THE PAST ELECTION OF A CHOSEN PEOPLE

Most of us wouldn’t argue that if an atheist dies in that condition, they will spend an eternity in hell regretting their folly. What we may fail to grasp is that most people in torment will be religious. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). They will be shocked to find out that they aren’t going to heaven. They will respond on the Judgment Day, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matt.7:22-23).

The fact is that religion isn’t the same as genuine Christianity. That’s why Romans nine cannot be passed by. Many commentators seek to evade it. They look at it as parenthetical material. It would seem, as Paul often does in his letters, that one could move from the doctrinal teaching in chapters one through eight into the devotional application in chapters twelve through sixteen. Why not? There are Christians that look at it is you might your appendix—it’s there, a part of the body of truth, but really serves little purpose and something we can apparently do without.

Nothing could be further from the truth! The dispensational teaching here is a key link with the doctrinal and devotional portions. This begins a new section where Paul moves from a general discussion of salvation by faith in Christ to how this specifically affects the Jews. In chapter nine, the focus is on God’s past dealings with Israel, in chapter ten, His present dealings with them and then in chapter eleven, His promised dealings in the future.

One word can sum up God’s past dealings with Israel in chapter nine: election. A sovereign God has chosen a special people. That will be the focus of our studies this week. Does it matter? You say, “I’m not a Jew.” It matters; it matters a lot! If I cannot trust God to keep His promise to the Jews, how can I trust Him to keep His promise to me? If God will not be faithful to His covenant with Abraham, then we can’t be sure He will keep His covenant with us.