Romans 9, verse 11. Hear now the word of Almighty God, inspired by His Spirit and profitable for us. Romans 9, 11. For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works, but of him that calleth, It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up. that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. Thus far the reading of God's inspired word from the book of Romans chapter nine, verses 11 through 18. May the Lord bless us in the hearing and the reading of it, and now in the preaching and hearing of it. Let us pray to that end. Our Father in heaven, we thank you that you are the one who calls. You are the God who chooses. We thank you that you have given us your word to declare to us your most holy purpose, your almighty power, and your great glory. And we pray that as we consider these matters, that you would build us up in holiness and faith, for it's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Please be seated. We continue our study in foundations of faith, considering God's decree as unconditioned, meaning there are not conditions outside of God or his decree, which cause his decree to be one thing or another. Last time we looked at God's absolute and full knowledge of all supposed conditions. We saw that if certain notorious wicked cities like Tyre and Sidon or Sodom, those who despised God, if they had heard the message of the gospel and God knew this, then they would have repented. Their city would have remained. It would not have been destroyed as the prophets had foretold. We saw our duty to marvel at the wisdom of God, who orders all things for his glory and the good of his people. Likewise, we have a duty not to misuse the conditions that God has granted to us. If we have light and knowledge, don't neglect it, don't forget it, don't misuse it, use it for God's glory. Now then, God's decree, even if he knows all supposed conditions, his decree is not conditioned by those things that he foreknew. Notice here verse 11 of Romans 9, For the children, being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. First then, the children being not yet born, these are the twins conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, the sole progenitor of both twins, before they developed any human traits as children or as adults. Nothing in their youth, nothing in their manhood, they aren't even born. There's no visible, there's no notable or recorded experience that they have of the outside world. There's no cause in them, in other words. Neither having done any good or evil. And this word done is at a single point in time. Not one single act that they did was good or evil, where God could look down and say, this one deserves good, and this one deserves punishment. Not one, he says. They aren't born. They've never done one single thing, good or evil. No track record of sanctity by Jacob. No track record of profanity by Esau. Not one act, he says. In order that the purpose of God, or literally, in order that the according to election of God purpose. Now a purpose is something set before someone. In fact, it was originally used in the Septuagint of the showbread, because it was placed before the face of God. And it's used this way in Matthew 12, verse 4. But later in scripture, we find it used in another way. Acts 11, verse 23. There was a purpose that the people were commanded to use to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart. Make this your goal. Set it for yourself to hold fast to the Lord Jesus. Acts 11 23. The sailors in Acts 27 verse 13. They supposed that they had achieved their purpose, their goal. Their goal was, let's get to the island safe. And they supposed that they were almost to that purpose that they set before themselves. In fact, Timothy was told by Paul that he knew his doctrine, his manner of life, his prothesis, his purpose. What do I set before myself to do, Timothy? You know that, you know what my purpose is. Also, this word purpose is not merely used of men and what they set before themselves, but it's also used of God. Romans 8 28. God works all things for good to them that love him, that are called according to his what? The thing he sets before himself, his purpose, his goals that he has, his objectives that he's going to meet. Now, let's review this purpose of God. Here, it's called in Romans 9.11, the according to election of God purpose. Please open to Ephesians chapter one, verses nine through 11, concerning this purpose of almighty God. Page 1179 of your Pew Bibles. Ephesians chapter one, verse nine. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to the good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself. that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Remember, this is a name of God. God's name is him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. And we are predestinated to be adopted by Him and united to Christ and have our sins forgiven according to His purpose, which He set before Himself, His purpose which is according to election, which He purposed in Himself and in Christ and before the foundation of the world. Because God's name is the one who works all things after the counsel of his own will. That's his purpose that he's accomplishing. Ephesians 3 verse 10. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers and heavenly places might be known in the church, by the church, the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose, which he purposed in Christ Jesus, our Lord." When did God come up with this purpose? Eternally. In Christ Jesus, the eternal Son of God, before he founded the world, this was set before God as the objective that he desired to accomplish. 2 Timothy 1, page 1201. 2 Timothy 1, page 1201. Verse 7. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Notice, God purposed in himself. before the world began. This is an eternal purpose of God. made without reference to others, not made according to the things that we do. This is the purpose of God according to election, Romans 9, 11, by which the two sons of Isaac in the womb of their mother, having done nothing good or evil, not even being born yet, God said, what? What was God's attitude toward these two sons? Let's turn back to Romans 9.11, if you would, please. For the children, being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand. God elected. He chose, he selected. Just like you go on election day, you choose your candidates. Well, God chose his people, he elected. And according to this election, there is a purpose of God that respected two particular persons who had done nothing good or evil. There were no considerations or conditions in the creature that moved him to say, well, I'll choose this one, not this one. There were none. It was according to his choosing, according to his choice. In fact, the Apostle Paul, known before as Saul of Tarsus, was breathing out threats and slaughters against the disciples of the Lord in Acts 9, so that he might take them and hail men and women into prison, throw them into their cells, put them to death, as they did Stephen, He's called a vessel of election. A chosen vessel in Acts chapter nine. Why? Because of all the good works he did to draw himself nearer to the Lord. And God saw those works of Saul of Tarsus and said, wow, you're really working hard to make yourself acceptable and chosen by me. Good job. Here, you come and be on my team. I choose you because you're so good. Is that right? No, that's the opposite. He was a vessel of election. While he's breathing out threats and slaughters against the body of Christ, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me, Jesus said. Not my people, me, they're mine. They're like my body. You come against them, you come against me, he said. Why persecutest thou me? He was a chosen vessel of election. He did not deserve to be chosen. He didn't do anything to be chosen. He was going the opposite direction, as we say, at breakneck speed, trying to destroy his own soul. Please open to Romans 11, a few pages over. Verse four. But what saith the answer of God unto him? This is Elias complaining to God. I'm the only one left. Everybody else, the prophets, are dead. Nobody serves you. What was the answer of God unto him? I have reserved unto myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Who preserved them? Themselves? They preserved themselves? No. God says, I. I reserved to myself 7,000. Verse five. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it. attained it, and the rest were blinded." Notice, were they out seeking after God? No. Were they chosen because of the good deeds that they did? No. It is not according to works, he says, that God chose this small remnant, just as in the days of Elias. So in this present time, it's either works or grace. You can't have both moving God to choose someone. Those two principles you put in one, you put the other out. Please open to 1 Thessalonians chapter one. 1 Thessalonians page 1191. Starting there at verse one. Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus unto the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father, knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. Here notice, when the Apostle Paul is writing to the believers at Thessalonica, who received the gospel, who believed in the promises and repented of their sins, not only so, but were laboring in their love for God, were patient in sufferings in their hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, did he say, good job Thessalonians, way to go. Let's hear it for this guy who came and made his decision for Jesus. Look how loving he is. Didn't he do a great thing? Shouldn't we recognize him and clap for him like they do in some churches? Church I grew up in, they do that. Let's hear it for this guy who came up and gave his life to the Lord. Why? What did he have to do with it? Look, when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, outstanding Christians, The best sort. They believe, they repent, they obey, they love, they have patience in their sufferings. Those are good Christians, right? Does he thank them? No. I thank God. Not just me, Silvanus and Timotheus, all of us, we thank God always for you. Remembering all these things that you do, and these demonstrating that you were chosen by God to believe. God chose you and he proved it by making the gospel come to you in power and in much assurance. They remembered these things that they did, but they knew that these came from God's choosing them. When they recall the Thessalonians work, Their faith, their labor, their love, their patience, their hope. They gave thanks to God. They gave thanks to God knowing. That's a perfect participle. It describes how they gave thanks to God. Because we came to know and we continue to know that God chose you. That's why we give thanks to Him. Because you did not move Him to choose you, His choice moved you to believe, and to love, and to be patient, and to labor. That's why we thank Him. This is the according to the election of God purpose. Not of works, but of Him that calleth. God, the calling one. Back in Romans 9, 11. Please turn back to that passage if you would. Verse 13. As it is written, Jacob have I loved. Now in the Greek New Testament, sometimes it just uses a man's name, Jacob. Sometimes it uses the definite article, the, with their name. The Jacob. That Jacob. That one whose name means deceiver, who took his brother by the heel when he was born, who took his brother's birthright for a bowl of pottage. Remember that one? Remember that one who lied to his dad and stole the blessing from his brother by lying to his dad's face? The voice, Isaac says, the voice is Jacob's, but the garment, That's my son Esau. I can smell the blessing of the Lord from the fields on this garment. Here he is lying to his dad. That Jacob, that one, that Jacob have I loved, God says. That one right there. That singular man, that deceiver who took his brother by the heel, who gave him a bowl of lentils for the kingdom of God. That unworthy liar who deceived his dad, that one I loved, God said. But that Esau, that glorious hunter before the Lord, who made savory venison for his father that his soul loved, that Esau, what did God do? Hated him. Great in stature, a man's man, cooking venison for his father Isaac, worshipped his belly god, married profane women. That one who wandered out of the ways of God, I hated him from his womb, God said. God's love and God's hate were not conditioned on the creature, but his purpose according to election. Verse 16. So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Let me ask you, brothers and sisters, should you will? Should you choose? Of course you should. Should you run? You bet. Run with perseverance, the scriptures say, the race that is set before you, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. You must look to him and run like he ran. Paul says, I run, not as uncertain. I know the prize. I know the goal. I run hard. I beat my body. I beat it into submission so that I am not a castaway, he says. Should you run? Yes. Should you will? Yes. Should you choose God's ways? Yes. Is your election because you do those things? No. Not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth. This running, Freyberg says, is of a course of conduct. from the metaphor of foot races, means to strive to advance, to exert oneself, to make good progress. Yes, we should run. Yes, make good progress. Yes, exert yourself. Yes, strive to advance. Is it of your running? No. Not of him who is the running one, not of him who is the willing one, but of God, the showing mercy one, literally. God that showeth mercy, again, it's a name of God. Present relative participle, the showing mercy one. That's his name, that's who he is. Just like we might be called the running one if we constantly ran and strove, or the willing one, the constantly willing and choosing those things that please God. It's not of those willing or running ones. It's of God, the showing mercy one. But not like the runner and the willer, but beside that, let's go to the real source, the showing mercy God. He's the one. He's the source. John Murray comments, the emphasis falls here on the exclusion of man's determination as the negative counterpart to God's exercise of mercy. Can't have both. God's mercy cannot be moved by your running or your willing. It's one or the other. And here Paul says, not this, but this. Not this one, not that one, but this one. Not the willing one, not the running one, but the God showing mercy one. Verse 18, Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardeneth. This is the reality of the situation. He hath mercy on whom he will. Just like he disposed of Pharaoh at his will, raising him up, casting him down, As He showed mercy to Jacob and also to Moses, God will do whatever He wants. And whom He will, He hardeneth." This verb means to cause, to be stubborn, to make someone refuse to listen. That's what God did to Pharaoh. God's agency is the same in both cases. Whomever He wills, He does this or that to. It's His will. I note then this doctrine. God has not decreed anything because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions. God has not decreed anything because he saw, you know, this person's gonna be a willing one. This person's gonna be a running one. He's going to work hard to strive to advance. And because he'll work so hard at striving to advance, I'm going to choose him. This is the doctrine of election according to the Pelagians and the semi-Pelagians and the Armenians. God chooses good friends. Show how good you are and God will choose you. Is that what he says? No. Should you be a good friend to God? Should you choose his ways? Yes. Should you choose what's right? Yes. Should you strive to advance? Should you work hard, like Paul says, and beat your body into subjection so that you're not a castaway? Yes. Is that why God will choose you? No. God has not decreed. Now, let me tell you, some people will say, well, yeah, God can decree all kinds of other things. But here's the thing He can't do. He can't make us choose Him, you see. He can't determine our wills. He can't call us only by His grace. He has to choose us because we do it freely of our own will. We are Him who willeth. And then God will choose us because we freely choose Him. You see how that works? Real love can't be compelled. It has to be of your own freedom to say yes, well then everybody goes to hell. That's just how that works. If God stood back and said, I can't determine your will, I'm going to let everyone make their own choice. What choice would everyone make? We destroy ourselves. God has not decreed, and this is the one thing men want to say cannot be decreed by God. It cannot be determined by Him. It must be conditioned on our response to His Word. That one thing God says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not your willing, not your running, not doing good, not doing evil, none of it. It's all determined by my election, He says. Nothing good and evil. Not one thing good, not one thing evil. Same dad, same mom, same womb, not born yet. So that God's according to election purpose He set before Himself, that purpose of God according to His election, that one's going to stand. That's why He loved Jacob. That's why He hated Esau. That's why He softens one and hardens the other. Not because he saw some future conditions. Oh, if I just preach the gospel, I know that Jacob will believe, so I choose him. But if I preach the gospel to Esau, I know he won't, so I hate him. No, that's not what he did. That's not it at all. That's trying to apologize to people for God being God. Oh, I'm sorry God's God. I'm sorry you hurt your feelings. I'm sorry he said things that are true. Let's not talk about that. Well, God talks about it. He says it. He tells us clearly. His decree is not subject to creatures, not because he saw such conditions. Though, think about this, he knows all the conditions. He knows that if certain people see certain things and hear certain words, they will repent. And yet they still don't hear those words. They still don't see those signs in Tyre and Sidon. They still didn't see them in Sodom. But God knew if they did, They'd repent. He hated them. He hardened their hearts. He didn't give them the means. He judged them for their sins. So you can have whatever you want. I'm not sending the gospel to you. I'm turning you over to your own desires. It's still just as we saw when we studied the book of Romans chapter 9. Jacob and Esau had no good or evil works to commend or condemn them. God's purpose was the moving cause of Jacob inheriting a blessing and Esau inheriting a few goods on the earth. That's it. That's all you get. I'll sustain you. You have corn from heaven. That's fine. But your brother is going to rule over you. And I'm going to be his God and the God of his seed. It's not of the willing one, not of the running one, but of the showing mercy one that is God himself. He has mercy on whom he wills. He judges for their stubbornness, their deafness. He turns them over to their own ways. And if there were one thing that man says God cannot touch, here it is, the exact thing the apostle deals with. Don't touch that, God. Otherwise, you can't be my God. I won't believe in such a God who does these sorts of things. Not fair, not right. Who's God now? Well, it's the man who says these things, isn't it? I will sit in judgment on God himself, and he'd better act right or I won't believe him. Well, then you just believe in yourself rather than in God, the one showing mercy. If there were one thing man wishes were at his disposal, subject to his good deeds, or his perseverance in believing, or his willing and choosing, it's this, his eternal salvation. But this is the precise stumbling stone of the original remonstrance at the Synod of Dort. We want God's election to be according to our faith, our willing, our choosing, and then God chooses us because He saw that we'd choose Him. Not so. Election is not conditioned on the foreseen faith in the believer. Rather, the faith of the believer is conditioned on God's election. God chose them, and therefore, Paul says, we know that you're elect because we saw you believe, because election leads to faith. It causes it. You see, this stands as a rebuke to all who say, it is of him that does good. Of him who runs and exerts himself, of him who wills or chooses, of Esau or Pharaoh, well, they hardened themselves. Yes, that's true. Just like it's true that we should run, just like it's true that we should will. Yes, they hardened themselves, but God gave them over to their own desires. He said, no, I'm not choosing that one. From all eternity, he said that. It was not of Jacob who chose to serve God or Paul who chose to run. Did Jacob choose to serve God? Yes. Did Paul choose to run? Yes. Did God choose them because of those? No, he did not. No conditions were decreed by God, because He saw, well, man will do this, so let me do that. I'll respond to man. That puts man in the position of God, who has the power to predestinate. That's what man wants. Man wants to predestinate his future. He doesn't want God doing it. He wants to do it himself. And so they say, God chose us because he saw we would believe. God chose us because he saw that we would persevere in faith or good works. No. All of God's works are known to him from all eternity, James says. Known to God are all his works from the foundation of the world. How does he know that? because he knows that he's decreed it and he's fixed it and he's not swerving this way or that to respond to creatures. God's decree is fixed. It is immutable. It is unconditional. In exhortation then, let us have a firm reliance upon divine providence. This is the bedrock of times of trouble. We know that God is in control. Not in theory, but in our very minds and wills and affections, we know God is in control. He rules over all things. Then we may firmly rely upon Him. We may rest content in our gracious and wise Heavenly Father's decree. Whatever my God ordains is right, as Abraham said. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Yes. So whatever comes to pass in my life, is God wronging me? Do I have grounds of grievance and complaint against him? I do not. And so we can be content with the decree of God. Let us not fight with God's decreed will, but delight in it. Yes, will. Yes, run. Yes, strive to improve. Grow in grace and knowledge, make progress, exert yourself, choose his ways, choose his statutes, and rest content that if you have done your duty, providence will take care of the results. We must not fight with God and say, God, I need to determine the outcomes. No, God says, do your duty. Choose my ways. Keep my commandments. Stick in your lane, the lane of providence and results. That's God's lane. Where's your lane? Duty. Do what he's commanded you to do. Strive after holiness. Exert yourself running and willing in his ways. And yet. delight in God, in his providence, that he rules over all, that he will take and do as he pleases with his own things. We may fully rely upon God's providence and safely leave the results in his ever kind hands. And thus far the exposition of God's decree, not conditioned by the creature. Let's pray.