Romans lecture number 19, and we're starting Romans chapter 9 today. Brief introduction, Romans chapter 9, 10 and 11. This section I've entitled God's dealings with Israel. God's dealings with Israel. Romans 9 deals with Israel's past. election. In the past, Israel was elected as God's chosen nation. Romans chapter 10, Israel's presence deals with rejection. They were not rejected by God, but they rejected their Messiah. So Israel's present state, and this present state, by the way, has continued to the present day, Israel's present, Romans chapter 10, rejection of their Messiah, disbelief. They've rejected the Jewish Messiah. And in Romans chapter 11, Israel's future, reconciliation. All Israel will be saved. They will accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah. And that will be the final domino to fall that will usher in the second coming of Jesus Christ to the planet Earth. So now we need to look at Israel's past election. They're the chosen nation of God. Romans chapter 9 verses 1 to 33. Now at this point Paul seems to get slightly off track But in fact, he does not. It's a parenthesis. He was explaining the gospel. Romans 1, verses 18 to chapter 3, verse 20, he talked about condemnation. All men are condemned. And Romans 3, verses 21 to chapter 5, verse 21, he talked about justification, the moment that the a believer is declared righteous by God the moment he first believes. Then in chapter 6 and 7 of Romans, Paul talked about sanctification, the fact that believers are progressively being more and more set apart for God's purposes and being set apart from sin. And then Paul talked about glorification, that moment of total sanctification when the believer is perfected at the second coming of Christ. That's in Romans 8. So Paul was explaining the gospel, but while explaining the gospel he realized that several questions would arise. Now I've listed four that I've seen, that I have identified in the text of Romans 9, 10, and 11. And one seems to be implied in Romans 9, though it's brought out even more clearly in Romans 3, verse 2. But I think these four questions Paul is responding to with these chapters, so it seems that he's getting off track, but he realizes, I'm talking about the gospel, the first thought that is going to come to people's minds is, what about the Jews? And so the four questions are, number one, It's touched on in Romans 9.6, has God failed since Israel has rejected the gospel? You know, God elected them in the past. They are His chosen people, His chosen nation. Yet Paul is saying that the gospel is now going to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected their Messiah. So has God failed since Israel has rejected the gospel? Romans 9.6 touches on this. Romans 11.1 the question comes up, has God rejected Israel? Okay, so the first question was, maybe God has failed since Israel rejected the gospel. But then in Romans 11-1 the question comes up, has God rejected Israel? And Paul is going to answer that, no, God has not rejected Israel, there is a remnant that will be saved. Now the question might come up, well if the Israelites, or if Israel is God's chosen nation, But the Israelites are rejecting the gospel and it's the Gentiles who are being saved while most Jews are rejecting the Messiah and going to hell. Of course, Paul was a Jew, the apostles were Jews, and many people in the early church were Jews. But at this point, the gospel is primarily going to the Gentiles and the Jews are rejecting it. So the question comes up, what advantage is there for the Jew? I mean, what advantage is there to being a Jew? Paul comes right out and asks that question in Romans 3, verse 2, but it seems to be implied in the list that he gives of the advantages of being a Jew in Romans 9, verses 4 and 5. So, you know, if the average Jew is not saved at this point, and whereas many Gentiles are coming to Christ, what advantage is there in being a Jew? And then the fourth question, what is Israel's future? And Paul answers that in Romans 11, verses 25 to 27. Israel's future is there is a partial hardening of the hearts of the Jews. It's partial, because not all Jews have hardened their hearts to Christ, because there are Jews that are saved in every generation. In Paul's generation, he, the other apostles, as well as many other Jews were saved. So it's a partial hardening, and it's temporary. It's not a hardening that's going to last forever. The hardening of the hearts is going to be removed from the Jews and all Israel will be saved when they recognize Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. That will be the final domino that will fall to usher in the second coming of Jesus Christ to the planet Earth when the Jewish people accept Jesus as their Messiah. So what is Israel's future? Their future is reconciliation. So keep in mind, Romans 9 is Israel's past election. Romans 10, Israel's present, rejection and disbelief. Well, I'm looking at my notes and I've left out the yes, the Israel there in Romans 9 and Romans 10. In Romans 11, Israel's future, reconciliation. Let's take a look at Israel's past, election, Romans 9, 1 to 33. First, Paul starts out this chapter, this whole section, Romans 9, verses 1-3, he expresses his love for his people, his love for the Jewish people. Romans 9, verses 1-3, Paul states, I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience bearing me witness, bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have grave 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. And then he mentions who are Israelites at the beginning of verse 4. So in the first three verses Paul expresses his love for his people. He feels great sorrow and grief because his Jewish brethren were rejecting the gospel. They were his brothers according to the flesh. And Paul states that he would rather be separated from Christ than have the Israelites, his countrymen, separated from Christ. Now Moses had the same attitude. Look at Exodus chapter 32. Exodus chapter 32 and verses 30 to 33. This was due to the Israelites worshipping the golden calf while Moses was up on the mountain and when he came down he found out about it and God was going to judge them. Verses 30 to 33 of Exodus 32 says, And it came about on the next day that Moses said to the people, You yourselves have committed a great sin. And now I am going up to the Lord. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin, and if not, please blot me out from thy book which thou hast written. And the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book. And then God says, but go now, lead the people where I told you. So even Moses had this attitude that he would rather be blotted out of God's book. He would rather be accursed than to see his fellow countrymen accursed. In other words, both Paul and Moses, it is godly to be willing to suffer for others. Now, Jesus Christ Himself, He set the perfect example for us when He died on the cross for our sins. 1 Peter 2.24 and 1 Peter 3.18. Now, it is true that Christ did more than set an example for us by dying on the cross for our sins. the ultimate of that was a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. He died in our place. But the fact of the matter is he also set an example for us that we should be willing to suffer for others. But even though it is godly to be willing to suffer for others so that others don't have to suffer, we must recognize that true Christians know that only Christ's sufferings are salvific. Let me repeat that. Even though it is godly, like Moses and Paul, it is godly to be willing to suffer for others, still, true Christians know that only Christ's sufferings are salvific. In other words, Paul was willing to suffer for other Christians, Moses was willing to suffer for other believers, but both of them recognized that their sufferings Since they were not the ultimately worthy sacrifice, their sufferings had no power to save others. Now Padre Pio, I don't know if he's been canonized a saint by the Catholic Church. Padre Pio, he had the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, just as Saint Francis of Assisi did. To me it seems to be more occultic, more demonic than scriptural. But Padre Pio had a messiah complex where he would always talk about himself suffering for others' sins so that they would receive less time in purgatory. The fact of the matter is that the sufferings of Padre Pio had no saving power regardless of what he thought. and that anyone who thinks that anybody's sufferings have some kind of saving power other than Jesus Christ, or in addition to Jesus Christ, I think it becomes pretty clear that that person is not a true believer. So it's godly to be willing to suffer for others. Still, true Christians know that only Christ's sufferings have saving power. Now, so Paul is stating that he would rather be separated from Christ than have the Israelites separated from Christ. That's how much he loved his brethren. Now Paul discusses some of the characteristics of the chosen nation or some of the advantages of the chosen nation in Romans 9 verses 4 and 5. He states about his 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. And so the characteristics of the chosen nation, they were Israelites, They were God's only chosen nation. America is not God's chosen nation. I'm thankful that America was founded on biblical principles. I wish we would get back to those biblical principles. But God has only one chosen nation and it is the nation of Israel. They were adopted as sons. Now we need to recognize Israelites were adopted as sons as a nation. They were God's only adopted nation. He adopted Abraham and through him his offspring. And so God adopted one nation from among many nations because these other nations were worshipping false gods, they were worshipping many gods. But we need to recognize just because a man is an Israelite and he is in the chosen nation, the only nation that God adopted, that does not mean that he is saved. You see, you can be a physical Israelite which means that you were nationally adopted by God or physically adopted by God and that does not necessarily mean that you are a spiritual Israelite and are circumcised of the heart. You may not have trust in Christ for salvation. Now it is possible to be both. Paul was both a physical Jew and a spiritual Jew. By the way, for those who believe that there's some lost tribes of Israel or the lost tribes of Judah and that type of thing, that's just a bunch of garbage. Paul uses Israel and Judah interchangeably. He calls himself an Israelite, he calls himself a Jew. And he uses those words throughout his writings interchangeably And so Paul had no problem. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, which would have made him from one of the two tribes of Judah. Yet he not only called himself a Jew, but he also called himself an Israelite. So we need to recognize that there are no lost tribes of Israel. So the idea that America and Great Britain are the lost tribes of Israel is not worthy of belief. But the characteristics of the chosen nation are also glory. They had the Shekinah glory cloud that led them through the wilderness. The cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Also God's glory came upon the tabernacle. God's glory came upon the temple when that was built. And so the glory of God, God decided to display His power and His glory through the religious practices of the nation of Israel, which by the way, God had ordained and instituted those practices for the nation of Israel. But Paul was saying this is an advantage of being an Israelite, being a member of God's only chosen nation. that their nation alone had the glory of God being manifested in their midst and he's talking about God's special glory not just the glory of God manifested in nature through natural means but God's glory manifested in supernatural ways such as the Shekinah glory cloud which led the Israelites through the wilderness during the day and the pillar of fire which led them through the wilderness at night The Israelites also had the covenants, the agreements. Covenant, agreement, testament, the words are used almost synonymously. The Abrahamic covenant, where God promised that from Abraham he would give him many descendants, and those descendants would be the chosen nation of God. And that God would give this chosen nation the promised land, and that all nations on the earth would be blessed through Abraham's seed, through the Messiah. So the Abrahamic covenant, also the Mosaic covenant, the law of Moses, also the Davidic covenant that God promised that the descendants of David would reign over Israel and eventually on the throne of David would be one of David's descendants who would be none other than the Messiah himself. And then even the new covenant is a covenant giving to the nation of Israel. Jeremiah I believe chapter 31 where God promises to change their hearts. and to write his laws on their hearts rather than just on tablets of stone like they were in the old covenant, the Mosaic law. So even the new covenant. So the covenants, the Abrahamic, the Mosaic, the Davidic, and the new covenant. Also the law. The law, again, it's one of the covenants, the Mosaic covenant, but the law of Moses. And we need to recognize that Israel, God had established Israel to be God's witness to the nations. God was displaying, Israel was testifying of God's righteousness to the nations because they were God's chosen nation. So that when God gave them His law, it would testify to the nations of God's righteousness. If they obeyed God's laws, God would raise them up to be the mightiest nation on earth. There would be blessings for obedience. But if they disobeyed God's laws, there would only be curses, and God would lower them to the lowest nation on earth. So it was a witness. Israel's history is a witness to the world of the righteousness of God, but also of the mercy of God, and of the power of God that preserved the nation of Israel. But the law also served another purpose, not just as a witness to the nations, not just the idea of blessings and curses. The law did not save, it was never intended to save, But the law did. It was used for purposes of sanctification as far as guidelines, general guidelines. Once an Israelite was saved, these were God's guidelines that He did want them to stay in. But even there, they could not obey those guidelines in their own strength. They needed to be empowered by God. But at the same time, probably the main purpose of the law was to show the Israelites that they could not keep God's laws on their own and therefore the law was a substitute teacher, a tutor which led them to Christ. They saw that God's laws are perfect, we are sinful, we cannot obey God's laws on our own, therefore we need to trust in God alone for salvation. We need to look to Him for the way of salvation and of course God revealed that through the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only the law and the covenants But the nation of Israel also had the temple service, the service that was done in the temple. This includes the priesthood, the Jewish priest, and the animal sacrifices that they offered. Remember, the Jewish priest, especially the high priest, was symbolic of Jesus Christ himself, who was our high priest, according to the order of Melchizedek. The animal sacrifices The book of Hebrews tells us, Hebrews 9.22, without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. The book of Hebrews also tells us that by the blood of animals no sin will be forgiven. But the animal sacrifice is pointed forward to the day when the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, would come and would be slaughtered, the slaughtered lamb who would suffer in our place. And so all the temple service, even the furniture in the temple, the altar of incense and the brazen altar and the laver of water and the lampstand, all the furniture in the temple also was symbolic of Christ as all the temple service was. The promises, the Israelites also received the promises. many promises. They were the promised land. Also the promises found in the prophecies of salvation that would come to them through the Messiah, the King, the true King of Israel, the Jewish Messiah himself. Also the patriarchs, which basically means the fathers. Abraham, the ultimate Israelite patriarch and his son Isaac and his son Jacob and then his 12 sons which were the 12 tribes of Israel Joseph was one of the main sons mentioned throughout the book of Genesis but also Judah from Judah was one of the 12 sons of Jacob and the head of the tribe of Judah from him came David and eventually Jesus the Jewish Messiah So all these characteristics of the chosen nation were advantages of the chosen nation. I believe if you go back to Romans 3, it even mentions the oracles of God, the Word of God. They were entrusted with the Word of God. Not just the Old Testament, but most of the New Testament authors were also Jews themselves. But then there's one more mention In verse 5, one more advantage or characteristic of the Jews, it says, from whom is the Christ according to the flesh? Christ according to the flesh. Christos, the word for Christ, in the Greek, is the Anointed One of God. That's what it means, the Anointed One of God, the Messiah Savior. prophesied in the Old Testament who would come, God's hand would be upon him, would be anointed for the work of redeeming the nation of Israel and redeeming mankind. The Messiah Savior was born an Israelite, a Jew. He was from the tribe of Judah. He could trace his roots back to Abraham. He was a physical Jew. But Paul goes a little bit further and mentions that the ultimate impact of this advantage is the fact that the Jewish Messiah, not only is he physically a Jew, a Jew according to the flesh, but he is also, the Jewish Messiah is God. Now, It reads a little vague. It's almost a literal translation in the New American Standard, which reads, from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God bless forever. Amen. It reads a little vague there. But most commentators agree. I just looked at, just earlier today, Charles Hodge, the great Princeton theologian of the 19th century. I looked at Donald Gray Barnhouse, his four-volume commentary on the Book of Romans. I looked at John Stott's recent work on the Book of Romans. I looked at F.F. Bruce's work on the Book of Romans and many other works that I glanced over and they were all in agreement on this particular passage that it is Christ, it is not saying that Christ is blessed of God forever, it is saying that Christ is God overall and that He should be blessed or praised by us forever. The NIV, the last portion of Romans chapter 9 verse 5, the New International Version I think has the clearest translation here, and it is as follows, and I'm reading word for word, Christ who is God over all, forever praised, Amen. And amen means so be it, or it is true. And so Christ, who is God over all, forever praised. Charles Hodge and Donald Gray Barnhouse and many of these other scholars that I pointed to, pointed out about, they all agree But the only reason why people try to water down what is being said here and try to insert a period or somehow break the sentence up so that Christ is not being referred to as God overall and that he should forever be praised, the only reason why many scholars try to take the title of God, Theos, away from Christ is because they deny that Jesus is God. but as Charles Hodge and Donald Gray Barnhouse and many of these other scholars point out that Paul clearly taught on at least four different occasions that Jesus Christ is God and you know many other occasions beyond this but in Titus 2.13 he refers to Jesus Christ as our great God and Savior Jesus Christ in Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 to 8 He basically tells us that Jesus Christ, who although he existed as God, in the form as God, in nature as God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, and then emptied himself and took the form of a bondservant and became a man and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. So what he's basically saying is that even though Jesus Christ existed as God, he did not cling to his equal rights as God, but emptied himself, prevailed his glory, and voluntarily laid aside his divine privilege to use certain divine attributes, and became a man. But Paul clearly called Jesus God. In Colossians 2.9, Paul says, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. In 1 Timothy 3.16, the majority of the manuscripts, of the ancient manuscripts, the majority of these manuscripts, the majority text which went into the King James Version, and the New King James Version, reads very clearly that God was manifested in the flesh. Okay? Now, the New American Standard, the NIV read who was manifested in the flesh, And they're basing that on older manuscripts, but as the preface to the New King James Version points out, Why should we give up the proven majority manuscripts, the readings that are in there, why should we give up those readings in the areas they differ from the older manuscripts, when the older manuscripts, mainly Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, when they often disagree with each other on many parts? So in other words, they are not very reliable themselves. In fact, there are many portions of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus where they've been corrected over and over again. So it was almost as if whoever had those manuscripts knew that they didn't have good copies, and whenever they found what they thought was a better copy, they would make the changes as needed. But, so I believe 1 Timothy 3.16, in fact, Dean Bergen in the 19th century, in fact, in the British Museum, he has a large, very huge, probably twice the size of Encyclopedia Britannica, but just nothing but thousands upon thousands of quotations from the early Church Fathers, most of whom predate Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, and when they quote this verse, Dean Bergen, argued that when they quote this verse, they quote it as God was manifested in the flesh. And they had access to even older manuscripts, the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. Now, Dean Bergen unfortunately died before completing his work on there, and even in Josh McDowell's evidence that the man's a verdict, he admits that this is a goldmine of quotations biblical quotations from the New Testament in the early church fathers that Dean Bergen collected and that has yet to be looked into deeper but Dean Bergen was convinced that the majority text could be proven to be more reliable than the ancient manuscripts such as in the more ancient manuscripts of the Sinaiticus Vaticanus, so he would agree with God was manifested in the flesh in 1 Timothy 3.16. But even if that's not the case, the Apostle John, in John 1.1, says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then in verse 14, the Word became flesh. So it's real clear there, God became flesh with Jesus Christ as God. In John 20, verse 28, down in Thomas, he sees Jesus and he says, Akoriasmukahathiasmu, the Lord of me and the God of me. My Lord and my God. Apostle Peter agreed with Peter, Peter agreed with Paul, John and Thomas. He said in 2 Peter 1.1, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. So it's very clear, there's no reason to reject the literal rendering of this passage. Jesus Christ, according to the flesh, is a Jew. He is fully human, and He is a Jewish human. At the same time, the Jewish Messiah is also God. Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah, is God over all, and He is forever to be praised. Now, in verses 6 to 18 of Romans 19, Paul talks about the true sons of Abraham. The true sons of Abraham, verses 6 to 18. And the main point here that Paul is discussing is the fact that the Word of God has not failed. The Word of God has not failed. Now in verses 6 to 9, Paul will state that God's election was not based on physical descent. So just because you are physically a Jew does not mean that you were chosen to be saved. Okay? In verses 10 to 13, Paul argues that God's election is not based on human effort. You don't save yourself by works. And then in verses 14 to 18, Paul argues that God's election, God's choice of those who are going to be saved is not based on man's will, instead it is based on God's will. So let's take a look at verses 6 to 9, God's election is not based on physical descent. Romans 9, verses 6 to 9. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel, who are descended from Israel. Neither are they all children, because they are Abraham's descendants. But through Isaac your descendants will be named. That is, it is 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 will have a son." So God's election His choice to salvation is not based on physical descent. You see, not all of Abraham's descendants are true Jews. Paul uses examples from Israel's physical election as God's chosen nation. He uses examples from that to show that the spiritual election of who is saved is not to be equated with every Israelite. Here he shows that not all Abraham's descendants are true Jews, but only Isaac's sons. Now remember, Isaac's mother was Sarah. Now before Isaac was born to Sarah, Abraham, Sarah's husband, had relations with Hagar, the slave girl from Egypt, and she had a son named Ishmael. And Ishmael, God said, was not the son of the promise. He was not to be an Israelite. He was not a Jew. After Sarah died... Sarah, before she died, she had Isaac, the son of the promise. And only Isaac's sons would be the true Jews, descendants of Abraham. Well, after Sarah died, Abraham married Keturah. And Keturah sons were also outside the chosen nation. They were not Jews. Zimram, Jokshan, Midian, Isbak, and Shua. Keturah sons were not Jews. And so God's election is based on His promise. It's not based on physical descent. But also in verses 10-13, God's election is not based on human effort. Look at verses 10-13 of Romans 9. And not only this, but there was Rebekah also when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac. For though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of worse, 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. And so God's election is not based on human effort. Here Paul points out, that not all of Isaac's descendants are true Jews. So first you have Abraham has many sons, but only Isaac. Through him comes the chosen nation. But even through Isaac, not all of his sons are true Jews. He had two sons, Jacob and Esau, but only Jacob is a true Jew and not Esau. From Esau came the Edomites, who are not Jews. God chose Jacob before he was born, Paul points out, even though neither, they were twins, Jacob and Esau, even though neither twin had yet done good or bad. So God chooses who he's going to save apart from any good works. Now when God said, Jacob I love, What he meant was, Jacob, I chose. When God says, Esau, I hated, he meant Esau, I rejected. You see, the Bible teaches, John 3.16, For God so loved the world, God loved all mankind. 2 Peter 3.9, God desires that none should thirst. God loves all mankind. God commands us to love not just our friends and our neighbors, but our enemies as well. Yet God tells us we need to hate our mother and father and sons and daughters and sisters and brothers next to Him. And what He's saying is our love for God should be so great that our love for everyone else should look like hate when compared to it. So it's the same instant here. God didn't hate in the literal sense Esau. It's a hyperbole. A hyperbole is a figure of speech. And a hyperbole is a conscious exaggeration to prove a point. It would be like saying, I think, Ken Griffey Jr. is going to hit a homerun in his next at-bat because he's hit a homerun every time I turn a TV set on, he hits another homerun. Well, that's not literally true. It's like saying, well, I know he's going to hit another homerun because he's hit millions of them. No matter where the ball gets hit, Ken Griffey Jr. will be able to catch it. Those are conscious exaggerations to prove a point. And that's what God's saying here. Jacob I loved, meaning Jacob I have chosen. Esau I hated, meaning Esau I rejected. And so God's election was not based on any human effort or any human works because God chose Jacob even before he was born, even before either Jacob or Esau had done anything right or wrong. But now also in verses 14 to 18, God's election is not based on man's will. Verses 14 to 18 of Romans 9. What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs. but on God who has mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. So then he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires. Now first class, this passage seems to prove five-point Calvinism. It seems to prove that we cannot freely accept Jesus as our Savior. God has to force that on us. God pardons some people totally apart from their will, and He has mercy on others totally apart from their will. I do not believe that is what is being said here in this passage. So let's take a look at it and break it down. But the key point is, God's election is not based on man's will. Now this passage tells us that God is totally just. He must punish all sin, yet God is merciful. Mercy means to spare judgment. Now God Himself, He chooses the ones that He'll have mercy on. It's not man's choice, it's God's choice. He chooses those only will spare their judgment. It's not their choice, it's His choice. So God's election does not depend on man's will, instead it depends on God's will and God's mercy. Look at John 1, verses 12 and 13. John 1, verses 12 and 13. And that reads, but as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. So what he's saying is that Becoming a child of God is not of physical birth, not being born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, the desire of a man and a wife to get together and have a baby, nor is it of the will of man, but of God. So God is the one who chooses who gets saved and who doesn't get saved, not man. Now take a look at John 15, verse 16. It becomes even clearer in this passage. John chapter 15. And verse 16, Jesus said to the disciples, you did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he may give to you. So Jesus said to the apostles, you didn't choose me, I chose you. Does that mean that they did not freely choose Christ? I don't believe so. I don't believe that's what it's saying. They freely chose Christ. At the same time, lots of people freely chose Christ. But he only chose twelve to be his apostles. In fact, one of them was a betrayer. But the fact of the matter is, it's Christ's choice, it's God's choice that gets a person saved, but that doesn't mean that we don't freely accept Christ. You see, God chose... God's election does not depend on man's will, it depends on God's will and God's mercy. God chose to save those who accept Christ. Still, those who choose Christ still deserve hell. You see, God's choice regenerates us. Our choice does not. Okay? It's kind of like a guy... the illustration I like to give is like a guy... Me and some other guy are picking, we're the captains of baseball teams and we're picking players, and a guy says, hey, Phil, I choose to be on your team, I really want to be on your team. And I decide, hey, I want to pick him to be on my team because I want guys on my team that want to be on my team. So I pick him to come on my team. Then he comes on my team and he tries to run the show, and tries to run the team, and I tell him, look, you need to remember, you didn't choose me, but I chose you. And just like that, I myself chose people on my team that wanted to be on my team. God chose people... God chose to save those who were willing to trust in His Son. At the same time, it's God's choice that gets us saved. The fact that Phil Fernandez chose Jesus Christ and trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation does not mean that I deserve to be saved. I still deserve the pits of hell as much as any man does. But it is God's choice, God's election that regenerates me, gives me the new birth. And even though it's by God's grace and God's mercy, even though I, meaning that I do not deserve it. Now, we do need God's persuasion. No, I believe a man freely accepts Christ, left to himself, all men and all women would just go their own way, and would go astray, and would not turn to God for salvation. So God, we need divine revelation, God has to reveal a salvation plan to us, but we also need divine persuasion, God has to persuade us. God attempted to persuade Jonah, and Jonah repented. You know, a big storm, he got thrown into the sea, swallowed, and he was in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights. That was some pretty heavy persuasion Jonah got with the program. However, God attempted to persuade Pharaoh. You see, God desires all men to be saved. He attempted to persuade Pharaoh, but Pharaoh refused to repent. And so, divine persuasion, God tries to persuade all men to come to Him, but man has the free choice. God gave man free will. We're going to talk about God hardening Pharaoh's heart in the next lecture and all. But the fact of the matter is, God gave man free will. I want us to look at some passages that teach this. Look at Matthew 23. And verse 37, Matthew 23.