In this sermon, David Green discusses the doctrine of unconditional election using Romans chapter 9 as the primary text. He emphasizes that God's election is not based on human merit or genealogy, as illustrated by the examples of Jacob and Esau, and that God's choice is made by His own sovereign will. The sermon argues that Paul's message in Romans 9 is about individual election, not just the election of nations, and that not all who are descended from Israel are chosen. Green refutes interpretations that suggest God's election is unfair, asserting that God's mercy and grace are given according to His own purpose and pleasure, not human standards. The sermon also addresses how believers can find assurance in their election by focusing on faith in Christ rather than looking inwardly for signs of election.

If you have your Bibles then, let's go ahead and go to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. And we'll begin reading at verse 1. We're going down to verse 23. Romans chapter 9, beginning of verse 1.

It says, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. But I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the gifting of the law and the service of God and the promises whose are the fathers and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came who is over all and blessed forever. Amen. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, at this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, But when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the children, being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he sayeth to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth Mercy.

For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for the same purpose have I raised thee up, That I might show my power in thee, And that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, whom he will he hardeneth. That will say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay, but old man, who art thou that repliest against God, shall the thing form say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?

Hath not the potter power over the clay, from the same lump, to make one vessel unto honor, the other unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show his wrath, to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory." We'll go ahead and read verse 24, because it is part of the sentence there. It says, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." We're continuing with our studies and what we believe, focusing in on the doctrines of grace particularly and the doctrine of unconditional election this morning. This is part two on that series on the doctrine of unconditional election. Just like last week, we're using Romans chapter 9 as our text.

And so the title of this is What We Believe About Unconditional Election, part 2. Last time, we looked at Paul's argument for unconditional election as he laid this out to the Romans, He took the example of Israel going back to Abraham and giving the genealogy there and how not everybody who is descended from Abraham is chosen. He took it all the way down to Jacob, how the Jacob is loved but he saw us hated. But We must understand as we look at this, beloved, that he is not talking about nations. Some Armenians and others, I suppose, take this text and they say, well, he's not talking about people in Romans chapter nine, because they say God is not talking about election of people.

That would be unfair. That's not who God is, they say. They say this is all about God's chosen nations. But I ask you, what are nations? Nations are people.

And really, even if you do misinterpret this to mean nations, You've still got a sovereign God who is over people. But the reality is that Paul's argument in all of this is about individuals. If you look there at verse six, He says, not as though the word of God hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which are of Israel. Not all of Israel is going to be saved. And I believe that God indeed does have a plan for the nation of Israel, but will all Israel be saved?

No, No. And that's important to remember. The proud and arrogant Jew wants to come along and say, look at my genealogy, I can trace it all the way back to Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. This must mean that I'm of the chosen and I'm going to make it into heaven But what does the Bible say Well here it says not all Israel is Israel Galatians chapter 3 Galatians chapter 3 verses 26 through 29 says Galatians chapter 3 verses 26-29 says, Galatians chapter 3 verses 26-29, For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female. For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Oh, there goes that condition. The condition that the Jews want to put on this that says, My genealogy is all in order. Here I am. I'm the chosen.

That condition is gone. If they're not in Christ, they're not going to heaven. We've got to remember that. If you're talking about the Jewish people, the nation of Israel, if you meet a Jew on the street, whatever, Don't pat him on the back and say we support you because you're God's chosen nation. Don't give him a false hope.

They need the gospel. They don't need more material for the building of the temple. They don't need red heifers and all of that sort of thing. They need Christ. That's what they need.

We can do all those things and miss out on an eternal heaven with Jesus. Heaven with Jesus. Do you know the same thing even in our religion? There are people who believe, even in our country, believe that because they've been baptized or because they heard the gospel message from a Baptist preacher, because they have their name on the church roof somewhere, that they're going to heaven because they've got all these different things right. But the Bible again rises up in condemnation to say salvation is of the Lord.

You see, there's no condition on all of this. It is important. It is important. Those things, but none of those things will get us into heaven. And that's what Paul is bringing out in this text.

If you remember, unconditional election means that God of his own purpose has from eternity determined to save a definite number of individuals, not for or because of any merit or work of theirs, nor of any value to him of them, but of his own good pleasure." Let's look at our text there in verses 13 and 14, where we want to pick up this morning. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there in righteousness with God, God forbid? If God, if God loved, if God loved Jacob and hated Esau, what does that mean?

As we stated before, they were on level playing field. They had the same mother, the same father, they were twins. Twins. All of those things. But if God loved Jacob and hated Esau, Is there unrighteousness with God?

That's a good question, isn't it? But where does such an objection come from? Where does Paul get this from? Well, it's a rhetorical question, really. I mean, remember, he's writing this letter to the church at Rome But Paul has been preaching long enough to know how people are to know that this is a question that's going to come up.

To know that this is the way the heart, the flesh, is going to rise up and say, well, that's not fair. Jacob was a scoundrel. Esau should have had a fair chance at this. Jacob didn't deserve anything. Paul knew how the flesh is because he had been preaching long enough, but also he himself battled the flesh daily.

But beyond that, more importantly, God knows the heart of man. He knows your heart. He knows my heart. He knew the heart of the Romans. He knew the hearts.

He knows the hearts of everybody in between and everybody who come after us who reads this passage. Why do you think Romans chapter 9 is one of the most neglected chapters in all of the Bible. One of the most controversial of all of the chapters in all of the Bible. Do you know that there are some churches, even where they do preach sequential exposition through books of the Bible, that they will skip over Romans chapter 9, or kind of skim over it. It's a tough pill to swallow, especially when you get on down further there and start talking about the twin doctrine of reprobation, which we're not going to get into right now, but we'll circle back to this later and come back to reprobation because it is an important topic.

This is the objection of the carnal mind. On righteousness with God, can it be? God forbid. God is definitely just. He is definitely holy.

He is definitely good. He is definitely faithful. There is no flaw in his sovereignty. There is no problem with his plan, with his purpose. There is no unrighteousness with his election.

Instead of looking at this and saying, well hold on a second, surely Esau deserves something. We ought to look at this and say, you know what, hallelujah, Jacob didn't deserve anything. Jacob deserved what Esau did. And so the amazing part of this isn't that Esau was hated, the amazing part of this is that Jacob is loved. That's the amazing part of this.

That anybody is chosen. And so in verse 15 he says, for he sayeth to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. The ground for his denial, that there is no unrighteousness with God is not some well thought out argument that he begins to bring out with some good rhetoric that he's learned from the Greeks. No, no. He's not giving some good defense for God.

No, he rests his case on the Word of God. Folks, we've got to learn to do this too. This is quite brilliant. It's not the wisdom of man. It's brilliant.

Just as he brought up depravity and he laid out his case for depravity from the scriptures so it is that he's laying out the case for unconditional election from the scriptures. If someone comes along and says there's unrighteousness with God. If God somehow looks unrighteous or unwise or unfair, remember this, God does not submit himself to the courtroom of man. Who are we to judge God? I do not judge God.

You don't judge God. The world doesn't judge God. Who are they to judge God? Who are we to pull him down to our level, to put him into our courtroom and say, we think it should be done this way? He is our judge.

All will stand before him. And so what does he do? He quotes from Exodus chapter 33 and verse 19. And so if you go back there to Exodus chapter 33, in verse 19, it says, and he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." This is what he said to Moses. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament.

This same God is overall, sovereign over all things, and has unconditionally elected his people. Robert Haldane, in his excellent commentary on Romans, said, God by this declaration proves that he is debtor to none, that every blessing bestowed upon the elect flows from gratuitous love and is freely granted to whom he pleases. The answer then of the Apostle amounts to this, that what are recorded concerning God's loving Jacob and hating Esau is nothing, is in nothing different from his usual mode of procedure towards men, but is entirely consistent with the whole plan of his government. All men are lost and guilty in Adam. It is of mercy that any are saved, and God declares that he will have mercy or not upon men according to his own good pleasure." God wasn't acting out of the ordinary with Jacob and Esau.

This isn't just about the Jews. This is about all peoples. As he goes on down, he talks about the Pharaoh and how he dealt with the Pharaoh. You see, this is about everybody. And indeed, verse 24, even us whom he hath called not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.

This is how God is dealing with everybody. None of us deserve the least of God's favors. The picture that is being painted here by Paul that's being pulled together from the Old Testament, being laid down in this argument to the to the Church at Rome is this, that all through human history, God has had a people, They have been chosen. What's he say there in verse 16? He says, So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." It's God's gracious choice of certain people into eternal life.

This is what he's talking about. Forget about in a way with the people who come up with these things that they said well God simply just looked into the future and he saw who would believe and who wouldn't and the people who would believe he wrote their names down. No, no, That's a glorified fortune teller. That's not the God of the Bible, folks. Are very very clear in in in the book of Acts Let me find the passage I was looking for because I wrote down the wrong one.

Well sorry about that. Well, sorry about that. Let's go over to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9. He says, For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast." Your salvation and my salvation From the beginning to the ending is all of God This is the message of the Bible On chapter 1 of Ephesians he says according in verse 4 according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

We have no room to boast. Jacob had no room to boast. You and I have no room to boast. This is the illustration that Paul is laying out from the text. Two boys, twins.

One was loved, the other was hated from before the foundation of the world. Not based on any action. Not based on any merit or favor that could have been done. Who are we to think that we can merit the favor of Almighty God? This doctrine, though it is a often debated doctrine, sometimes even hated doctrine, It is one for great rejoicing.

So we begin to draw this to a close. I want you to go over to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. Verse 17-20 with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven.

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this, rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." Jesus had sent these 70 out, And they'd gone out, and He had told them... If you read earlier in the chapter there... Well let's just read it. We've got some time.

In Luke chapter 10, beginning at verse 1, it says, After these things the Lord appointed other seventy, Also sent them two and two, before his face into every city and place, whether he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labors are few. Pray he Therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labors into his harvest. Go your ways, behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves, carrying neither purse nor strip nor shoes, and salute no man by the way. And into whosoever house ye enter first, say, Peace be to this house.

And if the Son of Peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it. If not, it shall turn to you again. This same house remain eating and drinking such things as they give for the laborer is worthy of his hire go not from house to house and into whatsoever city you enter and they receive you enter eat such things as you as are set before you. Heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you, notwithstanding be you sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh under you But I say unto you that he shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city You see that he commissioned the 70, told them to go out, but he didn't say nothing about about about devils being subject to them.

So they came back with joy saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. Jesus said, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names Are written in heaven Great things have been done The name of our Lord Jesus said don't rejoice in the don't rejoice in the works. Rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven.

Say, preacher, how do I know that I'm one of the alleged? How can I know that my name is written in heaven? I've never seen the book where my name is. How can I know? You can't know.

You can rejoice that you are one of the elect. No, God did not choose to give all the elect a birthmark. That would have been simple, wouldn't it? It would help. We could check and see if we're one of the elect.

When we're preaching, we could say, hey, show me your arm or let me see your back, whatever it might be. But he didn't do that. Charles Spurgeon said this. He said, many persons want to know their election before they look to Christ, but they cannot learn it thus. It is only to be learned by looking to Jesus.

So today, if you've put your faith and trust in Jesus, if you believe in Jesus, if you If you're following Jesus, you're one of the elect. Don't look inwardly and say, well, am I one of the elect? Because inwardly, you'll get discouraged. But look to Jesus. Look to the finished work of Christ.

Put your faith, your trust, and all of your hope there. You'll never do enough to be saved. There's nothing you can do. On the same token, you'll never do enough to keep saved. But beloved, we are safe and secure in the finished work of Christ, and we can rejoice as God's people in this doctrine of unconditional election.

May God add the blessing to the preaching of His Word. Thanks for watching.