Romans 10:16-18

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16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.” ~ Romans 10:16-18

Today, we return to our study of Romans 10 where the Apostle Paul is defending the sovereignty of God in light of the fact that most of the people of Israel have not come to faith in the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. The rub here is that so many privileges were given by God to Israel that should have translated into them believing en masse in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. But, it didn't. And so, many question the veracity and the power of the promises of God.

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed our report?'"

This quote from the prophet Isaiah was uttered when the people of Israel were surrounded by their enemies. They were surrounded because they had opened themselves up to their idols and the degrading practices that were associated with those idols. This was the context into which Isaiah the prophet spoke some 725 years before Christ was born in Bethlehem.

For the most part Israel, as a majority, rejected their Messiah. He came unto His own and they received Him not. But, just because the majority doesn't believe doesn't negate God's promise to the minority. The fact that God made a promise, and just a few believed it, does not negate His veracity. It actually reveals the hardness of the human heart and the fallenness of humanity.

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

We grossly underestimate the word of God. We listen to the reading of the expression of God's culture so haphazardly. This explains why such a few in Israel really recognized the Savior when He appeared to them. They had not truly been trained to hear Him. 

Faith in the God of the Bible comes as a result of hearing His voice within our hearts. The Greek word that is used for the word "word" in v.17 is a very unique word. This word is different than the Greek word used to describe the word "Word" in John 1. This word is the "spoken word" of God. Whereas the word used in John 1 describes none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, this word describes His utterances which creates faith in our hearts. And, most often, the utterance of God is unrecognizable to us. Our lack of real and meaningful and purposeful faith is the product of our inability to really hear. This type of hearing happens much deeper than in our ears; it happens in our hearts. 

Since our faith in the God of the Bible is aroused by our hearing with our hearts,  we do well to hone those skills which enable us to really hear, to hear with our hearts. There is a word in the Old Testament often translated "understanding" that is key to learning to hear God's spoken voice. This word is the Hebrew word shâma, which means "to hear."  Solomon, the wisest human King ever, asked God for a hearing heart so he could lead the people and make good decisions. This wisdom came from his ability to hear God clearly and on a regular basis.

Hearing God comes through the unwanted moments of life. When I say the unwanted, I mean those things that we avoid at all cost, like pain and suffering and loneliness and grief. It is during these types of moments that we hear that still small voice most effectively. This does not mean that if we have intense pain in our lives that we will automatically be intimate with God. It is only when we encounter these moments and these moments aid us into seeking Him more and knowing Him better that we experience such a level of intimacy with Him. This, of course, is easier said than done.

In v.18 of today's passage we read, "But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world."

In this verse, the Apostle quotes Psalm 19:4 from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew. By doing so, he subtly underscores his point that this is a universal proclamation of the gospel.  In Psalm 19 King David identifies the heavenly bodies which declare to all God's existence. We know this as natural revelation which when heeded leads us to special revelation. In the same way that the stars have touched the earth with natural revelation, the gospel touches the human heart with special revelation.

The gospel is the good news which God has sent throughout all the world. That makes the gospel a whosoever thing. It goes way beyond Jews to embrace Gentiles. Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And God showed it by sending His messengers all over the world. The sound is going out everywhere. Sadly, many Jews rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ because it involved the Gentiles. And many still reject it for that same reason.

When Galileo was summoned before the inquisition to be tried for heresy in declaring the revolving of the earth around the sun, he was brought in to be declared a scientific heretic. What he discovered, that the world was not the center of the universe, of course, was true. But the existing establishment denied it. He said to his judges these words, "I can convince you. Here is my telescope, see for yourselves." But, they refused to look. They were so convinced the earth did not revolve around the sun that no amount of evidence would ever make them change their mind, they wouldn't even look. That's the way it is with Israel and all who will not believe. They simply will not look.

There are different levels to spiritual reality, and, the more we die to self which is the essence of sin, the more we see. God offers us deep intimacy with Himself, but there is a price that we must pay. Most often that price involves discomfort. This explains the trials of this life that we as believers in Christ encounter. God give us the wisdom to not run from the trials but to learn to embrace Him through them. Better yet, may He through the trials embrace us. The result will be the unfolding of the greatest story every realized by any mere human. A story with God as the Author.

Romans 10:14-15

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14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ~ Romans 10:14-15

Today, we return to our study of the fourth section in Romans 9-11 which is about the sovereignty of God. Having considered the works of God in the past history of the nation of Israel in Romans 9, we are now considering the present workings of God in the nation of Israel in Romans 10. 

How many times have you heard this question?, "What happens to the people who never hear about the Lord Jesus?" I have always believed that this is not a legitimate question, because everyone has heard about Him through creation and the conscience that He created us with. Today's passage begins us down the trail that answers this most probing question that comes out of the human heart.

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"

Behind every call that God issues into the human soul must result in belief, if we are to be redeemed from the unmerciful clutches of sin and death. This means that our minds must at some point in the process be engaged with God. This means our intellect must be engaged in order for us to decide that we believe that God sent His Son into this world to rescue us from certain damnation.

In Romans 10:14, the Apostle highlights the fact that behind the eventual belief that we arrive upon is the message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. There must come a point in time that someone chooses to be the vessel through whom God delivers the Gospel for the hearers to believe. This is why he asks the question: "How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?" 

The beauty of all of this is we have a message that is grounded in history. It is objective truth, not just something that happened inside of us. It is not some feeling that we are following that we hope will work out; it is the story of historic events. When we share the Gospel with others, we are not presenting some philosophy, we are presenting a faith that is grounded in events that cannot be explained away. And, of course, behind the message, is the messenger. There has to be a messenger speaking forth this message. 

This is why God is giving to you and me a unique story with Himself. He expects us to share with others the Gospel couched in our personal relationship with Him. This is so key because when done this way, the Gospel is most easily received by those who have yet to believe for themselves. The Lord Jesus Himself said, "Pray the Lord of the harvest, that he may send forth laborers into the harvest." 

In v.15 of today's passage we read, "And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

The Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7 here because when the truth of the Gospel message takes root in the human heart, we can't help but to share it. This, initially, was a picture of the Jews returning from Babylonian captivity. There was great joy when the messengers walked on the mountain tops and gave a signal fire to the next mountain top. In doing so, they sent out the message that God had given them back their land. 

 

In today's passage the Apostle broadens the message to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which will, if believed, take us to the promised land of heaven. When we share the Gospel with the lost, it is truly an act of love. Every time someone calls out to the Lord, a tremendous process is behind it. There is the darkness and anguish of the mystery of the cross, the birth at Bethlehem, the wonder and miracle of the resurrection, the sending forth of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. All of this is involved the process behind a single individual calling on the name of the Lord. And, in this context, the sharing of the message of the Gospel is expected to be shared couched in the stories that God has and is giving to us. God is the One who is always behind it all, He started and saw it through completion. And, the Apostle Paul stresses here the utter importance of our involvement in it.

A week just after I trusted the Lord Jesus as my Savior on October 26, 1981, the Lord began to place the name of a man on my heart. Daily the Lord pounded me with the need for me to share my story with this man. He did this because He knew this man's time on this earth was very, very short. Since, I didn't know this part of the story, I dragged my feet. I allowed very flimsy excuses to keep me from sharing the truth that alters our eternity forever.

One day, a friend informed me that the man the Lord had been putting on my heart was in the hospital in a coma. Needless to say, I was thrust into intense action. And, even though this man never came out of the coma, I went to the hospital that day and shared my story with him. I also, shared the Gospel and challenged him to believe. I have often wondered if he heard me and if I will see him one day in heaven. This is why today's passage is so very important. Even though we can not believe on the Lord Jesus on another person's behalf, this should never keep us from sharing with them. After all, their eternity depends to some degree on our decision to be selfless and tell them of the most important news we can ever share with anyone.

Romans 10:11-13

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11 As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame." 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ~ Romans 10:11-13

Today, we continue our study of Romans 10 where the Apostle Paul is explaining how God is sovereign and that His will is not frustrated even by the unbelief of the Jews who reject the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true that no one ever believes unless God draws us to Himself. And, it is also true that we are all responsible with the choice we make regarding Jesus Christ. We call this a paradox. Both teachings are true; God calls men by an elective decree that is irresistible, and yet they must respond by a choice of their will, which they are free to make or not, as it pleases them.

In v.11 of today's passage we read, "As Scripture says, 'Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.'"

The next question the Apostle Paul anticipates in this passage  is: "How can anyone be saved?" Throughout the history of man, the only way anyone has been justified or made right before God is through faith in God and His promises. It is only by faith that we lay hold of what God has to promised to those vulnerable enough to embrace the humility which leads to dependence upon our maker. Rightness with God is never gained by earning it, or by trying to be good, or by the good outweighing the bad, but simply by acknowledging that Jesus Christ is God Himself.

Note that the Apostle writes "anyone" in v.11. I remember worrying during my first year of faith that I was not of the elect of God. After some time of wrestling with this issue, I concluded that the very fact that I was wrestling with that question was proof that I was. Someone who does not wrestle with that question should worry whether he is in the family of God or not.

Everyone has faith. The key to being right with God is that we place our faith in Him. Christianity is the only religion that teaches that God came to us; every other religion requires of us to go to Him in hopes that he responds in like manner. In fact, in Romans 5:8 we read, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Most find it so difficult to put their faith in the God of the Bible because faith is the art of relinquishing control to someone we have never seen with our eyes. However, it is when we have relinquished control to God, even in the smallest of ways, that we begin to see Him for who He is. And, this is so hard because we only see Him this side of heaven with our hearts.

 

The phrase "put to shame" means to be disappointedly disillusioned. This word can also be translated defeated and it is also used in Romans 1:16 as "not ashamed." This word does not bring forth the idea of shame as we think of it. It includes the idea of disappointment. The believer in Christ has absolutely no reason whatsoever to be disappointedly disillusioned by the greatest news to pierce our ears ever because the gospel always accomplishes the work that God intended it to accomplish. This gospel is a proven product, and that's what the Apostle is getting at here. 

In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Throughout the Old Testament we see that salvation was not just extended by God to the Jews only. In fact, Gentiles were included in the Abrahamic Covenant. And, from verses like this verse which the Apostle quotes from Isaiah 28:16 and a slew of others, God has always extended salvation to "whosoever." So, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the gospel for the whosoever. As God offered salvation in the Old Testament to the whosoever, He offers it in the New Testament to the whosoever. And, the only barrier to salvation is not racial, it's not cultural. The only barrier to salvation is personal rejection.

The "call" that the Apostle identifies here is the product of a certain measure of brokenness in us. Crying out to God is an act of desperation flowing forth from a broken heart. It leads to fervent expression of faith in God and trust in His goodness and power to act on our behalf. With God brokenness always precedes blessing and usefulness. And, we think this life is about being blessed, but I am here to tell you that it is really about being a blessing to others. This is why the take home lesson in the end of this book of Romans is servant leadership.

Romans 10:5-10

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5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ~ Romans 10:5-10

Today, we continue our study of Romans 9-11 where the main subject is the sovereignty of God. In Romans 9 we considered Israel’s past with the Lord. In that chapter we considered all that God did to position Israel to believe in Him consistently which they did not. In Romans 10, the Apostle Paul instructs us regarding Israel’s present with the Lord. 

In v.5 of today’s passage we read, “For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, ‘The man who does those things shall live by them.’”

In this verse the Apostle quotes Leviticus 18:5 where God promises to fulfill the humanity of the one who walks in God’s righteousness. God promises His blessing upon those who simply obey the Ten Commandments. If we walk in God’s ways, we will live the life the Lord Jesus died to give us. Yet, we can not do the things the law prescribes perfectly. This is why the Lord Jesus came; to fulfill the Law and the Prophets on our behalf. He did this so that we could be justified in the eyes of the Father. 

In v.6-7 of today’s passage we read, “6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, 'Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”

In this passage the Apostle quotes Moses again where he points us to the importance and necessity of faith in the God of the Bible. By asking the questions, “Who will ascend into heaven?,” and “Who will descend into the abyss?,” the Apostle is saying a righteous standing does not come to us through our good behavior or our obedience to the Law. In fact, the Apostle combines two words in these verses, “faith” and “heart” to point us to how the righteousness of God is realized in and through our lives only by faith.

In v.8-9 of today’s passage we read, “8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Paul is saying here the same thing that Moses taught that salvation comes to us only by grace through faith in the God of the Bible. Moses knew that the people could not earn God’s favor or their justification before God, and he saw clearly that God would lay the foundation for salvation in the incarnation and the resurrection of of the Lord Jesus. That is why Paul quotes these words from Deuteronomy. Moses saw the coming of Christ down from heaven; he saw the resurrection, the raising of the Lord from the dead. 

In these two verses are found the key elements for salvation. The mouth here speaks of our outward man, the intellectual understanding of what has happened, expressed in words; the heart is the inner man, the will, the spirit deep within us understanding the basis upon which God saves us. When we believe in our hearts that God raised Christ from the dead, when we confess with our mouths and we believe in our hearts that the Lord Jesus conquered sin and death on our behalf, we will be saved. 

In v.10 of today’s passage we read, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Our salvation begins with the confession of our mouths that "Jesus is Lord." We must not twist those words to mean that we have to stand up in public somewhere and announce that we believe Jesus is Lord before we are saved. Paul does not mean it that way. What he is saying is the mouth is the symbol of the conscious acknowledgment of what we believe. It means that we have come to the place where we recognize that the Lord Jesus has demonstrated that He is Lord over our greatest enemy, death.

So, the only righteousness that gets us into heaven that comes to us is a righteousness that's very high because it must meet the infinite standard of the holiness of God. It's a righteousness that we can't gain on our own and so Christ provides it for us through His death, burial, and resurrection. And it is appropriated to us by our faith placed in Him and in Him alone. 

Notice that the Apostle intentionally used the words righteousness and salvation here. Righteousness has to do with what we as believers in the Lord Jesus become.  Salvation has to do with what we don't become. Righteousness has to do with what we receive. Salvation has to do with what we don't receive, punishment. Righteousness has to do with entering into blessedness. Salvation has to do with escaping His wrath and the cursedness of sin. Two great terms describing two sides of God's redemptive work in our lives in the present and in eternity.

Romans 10:1-4

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1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. ~ Romans 10:1-4

Romans 9-11 is about God's dealings with Israel. Romans 9 chronicles Israel's past, Romans 10 chronicles Israel's present and Romans 11 chronicles Israel's future. In Romans 10,  the Apostle Paul is answering the question: Why do some who have little knowledge of God are saved while those who have much knowledge are not saved? 

In Romans 9-11, the Apostle Paul takes the concept of salvation and deconstructs it. In doing so, he shows how a person becomes saved whether they are Jew or Gentile. 

In v.1 of today’s passage we read, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved."

In this verse the Apostle notes that essential to the unsaved coming into a personal relationship with God is there must be some saved soul who cares enough to share the faith with them. Evangelism always starts with us caring for the lost, because the truth is if we don't care, we won't share. It's only when we do care that we feel the need to share our faith with unbelievers.

When we care enough for others, we do what the Apostle did in todays passage; we pray for them. This is the most important thing we can do on the behalf of the unsaved. It is evident that praying for those who have yet to believe in the Lord Jesus is not inconsistent with the example God gives in the Scriptures. God calls people to believe on the Lord Jesus through the preaching of His Word and the prayers of His people.

In v.2 of today’s passage we read, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.“

In Hosea 4:6 we read, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” 

Zeal plus knowledge equals faith. Zeal is the earnest desire that is displayed when someone has given their heart to something. Knowledge, in this case, is the definition of God on anything. Israel sought to establish their own righteousness, and therefore they missed the gift of God, which is the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. The Jews, Paul says, were constantly trying their best to obey or measure up to the Law of Moses. They failed to do so, but they were not willing to admit that they failed.

In v.3 of today’s passage we read, "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God."

The Jews were destroyed because of a lack of knowledge that bound them to their ignorance in an illusion. The Jews didn't know then how holy God was. They thought God would tolerate all of their violations of the Law. They thought they could live such a righteous life that they would attain the righteousness of God for themselves. They thought the standard was at their level, what they didn't know was the standard was infinite. Their whole system was a system of establishing their own righteousness. They had brought God down so low, they didn't know that through their own willful ignorance God was infinitely holy. 

It is our ignorance of God that makes us believe that we must earn His favor. When someone is struggling with the assurance of their salvation, we should drill down on teaching them biblical theology, biblical teaching about God. Most of the the time that we think that God is mad at us, He isn't because His ways are contrary to ours.

In v.4 of today’s passage we read, "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."  

The only One who could provide righteousness for us all was the Lord Christ and the Jews by and large rejected Him. They did so because they sought righteousness not by faith but by their good works, and they, therefore, brought God down to their level. This made God small enough to make them think they could attain to His level by their good behavior. And, when Christ came they stumbled because over Him because they didn't understand the provision of Christ. He came and He condemned their self-righteousness as He does everyone who thinks they can attain to God. He shoots down self-righteousness and calls it unrighteousness. 

Since the Jews lowered God’s standard, they didn't realize they needed the Savior. They invented a righteous God whose righteous standard they could live up to on their own. That's why the Lord Jesus had to come and lift the standard up and show them that God was more holy and more righteous than they thought. There is no other way to God but through the Lord Jesus Christ who is God incarnate. The Law cannot cure our corruption; it can only show it to us. The Law was our guide to bring us to Christ who is the end of the Law; He is even the end of every desire we have ever had.

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."