Romans 9 Explained: God’s Sovereignty, Election, and Human Choice | J. Dan Gill & Anthony Buzzard

21st Century Reformation: This is 21st Century Reformation at 21stR dot org. Romans chapter 9. And so now he's going to move us in a little bit of a different direction for a while, if you think. But this is exciting stuff. I am speaking the truth in Christ. That's a very comfortable position to be in. I feel like you can you can do that. I'm not kidding you. I'm not lying. I am not lying. 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 called from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. Wow, that really meant something very personal to Paul, didn't it? It's that this this was his his own people. I guess it would have been his own immediate family and as well. ⁓ when you think about it, we know we had nephew and we had others. ⁓ presumably ⁓ family members and then that expands on into the greater I think mostly that yeah the greater people include the the smaller number, but they're Israelites in verse. Sure. Not Israel. No, it is Israelites. I like that. They are Israel of course nationally and naturally, but Israelites is the term, if you mean the non Christian Israel. Yeah. I think Paul probably had to get up in the mornings and think, these are the people who should be getting this. And he was realizing they're not getting it, at least in in in many instances. Yes, exactly right. Very vexed. That's right. Yes. Look at the privileges of these people. Adoption of son. That's sonship. I I would prefer just to stay with sonship. The glory, the covenants, and the giving of the Torah. Wow. All of that went to Jews. Salvation is from the Jews, from Jesus. Yes, that's right. That's a high calling. And the promise. The promise to Abraham that he'd be heir of the world, we did in Romans four thirteen. So verse four says they are Israelites and to them belong the the adoption, or we say ⁓ again ⁓ belong to sonship perhaps simply the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. Wonderful. All this to these people. Mm-hmm. And to them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God overall. Now that's an interesting problem, look at that. ⁓ blessed forever. Amen. So Yeah, we could comment on the punctuation there. Huge dispute about the punctuation if you read it this way. In book five. In verse five. From whom is the Christ according to the flesh, ⁓ who is overall, period. God be blessed forever if you put a period there. You're doing actually what Paul does in Second Corinthians eleven thirty one, where it's a reference to the Father, clearly. So we have examples of him suddenly getting ecstatic about God, but to say that Jesus is God over all would be so foreign to anything else Paul said that I I like that perpetrator. It's rather rash to do that and ⁓ the the norm would be expected. So we're just really basically talking about something that ⁓ in the way of punctuation. Yes, entirely that. ⁓ and there are some folks that get it right in their translating and ⁓ Trinitarians would not argue. But then we have ⁓ others who will ⁓ employ the ⁓ the comma in such a way as to say it's Christ who is God overall. But I think ⁓ that's not necessary at all. According to the flesh is Christ. Yes. ⁓ and then we actually have ⁓ in effect it's a little benediction here, ⁓ isn't it? ⁓ I suppose you'd say. ⁓ Right. It's right. God be blessed, ⁓ God overall be blessed. We have it actually in Romans earlier, in Romans one twenty five. We have they served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever, Amen. That's the creator. We're not talking about the creature being blessed forever, amen. We're talking about God being blessed forever. And the same here. ⁓ so wonderful how ⁓ we're talking about Christ. Yes. But then God ⁓ who is overall be blessed. And that's that seems a much more reasonable Yeah. And the Amen gives you that sense of interjection of excitement over the one God. Right. Okay. Verse six. 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 are children of Abraham because they are his offspring. Yes. But through Isaac shall your offspring be named. Yes. That 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. And are counted as Israel, clearly, as Abrahamic people. Isn't that beautiful? He repeats ⁓ the same thought then twice where he says they're not genuine Israel because they're descended physically from Abraham. It's a matter of the heart. So then he makes a nice parallel. It all depends on that that son of the promise, Isaac, right? Not the son of the by the flesh without the promise. It's a nice parallel, isn't it? So he's launched out here, I think, in that and but as you say, it is a parallel. It has meaning to us, I think. Very much so, yes. It's a new family of Israel. But it's Israel. It's Abrahamic people, even though they are not physically descended from Israel, they're still Israel in the true sense. And he's laid the groundwork for that in the fourth chapter, don't you think, where he's talking about Abraham. And he is our father, he is the father of those who are of faith. And of many nations. And many nations. This is good. Yes. Verse eight. 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. And he he's emphasizing this thought about the promise. Absolutely. Verse nine. For this is what the promise said. About this time, next year, I will return. And Sarah shall have a son. Verse ten 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 as it is written, Jacob I loved. But Esau, I hated. Well. Yes. Verse fourteen. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Sixteen. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. Verse 17, for the scripture says to Pharaoh for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. Right, and this passage has given rise to an absolute Calvinism, and of course it's only part of the story. To use this passage as the controlling text for the whole of God's purpose is wrong, because we read in ⁓ Luke seven, that the Pharisees resisted God's purpose for themselves. How could they do that? Because nobody can resist God, he says there's you've got to balance those two things. Surely. Jesus said to those Jewish people, How often I desired that you repent and you said you wouldn't repent. You would not. That's not the Calvinistic idea at all. So we must balance this. Sure. Certainly Jacob and Esau were chosen in the sense of elected to a certain office and a certain position before they were born. They had nothing to do with it. Does that mean that they chose their salvation or perdition? Obviously not. So we restrict this then within a certain category. It's true. Nobody resists God's will. But to make that the blanket ⁓ theological point for the rest of scripture I think is quite wrong. Clearly we have to purify ourselves in order to be a potter that's worth something. Remember that one in Timothy. Surely. Paul in fact is correcting in the Timothy's a misunderstanding of what he said here, which is not double predestination. Yeah. For goodness sakes. I think ⁓ you know, I think one thing we have to keep in mind is that God was not taking the man Pharaoh, for example, who was just a really good guy. And then selecting him for perdition because he could just do that. Or he just ⁓ arbitrarily decided. Pharaoh was a bad guy. He was worshipping false gods. He was ⁓ he was a man of war, I would assume, and all the rest. God wasn't taking a a a good guy and doing bad things with him. God was taking a man who was evil and then using him to accomplish some good purposes. And surely he did. I I think we can't overlook that. Well absolutely. Then we make the additional point that Pharaoh hardened his heart as well as God sure hardening Pharaoh's heart. Those two sides of the coin must be kept in balance. God can respond with a further hardening if we harden our hearts. Absolutely. But it's always with the cooperation or non cooperation of the human being. That's right. That's right. Well, and and again, as ⁓ we were saying, this whole business about Jacob and Esau, ⁓ the ⁓ God could see those men and their lives. ⁓ Jacob did not always do what was good, but his heart was a good heart. He wanted ⁓ that inheritance. He wanted that s that ⁓ heritage that would come through and Esau devalued it. Yes. God saw that. That's right. Well God could foresee that ahead of time. It doesn't mean God made them do make those choices. But God made choices based on what they determined. And ⁓ so his foreknowledge also is able to drive God's ⁓ determinations in what he decides will be done. That's right. You know ⁓ so ⁓ I think that has we shouldn't confuse those I think. That mitigates The otherwise impossible position that God creates human beings designedly to lose them. Yes. So the baby being born in Atlanta as we speak, this moment, has already been predestined to an eternal torture in that system. I think that really does away with theism. I don't think people are prepared to believe in a God who is operating that way. It would be desperately disappointing at the very least. And again, it's a it's a great assault against the character of God to believe as th that would lead one to believe that God predetermines, predestines that some will be lost, which is another way of saying he has ⁓ from their perspective, he's created a a unending torturous hell to put people into arbitrarily just because he's said I need to fill hell up and I'm gonna get some people to do that I suppose. That's a different doctrine. That's a terrible, terrible terrible view of God then that we're forcering on people. I think so too. Luke seven thirty. The Pharisees ⁓ rejected resisted God's purpose for themselves. Well how could they possibly do that if nobody resists God's will, as Paul is saying here. So it it's it must be limited then by some constraints, this thing about not resisting God's will. Here we're talking about nationalities and nations and nations. Right. And I think ⁓ that that ⁓ here we're talking about Pharaoh who is ⁓ is king over an empire. Yes. An evil empire in many ways. And it also says that God stretched out his hand all day long to ⁓ recalcitate in Israel. Yes, there you He was begging them. That's right. Was he begging them to do what he'd already decided they couldn't do? That makes no sense to at any That's right. I have to reject that. Yes. I I think so. So there's a lot of misreading that goes on ⁓ people ⁓ look at this passage sometimes. But the truth's pretty straight. I think if you read it in this ⁓ in this notion of ⁓ predestination in the sense that it's been taken up unfortunately by many, then it puts you at odd with too many other scriptures and the whole sense and gist of the New Testament which is calling upon people. Yes. To make right decisions. And it the and it is assuming that you have it within your power to make those right or wrong decisions. Otherwise the command to choose, which is ⁓ implied all over and expressly said choose life is a lie. You're not choosing. It turns God into an absolute liar if he's saying you choose well, I'm kidding you, you're not really choosing. You can't really do that I already chose. So it it just doesn't work, you know. I I think this whole ⁓ horrible predestination thing from that perspective just isn't right. It it doesn't work with far, far too many scriptures. And ⁓ I don't think you can take this passage no turn it around and kind of make something out of it then to support that kind of that kind of God for one thing. Well that kind of God. Yeah. And we're coming to verse twenty two in a in a moment where he says that God Endured with much patience, vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. Well God was putting up with his own predestination then. He had a lot of patience with himself. That's got to be known to a It makes no sense. So for goodness sakes, repent. Right. ⁓ He has to be patient upon us. Right. Isn't that interesting? I think we can't settle all of the issues here. I mean there is an inscrutability in God's purpose. Paul says that. How great, you know, and inscrutable are the ways of God. We won't try to figure all this out, but I think we can say that God doesn't determine having said choose, for him to choose then for you nevertheless, is to make him into a liar, actually. Surely. Yeah. And and makes no sense. ⁓ yeah. It just makes too much of a ⁓ Incoherent ⁓ perspective of scriptures and out of God. I think so. Verse 19. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? Okay. Verse 20, but who are you, old man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, Why have you made me this? Verse 21, has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? Yes. Verse 22, what if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? Verse 23, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory. Verse twenty four, even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles. Wow. So this is very ⁓ very powerful then. ⁓ again, it's it shows the absolute sovereignty of God. Yes. It shows ⁓ to me his plans, his program, his his his planning for over eras and time. And ⁓ but I think we are taking it a step beyond what Paul would have meant. When we say that this means God has predestined you to be lost, God has predestined this person over here to be saved, in the sense of eternal hope and salvation. That cannot be right. That can't be right. And it really isn't. ⁓ the overwhelming body of scripture in the New Testament. And Paul's own scriptures and ⁓ I was going to get to that immediately just the corrective here is in Second Timothy two twenty. There's a l a large house. There are gold and silver vessels, he says. Vessels of wood, earthenware, and some to honour, and some to dishonour. Now if anyone cleanses himself, ⁓ so you have the power not to be a vessel of dishonour. Yes. You have the power to be a vessel of honour. If you choose. Yes. The other text, of course, which is devastating, is first Timothy two, five. God desires every human being to be saved. Yes. That is made into total h incoherence. If it be said that he's determined beforehand that you couldn't be saved. I'm impressed with Henry Alford's remark there against Calvin. He says Calvin shuffles out, ignominiously, shuffles out of that text in First Timothy two, five. God desires everybody to be saved. That's got to be taken as a definitive umbrella statement. Yes. Nothing can be clear than that. Calvin says something about, well, all sorts of people get saved. That's wrong. He shuffles out of that ignominiously, and I want to put a stop to that because it's an insult to plain language and turns God into an impossible monster. what is Paul's ⁓ ultimate picture here then? I don't know that he's addressing so much the ⁓ the issue of the availability or the hope of salvation to the individual as much as he is c classes and categories of people. D does that make sense to you? Here he's talking about Gentiles have the opportunity because God has decided in his sovereignty to extend conclusion. Yeah. That couldn't be prevented. Yes, yes. But the individual salvation of Gentiles or Jews is another mess. Suddenly now we have that issue to deal with as individuals. And ⁓ so ⁓ when the when the message of this gospel ⁓ is is coming to Gentiles, that's by the sovereign determination of God, his will. Not that the Gentiles deserved it. No. What have the Gentiles been doing to deserve the gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope of the kingdom coming to them? Right. Nothing. No. So I what Paul is saying then, when I look at it from that perspective, God is extended to the Jews who weren't necessarily deserving either. Abraham certainly found favor with God. But the Jews ⁓ had this ⁓ the advantages that they had and this hope of salvation is now extended to them, though they didn't necessarily deserve it. Gentiles now are having this message extended to them. They didn't deserve it. How how does this come to be? If God chooses then to extend these opportunities to people, you can't question him in that. That part is determined. Yeah. But now when it comes to the individual, I think Paul is in his very life living out a life of ministry and missionary effort. Carrying this word to every person possible so that they will have the opportunities. But ⁓ you know, we have this where Paul is saying to the people on one occasion, ⁓ seeing you you ⁓ consider yourselves, you make yourselves un you know, unworthy. Yes. You counted yourself as a good text of ⁓ of this hope of life. You know, that's actually a very important verse there. You are considering yourselves unworthy of the kingdom of God. You're making the choice. And ⁓ but I I love the verse you're quoting in ⁓ first Timothy two. Yes. That you know it's the will of God. What's God's will? That everyone everyone ⁓ would ⁓ would come to repentance. But again, for the sake of the camera, that's Acts 1346. The word of God is spoken by Barnabas and Paul. ⁓ yes and they say, since you repudiate it and you're judging yourselves unworthy of the life of the age to come, we're gonna go to the Gentiles. Excellent. This has to clarify the appalling ⁓ decretum horribile, as it's been called, of Calvin, the double predestination idea. He's really quite cruel. Yes. ⁓ and and makes God into an awfully ⁓ terrible fellow, I think, unfortunately. But but isn't ⁓ a lot of what Paul's saying here isn't it addressing the objection of the of the Jewish person who would say to Paul, Paul, this Gentile thing, that's crazy. It doesn't work. Because the Gentiles are not worthy. They're not suitable. They're not acceptable. And where do you get it that the Gentiles ⁓ would have the same station or opportunity or or right to and and I think he's answering that. He's saying, well wait a minute, you know, God can choose as he will. Yes. ⁓ God has chosen that Gentiles will have the opportunities to receive this message and this gospel. And just because you're Jewish that's right. Or just because you're a descendant of Israel, Jacob Does not necessarily mean that God's going to embrace you. Esau was too. Because he did also say that Abraham, he would say, haven't you read that Abraham is the father of many nations? That's right. So there's a blessing. Yes. And he's going to give other verses. The one from Hosea is particularly interesting that you're just about to read it, I think. Let's let's follow it. Verse 25, as indeed he says in Hosea. Those who are not my people I will call my people. And her who was not beloved I will call beloved. Yes. And in every place, verse twenty six. Where it was said to them, You are not my people, they will be called sons of the living God. That's very striking because he's actually quoting a passage where the people addressed were Israelites. But they were as good as Gentiles because they'd given up on God. So it doesn't matter whether you use that verse, actually they were Israelites coming back to God. They're going to come back to God in the future. But he's using that and saying, Well, that implies then a Gentile who is equally not from God can by repentance turn to God. Isn't that fascinating? Isn't it kind of like his statements earlier about ⁓ the circumcision and the issues? Isn't your circumcision made uncircumcision because of your unbelief or because of your disobedience? So the people who are not of God can in fact be unconverted Israelites as well as the Gentiles. Wonderful. They're in the same condition. You're no better off as an Israelite who hasn't got Christ than you are as a Gentile who hasn't got Christ. You're an equality. So we've got this question about so what advantage has the Jew? Well, on one hand has great advantages. But they on the other side they have no advantage. There is no advantage at all. That's right. When you consider that the Jew who is ⁓ has the law and not keeping it the the Jew who is living in a life of sin is no advantage. You're you're going to be condemned right along with the Gentiles. And your your circumcision becomes uncircumcised. Yes then. Nice point. The Bible nails us all, doesn't it? ⁓ it's something. Nobody gets away with it now. So this is great. So I think This ⁓ is often this passage is often used as a commentary on the individual person and ⁓ their relationship to to God or his ⁓ determination, his predetermination. I don't think it's that as much as it is God's determination about whole Peoples, whole categories of people. Of course. Yes. No, that's that's true. Yes. So and ⁓ if God chose ⁓ for a time that the Gentiles would not be included in this blessing and hope as it was back there, ⁓ before Christ came. Yes. Who's gonna blame God? That's right. He's done nothing wrong. He didn't know Gentiles' life or anything else. He didn't know us anything. That's right. ⁓ but if God chooses later, hey, I'm going to ⁓ bring this hope this this eternal hope. To the Gentiles, who will accuse God? He's he you who can say, Well, he's unfair to do that. He shouldn't be doing that. Verse 27. And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved. Verse 28. For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay. Verse 29, and as Isaiah predicted, If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah. So here we are then. Now he's going to bring all this together, I think, in the remaining ⁓ part of this chapter. Verse 30. What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it. That is, a righteousness that is by faith. Yes. Wow. But that Israel, who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness, did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 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. ⁓ my goodness, this is very powerful. It's very powerful. The thing that strikes me as interesting here is the remnant idea. And Paul is is going to say there is a remnant of people being saved now, Jews and Gentiles. It's only a remnant. Absolutely. And then he's going to get into the issue of a future collective salvation of Israel, but it's only a remnant even then. Mm-hmm. Sure. So the verses he's using there to make his point in twenty eight, for the Lord will execute his word on the earth thoroughly and quickly. He's actually quoting there from Isaiah ten. And using a very unusual phrase, kalava nechatzah in Hebrew, it's very unusual. I'm gonna quickly and decisively bring this thing to an end. ⁓ But it it isn't actually happened yet. Yes, yes. Fully, it's gonna happen at the second coming. But he's taking that remnant principle and decision of God and bringing it forward and saying, even now God is decising decisively letting Gentiles in and Jews a remnant. It's it is a bit subtle. You really have to p ponder that Paul's theological mind is very clever. You have to put some thought to it. Yes. You've got to look up the passages, see where he's getting his stuff right, and compare it all and then put the big picture together. But this is ⁓ quite a chapter then when you think about it. I think ⁓ a number of things are ⁓ are being set in place here by Paul. Absolutely. But I am as ⁓ amazed at what he shows as being the the determinant counsel of God. ⁓ God can choose he chose Abraham and his descendants. And he placed a a great blessing with them and they had great advantage and opportunities. ⁓ he ⁓ he chose that that would come through ⁓ Isaac And ⁓ and then even ⁓ Jacob in Esau's God made those choices. Who can argue with him? and God chose that the descendants of Jacob would have great blessings and great opportunities, and they did. Yes. ⁓ but ⁓ so those are all choices of God, and who's gonna say you shouldn't have done that, God? ⁓ you know, it's ⁓ I think it's an interesting thing that he's even bringing to the attention of the Jewish mind, the Jewish reader, that just Jacob really didn't deserve necessarily what came to him. He wanted it, but it wasn't based on him deserving God's choice to work this through him ⁓ in the sense of deserving. ⁓ And so God's blessings with them were wonderful and amazing and in a some extent arbitrary because he chose Abraham for good reason and he chose Isaac for good reason. He chose Jacob for his own choices. He made these choices without anybody telling him what to do. He did those things. He had the right to do it. He is the potter. He's shaping all of these things. It's very subtle, ⁓ he's intervening where he needs to. ⁓ It's an intervention there, not a virginal birth, but a sort of preamble to that. Rehearsal. It isn't a super miracle as in Mary, but it's a miracle of some sort. And again, ⁓ by the choice of God alone. God decides. We're going to bring these Gentiles in. That's right. So who who can speak against God? That's right. You know, who can say, ⁓ don't bring Gentiles into this thing, don't give them this. But once God has made those choices about these people who were ⁓ the patriarchs and ⁓ people who were the forebears. God's made these choices and He's blessed according to his will. Yet when it comes down to it, I don't care ⁓ how much a physical descendant of Abraham you were. If you did not have faith and you were not walking according to faith of God, you were not acceptable with God. It didn't so as an individual, you still had to make that decision or that choice. Under the new scheme too. Right. And and now that Gentiles are being brought into these special blessings They too have to make decisions and choices along the way. Will you be a part of this or not? ⁓ and I think that's the only thing that makes sense to me about Paul's entire ministry. He's he's just knocking himself out. He's going night and day to get the word out there because he says, you know, ⁓ if ⁓ if my gospel, if this gospel is hidden, it's hid to those who are lost. He wants to reach everyone and give them the opportunity. Absolutely. The opportunity. I like that. And he comes back to the major theme, which he's not dealing with primarily in this chapter, in verse thirty one, pursuing a law of righteousness. ⁓ yes. Not a law of faith. That that's the major theme we've been working at the whole book. Yes, yes. And the trouble with Israel is they don't get into this new programme. They don't They're not understanding. They're not getting the way to righteousness, the way to being right rather than wrong. That's right. Well, and isn't it then true ⁓ tragic in in a major sense that we would see people today, even Christian Gentiles and all for goodness sake. Yeah thinking they're gonna go back and somehow be advantaged by doing what Paul says had ⁓ had left these folks, these Jews Because what it implies, you know, so often error is what you imply, you don't say it, because if you say it you'd probably go shattered by what you're saying, you'd probably not say it enough anymore. But it's what we don't say but imply that it's so subtle and so wicked. If you're saying I need to do all those Jewish things, wear my tassels and keep the calendar of Israel and the food all that, you're saying that this faith system is inadequate. Yes. I don't choose to do it that way. I'm going to do it my way. That's right. And I'm going to appeal to the Bible once more. That's true. Because the Bible does say those things under the old covenant. Yes, yes. But you're slapping God in the face really by saying that the new system of faith And its activity in faith in Messiah is inadequate. Yes. I'm going to tell God something better. I'm going to do better for God. But I'm doing it my way, the famous song, I'll do it my way. The worst piece of theology ever, by the way. That's right. I'm doing it my way is what you don't want to do. Yes, yes. Better off do it God's way. Indeed. Well I ⁓ I love it. I think this gives me ⁓ This chapter helps me to get a ⁓ a a sense of the of the surety and the certainty of God's program and plans. Yes. And ⁓ to see how that works in peoples, nations, ⁓ entire peoples, including ⁓ the Gentiles when it gets to us. Even the Gentiles, the nations. And ⁓ so here we are. But We're I don't think that anything in this chapter is telling us that we're sitting here at this table enjoying these things today because God arbitrarily just like s we would say picked a number or something. So Anthony and Dan. It's not not like that. We are here because in the larger scheme of things, God determined to make his message available to the Gentiles. That's right. ⁓ that's wonderful. And we find that then certainly in in ⁓ four workings of Jesus, the words of Jesus. We see it coming. And then ⁓ it comes to fruition in Acts ten with ⁓ Peter and ⁓ you know in his work there with the household of Cornelius. And then certainly wide open with Paul and Barnabas and ⁓ those who participated in and here we are. Yes. But w I still think God has not nullified my choice, your choice, to to be a part of this. That's right. And ⁓ that's our decision. That's exciting. He's given us the opportunity, but it's our ultimate decision. So I think the parable of the sour bears on that. It says that those who receive the word in a good and honest heart, well where did they get that good and honest heart? Simply just DNA, just God's predetermin will? Part of that, certainly But they are commended in some way for having received the word. The Burians are likewise, they were more noble minded, I like that word. They were more liberal in the best sense. Yes, yes. Not so narrow. Yes. More willing to search and think. And for that reason they became believers. Not because God had foreordained them from eternity to be those very people, but they'd done something to make salvation come in their direction and you still have to cooperate right to the end because you can throw it away. If it's all been predetermined, if the if the writer of Hebrews ⁓ had any ⁓ modicum of truth in that's right, then that's true. You you have to see this through. So ⁓ I you know this is ⁓ wonderful thing, then there's great comfort in and awe in knowing God has chosen to bring this opportunity for ⁓ connection with the kingdom of God and with the Christ to Gentiles who didn't deserve it. Yes. That was arbitrarily his choice. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna give him that opportunity. And ⁓ and then we are in that ⁓ first Timothy two and four. It's the will of God. It's God's plan, it's his desire that all men would be saved. That's got to be fundamental. If you look at that text, I think you've lost the Bible. It's I think very questionable to to make incoherent a plain statement. ⁓ yes. Yeah. You're destroying truth on a very grand scale, if you mess with a plain statement about God wanting all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth of the truth. And equally if you deny in Hebrews ten or Hebrews six, that it's possible to throw that away. To deny that is also wrong, because clearly you can having known the truth, you can still not make it. Now this makes the whole operation a lot more interesting and challenging. Who would go to the Olympic Games and and be thrilled with the fact that everybody gets a gold medal as the gun goes off at the beginning? They all get the gold medal automatically. You wouldn't have many people there, would you? That's right. God has an epic drama going here which is far more interesting than the cut and dried boring ⁓ systems that man has imposed upon them, right? And I think all of this has to be seen in the light. John fifteen, yes, this business. And those words of Jesus, do you get any better than this that says you remain in me. Yes. ⁓ and if you will, and and I my words abide and remain in you. Provided they do. Yes, this is right. And they might not. And they might not. So ⁓ it doesn't make any sense if you remain with me. There's that eon, that ⁓ that Greek, you know, we have this ⁓ question of possibility. Will you do this? so So yeah, it's very this is great stuff, I think. I like it. And I I like the fact that God didn't decide arbitrarily before I was ever born as an individual whether or not I would ⁓ receive ⁓ the hope of eternal life or be banished, as many would say, to unending torment. Yes. ⁓ God forbid. So ⁓ but I I feel good to know that God did decide to give me the opportunity. ⁓ I think it's fine. As a Gentile person. Yes. He he Arbitrarily for his own good purposes. He chose to make this opportunity better. That's right. There are many aspects of his interaction with us who you will never figure out in in individual cases. Surely. Different nations, you know, who are punished, not punished, their their destinies work out in different ways. Sure. God is able to do that exactly as he chooses. Yes. But it's not just an automatic concrete activity that cannot be moved. Otherwise, why did Abraham, you know, to pray to save people that God was wanting not to save or rescue it? Well, that's right, that's right. He's enjoying that interaction with his own non robotic creation. Well and then what is the meaning then of Moses intervening for the sake of the creation? It has no meaning at all. Or Christ as mediator now. I know who is also in ⁓ Hebrews ten twenty five. Yes. saving those to the uttermost who come to God by him. ⁓ we implore you to come to Christ. Yes. ⁓ But you you're gonna have to make that decision for yourself. What about the dear lady in Canaan, the Canaanite later And Jesus said it is not the will of the Father, I deal with you. Yes, yes, yes. ⁓ wait a minute. Even the dogs get the crops. ⁓ your faith is great and she gets isn't that marvelous? And doesn't that portend in Jesus this I could see a glimpse of that in God's blessings reaching out to the Gentiles. A hint of right there. Somewhere along the way, Peter probably remembered that. Look at the look at the tumultuous events that had to take place to get them to see this shift towards the Gentile. Well, and and Jesus with the lady in ⁓ Samaria. Yes. In the city of Samaria. I I think about that sometimes. But wasn't that portending? Hey, one of these days this blessing will flow to this people in Samaria. And it in accident we see that tremendously. We don't admire human beings who are so rigidly set in stone that they won't budge an inch, you know, normally we don't like that. They can be moved by an appeal. Yes, yes. Well God can also Jesus was also moved by an appeal, which wasn't exactly according to the rules. Yes, that's right. But compassion took over. That's right. Wonderful. Yeah. I love it. So by the general principle, we would have thought this lady would have been excluded. Yes. But on an individual basis it was very difficult. Yeah. And I think that's what we're talking about here. God opening up blessings and hope to all the nations, all the Gentiles, ⁓ who would have on principle been excluded. Yes. But now we're finding ⁓ it's open to them and now it's an individual choice that you and I have been Privilege to make. I think it's wonderful. I like that. Also the women, you know, in the genealogy, some of them are a very doubtful character. Here's a man who's a prostitute. But she got in on the genealogy because she welcomed the spite. ⁓ God is a little bit more generous, you know. Some of those are terribly self righteous approaches to things. That's right. There's a little flexibility there which is a charming characteristic of the deity, don't you think? I think the one thing you will not find God doing is acting contrary to his own good nature by taking good people and doing bad things with them or doing something bad to them or taking bad people and then d arbitrarily approving them. ⁓ yeah. You know, ⁓ he doesn't quite do that. That becomes incoherence. I think that's right. Flexibility we w we'll allow for. Yes. Yeah. And and flexibility in favor of mercy, I like that. Yes. That's good. In fact that's the last line of the chapter where it is concluding, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed. I like that I like that. Yeah. That's a very real word, isn't it? Disappointed. Where that's a very much current English. I'm terribly disappointed. It's very much a downer, isn't Yes, yes. So faith in Messiah and in God will not result in disappointment. And again, Paul bringing up at the end of this ⁓ set of statements here at this end of this particular ⁓ chapter ⁓ this idea of belief which he puts in contrast to the ⁓ the deeds of the law. Exactly. ⁓ the code, the written code, all of that. All that's that's that's history now. We're into this belief business now. Isn't that wonderful? It is wonderful.