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Romans 8:31-9:13 Who Is It For?
Romans chapter 8 starting in verse 31 be reading to chapter 9 verse 13.
Hear the word of the Lord.
What then shall we say to these things if God is for us who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all how will he not also with him? Graciously give us all things.
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies who is to condemn Christ. Jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised who is at the right hand of God who indeed is interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? So tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword as it is written for your sake We are being killed all the day. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, and all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I'm sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers or things present or things to come nor powers Nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation Will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I'm speaking the truth in Christ. I am NOT lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers my kinsmen according to the flesh.
They're Israelites and to them belong the adoption the glory the covenants and the giving of the law the worship and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs and from their race according to the flesh is the Christ who is God over all blessed forever.
Amen.
But it is not as though the Word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel and not all our children of Abraham. Because they are his offspring, but through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
This means that it is not the children of the flesh. You are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said about this time next year I will return in.
Sarah shall have a son and not only so but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man our forefather Isaac. Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad in order that God's purpose of election Might continue not because of works but because of him who calls.
She was told the older will serve the younger as it is written. Jacob I loved but Esau I hated. May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well, it's important to know Who something is for we usually say who does that belong to what we mean is really who's the right to it if we ask Whose car is that?
We mean who gets to drive it if it's not for you. You don't have a right to it. There are certain privileges or rights that are for some people and not for others. You know, it's graduation season and many graduates now are getting these diplomas that say on them something like So-and-so.
Has earned whatever degree. Maybe it said something would probably mix with all the rights honors and privileges pertaining therein to now. If if you don't earn the degrees, you don't have those rights honors and privileges now really mostly.
The right honor and privilege of the degree is being able to say you have the degree. That's pretty much it. I saw someone put on their resume a degree that they were just planning on getting you know under education and their resume.
Had such-and-such a degree and you thought wow, that's impressive and then on fine print starting Next fall whatever, you know, that should be a red flag. Really when someone tries to claim rights honors and privileges that don't pertain there unto them.
Last week before Mary left. I drove her to the Singapore Embassy in Washington right next to the Chinese Embassy. She has a right to go in there. I Don't they might let me in but how do you even try but I don't have a right to go in there but that embassy is for People like her.
I've been in US embassies in Singapore and out of sub of Ethiopia. There are four people like me. I have a right to go in there. I don't get to show your passport. They let you in and Ethiopia besides all the usual passport services that they provide the US Embassy also had.
Because there's really not much else to do there and out of suburb. They had a video rental place need to go rental video go to US Embassy. Fairly decent diner which had soft-serve ice cream at the time.
They've been the only place there and they did and showed him a movie once a week. So who is all that for? Well, not just for anybody. It's for US citizens or their spouses as it turns out I could get Mary in.
Who is it for is a crucial question in American history some Americans insisted That the rights honors and privileges of America were only for a certain race. So in the Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court decided that African slaves are the slaves of African descent.
We're not US citizens. Even if they had been born here and been here for generations that they had not they did not have the rights honors or privileges of a US citizen that was overturned by the 14th Amendment in 1882 the US passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which said that America was not for Chinese people.
But that strain of American identity, you know this this kind of Part of America that says we're only for a certain race. Only for a certain ethnicity, you know blood and soil that has always been pushed back against.
Let's someone says we've always been racist. Well, there's always been this other side of America that saying no to that saying we're all kinds of people and part of what is a big part of that American identity that's been pushing back against.
That is what I described in an essay I Published last year the 1620 project which I used to describe the Puritan quest. There were a there were committed to a faith and sometimes that's been secularized.
It's being we're committed to just some ideals of freedom and individual rights. But it comes down to whichever way you take whoever shares those ideals or whoever shares that faith Belongs to America and America is for them.
So the Puritans Evangelize that the Native Americans, okay, sure wonder were they racist? Well, they evangelize the Native Americans and they produce what they were called red Puritans living in their own towns next to Towns settled by English Puritans with the with every intention of fully incorporating them.
Incorporating the Native Americans that this city of point Hill they called it this model of Christian charity. They believe was for anyone who shared their faith their race not mattering. So who's it for?
Well, that's the question Paul hasn't dealt with fully yet in Romans. Now he's hinted at it in chapter 1 where he said the gospel is for the Jew first and also for the Greek. That is for the Gentile for all non-jewish people and then in chapter 2 where he wrote a Jew was one inwardly.
Which is really quite a revolutionary idea. But he didn't have time in chapter 2 to stop and articulate it now. He's getting through that. So now as we get to chapter 9, this becomes the pressing question.
It's been writing about all these things that God has done. We can sum it up in the word of the gospel. But he hasn't been described yet. Who is for who is it for now? Most interpreters don't understand this because they don't understand chapter 9 and they'll often say that the main argument of Romans ends at the end of chapter 8 and That chapters 9 to 11 are a kind of a parentheses it's a deviation sort of a side argument.
And aside until we get to them back to the main argument. They'll say at chapter 12 and so they'll imply That it's almost as if you could cut out all the chapters 9 to 11 and just Romans would still work fine.
You can just stop, you know, if you want if you don't like that part stop at 8 and skip to 12. It's still fine. Well, one of my goals for this sermon is to show you that's wrong that Romans 9 flows naturally.
Logically from chapter 8 and everything else that's gone before it and that it is indeed vital to Romans.
Who's it for?
We see that here in three major parts the people then the passion and finally the purpose. Well first the people in two parts first the Examination two parts the examination and then the jubilation. The people are examined in seven Rhetorical questions.
Who are they? What are they made of? What kind of people are they questions? And that's answer to these rhetorical questions questions that that the answer is so obvious. He doesn't have to stop and give it you just you know, the answer here are the answers in the examination.
Tell us Who these people are?
Who it is for?
First question in verse 31 what then. You know in light of all that he's laid out in Romans particularly these last couple verses What should we say to these things? The things he's been describing all the way from the beginning that he's not ashamed of the gospel.
Why it's the power of God for salvation it is after all who's it for for the Jew first and then everyone else culminating with God's foreknowing is predestining his calling is justifying and Even though it's still in our future in our experience.
It is so certain that we can consider it done our Glorifying are being glorified which is means raising us up and resurrected bodies and now Sin free that's still in our future. What do we say? About this.
What do you say about all this? What is there to say except? Praise the Lord and that's when we come here. That's why you come to church to say that to exult in what God has done. So we say we are. We're for known or predestined.
We're called were justified and glorified and that's who all this is for. What do we say? Well praise the Lord. Second question verse 31 if God is for us Who can be against us for a self-answering question, isn't it the obvious answer?
No one.
They'll try now. He doesn't say who can try to be against us. But who can really do it? It could be effectively against us. There's some will try but they won't succeed because of who is for us. Worth of people.
God is for.
Who are these things for? Those whom God is for. Third question in verse 32. This is a longer one. He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all all who. Who these things for. Well the ones he's for how will he not also.
Along with the Sun with him graciously. Not grudgingly, but graciously give us all things. In other words, how is it possible that God? Now after having given us his son both. Valuable thing. And he did that he gave us his son because he's for us.
How is it possible that now he will not also in addition to his son Give us everything. Everything how how is that possible that he would not give us everything? How is it possible that he'd hold back anything now that he's already given us his son.
No surely now. He'll also give us. What do we need a new body? If it dies. A healed soul. Whatever it is. We think money can buy. Or that whatever it is. We think that relationship can give us. How is it possible after already?
Giving us the Sun that he would withhold anything that we need. God owns it all already now. So after having given us the Sun, how is it conceivable that he had pulled back? Anything else whatever it is.
Whatever it is. What do you need? What do you want? He's not gonna hold it back. What is it you want? Neptune. Wanna want a galaxy somewhere? What help? And you want a kidney? All right, but a knee that doesn't hurt a loving family.
Joy relief from depression, whatever. How would he not? Give that to us now. Oh, it's not possible. There's no way he will not give us everything else as he already said in chapter 8 verse 17. We're heirs of God whose we inherit everything that comes from him.
We inherit everything our father owns and he owns everything.
Who is it for?
It's for heirs. Fourth question in verse 33. Who will bring any charge against God's elect? Who will accuse us the obvious answer?
After all, it is God who justifies that he's the one who makes us right with him. And he's the judge and he declares us right who can override him. No one if he's made us right with him cleared us not guilty.
Then who can press charges against us now? Who can prosecute us now after we've been cleared? Oh Sure, the accuser of the brethren Satan will try. Now God won't. God won't let him. God won't listen to him.
He has no standing in God's court against us anymore. But maybe you'll listen to him. That would be a problem. Maybe he'll accuse you.
So.
He'll accuse you to you. And so you believe his accusations and you think well these things must not be for me. After all, who's it for? It's not it's not me. I've been charged. I'm guilty. Oh. But if you're one of God's elect.
Then you can't be charged. You're not the judge you're the defendant. You have immunity from prosecution. Now, you know, you're being cleared. No one can override God's justification. He's the Supreme Court his verdict that you're not guilty.
It's it's the case is over. You're not gonna be prosecuted anymore. Not no one can bring a charge against you. Not even you. You can't even accuse yourself. Who's it for. Well, it's for the elect. Now notice that word elect in verse 33, it means simply the chosen.
I Should probably call it that that's a more common word the chosen. Well, they are the they are not. Notice what they are not though. They are they are the elect. They're not are the chosen. They are not the elect oars.
You don't say you can't bring any charge against God's electors or voters. They're not the electors as though they are they are the voters electing themselves. They're the ones of doing the electing. Choosing for themselves as though they ultimately are responsible by an act of their will by their vote to make themselves one of God's people.
That they have the final say whether all these things are for them or not that it depends on them. No, they're the elect are not the elect oars elect our people who have been elected. Understand they're not the ones doing the electing.
He doesn't say who can accuse one of the electors he says elect those who have been Elected chosen by someone else. So who are the chosen? Well, they they cannot be charged anymore because God has already as we saw in chapter 5 imputed credited or counted the right life of Christ to them and he.
And he's counted their sins to Christ and punished Christ for them. So the sins have been paid for. So there's no more crime needing punishment so God chose them these elect these chosen and. And he did that for them and you can't undo it.
Even if you wanted to which you would never want to do. Satan can't undo it as much as he wants to the elect can't be charged. So these things are for them. Fifth question in verse 34 who can condemn us?
Well, the obvious answer no one. Christ Jesus is the one who died for us. He paid the penalty for our sins. He was condemned for our sins so that there is no condemnation left for us the way chapter 8 begins.
No condemnation. Now he took all the condemnation we deserved and he says more than that. More than dying for us. He was raised for us so that we could rise with him and he's at the right hand of the father Praying for us so that we'll make it all the way to our final destination.
Glorification and we will not be condemned. Who is it for what kind of people?
The.
Uncondemnable.
Sixth question in verse 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ I was. Who can snatch us out of the Good Shepherd's hand. Can an unbelieving or insupportive or idolatrous spouse do that? Right a bad husband or wife.
Can he or she. How about an aggravating child? Or a government bureaucrat trying to run you out of business. Or a bad pastor. What about a family trying to get you to renounce Christ by threatening that they will not attend your funeral.
If you if you have a Christian one.
Will that work?
What can alienate you from God. What about Satan now or worse worse than Satan? What about yourself? And you with your own sins your own proneness to wander and you alienate yourself from Christ. Am I capable of cutting myself off from the Lord?
If we're already Uncondemnable if we're immune from prosecution already have even the Sun we have him. He's been given to us and so we have everything given to us if we're God supported if our glorification is as good as done.
Then who can get between us and Christ love? Obvious answer. No one not even myself.
It's not possible.
No one is capable of doing that. What kind of people are these things for? The inseparable. No final question. Like the last verse 35. But now about what. Instead of who. If the persons can't make cut me off from the Lord, maybe experiences can.
Adversity.
Heartache.
Being pressed stressed distressed. Disappointed betrayed.
Used abused.
Abandoned. Bankruptcy. Or worse much worse than bankruptcy. Prosperity riches the easy life. Or back to the other side being persecuted. Even real persecution. He after all is Psalm 44 says for your sake Lord.
We are being persecuted all the day. How about starving? Can that cut us off or poverty. Nothing to eat nothing to wear?
Nowhere to live.
With that cut you off from the Lord. What about dangers like from the coronavirus or weapons? Like AR -15s. Can any of those succeed in? Cutting us off from the Lord. Obvious answer. No, not a chance after all.
Even if the world regards us as sheep to be slaughtered The Good Shepherd sees us as his sheep to protect. Well, that's the examination. Who this is all for now in verse 37 is the for 37 to 39 is the Jubilation.
Who can separate us? Well, no one nothing because of who we are and whose we are. We are the super conquerors in verse 37 now the word translated more than conquerors when we say that song. It is in English like three words more than conquerors been in Greek.
It's it's a single word one word with the prefix. You might recognize you actually you looked at this word in Greek. You might can figure it out. The prefix is Hooper. Replace the H with an S and that's the meaning of the prefix super and the root word is Nike.
Where we get Nike from which is the Greek God of victory? So we are Super victorious, we're over Nike. We're ultra Nike's. Of course through him who loved us, but not just by ourselves. We are who are these things for?
They're for the super conquerors.
For that he indulges in in Jubilation in those last three verses in chapter 9 for I am sure I am convinced I have been persuaded. Remember in fact in verse 28, he says. I know. The God works all things for good for those who love him and are called here.
He's he's gone a little beyond just knowing come beyond that he's convinced. That nothing that no matter how powerful can separate us from God's love which we have in Jesus four pairs of enemies he lists none of them are capable.
Four pairs of enemies and then two kind of free agents out there. They might try to alienate us from God. Death or life. The fear of death we've seen a lot of that over the past two years plus heavenly.
Or the temptations of a successful life. Angels or rulers those principalities and powers things in time. Either now anything you think of that exists now or anything in the future that pretty much covers it all right there.
Doesn't it things in space no matter how high or how deep? Not powers. No government. No judge or police force. Or criminal no organized crime anything in all of creation. Not even a pandemic will be able to get between us and and the God who has loved us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
He's jubilating in these things now. Who are they for? That's the big question here. The Jews would assume they're for them. This is our birthright. The love of God. Glorification God being for us heirs of God being God's chosen people the elect immune from prosecution.
Uncondemnable inseparable from God that was God's promise. They would think to me to us to them simply by being descended from Abraham. Who's it for? It's for Jews.
It's our.
Ethnic group they thought but to that Paul now turns.
First.
With passion. If you're saying Paul It's not for us. Because we're Israelites. You must hate us Paul you must have rejected us to say that that these things are no longer ours. Paul is just no in verses 1 to 5.
He says that he has a passion for his people. Now critics suspect him. Otherwise, they're accusing him. Otherwise, they suspect him of being any Semitic. He's a traitor to his own people this Paul after all.
He's already said in chapter 2. No one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly remember that Ethnicity doesn't matter. You don't become one of God's people merely by being born into the right nation the right ethnic group.
That's not how it works or the right parents for that matter. There was a shocking statement when he wrote it in chapter 2 but in the flow of the argument there. He couldn't stop to defend that idea there.
Now he's coming back to it here in chapter 9 a vital part of the argument. He's making critics would have thought. That he's saying that that he's saying that you're not a true Jew just by being born one.
Critics would have said you're saying that simply because you're anti-jewish now Paul and he's a minute. That's why he's spending so much time with these Gentiles. He's the Apostles of the Gentiles now.
He says no, in fact, he insists he's honest. I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am NOT lying. My conscience is clear. The Holy Spirit has searched my heart. He's shown that I am sincere. He has a passion for the conversion of his people for his own ethnic group for Jews.
In verse 2 I have great sorrow or grief. It's so great in the mind. They're just like a pain in the body. It's an unceasing anguish in the soul.
Distress.
This is a kind of a casual preference like you may have like like I yeah, I wish they'd be believers in Jesus. But you know, what can I do? Not at all like that. It's a passionate ache that these people my people that they become believers to.
Paul is so passionate that he would be willing if possible To trade his salvation for theirs. In verse 3. He says I could wish.
If it were possible.
Otherwise if it were possible to trade my salvation for theirs to say I'll be damned I'll be cursed if they'll be saved if that were possible for that to happen. I would wish that. If it were possible to change my salvation for theirs I could wish to be separated from the love of Christ if by doing that.
They can be included in who these things are for. But of course as we've just seen so clearly at the end of chapter 8 that's not possible. No one could separate us from the love of Christ. Not even our desire our own passion to see the salvation of others.
No act of love on our part. Not even our longing for the salvation of loved ones can separate us from his love. You got that no love of ours can separate us from God's love. So even though he could wish it because his passion is so great.
It cannot be done. Do you have a passion for the conversion of someone. It is right For you to have a spiritual burden for your kind of people. So you like Paul here to have your people say I I long for their conversion.
The great founder of the Presbyterianism John Knox prayed to God give me Scotland or I die. He was Scottish. He had a passion for his people. And his prayer was largely answered. You have a passion that for this for the salvation of these people people like you have a family maybe your family.
Maybe your ethnic group whatever it distresses you first there's someone in your family your wife or your husband your child or your parents are not yet believers in Jesus and. Then to have a passion for your nation that people like you Raised in the same culture speaking the same language as you that they would come to the same faith in Jesus as you have.
Some Christians today denounce, you know nationalism is though it's sinful or foolish. But loving even aching for a particular people intensely. Doesn't mean that you don't love others. If you're patriotic for your own nation doesn't mean you hate other nations.
There's a work like that I encourage you to be particularly concerned for the salvation first of your family. Then your nation your ethnicity and then yes other people like Ethiopians. Of course in this case his kinsmen according to the flesh aren't just kind of any ethnic group.
They are the people through whom God has worked all through the Old Testament and all the way to Jesus himself. He's worked through them to bring these things that is salvation for his people. How can it be that they?
Are not who these things are for. Well to them after all in verse 4 Paul says are the adoption the glory the covenants the giving of the law the worship and the Promises all these things come through them.
There in verse 4 you'll notice if you're reading the SV like I did. The ESV has belong to them belong. The the adoption the glory of the covenants. There's actually in Greek. There's actually no word belong there.
There's no verb at all in verse 4 in fact, it usually means it should be what I call the intransitive the to be verb. So it should probably be translated something like Israelites to them are these like who are or maybe who were?
The adoption of the glory and so on. Translating it like the SV does as belong and I like the SV. I don't like to criticize it. But here I think it's wrong. Translating in his belong present tense makes it sound like these things are for still Currently Israelites simply by virtue of their ethnicity, but that's exactly what Paul is arguing against here.
Even though he is a passion for the salvation. Notice even here in verse 3. They are his kinsmen according to the flesh. He doesn't say they're just there his kinsmen. They're according to the flesh not spiritually and verse 5 Christ is from them according to the flesh.
Physically but not spiritually that a way he's implying that there's a spiritual kinship that's more important Than the than the physical one is your attachment to the body of Christ. Now sure from them are the patriarchs him in a faith in Genesis and there's Jesus himself.
He's proud in a healthy way of the of the heritage his ethnicity has from from God. But that still doesn't answer the question. Who are these things for? Notice at the end of verse 5 by the way, yes the does change like this correctly accurately.
The end is that last phrase last half of verse 5 it states clearly that Christ is God. Christ who is God over all blessed forever.
He mentioned something so monumental you think of that. Think about that. Why does he just Mentioned that in passing. I didn't know you didn't have a long extended section in Romans in which he argues for the divinity of Christ.
Does he he just kind of mentions it in passing? That's because he took it for granted that to be a Christian is to believe that Jesus is God. Who is it. For who are these things. For the adoption of sons and their daughters the glory the covenants even the law and the temple Service the promises the patriarchs the coming of Christ in the flesh.
We know who is from who is it for now? Sure, God did it through the Israelites that ethno group. But is it for them in particular that you get these things salvation just by virtue of belonging to that ethnicity.
Who is it for.
Now if you say well, it's not necessarily for ethnic Jews just because they're born Jewish. It's not not for them. Promises the Old Testament about Israel are not. For ethnic Israel that no one is a Jew is merely one outwardly.
She said in chapter 2. Then some will say back to the habit then God's promises failed if that's true. That's what Paul's critics were saying then and that's what modern dispensation was still say today.
The Old Testament promises must be for the ethnicity or else the promises have failed. That's what they say. The purpose of the promises must be literally for the literal Israelites or they have literally.
Failed.
Third the purpose.
What is the purpose of God's promises of these things of the gospel starting in verse 6? He says no if you think what I'm arguing means that God's promises have failed. You don't understand who they are for.
Who are God's promises for? The second half of verse 6 tells us says literally for not all who are from Israel are.
Israel.
That's from the Greek or it could be translated as not all who are of Israel are of Israel. Now sure the promises were for Israel, right. The promises of the covenants all those things. Sure, they were for Israel, but who is Israel?
Who is a citizen of the Commonwealth of Israel in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 12. Now Paul's Jewish critics then and dispensationalist. Now we'll say simply, you know, what are you talking about? If you're descended from Israel, then you're of Israel and the promises are for you.
What in the world are you. What are you trying to say? Paul says no, that's wrong. You can be from Israel ethnically born Jewish a literal descent of Abraham and not be of.
Really the true Israel what Paul calls in Galatians chapter 6 verse 16 the Israel of God. And to prove that. To prove it. This isn't just I've got a Christian reinterpretation or allegorization or spiritualization.
He shows that from the Old Testament in mostly Genesis that from the beginning God's Israel was different sometimes overlapping. But it was different not identical to the ethnic Israel. So go back to Genesis the story among other things of the origin of Israel.
Israel is the descendants of Abraham.
But not all of them.
In other words, not all of Abraham descendants are of Israel. Some descendants of Abraham are not of Israel. They're not children of the promise in verse 7 not all our children of Abraham because they are his offspring.
So it wasn't the literal descent was it? Even from the beginning but through Isaac. Shall your offspring be named? The others that are not Isaac they're not considered Abraham's offspring. Isaac was the child of promise the miraculous son born to Sarah an infertile woman and They were born to her just to make it clear there's a miracle birth.
They were born to her after she is past childbearing age, even if even if she wasn't infertile, so she could not naturally have a child. When the promise was made to her because she was too old the the son created by God's miracle Is the one who God's promises are for this she could not naturally have a child.
She had a child that was Isaac. He's the child of promise. Because it's a child of a miracle and this means he says in verse 8, okay. It's great when the Bible interprets itself for us and there it is.
This means he's going to tell us what it means. The fact that the promises to Abraham. This is what we now call the gospel become the gospel promises to Abraham. It comes through the miracle baby in verse 8 that means That it is not the children of the flesh, it's not the literal descendants, it's not the ethnic group.
Who are the children of God?
It's not for people just because they are born into that nation.
But in.
Verse 8. But this is the ones who it's really for the children of the promise are counted as offspring. Counted as the ones who it's for. Notice that word counted. Does that sound familiar at all in Romans.
Counted? Like from chapter 4 God counts we believe God reckons. Imputes decides.
Counts.
You is one of Abraham's offspring one of the children of God if you're a child of the promise. Who is it for. It's for the children of promise? Well, how do you get to be one of those? Well, the promise was in verse 9 that the infertile woman and Sarah would have a son.
It's through God's miracle not.
Biology.
Not our ethnicity our family. Descent that we get his promises that we get salvation now. Paul's critics would say Okay. Okay. Okay. I'll grant you That the only real descendant of Abraham who counts the God are the ones that come through Isaac.
Okay, got me there but you know Ishmael and the others they don't count. Sure, okay. But now everyone born through Isaac gets the promises and Paul says no. Go back to Genesis. Isaac and Rebecca they had two sons twins and Yet God counted only one of them as a child of promise.
Why? If it's ethnicity that counts and They both come through Abraham and through Isaac then why not both he saw and Jacob. They're both sons of Abraham through Isaac. Why not both of them?
God only chose one Jacob. Why. What's the purpose of that?
And.
Just to make it clear. What's the purpose why he did it? He chose Jacob and not Esau. He did that before they were born before they had done anything either good or bad before they had any works. Before any of them one of them was so stingy and selfish that he wouldn't even give his brother a bowl of stew.
For free that's pretty bad, isn't it? You wouldn't use that one. Would you before one of them lied to his father to cheat his brother out of the birthright before any of that happened? God chose the child of promise before he had done anything to deserve it or disqualify himself from it and That's not just in what he before here it's not just in chronology as though you know God kind of didn't know what's gonna happen in the future or wait our.
Another way some people put on a play with us to try to get around it. Okay, maybe before you know in time, but God could look forward in the future and he could see the good things Jacob really do all those good things from I don't know but he could see the good things or I could see the Jacob chose to believe and on the basis of That foreseen works or faith.
Or maybe of your life. That he looks forward in the future and he sees what you're gonna believe you're gonna do any on the basis of what you do. Then he chooses you or here. He chooses Jacob. No the before isn't just on a timeline but in cause in.
The reason why Jacob had chosen before anything about Jacob is factored in.
Before God's.
Sort of speak sees what he will do before he takes a look. Where you think I'm gonna choose one, which one will it be? I'll take a look and see. You probably choose. He saw if that's the case anyway Before but that's not what he did.
He did not take a look or at least he just kind of speaking metaphorically. God decided he would be the one. Before factoring in how they would live he didn't factor that in at all. So God told them the older will serve the younger which is also contrary to their culture.
The second born born will be the child of promise. That's against all their tradition in their culture. The you know, you the older one gets more inheritance or maybe all the inheritance. The child of promise comes contrary to biology.
By a miracle born to an infertile woman. Well after a childbearing age and it comes contrary to their culture. Who's it for this for the younger? Why? Why is Jacob the child of promise and.
Not Esau.
No, verse 13 tells us clearly Jacob I God speaking loved and Esau I.
Hated.
Quoting from Malachi chapter 1 verse 2. Now something just recoiled at that word hate and. Then they get all worked up and they basically try to make it come out where it means nothing. As though God can't hate anyone but God's non choice of Esau.
I don't get Bob bogged down into a debate on the meaning of the word hate. The fact is God did not choose Esau and that's the same as hating him. Whatever. Whatever he felt toward toward Esau if he felt anything immediately many people aren't satisfied with that answer.
There's got to be a reason it's got to be a purpose and they we always tend to think that purpose. This summer chosen or we believe that purpose has to be about us our morality our choices our religion what we've done.
Maybe what family or ethnicity that we've been born into and we non-jews tend to think well. It's got to be something something else something about me something. I did. I made a decision. I prayed a prayer.
I got baptized. I went to church. I was decent. I tried I was a good family person. Why is it me? It's because of something I did or I believed or I inherited. Paul says no. Why are you a child of promise?
Because God loves you. But why we want to know what's the purpose of that when he tells us plainly in verse 11. In order that it's a purpose phrase. This is the this is the purpose the reason why God chose Jacob loving him and not Esau.
God's purpose. We think it's always got to be about our purpose but it's God's purpose in election in the choosing God's purpose and election might continue after all he chose Abraham. He chose Isaac.
He's going to show that he does the choosing. He has his purpose in electing and choosing Particular people to be his children our being chosen to be his children. Doesn't depend on our works on our religion our morality how good a family person we were on us.
It depends on him. Calling us. He calls you. Like he called Jacob. And if he calls you you believe and you come. And so these things the adoption the glory the covenants the promises and all things. Become yours.
Who's it for is for those God loves.