IS GOD FAIR?
You are looking at this text and thinking, “What does Paul’s passion for the Jews have to do with me?” I know you are thinking this because I did too.
The apostle Paul has given us the most comprehensive description of our salvation in Jesus Christ that we could ever read in the first 8 chapters of Romans. Now it is as if he turned a sharp corner and veered off to talk about Israel for three chapters.
Mentally, our computers turn off. We are tempted in our reading to skip over to chapter 12 where Paul brings in some practical counsel. What, after all, do the Jews have to do with us in our struggle to be faithful? What does Israel have to do with the 21st century Christian and his or her salvation?
Quite a bit, actually. Remember how this letter began? What was Paul’s purpose in writing this letter? He wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” and note this “…first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (1:16). And this gospel was promised in the OT by the prophets regarding God’s Son “who as to his human nature was a descendent of David” (1:4).
The implication of these verses is that we cannot understand the gospel of our salvation apart from its relationship to Israel. Through these special people we have come to know about the Messiah and God’s plan to save us. This is why Paul turns to them now and says, “What about the Jews?”
However, this text is not about the Jews. No, in fact, this text is about God – which gives us even more reason to study it.
Is God fair? This question may not be precisely the right question but it touches on part of the problem Paul addresses concerning the Jews. Out of this question comes a follow-up question: Why do some people believe when others do not? So in this chapter we are going to be faced with some of the toughest questions ever faced by God’s people as Paul reflects on the actions and workings of God.
Is God fair in his saving work? And does God fail?
1. When some people don’t believe
a) Paul’s passion for the lost – Having a passion for the gospel grows a like-passion for those who don’t know Jesus. It breaks the heart of the believer to see those who do not believe, especially loved ones.
Paul’s passion is palpable in his choice of words. He says, “I speak the truth in Christ – I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit” (9:1). First he affirms positively his intentions, then negatively, and finally as coming from the Spirit’s work in his own spirit.
“I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel” (9:2-3).
We have to understand how the Jews felt about Paul. He was a zealous Pharisee for the Law and a persecutor of the Christians. Then he is converted and begins preaching for Christ. It is a difficult pill to swallow that Paul cares anything for the Jews if you yourself are a Jew. Someone said it would be like Hitler, a Jew-killer, suddenly writing a history of the Jews. One could hardly take this seriously.
From Paul’s perspective, he never lost his love for his people and in actual fact, loves them intensely. He expresses this in his prayer (not “wish” as in NIV) that he could be cut off from Christ for their sake. This is harsh stuff.
He sounds like Moses when the people of Israel sinned against God by building a golden calf to worship. Moses met with God and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written” (Ex 32:31-32). Paul, like Moses, was so grieved for the Jews that he would go so far, if it were possible, to sacrifice himself like Jesus for the salvation of his fellow Jews. He would bear the wrath of God for them, if he could. This is not a possibility but it shows his heart was for them.
This is the kind of heart we receive when we come to understand the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We weep and groan over those we know who are far from God.
b) Lost despite having all the advantages – What is incredibly sad is that the Jews of all people ought to believe. They had all the advantages, all of the opportunities, and all the blessings of God in their favor.
- They were Israelites, God’s chosen people.
- They were adopted as sons of God, and as such, lords of creation in the kingdom of God.
- They were privileged to have the Shekinah glory of God in their midst. Israel saw this glory in being led by the pillar of fire in the wilderness and when God’s presence settled on their temple.
- They possessed the covenants. The Abrahamic covenant set them apart as God’s people; the Mosaic covenant gave them the Law; the Davidic covenant promised them that the Messiah would come through them and rule as King.
- They had the precious Law of God. In this they possessed God’s teaching for how to live a holy life.
- They had temple worship of the one True God.
- They had the promises of God that he would be faithful to them no matter how they behaved, good or bad.
- They had Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- And from them and their gene pool, their blood, their race, came the promised Messiah. Jesus was and is a Jew. He is King.
But they didn’t believe in Jesus. And having these incredible advantages for faith in God makes their failure to believe even sadder. If anyone was going to believe in this gospel it would have been these Jews.
We have a hard time with this contradiction in our own families. Many grow up in a home with Christian parents, go to church and hear the Word, know their Bibles and memorize verses. Then something happens – we don’t know what exactly – but they slip from the faith of Christ. With all the advantages of a gospel home some children still fall away.
I have even heard of some who attend Bible College who suddenly come to the realization that they don’t really believe what they are learning. Or they were fooling themselves and found that their faith was not genuine.
It is a painful reality that the children of Christians choose not to follow Christ, even with all the advantages.
2. God’s purposes despite unbelief
a) Does God’s word ever fail? Israel had failed. They failed to recognize and receive their Messiah, Jesus Christ. They failed by rejecting him and crucifying him. They even failed after the resurrection to admit their guilt and repent. They failed to enter into the blessings of the kingdom of Jesus.
Now the question is really a matter of “who failed?” They fell short of the glory of God – certainly. But what does this say about the reliability of Scripture? Did God fail them in giving them an unclear word? What use were his promises and blessings if Israel failed to believe in their own Messiah?
Quite a lot rests on the answer. You see, prior to this text we read Romans 8:28-39 and were given hope and the promise that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Now we find that God’s own special people who possessed his very own word do not believe in his Son. If God’s truth has been frustrated with the Jews then what is the basis of our hope as Christians? Can we rely on God to be eternally loving when his own people seem to be rejected?
Paul’s answer is straightforward: “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (9:6). God’s word did not fail. His word is effective and his promises are being fulfilled. The problem, as Paul puts it, is that not every Israelite is a true Israelite.
Earlier, at the end of chapter 2, Paul taught that not everyone is a Jew who is one outwardly. Circumcision of the heart is necessary to make someone a true Israelite. True Israel is a smaller group than physical Israel. And True Israel is made up of Jews who believe in Jesus, and Gentiles who believe in Jesus.
What we are talking about is called divine election. This is a difficult teaching because it seems that some are selected for faith and others are not.
b) God’s choice of Isaac over Ishmael – As a way of explaining the concept of election, Paul turns to Abraham in Genesis 16-18. The LORD promises Abraham and Sarah they would have a child through whom the promise of a great nation would come. But they are old and Sarah beyond child-rearing age. As the years passed and still no child, the couple decides to help God out. Sarah gives her servant girl Hagar to Abraham and the girl gives birth to a boy whom they name Ishmael.
Abraham presented Ishmael to God and asked whether this boy could be the one through whom the promise would come. This is an act of unbelief and disobedience since God said Sarah would have a son, even in her old age. “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned,” the Lord said (9:7), and “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son” (9:8c).
Two things are clear in this example. First, God’s word did not fail. He did what he promised in giving the senior couple a son. Second, despite their disobedience, God stuck to his plan and chose Isaac to be the heir of the promise.
Both sons were physical offspring of Abraham, but only Isaac was the child of the promise. We are only children of the promise by the will of the Father, God Almighty.
Jesus also taught divine election in the gospel of John. He said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me…For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life…No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” (Jn 6:37,40, 44).
God’s sovereign choice coupled with our acceptance of his will is the key to our salvation. I confess that I am not able to give a clear answer on whether God chooses and we are saved, or God chooses us and we have to decide to be saved as a result of our free will. One thing is certain: God chooses us.
c) God’s choice of Jacob over Esau – For a second example, Paul jumps down one generation to Isaac’s children.
With Isaac and Rebekah there is a more dramatic demonstration of God’s election. Isaac and Ishmael had the same father but different mother. With Jacob and Esau, both boys were the children of the same parents. They were conceived together since they were twins and therefore equal in many ways. But God chooses Jacob and not Esau.
“Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad – in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls – she was told “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (9:10-13).
Esau was older and should have received preference according to culture. Esau had been a dutiful son to Isaac. Meanwhile Jacob was a conniver and the original prodigal son. He deceived and schemed and basically stole his father’s blessing by deception. Even his name means “deceiver.” He struggled with everyone he met including God.
And yet in spite of his disobedience and rebellion, God was in control. The LORD changed his name to Israel reaffirming that God would bless him and all his descendants. God chose Jacob before he had done good or bad – in order that God’s purpose in election might stand. Not by works but by him who calls.
Put this in perspective. On the one hand you have the good little Christian boy who goes to Sunday School and memorizes verses and attends Bible Camp. On the other you have a bully, a pest, a scourge to teachers in all his classes; one day he will be a member of Hell’s Angels. Who would you pick to be the pastor of your church? If God chooses the little rebel there seems to be nothing he can do to resist God’s divine election.
Yet Scripture also teaches that we must make a conscious effort to repent, turn from our sins, and believe on the name of the Lord Jesus to be saved. There is a matter of our will involved and I am not ready to say that God’s grace is irresistible. However, it remains a mystery to me how two people can hear the same gospel; one is saved while the other refuses God.
“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What we need to take away from this strong statement is that God chose Jacob to be the man through whom God would carry out his promises. He “hated” or rejected Esau as the promise-keeper, but he didn’t actually hate Esau. Jesus himself used this language when he said we must hate our fathers and mothers if we are going to follow after him. It is a powerful way of saying “I choose Jesus above all other persons or things.”
God is sovereign over all history. What he says he will do he does. Those he chooses to do his will are going to do his will. This is divine election: God’s sovereign choice of whom he will bless and whom he will not.
Conclusion
Is God fair?
Now the question makes sense to us in the light of this text. Is God fair when some believe in Jesus and others do not? Does God choose some and not others to have faith?
I don’t know.
John Stott said, “It is the essence of worship to say: ‘Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness’ (Ps 115:1). If we were responsible for our own salvation, either in whole or in part, we would be justified in singing our own praises and blowing our own trumpet in heaven. But such a thing is inconceivable.”[i]
If our belief in Jesus were in any way a credit or work of faith we would diminish the power of grace. God chooses to save us through Jesus Christ his Son and our salvation is due entirely to his grace, will, initiative, wisdom and power. So we in humility and grateful adoration confess in worship that God and the Lamb are the only ones worthy of praise.
His election is a mystery to me. And to all of you, I am sure. It does not matter in the sense that the gospel is the power of God for salvation and everyone needs to hear it. It matters greatly in the sense that God is overall and chooses his people.
His Word is effective and unfailing. Isaiah wrote for the LORD concerning God’s thoughts, and let us include election in this passage, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:9-11).
Amen, let the Lord’s will be done.
AMEN
No comments:
Post a Comment