Glorious Election

Romans 9:1-13; 4/13/2025; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang

Introduction

          Paul said that he spoke the truth in Christ and did not lie.  This is a remarkable claim!  However, this should also be the moral bottom line for every Christian, to be an honest and sincere person who does not tell lies.  Why?  It’s very simple, because God’s choosing of us is a glorious election!  Let’s look at the first point:

Innate inheritance

It is not difficult for a person to tell the truth once, but what is difficult is that from a certain day on, he no longer tells lies!  Paul’s declaration is based on the love of Christ, His faithful and reliable love and authority.  First, the conscience is moved by the Holy Spirit.  Ever since the first human beings sinned, their consciences have been polluted and become unclean.  Only when people believe in the Lord, God promises that the Holy Spirit will dwell in them, so that their consciences will be touched and cleansed by the Holy Spirit.  The growth of life cannot be achieved by falsehood or boasting, it can only be lived down to earth.  Start by speaking the truth, not telling lies,  and only speaking the truth in Christ!  If a person does not speak the truth in Christ, what he says is nothing more than humanistic empty talk.  Because only what we say, think, and do in Christ can become a beautiful testimony that glorifies God.  

Second, imitate Christ’s self-denial.  Only with core values ​​that are in line with God’s will can we emulate the self-sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  Paul was for the salvation of his fellow Israelites.  The Bible says,“that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.”  Why?  Paul said, “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. (Romans 9:3)”   I remember when I first believed in the Lord, I read this passage of scripture and was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pray for my parents and family members every day   until they were all saved and returned to the Lord.  Paul said: “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. (Romans 9:3)”  Being willing to separate from Christ is imitating the Lord’s self-sacrifice and is the highest form of love for God and for others!  

Finally, Christ’s faithful care.  Have you ever wondered why Christ was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, and died in Jerusalem?  As Paul said: “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. (Romans 9:4)”  Furthermore, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and other “patriarchs are their ancestors.”  Even “Christ according to the flesh came from them.”  In other words, Jesus Christ became flesh as a Jew.  This is because God is a covenant-keeping God who shows mercy, and a faithful and reliable God!  God made a covenant with Abraham, and it was an everlasting covenant, so God keeps the covenant until the coming of Christ!  Let’s look at the second point: 

The basis for being God’s children

God kept his covenant with Abraham with the goal of keeping it until the second coming of Christ.  When Christ comes, the new covenant of Christ replaces and explains the covenant between God and His children, which is the basis for becoming God’s children.  First, who are the Israelites?  After the Israelis regained their independence in 1948, they also faced this problem:  Who are the Israelis?  Based on the twelve tribes?  It’s difficult.  It’s already difficult to check.  What to do?  Based on the mother’s Jewish ancestry?  Yes, but it will be difficult to continue because the number of people is decreasing.  At the same time, the number of returning Israelis increases year by year, and the task of screening becomes increasingly difficult.  Finally, the Israeli government simply announced that as long as you identify with the Jewish faith and are willing to live the traditional Israeli life, pay taxes, perform military service and other basic obligations, you can apply to become an Israeli.  Of course, the Israeli Ministry of the Interior still has a lot of complex verification work to do, and the whole process is not easy.        

Secondly, the children of promise.  Here Paul declares: “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, (Romans 9:6)”  This was a bold declaration, and it was difficult for the Jews at that time to accept.  What Paul is dealing with here is the relationship between Christ and the Jews.  The Jews did not know how to deal with the identity of Jesus Christ.  They wanted to deny Jesus’ origin; however, “Christ also came from them!”  They wanted to treat Christ as an ordinary person.  But the disciples declared that Jesus Christ “is God over all, blessed forever!”  This created a contradiction: Who are the Israelites?  Paul did not directly declare that only those who believe in Jesus are true Israelites, but rather he said, “Through Isaac will your descendants be named.”

Finally, He is above all.  The point Paul makes here is that even in the history of the Old Testament, among Abraham’s descendants, only Isaac, born to Sarah by God’s promise, can be called a descendant of Abraham.  Who has such great power to make a promise and then fulfill it in the future?  This brings out the main point that Paul wants to make: Only Jesus Christ “is God over all, blessed forever!”  Paul’s logic and rhetoric are quite advanced.  He speaks to the point and leaves the conclusion of the reasoning for the readers to draw their own conclusions.  The words that were about to come out are already on the tip of his tongue:  Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God.  As John said: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, (John 1:12)” Let’s look at third point:

Demonstrating God’s Authority

Have you ever thought about the meaning of our salvation being by grace?  Grace is free, and we are all familiar with it.  However, grace is also irresistible, and we may not have thought about it. This is the glory of God!  First, Omniscient God.  God chose us in Christ in the beginning, before He created the world.  Did any of us know about it at that time?  God chose us without our consent!  We don’t know He will come and choose us, but He knows!  God said to Abraham: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son. (Romans 9:9)”  What would you do if a centenarian heard this news?  If it were me, I would wonder in my heart:  How do You know everything?  The point is, who is Jehovah God?  He is the Lord who created the heavens and the earth!  Not only did God know that Sarah would give birth to a son, Isaac,  the next year, He also knew that Isaac’s wife Rebekah would give birth!  Dear brothers and sisters, He also knows your and my steps for tomorrow!

Second, Almighty God.  No matter how great a person’s abilities are, they are knowable to people.  God’s power is often beyond human’s ability to understand.  God told Abraham that Sarah would give birth to a son by this time next year.  Don’t forget, at this moment, they haven’t even slept together as husband and wife.  God’s power is so great and awe-inspiring!  The authors of the Bible were writing the Bible, and they did not know that they were writing the Bible.  God’s power is gentle, transcendent, and transcends human cognition, perception, and wisdom.  Before Rebekah gave birth, God knew that she would give birth to twins, and He told Rebekah the destinies of both children, saying: “The older will serve the younger.” 

Finally, All-Loving God.  Frankly speaking, it seems that there is nothing to boast about in Jacob’s life.  Jacob was born holding onto his brother Esau’s feet.  When he grew up, he competed with his brother for the title of the birthright.  He even used a bowl of red bean soup to cheat Esau of his title of the birthright, and used a bowl of game to cheat his father’s blessing.   God used his uncle Laban to discipline him for twenty years.  It was not until he wrestled with God at the ford of the Jabbok that he discovered that God had always been with him, but he had not known it!  What makes him precious is that once he knows it is God, he holds on to it and asks for God’s blessing!  Jacob lived out God’s love throughout his life!  The Bible even endorses him: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”  Although Esau received all the property, Jacob received God’s love!

Conclusion

Well, thank the Lord!  Glorious election is the innate inheritance of our spiritual life.  He loved us first while we were still sinners.  God has proved through the incarnation of Christ and the Bible that whoever believes in Him is a child of God!  This is not even from ourselves, but from God’s grace and God’s authority!

Let us pray……

1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 

2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 

3 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. 

4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 

5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 

7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 

8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 

9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 

10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 

11 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— 

12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 

13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”