Thursday, May 27, 2010

Romans 9 DEVO: God’s Sovereign Choice

Chapter 9:
The word “sovereign” means supreme authority. In other words, to be in charge, and GOD IS in charge. God’s chosen people in the Bible is the Jewish nation . And yet, most of them rejected Him. Chapters 9-11 discus this.
Paul was heartbroken that the Jews were rejecting Jesus as Messiah, thus rejecting salvation. They had been given so much: “Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised!”
BUT, Paul goes on to write that “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” – Meaning, not all from physical Israel are spiritual Israel. Track with me here…Paul is explaining that just being born a Jew doesn’t make you a chosen one. He also explains that God’s choice of some is not based on works (10-13). God’s plan, not man’s works are the basis of His choosing.
So, is God unjust? Ha – no way! He’s MERCIFUL (15-18) and we should be GRATEFUL! Verses 22-24 say it well: “What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?”
Because of Israel’s unbelief, the door was opened to any who would come to Him by faith – namely you & me!
SO WHAT?!
*What breaks your heart? For Paul it was people not putting their trust & faith in Jesus Christ! Who is someone in your life you want to see come to Jesus? Will you commit today to begin to pray daily for them to believe? God can transform anyone!!!
*Can God choose some people and not others? He does. Is that fair? No. But neither is killing His own son for my sins and yours – but He did that too! We tend to think that life is meant to be “fair” when it isn’t. Why was I born in the USA with all it’s luxuries and others are born into extreme poverty in remote parts of the world where there aren’t even written languages? God is more than fair, He’s holy, just, merciful & gracious (to name a few) and offers to any a way back to Him through Jesus Christ. Have you put your trust & faith in Jesus Christ alone? Then you’re a chosen one!

2 comments:

  1. God choosing only some and sending His Son to die are only "not fair" if we apply our understanding of fairness to God. However, doing this ignores the gap between an infinite God and finite people. We should expect that our understanding of fairness is incomplete and partial when compared to God's.

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