We take a deep dive into the theological intricacies of election, as discussed by Paul in chapters 9 through 11 of Romans. Through the stories of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau, we unravel the truth that God’s election is not based on human attributes but on divine grace and mercy. The episode further emphasizes the significance of answering God’s call in our lives, recognizing the profound mercy that underpins His divine plan for salvation.
So we saw yesterday that Paul is faced with a conundrum. The gospel says that nothing can separate us from the love of God, and Paul also knows that God takes the initiative for the salvation of human beings, not we. We are blind and indifferent to it all, and God confronts us with his good news. And therefore, why hasn’t Israel been saved? Well, that’s what Paul is dealing with in chapters 9 through 11. And he says that the promise has not failed. And he then says, that is, the word of God has not failed. And then he speaks about a promise. That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. Now, how does he come up with that? We reminded ourselves yesterday that Isaac was the child of the promise. He didn’t come by natural human force. He came by a promise from God. Sarah was barren, had been barren all her life. She was now 90 years old. Abraham was 100 when the child was born. This child was a type of Jesus Christ. Without the power of human creativity, this child came forth in the same way that Jesus came forth. And then God says, Paul says, for this is the word of the promise, at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. When did God say that to Abraham? When he was 99. When God visits, then this will happen. Sarah will become pregnant. And so it was. And the next year, the whole village and community were celebrating and laughing about the whole situation, how amazing it was. And the child was called Laughter, which is the meaning of the name Isaac. And so Paul is saying, the children of the promise, are counted as the seed. So what does that really mean then? That people who believe in God’s promise receive salvation. That is, people who believe in God’s promise are a saved people. Now how do they come to believe in God’s promise? Do they come to believe in God’s promise by their own will and their choice? Some believe and some don’t. No. People come to believe in the promise of God when they have been brought to an end of their own abilities to fulfill their own goals and promises. Remember, look at the life of Abraham. Read the story in Genesis. It covers a number of chapters from starting chapter 12, I think it is. And it’s an astonishing story. Here is Abraham with everything that the world needs, a tremendously wealthy man, as well as an able governor of his household of 500 people, presumably, a fair and honest pagan. And yet he did not have the one thing that he needed, a child. And so he was brought to the end of his resources. He had to lean heavily upon God’s promise. And that’s how God’s salvation comes to people. That is how they come to trust. God brings circumstances or arranges circumstances or hedges up the circumstances of evil so that they fall out according to his will. God arranges circumstances that bring us to a psychological or physical or spiritual end of ourselves, that we come to the place where we’re stuck, where we’re at a cul-de-sac, where we’re at a dead end, where we simply cannot move forward. And then it is that we realize how very frail and human we are, how limited we are, and how much we need God. And that is the moment when God hints at his grace, and we call out to him for mercy, and then it is when God reveals the saving life of Jesus Christ for us. And that’s how faith comes. Now, all that process is part, or rather is what the Bible calls election. Election. For this is the promise, The word of promise. At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even our father Isaac, going to the next generation now, for the children not yet born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand forever. not of works, but of him who calls, it was said to her, the older shall serve the younger. And so Paul’s talking here about Jacob and Esau, of course. Esau was the firstborn, and yet Jacob received all the inherited promises. He was counted as the firstborn, that God’s election might follow through. now look what it says here for the children not yet born nor having done good or evil in other words they were not saved they were not elected because they were that one of them was better than another People are not elected because they’re more virtuous or more righteous or more insightful into spiritual things or more capable of seeing the gospel than others. People are elected purely by the love and grace of God. Now, when you understand that all people are elected, you might ask, then why isn’t everyone saved? Because there is another process. When God chooses to elect, When God, having elected all humanity, then he chooses to call various ones at different times, in different situations, and different periods of history. Think of your own life. Think of how you came to Jesus. Did you come to Jesus because you were a very studious and intellectual person, because you were very morally upright, because you had tremendous spiritual sagacity? Did you come to Christ because you had some interior quality about you that enabled you to see the glory of Jesus? No, none of that. You came to Christ because God called you. Now you say, wait a minute, I went forward, I chose Christ. Oh, not quite. You only chose Christ because Christ chose you. According to the book of John, and read it, you’ll see it there clearly, no man comes to the Father, to me, that is to Jesus, except the Father calls him. What is God doing calling you at this particular time in your life? That you might be one of his witnesses, that you might declare his praises to the rest of the world, to your neighborhood, to your family, to your loved ones, to your children or parents. And so that’s what we need to see here. God is going about the process of saving Israel, both physical Israel and spiritual Israel, by the process of calling various people. And so you and I need to lift up our hearts, having reflected upon our salvation and saying, Lord, thank you very much for calling me. Thank you. I mean, I think of my own life. I’m an old man now, but I was called by God. I didn’t realize it was a call at that time when I was 15 years of age. I went to a meeting that I had no idea was a Christian religious meeting. I thought it was a lecture on flying saucers. It was called Man from Another World, and as a teenager I was fascinated by these themes. I went into that meeting. There weren’t many people there, not more than 20 or 30, I think, most of them elderly or middle-aged, and I was the only young person there I felt really weird. And this man in a black suit and a collar and tie stood up and had a Bible in his hand and started preaching on the second coming of Jesus Christ. I was utterly stunned. I had never heard of such things. I had never opened a Bible in my life, though I had gone to Sunday school as a little boy. But that was a glory to me. I immediately believed. I had the joy of thinking, of knowing that Jesus was returning and restoring this earth. I felt I had a home. It was an amazing reality to me, an amazing salvation. How did it come about? not by my choice of God, but by God’s choice of me. Not because I was a special person, but because God was having mercy. You see, mercy is involved in election. We shall see that. Election is all about mercy. God in the Trinity, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, before the beginning of time, before the creation of the universe and the world, elected, predestined this world and all humanity in it to be saved. And he goes about naming us, calling us from at one time and another. And you may say, well, I’m a Christian. I became a Well, come back. You can always come back. And the fact is, if you are hearing this message and you are hearing what I’m saying, then it is God calling you back. Not because I’m God by any means, but because God, through humble servants of his, calls people back to himself. God calls all backslidden people to him. You can come back. You can respond to him. And so we have what Paul is developing here, this marvelous message of election. For the children, not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that’s verse 11, that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him who called, it was said to her, the older shall serve the younger. Now back to that before having done good or evil. You may be saying to yourself, I’ve done too much evil. I’ve gone too far. I’ve stepped over the line. God does not call you based upon whether you’ve done a lot of good or whether you’ve done a lot of evil. He calls you by his love. He calls you by his mercy. And so you can say, Father in heaven, though I’m a sinner and though I’m an evil man or woman, I thank you that you have shown and are showing mercy to me and I’m hearing it right now and I receive it. I receive the merciful message of Jesus, my Savior, who atones for my sins, takes them all away, buries them in the midst of the sea and reconciles me to you. This is what God does. He goes about being merciful. And so the message of mercy needs to spread throughout the world, the mercy of God in Christ, not simply a soft human mercy that is trivial and piddling. This mercy has taken the sacrificial blood of God himself in Christ. And so, He then says, it was said to her, the older shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. And so you do, and we’ll talk about the hated thing in a bit, but not right now. But you do not look to your upbringing, to your privilege, to your wealth, to all the advantages you have in life, whether you’re black or white, whether you are of one race or another. You look to the fact that God elects, and he has elected you in his mercy, and he elects everyone and has elected everyone. That will be revealed as we go through this book, these chapters 9, 10, and 11. Now he’s calling, and you say, Lord, I accept your call to Jesus Christ. By faith, I believe that salvation comes to me by your act, not mine. Thanks for joining me today. Colin Cook here and how it happens. You can hear this broadcast on your smartphone or other remote device. Simply download a free app, SoundCloud.com or Podbean.com and key in how it happens with Colin Cook when you get there. You may also hear this program on the radio, 10 o’clock in the evening, repeated at 4 in the morning in the Denver and Colorado and surrounding states areas on AM670 KLT. That’s in the local area. I’ll see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
We take a deep dive into the theological intricacies of election, as discussed by Paul in chapters 9 through 11 of Romans. Through the stories of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau, we unravel the truth that God’s election is not based on human attributes but on divine grace and mercy. The episode further emphasizes the significance of answering God’s call in our lives, recognizing the profound mercy that underpins His divine plan for salvation.
