Brothers and sisters, to that end, will you please find in your copy of God's Word, Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9 this morning, and once you have found Romans chapter 9, if you are able, please stand that we might honor God in the reading of His Word. Romans chapter 9 and we find ourselves this morning in verses 1 through 13. Let me read them in your hearing and let me remind you even as you hear the Word of God that what you hear is in fact the Word of God. I am speaking the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. And not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring. But through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said, about this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born, and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls, she was told, the older will serve the younger. as it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I hated. And thus ends this reading of God's holy, inspired, and inerrant Word. Please, once more, brothers and sisters, take your seats. For many Christians, the end of Romans 8 results in a shout of, yeah! But then, if we are honest, the beginning of Romans 9 sort of results in a mumble of, huh? What is going on here? What happened? Romans 8 is like the top of Mount Everest with glorious views of God's glory and grace and gospel. But then it seems like almost instantaneously, Romans 9 transports us down into death valley where it is dry and desolate and dead. What's going on here? Well, believe it or not, there is a problem with Romans chapter 8. In fact, if I can be so bold, there is a problem with Romans chapters 1 all the way through chapter 8, which taken together highlight the grace of God in the face of our sin. What's the problem, you ask? Well, simply this, redemption is pictured throughout Paul's letter to the Roman church as something God does. In other words, despite our sin, God intervenes. He saves us. And He saves us, of course, through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. to which you scratch your head and ask, okay, so what's the problem then? Well, the problem is simply this. By and large, the Jewish people have flatly rejected Jesus as the Christ. Where Paul is sitting, Israel is not, at least in mass, embracing the Savior. which does raise all sorts of theological questions. Many of them are thorny. For example, what about all of those old covenant promises? How do they get fulfilled? In a related vein, has salvation been thwarted? Since again, the Jewish people are on the outside looking in. You need to remember, in Paul's day, and this is particularly true of the church at Rome, it is overwhelmingly composed of Gentiles, not Jews. Or, if you want to frame this whole thing using the language of the end of Romans 8, Since nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, if that's true, well how come Israel isn't being converted in droves? It seems that something has separated Israel from the love of God. Well, Enter Romans chapter 9, chapter 10, and chapter 11, which is really Paul's answer to this theological Gordian knot. And to make the knot even tighter, consider for a moment some of the privileges that Israel enjoyed. The apostle in our passage here this morning, he actually identifies eight of those privileges, doesn't he? For example, we are told in verse four, they are Israelites and to them belong the adoption. Old covenant Israel, they were adopted by God, meaning that as a nation they were set apart and they were treated with special care, distinct from all the other nations of the world. Next, in verse 4, Paul speaks of the glory, most likely a reference to the Shekinah glory of God that was manifested to Israel. From there, Paul mentions the covenants, speaking of the Abrahamic and Mosaic and Davidic covenants. These covenants, they were the plans and purposes of God, and they were further revealed and unfolded throughout redemptive history. And the point not to be missed is that those covenants, they're sort of given away in the name, Abrahamic, right, Mosaic, Davidic, they were given to Israel. They were given to the Jewish people. Speaking of what was given to the Jewish people, the next great privilege unique to Israel was the giving of the law. Recall Mount Sinai for a moment. Only God's special covenant people bore witness to that great event where they received the law of God written with the very finger of God. Related to this, Paul mentions next the worship. Think of the old covenant temple, the priesthood, the sacrificial system. This was all meticulously designed by God and given to God's people. Next, at the end of verse 4, Paul mentions the promises. The old covenant, as you know, was full of grand and sweeping promises of God's love and faithfulness. Promises reserved, not for the Philistines or the Canaanites or the Egyptians, but reserved for His special covenant people. Paul continues to list privileges in verse 5 where he writes, to them, to Israel, belong the patriarchs. Here, think of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they are the root, and Israel is the tree. This is their heritage. And then finally, and no doubt climactically, it was, verse 5, from their race, from the race of the Jews, that Christ came. In other words, The Christ of God was born a Jew. That is His lineage, His pedigree. We are routinely fond of confessing Jesus as the God-man, and that is true. But as a man, He was a Jewish man. Now, these and other wonderful privileges were bestowed upon the ancient people of God. And yet, though all of these privileges landed in their lap, here we are in Paul's day in Romans 9, and the people of Israel are estranged from Jesus Christ, which no doubt explains something of the sorrow that has gripped the apostle's heart. He goes out of his way, doesn't he, in verse 1 declaring, I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. A moment's reflection will reveal what is the source of all of this sorrow. And the answer is, again, that by and large, The Jewish people have rejected Jesus Christ. And what makes this worse, not only has he just cataloged the many privileges that they enjoyed, but he laments the fact that with these great advantages and opportunities that the Jewish people enjoyed, unfortunately they were all squandered. They were all misspent. It seems that all of these privileges, all of these blessings of God were sacrificed on the altar of their pride. So tragic is all of this, that Paul actually goes out of his way in verse 3 to say that, I wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers. I hope you hear What you have reflected in the Apostle Paul is the heart of a soul winner. He loves his countrymen. He loves his ethnic people to the point that if it were possible, the Apostle would be willing to be damned if that meant that the Jewish people could somehow be saved. Now brothers and sisters, I can't help but think that there is much here for you and I to learn. For the sake of time, allow me just two brief exhortations. The first is this, God's people ought to have a love for the lost. God's people ought to have a love for the lost. The Apostle was gripped, verse 2, by great sorrow and unceasing anguish. Why? Because souls were perishing. We need to feel this. We need to adopt this mindset. We need to care for the fact that there are those made in God's image all around us who are perishing in their sin. David Brainerd, the 18th century American missionary to the Indians, once said, "'I dream of lost souls. I care not what suffering I undergo as long as I see souls saved.'" Now, of course, we are not all missionaries, but we are all Christians, right? Let me ask you, Christian, does your heart ache at the prospect of so many souls perishing in hell? And if not, why not? Might our lack of care and concern reveal a heart that is out of step with Christ? My second exhortation is intimately related. God's people ought to have a love for the lost. If we can turn the screw, God's people ought to have a love for the lost of their own country, of their own people. Remember, Paul was Jewish. So his sorrow here in Romans 9 is not just that some people are perishing. His sorrow is the result of the fact that His people are perishing. Beloved, I hope you understand that we can love our people. We can desire that America be converted. There's been a big political push, no doubt most of you are aware of a sort of an American First Agenda. As Christians, perhaps we should think along these lines. We should pray that First America would repent, that First America would be converted. Another way to say it, we should love evangelistically. those who are closest to us. Long before you are ready to get on an airplane and serve some people of a distant tribe whom you have never met, you need to ask yourself, have I evangelized my own family? Have I evangelized my neighbors? Have I evangelized my coworkers? Have I engaged those around me with the gospel? If I'm honest, I fear this is where I am and perhaps we as a church, I fear this is where we are deficient and need to grow. I fear that we do not possess a zeal for the glory of God in the salvation of sinners. And so it is my prayer that God would light a fire in us. It is my prayer that God would get us involved in the work of evangelism. Christian, it is true that we are called to gather together on the Lord's Day for worship. That is true. But that is not the sum total of the Christian life. We are also called to take the gospel to those who are around us. And so I pray that we would do just that. I pray that we would have a zeal to make much of Jesus Christ. This was certainly the heart of the Apostle Paul, as we see here in Romans 9. Now, with that being said, I think we can now get to the main thrust of Paul's argument. It goes something like this. Has the Word of God failed? That's the language of verse 6. Has the Word of God failed? At a very quick glance, you might think it has. To return to something I said a couple of moments ago, by and large, the Jewish people have not come to embrace Jesus as the Christ. And if that wasn't bad enough, not only have they rejected Jesus and His gospel, but they are actually the prime enemies of the gospel. Let me ask you, who was it that chased Paul from town to town throughout the Mediterranean world as recorded in the book of Acts, trying to kill him? It wasn't the Romans. It was the Jews. So, has the Word of God failed? And of course, Paul's answer in verse 6 is a resounding, no. But how could that be? And here's the theological nub of the whole thing. Are you ready? God never said every single Jew would be saved. In fact, verse 6 reveals, for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. Literally, not all who are of Israel are Israel. Or as Paul says in verse 7, not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring. This is vitally important. This is the key that unlocks all of Paul's argument throughout Romans 9, 10, and 11. You really need to grasp it. You need to underline it. You need to come back to it. You need to have it in your bones. The key that unlocks all of Romans 9, 10, and 11 that Paul is intimating here is that there is an Israel within Israel. that truly belongs to God. And it has been that way since the very beginning. Now, to really drive this point home, Paul will appeal, as he always does, to the Old Testament Scriptures. And he does so because he wants to show that this is not merely his opinion, but that this is based upon the Word of God. His first example comes from Abraham's son Isaac. You can see Paul quote Genesis 21-12 there in verse 7, which reads, through Isaac shall your offspring be named. Through Isaac shall Abraham's offspring be named. Now, to really feel the weight of this, we need to take a quick detour and remember something of the context of Genesis. Recall that God had entered into a covenant with Abraham, promising him, among other things, descendants. How many, you ask? Well, descendants as numerous as the stars above and as numerous as the sand below. But after that promise was given, days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and months into years, and yet Abraham still had no descendants. So, perhaps growing impatient or even doubting God's promises, Abraham eventually has a child through his concubine, Hagar, not his wife, Sarah. Anyone remember the name of that son that was born through the concubine? Ishmael. That's right. But, and this is Paul's point. Ishmael was not a true son of Abraham, verse 7. Sure, he might have descended from Israel, verse 6, but Ishmael did not belong to Israel. Or if you want to use the categories of Romans 9-8, Paul says Abraham had two children, one of the flesh, and one of the promise. Ishmael, of course, was of the flesh and Isaac of the promise. Now, I need to pause here because we are just at the very sort of beginning part of Paul's argument and already several truths have already been thrust upon us. To use a metaphor, seeds. seeds that will later blossom throughout Romans 9 and 10-11 into mighty oak trees. And so, let's reflect upon them very briefly. To begin with, and please don't miss this, natural descent is not enough. Here's what I mean. On paper, Ishmael is a son of Abraham, right? But Paul is clear. not in a way that matters, not in a way that counts. Second, notice that by Paul quoting from Genesis, spoiler alert, the first book of the Bible, Paul is demonstrating that this is how God has always done it. This isn't some novelty introduced by the Apostle Paul, no. This goes all the way back to the beginning. In fact, this goes all the way back to Father Abraham. And then third, we are beginning to see that ultimately the determining factor in all of this is God's sovereign choice. Note this well, church. God is in the business of drawing distinctions. Let me give you just a handful that are right in front of us. In verse 6, you've got descended from Israel, and then you have those who belong to Israel. In verse 7, there are children of Abraham physically, and there are children of Abraham spiritually. Then in verse 8, you discover there are children of the flesh, and then there are children of the promise. And what you have to see is that in every one of those distinctions, verse 6, verse 7, and verse 8, in all of these cases, God is the one who is ultimately determining these things. He is the one sovereignly choosing. which is absolutely vital for Paul's argument. Now, this reality is further pressed to the forefront in Paul's second example, this time with Jacob. This is found in verses 10 through 13, the end of our passage this morning. And Paul says, beginning in verse 10, and not only so, but also, right, so you see he's building now, but also, when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad. Real quick, skip down to verse 12. She was told, the older will serve the younger, as it is written. Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." Now, before we proceed, I do think it is best to deal very briefly with the elephant in the room, that is the language that is found there at the end of verse 13, which is a quotation from the prophet Malachi. What are we to make of this language, Esau I hated? How are we to understand this divine hatred? Well, rest assured, this language does not mean that God harbors some vengeful spirit, some insatiable bloodlust. Actually, this is a Hebrew idiom referring to preference. That is to say, God chose Jacob over Esau, excuse me. God chose to set His covenant love upon Jacob but preferred not to extend that same grace to Esau. As you're wrestling with all of this, consider for a moment how Jesus Himself employs this rhetorical device. You may remember those shocking words that the Lord Jesus said to the crowd who was around Him. He said, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Well, I think we all, I hope, instinctively recognize that we aren't supposed, for example, to literally hate our father and our mother. That's not what it means to be a disciple. Jesus doesn't say, come as you are so long as you hate mom and dad forever. That, of course, would be a violation of the fifth commandment. But rather, and I think this is obvious, Jesus is speaking to the fact that we must prefer Him and choose Him over everyone else in our lives, even our parents. Well, that's the same language, that's the same flavor of Malachi 1, which again is what Paul is here quoting in Romans 9.13. God preferred, God chose, God elected to extend His love and grace to Jacob and not to Esau. So, with that brief clarification in mind, let's return to Paul's overall point. Once again, just like in his previous example with Abraham and his sons, he is putting the emphasis here, is he not, upon God and God's choice. But that all begs the question, what makes the example here in verses 10 through 13 different from the one in verses 7 through 9? In other words, he already established this principle with Ishmael and Isaac. Why now do we have to talk about Jacob and Esau? Well, two substantial differences exist. The first is this. This choice in verses 10 through 13 is made by God in utero. And second, these children here in verses 10 through 13 have the same parents. Remember, Isaac and Ishmael had the same father, Abraham, but they had a different mother. Here though, Jacob and Esau have the same father as well as the same mother. And Paul's point, not only did they share the same parents, they shared the same womb. And as Paul points out, it was in that womb, verse 11, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, it was in that womb, Paul says, when God chose Jacob. So once again, what is being highlighted? God's sovereignty, God's power, God's election, God's choice, God's prerogative. Now very quickly, and at the risk of being polemical, Do you see how the common interpretation offered, right? The one where God looks down through the corridors of time and depending upon what you do, that somehow is how election is explained. Do you see how verse 11 immediately rules that out? Paul explicitly says that God made this choice before they were born. And therefore, perhaps it goes without saying, but because they were not born yet, they had done nothing either good or bad. So what's the bell Paul is ringing? God and God alone chooses. And God's choosing is a sovereign one. Meaning, God's sovereign decision to choose and to elect and to dispense grace, it is not, not based upon the actions or attitudes of those whom He chooses. Instead, it is based upon His sole prerogative as God to be God. This is vitally important for the case Paul is making. Don't miss the forest for the trees. Paul is laboring to demonstrate that God's gospel has not failed, verse 6. Just because the Jewish people are not embracing Christ does not mean that God and His gospel has failed. Why? Well, his point is simple. Ethnic ancestry is not in itself salvation. In other words… Salvation requires more. It requires grace, sovereign and electing and scandalous grace. And as Paul turns the screw, he's telling us that grace was never promised to each and every Israelite. It was never promised to each and every Jewish person. So step back real quick. Let's try and make sure we're all on the same page, we're all understanding how this argument is unfolding. Ask yourself this question, who are the true children of God? Who are the true children of God? And the answer must be, well, those who have faith like Abraham. And keep in mind, since the very beginning, all the way back in Genesis, there has always been two Israels. This is Paul's point. There is an outward, physical Israel. I don't know, think Ishmael, think Esau. But at the same time, there has always been an inward spiritual Israel. Think Isaac. Think Jacob. This is his argument. Within the one Israel, there are two groups. There is an elect Israel and there is a non-elect Israel. Which brings us, no doubt, to the most controversial point of Paul's whole argument. How does one become a part of true Israel? How does one make themselves a son of promise? And the answer is you don't. You don't. Only God can. If I can put it this way, only God makes Christians. We don't make Christians. I can't make you a Christian, I can't make myself a Christian. Only God makes Christians. Another way to say it, and we're ready to ratchet it up now, the determining factor for your salvation and mine, by that I mean our whole eternal destiny, it is wrapped up in God's sovereign grace. I don't want there to be any misunderstanding. It is true that you must believe the gospel. Yes, you must repent of your sin and you must embrace the Savior by faith and by faith alone. Every Christian should give a million yeses to that. But Paul wants us to see that your belief, your repentance, your faith, your whole entire salvation, it is first and foremost, end of verse 11, in order that God's purpose of election might continue. Not because of works, but because of him who calls. Do you catch that? God's purpose of election. God calls. You don't elect yourself. You don't call. No. God elects. God calls. Please don't miss this, church. And don't miss this not just because it is central to Paul's argument about why the Word of God has not failed. But please don't miss this because it really is central to all of Scripture's teaching on salvation. What makes a Christian is not merely physical procreation, but always and ever spiritual regeneration. It is not about the blood flowing through your veins. but about the blood that flowed from Calvary. Ethnicity is not and has not ever been the determining factor. Sovereign grace and election is. Long before you and I ever believe the gospel, God's sovereign grace has been at work. In fact, according to Ephesians 2.8, even our faith, even Uriah's faith to believe the gospel, Paul says, is what? A gift. I would encourage you to marinate in this, to make sure that you don't miss it. Maybe consider for a moment. some of the high-octane gospel language that Paul uses throughout this little section of Scripture. Listen to some of the words that he uses. For example, verse 8, promise. Verse 9, promise. Verse 11, having done nothing, either good or bad. Verse 11, God's purpose. Verse 11, election. Verse 11, calling. This and so much more is the grammar, the grammar of gospel grace. And I want you to notice what is not highlighted, what is not drawn attention to, words I did not mention because the apostle Paul did not mention. You know what's missing? Your faith. Your good works. Your resume. Your intense religious devotion. Your spiritual disciplines. Your so-called free will decision. Do you notice how all of that is absent? What takes center stage is God. It is His election. It is His choice. It is His purpose. It is His sovereign and scandalous grace. And unfortunately, it is right at this juncture where we often zig when we are supposed to zag. And I say that because we live in sort of an evangelicalism where the very word grace has all but been neutered, hasn't it? We just throw around the word grace all the time. And so in my experience, grace has sort of come to be thought of as spiritual Red Bull. Right? Grace just gives you wings. It just gives you energy to go out and do stuff. That is to miss the point of grace entirely. And biblically speaking, the truth is grace cannot be disconnected from the biblical doctrines of sovereignty or predestination or an election. According to the Apostle Paul, grace is the soil from which all of those other doctrines grow. Let me explain. Grace is by definition unmerited favor. Perhaps better said, demerited favor, right? Unmerited means you didn't deserve it. Demerited means you deserve the opposite. And that's what grace is. And if you recognize that grace is by definition demerited, then what you must also recognize immediately is that grace is not something that can be earned or demanded. Along similar lines, it also means God is not obligated to dispense grace. And yet, that is often the problem that so many have. with the biblical doctrines of election and predestination, right? People immediately chafe at this. They assume that if God pours out grace upon someone, then God must pour out grace upon everyone equally. But that's not how grace works. And then what often happens in people's minds is they go, well, if God does not dispense His grace equally, well, then that would make it unfair. And right there, we reveal our unbiblical thinking, don't we? Christian, raise your hand if you want God to treat you with fairness. Any time a Christian says, well, that's not fair for God to do that, every bone in your body should just like... What are you saying? If you want fairness, you'd be dead by now. If you want fairness, you'd be in hell. You would have been in hell for a gazillion years, and you will be in hell for another gazillion years. Should Christians really be ringing the bell of fairness? I don't know about you, but I don't want fairness. I want grace. And by definition, grace is special. Grace is particular. Grace is something that God simply bestows upon those who do not deserve it. For example, if God chooses by His grace some pagan moon worshiper, He can do that, like He did with Abraham. If God chooses in His grace Isaac to be the son of promise and not Ishmael, that is God's prerogative. And if God chooses rotten Jacob over Esau, it is His right to do that. And that is because it is all, right, God's rich and scandalous grace, it is all, verse 11 once more, in order. that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of Him who calls. And so, don't miss this. Paul is laboring to show God is sovereign to dispense His grace however He sees fit, and He's been doing it this way all the way since Abraham. to connect it back to verse 6 and to answer the question there whether or not God's Word has failed, Paul is saying, no, of course not. God has not failed simply because Israel has failed. Why? Because true Israel has always come to embrace God and His promises because of God's sovereign election. Now, I full well realize that I have not answered every question that you may have. I want to encourage you at one level, we will continue in coming weeks to mine the massive mountain that is God's sovereign election by looking at a couple of more sermons in Romans 9. I also want to discourage you. I'm not gonna be able to answer every question that you have. But if you have further questions, I would be willing to entertain them after service. Just come and grab me. In conclusion for this morning, allow me, in light of all that we have seen, to offer three very quick applications. Since we are chosen by grace, how should we live in light of this glorious reality? Well, first, great humility. We should be a people of great humility. And this is because we must be convinced in our own hearts that you and I have nothing to offer to God. Our resume is not impressive. We have no righteousness of our own. Fact is, left to ourselves, all that we have done is earn death and hell. But since we are truly objects of God's sovereign grace, because we really are trophies of His love and election, well, then we ought to be the most humble people on planet earth. Christian, let me ask you, what do you have that you have not received? Take the pin and pop your fat head. because it has no place in God's kingdom. Second, not just great humility, but great trust. Consider for a moment that God the Father has set his eternal love upon us. God the Son has assumed to himself human nature, has lived in our place, died on the cross for us, and been raised from the dead. And God the Holy Spirit has sealed the very promises of the gospel to our hearts. Since all of that is true, since God has already done all of that, I don't know about you, but I think we can trust Him to finish what He started. Take heart. The triune God with whom we have to do, He is not just a covenant-making God. He is one who keeps His promises. And then third and finally, great humility ought to characterize us, great trust ought to characterize us, and great praise ought to characterize us. The doctrine of sovereign election rightly understood completely and solely by God's grace ought to elicit forth from us praise and wonder and awe and worship. Who God is should captivate us. What He has done for us should enthrall us. Birds fly, fish swim, redeemed sinners should praise their God. And this whole idea is perhaps best captured by that wonderful hymn which we'll sing in a moment, My Lord, I Did Not Choose You. Allow me to share with you just the very first verse and then with it we'll close and sing this hymn together. My Lord, I did not choose you for that could never be. My heart would still refuse you had you not chosen me. You took the sin that stained me. You cleansed me and made me new. Of old you have ordained me that I should live in you. Father in heaven, we pray that your spirit through the proclamation of your word would show Jesus to be wonderful, to show Jesus to be satisfying, and that as we have been confronted with and in coming days, as we reflect upon your sovereignty, your choosing, your election, your predestination and your grace. We pray that your spirit would cause to be born in us great humility. and great trust, and great praise. We ask these things in Jesus' name, and God's people said, amen. Well, brothers and sisters, let us stand and let us do just that. Let us lift our voices together by singing number 54, that is 5-4. My Lord, I did not choose you.