The Election That Matters (Rom. 9:6-29)

Paul wants his readers to understand the role that Israel has in God’s purpose and why the Israelites no longer have the same prominence in God’s Kingdom as they did previously. Inevitably exploring this subject brings us face to face with the sovereignty of God. Right away, we can see at least three responses can be made. They are (1) what kind of God do we want? (2) what kind of God do we need? and (3) what kind of God do we have? So it is important for us to know what Paul says here about God. Moreover, Paul’s explanation causes us to delve into the doctrine of election, a prospect that frightens some people. Yet if treated properly the doctrine of election will become a great strength to one’s faith.

It is helpful to remind ourselves that Jesus spoke about election and did so at the same time as giving a gospel invitation that stressed human responsibility. A clear example is John 6:37 where he says to his listeners: ‘All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.’ The first clause describes election and the second is an invitation that stresses human responsibility. Jesus did not see them as contradictory but as connected. It may be that we cannot see the connection, but that does not mean it is not there.

Moreover we can also focus briefly on the fact that God’s people are required to worship God for his electing grace. One example of such worship is seen in Paul’s magnificent statement of praise in Ephesians 1:3-14 in which he praises the Father for choosing his people in Christ. A failure to mention his election is to keep back what God wants to hear – the glad acknowledgement of his sovereign grace.

Furthermore, we should remind ourselves of the context of this passage in Romans. It follows a passage in which Paul has expressed his strong longings for the salvation of Israelites, even to having constant tears about the matter. The same man also believed strongly in election and was able to hold the two in constant balance. Of course, in this he was like his Master who wept over Jerusalem even although he was aware of what would happen to the city four decades later when it was destroyed.

In addition, Paul does not mind dealing with hard questions connected to this doctrine. And since he was guided to write his arguments by the Holy Spirit, we can deduce that God expects us to ask appropriate questions. But it is not enough to ask the hard questions which are provided by Paul, a reminder that people have usually responded in the same way to this doctrine. In addition we have to accept the divinely provided answers. After all, what is the point of asking a question if we are not willing to accept the answer?

1. Election means guaranteed promises

The first detail that Paul mentions is that God kept his promises to Israel at the commencement of their existence as a people (vv. 6-13). Paul deals with an obvious question about Israel’s condition when he was writing, which is the possibility that God’s Word had failed. The apostle dismisses such a possibility. Instead Paul goes back to the calling of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and points out that what happened to them proves the reality of divine election. As far as the children of Abraham and of Isaac were concerned, God did not promise to bless each of them equally. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac – Isaac was the one about whom the promises of Israel were made. Isaac and two sons, Jacob and Esau – Jacob was the one about whom the promises of Israel were made.

The promises were not given according to anything in the children themselves. Isaac did nothing that led him to being the object of those special promises and neither did Jacob as opposed to Esau. Instead they were the objects of divine promises because God had a plan that he intended to adhere to, and which nothing could change. So we can see that election is connected to the wisdom of God.

Moreover the promises were given in situations of human weakness. Sarah gave birth to Isaac in a miraculous way and Rebekah gave birth at a time when it seemed impossible for her to have children. So election there was also about the display of divine power in ensuring that what God wished to happen took place.

Let’s go back to the questions we asked at the beginning, (1) what kind of God do we want? (2) what kind of God do we need? and (3) what kind of God do we have? Do we want a God who knows what he is doing, who is able to make definite promises, who possesses the wisdom to make the best decisions and the power to ensure they can happen, even at times when human nature would say it was impossible.

Some people are disturbed by the statement that God hated Esau. There are a couple of problems that we have with regard to the concept of hating. The first is that the hatred we are usually aware of is hatred expressed by a sinful individual who also has desires for revenge. God’s hatred is never sinful, nor is it a personal vendetta. Second, we are used to the idea that God loves everyone. Yet the Bible also says that God hates the workers of iniquity.

How does God show hatred as opposed to love? To those he loves he gives spiritual blessings, one of which is mercy for their sins. Those he hates, he does not give them his special blessings and will punish them for their sins. Both those he loves and those he hates deserve his punishment. Those he loves receive mercy because they are led by him to ask for it, whereas those he hates never ask him for mercy and don’t receive what they don’t want.

2. Election means God acts mercifully to some (vv. 14-18)

Paul then deals with another objection, which is that God’s choice of individuals is unjust. The apostle’s response is to remind his readers that we cannot look to divine justice as a route for obtaining deliverance. If God were to give justice, everyone will be condemned. It is not unjust of God to give to people what they want, which he did with Pharaoh. Pharaoh was determined to oppose Israel whatever happened, even when it meant opposing the revealed will of God given to the Egyptian ruler through Moses. Yet in his inscrutable wisdom God has chosen to show mercy to some of the undeserving. As far as Paul is concerned, this divine decision to show mercy is God’s prerogative and he is not answerable to any person as to why he has limited it to some. We are to acknowledge that God is willing to show mercy to some.

3. Election means God deals effectively with our spiritual enemies (v. 17)

As we have seen, Paul considers the experience of Israel at the time when the Israelites were delivered from the power of Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. At that time, Moses was perplexed as to how God would rescue his people from an enemy that seemed to be growing more powerful every day. Of course, there is more than one way in which God could have dealt with Pharaoh, but the way he chose to use was to harden the ruler’s outlook. It is to be remembered that in it all Pharaoh did what he personally wanted.

In his dealings with Pharaoh we can see how God used the same features of power and wisdom that accompanied his promises to Abraham and Isaac. Indeed his dealings with Pharaoh were all the fulfilment of a promise made by God to Moses, which he kept. And we should remind ourselves that Pharaoh was the most powerful ruler on the earth at that time. Yet he was never for a second beyond the control of God, even although all he did was disobey God. We can think how heartening this message would have been to the early Christians as they faced powerful political opponents, and how encouraging it has been to Christians down the centuries as they faced opposition and suffering. And the fact that election includes dealing with his enemies should encourage us in our time as well.

There is a very solemn statement in this verse concerning the praise of God. It is the case that God is determined to get praise from all his creatures. His dealings with Pharaoh, the god-king, showed the world who the only true God and King is. At the end of the day, there will only be one acknowledged Sovereign. Everyone will bow to the Lord.

4. Election reminds us it is arrogance to question God (vv. 19-23)

Paul uses an illustration to show the folly of trying to understand all the reasons behind God’s way of fulfilling his purpose. He likens God to a potter and humans to pots. A pot is incapable of understanding why the potter works one way with it and another way with a different pot. If a pot somehow could object to what the potter was doing, it would be indicating it was as intelligent as the potter. The fact is, there are some things in life that we cannot understand. Why are we living in the twenty-first century instead of the nineteenth or the twenty-second? We have no involvement whatsoever in that decision and there is nothing we can do about it. Why are some born male and others female? Why is one person born with a brain capable of understanding a great deal and another born without that ability? It would be silly for a person to try and change those features of life. Similarly, we are unable to do anything about God’s hidden decisions regarding salvation. Instead we are to focus on what he has graciously revealed, which is that he has chosen some and not others, and that each person who hears the gospel is invited to believe in Jesus. If we have heard the gospel, we have been given an invitation from God.

It is important here to notice a difference in how Paul uses the word ‘prepared’. He writes that some are prepared vessels of wrath and others are prepared vessels of mercy. And he is very clear on who prepares the vessels of mercy – God prepares them. But he does not say who prepares the vessels of wrath. It could be the individuals themselves by their ongoing rejection of God, it could be God by hardening them for their ongoing rejection, or it could even be society as a whole turning away from God and so preparing one another for wrath, or it could be the devil preparing them by his temptations and his distractions. What Paul says about the vessels of wrath is that God is patient with them, not judging them immediately.

5. Election led to the formation of the Christian church (vv. 24-29)

We have an election next month. What would we think of persons who refused to accept the result and instead pretended that another person had won it? We would accuse them of failing to accept realities. In a far higher sense, there are also realities in the spiritual life and in the spiritual ordering of the world that we should accept, and which will continue to be true whether or not we accept them. What does Paul say we should focus on?

First, he tells us to notice the patience of God with those who previously had resisted his will. Paul tells his readers to look at what had happened to Israel and then ask why it had happened. He says that God revealed his wrath against them in order that his people, whether Jews or Gentiles, would experience his mercy. How long did God's patience last? Paul refers to two Old Testament passages in order to help his readers understand what God was doing. The first is a quotation from Hosea in which he says that after a period of judgement God would have a people from an unlikely location. This is another way of describing Gentiles who would come into God's people. The other quotation is from Isaiah and it says that only a remnant of Jews would remain true to God. So Paul is saying that God patiently endured the generations of Israelites who deserved to be punished for their sins while having his eye on the time of future advance when his kingdom would move out into the whole world. What do we see here? We see his promise, his power and his wisdom.

6. Election gives great blessings to sinners (vv. 23-29)

We can consider briefly some of the blessings that Paul says belongs to the Christian church now that its members are reconciled to God and have become his permanent people. They are seen in the words mercy, glory and sons. Mercy is God’s response to their sins, glory is what God intends to give them, and sons describes the permanent relationship they have with him. Obviously each of them is an aspect of grace, and each of them states that God's grace is truly amazing. None of the recipients deserved those benefits, yet they are given freely to a countless number.

The devil would like us to respond to the doctrine of election by asking dark questions and ignoring the answers whereas Paul wants us to think about the benefits that election brings our way. It is important to remember that believers have those blessings because God elected them to receive what he had in store for them.