God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Response-ability in Salvation Part One

The Summit of Our Salvation

Allen Snapp

Grace Community Church

Nov. 3, 2024

God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Response-ability in Salvation Part One

Let’s turn to Romans 9. We are coming to the three hardest chapters in Romans. Chapters 1-8 lay the deep and strong foundation of justification by faith in Christ. Chapters 12-16 lay out really practical principals for Christian living. But chapters 9,10, and 11 wrestle with hard questions about God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, which I am defining in the simplest meaning of the word: ability to respond, to the gospel.

Christians have debated these issues and the meaning of these chapters for centuries. I am going to share what I’ve become convinced of through my wrestling with the scriptures. You may not agree with my conclusions and that’s ok. My conclusions are guided by scripture and if further study convinced me that I am wrong, I am willing to change my view.

The Bible says whosoever believes in Jesus will be saved. There may be some here in the room or watching online who are not saved, but I promise you, you are a whosoever. You’re a whosoever who can believe in Jesus and be saved. And I pray that you will believe in Jesus today and find the love and freedom and peace that Jesus freely offers you.

Our responsibility - our ability to respond - is to believe the gospel. Believe the promises of God. Now we would never and could never believe except for the Holy Spirit’s work in us, giving us faith. But I believe the Bible indicates we can respond to His drawing with faith or resist Him and refuse to believe. Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart (resist His calling). Soften your heart and believe!

But then we come to this chapter and we read that God has mercy on whomever He will and hardens whomever He will and that He is the Potter who molds some as vessels of mercy and endures with patience vessels that are prepared for destruction. How do we reconcile whosoever believes with verses like these? I think as we go it will become clear that we can.

Chapter 9 opens with Paul’s unspeakably deep sorrow and anguish because in large part the Jewish people, his beloved brethren, have rejected Jesus and the gospel.

9 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. Rom. 9:1-5

Pray

Paul’s biggest headaches came from his own people. Jews literally followed him from town to town stirring up anger, trying to kill him, accusing him of blasphemy, having him imprisoned. But in spite of this Paul loves and longs for the salvation of his Jewish brethren. So deeply in fact he says he could wish to be cut off from Christ for eternity if it meant they might be saved.

Paul is literally feeling the heart and love of Christ – Jesus was willing to be cut off from God and accursed on the cross – so that the world might be saved. I don’t think any of us have that kind of heart for the lost but at the least, it should provoke us to a deeper love for those who don’t know Jesus and a desire to pray fervently and share Jesus with them.

Paul asks, does the fact that God’s chosen people the Jews, who were set apart by God and blessed with the covenants, the law, adoption, the patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and whose lineage would produce Jesus, the Savior of the world, does the fact that they have rejected Jesus and all the promises of God in him, mean that God’s word has failed?

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.” Rom. 9:6-13

Paul uses two Old Testament examples to show that the true Israel was never simply those who were descendants of Abraham through the flesh, but only those who were descendants of the promise. God promised to give Abraham and Sarah a son who would become a great nation. As Abraham got older he decided to help God out, and he had a son from Sarah’s handmaiden. Ishmael represents what the flesh can do.

Then after a long time, when Abraham and Sarah were so old it was impossible for them to have a son, Isaac was born, the child of promise. Isaac represents what God can do. Ishmael and Isaac would represent two lines: those born of the flesh and those born of the promise. God’s children are the children of faith: through Isaac shall your offspring be named. God didn’t choose Isaac cause he was a better person or did more good works – God chose Isaac because Isaac represented what God alone could do.

The same is true of Isaac and Rebekah’s twin sons Jacob and Esau. God chose Jacob before the twins had been born and contrary to the tradition of the firstborn receiving the primary blessing. God didn’t choose Jacob because he had better character or conduct. In fact Jacob was a deceptive and manipulative man. God had to discipline Jacob several times, eventually giving him a permanent limp

along with the new name of Israel.

And again we see this distinction between the flesh and the promise: Esau despised the promise and blessing of God – he sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. God’s blessing didn’t mean that much to him. He sold God’s blessing for momentary benefit. That’s a reminder to us to value God’s blessing in our life more than temporary material benefits.

Jacob, on the other hand, even with all his conniving and manipulating, wanted God’s blessing more than anything. He tricked and schemed to get it – not what God wanted – but in a weird way Jacob’s trickery was always aimed at getting God’s blessing over his life. He tried to get the right thing in the wrong way.

In two days the nation will elect a new president, which means we will through voting choose a new president. Jacob was God’s elect – His chosen and He told Rebekah that contrary to the rights of the firstborn, “the older will serve the younger.”

Paul is quoting from Malachi 1, which isn’t referring to Esau and Jacob as individuals but to the nations their lineage produced. As far as I know, Esau never served Jacob, in fact Jacob was deferential (and in fear of his life) when he encountered Esau after many years on the run. But God chose Jacob, renaming him Israel, in order to show His favor and kindness and special calling on him.

This tells us that God’s election isn’t based on human merit. We aren’t elect (chosen) because we are good or special or have better character. By the way, when God says “Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated” we need to know that the hate God is speaking of isn’t the emotion we think of when we say hate. It’s a Hebrew idiom that means to place one higher in preference. Jesus told his disciples to hate their families – not literally meaning hate but to prefer Jesus over even our closest earthly relationships.

So again we see two lines of descendants: the line of the flesh (Esau) and the line of promise (Jacob). These verses clearly show God is sovereign. He doesn’t elect because He is obligated to, or because our good character demands it of Him. His sovereign purposes stands, in this case to illustrate the line of flesh (what man can do) vs. the line of promise (what God can do).

Paul is answering the question why did the Jews reject Jesus? Has God’s word failed? That’s the question throughout this chapter, so let’s jump to the end where Paul answers the question why Gentiles are getting saved and Jews – who had been given so many advantages – aren’t.

³⁰ What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a

stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” Rom. 9:30-33

Once again we see the two lines: the flesh (pursuing righteousness by keeping the law) and the promise (pursuing righteousness through faith in what God has done). The Gentiles who weren’t even looking for Jesus gladly accepted the righteousness that comes by faith. They’re responding like Abraham who believed and it was counted to him as righteousness. Israel, on the other hand, pursued righteousness by their efforts to keep the law. They didn’t reach righteousness because they “did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works”. They stumbled over Jesus, the stumbling stone.

When it comes to God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, there is no doubt there is mystery attached so we want to walk humbly. Scripture makes it clear that God alone saves and only through the name of Jesus. Salvation isn’t a “God does His part and we do ours” equation. If we try to add any of our effort to our salvation we empty the cross of its power to save. Salvation is all the work of God on our behalf. God not only made a way for us to be saved, but it is God who draws us to Jesus, opens our eyes to see the beauty of Jesus and our need for a Savior and gives us faith to believe.

But we also see man having responsibility and I believe when it comes to being saved, throughout scripture we see that people have the responsibility – meaning the ability to respond to the gospel and the Spirit’s inner work – with faith. And the ability to refuse to believe.

Matt Slack will be preaching here next week as Janice and I attend our son’s graduation from boot camp, but in two weeks we’ll circle back to the most difficult verses in this chapter and I believe as we connect these verses to their Old Testament roots we’ll see that this verses in a clearer light.

God in His great love sent His Son Jesus to rescue us from sin and death. Jesus came to reconcile us to God, to make us friends with God. That’s God’s heart, and He offers it to whosoever believes. You can’t get good enough to earn God’s acceptance, you can’t pray enough or read your Bible enough or go to church enough or anything else done in your flesh by your own efforts to be righteous enough to enter heaven. Heaven is closed to sinners and the gates only open to the perfectly righteous.

Jesus offers all who will believe in him a righteousness that is the gift of God. Believe, and he gives you his righteousness. Believe, and God counts it to your credit as righteousness.

Many times believers start out with faith (I receive the gift of salvation) but then think we need to keep our standing with God by our own efforts. If there’s sin in our lives, we should repent of it and ask God to cleanse us and forgive us. That helps restore our fellowship with God and the joy of our salvation, but it doesn’t earn our salvation or make us righteous in God’s sight. By faith we are justified – righteous – through Christ’s work. He is our beautiful Savior. Trust in him!

If you haven’t come to faith in Jesus, he says “whosoever believes” will no perish but have eternal life.

You’re a whosoever. God is working on your heart, drawing you to Jesus. You can resist His drawing, or you can open your heart and say yes to Jesus.

I pray you do just that today!