Romans #24

LESSONS FROM THE OLIVE TREE

I am not a big fan of olives. Tried them on pizza and Greek salad, but they are strangely salty. Sharon loves the black ones and actually craves Greek salad on occasion. I do, however, love to use olive oil in cooking. It is one of the healthier and heartier oils out there.

            When we travelled to the Mediterranean exactly five years ago we saw olive trees in groves by the side of the highway. You could tell that for both Turks and Greeks olives were a staple of life.

            The olive tree is a very hardy tree. It can withstand drought, disease and fire allowing it to live to a great age. Even if the tree is set ablaze and seemingly destroyed, its root system is so robust it can regenerate the tree from down-up. The older an olive tree gets the more gnarled its trunk appears. Many olive trees in the Mediterranean are said to be hundreds of years old.

            Various countries claim to have olive trees that are 2000 years old. It is even said that several trees in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem date back to the time of Jesus. “If trees could talk,” as they say.

            One town in Lebanon claims to have the oldest olive trees in the world. It’s hard to believe and there is no scientific support for this claim but the residents of this town declare these trees to be from 4000 BC. Can you imagine?[i]

            Two questions beg to be asked of an olive tree that old: 1) Is it still vital and living? 2) Is it fruitful? If it is not living and fruitful then it is a museum piece or a tourist site but it is not useful; it is not doing what it was created to do.

            In the OT the Lord called Israel an olive tree. It even became one of its national symbols. Now in Romans Paul points to the olive tree and makes a lesson out of Israel’s failure to receive Jesus. What are the lessons we need to learn from the olive tree?

            They come in the form of two questions:

1. Are we making anyone envy us?

When God chose Israel to be his special people he did not intend for Israel to keep this privilege to themselves. Israel was meant to be a missionary people, to spread the news that God is real and he is to be worshiped. The Lord gave them a land and he intended to shower them with so much blessing that other nations would envy them and turn to Yahweh.

            But the story of Israel is one of rebellion, idolatry and sin. In his patience the Lord put up with the chosen people and continued to rescue them, loving them back each time. God finally sent his Son and the Jews rejected him.

a) The Jews’ loss is our gain – God is not done with Israel; they have not gone so far as to be beyond saving. But because of their transgression, “salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious” (11b).

            If Israel would not become a people that all the other nations would envy, then God was going to make a people out of other nations that Israel would envy. The Jews loss has become the Gentiles (our) gain.

            When Barnabas and Paul went on their first missionary journey they came to Pisidian Antioch. Their habit in preaching was to go to the Jews first with the gospel. Teaching in the synagogue they found the Jews resistant to the message of Jesus Christ. Barnabas and Paul responded, “We had to speak the Word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). This happened several times in Paul’s ministry. Even so, Paul had a burden on his heart for his own people.

            The Jewish rejection of Jesus Christ has been a blessing to us. Blessings are meant to flow to us and through us to others. If the Jewish habit of hoarding the blessings was going to be the norm it was better for us that they reject the blessing of Jesus Christ and let it flow around them to others, namely the Gentiles.

            However, it is worth noting that there is a ping-pong ball effect in Paul’s words. He declares, “But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!” (12). In other words, Israel’s rejection of Christ is to our benefit; but our benefit will make Israel envy our relationship with God; that envy will make them want Jesus; if they accept Jesus our blessings will be greater than without them. The blessing ricochets from Israel to the Gentiles, from the Gentiles back to Israel, and from Israel back to the Gentiles again.

            Why does the church need Jewish people? Well we want everyone to come to salvation – that’s a given. But they are God’s chosen people intended to lead us in worshiping God. When a Jew comes to faith, because of their background and understanding of the OT, they tend to receive a fuller understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

            A few Sundays ago Dr. Jabbour challenged us to pray for a Muslim friend to come into our life. I think it would be equally appropriate to pray that we would make Jewish friends as well.

b) Making much of our ministry – Our hope, whether our friends are Muslim or Jew, is that they would see Jesus in us and be envious of our relationship with God.  The question then is: Are we making anyone envy us? Do they see God at work in us? Do they see us expressing our faith in good times and in bad?

            Paul said, “I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them” (13c-14). To make much of our ministry is to exult in it or make it the top priority of our lives. As in every sermon I ask now very pointedly, is Jesus the reason you get up in the morning? Is he the reason you go to work? Is he the permanent resident in your home (not guest)? Do we make much of Jesus?

            As we make much of Jesus people will take note of our faith. If we make much of other things people will note our lack of faith.

            John Piper wrote along these lines when he said, “The health, wealth, and prosperity “gospel” swallows up the beauty of Christ in the beauty of his gifts and turns the gifts into idols. The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ’s sake and count it gain.”[ii]

            What impresses people (and Israel) and will cause them to envy is when they see that we are enjoying the mercy and goodness of our God. They will see what they are missing and desire the salvation they have rejected. This is why it is essential that we be a church where we forgive one another and make an effort to show love in all its forms to each other.

            In regards to Israel, Paul says of their rejection, “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (15). What does it mean to receive Jesus? Eternal life, yes – but it is also a resurrection of the spirit from death to life. When we are saved we truly begin to live. That’s what Paul desires for Israel.

            This hope for Israel is expressed in two illustrations: “If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches” (16). The first illustration is the imagery of the firstfruits of an offering described in Leviticus 15. God asked for the first portion of grain or product from each person’s crop as thanks to God for his provision. What it meant was an acknowledgement of God’s provision and that the best was yet to come. One Jew receives Jesus – more will follow; we share Jesus with one person – more opportunities will follow. If the first lump of dough given to God is holy, the rest will be holy too.

            If the root is holy, the branches are holy too…this is the basis for Paul’s next lesson.

2. Are we learning from Israel’s mistakes?

If Israel had a fault it was spiritual pride. They had Abraham as their father; they had the Law of Moses; they had the Prophets; they were a chosen people. But resting in these possessions they became arrogant and looked down on other people who were not Jews. This is what led to God’s rebuke of Israel and their rejection of the Christ.

            What can we learn from their fault? This is the second lesson of the olive tree. Paul focuses heavily on the analogy of being grafted into the olive tree to teach this lesson.

            Grafting was a common practice in coaxing new growth from old stock. If the branches on the olive tree were not bearing fruit then God was going to break them off and put different ones on the tree. Usually a branch from a cultivated tree would be grafted on to a wild tree in order to produce orderly fruit. The wild tree would benefit from the new branches. In a sense this is what God does, only reversed. Our faith is an old cultivated tree, but we are from wild stock. God put wild branches on his good tree to bring new life into it. That’s not normally done. God does it anyways.

            Jesus said, “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:1-2). God, like every gardener, wants branches that bear fruit. There is no point in keeping a withered branch on the tree. So he cuts it off.

a) The Danger of Spiritual Pride - There are four attitudes that lead to spiritual pride.

1. Forgetting the root – Paul said if the root is holy, so are the branches. It seems that the branches thought they were holy on their own. Paul warns the Gentiles that they have the same temptation and may look down on the Jews because now they are in and the Jews are out.

            “If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you” (17-18).

            This means that there is only one people of God.  There are not Jewish believers and Gentile believers, there are just believers. The only thing that matters is that we belong to Jesus. 

            This week in the Messenger I was reminded of the spiritual elitism that can come with making too much of the branch. Tim Moore from MacGregor wrote concerning the EMC 200^th anniversary that too much emphasis was put on celebrating culture. He wrote, “As we celebrate this year it would be better and more inclusive to serve Jesus by celebrating the many people of varying cultural and religious backgrounds who worship together and call themselves Evangelical Mennonites. When we focus on one culture and religious heritage we become exclusive and it goes against the evangelical of our name.”[iii]

            We share a common heritage with every person who puts his or her trust in Jesus Christ. We have a common heritage that runs through Christ and goes all the way back to Abraham.  This is why the church should be the least prejudiced place on the earth.

2. Faith alone – We might be tempted to forget that we are grafted into the tree for the sole reason of our faith in Christ. “You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.’ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith” (19-20).

            While we have concentrated on Paul’s teaching of divine election and God’s calling in that respect, this verse balances this out. Faith, our responsibility to believe, is the key to our stability. We are “in” only because of faith. So the warning is to nurture our faith and not grow lazy like Israel did and rest on our pedigrees or Mennonite heritage.

3. Avoid Arrogance – I think Paul has made that plain but he draws a line under this attitude to make it clearer. “Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches he will not spare you either” (20b-21).

            How easy it is to look down on those who are not as enlightened as we are about faith. We have Jesus and they don’t. Does that make us better? We have a long history of church attendance. Does that give us an advantage spiritually? What do we stand confidently on that is really sinking sand? Yes we have faith, but it is by grace we have been saved. Paul said not to look down on the Jews just because they don’t believe yet – And we are not to look down on those who have yet to make a decision.

            What do we have to be proud about? “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal 6:14).

4. Focus on God – We must never take God for granted. Many Christians are asleep in their faith expecting God to be there but making no effort to be in relationship with him. Do we meditate on the character of God? “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God…” (22), Paul exhorts. Make much of God and his Son Jesus Christ.

b) God’s version of horticulture - As it says in v. 24 God does what is contrary to nature by allowing us to belong to his olive tree. It is a far more natural thing for a Jew to be grafted in to the olive tree because they are made of the same stuff. So for us, wild branches, to be grafted in is another act of his grace. We do not naturally belong and therefore it is a privilege to be grafted in.

            What is the bottom line? It’s this: God is no respecter of persons. He deals with the Gentiles and Mennonites on exactly the same basis as He deals with His chosen people, the Jews. He forgives and blesses those who believe in him. He is severe toward those who do not believe. What do we believe? Just what Paul began this letter saying: the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. We are sinners without hope of God’s favor and deserving only wrath. But God sent his Son to die in our place, to pay the penalty and to give us his righteousness.

            On this ground we are all equal: Saint and sinner, Mennonite and English and French and Latino and Jew and Muslim.

I have heard it said, and I have thought it myself, that Mennonites and Jews have a lot in common. Both:

1) are not very populous.

2) have been persecuted and dispersed.

3) are strong on heritage and genealogy.

4) are successful everywhere they go.

5) have a heavy emphasis on ethnic preservation (intermarriage).

6) seem to think heaven is reserved only for them.

7) favor the names Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

            Both do have a proud heritage. That is a blessing and a curse, especially if we rely on it for faith. God has called us to an active faith dependent on him alone. He wants us to be true Jews, true Mennonites, and more so, true Christians (though all of these could be the same thing spiritually). What does that look like?

            The missionary E. Stanley Jones once asked Gandhi the leader of India what Christians would have to do to win India over for Jesus. Gandhi knew India well and also knew very much about Christianity. He said, “There are four things Christians should do if they want to win over India for Christ. First, Christians should act like Christ. Second, do not compromise your faith. Third, learn all you can about the non-Christian religions. And fourth, let everything you do be characterized by love.”

            We have been grafted into the olive tree by the grace of God in Christ. To remain grafted in requires drinking deeply of the life-giving sap. In other words, to dwell in Christ alone, making much of Jesus, and forsaking all other worldly distractions. And in humility to consider all men and women as potential branches in the olive tree, winning them and loving them just as they are into that divine and wonderful connection.

            May God help us to be true branches of Jesus the true vine.

                                                            AMEN

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[i]  Notes on Olive Trees from Wikipedia.

[ii] John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life, p. 72.

[iii] The Messenger, May 2012, letters to the Editor

Romans #23

DO YOU FEEL LIKE A FAILURE?

A man nearing the end of his life confessed that he had strong doubts about his faith. He did not doubt God. That was not the problem. He struggled with how he had lived his faith. Did he live a good enough life? Did he do everything he could have for the Lord? Had he been a good disciple of Jesus?

            It was plain to see that this man felt that he had failed to live the Christian life to the fullest extent. I knew that he had been a baptized believer from his youth; he had taught Sunday School faithfully; he was involved in church boards and gave his energy to serving Christ and his church. Still he wondered if he hadn’t failed to be Christian. His pain and remorse over a failed life were palpable.

            I am not yet half the age this man was and already I feel the weight of my many failures. I suppose it’s natural to reflect on one’s life from time to time and recall those failings. I remember times when I failed to speak up as a Christian and defend the faith. I know that I have failed as a pastor countless times, to have a pastoral heart as they say. I fail constantly as a husband and father to be what my wife and children need. Worst of all, like the elderly saint, I fail to be Christ’s own.

            Do you feel like a failure?

            We asked some weeks ago when we were studying chapter 9 whether God was fair. Did God fail in his purposes when Israel rejected Jesus? Remember, they had all the advantages in terms of recognizing and receiving the Messiah, but refused to accept him. So did God fail? And we said, no, of course not.

            Now Paul flips the coin and we look at the other side of this question: Did Israel then fail spiritually in their refusal to accept Jesus as Messiah? And if they failed, did God reject them as his people? Is there any hope for Israel in view of her rebellion?

            This is a very pertinent question for us if we feel like spiritual failures. Does God reject us when we fail?

1. Does God Reject Failures?

What are the consequences of spiritual failure? And by spiritual failure I mean moral failure, failure to love God and accept his will, and failure to live a holy life. What does God do with people who reject him? Does he also reject them?

            This is the question Paul poses at the beginning of our chapter: “Did God reject his people?” for refusing to believe in Jesus?

            It is a logical question, one that concerns Jews and Gentiles alike. For if God does not literally keep the promises he made to the Jews, how can we be certain he will keep his promises to us? God said to the Jews that they were his chosen people. Has that changed? Is everything else he promised them now void?

            Paul answers his own question with four affirmative examples. Does God reject his people? By no means, says Paul, and here’s why:

a) God did not reject Paul – Paul begins with a personal example: “I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin” (1b). Before meeting Christ on the road to Damascus Paul was a very religious person. A Pharisee who did everything right he loved all things Jewish. In defense of all things Jewish he hated Jesus and the people of the Way. It was his privilege to go around stamping out the faith of Christ by arresting Christians. This was a Jew who rejected the Messiah.

            Now Paul makes it clear “I am an Israelite.” Not “was” but “I am one.” Once a hater of Christ, he preached Christ; once a terrorist, now an evangelist. Paul says, “Look at me and remember what I used to be and what I am now.” It may be cliché but if God can save Paul, he can save anyone.

            And I love to read Acts and see Paul continue to fail. His outbursts of emotion, his rejection of John Mark, his conflict with Peter all reveal a man who was human, who failed and was still used by God.

b) God did not reject Israel – If Paul can be saved then Israel can be saved. There is hope. “God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew” (2a).

            There are a couple of differing views on the place of Israel in the future of the church. One camp says that the Jews are done and had their chance and that the Church is now God’s chosen people. Another says they are still God’s chosen people and will one day all come to faith. I tend to disagree with both.

            What is Paul saying? God is the center of attention, not Israel. Israel’s future does not depend on her genetic code, or her works. The focus is not on her failure, which is obvious, but on God’s faithfulness. The fulfillment of God’s promises rests not on fallible humans but on God. Note the two phrases: “his people” and “he foreknew.” God chose them and they are still his people. That’s what “foreknew” means – chosen and loved beforehand. That has not changed despite their failure.

c) God did not reject Elijah – Paul then turns to a biblical-historical example of the sovereign grace of God. This illustration comes from 1 Kings 18-19 when Elijah, a prophet of God, challenged Israel’s evil king Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel to a contest on Mt. Carmel. This was a contest between the false gods Ahab and Jezebel worshiped and the true God of Elijah. The false gods were exposed when God revealed his power by sending fire from heaven and consuming the watered-down sacrifice offered by Elijah.

            This was a tremendous victory. Yet in spite of this event Israel did not repent and now Elijah was a hunted man because Jezebel wanted to kill him. What Elijah saw was not victory but failure; his ministry was a failure because Israel did not believe in the one true God. Therefore Elijah was himself a failure, so he ran away and hid.

            In Paul’s reflection on this he says it this way: “Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah – how he appealed to God against Israel” (2b). Elijah pled, not for Israel, but against Israel. Why would he pray against Israel? Because Elijah had given up hope for Israel. Did God reject his people? In a moment of despair, Elijah thought that Israel was doomed. He ran and hid because he thought God was done with them and their wickedness.

            Look at the focus of Elijah’s complaint: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me” (3). Elijah’s focus was on Israel, his enemies and himself, but not on God. His vision was fixed on man rather than on God and for this reason only saw failure. Thus he himself was a failure in his own mind.

            But what did God say? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal” (4). God’s answer is God-centered. Elijah’s failure was inconsequential to God accomplishing his purposes. In fact, God had reserved a “remnant”, a small group of the faithful. There will always be some who believe.

            Some talk about the church in these terms too. We see human effort and activity as not being enough. We have failed to care, to meet the needs, to minister. Some think the church is dead or dying because it lacks emotion or experiences. Who are we to judge what is dead? Even in the midst of a church that has gone stale there is always a remnant. And just because we fail does not mean God is failing in his purposes for our church.

d) God does not reject you – Now the link between Elijah’s day and Paul’s day and our day is the same sovereign grace of God which he exercises in choosing and keeping a faithful remnant for himself. Among the Jews there is a remnant; in any church too there are always those who believe. Why?

            Paul tells us: “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chose by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (5-6). Interestingly, this is not “works vs. faith” but “works vs. grace.” Works vs. Faith would be between two kinds of human activity. The contrast here is between divine activity (grace) and human activity (works). If God chose us based on our success or failure it would no longer be grace. Our success or failure as Christians is not the basis of God’s love and approval. God’s election of us by his grace is the reason he does not give up on us, even if we are failures.

2. Does our failure frustrate God’s purposes?

When we think of Judaism we may be inclined to think of legalism or works as a means to salvation. The Jewish elders and Pharisees made up rules so that they could keep the law – rules for rules’ sake. But we know that in our efforts to be righteous we will fail. And the Jews failed to keep the whole law too. So if they failed to keep the law and become righteous, does this frustrate God’s purposes?

            Trying and failing, trying and failing again can be frustrating in itself. You would grow weary and apathetic after a while. The Jews did: “What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened” (7).

            The word “hardened” is Greek for the toughening of the skin when a callous is formed or scar tissue develops. You know how it is when you have a really bad scrape that bleeds then leaves a scar – you lose sensation in that part of the skin. If someone touched you there you wouldn’t feel it.

            In this situation it is the heart that is calloused and covered in scar tissue. The heart has become insensitive to the Lord’s touch. That is the result of trying to earn your own righteousness or trying to prove your goodness.

            The remarkable thing is that even this callousness can serve God’s purposes and fulfill God’s plans. Paul quotes two OT passages to explain the consequences of rejecting Christ. But even in these quotes there is hidden God’s grace.

a) The purpose of the hardened heart – The first OT quote is a combination of Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10. “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear to this very day” (8).

            This reminds me of when Jesus was telling a parable, the one about the sower and the seeds, and the disciples did not understand why he spoke in story like this. Jesus replied that it fulfilled prophecy in Isaiah where it says, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused…” (Matt 13:14-15).

            This sounds like condemnation. These people will hear the stories of Jesus but never understand salvation. If they could see and hear they would have a chance to be saved. But it seems like Jesus keeps them from this opportunity.

            Now Paul is saying the same thing. It sounds like the Jews will never have the opportunity to see and hear the gospel because they are not graciously elected by God. We might be tempted to think the same of our loved ones who do not believe, that they are forever blinded to the gospel. Is this what Paul means? Are the Jews forever condemned to blindness? Are our loved ones?

            Not if we look at Isaiah 29 as a whole. The context of Isaiah 29 is this: Israel was willfully rebellious and disobedient to God even after he revealed himself to them. God warns that because of this he will bring on the Jews a blindness and dullness to the truth (29:10). However, if we read the rest of the chapter we find a promise of restoration for Israel in the future (17-24). Notice verses 18-19 (read); the deaf hear, the blind see, and the humble rejoice. Then we read in verses 22-24 that Israel will return and repent and acknowledge the Holy One of Jacob.

            So while Paul explains with Isaiah 29:10 the longstanding hardness of Israel’s heart and the reason they don’t accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, there will be an end to this hardness and by the grace of God the Jews will believe. Israel’s disobedience and hardness is actually the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose.

            God will take the heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh as he says in the OT (Ezek 36:26). In the same way that our failure emphasizes the grace of God, our hard hearts emphasize the amazing ability of God to heal the calloused spirit.

b) The purpose of grace in failure – Again as Paul quotes David’s psalm 69 there is more to this reference than condemnation. What we read is, “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever” (9-10).

            As it turns out this is a Messianic psalm. That is, it foretells of Jesus’ experience out of David’s own experience. David’s psalm tells of his being opposed and attacked, how he struggles for being faithful to God, and he seeks relief from God through punishing his enemies. In verses 13 and 16 David seeks God’s salvation by means of mercy and grace, not by anything he has done (works). It is a psalm that realizes that obedience is better than legal sacrifices and rituals.

            One verse that caught my attention particularly was verse 6: “May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the LORD Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel” (69:6). David is afraid of his own failure to represent God faithfully and how it will affect others. I can relate to that in so many ways and marvel that God can use me at all when I keep messing up.

            That is the power of God’s grace. Out of David’s struggles comes a beautiful prophecy of Jesus. The verse previous to the one Paul quotes is this: “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst” (69:21). This is a reference to the wine they gave Jesus to drink before crucifying him. And then in v. 25 we read, “For they persecuted him whom thou thyself has smitten” (NASB). This tells of how Jesus was rejected by his very own people and forsaken by God to the cross at the same time.

            Out of apparent failure comes God’s purpose fulfilled; out of our estimate of failure God shows grace and promise. Israel is not rejected – God has reserved a remnant for himself. And we are not rejected either for our failure to be perfect. In fact, our failure is God’s opportunity to show us grace through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you feel like a spiritual failure? Maybe that’s a good thing.

            If you are feeling comfortable with yourself you may be at risk of a hardening heart. It is when we think we have covered all the bases that spiritual atrophy sets in: we teach, we sit on committees, we do all the things a Christian should – I’m good right?

            Thomas Gilson wrote in Discipleship Journal an article called “I was a Legalist and Didn’t Know it” (Nov/Dec 2008). His point was that most of us are trying hard to measure up (and failing at it) when what we really need is a greater understanding of what it means to live by grace. We are saved by grace but we forget to live the Christian life by grace. Somehow we have convinced ourselves that rules and regulations will help us live by grace.

            What are the warning signs of legalism? Gilson writes describing four signs:

- The will-power approach. We respond to temptation by telling ourselves, “I shouldn’t do that!” and hoping that self-talk will enable me to resist sinful desires.

- Duty-based approach. We try to motivate ourselves to do something “because I should.”

- Performance-based approach. We evaluate our standing before God based on how well we have been following the shoulds and shouldn’ts. If I keep all the rules on a given day, then I’m okay before God; if not then I’m not worth much.

- Anger-based approach. We beat ourselves up over our sins because we think that our anger will help us do better in the future. We might mentally beat ourselves up, rebuking ourselves, scolding internally “I’m such an idiot.”

            These are rule-oriented responses and when we follow them we are ruled by the shoulds and should nots. But when we approach our Christian walk this way we are not relying on our relationship with Christ.

            It’s not a matter of trying harder; it’s a matter of trusting more. We never could make ourselves holy – we will always fail at that – but we can make ourselves humble. And God gives grace to the humble. We want to walk with Christ. We want to be in relationship with Christ. The key to this closeness to Christ is intimate prayer, time in his Word and regular worship with the body, his church. Not to keep a rule but to nurture a relationship.

            Do you feel like a failure? That may be a good place to start.

                                                            AMEN

           

Romans #20

GOD IS MERCIFUL

There was a variety of reactions to last Sunday’s sermon on God’s election. Those reactions ranged from confusion to deep gratitude, from frustration about the destiny of loved ones to assurance about God’s calling.

            It’s not surprising since Romans 9 has been called the most controversial chapter in the NT. Churches have split over it and misunderstandings of its teaching have led some to a life of sin with the false notion that they were not destined to be saved anyways.

            God’s purpose in election may seem unfair. We could push it aside and deal with it in a theology classroom. Why bring election into the preaching of the church? One reason: because it’s there. We can’t avoid it. Verse 11 talks about God’s purpose in election. We have to talk about it because it is a part of who God is.

            If we say, “God couldn’t be like that,” what do we mean? If we say that our years of Bible study have led us to a view of God that is incompatible with this doctrine, we can dialogue with that. We can come to an understanding.

            But if we mean that this simply doesn’t fit my idea of what God is like, we have to ask, where did we get that idea of God? Is it a picture drawn from culture or from a popular conception of God? If this is the case, can such a perception stand against the authority of Scripture? Can we really challenge the Bible with our own picture of God?

            Time and again in the Bible God reveals his hand in electing some for specific purposes. How this works is a mystery to us. God elects us by and for his will.

            Charles Spurgeon strongly believed in election and applied it to himself. He said, “I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite sure that if God had not chosen me I should never have chosen him; and I am sure he chose me before I was born, or else he never would have chosen me afterwards; and he must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why he should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that doctrine.”

            As we continue this study of Romans 9 and the questions concerning God’s election, I would ask that you take the sermons together and not alone. The teaching of these truths must be taken as part of the larger story. Let’s follow Paul’s argument for God’s fairness in chapter 9.

1. Is God unjust in his election?

We asked ourselves last Sunday whether God was fair when it came to some being saved and others not. His concern was for the Jews who, with all the advantages they had, still did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah.

            Paul’s treatment of the question moves on to God’s justice or fairness as it relates to mercy. Paul writes, “What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!” (9:14).

            This is a question asked by those with faith and submission to God’s ways. It accepts the justice of God but seeks an explanation that would assure the seeker that grace is involved in election. Is God unjust?

            The answer comes from the experience of Moses in Exodus 33. As an affirmation of Moses’ leadership and the presence of God in that leadership, Moses asks to see the glory of God. The LORD places Moses in the cleft of a rock and covers him with the shadow of his hand. Then the LORD passes by allowing Moses to see his back and hear these words, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Ex 33:19).

            From this we get the idea that mercy and compassion are connected with God’s name. Note that God does not say, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and show cruelty to whom I will show cruelty.” At the heart of God’s nature is mercy and compassion.[i]

            What Paul is pointing to here is that no one can stake a claim on God’s mercy. He gives it freely where he chooses to according to who he is, not according to our merit, works or worthiness or even our unworthiness.

            “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy,” Paul says (9:16). If we could in any way imagine that our capacities could draw God’s mercy for ourselves, this verse denies it. God will show his mercy according to his plan. So if the Jews do not believe in Jesus as Messiah, or make no effort and show no desire, God’s purposes will carry on. God will reconcile humankind to himself through Jesus whether or not the Jews accept or reject Jesus. It doesn’t stop God.

            God even uses the hardness of people’s hearts to accomplish his will. Paul refers to Pharaoh in the Exodus story to prove his point. God had put Pharaoh in power to oppose the Israelites, subjugate and persecute them, and enslaving them, so that God could show his power to deliver. Now Paul punctuates this example saying, “Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden” (9:18).

            A theological question pops up in this example: Did God harden Pharaoh’s heart or was his heart already hardened? Some might say that God does not harden anyone’s heart who had not first hardened himself. So God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was just in that God was abandoning him to his own stubbornness. Remember Romans 1 where God “gave them over”?[ii]

            The only problem with this view is that the LORD told Moses before he even went to see Pharaoh that God would harden his heart (Ex 4:21). So Moses was an object of divine mercy and Pharaoh was object of divine wrath according to the will of God. Both were intended to display the glory of God through their roles.

            Does God elect some to salvation and harden others in their unbelief? If he does is God unjust? Or is that what their sin deserves? We can equally ask whether God is unjust in showing mercy since we really don’t deserve that either. The wonder is not that some are saved and others are not, but that anybody is saved at all. For we deserve nothing but judgment.[iii]

2. “There is a God but you’re not him”

This next question is asked, not from a place of faith, but from unbelief and rebellion. It challenges the justice of God as to his decisions: “One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” (9:19).

            Questioning God is not a problem. We can ask out of our confusion for the Lord to clarify an issue. What we find in this question is a tone of quarreling with God, talking back to God. There is a refusal in this tone to let God be God and to remember one’s place. It is sort of like Job in the OT who wanted to have a face-to-face with God and tell him off.

            Here’s the essence of the question: If Pharaoh, and later Israel, are just playing the role God has for them in the plan of God, why should God judge them for resisting his will? If I was meant to do bad or harden my heart, can God blame me and judge me?

            Paul’s answer is a classic OT image: God as the potter and we as the clay. “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” (20b-21).

            As an artist, whether you draw, paint or sculpt, do you not have the right to crumple your work and throw it away if it is not turning out the way you imagine? You have that right.

            However, that is not the illustration. God as the potter takes some clay and makes a vase for decoration in a fancy home, and some other clay to be a common pot for watering plants. God has the right as the Creator to do what he wants with either pot. He even has the right to destroy the pot if he chose to, doesn’t he?

            This is what God says in the Jeremiah passage describing God as the potter: (Jeremiah 18:6-10). So if God hardens some hearts, it’s for his glory; and if he shows mercy to others it is for his glory; for whatever God does, it’s for his glory, to show that God is God.

            If your God has been put in a box that doesn’t allow for God to be God then get a different God. Our God does not fit in a box anyways. But we want God to be all nice and tidy and to fit into a clean little structure so we can keep an eye on him and figure him out. We can’t do that; God is sovereign and he reigns over us, not us over him.

            A newcomer to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was approached by a crotchety veteran who had been to several meetings. He said to the newcomer, “The first thing you need to learn about this program is that there is a God and you’re not him.”[iv]

            You may have noticed that Paul didn’t answer the question from verse 19. Instead, he took the route of God’s sovereignty and right to do as only God can do. In effect, Paul calls the questioner a hypocrite. For don’t we all want to “be like God” making our own decisions and practicing sovereignty over our own lives.

            God is the maker and redeemer. He can take a pot and use it for whatever purpose he chooses. He can take us and use us however he pleases. Therefore we can trust him because, not only is he our Creator, Redeemer and Lord, he is also merciful and loves to show mercy to those who seek it.

            There was a hint of his mercy in Jeremiah and we will see more of his mercy as we go on.

3. God’s power displayed in mercy

On this foundation of God’s sovereign right to elect, Paul now shows us God’s mercy. Two questions of the “What if” variety are posed:

            “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?” (9:22).

            Back in Romans 1 we were introduced to the gospel, the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, and to the wrath of God being revealed against sinners. Here again we see his wrath and power simultaneously highlighted. This is what the question points to in regards to objects of wrath.

            What are the objects of wrath? In biblical language, an object of wrath is an object deserving of wrath. The objects of wrath are people who haven’t yet experienced God’s saving power through Jesus Christ. Everybody who has lived or will ever live is an object of God’s wrath until they trust in Jesus Christ. So let’s not miss this very crucial detail: Someone who is an object of wrath does not need to remain an object of wrath.[v]

            That’s the impression we get from the letter to the Ephesians where Paul said, “Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath” (Eph 2:3b). This letter was written to Christians and they are reminded that they too were as morally bankrupt as the pagans around them. And only one thing transformed them from objects of wrath: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ when we were dead in our transgressions…” (2:4-5a). The mercy of God…

            But the phrase “prepared for destruction” makes it sound like those people are destined for annihilation. Is that true? Not exactly. The language again suggests that it is not God preparing it for destruction so much as it is preparing itself for destruction. So God is showing incredible patience of those objects of wrath, people who do not believe giving them time to repent and experience God’s saving power, or giving them time to heap up more judgment for themselves. Even while people are rebelling against God and his love, God shows great patience and gives every opportunity for repentance.

            The second “what if” question focuses on the objects of God’s mercy: “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?” (9:23-24).

            Paul answers this with two examples.

            The first is from Hosea. If you know the story of Hosea in the OT you remember that he is the prophet God told to marry a prostitute. In doing this, Hosea was a metaphor of how God loved Israel even though they went after other gods. Israel was “married” to God but they had committed adultery with idolatry. Even still, God showed them love and wanted them to turn to him.

            Out of this book Paul takes a quote and uses it to reveal how God elected to show mercy to the Gentiles. “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” (9:25). In this way he made the Gentiles, objects of wrath, into objects of mercy by including them in those that could be saved.

            On the other hand, Israel, objects of God’s mercy, were making themselves objects of God’s wrath by disobeying God. From Isaiah, Paul quotes two passages that speak of only a remnant of Israel being saved. They rejected the Messiah despite all their ability and advantages to recognize the Christ. So God declares that only a portion of the number of Jews will be saved from his wrath.

            This too is mercy. Oddly enough, in this rejection of Israel as God’s people, we are included in God’s mercy. And later we will hear that our acceptance is God’s way of making the Jews jealous for what we have and they should have had all along. Mercy!

Conclusion

We have talked about election.

We have talked about God’s sovereignty.

We have talked about his right to accept and reject.

            Some who are listening might conclude that either God has chosen to save me, or to reject me. It really doesn’t matter what I do then if God has already decided for me.

            If you think like this and put the responsibility squarely on God for your condemnation, then you are responding the way the rebel did in verse 19. The offer of salvation is plainly given through Jesus. Those who receive Christ will be saved. Those who reject Christ will be condemned.

            God is Sovereign – yes. When we speak of election it sounds like everything has been decided. But God is merciful. Bob Deffinbaugh discovered something very significant in the NT: No one who called upon our Lord for mercy was ever turned away.[vi] Think about it – no one ever came to Jesus and asked for mercy received a cold response: “No you are not my elect – go away!” Everyone who asked Jesus for mercy received it.

            There is one instance where mercy was refused. In Luke 16:19-31, a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus died at the same time. Lazarus went to Abraham’s side in Hades, the place of the dead, and the rich man was far away. The rich man was in torment and cried out to Abraham, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.” The response is not pretty – it was too late for mercy.

            But in this life there is a unique paradox. God is sovereign and we are responsible. God is so great that he can be in control and at the same time allow people to make choices. We are responsible for our choices. God is sovereign and we are responsible to choose Jesus and his mercy.

            If we are like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable we do not see our need for mercy. We look at the man addicted to pornography with indignation; we are perplexed by the woman with abandonment issues; we can’t fathom the inability of some to succeed and keep a job; we observe the couple in marital difficulty and suggest that more prayer would have helped their situation. And we thank God that we are not like them.

            However, if we are like the tax collector in the same parable, we realize that we are exactly like those people. We are in need. We are broken. We are poor, foolish mortals who keep getting drunk on the material prosperity of capitalism and fail to recognize true blessings. We are poor, pitiful, blind and naked – so spiritually naked. And then we cry out, “God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

            At the mercy seat of Jesus, we find rest for our weary souls when we cry out, “God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

                                                            AMEN

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[i] Timothy Peck, sermon The Potter’s Freedom

[ii] John Stott, the Message of Romans, p.269.

[iii] Stott, p. 269

[iv] Peck

[v] Peck

[vi] Bob Deffinbaugh, sermon Divine Election is Questioned