Even so then, at this
resent time there is a
remnant according to
the election of grace.
And if by grace, then
it is no longer of works,
otherwise grace is no
longer grace. But if it is
of works, it is no
longer grace, otherwise works
is no longer work. What
then? Israel has not
obtained what it
seeks; but the elect have
obtained it, and the
rest were blinded.
Romans 11:5–7
Paul, in
this chapter eleven, is speaking about the Israelites and that God had not cast
them aside, those whom He foreknew: “God has not cast away His people whom
He foreknew…” (Romans 11:2a). Even though Israel had in many way turned
away from Jehovah God did cast all aside: “But what does the divine response
say to him? ‘I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed
the knee to Baal’” (Romans 11:4; cf. 1Kings 19:18). We must admit and
understand that God is Sovereign, and by His Providence He is in control of all
that occurs, even though He does allow for bad to occur, God works through
second causes, and yet God is not deterred from His purpose, and that purpose
is for those He saves. Paul gives credence to this fact: “Jus as it is
written; ‘God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see
and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.’” (Romans 11:8; cf.
Isaiah 29:10). God gave those who would not obey Him for He gave them a
spirit of stupor, eyes that don’t see, and ears that can’t hear, and the
Israelites were afflicted in this manner even in the day of Paul. Paul quotes
king David: “And David says: ‘Let their table become a snare and a trap. A
stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that
they do not see, and bow down their back always’” (Romans 11:9–10; cf. Psalm
69:22–23). How can God who is loving, kind, merciful, gracious cause bad
from His hand? He cannot! God does not need to create evil, for all God must do
is to remove His hand, and allow man to do whatever man desires to do, and by
this man becomes stupid, not able to hear, to see, and then have themselves
lowered into a position of helplessness. Unless God saves, then man is not
saved. This should make the hair on the back of our neck rise, that our body
should tremble, that if we, as did the Israelites, shun God, and act on our own
without Him, then God will remove His hand and we will be left to our own
demise. Israel is such and example of this, just look at their history, their
falling away into apostasy, and their capture, imprisonment, by nations that
did not see them as God’s people, and they laughed and destroy the Israelites.
Oh! The Israelites claimed to be the people of God, a special chosen people but
did not always show the world that this is true, and God pulled back His hand
of protection and they fell. If God did save some, then all of Israel would be
destroyed, and God who chose this nation would be seen as an evil God, an
impotent God, a God not to be worshipped. Is this not true of many today who
call themselves “Christian?” They have devised a god to be what they desire, a
god that is so loving, so in love with people that God will save them, and even
do they do and say things that sound godly, they are far from being God’s
people, and the world looks upon them with disdain. Worse, they see that type
of Christian as impotent, not to be concerned with, in fact they are much like
them only they claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The good news is that
God saves some, His elect. This is a great work, and supremely worthy of the
goodness of God, not to give just what we pray for, rather that He saves, this
King who has founded a people for His name, a people far from His neglect and
far from Him being careless. When His people attacked, robbed in some manner,
He saves them from destruction, and avenges those who oppose Him, and all this
to His own honor, His justice. God the Father is not unmindful of the human
race, and of His chosen people, those He called to be, rather by the offering
of His own body He abolished the death that they had incurred, and by His
teaching corrects neglect. By God’s power, He restores the whole nature of man,
that is, by the death of His Son Jesus Christ we are legally in heaven while we
are still in this world. Are nature no longer is totally subject to the sins of
this world, we have a redeemer, and a Savior that knows our weaknesses, and has
sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His people to guide us as we study and read His
word. By God’s election of grace He saves some for His glory and we who are a
child of God do not need to walk as this world any longer, we are restored, and
this restoration is affective if we so choose to allow God to by our God and we
lose our individuality, that is we no longer walk in the nature of this world,
and we are assured of this fact: "For the love of Christ constraineth
us, because we thus judge that, if One died on behalf of all, then all died,
and He died for all that we should no longer live unto ourselves, but unto Him
who died and rose again from the dead, even our Lord Jesus Christ."
(2Corinthians 5:14 KJV). I want to make sure that I am not speaking as one
who is an Arminian in belief that anyone can come to God and be saved because
they have enough goodness in them to do so. The Greek word, so often misapplied
and given another, or Arminian translation is the world “all.” The Greek word,
“πάντως,” without the negative as is in this verse carries the meaning of;
wholly, or entirely, or by all means, altogether, surely, so this verse is not
saying that “all,” meaning everyone, no, it means that God surely died on
behalf, that by all means God saves and Paul has been clear, plain in his words
that God saves His elect. How do we know if we are one of God’s elect? “We
should no longer live unto ourselves, but unto Him who died and rose again from
the dead, even our Lord Jesus Christ." If this is not the way you want
to live, then it may be possible that you are not one of God’s elect, or that
you are still fighting to remain, allowing your self to rule you and not God.
Christ died for you and by His death we are constrained. This is conversion and
not just some decision. This is good news: we are saved, not by works, rather
by the love of God through the death of His Son Jesus Christ.
We should no longer live unto ourselves,
but unto Him who died and rose
again
from the dead, even
our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Corinthians
5:15
Live As One Of God’s Chosen
Richard L. Crumb
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