God's Promise of Election Fulfilled (Part 4)

So how does all of this work together for the ultimate good? Let us look at the rest of chapter nine of the book of Romans to find out. As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'" 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, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay." And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah." What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 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." Romans 9:25-33

You see Israel found Jesus, and God’s sovereign choice to save not only the Israelites but also the Gentiles through his atoning work to be a major stumbling block. They found this to be a reason to rebel against God and seek to even further alienate themselves from their creator. Yet God saves people by faith as a fulfillment to his promise. Not just as a matter of human ancestry, but as a matter of belief in the promise. Yet the Jews would claim that if this was so that it would make God unjust, and they knew that God was not unjust, so this could not be so. And so they rejected the Messiah based on the grounds that they did not understand how Jesus could be the Messiah.

We too stand at a crossroads where we can reject the truth of God and exchange it for a lie. We can say God what is the point of taking the gospel to people. If you have mercy on whomever you will and harden whomever you will then there is no point in any of this. Yet just because God knows who will be saved and who will not be saved does not mean we are off the hook. We can become angered and bitter towards God, full of resentment. Or we can reject the doctrine of election because of our lack of understanding of it. Or we can accept it, seek to understand it as best we are able, and strive to reach the lost. The doctrine of election and predestination has been something that has caused confusion and bitterness towards God for all of time. It has moved entire denominations to abandon the cause of world missions as being useless. Yet God’s foreknowledge of the events to come is not a reason to reject reaching out to the lost. Instead his foreknowledge should be an encouragement to us to seek the lost. For God says that around his throne there will be some from every tribe, language, and nation. He has promised us success, because he knows that we can and will succeed when we believe Him and are empowered by the Spirit.

Lord God Almighty,
You are perfect in knowledge and deed. May your infinite knowledge be a reason that I trust you for sucess in my ministry. May I believe you for souls saved, and may I believe you that you will empower me to reach the lost. In Jesus' name, Amen.