Romans 9:30-33

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30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ~ Romans 9:30-33

Today, we come to the end of our study of Romans 9, which centers on Israel's Past. In today's passage, the Apostle Paul addresses the question: How can the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ be true if God's chosen people, the Jews, do not believe it? Romans 9 chronicles all that God did in the past for Israel to position them to believe in the One of whom the Law and the Prophets spoke, the Lord Jesus Christ. This kind of faith causes one to be defined by the God of the Bible. However, just as Adam and Eve while in the Garden of Eden, Israel by and large, rejected God and His definition for their lives. And so, Romans 9-11 is an apologetic for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v.30-31 of today’s passage we read,  “30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal.”

In this passage, the Apostle illustrates what he taught in Romans 4, a right standing before God comes only through faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. You will remember that before Abraham was a Jew, he was a Gentile from southern Iraq.  And, as was the case with him, there is a way we can tell if we are being drawn by the Holy Spirit to place faith in the Lord Jesus or if we are being permitted to remain condemned in our sin. 

From the beginning of time we have seen this tug of war between the will of man and the will of God. If we have come to the end of ourselves, we will be postured to consider not only the existence of God, but, we will also entertain the vital questions about life and eternity that possibly causes us to pursue a personal relationship with God for ourselves. For those who are not being pursued by the Holy Spirit, they will be blinded by their own arrogance and they will not come to faith in the Lord Jesus despite all of the biblical evidence pointing to the Lord Jesus as the Messiah.

In Romans 5, the Apostle Paul reminded us that the Law of Moses came from God to sinful man in order to magnify the fact that fallen man needs a Savior. The Law does not and will not solve man’s sin problem. This is the lesson that unbelieving Israel failed to garner. As a result, they did not see their need for a Savior and they did not recognize their Messiah when He came. The Jews wrongly tried to remedy their sin problem through their good behavior. They failed to recognize they needed intervention from God. They failed to see that it is the God of the Bible alone who can and has remedied our need for salvation. It was the God of the Bible, through His Son, who crossed the great chasm created by our sin in order to redeem us from eternal damnation.

In v.32-33 of today’s passage we read, “32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.'”

The Jews pursued righteousness through the means of the self which is the essence of sin. When we are drawn by the Holy Spirit, we will be defined by the stone, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is if the drawing of the Holy Spirit leads us to place our faith in the Lord Jesus. Mankind has one of two choices regarding this stone: we can stumble over Him, or we can establish our existence on Him. The Jews pursued their own salvation on the basis of themselves, relying upon their own definition of how life should be, causing them to stumble over the very One who came to save them from themselves.

In v.33 of today’s passage, the Apostle quoted Isaiah 28:16 which describes the Rock of salvation for all who are willing enough to believe in Him as our God and Savior. Those who look to Him find eternal life in Him. However, to those who reject Him, He is a stumbling stone who is in their way. The Jews were so self absorbed in their own virtues that they never noticed God's gift of salvation right in front of them. To those who rely on themselves they find Him in their way. To those who trust in Him they find He is the Way.

This passage ends with: “the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” A better translation of this sentence is: “the one who believes in him will not be fearful." 

In the Garden of Eden, sin corrupted our fear of the Lord, turning our awe of God into terror before Him. As a result, we turned what was supposed to be worship of God into the worship of the self. Now, our human predicament is dire because we’ve rebelled against the only One who can remedy our problem. Like most of Israel, we have wrongly crowned ourselves as little sovereigns, and discovered we’re terribly inadequate for the task. But, those who believe in the Lord Jesus as Savior have no reason to fear because on His cross, He has overcome everything that causes us to fear, even our inadequate selves. This truly gets at the root of our salvation, being rescued from the self that was deceived into believing we can be our own gods. This self was deceived into believing that God is not good and He is not our answer. This is why the Lord Jesus came, to reveal the heart of the Heavenly Father and that He can be trusted.

Romans 9:27-29

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27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. 28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.” 29 And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.” ~ Romans 9:27-29

Today, we return to our study of Romans 9 where the Apostle Paul has established the fact that the unbelief of Israel does not violate God's promises that He gave to them in the Old Testament. It has always been that the promises were realized through faith in the One who issued the promises. The promises began for Israel with the Abrahamic Covenant. Through those promises God revealed He had an everlasting plan for Israel. In fact, God promised them that they would be as numerous as the sand of the sea.

In v.27-28 of today's passage we read, "27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. 28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth."

In context, the Apostle Paul proves his point again and again by quoting several Old Testament prophets. In today's passage, Paul quotes the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. In v.27 Paul quotes Isaiah 10:22-23, proclaiming: "Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea a remnant will be saved." Isaiah prophesied in Judah when Uzziah was king at about 760 B.C. He prophesied for about 48 years and he warned them that not all would be saved. Isaiah saw the unbelief of Israel. He saw then that not all Jews would be saved due to their lack of faith in the God of the Bible. The events of Jewish history monitored by Isaiah prophetically painted a picture that the Apostle Paul merely picks up on here in today's passage. 

In v.28 the prophet Isaiah promised that a fast and thorough judgment was coming on Israel and very few would escape that judgment. Small number of Jews would escape the great Assyrian conquest, as history reveals. The rest entered into the judgment of their unbelief and their rejection of God. And so, this passage was prophetic for the time of Christ that only a small group will be rescued while the vast number of Jews would enter into the judgment of God on them that reject Him. Paul's point is that Israel's rejection of the gospel is no violation of God's plan. It was predicted. Fulfilled, just as was foretold.

In v.29 of today’s passage we read, “And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

Notice the change from remnant to seed, emphasizing how small the number of those who would believe would be. This is so because people do not want God to tell them what they can or can’t do.

The reason the Lord is referred here as the Lord of Sabaoth  because Sabaoth means hosts which are the angels, the stars, the heavenly bodies, the planets, and the galaxies.  And he says by contrast, "The Lord of the much and the Lord of the many and the Lord of the hosts has chosen a seed." And, if God didn’t from the very start have a remnant of believers, then we would have all ended up like Sodom and Gomorrah. You will remember that Sodom and Gomorrah ended up as a ruble of fire because they were not willing to be defined by God. They were literally buried in utter devastation, never to be recovered or discovered, utterly destroyed. They became a byword for complete destruction. We would all be destroyed if it weren't that God, the God of everything, had chosen a small seed.

So, the Jews would enter into a time of great unbelief, and, they would be scattered throughout the earth. And out of it there would be a small remnant. And this is the way it has always been, the only reason anyone believes is because the Lord of Sabaoth chose to leave a seed. 

The God of the Bible has always been the God of the least. The Lord Jesus was called a “friend of sinners.” The religious leaders of His day saw the Lord Jesus hanging out with prostitutes, tax collectors, the downtrodden — and they hated Him for it. What caused them to hate the Lord Jesus was the very thing that caused the average person to love Him. He was accessible and available. He didn’t look down on anyone. Everyone was valuable to Him. Everyone mattered in His eyes. He was a friend, even to messed up people who had lost their way. He went to their neighborhoods. He spent meaningful time in their world. 

One day, while the religious crowd sneered at Him for His choice of friends, the Lord Jesus replied, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” Being a friend of sinners didn’t mean that the Lord Jesus compromised His standards. He never participated or gave approval to their wayward ways, but He did care enough to get to know them. He touched those whom He should not have. He ate with those who took advantage of others. And, the closer He got to them, the more they were drawn to Him. Isn't that our story with Him?

Romans 9:22-26

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“22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” 26 and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’” - Romans 9:22-26

Today, we continue our study of Romans 9 where the Apostle Paul has been accentuating the sovereignty of God. The Apostle has been doing this because there have always been those who would try to reduce God to the status of a mere human because they do not want to be accountable for their sinful choices. So, the Apostle Paul has been dealing with the question of whether God's word failed and is it fair that some people go to hell and others go to heaven. 

In v.22 of today’s passage we read, “What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?”

Throughout the scriptures it is obvious that God holds mankind responsible for believing in Him. God has never accepted fallen man through any other door than His righteousness. God always operates according to His perfect character, and, He always has purposes that are far beyond our abilities to even imagine. This is why He is so intent on the idea that we walk with Him in His ways. For centuries God has put up with man’s blasphemous and rebellious ways, and yet, He continues to woo mankind to Himself. He never gets exhausted in His attempts to get us to the place that causes us to cry out to Him. All of these attempts merely reveal to us His tremendously loving heart. 

In v.23-24 of today’s passage we read, “23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?”

Given the spiritual inability of lost man, we must be “born again” in order to enter into a relationship with God. These verses shine a light upon an inscrutable mystery which I do not thoroughly understand. But I don't have to understand it for it to be true. John Nelson Darby once said, "These truths are darkness to my intellect but light to my soul." There are factors at work in life which only God understands and we must trust Him with the outcomes. One thing which is very clear is that without the display of God’s wrath which is the absence of His love no one would ever come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In v.25-26 of today’s passage we read, “25 As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” 26 and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

Like the wives of the patriarchs, Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel, we are all barren. It does not even matter if we are Jewish, with all of the privileges that should have made it easier for them to see the truth. Or, if we are Gentiles and we didn't have as much light. We are all in the same boat: dead in our sins and separated from the life of God. Our only hope is found in trusting in the graciousness of God, as shown through His Son laying down His life for us.

It is the nature of God's grace to break our hearts, causing us to bow our wills in humble gratitude. But, not everyone wants to bow their wills. This is the problem. And, the problem with self-made men is that they tend to worship their creator. And that creator would be themselves. Throughout the scriptures we see this posture of the unredeemed man, whether it is Esau or Pharaoh. The unsaved man is not willing to let God be the supreme being in his life.

God has knowledge that man does not. Therefore, He has the right to do whatever He sees fit. And what if His objective is not only to display his power and his wrath by allowing and permitting man to oppose him and to resist him, but also to display his love and long-suffering? Even though we may be born again and even though we are assured of heaven on the authority of God’s word, we still lack complete knowledge and understanding. This is why we all need God so desperately. And to think that we could elevate our knowledge and understanding above God’s by accusing Him of wrong doing, well, we are gravely mistaken. This is the epitome of arrogance which is what inaugurated sin the first place.

The key is in the call of God upon our lives. And, whether or not we are Jewish or Gentile or whether God uses His wrath or His patience or His love, what does it matter, as long as it accomplishes the goal of rescuing us from the clutches of eternal damnation? Whatever means God uses to draw us to Himself, those means are a means of His grace. It is a miracle that He pursues us and therefore who are we to resist His will?

Romans 9:19-21

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19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? ~ Romans 9:19-21

Today, we return to our study of Romans 9-11 where we are learning about how the sovereignty of God is crucial to the development of our faith. As we have considered before, Romans 9 is about Israel’s past with God, while Romans 10 is about Israel’s present with God. And, Romans 11 is about Israel’s future with God. The subtle message here is this: Will we seek to know and have a personal relationship with God?

In v.19 of today’s passage we read, “One of you will say to me, ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?’”

Through this backward looking question, the Apostle Paul continues to establish the righteousness of God. This question comes from Isaiah 29:16 where God isolated Israel's rebellion. In context, the Lord declared that the people of Israel drew near to Him with their mouths, but their hearts were far from Him. They put on a facade thinking they were right with God. All the while, their hearts were not engaged with God and thus they were to be blamed.

In our fallen condition, man naturally finds fault with God when we do not understand why things are as they are. We blame God because we know that He is the only one who can really do anything about it. Our accusations of God echoes the accusation of God made by the devil throughout all human history.

In v.20 of today’s passage we read, “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”

In reply, the Apostle Paul indirectly compares the difference between God and man. Man is finite, frail, and foolish. God, on the other hand is infinite, all powerful, and all wise. Sinful man’s question of the righteous God is senseless since man is the one who chose differently than God. In context, the Apostle has been establishing the fact that the sovereign will of God will always come to fruition. This means we always have the same choice whether to be willing with God or not. Many would accuse God of being arbitrary but that is not the point here. The point is will we bow our wills to God and believe.

In v.21 of today’s passage we read, “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?”

No one tells our Maker how to make him. Yet, rebellious man wants to try to blame God for the consequences of our poor choices. No matter how intelligent we are, we will never know it all. There are many things in this world, due to our fallen nature, that we do not know and understand. Yet, God knows things that are true of you and me that we do not know of ourselves. He knows who will embrace Him and who will not. He does not make that choice for us, but He enables us. And, He has always known the outcome. 

It is true that God chose to save His elect before the foundation of the world, and those elect people are consistently referred to as the "chosen" of God in the scriptures. The Bible repeatedly confirms that believers are both predestined and elected unto salvation. It is also true that man is responsible to repent and believe in Christ. The experience of every Christian confirms that repentance from sin and belief in the blood of Christ to wash our sins is something we must do, willingly, to be saved.

When a clay pot has a lump in it, in order to smooth it out, the potter puts it on his wheel and shapes it with his hands. While shaping the clay, the potter uses water to soften it. As a result the stiffness is removed, making the clay malleable. This is how God works in our lives. Instead of discarding us, He painstakingly has reshaped us. It is His desire that His reshaping would be experienced by all, but some have resisted the touch of the potter.

I am discovering that it is the default mode of my soul to resist God. This, of course, is futile for God will always have His sovereign way. I am also discovering that when His will is realized in my soul and my life, it is the best possible thing for me. This, of course, is Paul's point here. God sends no one to hell, people choose that for themselves. But, make no mistake about it, it is God who sends us to heaven. And, it is His sovereign will that we experience the benefits of heaven while we are on this earth. And the reason for this is that others might benefit from His work in our lives, resulting in the birth of faith in the God of the Bible within their souls. This is His calling on all of our lives.

Romans 9:14-18

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14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. ~ Romans 9:14-18

Today, we continue our study of Romans 9 wherein the Apostle Paul chronicles Israel’s past relationship with the God of the Bible. In context, the Apostle is expounding more deeply upon the doctrine of election and why it is so important. Due to the fact man utterly rejected God and His culture, we were totally walled off from God. This is what the Bible refers to as spiritual death. Paul tells us in Ephesians that we were born dead to God due to our spiritual death in Adam.

In v.14-15 of today’s passage we read, "14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

God is by nature, love, but man was separated from God by our sin. This meant we could not access God’s love. It was our sinful condition that had caused God’s presence to be hidden from us so that we could not be in His presence. Our sin gave the devil domain over our existence. One day, the Pharisees came to the Lord Jesus and said, “Our Father is God.” To which the Lord Jesus responded, “If God were your Father you would love me. For I came from God. You do not understand my speech because you're not able to listen to my word? You are of your father, the devil.” 

After this the Lord Jesus informed the “religious leaders” that there is only one way to become a child of God, and that is by receiving God's Son as Savior. The Lord Jesus is the only way into God’s family. In John 1:12-13 we read, “As many as received him to them he gave the power, the right, the authority the privilege to be called sons of God to those who believe in his name.” 

In v.15, the Apostle Paul quotes Exodus 33:19 which records the words God spoke to Moses who had been on the mountain with God for forty days and nights. While Moses was up on the mountain, the children of Israel were down at the foot of the mountain worshipping a golden calf. In fact, they danced around the golden calf, stripping off their clothes until they were naked. When Moses came down from the mountain with the Law in his hands, he was furious. As a result he broke the Law into pieces and went up to the top of the mountain again where he discovered that God, too, was angry. Moses began to intercede, and God pointed out that even Moses could not intercede for the people. It was in that context that God said to Moses, “I will bless whom I will bless, I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I want to show compassion.” It is very important to note that God's election operated with a backdrop of utter failure on the behalf of Israel. 

In v.16-17 of today’s passage we read, "16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

While Moses and the story of Israel at Mt. Sinai are used to show how God shows mercy upon whom He will, Pharaoh is used to show that God hardens whom He will. In fact, the scriptures tell us that God raised Pharaoh up for this very purpose. It doesn’t mean that He caused him to be born in order that he might be lost but He put him on the throne in order that Pharaoh’s stubbornness would be the backdrop by which God’s power and grace would be on display. Over ten times in the Old Testament it says, "Pharaoh hardened his own heart" long before God hardened his heart. Pharaoh was lost because God did not choose to show mercy on him, and Pharaoh chose not to believe. Moses and Pharaoh were equally guilty before God.

In James 4:6 we read, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." The problem with humility is that brokenness precedes it. And people like Pharaoh and Esau didn't want to be humbled.

In v.18 of today’s passage we read, “Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.”

God’s mercy and compassion are not rights that anyone deserves, these are favors graciously bestowed upon the willing by God. This is why God can show mercy to whom ever He pleases. God did not create hell for any human being, but He lets rebellious man go there if he chooses to. Anyone who wants nothing to do with God on this earth and pushes God away, He will allow that. It would be cruel if someone wanted nothing to do with God, and God made them come into heaven. God makes a sovereign, independent choice to show mercy, to be compassionate, on whom He wills. God's not willing, the Bible says, that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The question is: Will you believe?

Romans 9:10-13

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10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” ~ Romans 9:10-13

Today, we return to our study of Romans 9-11 where the Apostle Paul has turned our attention to the nation Israel and why they rejected the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In light of that historical fact, the Apostle Paul is, in these three chapters, addressing the question: Has the word of God failed? Salvation is not earned through our good works. In fact, we are saved through our faith in God's good works. 

In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls."

Rebecca and Isaac had twin sons who had the same pedigree. One didn't have an advantage over the other. Before they were able to make choices, either good or bad, in order that God's purpose in election might stand, it is obvious that God chose Jacob. We have difficulty with the doctrine of election because we think that we play no role in our salvation or that God is arbitrary. We either believe or not and this is what determines our eternity. Based on Paul's argument in Romans 1, all men have the chance to believe.

Now, it is clear in the Scriptures that man is dead in his sins, and we would have never responded to God unless He enabled us to believe. And, we can rest in the fact that God is good and just and He always does the right thing. And, it is a well established doctrine that God holds all humanity responsible to believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation.

In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 it was said to her, 'The older shall serve the younger.' 13 As it is written, 'Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.'"

Between Esau and Jacob, Jacob was acceptable by God, even though he was a schemer. Esau, on the other hand, was much more admirable when he was growing up than his brother. But through the course of their lives, Jacob was the one who was brought to faith, and Esau was not. God uses this as a symbol of how He works. 

The word "hated" must not be understood as though God actually disliked Esau and would have nothing to do with him and treated him with contempt. According to Genesis 36, God blessed Esau and made of him a great nation. He gave him promises which He fulfilled. As with anyone humble enough to come to faith in the God of the Bible, God set his heart on Jacob and welcomed him into a relationship with Himself. And, since Jacob believed, he like many in the scriptures forever stands for one who placed his faith in the God of the Bible. Esau, on the other hand, forever stands as one who did not place his faith in the God of the Bible.

The final confrontation of Jacob and Esau that is recorded in the Bible was when the Lord Jesus stood before Herod the king. Herod was a descendant of Esau, and, the Lord Jesus was a descendant of Jacob. There, standing face-to-face, were Jacob and Esau all over again! Herod had nothing but contempt for the King of the Jews, and the Lord Jesus did not open his mouth in the presence of Herod. 

What Paul is teaching us here is that God has a sovereign, elective principle that he carries out on his terms. Here are those terms: Salvation is never based on natural advantages. Never. What we are by nature does not enter into the picture of whether we are going to be redeemed or not. Also, salvation is always based on a promise that God gives. This is why we are exhorted in the Scriptures to believe the promises of God. It includes, in some mysterious way, our necessity to be confronted with those promises, and to give a willing and voluntary submission to them. Lastly, we never earn God's favor. Never! Before Jacob and Esau demonstrated either good or bad behavior, God chose Jacob.

Now, it is normal to struggle with the idea that this makes it appear that God is unfair. But, He is God, He knows all things in the instantaneous now. And, our flesh or the evil desires within us reacts to all of this. We must remember that God has skills, understanding and wisdom that we do not. He is greater than we are. He knows more than we, He is all together good, and He knows what He is doing. And, everything He does will always be consistent with His character. And, due to our limited understanding of all of this, we choose to trust Him. In eternity we will understand this, and in time we will always struggle to see it from eternities view.

The ways of God is a great mystery to us due to our limitations. But, the take away here for us is: we are not saved because we sought God; we are saved because God sought us. This chapter began with the question of whether or not God’s plans had failed because some of the Jewish people had rejected the Lord Jesus. Paul responds by saying that not only has God’s purposes for the Jewish people not failed but God is doing something even greater by choosing those who are not Jewish to be part of the promise as well. God’s purposes will always stand. And, God continues to pursue His people, call them to Himself, and miraculously save them and use them for His glory. 

And, this gives us the reassurance that nothing will ever thwart His will, causing us to conclude that we can trust Him with everything.

Romans 9:6-9

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6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son. ~ Romans 9:6-9

Today, we continue our study of Romans 9-11 where the main topic is the sovereignty of God. In the first eight chapters of Romans the apostle Paul has dealt with a variety of doctrines which in Romans 9-11, he expounds upon. Whereas Romans 9 is about the past history that the people of Israel had with God, Romans 10-11 are about Israel's present and their future with the Lord respectively.

In v.6 of today's passage we read, "It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel."

Since Israel largely rejected God's Son, it appears that the purpose of His word to change theirs hearts failed. But, this is not the case because God's promise to all of Israel who did believe succeeded. The rejection of Christ by the majority of Israel does not negate the promise of God to the minority who believed. In fact, God still extends the Abrahamic Covenant to all who would believe in the Lord Jesus as our Savior. 

God's choice to save anyone is not based upon physical descent nor human merit. Abraham did nothing meritorious before He was intercepted by God in Genesis in Genesis 12. God does not operate on the basis of who we are related to or any other human connection. God's choice does not operate on the basis of human perfection. No one works really hard at being good enough to earn the favor of God. God only operates on the basis of the faith that we choose to place in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Interestingly, like his grandfather, God intercepted Jacob long before he did anything meritorious. Before he was known as Israel, he was known as Jacob. The name "Jacob" means deceiver and the name "Israel" means prince with God. God named him Israel after Jacob wrestled with the angel of God all night one night. God made Jacob, the deceiver, into Israel, the prince. But those who are Israel's descendants can not necessarily claim the promises that God gave to Israel because salvation is not inherited, it is a free gift from God received by those humble enough to believe that God is faithful and true. 

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'"

In Genesis 18:10 we read, "And He said, 'I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.'" 

For Sarah, Abraham's wife to have a child at the age of 90 was a biological miracle. Yet, that was God's promise to them in this verse. The birth of Isaac involved God's own supernatural activity. And, His promise was based on what He did, not upon what Sarah and Abraham would do.

As I am sure you know, Abraham had another son, Ishmael, the son Abraham had with Sarah's handmaiden Hagar. Ishmael was born thirteen years before Isaac. By rights, he should have inherited the promises that God made to Abraham, but he didn't. Instead, Isaac inherited those promises. Ishmael stands as a symbol of the futility of expecting God to honor our ideas of how He should react to our attempts to aid His work.

The circumstances around the birth of Ishmael were sketchy. According to Genesis 16, Sarah said to Abraham, "Do you expect God to do everything? He has promised you a son, but you are getting old. Time's wasting. Surely, God doesn't expect you to leave it all up to him!" To this Sarah suggested that her husband follow a pagan act by taking Sarah's Egyptian maidservant. Hagar then conceived and bore a son whose name was Ishmael. 

According to Genesis 17, Ishmael was brought before God by Abraham, who said, "God, here is my son. Will you fulfill your promises to him?" God said, "No, I won't. That is not the one. He must come by divine promise." Abraham and Sarah had misunderstood one caveat in the promise God had given them: God would do it miraculously so that they would not mistake that He did it. God is committed to do only what He has promised to do. 

In v.8 of today's passage we read, "In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring." 

Again, according to Genesis 18, God gave Abraham and his wife Sarah a promise which turned into a biological miracle. God supernaturally gave the couple a son in their old age. Abraham sired another son, Ishmael, and God also gave them Isaac. But the promise was not to the firstborn, though that was the culture, and that was what the cultural law demanded, that the firstborn would get the inheritance. But it skipped the firstborn, and, it went to the second born, Isaac, the son of promise. He was the son of promise because he believed.

Same with Isaac and Rebecca. They had two kids, Esau and Jacob. Esau, the firstborn, should have gotten the inheritance. He didn't. It went to Jacob. It is true that the Bible teaches that God elected us. On the other hand, He implores us to believe in Him, He holds us responsible for selecting Him. He predestines and He calls. But then we have to decide to believe.  

in v.9 of today's passage we read, "For this was how the promise was stated: 'At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.'"

God makes choices based on His sovereign will. This doctrine is called "election" or "predestination." According to the scriptures, believers in Christ were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. And yet, God says we must choose. This is one of those mysteries that we will only understand in eternity, but, we can be greatly encouraged that our eternal security is guaranteed by none other than the God of eternity.

God's election is always a matter of His grace. He doesn't elect based on what we deserve. If God acted only on the basis of our righteousness or the false idea that we deserve it, no one would ever be saved. The gospel of the grace of God is the message everyone needs. The word of "grace" is proclaimed from every page of the Bible and ultimately revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. The last verse of the Bible summarizes the message from Genesis to Revelation: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all” (Revelation 22:21). In John 1:16 we read that through the Lord Jesus, “we have all received grace upon grace.” His is the only kind of grace that we all hunger and thirst for. His grace is the gratuitous and undomesticated kind of grace that liberates rebellious sinners into being the sons and daughters of God.

For those who would find fault with God that all are not saved, I simply quote John 3:16-17, "16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

Romans 9:1-5

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"1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. 4 Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." ~ Romans 9:1-5

Today, we transition into Romans 9. After explaining the fact that all mankind is guilty and deserving of hell in Romans 1-3, and the believer's justification in Romans 4-5 and his sanctification in Romans 6-8, Paul turns to the plight of the Jews who have largely resisted God's love. It is clear throughout the Bible that God is not finished with Israel, even though they rejected Him. In fact, according to Daniel 9:24-27, it is evident that He has a future plan for this group of people.  

Romans 9-11 focuses on the nation of Israel. In these three chapters, the Apostle Paul uses Israel to illustrate the themes that he has developed in Romans 1-8. Romans 9 highlights Israel’s past,  Romans 10 zeros in on Israel’s present, and Romans 11 delineates Israel’s future.

In v.1-3 of today's passage we read, "1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel."

We begin this chapter with the recognition of the depth of the anguish of Paul's heart for his fellow Israelites. His sorrow at his countrymen's dismissal of the Lord Jesus was unbearable to him. I am convinced that it was unbearable because he maintained a close and intimate walk with the Lord. Knowing God so well and the depth of His love for him, the Apostle was broken hearted by those who wanted to remain under the law wrapped up in religion, instead of having a personal relationship with God. 

It is only when we begin to understand the intensity of God's love that we can begin to get to the point that the Apostle was as described here. This is intense, and, Paul couldn't bear for his people not to experience the love of God as he. What a lesson this is on how to approach someone who isn't very eager to receive the truth. We must never come to those who are lost with accusations, or with bitter words, or denunciations, or even with the issues that separate us. Paul first dove deep into his personal relationship with the Lord and then he identified with the deep seated confusion of the lost.

To the Jews of Paul's day, I am positive he sounded like he was their enemy. Had a Jew read the letter of Romans, he would have regarded it as a gigantic put-down to the whole nation. Paul's ministry made his countrymen angry and upset, even violent in their rage against him. And yet, he was not their enemy, as he himself makes clear here in today's passage. The spiritual condition of his countrymen broke his heart. His anguish was so deep that he declared that if it were possible, he would be willing to take their place in hell to make it possible for them to believe in the Lord Jesus as their Messiah.

In v.4-5 of today's passage we read, "4 Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen."

The Jews had every reason to recognize the Lord Jesus for who He is, because they had been given by God the where with all to arrive in that place. But, Israel’s downfall was its arrogance which led to God’s rejection of them. If we find fault with God for saving some but not all, we are really asserting that mankind has a right to be saved. And, we all know this is absurd. For Israel, God advanced his purposes by choosing to give Israel the stage for Christ, through whom salvation would open to all of mankind.

Now, it appeared to many in Paul's day that the word of God failed to lead the Jews to faith in the Lord Jesus. That is until we factor in the fact that they had a choice to believe in the Lord Jesus or not. Notice the many reasons why Israel, as a whole, should have recognized the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. There are eight unique things that God granted the Israelites that should have so greatly influenced them that they should have believed in the Lord Jesus. 

The Apostle Paul didn’t tell us the story of Israel simply that we might appreciate it. He did so that we might find our place in it. We like Israel find ourselves thinking that "Mercy is only for the deserving." We get to this place when we forsake abandoning ourselves to God. If the purpose of Israel was to set the stage for Christ, our purpose is to give Christ the stage. And, the stage is our very lives. Israel set the stage for Christ so that God’s salvation could be extended to all of mankind. It is through the stage of our broken lives that God shines most authentically to our friends and acquaintances.

By and large, we are reluctant to give Christ the stage, because we are more narcissistic than we think. Once we overcome our reluctance to go belly-up with God, it is then that the real adventure begins. This adventure is the most rewarding and the most taxing. It is most taxing because now that we have been found, we are now expected to be lost in the will of God. And, that is dangerous to our comfort laden world. It is most rewarding because of the inexhaustible nature of our God of grace and mercy. And, nothing can make injustice just but His grace and His mercy.

Romans 8:35-39

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35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~ Romans 8:35-39

Today, we conclude our study of Romans 8 where we have been learning of how the Holy Spirit factors in on our sanctification. Today's passage places the spotlight on the concept that gives us the greatest amount of confidence in a world that is stacked against us: the love of God. 

This chapter began with the idea that the believer in Christ need not fear any "condemnation" from God, and, it ends with the idea that we need not fear any "separation" from the love of God that is given through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v.35-36 of today's passage we read, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'"

There are days in our relationship with God that all hell seems to be invaded our existence. In those moments when it appears that the truth that we have long been convinced of is threatened by our circumstances, we need a vantage point to rise to in order to maintain the security that the truth provides us. it is a biblical understanding of God's love that inflates our perspective to the point that we realize we waste time when we doubt God's commitment to us. 

In our moments of doubt, we learn what is truly substantive in our lives. In context here, the Apostle asks a series of question, questions that threaten our assurance that God really is committed to us in those most difficult moments of life. These questions are oh so important because they present to us the contrast that we need to be even more convinced of the veracity of the truthfulness and faithfulness of God. And, without the contrast, we do not see more clearly that which is most important.

That which we focus on the most is that which will define us. Perhaps you noticed the accentuation of the word "love" in today's passage. Used three times here, God's love is the anchor that we need that keeps us from capsizing in this world of torrential waters. It is the love of God that provides the buoy that our troubled souls need, and, God has clearly provided it through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no truth in the whole Bible that impacts us as much as the love of God. In 1 John 3 we read, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us or lavished on us." The word "behold" is such a key word here because in order for us to be defined by something, we must be preoccupied with it. the drilling down of our understanding of the love of God in Christ is essential for the maturation of our heart's ability to see God. In this case, when the love of God truly captures our attention and begins to define us, we will be the most secure people on this planet.

God's love is so amazing, because He is Holy. And, since He is Holy, God is unapproachable. This is why our only door to enter God's presence is the Lord Jesus Christ. While on His cross the Lord Jesus paid for our entry way into God's presence. While at Mount Sinai, the children of Israel could not come near God's presence, otherwise they would have died. They would have died because their sin had not been atoned for. 

In God's holiness, He is unapproachable. But in His love, He is approachable. When the Lord Jesus came into this world, He said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." At His first coming, the Lord Jesus showed up as God incarnate, as if to say, "Now, you can approach God." The Lord Jesus never met anyone He didn't love. He loved the worst of sinners. And He loved the best of saints. And He loves everyone in between.

In v.37-39 of today's passage we read, "37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Now, in these verses, Paul is picturing us surrounded by all of our enemies. But we still come out on top as the winners, because we are more than conquerors through Christ. That phrase, "more than conquerors" is one word in the original Greek language. It means that through Christ's merit, authority and will, we are super conquerors. 

Not even our arch enemy death can separate us from the love of God. In fact, death will unite us to God one day. It will unite us into His immediate glory, because death's sting was taken away at the cross and the tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have a victory in death. Remember what David wrote, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." David didn't write, "the valley of death." No, he wrote "the shadow of death." This means that all of our trials present the possibility of defeat, but we can rest assured that we will even more than win in the end, just wait and see.  

At the end of the book of his epistle, Jude wrote, "Keep yourselves in the love of God." This means that we must be diligent to keep ourselves in the place where we are mindful of God's love for us. The only place this is done is at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our sin would try to convince us that we can out sin God's love but this is impossible. God's love sought us when we had nothing to give Him in return. His love is humanly irrational in the sense that it has nothing to do with our intrinsic qualities. His love is a decision on His part to favor us, the undeserved. An accurate understanding of this results in our ability to love Him in return.

Romans 8:31-34

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"31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." ~ Romans 8:31-34

Today, we return to our study of Romans 8 which has as its main topic the sanctification of the believer in Christ. This section in Romans reiterates the fact that God is for us, and only when we have trusted in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross can we access His love. Through His cross the Lord Jesus paid the debt that was created by our rebellion. That rebellion rejected God's definition of all things. Our sanctification is the process whereby we are being given God's definition of all things. As a result, our thinking and our choosing is becoming more consistent with the wisdom of His word.

In v.31 of today's passage we read, "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" 

Even though through believing in the Lord Jesus, we have been included in God's family and we know with our heads that God's will is the best for us, we still struggle at trusting God. The reason we do this is due to the fact that God allows and uses the unwanted pains of live to bring about His purposes for our lives. Through life's many up and downs, God takes us to places that we would never choose for ourselves. He does this so that He could give us what we could never receive anywhere else, Himself.

I remember the day when I sat on the back porch of my childhood home in Georgia. It was my last night in the place that had given me the most precious memories up to that point in my life. I cried like a baby because my newfound personal relationship with God included quite a bit of the unknowns. I was fearful about what and where the will of God was taking me. In this case, His will was taking me to Columbia Bible College in Columbia, South Carolina. But, the uncertain way is where the excitement is found. Such is the nature of our faith in the God of the Bible.

Little did I know then that God's will would radically change my life for the absolute good. We all search for the next thrill in life. Some take to traveling to foreign lands, some take on a new hobby, but it is all the same. We all want a life that is full with meaning and purpose. But, nothing in this world truly fills that hole in our soul. The reason the God-shaped hole in our soul is never fulfilled is due to the fact that these pursuits are not of eternity. I am not saying that we should not enjoy the pleasures of this life, Lord knows we need the distraction from time to time. But, we must remember that we were created to work at our best in the kingdom of God. This is the point of our sanctification which is not about a better us, it is ultimately about how our lives count for His kingdom in the lives of others for eternity.

All that the Apostle Paul has written up to this point in the book of Romans should convince us that God desires our best at heart. And, since God is for us, it doesn't matter who is against us.

In v.32 of today's passage we read, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

All things work together for our good because we have been part of God's plan from eternity past. It happened in real time in the present, and, it will continue into eternity. And, since God was willing to sacrifice His own Son, we need worry about anything else. In other words since God has willingly given us the most precious thing to Him, we can count on Him to meet all of our needs. 

In v.33-34 of today's passage we read, "33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

Since Christ died, and, is also risen, it really doesn't matter who brings any accusation against us. It could be the devil, himself, and believe me, he has plenty of ammunition to use, but, it is God who has justified us through His Son. God has made a declaration concerning you and me, a declaration that shouts we are forgiven and we have been placed into His family for eternity. So, because God has made a declaration concerning us, we are foolish to allow anyone else, even ourselves, to define us. 

The Lord Jesus sits at the right hand of God. He is interceding on our behalf. He tandems with the Holy Spirit, interceding for us daily. The Lord Jesus is seated because all of His work for our salvation has been completed. He is always at work in our lives, sketching out what is perfect for His outcome. And, we can rest in the fact that He knows the end from the beginning. Once God completed creation, He rested. Once the Lord Jesus finished His work of redeeming all who would ever believe, He made it possible for us to rest. And, the more we experience His rest amidst the troubles of life, the more we will rest at trusting Him to use all things together for our good and for His glory.

Romans 8:29-30

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"29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." ~ Romans 8:29-30 

Today, we return to our study of Romans 8 which is about the believer's relationship with the Holy Spirit. Throughout this chapter, the Apostle Paul chronicles the workings of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in Christ. The Spirit reminds us that the believer in Christ is not condemned in v.1-4. In v.5-8, He teaches the believer how to think God's thoughts. In v.9-11, He teaches us how to walk in God's ways. In v.12-17, the Holy Spirit teaches us how to live the life that the Lord Jesus died to give us. Then in v.18-28, the Holy Spirit teaches us the value of our trials and their role in the deepening of our faith in the Lord Jesus. All of this is designed to enable the believer in Christ to increase in his intimacy with the Lord Jesus Himself.

Today, we come to v.29-30 where the Holy Spirit pulls back the curtain allowing us to see the greatness of the One who is behind our salvation. Think of it, had not the Lord Jesus agreed to come and bail us out of our damnation to hell, we would be hopeless. We would spend eternity in a place that was made for the devil and his followers. Having said that, the beauty of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is that it is real. God doesn't rescue us out of the pains of life, He rescues us through the pains of life.

Most believe that if we love God, we will not have bad things to happen to us. This postulate is obviously not true! Horrible things can happen to us, and believing in and loving God will not keep them from happening. As we considered in our last study, God uses all things to work together for the good of the believer in Christ. The "good" is the will of God for our lives because He absolutely knows what is best for each of us. God allows or causes bad things into our lives, in order to rescue us from things that can destroy us. Things like arrogance, selfishness, hardness of heart, and the belief that we don’t need God, in the long term will destroy us. God's will rescues us from these things that we have long been too acquainted with.

In v.29 of today's passage we read, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."

In this section the Apostle Paul is simply describing the process involved in bringing each believer in Christ to faith in Him. The word the Apostle used translated "foreknew" in this verse informs us that from among the tremendous number of human beings that have ever walked this earth, God foreknew that you and I would believe in His Son as our Savior. In fact, the chances that you and I would emerge to be in God's family was somewhere around 1-200 million. 

We are told that before the foundation of the earth, God foreknew that we would believe. Then, Paul tells us that God "predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son." Predestination has absolutely nothing to do with anyone going to hell. According to the Bible, predestination is never related to that in any way whatsoever. Predestination is a term only applicable to believers in Jesus Christ. This simply means that God has chosen that those who believe in His Son would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Greek word translated "conformed" means "metamorphosis." A God-caused change is promised to those who are willing to trust Him. This means God's primary objective in our lives is that we be "holy" or "whole" or "complete." God's goal in the life of the believer is that we function as He intended us to function, like the Lord Jesus. And, in this case, we are not the one's producing the outcome. 

In v.30 of today's passage we read, "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."

Only those who are in a personal relationship with God can have the application of the words "predestined," "called," "justified" and "glorified." God's vantage point is much different than ours. He sees from the realm of the instantaneous now (eternity), as opposed to our limited view of time. Of course, no one would be able to come into a personal relationship with Him unless He call, yet we bare the responsibility to exercise trust in God or not. And, if we exercise that truth or faith, we will know the application of the words predestined, called, justified and glorified.

The Apostle wrote, "Those he predestined, he also called." This means that at one point in time the Holy Spirit began working in our lives so that we would enter into a personal relationship with God. For the Apostle Paul, he was converted in the brilliant light on the Damascus road when he saw the glory of the Lord shining around him greater than the sun. He was intercepted by the Lord Jesus as he was traveling to Damascus to persecute Christians. He thought that he was right with God, but he wasn't. The Lord Jesus had to blind him for three days so that he would come to faith in Him. The Apostle fought the Lord but in the end the Lord won out. Our salvation is really part us and part God. Our part was running away from God, and God's part was to run after us until we were found by Him.

As a result of being predestined, we were called and justified. All along in this letter we have been looking at what justification means. It is God's gift of worth. We who are justified are valuable in God's sight. We are forgiven through the work of Christ on the cross. When the Lord Jesus took our punishment on the cross, God was freed to give all humble enough to believe the gift of righteousness. Had He given it apart from the cross, He could be properly accused of condoning sin, but the cross freed Him to lavish on us sonship. 

Paul wrote, "Those whom God justified, he also glorified." At the end of time, there will be none lost in this process. The same number of people He has called, He also justified, and, the very ones He justified, He also glorified. No one is lost in the process, because God is responsible for it. It is going to involve pain and toil, death and tears, disappointment, sorrow, sin, and failure. But it is going to happen, because what God sets out to do, He accomplishes, no matter what it takes.

Charles Spurgeon once said, "When we get to heaven, we’ll see those great big pearly gates, with a huge sign overhead that reads, "Whosoever will, come". And as we pass through the gates into heaven, if we would care to look over our shoulder, we’d see that there’s another message on the other side of the sign. It reads, "Predestined before the foundation of the world". From the earthly side of heaven, all we can really understand is that we have a choice. God offers us salvation, but we have to choose to accept it and receive it. Yet when we get to heaven, we’ll look back and see that we were chosen by God from the very beginning.

To be sure, the point of these three verses is that we are viewed by God as perfect through His Son, and we are learning to see that God can take a bad and bring good out of it.

Romans 8:26-28

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"26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." ~ Romans 8:26-28

Today, we return to our study of Romans 8 where we have been learning about sanctification. An essential part to our sanctification is the role the Holy Spirit plays. In today's passage we learn that the Holy Spirit helps the believer in Christ to pray. The preceding verses reveal that creation groans for a world without the effects of sin. In fact, there are three groanings in this passage; that of creation, that of the Spirit, and we ourselves groan. These groanings are reminders that this world is not our home. Our hearts have been lured by our Creator who not only chose to give us life, He also chose to lay down His life so that we could spend eternity in heaven with Him. These groanings that we have for another world are evidence that we are children of God.

In v.26 of today's passage we read, "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." 

Prayer is the instinctive mark of the born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Generally, we do not pray unless we have a sense of dependence. Independent people do not pray. It is only when we come to the place where we realize we can not handle something that we really begin to pray about it. And, it is out of that sense of dependence that comes the instinctive cry of the heart expressed in prayer. 

There are times when we do not know what to pray. We lack the words to even form the simplest of prayers. According to this verse, it is in these moments that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. The Greek word translated "intercedes" means "to rescue someone who has no hope." That’s what the Holy Spirit does. When we do not have the strength and we are confused and we do not even know how to pray the way we should, the Holy Spirit intercedes before God on our behalf. God prays for us in these moments. He does this by taking our groans, those prayers that we can not form into words, and He presents them to the Father in heaven. This type of prayer emanates out of our sense of dissatisfaction and discontent which are products of our deep hunger and thirst within for God. This deep hunger and thirst is evidence that this world is not our home. 

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "... and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

We must be careful to not separate this verse from the previous two verses. That which the Spirit prays for is what happens in the life of the believer in Christ. The Spirit prays according to the mind and will of the Father who answers these prayers of the Spirit by bringing into our lives the experiences with Himself that result in a deeper intimacy with Him. This means that the unwanted trials and tragedies that happen to us are also an answer from the Father to the praying of the Spirit. The Spirit of God voices the deep concern of God Himself for our most important needs. And, His motive is that we gain a greater sense of our security in our Heavenly Father’s intentions for our lives. 

In v.28 of today's passage we read, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Out of uncertainty and the help of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives comes the assurance that no matter what happens in our lives, it will work together for our good and God's glory. And, the more we experience this with God, the more we will be adjusted to any scenario that He sends or allows to come our way. This verse does not tell us that everything that happens to us will be good; it tells us that whether the situation is bad or good, it will work together for our good as we learn to give our hearts to God. As a result, our calling will become increasingly evident to us. This will result in a more growing and intimate relationship with Him. 

This means we can wait with patience for God's will to come to fruition in our lives because as He has worked in this world for thousands of years, He is actively at work in our lives. This means we are always being prepared for the next thing that He has in mind for us. This call of God on our lives to abandon ourselves to His will for our lives is the greatest adventure that we could ever imagine. And, with each passing day, it is being revealed to us as we learn to walk in and by His Spirit, even through the bumps and bruises of life. 

The words "work together" is one word in the original language. This one Greek word literally is best translated, "together energized." We get our English word, "synergy," from this Greek word which means God, in His power and providence, causes all things, even those things that are unwanted by us, to produce a result greater than the sum of those things. And, this is where our faith comes in. As we trusted God for the forgiveness of our sin, we trust Him with the daily events of our lives to accomplish His will for and through us on the basis of His proven character. 

Just four years ago our middle son died and was resuscitated three times back to life. That first night was the longest night of my life. The evening when it all happened the doctors could not give us any hope that our son would live through the night. But, he miraculously did. The beauty of it all was there was incredible tapestry revealed to us as we went through my most difficult of trials. Our daughter in law kept oxygen going to our son's heart until the paramedics arrived at their home. That night people worked who were not supposed to work. Doctors were placed in the life of my dying son who had been perfectly fitted for the moment. And, the outcome was truly amazing, revealing the amazing heart of our Heavenly Father to us. Four years later the life of our son is perfectly normal, being used in the lives of his many elementary aged students. I have to say that week was the most difficult week of my life but it continues to bear forth the purposes of God in our lives. Through that trial I met one man in particular. When I first met Him he did not know the Lord as his Savior. To make a long story short he came to faith in the Lord and he has since died. I will one day see him in heaven because of my son's death.

God sometimes causes or allows the most tragic moments to come about in our lives in order to grant us a deeper walk with Him. This deeper walk is not only a gift to us, it is a gift to others because God has been known to use such to bring about His perfect plan for and through our lives. He does this not only for us but also others. He rarely blesses us with only us in mind. God has to sometimes allow what He hates in our lives in order that He might accomplish what He loves in our lives. And those who have trusted in Him, not only experience His blessings in the end, we also experience the blessing of helping others as they struggle with life's unwanted trials and frustrations. Through all of this we are growing more comfortable with the idea that says, "All things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are the called, according to His purpose." 

Romans 8:23-25

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23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. ~ Romans 8:23-25

Today, we continue our study of Romans 8 which is all about the believer's relationship with the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit's responsibility to bring about the process of change that God desires to bring about in the soul of the believer. Sanctification is the changing of the mind, the will and the emotions of the believer in Christ.

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body." 

Today's passage begins with the words, "Not only that..." With those words the Apostle referred us back to what he had written before which was about the fact that all of creation groans for its redemption. And, like all of creation, the believer groans for our redemption which has been provided but not fully realized.

Previous to today's passage, we learned that the believer in Christ has been adopted into the family of God, but the full reward of our adoption is a whole new resurrected body. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He justified us and He freed us from the penalty of our sin. He also freed us from the power of our sin which is sanctification. And He glorified us which is our deliverance from the presence of sin. This means that the believer in Christ has already been provided justification, sanctification and glorification. And this verse points us to that day when we will experience our glorification or our deliverance form the presence of sin.

Though we ourselves are totally redeemed in spirit, our bodies and souls are not yet totally redeemed. Along with all of creation we, too, are groaning. All through this paragraph there is a constant contrast between the groan and the glory; yet there is a link between the two. Nature groans; we groan. And yet the groan is producing glory. 

In 2 Corinthians 4:17 we read, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

Our afflictions are working for us to prepare us for the glory that will be revealed at the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Every time we groan, it is a reminder to us of His promise of glory. I do not think anything will transform our sufferings more than remembering this fact. And, as we groan and anticipate, we bring Him glory because we believe in His promise of our glorification.

In v.23 the Apostle wrote of "the first fruits of the Spirit." This term first fruits is a concept taken from the Old Testament and is applied here to the Holy Spirit. The "first fruits" were the first fruit of the harvest, which God commanded be offered to Him. When this was done in obedience to God, He then guaranteed that the rest of the harvest would come in. In using this term "first fruits," Paul is telling us that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the believer is God’s guarantee of the fullness of the harvest of redemption that will come at His second coming.

In v.24 of today's passage we read, "For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?"

When we trusted in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we were given justification, sanctification and glorification. Believers in Christ were saved in a state of hope or confidence in our future glorification. Being saved “in hope” is the guarantee of our full salvation including our justification, sanctification and glorification. Faith in Christ’s death effected our salvation and at that point we placed our hope in the idea that our mortal bodies will one day be liberated from decay and death. Hope does not save us, but our salvation is characterized by our hope.

Hope is always a confidence concerning the future. It’s a confidence, not a finger-crossing wish. In Romans 5:5 we read, “Hope does not put us to shame.” The hope the Lord Jesus has given us is rock-solid and sure. Biblical hope creates confidence in the believer. When we say that hope does not see what it hopes for, the reason it doesn’t see it is because it hasn’t happened yet. Our hope is always future-oriented and consists in a firm confidence of what we are hoping for; it is not just a wish.

The main distinction between Christian faith and Christian hope is that faith is in a substantial way a trusting relationship with a person. Faith says to Christ, “I trust you, not just your promises.” Faith and hope are related concepts as seen in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for.” Biblical hope is built on faith. Hope is the earnest expectation that comes with believing something good. Hope is a confident anticipation that naturally stems from faith. 

Our lives consist of a great deal of groaning. But our groaning is done in hope. As nature groans in hope, so we groan in hope, too. For in this hope we were saved, in the anticipation that God has a plan for our bodies as well. Though our bodies are in pain and we struggle with suffering now, it all is useful to God as we continue in our sanctification. Even our pain and suffering is an important aspect of our lives. It is something that is part of the whole program and plan of God, part of the privilege committed to us as Christians. 

In v.25 of today's passage we read, "But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."

We are saved in hope, and by that hope we live. It is true that hope, by its very nature, is something yet in the future but hope that is seen is no hope at all. And, what makes it possible to wait in hope is that we already have the first fruits of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us joy and peace and patience in the context of our pain and suffering. These are the first fruits of the Spirit, the power of God to make the believer in Christ at peace in the midst of our trials and our troubles. Instead of sight, which is the realization of our hope, we “hope for what we do not see.”