Turn with me this morning to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. I'll be reading from verses 1 to 13. Having just finished that great section on the believer's assurance in chapter 8, Paul now turns his thoughts towards something that was obviously weighing very heavily on his heart and mind. He writes, I am telling the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed. separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the temple service, and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. It is not as though the word of God has failed, for they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel, nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants. But through Isaac, your descendants will be named. That is, it's not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise. At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but there was Rebecca also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac, for though the twins were not yet born, 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, it was said to her, The older will serve the younger, just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Now the first thing we note in this passage is Paul's great desire. His great desire to be understood as being completely sincere in everything that he writes here. He begins with a solemn oath saying, I'm telling the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. Why does he say that? He says that because there would be many who would insist that this Paul, once Saul, once a Jew of Jews, a Hebrew of Hebrews, this one-time persecutor of the church, was just saying these things because now he has become a Christian and that has turned him against his fellow Israelites. There were many who insisted that Paul was a traitor, that he had begun to betray the very people of his roots. But he says, I'm telling you the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit. He's saying with both Christ and the Holy Spirit as my witnesses, what I'm about to say is the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help me, God. And what is it that Paul is so adamant about here? Well, he's expressing his great sorrow, his unceasing grief for his brethren, his kinsmen, according to the flesh, who are Israelites. Now, before we talk about the Israelites that Paul refers to here, We need to stop for a minute to address the question of why Paul goes to such great lengths to make sure that his readers understand how he feels. This is actually not too difficult to imagine. As I just said, he would have been ostracized by many in the Jewish community, if not all. He would have been considered persona non grata for his previous help to the Israelite people, and now he's effectively or seemingly turning on them. He was a dedicated Jew. Look at Philippians 3, 5, and you'll understand more clearly where he's coming from. Remember what he says there. He says, "...circumcised the eighth day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to Zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless." He says, if you're looking for the specimen of a perfect Jew, here he is. I was all that and more. Over in Acts chapter 22, beginning in verse 3, Paul once again cites his impeccable credentials as a Jew. He says, I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Colicchia. but brought up in this city, Jerusalem, educated under Gamaliel, which, as most of you know or should know, Gamaliel was a student to the great Hillel himself. Doesn't get any higher up on the rungs of the ladder than that. He said, I was educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, just as you all are today. I persecuted this way, a reference to Christianity, I persecuted this way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, as also the high priest and all the council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished." Again, Paul is portraying himself as the consummate Jew. And then what happened? Well, he explains all of that in the rest of Acts chapter 22, but long story short, as we know from our reading of Acts chapter 9, Paul, then Saul, was miraculously converted. He had a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ himself on his way to Damascus. And once again, we need to remind ourselves how that happened exactly. You know, Paul, he's walking to Damascus with his cohort, and they're all together, and they're talking about this way called Christianity, and Paul, halfway there, says, you know, I'm beginning to feel really bad. I think I've erred. I think I've made a horrible mistake. These are nice people. These are good people. I think these people might be on to something. I think they might be right about this Jesus. I think maybe I ought to reconsider. And so he prayed the sinner's prayer and the Lord saved him. Is that what happened? No, that's not what happened. Pig-headed Paul is on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians, bring them back to stand trial in Jerusalem. Many of him would be killed because of their blasphemy as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's marching along on the road to Damascus and then boom! He falls to the ground, blinded by the Shekinah glory of God Himself in Jesus Christ. And his only response is, yes, Lord? You want to talk about the efficacious grace of God, there's a good place to start. You want to talk about the irresistible grace of God, there's a good place to start. At that moment in linear time, This Saul found out that he had been foreloved, predestined, called, justified, and glorified. After all, this is what Romans 9 is all about, don't you see? He's already set the table for us. He's already set this up in an ironclad argument beginning in Romans 8, 1 with there is therefore now no condemnation and ending in Romans 8, 39 with there is therefore now no separation. He's identified the people of God exclusively as those foreloved, predestined, called, justified, and glorified. That is God's elect people. There will never be any added. There will never be any taken away. And now in Romans 9, he's going to tell you exactly who they are. Understand that as a backdrop. Understand everything that he's said prior to this. Well, following this encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus, Paul experienced the salvation that can only be brought by the Lord and what typically happened within the Jewish community to fellow Jews who converted to Christianity. They were, again, ostracized. They were disowned, even by their families. I remember talking to Ari Carr, our one-time resident Jewish person here, who told me that in cases involving those Jews who are saved today, families will actually have funerals for them. They'll actually disavow ever knowing them. That's how strongly they feel about the truth of Christ as the Messiah. That's how strongly they reject the Messiah, the only Messiah that God sent to save his elect. Now again, it's understandable that they do that because the Jewish religious leadership prohibited and still prohibits any and all contact with those who leave the Jewish faith, especially if you embrace Christianity. The reason Paul's so adamant here in expressing his true feelings is actually twofold. In the first place, Paul wants to dispel the popular notion that because he had converted to Christianity, that he now held his countrymen in disdain. We've talked about this tendency that man has to believe, and it's a tendency that's even growing today. If I disagree with you on anything, it means I hate you. Or the word phobia that keeps being tossed around. If I disagree with your so-called alternate lifestyle, it's because I'm homophobic. Phobia doesn't even enter into the conversation. I'm not afraid of you. I don't look at homosexuals as if they have cooties. I look at them as I look at any other lost sinner in need of a savior. Right? But yet, if you disagree with me, that means you hate me. That means you have a certain disdain for me. Folks, that's not true at all. And we talked about it this morning relative to foreigners and those that we come into contact with that we might not agree with their politics. We might not agree with how they got here. We might not agree with what they say, think or do, but yet we're to love them. We're to love even our enemies as we've been loved by God himself. We're to love them and we're to show them the love of God simply because they are fellow image bearers of God. And so one of the things Paul wanted to establish right off the bat was his great love that he still had for his kinsmen according to the flesh. He's basically saying, I want you to understand that I'm not lying when I say that I still have tremendous love for my fellow Israelites. Secondly, Paul's feelings extended well beyond mere sentimentality. Paul's feelings here were much more than sentimental because the bulk of his sorrow and grief was actually the result of the Jews' lack of saving faith. He lamented the fact that they were not aware of the blessings of being in Christ that he was now aware of. They lamented the fact that they had not enjoyed the salvific work of God, the monergistic, salvific work of God in the same way that he had. He pitied them because they did not enjoy the type of blessings that came from knowing Jesus Christ. This is why he says in verse 3, I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Now, is Paul saying, I've heard preachers say this, it's totally wrong, Is Paul suggesting that he would actually give up his salvation if someone among his kinsmen could be saved? No. No more than you saying, I'd give my right arm to have this, that, or the other thing. Would you really? No, it's just a figure of speech that we use that's intended to convey this deep-seated feeling that we have about something, right? What Paul's saying is that in a manner of speaking, I would give anything to see my fellow Israelites enjoy the blessing of salvation that I now enjoy. He wouldn't give it up. None of us would give it up, namely because we can't give it up, right? And Paul knew that. as well. Now who were these kinsmen according to the flesh? These Israelites. Who are they exactly? Well the most important distinction for us to bear in mind is in verse 3. Notice that Paul refers to the Israelites as his kinsmen according to the flesh. Now lock that in. Lock that in because I'm about to say some things that at least for some of you might sound very controversial. especially if you've come from a dispensational background, right? Just hang on. Paul's talking about the great sorrow that he feels over the fact that his kinsmen, according to the flesh, are not among the redeemed. As we've discussed before, there are a great number of people in the world today who argue that the Jews are God's chosen people. And what they mean by that is that because they're Jews, simply because of their identity in the flesh as those physically descended from Abraham, that they automatically enjoy a saving relationship to God. You've also heard me say, or make mention of, one of the most vocal, most popular proponents of this view. I'm talking about San Antonio's own pride and joy, John Hagee. Among some of his more bizarre comments in this regard, Hagee offered this zinger in an article in the Houston Chronicle. Now, listen to this. You have to hear it to believe it. He said, I'm not trying to convert the Jewish people to the Christian faith. In fact, trying to convert the Jew is a waste of time. Jews already have a covenant with God, and that has never been replaced by Christianity. Folks, that's dangerous. Hagee has said elsewhere that Jews can't be guilty of rejecting Christ as Messiah because Christ never came to be their Messiah. And why did he not come to be their Messiah? Because, Hagee says, they don't need a Messiah. They're already God's chosen people. Now, how does this belief square with what Paul says about the Jews in our text? Let's look and see. Paul says here that to the Israelites belong, quote, the adoption as sons, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and temple service, and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. What Paul's saying here is that, yes, there was, in fact, a group of flesh and blood individuals to whom God elected to reveal himself in a very special way. We wouldn't disagree with that. These Israelites were a people that God chose to make himself known through. In a manner of speaking, this group of people was adopted by God, not in a salvific sense, but as a foreshadowing, as a type of those who would ultimately be adopted into the family of God and salvation. The Jews were also the ones to whom God revealed his glory. How did he do that? Well, he manifested himself by appearing to them in various ways at various times. The pillar of cloud that led them by day, the pillar of fire at night, His resting on the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle and then the temple. His presence was well known among the Jews. He was pleased to dwell with them even though for most of their existence they've always been a stiff-necked, obstinate, rebellious people. God also gave the Jews the covenants. He gave them the law, the temple services. And again, what do all those things foreshadow? Even the right of sacrifice. We've talked before, namely from Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 4. It was never possible for the blood of bulls and goats to have ever taken away sin. Then why was the sacrificial system enforced. Why was there a sacrificial system involving the blood of bulls and goats? It's because within that sacrificial system there was a picture, a foreshadowing, of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Those sacrifices that are offered day after day, year after year on the day of atonement, those sacrifices were intended to build into the Jewish mindset the futility of trying to approach God on their own. I've said before, you'd no sooner make a sacrifice, you'd walk away from the temple area and sin again, and what happened to your atonement? It's gone. What would that do to a person who had like precious faith as Abraham? What would that do to the person in whom God's Spirit dwelled? What would happen to that person who was able by God's grace to see the reality behind the shadows? They would have longed even more for this Lamb of God. They would have longed even more for the Paschal Lamb, the Passover Lamb. For most of the Jews who were unredeemed, the whole Passover experience was not meaningless, but it was just a sign that the death angel had passed over because of the blood on the doorposts and the lentils. Ah, but for the Jew who was in possession of God-given faith, it pointed to something much greater, did it not? It pointed to the time where God would, in fact, shed the blood of the real Paschal Lamb and cover your sins and mine. You see how glorious it is when you're able to look forward beyond the temporal. The Israelites that Paul's talking about here were those who lived in this temporal realm. Those who understood themselves wrongly to be in a right relationship with God simply because they were descended physically from Abraham. Their fathers in the flesh were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were given God's promises, including the promise of Christ, who is overall blessed by God forever. Now, one might read this passage and be inclined to share the conclusion that Hagee and others have drawn from these truths, insisting that the Jews are saved simply because of their identity as Jews. But Paul makes this abundantly clear. This is not the case at all. What many people fail to see in this passage is what Paul does not say. In fact, let's go back to the immediate context of verses one through three. Paul's great sorrow and unceasing grief are based on what? Again, they're based on the realization that so few of his brethren His kinsmen, according to the flesh, were actually saved. Now listen to this. Folks, I want you to put your thinking caps on and really think about this. If you're even inclined to share the opinion of Hagee and others who insist that the Jews are God's chosen people and therefore they are in a right relationship with Him just because they're Jews. If Hagee and others are correct in saying that the Jews are saved simply because they're Jews, then riddle me this. Why is Paul so concerned? Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Why would he be concerned at all? If Jews are automatically in a saving relationship with God, why would he be so torn apart? Instead, you would have him rejoice, would you not? You'd have a much different testimony from Paul. Paul would say, yeah, something happened on the road to Damascus, but it was useless because I was already in a right relationship with God. You'd hear him saying things like, yeah, I feel really jazzed being from this stock because I know that all my countrymen are in a right relationship with God simply because they're descended from Abraham. He doesn't say that. He says, I tell you the truth. I'm not lying. God is my witness. The Spirit is my witness. These people are in trouble. Why? Because they think they're in a right relationship with God for all the wrong reasons. He's concerned precisely because the vast majority of Jews had drawn the same erroneous conclusion, believing that because they were Jewish, they were automatically in saving covenant relationship with God. In fact, Paul's statement in verse 6 is a dead giveaway, is it not? Paul knew that there would be those who would argue that God had clearly promised all these things to the Jews. The problem, though, was that by all indications, the vast majority of Jews were characterized by unbelief. When it came to Christianity, and here was the real rub, if you were a Jew, an unbelieving Jew back during this day, when it came to Christianity, the Jews simply could not and would not fathom the idea that God would set them aside as his chosen people, give them all of these things in the temporal realm, by way of his promises, his law, the temple, the form of worship. They could not fathom that he would do all those things for them and then send them a Messiah that the majority of them would not believe in. And yet this is exactly what was prophesied by Isaiah. Remember when Isaiah was commissioned to be the prophet of God? Isaiah 6. He's commissioned after the whole woe is me thing, I'm ruined. I am of unclean lips. I come from a people of unclean lips. After all that's said and done, he's given his commission. Go. Go and tell the people all that I'm going to tell you. And they're going to believe it, and everybody's going to live happily ever after. Is that what he says? No, the Lord told him, go. But as you go, understand nobody's going to listen to you. And that includes by the time you get to the 53rd chapter of your letter. Nobody's going to listen. So by God's design, we have the gospel going forth, and only those who are given ears to hear will receive it. Only those, oh, shall we hearken back to the order of Seleucus? Only those who have been foreloved, predestined, called, justified, and glorified in the sight of God will be receptive to this gospel. Can you imagine being a Jew, hearing Paul say these things? Everything they thought they understood about his word was wrong. So Paul asks, has God turned his back on the Jewish people? Had God in some way reneged on his promises to them? Had God's word regarding the Jews actually failed? No, Paul says very clearly, it is not as though the word of God has failed. Then how do we explain the fact that the very people to whom all these things were promised, how do we explain that they failed to receive them? It's easy. It's actually very easy. And if we had the Inigo Montoya commentary, he would have said, that word you keep using, I do not think it means what you think it means, referring to the word Israel. So why was Paul so convinced that God's word had not failed? Well, what he says next would have sent shockwaves throughout the Jewish world. And it certainly helps us to understand a little more clearly why he prefaces it with an expression of his great abiding love for the Jewish people. Basically saying, you guys, I love you like none other. I wish that you were a recipient of what I have received. Remember, I love you, I love you, I love you, but I'm about to drop a megaton warhead right on top of your head. God's Word didn't fail, he says. Why? Because they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel. Nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants. To suggest that true Israelites are not those descended from Abraham would have been considered the highest form of disloyalty, the highest form of treason. And yet here it is. And folks, this is not Pastor Tim interpreting the Scriptures to say what I want them to say. This is what Paul says. The Word of God has not failed. The simple truth is, not all who are descended from Abraham are of Israel. Period. Full stop. This is something that's taught elsewhere. Galatians 3, verse 29. Remember Galatians 3, 29? What does Paul say? If you are Christ's, if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Meaning what? What's the flip side of that? If you're not Christ's, you are not of Abraham's seed. Again, folks, it's not hard, right? I don't mean to demean people when I say that. I'm not being condescending. It's just not hard. There are a lot of hard things in Scripture. This is not one of them. Paul says, even earlier in verse 7 of Galatians 3, be sure that it is those who are of the faith who are sons of Abraham. And if you jump over to chapter 6 and verse 16, what does Paul call all who are Abraham's children according to the Spirit? He calls them the Israel of God. As opposed to what? As opposed to all who are of Israel who don't belong to God. Now, I want you to pay close attention to how Paul explains all of this in verses 7 through 13 here in our text. He says that not all of Abraham's descendants are children of the promise. That is, not everyone who can trace their physical lineage back to Abraham are the recipients of God's blessing of salvation. And then he gives us a series of Old Testament examples. First, he quotes from Genesis 21-12. And he reminds us that God had purposed for Abraham's descendants, the children of the promise, to be named through Isaac. Now, what's significant about that? It's significant because it displays, again, in unarguable terms, that salvation, the covenant of grace, the redemptive work of Christ and its application by the Holy Spirit, salvation is reserved only for those of God's choosing, whether Jew or Gentile. Right? Now, how do we know from these passages? Well, Isaac was not Abraham's firstborn, was he? No. Who was Abraham's firstborn? Ishmael. But was Ishmael included in God's redemptive promises? No. He was excluded from the covenant. That argument alone breaks down this whole idea that being in a saving relationship with God depends on physical lineage. It doesn't. If that were the case, Ishmael would be the first to receive the salvific promise of God. He didn't. Instead he was sent packing. Right? And we're still, the Western world is still at war with his people at every turn. Namely, because there's resentment at his being sent packing, even though he was the firstborn of Abraham. Right? But was Ishmael Abraham's flesh and blood? Yes. Because God had decreed that the blessing would come through Isaac and not Ishmael, This alone establishes that salvation is based on God's selection, not on natural lineage. This says, this Paul says in verse 8, proves that it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. He's not done, though. He goes on to illustrate this further by using the example of Isaac and Rebekah's twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Which son was born first? Esau. Who should have received the blessing of salvation? If salvation comes through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Esau should have been the first to receive that. Instead, which one received the blessing? Jacob. Why? Why? Well, read verses 11 through 13. Though the twins were not yet born, there's your first clue, in eternity past, right? This is why we are identified elsewhere in Scripture as the elect before the foundation of the world. This is why the Ordo Salutis again is so important because those who God foreknew or foreloved, he predestined. And then in the course of due time, he called, justified and glorified us. It's God who saves and God alone who saves based on nothing but what? Well, again, though the twins were not yet born. And here's another little tidbit and had not done anything good or bad. Well, there goes works-based salvation, right? "...so that God's purpose according to election might stand, not because of works, but because of him who calls. It was said to her, the older will serve the younger, just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." Now, understand what's going on here. I know for a fact that there are likely some in our midst this morning who are writing me off right now as just being another Calvinist with his hair on fire. You and your Calvinism. That's just Calvinism. That's not the Bible. Folks, I've read it to you. I've not mentioned Calvin once yet. I've just read to you In the clearest terms imaginable, and I don't care what translation you go to, if it's a credible translation, you're going to read the same thing. If you enjoy a right relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, you didn't do that. He did that. When? In eternity past. Well, I don't like that. Tough toenails. I've told you before, God doesn't care for your feelings with regard to truth. Truth is truth is truth is truth. Now, some of you postmodern young people might be saying, well, that's your truth. That's not my truth. It's truth. There is no your truth and my truth. There's the truth. And it's found in the word of God. And guess what? It's all over the place. I've told you before, I mean, by the time, last time I preached through Romans years and years ago, like eight years ago, we actually had a family leave. Why? Because pastor wouldn't shut up about the sovereignty of God and salvation. The only reason, look, I'm expositing the word of God. The only reason I don't shut up about it is because Paul won't shut up about it. It's all over the place. I want you to understand that in these three verses, 11 through 13, Three of the church's most prized sacred cows are sacrificed on the altar of truth. First is the belief that good works are sufficient to merit favor with God. Paul writes very clearly, although the twins, Jacob and Esau, were not yet born and had done nothing good or bad, God sovereignly and unilaterally and confusingly saved the one of his own choosing. He didn't wait to see which one would be more obedient. He didn't wait, by the way, to the age of accountability, where he would then give them a choice as to whether to believe or not. We're told very simply that God chose one over the other. This is where the second sacred cow meets his demise. We're told here that God chose Jacob, not because Jacob chose him, but for no other reason than that God's purpose according to election might stand. And again, this lays waste to the argument that in eternity past, God looked through the tunnel of time and the reason He selected me was because He saw me select Him. Do you realize what that does to God's immutability? To His omniscience? There was never a point in time where God had to look into the future to determine what His next move would be. The God who declared all things to be, the God who decreed all things whatsoever shall come to pass, He has decreed whether or not you're His. I don't like that. I don't care. It's true. One of the most difficult doctrines for many believers to grasp is the doctrine of election. Believing that God, before the foundation of the world, actually elected or chose those individuals who would be redeemed based on nothing foreseen in them or done by them is something that many simply won't accept. They can't. According to their way of thinking, they can't. Even Calvin, I've told you before, Calvin himself said that the doctrine of election is a horrible doctrine in a manner of speaking. He said at the same time, though, it's a horrible doctrine, and yet it's the sweetest of all truths. Why is it horrible, Calvin? Well, it's horrible because most men reject it. It's horrible because it doesn't sit well with those of us who feel like we're autonomous, those of us who feel like we're in charge of our own destiny, those of us who feel like if God's going to be my God, then it'll only be because I make him my God. This is what's so atrocious about the lordship controversy. This idea that I can have Jesus as my savior, but to make him my Lord, that's a thing, a different thing altogether. You see how nonsensical that is? If you're an unbeliever here this morning, you might insist, he's not my Lord, he is. I mean, that's as dumb as saying, you know, Biden's not my president. Oh, he is. He is. Why? Because he's the president. You might insist Jesus is not your Lord. He is. Why? Because he is the Lord. Only difference is the Lord is the Lord eternally. Thankfully, the other guy, not so much. I'm sorry, couldn't resist. Okay, I'm not sorry. Calvin insisted that As unsettling as this doctrine might be, he would continue to teach it because it's Scripture. Because it strips man of every ounce of autonomy, because it makes man not the master of his own fate, but wholly subject to the decree of a sovereign God, some reject that. Even many professing Christians, who are otherwise fairly sound in their theology, have balked at the suggestion that God elects individuals unto salvation. And oh, by the way, this goes to the L in limited atonement. I kinda told myself this morning I wasn't gonna go there, but here we are. People say I'm a four-point Calvinist. I believe in total depravity, I believe in unconditional election, not so much limited atonement. I believe in irresistible grace, and I believe in the perseverance of the saints. If you don't believe in limited atonement, then you don't believe anything. Why? Was not God's selection of Jacob and his disregard for Esau limited? Is that not expressive of a limitation? Does not the very fact that there are those who have been foreloved, predestined, called, justified, and glorified, and then there's everybody else, Did God not limit the efficacy of Christ's work on the cross? He did. He did. And oh, by the way, those who deny the doctrine of limited atonement, they also limit the atonement. They limit it to those who will only ask to be saved. We limit it to those who are saved so that God's purpose according to election might stand. We've got scripture. Sadly, they've got nothing. to bolster their own claims. That's right. Do you realize that nowhere in Scripture are we taught to ask Jesus into our hearts? Do you understand that? There's nowhere in Scripture that says, ask the Lord Jesus into your heart. You know what is in there? A command. Repent and believe. God has commanded all men everywhere to repent. Well, I can't do that. Well, thus far, you're not marked out as one of God's elect. You could be. You may be. What does the fact that you can't do that on your own, what does that do to you? Well, it'll do one of two things to you, right? The fact that you're unable to save yourself by walking an aisle, signing a card, saying a prayer, inviting Jesus in your heart. The fact that you realize that you can't do that is either going to make you mad and cause you to further reject the free offer of salvation, or it's going to cause you to drop to your knees and say, Father, I can't do this. Please do for me what I cannot do. The former is reflective of a stony heart, the latter reflective of a new heart. Pray that God would give you a heart. Pray that God would transform you from the inside out, enabling you to believe. And that's a prayer he'll never refuse. God be merciful to me, a sinner. There are some who argue, well, pastor, you're kind of on the right track here, but but not really because Jacob and Esau are not representative of God's salvation of individuals. They represent how God saves nations, right? From Jacob come the Israelites, from Esau comes everyone else. Not to be cynical or not, again, I don't want to be condescending here. What are nations? Who makes up nations? People. Right? Were Jacob and Esau individuals or nations? I mean, they were representative of the nations that would arise from their offspring, but they were individuals. So Jacob is identified here as one of God's elect and Esau is not. But let's probe this a little further. If nations and not individuals are in view here, does that mean that all of Jacob's offspring are elect? See how the argument just falls flat? If the nations that are represented by Jacob are in view here, then all of them would be saved. But they're not. Just like not all of Abraham's physical seed are saved, neither are all of Jacob's seed. In fact, what does so-called national election even mean if not all of them are God's elect? It means nothing. What's more, just look at the places in Scripture where the word elect, as a noun, refers to those individuals who are saved by God's grace. 2 Timothy 2.10, Paul says that he endured everything for the sake of the elect, so that they too may obtain the salvation that's in Christ with eternal glory. In 1 Peter 1.1, to whom does Peter address his letter? Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God's elect. Look at Romans 11, 7. Romans 11, 7, Paul clearly distinguishes the nation of Israel from the elect individuals within it. He says, what then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain. But the elect did. The others were hardened. It doesn't get any more definitive than that. This is why in Romans 8 33 Paul asks who will bring any charge against God's elect. He's clearly thinking about individuals here. In 2 John 1 1 John addresses his letter to who he addresses it to the elect lady and her children. Down in verse 13, he says the children of your elect sister greet you again. These are references to individuals. Jacob was chosen over Esau because Jacob was one of God's elect and Esau wasn't. So there in one fell swoop, the erroneous doctrines of workspace salvation and free will salvation are instantly obliterated. So what about the third sacred cow? Well, the third sacred cow is the belief that God loves every human being with a salvific or redemptive love. You ever heard that? God loves all mankind in the same way. Well, that's just not possible because of what he says about Jacob and Esau. But that aside, right? They say God loves everyone and wants them to be saved. And they'll quote 2 Peter 3 9. Right? God is not willing that any should perish, but all can... Well, first of all, you know who Peter's talking about there. If you're not sure, go back to the first verse of the whole book, and then go back to the first verse of the third chapter, and you'll see he's talking about God's elect. He's talking about those who belong to him in salvation. God's not willing that any of those should perish. Now, how am I so sure of that? Well, I'm sure of that because we know for a fact that there will be people ending up in hell. Well, wait a minute, God wasn't willing that that happened. Well, now we have a real big problem. And people say, well, we're not talking about the decreed of will, we're talking about the permissive will, and on and on we go. No, God willed that certain individuals would be with him in glory for eternity and that some would not. He loved the Jacob's of the world and he hated the Esau's of the world. I realize that's an unsettling thing for some to even consider, but it's actually not as shocking as it may sound at first hearing. Given that this is actually a quote taken from the prophecy of Malachi, we need to understand it in terms of how the Hebrew speaker would have understood it. In Hebrew, it was very common to employ comparison and contrast using words signifying both ends of a particular spectrum. In this case, God's love for Jacob, comparatively speaking, is contrasted with his hatred of Esau. But what's not as readily apparent to the English speaker as it would have been to both Malachi's and Paul's audience is that neither God's love for Jacob nor his lack thereof for Esau is based on anything foreseen in them. In other words, why did God love Jacob? Was it because Jacob was a better man than Esau? Was it because God foresaw something meritorious in Jacob that he didn't see in Esau? No. Why did God select Jacob and not Esau? Because he's God. Because he wanted to. And that should be enough. Let none of us stand in judgment of our thrice holy God when it comes to the decisions He's made." This is important. It's important for one reason in that we're not to misunderstand that God actively hated Esau. as if behaving in the same way we behave sinfully toward those that we don't prefer. God is no respecter of persons. God doesn't pick based upon good or bad or anything foreseen in anyone. He just makes his decision and that's it. So rather than actively hating him in a sinful way, it just describes his non-preference of Esau. A better way of understanding this would be, Jacob I set my eternal love upon, and Esau I didn't. Jacob was one who fits in the basket of the ordo salutis, Esau doesn't. God's hatred for Esau is simply an expression of his eternal disdain for all who are not among his four loved. If God foreloved those who would be saved, what does it say about His attitude toward those who are not? He didn't forelove them. Once again, some may protest, saying, yes, but isn't it true that God hates the sin and loves the sinner? We've talked about that, right? Sounds nice. Pastor, you just don't understand. God hates sin, but he loves the sinner. Well, look, just think about that for a minute. Does God send objects of his love to hell? No. Why would he do that? He doesn't. And so if he does, we have a huge problem. We have two major problems, in fact. Number one, we have the fact that God sends the objects of His love to hell. And number two, this would mean that the scriptures are in error. Psalm 5-5. This is repeated in Psalm 11-5. But note again what is written in the inspired Word of God relative to God's disposition toward those who are unrepentant in their sin, those who He never knew. Psalm 5.5, the boastful shall not stand before your eyes. You hate all evil. That's true. But in this particular instance, you hate all evil doers. You hate those who do evil. Proverbs 6.16. What do we read there in Proverbs 6.16? There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven, which are an abomination to Him. What follows are not merely the sins themselves. What follows are the ones that do those sins. In other words, we can't separate evil deeds from the ones who do them. And here's the thing, as far as you and I were concerned, according to Ephesians 2, We were all dead in trespasses and sins. We were all children of wrath, even as the rest. But God. Notice it doesn't say, but you. But you, in a flash, a blinding flash of the obvious, reasoned that you were in sin and needed a Savior. But you said that prayer where you invited Jesus into your heart. But you walked the aisle and accepted the Lord. But you did this." No! I've told you before, those are the two most important words in all of Scripture. Yes, you were all children of wrath. Yes, you were dead in trespasses and sins. Some of you even so this morning. But God! who is rich in mercy through the Lord Jesus Christ drew us to himself. I repeal again to John 6. Jesus says, all that the Father gives me will come to me, not all who come to me. All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and of those, none will be cast out. Hallelujah. I don't know about you, but it's so comforting to understand from texts like we've been looking at this morning. It's so comforting to understand that my salvation is all of grace and all of God and none of me. And if that bothers you, and I know it does. Then you need to check yourself. Not before you wreck yourself, but just check yourself. Square what you believe with the scriptures themselves. Not what you've always been taught about these things. I'm challenging each one of you right now, be Berean. And if you can come up with another explanation for the things that we've read this morning, and convincingly, then bring it. I'll let you stand up here. Week after next, I'm not gonna take Lee's spot away from him, but week after next, you can stand right here and tell people how wrong I am and how I don't understand salvation. But guess what? I have no fear of that happening. Because you're going to learn that salvation is all of grace and all of God. Indisputably so. And even with this understanding, many will still cry foul. It's just not fair for God to love some and not others. Paul knew this would be the case, right? In verse 14, he asks, what shall we say then? There's no injustice with God, is there? He saw this coming, these claims of unfairness and injustice with God. He says, there's no injustice with God, is there? And what does he say in response? He says, Meganoita, God forbid that you would even think that. May it never be that there's any injustice found to be in God. Then he goes on for the remaining 19 verses of this chapter to explain Why the doctrine of election is in no way an indication of unfairness on God's part. Here's where we're going to read about that famous analogy between the potter and the clay. He says, does not the potter have the same right over the same lump of clay to make one vessel for honorable use and one for dishonorable use? Folks, this is first grade stuff. This is kindergarten stuff. Paul is actually dragging out his figurative flannel graph and he's showing these people, consider the potter over the clay. Can he not make with that same lump of clay whatever he chooses to make? Absolutely he can. He even goes up as far as to say, you'll still say to me, even with that understanding, if he's made me this way, why does he still find fault? And what is his answer? Oh, let me explain that. No. You may say, well, if he's made me this way, then I'm not to be blamed for my sin. Paul says, who are you, old man, who answers back to God? And what's the answer to that? We're nothing. There it is again. But before I close this morning, let me just make this comment. The doctrine of God's sovereignty and salvation, the doctrine of election, predestination, should be no discouragement to anyone seeking the redemption that is only in Christ. And here's another thing. Just because the physical descendants of Abraham are not automatically in a right relationship with the Lord, many were, Many are, and many will yet be. But even they will give glory to God for their salvation, not to Abraham, not to their lineage. Even they are saved on the basis of God's finished work in His Son, Jesus Christ. And when we get to Romans 11, We're going to read about this period known as the Gentile period, where God has temporarily set aside certain branches from the original olive tree. He set aside those so that the engrafting of us could happen. But one day is coming when He's going to make good on all of His promises to a particular people known as Israelites. Not all of them, but a remnant of them. And now we have this tree in Romans 11 that is constructed of both natural and unnatural branches. And when that happens, what does Paul say is the end result? He says, when that happens, all Israel will be saved. What? I'm part of Israel? Yes, you're part of God's Israel. Are you not spiritual descendants of Abraham? Do you not have a like precious faith as our father Abraham in the flesh? You do, but it's not the flesh that does anything. It's the work of the spirit in your life. And at some point in the future, all of God's Israel will be saved. Well, pastor, that's just replacement theology. I've heard about people like you. It's not replacement theology, folks. It's fulfillment theology. Set aside these clever-sounding expressions used by egg-headed theologians who don't know any better, we're talking about the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan, where His goal was to use physical Israel as a picture, a foreshadowing, a type of the true Israel. that would be blended together from all tribes, all tongues, all nations under the new covenant that's in Christ's blood. We have shadows and negatives. We have the positive in Christ. So if you're here this morning and you think, well, that's just unfair. I don't agree with that. I just want to be the captain of my own faith, the master of my own soul. That's never going to happen. But just because we talk so much about God's sovereignty doesn't remove your responsibility to believe. Oh, now you sound like you're talking with forked tongue. What? No. The flip side of the coin concerning doctrine, sovereignty, and election is your responsibility and mine to believe. If you end up in hell, and God forbid that would be the case for anyone in this room, if you end up in hell, you'll have no one to blame for being there but yourself. Well, how's that work? Please don't send me another ask the pastor question. I don't know how that works. I just know both things are true. I know that Spurgeon was asked to reconcile these two truths and Spurgeon simply replied, friends don't need to be reconciled. The Bible preaches both. So make of it what you will. You and I bear the responsibility for believing, but when we do, I've told you before about that imagery that, you know, there's the road that leads to life, and there are a few that go therein. Well, over this road is an arch that says, enter in all you who will. Right? And so you enter in, and then you turn around and look at the other side, and what does it say? Elect from before the foundation of the world. How do the two things work together? I do know that if you're going to believe and repent, it will only be God's doing. I do know that. And if you remain stubborn in your unbelief and end up in hell because of it, it'll be your own doing. Don't try to reconcile it, just believe it. This is what the scriptures teach. The question for you this morning, who are yet unbelievers remains the same. And it's a simple question. Will you reject him yet again? That'll be proof of the hardness of your heart. Will you yet again reject him? Or will you cry out from the depths of your soul, God be merciful to me, a sinner. Whatever happens, it's all in accordance with God's perfect plan. And those of us who know Him through the shed blood of His Son can at this point only say, Hallelujah. Let's close in a word of prayer.