speaker 1: me if you will. Verse 26, likewise the Spirit helps
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  Speaker 1: us in our weakness, for we do not know what
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  Speaker 1: to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself
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  Speaker 1: intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And
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  Speaker 1: he who searches the hearts knows what is the mind
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  Speaker 1: of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints
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  Speaker 1: according to the will of God. And we know that
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  Speaker 1: for those who love God, All things work together for
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  Speaker 1: good for those who are called according to His purpose. For, why?
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  Speaker 1: Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed
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  Speaker 1: to the image of His Son, in order that He
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  Speaker 1: might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom
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  Speaker 1: He predestined, He also called. Those whom He called, He
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  Speaker 1: also justified. Those whom He justified, He also glorified. There's
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  Speaker 1: the golden chain of redemption. From beginning to end, God
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  Speaker 1: is sovereign over our salvation. So if that's true, Paul's
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  Speaker 1: audience says, you've got to explain what happened to Israel.
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  Speaker 1: The explanation can't be that God failed because his electing
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  Speaker 1: work doesn't fail. His word doesn't fail. Hebrews 11, 3.
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  Speaker 1: By faith we understand that the universe was created by
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  Speaker 1: the word of God so that what is seen was
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  Speaker 1: not made out of things that are visible. Psalm 105,
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  Speaker 1: verse 8. He remembers his covenant forever. The word that
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  Speaker 1: he commanded for a thousand generations. Psalm 33, 4. For
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  Speaker 1: the word of the Lord is upright and all his
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  Speaker 1: work is done in faithfulness. Psalm 119, 89, and 160. Forever,
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  Speaker 1: O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.
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  Speaker 1: The sum of your words is truth, and every one
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  Speaker 1: of your righteous rules endures forever. Isaiah chapter 40 and
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  Speaker 1: verse 8. The grass withers and the flower fades, but
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  Speaker 1: the word of our God will stand forever. Matthew 5, 18,
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  Speaker 1: and also 24, 35, and Mark 13, 31 say the
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  Speaker 1: same thing. Heaven and earth will pass away but my
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  Speaker 1: word will never pass away not only is it not
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  Speaker 1: in keeping with his teaching in Romans chapter 8 it's
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  Speaker 1: not in keeping with the character and nature of God
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  Speaker 1: for his word to fail for His promise to fail.
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  Speaker 1: That's not the answer. It is not as though God's
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  Speaker 1: Word has failed. That's the wrong answer. Whatever answer you're
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  Speaker 1: looking for, it can't be that one. That would be
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  Speaker 1: inconsistent with what was taught in Romans chapter 8. That
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  Speaker 1: would be inconsistent with what we see in the very
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  Speaker 1: nature and character of God. Listen to this from Charles Hodge.
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  Speaker 1: The truth of God is the foundation of all religion.
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  Speaker 1: It is the ground of our assurance that what he
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  Speaker 1: has revealed of himself and of his will and his
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  Speaker 1: works and in the scriptures may be relied upon. He
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  Speaker 1: certainly is and wills and will do whatever he has
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  Speaker 1: thus made known. It is no less the foundation of
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  Speaker 1: all knowledge that our senses do not deceive us, that
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  Speaker 1: consciousness is trustworthy in what it teaches us, that anything
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  Speaker 1: is what it appears to us to be, that our
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  Speaker 1: existence is not a delusive dream, has no other foundation
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  Speaker 1: than the truth of God. In this sense, all knowledge
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  Speaker 1: is founded on faith, i.e., the belief that God is true.
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  Speaker 1: For God to have failed Israel... It's not in keeping
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  Speaker 1: with the teaching in Romans chapter 8 about election. It's
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  Speaker 1: not in keeping with the very nature of God. And
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  Speaker 1: it is also not in keeping with our very existence
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  Speaker 1: and understanding of the universe. Because if God is not
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  Speaker 1: to be trusted, then nothing you know is known. There
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  Speaker 1: is no ground of truth or reality anywhere in the
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  Speaker 1: universe apart from God. So then there must be another answer. Well,
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  Speaker 1: failure implies that God promised salvation to every Israelite. Therein
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  Speaker 1: lies the problem. The idea that God's Word has failed...
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  Speaker 1: is only an idea that you hold on to if
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  Speaker 1: you believe that God has promised salvation to every Israelite.
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  Speaker 1: And what Paul says very clearly is that is simply
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  Speaker 1: not the case. God never said that every ethnic Jew
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  Speaker 1: would be saved. He did not say that every member
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  Speaker 1: of the nation of Israel would be saved. That is
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  Speaker 1: not what he has taught. First of all, salvation is
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  Speaker 1: not national. Look at Israel. Isaac and Ishmael, for example. Again,
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  Speaker 1: verse 6a. For not all who are descended from Israel
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  Speaker 1: belong to Israel. Salvation is not natural. Not all who
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  Speaker 1: have descended from Israel belong to Israel. Not everybody who
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  Speaker 1: is a part of that nation is part of true Israel.
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  Speaker 1: Here's the point that Paul is making here. There is
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  Speaker 1: a difference between true Israel... and Israel in general, even
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  Speaker 1: in the Old Testament. And his first example is the
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  Speaker 1: example of Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac is Israel. Ishmael is not.
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  Speaker 1: There are other people who are part of the nation,
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  Speaker 1: by the way, who aren't part of it ethnically, but
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  Speaker 1: we'll get there in a moment. For now, suffice to say,
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  Speaker 1: God did not promise salvation. to every member of the
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  Speaker 1: nation of Israel. Salvation is not national. And we need
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  Speaker 1: to pause here for a moment because the Jews are
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  Speaker 1: not the only ones who have ever thought like that.
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  Speaker 1: Americans think like that. That salvation belongs to America. We
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  Speaker 1: believe that if the church is not doing well in America,
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  Speaker 1: the church is not doing well. If you can't say amen,
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  Speaker 1: you ought to say ouch. We believe that everything in
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  Speaker 1: the entire world of Christianity is measured by what happens
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  Speaker 1: here in the United States of America. We believe that
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  Speaker 1: we can just go into the Bible, snatch any promise
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  Speaker 1: that was made to Israel, and treat it as though
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  Speaker 1: it was our promise. You don't believe me? National Day
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  Speaker 1: of Prayer. Just go anywhere you want to go where
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  Speaker 1: there is a National Day of Prayer event and sit there.
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  Speaker 1: If you sit there long enough, you will hear somebody
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  Speaker 1: reach back into Israel's history and snatch their promise as
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  Speaker 1: though it is the promise for America. Because we know
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  Speaker 1: that if my people who are called by my name
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  Speaker 1: will humble themselves and pray and seek my help. Huh?
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: Because in my Bible, you know, that's in 2 Chronicles 7.
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: And God's making a statement about the prayers that are
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: offered in this place. The temple in Israel. Now, we
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: stand up in the United States of America and say,
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: because America is the new Israel, all we've got to
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: do as Americans is just get enough of us who
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: are real Americans. By the way, real Americans are Christian Americans.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: And if we just get enough of the real Americans
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: to turn to God, then America will return to its
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: place in kingdom purposes. Folks, we believe salvation is national.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: We believe elections are important, not the doctrine of election,
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: but go into the booth and cast your vote election.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: We believe elections are important because we need to get
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: the right Christian leader again so that we can be
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: not just the Christian nation again, but the Christian nation.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: Salvation is not national. It has never been national. It's
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: not national here. By the way, if salvation was national,
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: you wouldn't have names like Rahab, Bathsheba, or Abraham. Wait
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: a minute. Abraham was a Jew. No, actually he wasn't
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: because there was no such thing. The Jewish nation descended
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: from him. He wasn't born a Jew. He wasn't part
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: of the nation. He was the father who gave rise
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: to the nation. Salvation is not national. It never has
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: been national. Not only is salvation not national, but it's
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: also not ethnic. Salvation is not ethnic. It doesn't have
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: to do with who you're connected to ethnically, which means
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: we don't inherit it. Look at the next verse. Not
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: all children of Abraham, I'm sorry, not all are children
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: of Abraham because they are his offspring. And then verse
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: 10 makes this clear. Here's what you go. If you
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: go there in verse 7, okay, yeah, that's right. Just
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: because you're born through Abraham doesn't mean that you're part
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: of the nation of Israel. And, of course, Isaac and
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: Ishmael are the example of this. But the reason that
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: they're an example of this is because Ishmael's mother was Egyptian.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: If Ishmael's mother hadn't been Egyptian, then he would have
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: been in. It's only because of his mother. And you
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: have to trace your Jewishness by your mother. Really? Because
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: when you go to verse 10, it says, and not
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: only so, Paul's anticipating that argument. They're like, yeah, of
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: course you can exclude Ishmael because his mother was an Egyptian. Again,
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: Isaac's mother was no more Jewish than Hagar. Sarah's not
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: a Jew, people. She's Abraham's cousin. And they're both from
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: the same pagan land, and Jews came from them, but
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: not because of anything that they were. So very little
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: difference between Sarah and Hagar, but let's just go with
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: that for a moment. It's because Ishmael's mother was Hagar,
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: that's why he's outside. It's still ethnic, though. How about
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: verse 10? Not only so, but also when Rebekah had
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: conceived children by one man, same man, same woman, exact
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: same ethnicity. Our forefather Isaac. Who's Isaac? The promised seed
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: that Sarah bore. So certainly if salvation is ethnic and
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: Sarah bore the promised seed to Abraham, and the reason
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: that Ishmael is outside the camp is because his mother
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: was Egyptian, certainly then, You pass on this true salvation
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: ethnically to twin boys as ethnically identical as you can get.
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: And God says, this one, not that one. Why? Salvation
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: is not inherited. Salvation is not ethnic. And the only
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: time you sit there and say, God's word must somehow
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: have failed because of what we see with the Jews.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: The only way you can say that is if you
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: believe salvation is national or you believe salvation is ethnic.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: Look at Romans. Look, first of all, look at the
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: second part of the verse. Through Isaac shall your offspring
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: be named. This means that it is not the children
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: of the flesh who are the children of God, but
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: the children of the promise are counted as offspring. It
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: is not children of the flesh, but children of the
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: promise who are counted as offspring. Go back to Romans
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: chapter 2. And look at verses 28 and 29. This
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: is not the first time we've seen this idea. In Romans,
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: Romans chapter 2, verses 28 and 29. For no one
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly,
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the spirit,
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: not by the letter. His praise is not from man,
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: but from God. So we've already seen this idea. But
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: we also see this idea again in Paul's writing. If
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: you go to Galatians, we see it even more clearly.
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: Go to the right, go over to Galatians. Galatians chapter 3.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: First look at 7 through 9. Galatians 3, 7 through 9.
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: Know then that it is those of faith who are
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: the sons of Abraham. By the way, we could just
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: stop right there. It is not national and it is
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: not ethnic. Know then that it is those of faith
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: who are the sons of Abraham. and the Scripture, foreseeing
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, And you shall all the
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: nations be blessed. So then, those who are of faith
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Go
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: down with me to verse 23. Let's look at that
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: last paragraph. Now, before faith came... We were held captive
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: under the law, in prison until the coming faith would
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: be revealed. So then the law was our guardian until
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: But now that faith has come, we are no longer
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: under a guardian. For in Christ Jesus you are all
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: sons of God through faith. For as many of you
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free.
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: There is no male or female, for you are all
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. It's not ethnic.
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: It's not national. Look at chapter 4, the last paragraph there.
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: Now you brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: just as at the time he was born according to
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: the flesh, he who was born according to the flesh
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: also it is now. But what does the Scripture say?
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: son of the free woman. So, brothers, we are not
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: children of the slave, but of the free woman. In
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: John chapter 8, Jesus is confronted by his adversaries, the Pharisees.
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: And in the exchange, they make reference to the fact
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: that they are children of Abraham, descended from Abraham. We
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: are Jews. We are God's chosen people. And Jesus looks
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: at them and says, you are of your father, the devil.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: God's promise has not failed. The only way that His
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: promise could have failed, according to what we find here
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: in the beginning of Romans chapter 9, is if God
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: had promised every Israelite would be saved. He did not
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: make that promise. He has made it clear. Not all
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. Not all
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: it's the children of promise that are his. Jacob and
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: Esau shows us also that salvation is not earned. Because
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: the other argument would be, well, it's Israel, but it's
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: Israel according to Mount Sinai. So it's those who are
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: born of Abraham ethnically and keep the law. That's the promise.
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: It is for those who are born of Abraham ethnically
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: and nationally and or those who keep the law and
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: enter into Judaism through obedience to the law. But look
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: at what he says in verse 11. Though they were
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad,
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: because of works, but because of him who calls. Here
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: is the argument against the Arminian idea of this prevenient grace,
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: or the Arminian idea of this foreseen faith. That somehow
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: God looks down through the corridors of time, and he
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: sees things. Those who are going to believe or those
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: who are going to obey. And he elects them based
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: on what he foresees in them. That is obliterated here
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: in this statement. It is obliterated in a number of ways.
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: Look very carefully. Though they were not yet born and
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: had done nothing either good or bad. Now, some would argue,
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: now wait a minute, that just means that he did
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: it before they were born, but it doesn't mean that
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: he looked down the corridor of history and didn't see
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: what they were going to. Do you remember Jacob? But
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: look at the next clause. in order that God's purpose
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: of election might continue, not because of works. So even
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: if you argue this temporal argument, that God did the
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: electing before they were born but he did it based
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: on what he foresaw of their works that is obliterated
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: in the next phrase because it says in order that
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: God's purpose of election might continue not because of works
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: not because of works not because of works if you
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: argue that people are elect because of what God foresaw
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: in them you are turning a blind eye to this
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: statement It is not because of works. In fact, you
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: have to go back to the beginning of chapter 8.
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: Let's do that for a moment. Verse 14. 5, For
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: those who live according to the flesh set their minds
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: on the things of the flesh, but those who live
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: according to the Spirit set their minds on the things
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: flesh is death, but to set the mind on the
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: who are in the flesh cannot please God. We all
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: come into this world in the flesh. So the argument
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: that God looks down the corridors of time and sees
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: something good in a person must also not only ignore
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: the clear teaching here in Romans 9-11, but you have
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: to ignore the clear teaching in Romans 8-5, which says
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: that apart from the Spirit of God, you cannot obey God.
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: You can't please God. So God looked down the corridors
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: of time. saw people who would do what people can't
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: do apart from His Spirit, and elected them and gave
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: them His Spirit so that they could do what they
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: already did without His Spirit. That dog won't hunt. Election
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: is not based on works. Works. But it's based on
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: him who calls. Again, Galatians 3, 10-14. Galatians 4, 21-27.
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: If you have time, look at those. She was told,
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: the older will serve the younger. As it is written,
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What is that?
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: That is election. God turned His covenant love on one
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: boy and not the other. Was it because of their
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: nationality or their ethnicity? No. Exact same nationality. Exact same ethnicity.
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: Same genes. And God turned His electing covenant love on
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: one boy and not the other. Why? In order that
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: God's purpose of elections might stand. That's why. Finally, the
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: idea that God has failed Israel implies that Jesus, the
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: true Israel of God, has failed. Who's Abraham's ultimate offspring?
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: It is Christ. Who is the true Israel? It is Christ.
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: It is Christ. Christ gives true meaning to the importance
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: of ethnic Israel. How? Because he is the seed of
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: ethnic Israel. That's how. Why did God elect Israel? What
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: did it have to do with? Genesis chapter 3 and
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: verse 15. I will put enmity between you and the
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: woman and between your seed and her seed. It is
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: the offspring of the woman. Why is Abraham important? Abraham
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: is important because we're following the seed. Seth down to Noah.
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: Noah down to Terah. Abraham is Terah's son. Chapter 12,
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: we get the covenant reiterated in 15 and again in 17. Why?
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: It is about the seed. The promise is that Isaac
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: would come forth. Why? Because it's about the seed. We
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: go through all these ruminations and then come down to
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: the book of Matthew and we get the genealogy in Matthew.
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: But can I share with you just a couple of
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: other things that we get in Matthew? We get a
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: recapitulation of the history of Israel. Well, what do you mean?
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: Here's what I mean. When Israel was in Egypt... Pharaoh
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: tried to kill their firstborn sons. When we meet Jesus
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: and Matthew, what happens? Herod tries to kill the firstborn sons.
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: Jesus is called out of Egypt, just like in Habakkuk 11.1 says,
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: which is fulfilled, Matthew says, in Christ, out of Egypt
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: I have called my son. Now, in Habakkuk, he is
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: referring to his son, Israel. In Matthew, he is referring
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: to his son, Jesus, who is the true Israel. Israel
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: then crosses the Red Sea. Now the crossing of the
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: Red Sea in the New Testament is seen as a
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: form of baptism. What happens to Jesus after he is
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: called out of Egypt? He goes to the Jordan and
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: is baptized. When he is baptized, the father says, this
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: is my beloved son and who I am well pleased.
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: Obviously referring to him as the true Israel. Israel wandered
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: in the desert for 40 years. Jesus wandered in the
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: desert for 40 days and 40 nights. Israel was tempted
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: and failed. Jesus was tempted and succeeded. After Israel wanders,
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: or before they wander, they go to Mount Sinai. And
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: from the mountain, God gives them the law. Jesus and
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: Matthew goes to the Mount of Olives and says, You
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: have heard it said, but I say to you, Jesus
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: is true Israel. To imply that God has failed in
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: His promise to Israel is to ignore the person, the work,
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: the majesty, the glory, the beauty of Christ Himself. He
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: is the one who serves to connect us, the Gentiles,
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: to Abraham. In whom do we place our faith? Christ.
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: And in placing our faith in Christ, we become co-heirs
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: with him, his brothers and his bride, which connects us
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: to the family of which he is the true seed. Finally,
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: and this gets a little bit ahead of where we are,
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: but this is what Paul's ultimate argument is. To say
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: that God's promise has failed is to treat a snapshot
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: in history as though it's all there is. And that's
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: simply not true. You look at a snapshot in history.
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: What's the snapshot in history? Here's the snapshot in history.
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: The snapshot in history, we're in Rome. We're the church
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: in Rome. This is the first century. All this stuff
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: just happened. All the first people who came to Christ
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: were Jews. All of his disciples were Jews. He was
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: a Jew. All of a sudden, there's the day of Pentecost.
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: There is an explosion on the day of Pentecost. These
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: people who come in, for the most part, are Jews.
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: That's why they were there at the day of Pentecost.
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: They were coming to make sacrifices. Now they're saved. So
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: the church is filled altogether now with Jews. Not in Rome.
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: That church was overrun with Gentiles. As most of the
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: churches would begin to be. Overrun with Gentiles. And now
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: here are the Jewish people. Overrun by Gentiles, who in
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: many instances begin to boast. And in Genesis chapters 9
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: through 11, Paul says to Gentiles, don't look at this
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: moment as though it is the sum total of history.
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: God is not slow, Peter would say, as we count slowness.
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: He's just patient. The final chapter is yet to be written.
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: That's another thing about us being Americans. Because we're Americans.
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: Different between Americans and Europeans, someone once said. A European
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: thinks 100 miles is a long way. An American thinks
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: 100 years is a long time. Don't be so quick.
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: That's Paul's statement here. You don't know what God's going
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: to do before he wraps this thing up. Don't be
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: so quick. So remember who we're talking about. This is
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: God whose word never fails. Remember what we're talking about.
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: God never said that all of national or ethnic Israel...
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: going to be saved remember when we're talking about this
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: is a moment in time and you don't know what
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: God's going to do before it's all said and done
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: so the short answer is God's word has not failed
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: or we could say God's word cannot fail the long
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: answer is Wait until you see Paul unfold this beautiful
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: picture of what God has done, is doing, and will
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: do before you make any statements about whether or not
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: God keeps His promises.