Dale Partridge - June 11, 2024


Romans 9_1-5： How to Grieve for the Unconverted with Dale Partridge


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44 minutes

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5,722

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374

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60

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Transcript

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00:00:00.000 Would you open up your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 9.
00:00:06.860 This is the word of the Lord.
00:00:10.180 I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying.
00:00:15.080 My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit
00:00:17.700 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
00:00:23.100 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ
00:00:27.580 for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen.
00:00:30.000 according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory,
00:00:36.920 the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs,
00:00:44.160 and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever.
00:00:51.600 Amen.
00:00:52.880 Well, good morning, and we are back in Romans.
00:00:58.560 I started this about two years ago in Cottonwood before we moved the church up here, and it
00:01:06.400 is great to see that we are back in probably the most controversial chapter of Romans,
00:01:14.420 and I think we will be blessed by it.
00:01:17.300 If you recall, in chapter 8, for those that maybe have not been with us these past several months,
00:01:27.600 Paul spent 39 verses expounding upon the privileges of God.
00:01:33.720 All the privileges that the people of God receive in Christ.
00:01:40.020 He says that we've escaped the condemnation of the law in Romans 8.1.
00:01:45.040 We receive the Spirit of God in 8.9.
00:01:47.960 The adoption of God as children in 8.15.
00:01:51.040 We share in the sufferings of Christ in 8.17.
00:01:54.200 In these sufferings, as intense as they may be,
00:01:57.260 they're not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us.
00:02:00.480 That's 8.18.
00:02:02.040 And not only will we experience resurrection bodies,
00:02:05.120 but the earth will be renewed and we will dwell on the earth together.
00:02:09.800 That's 8.24.
00:02:12.420 More than that, God helps us in our weakness.
00:02:15.440 We have a God who intercedes with his spirit for us
00:02:18.700 when our suffering is beyond our ability to bear.
00:02:21.820 It's 827.
00:02:23.380 God's involvement in his people, though,
00:02:25.220 goes far beyond intercession.
00:02:29.380 We saw that his benevolent providence
00:02:31.740 actually extends deep into our lives.
00:02:35.140 Romans 828 taught,
00:02:36.860 God causes, God causes all things
00:02:40.360 to work together for good for those who love him
00:02:42.920 and are called according to his purpose.
00:02:45.500 That's 828.
00:02:47.840 And this included our very redemption.
00:02:51.020 You know, from election to glory,
00:02:53.420 from before the foundation of the world
00:02:55.380 to the restoration of the world,
00:02:59.780 God commands the destinies of his people.
00:03:01.780 Last month, we sung the song in Christ alone.
00:03:04.840 There's a line that says,
00:03:06.340 from life's first cry to final breath,
00:03:09.480 Jesus commands my destiny.
00:03:11.300 We sing these truths.
00:03:12.920 that God is in control of your destiny.
00:03:20.980 This degree of merciful sovereignty over his people led Paul to say,
00:03:26.640 what then shall we say to these things?
00:03:27.880 If God is for us, who can be against us?
00:03:30.760 And he closed in chapter 8 by saying,
00:03:32.780 for I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities
00:03:37.960 nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth
00:03:40.600 nor any created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
00:03:46.180 our Lord. So that's the context which chapter 9 is coming off the heels of these great privileges
00:03:55.340 that are given to the people of God. Now as the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul is sharing
00:04:04.420 excellent news. But as a Jew, Paul cannot help but see the paradox of grace. The people who had 0.94
00:04:14.560 labored so hard for righteousness, who had the promise of the gospel, who held the heritage of
00:04:22.240 God's prophets and priests and kings, who were by descendants, you know, by blood, Abraham of Isaac,
00:04:30.580 of Jacob the people who are now after all of these great privileges are the
00:04:36.800 people that are cut off from the gospel they actually forfeited their covenantal
00:04:43.960 connection they rejected the very substance and pinnacle of everything
00:04:49.860 that their entire heritage was pointing toward the irony is painful like the
00:05:01.020 twist of fate it's so extreme when you understand it that it'll challenge your
00:05:06.220 own sense of justice and this is the setting which Paul writes this chapter
00:05:15.380 So in the first five verses of chapter 9, he's addressing the anguish that he has for the apostasy of his people, the Jews.
00:05:26.400 Second, in verses 6 through 29, which is the chunk of this chapter, he explains why the Jews aren't saved.
00:05:38.540 Why they're not saved, despite God's sovereignty over his people.
00:05:43.000 Okay, think about this for a moment.
00:05:44.620 If God causes all things to work together for good for those who love him and are called
00:05:51.340 according to his purpose, how do we explain the contradiction between God's promise and
00:05:58.880 the current state of Israel's unbelief?
00:06:01.580 How do you deal with the conflict between a God who says, I control the lives and the
00:06:07.040 redemption of my people, yet Israel rejected the Messiah?
00:06:10.080 That is what we're dealing with here in chapter 9.
00:06:17.680 So essentially Romans 9 serves as an explanation of how, how the doctrine of election has always
00:06:26.840 operated.
00:06:28.540 It clarifies that Israel's apostasy does not compromise the doctrine of God's sovereignty
00:06:34.700 over salvation.
00:06:35.540 Instead, it reveals that the objects of salvation, the elected, are not who we assumed they were.
00:06:46.540 Again, it'll challenge your sense of justice. 0.54
00:06:51.560 So the question becomes, if the majority of the Jews are not elect, especially under Jesus' ministry,
00:07:04.360 where is ethnic Israel's place in God's plan of salvation? Are they lost forever? How should the
00:07:12.640 Gentiles think about the Jews? Is the church the new Israel? This is essentially all of the
00:07:18.440 questions that Romans 9, 10, and 11 will be addressing. And so today I'm going to address
00:07:25.500 Paul's attitude toward his unconverted people. And as you see, he's going to model humility
00:07:34.900 and compassion that we must also have for those who are outside of Christ.
00:07:43.380 So verse nine, or sorry, chapter nine, verse one, follow along with me.
00:07:47.680 I'm telling the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit
00:07:57.680 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. Okay, the structure of this sentence
00:08:04.760 is interesting. Okay, it's designed for emphasis. Paul places three expressions of promise.
00:08:12.640 okay he's essentially using two of them to even appeal appeal to divine support or divine witness
00:08:20.780 one theologian referred to this as a triple oath he says i'm telling the truth in christ
00:08:26.980 i am not lying my conscience testifies with me in the holy spirit all right so before i go forward
00:08:35.420 i got to give you a little more context this will help you all right uh the jews hated paul
00:08:39.940 The Jews hated Paul.
00:08:44.080 The book of Acts records six times where Paul was either physically, verbally, legally attacked.
00:08:52.720 They hated Paul.
00:08:54.660 And this is important because the tone of this passage demonstrates Paul's love for his enemies.
00:09:00.980 His love for his enemies.
00:09:03.380 Paul is having great sorrow and unceasing grief in his heart for the people that want to kill him.
00:09:12.800 That's a difficult one to swallow.
00:09:16.120 As we know, we all have enemies.
00:09:18.780 We have enemies as Christians.
00:09:20.880 It's easy to fall in the ditch of anger and only desiring justice upon your enemies.
00:09:29.100 Again, justice is righteous.
00:09:31.460 We stand with the justice of God that sends the unrighteous to hell.
00:09:35.380 But Paul models a heart of sorrow that's required when we think about the perishing of the wicked.
00:09:44.320 God says in Ezekiel 33 11, as I live, declares the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
00:09:53.060 I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
00:09:55.860 Okay, loving our enemies and sincerely desiring their submission to the Lord Jesus
00:10:00.500 is something that we have to practice as Christians.
00:10:04.940 It's just a part of following Christ.
00:10:07.680 We cannot forget scripture's reminder that such were some of you.
00:10:13.320 It's easy to think, oh, they're so wicked, without remembering your own biography.
00:10:19.900 How can we be objects of mercy and have no mercy?
00:10:24.900 How can we be recipients of grace and not extend grace?
00:10:30.880 It's impossible to do in light of the gospel.
00:10:36.320 But this is not only a statement from Paul of sincerity.
00:10:39.320 It's also a statement of authority.
00:10:41.920 Paul is grieving over a truth he's about to declare.
00:10:44.760 If you look down in verse 3, he says,
00:10:49.700 For I could wish that I myself were accursed,
00:10:53.180 Separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. 0.99
00:10:58.020 Okay, there's a reason that Paul was hated by the Jews. 0.91
00:11:03.120 There's a reason. 0.73
00:11:04.880 Here, he softens the claim by expressing his sorrow over the claim, but the meaning of
00:11:11.820 his statement remains true. 1.00
00:11:13.560 The Jews are accursed. 1.00
00:11:16.280 That's what he's saying. 1.00
00:11:17.660 The Jews are accursed. 0.92
00:11:19.840 Now the Greek word for accursed, if you look it up in Greek, it's what we get our English word, 0.98
00:11:23.640 it's the exact same word actually, it's anathema. Anathema. It means to be set apart
00:11:30.140 for destruction. Now, what I want you to see is that it stands in complete contrast to holiness.
00:11:42.260 Holiness. Holiness means to be set apart for blessing. Anathema means to be set apart for
00:11:50.840 destruction. Okay, for a people whose entire heritage involved them being set apart, 0.91
00:12:04.040 being told by Paul, who's a Jew, that they were now set apart for condemnation,
00:12:09.540 that's going to ruffle feathers. Okay. We spent our entire heritage setting ourselves apart 0.70
00:12:17.880 to be holy. And you're saying we're now set apart for condemnation. You can see why
00:12:23.880 Paul is persecuted for the gospel. But Paul does not look to the Jews with an eye of disgust.
00:12:35.320 he looks at him with sorrow and grief
00:12:40.460 in fact the sorrow is so great that if it were possible he would
00:12:46.420 be willing to be condemned on their behalf
00:12:49.100 I want you to just like think about that for a moment
00:12:52.680 grasp the degree of love required to make such a claim
00:12:59.240 that you're willing to perish eternally
00:13:01.600 for someone else 1.00
00:13:04.100 who's trying to kill you.
00:13:07.860 It sounds like Christ. 0.92
00:13:11.620 It sounds like Christ.
00:13:16.680 This is a paradox of emotion.
00:13:21.600 Paul fully upholds God's justice 1.00
00:13:24.080 and agrees that the Jews' rejection of Christ 0.99
00:13:26.660 warrants eternal destruction. 1.00
00:13:27.860 He agrees with that.
00:13:28.820 He declares that.
00:13:29.680 And at the same time, he simultaneously weeps for them.
00:13:37.920 This is the proper attitude that we should have about the wicked, about the broken, about the lost.
00:13:49.640 Spurgeon says, I have sometimes felt willing to go to the gates of hell to save a soul.
00:13:56.580 But the Redeemer went further, for he suffered the wrath of God for souls.
00:14:03.380 What would be the result if we felt as Paul did, likeness to Christ, after that manner in which he loved?
00:14:12.100 As we know, Christ did become a curse for us.
00:14:15.700 See Galatians 3.13.
00:14:17.740 He did enter under the awful shadow of Jehovah's wrath for us.
00:14:23.860 He accomplished what Paul wished he could, but knew he could not.
00:14:31.240 It's easy to hate the wicked.
00:14:36.560 It's difficult to love them, to care for them, to have a soul being anguished over the perishing.
00:14:48.320 I want to briefly talk, this is going to be a little bit of a sidebar, I think it's important though.
00:14:51.880 I want to briefly talk about this phrase, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
00:14:59.340 Okay, globalism has made nationalism feel intolerant.
00:15:08.340 It can feel exclusive.
00:15:11.280 It's made national pride or cultural dignity feel discriminatory.
00:15:16.620 It's made cultural accommodation a priority.
00:15:21.880 It's left American heritage to be forgotten.
00:15:26.700 We have catchphrases like, diversity is our greatest strength.
00:15:33.320 Is that true?
00:15:35.840 Like, is that a true statement?
00:15:38.520 Would Japan agree?
00:15:40.620 Would Russia agree?
00:15:42.020 Would Pakistan agree?
00:15:43.460 Would Israel agree?
00:15:45.900 Is a nation that is so utterly diverse with religions and values and political views
00:15:51.680 actually stronger? We have a generation that's like, but we
00:15:58.000 need religious liberty. Jesus did not want religious liberty.
00:16:03.060 Do you think the first and greatest commandment to love
00:16:05.980 the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
00:16:07.580 with all your mind, it leaves room for religious liberty? Yes,
00:16:13.100 we should make sure that we have people be able to worship 1.00
00:16:18.340 false gods and demons in our country. That's what we should stand for. No. Christ is not interested 1.00
00:16:25.020 in religious liberty. Now, I'm not talking about racial diversity. I'm talking about 0.57
00:16:33.260 moral diversity. Is our nation stronger because of its assortment of worldviews?
00:16:40.840 would it be weaker if we were all united under christ according to the word of god
00:16:49.840 with the ten commandments theonomically governing our nation's righteousness
00:16:55.220 would we be weaker then
00:16:57.340 no way so today to favor your own people or culture is to be narrow-minded and bigoted
00:17:09.240 to favor your own people.
00:17:13.320 Now, this ideology has certainly affected the church in many ways
00:17:16.420 and more than I can discuss in the sermon.
00:17:18.180 But it's important to note that Paul does not state
00:17:21.680 that he's willing to sacrifice himself for the Romans
00:17:23.840 or that he's willing to sacrifice himself for the Greeks.
00:17:26.600 He's willing to sacrifice himself for his own people.
00:17:31.820 And that is, he has a preference.
00:17:35.300 He has a preference for his own people.
00:17:39.240 He has a unique love for Israel.
00:17:43.580 Now, this ethic has been lost upon American culture
00:17:46.520 because when you dilute what it means to be American
00:17:50.160 with the ethic of moral diversity,
00:17:52.600 there is no unifying cultural pride or ethic to uphold.
00:18:00.600 And because of this kind of insatiable desire 0.98
00:18:03.140 for foreign culture 1.00
00:18:04.080 that's brought in Hinduism and new age garbage into our nation. And now we have, you know, 1.00
00:18:12.880 Islam entering into the nation at great degree. And we have cults at every corner and we have 1.00
00:18:20.040 demon worship everywhere. This is a fascinating time to be an American. We are a hodgepodge
00:18:28.700 of worldviews. But we've had this fascination with foreign missions.
00:18:34.860 We spent the last 75 years sending missionaries overseas while our own cities and hometowns are
00:18:41.160 starving for the gospel. Young people are so motivated in the 90s and early 2000s
00:18:49.320 to save African tribes and Peruvian villages, and they don't even care about their own cities.
00:18:55.720 We've sent YWAM and global missions everywhere. 0.99
00:19:02.820 While we starve our own people with the gospel. 0.97
00:19:09.300 We have to be more like Paul, who always went to the synagogues first.
00:19:15.180 Before he preached the gospel in a particular town.
00:19:18.960 We've forgotten that global fruitfulness, the Great Commission.
00:19:22.780 every tribe, nation, and tongue, every color of every person on earth, all of that global
00:19:29.300 fruitfulness happens with local faithfulness. Global fruitfulness occurs by local faithfulness.
00:19:39.420 We see that even in the midst of Israel's Babylonian exile, the Lord tells the Jews to
00:19:45.580 prioritize local ministry. Check this out. Jeremiah 29 7 says, quote, but seek the welfare of the city 0.57
00:19:52.660 where i have sent you into exile and pray to the lord on its behalf for in its welfare you will
00:19:59.300 find your welfare end quote psalm 122 6-7 instructs jews to pray for the peace of jerusalem may they be
00:20:08.500 secure who love you peace be within your walls and security within your towers nehemiah grieves over
00:20:15.380 the broken walls of jerusalem even jesus in luke 19 weeps over the coming destruction of his own
00:20:19.940 homeland. Ultimately, again, we have to see that our geographic placement by God's providence
00:20:28.700 should inform our ministry. Where does the gospel start? In your house, with your wife,
00:20:36.460 with your kids, with your town, with your church. Yes. Do we love foreign missions? Absolutely.
00:20:42.840 And when there is a called, qualified, and equipped man to be sent overseas to fulfill
00:20:48.180 the Great Commission in another country? Let's send that guy. Praise God for those missionaries.
00:20:54.260 But sending 18-year-olds that have never been trained up in the Word of God, who have no
00:20:58.760 marriage, who have no kids, who have never had any experience, who are not called, who are not
00:21:03.420 equipped, who are not qualified to go be missionaries all across the world is not what we see in the 0.91
00:21:08.640 scriptures. It's not. What I'm saying is that it's honorable to prefer domestic
00:21:24.040 ministry. It's honorable. It's an honorable option to slave away proclaiming
00:21:36.140 the gospel in your own hometown. One of the strongest sentiments in our souls should be
00:21:46.320 reserved for our own people. American people. Again, I'm not talking about color of skin.
00:21:52.000 I'm talking about American culture. If Christians from all nations adopted this perspective,
00:22:00.960 our homelands would be greatly blessed. You would see the Christians in India 0.99
00:22:05.960 raising up godly cities in India. You would see the Christians in Europe
00:22:10.960 raising up godly Christians and nations and cities in Europe. You would see the
00:22:15.740 Christians in Mexico doing the same thing. You would see the Christians in 1.00
00:22:19.700 Nevada and Utah and Ohio doing the same thing.
00:22:24.360 We've had an obsession with international ministries for many, many
00:22:30.860 years, and it has left this nation spiritually bankrupt. Do you know how many millions and
00:22:41.480 millions of dollars that we've sent overseas in the last 40 years for missions? There's actually
00:22:50.540 stats and stories that I did my research on that shows it has not actually been that productive.
00:22:57.400 It has not been that fruitful.
00:23:01.040 But when you look to faithful men that have stayed,
00:23:04.780 the John MacArthur's and the John Piper's and the, you know,
00:23:07.640 even the Alistair Beggs, the Douglas Wilson's that have stayed faithfully,
00:23:13.140 locally, establishing the gospel in their own hometowns.
00:23:16.540 The impact that those men have made across their own cities,
00:23:20.580 but also across the world is incredible.
00:23:23.900 It's incredible.
00:23:26.780 ultimately prioritizing your desire for your own people.
00:23:31.080 It's not sinful.
00:23:32.720 It's honorable.
00:23:34.340 There's nothing wrong with sending people across borders. 0.91
00:23:38.980 In fact, we must do it for the Great Commission. 1.00
00:23:41.900 But committing to Christianize this town 0.99
00:23:45.420 with the proclamation of the gospel
00:23:46.700 is a great and honorable thing.
00:23:49.140 Kids, you don't need to move away
00:23:50.560 for some exotic life of purpose and meaning.
00:23:54.020 You can do that here.
00:23:56.020 You can proclaim Christ here, within the borders of this city.
00:24:02.020 It's an honorable thing.
00:24:05.420 Paul then explains why his sorrow for his own people is so profound.
00:24:13.180 He highlights these kind of immense covenantal privileges.
00:24:16.780 He lists them out.
00:24:17.700 There's nine of them.
00:24:18.960 And he goes through each one of them.
00:24:20.780 if you read with me Romans 9 4 through 5 he says who are Israelites to whom belong the adoption as
00:24:30.340 sons and the glory of the covenants sorry and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law
00:24:38.100 and the temple service and the promises whose are the fathers and from whom is the Christ
00:24:44.220 according to the flesh who is overall God blessed forever amen
00:24:48.260 okay i want to look at each one of these just briefly because i think it's going to give us
00:24:57.080 a perspective of the irony the contrast the conflict my goodness these people have every
00:25:03.360 privilege possible yet they still denied christ why and we'll answer that question
00:25:09.540 first he says who are Israelites this is a term of distinction it's it's to show that they are
00:25:18.740 the descendants of Abraham and Jacob or Abraham and Isaac and Jacob you we know that Jacob's name
00:25:25.060 was changed in Genesis chapter 32 from Jacob to Israel means wrestle with God it was a distinction
00:25:32.340 they took pride in because they were the chosen people of God they were a holy nation second it
00:25:37.240 says, to whom belongs the adoption as sons. Now, in the Old Testament, it was common for God to
00:25:43.600 address Israel as sons. Exodus 4.22 says, then you shall say to Pharaoh, thus says the Lord,
00:25:50.560 Israel is my son, my firstborn. Deuteronomy 14.1 says, you are the sons of the Lord your God.
00:25:58.200 Now, this is not the same type of adoption that you see in chapter 8, verse 14. It's a different
00:26:02.980 type of adoption, okay? We're going to see in the next few verses next week, Paul says,
00:26:08.040 for they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel,
00:26:11.040 nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants.
00:26:17.740 We're not, what Paul's saying is that not everybody who is from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
00:26:23.700 is actually an Israelite. It's not about the flesh, it's about the promise.
00:26:29.140 True adoption comes from the spirit and is by faith, not by works from the covenant or by flesh.
00:26:39.100 Third, he says, and the glory, which refers to the potency of God's glory being shown only to the Jews in the Old Testament.
00:26:49.140 Exodus 24, 17 says, and the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop.
00:26:58.440 They had the glory of the Lord.
00:27:01.140 Fourth, he says, the covenants. 0.88
00:27:02.640 God made no covenants with the Gentiles.
00:27:05.260 None.
00:27:08.220 The people of God originated with the nation of Israel 0.99
00:27:11.080 and the covenants remained in their custody alone.
00:27:14.280 They had the covenants.
00:27:15.780 Fifth, he says, the giving of the law.
00:27:17.860 The Jews were the only people who had the standard of righteousness for the earth. 0.84
00:27:22.500 They were the ones carrying the Ark of the Covenant,
00:27:24.960 the tablets of God's law.
00:27:28.700 But again, instead of properly leading them to moral despair,
00:27:31.800 showing them that the law is intended to teach you that you can't keep it.
00:27:38.300 The reason you teach your children the Ten Commandments
00:27:40.440 is to inform them that they can't keep it and they need a Savior who can.
00:27:49.880 Sixth, he says the temple service.
00:27:53.020 This is speaking to the proper worship of God.
00:27:54.920 There was nations worshiping demons and worshiping false gods. 1.00
00:27:59.440 Only the Jews had the proper way to worship. 0.97
00:28:03.320 They had the priesthood. 0.53
00:28:04.860 They had the prophets.
00:28:06.560 They had the sacrificial system.
00:28:09.120 They had the tabernacle.
00:28:11.240 They had all these things that were all pointing to Christ.
00:28:14.480 They were preparing God's people for and pointing people to Christ.
00:28:19.000 And they missed it.
00:28:21.860 Eighth, he says they had the fathers.
00:28:24.920 The ESV translates it better. It says, to them belong the patriarchs.
00:28:31.320 They had a blood relationship with those who communed and covenanted with God.
00:28:40.120 They were close in the flesh.
00:28:44.060 And ninth, he says, from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is overall God blessed forever. Amen.
00:28:51.720 this is the ultimate privilege of the Jews 1.00
00:28:55.440 it's the ultimate privilege 1.00
00:28:56.640 the incarnate God
00:28:58.940 who is overall partook of their own
00:29:02.200 national and ethnic heritage
00:29:04.020 he wasn't a Roman
00:29:06.900 he wasn't a Greek
00:29:08.580 he wasn't Asian or Indian or American
00:29:11.400 he was Jewish
00:29:12.720 he was an Israelite 0.99
00:29:14.880 he partake or he partook
00:29:17.560 of their same national
00:29:19.820 ethnicity
00:29:21.920 That's how close the Messiah was to them. 0.65
00:29:25.720 And when you consider the extent of all of those privileges of their cultural heritage 0.78
00:29:31.940 with their rejection of Christ, when you put those two together,
00:29:36.640 you begin to see the shocking and puzzling nature of the situation.
00:29:42.180 How could a people with so many covenant blessings and divine benefits
00:29:45.880 miss the very substance of everything they anticipated as a people? How could they miss it?
00:29:55.180 It's right there. I still read the Old Testament and the New Testament, and I think about the Jews
00:30:02.760 of today. I'm like, how can you not see that Jesus is the Messiah? It's frustrating. 0.98
00:30:09.400 there's two reasons why they missed it two reasons god's sovereignty and man's responsibility
00:30:18.800 and we get to see both dimensions for a second here so in chapter 9 if you look later in verses
00:30:26.700 32 for 30 32 to 33 paul explains why the jews did not receive christ he says why question mark
00:30:35.180 because they did not pursue it by faith,
00:30:38.220 but as though it were by works.
00:30:40.640 They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
00:30:44.080 just as it is written,
00:30:45.440 behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling
00:30:48.200 and a rock of offense.
00:30:51.720 1 Peter 2, verse 8 says,
00:30:54.720 the stone which the builders rejected,
00:30:57.520 this became the very cornerstone
00:30:59.880 and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.
00:31:03.940 They stumble because they disobey the word, and catch this, as they were destined to do.
00:31:12.700 They stumble as they were destined to do.
00:31:18.400 John, actually turn here with me.
00:31:20.900 Turn to John, chapter 12, 37 through 40.
00:31:24.980 I'll wait for you to get there.
00:31:26.600 chapter 12 37 through 40
00:31:33.780 I'm not sure what translation I'm reading it might be NASB it might be ESV
00:31:41.440 John chapter 12 37 through 40 though he had done so many signs before them
00:31:50.520 they still did not believe in him okay just full stop for a second
00:31:55.280 the gospel is not about intellectual persuasion people are seeing jesus do signs miracles
00:32:03.820 evidence vindicating his messiahship his divinity and they're still not believing
00:32:10.940 it goes on it says they still do not believe him so that purpose clause the words spoken by the
00:32:21.700 prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom
00:32:30.460 has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore, pay attention right here. Pay attention. It says,
00:32:37.280 therefore, they could not believe. What do you do with that? They could not believe.
00:32:46.080 there is a mass thousands upon thousands of jews that are fulfilling this prophecy 0.99
00:32:54.440 whether it's speaking of just jesus's earthly ministry or beyond they could not believe could
00:33:02.040 not it keeps going it says for again isaiah said he speaking of god he has blinded their eyes and
00:33:12.940 hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their
00:33:17.600 heart, and turn, and I would heal them.
00:33:22.020 God, the blinding and hardening of hearts, God. 0.99
00:33:31.360 Now, these curses of reprobation were not for all Jews, but they were for the majority 1.00
00:33:38.160 of the Jews. 0.96
00:33:38.700 the vast majority of the Jews rejected Christ. Now, if this 0.88
00:33:43.400 doesn't convince you, if that doesn't convince you that God
00:33:46.800 controls who believes and who doesn't, who receives mercy and
00:33:52.180 who doesn't, I don't know what will. Later in Romans chapter
00:33:56.760 nine, we're going to see it says, God says, I will have
00:34:00.460 mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on
00:34:05.700 whom I will have compassion. God gets to determine who he has compassion on. Every single one of us
00:34:13.600 deserve hell. There is no unrighteousness or injustice on sending any one person to hell.
00:34:22.080 To not give a particular person the right or ability to believe is not an injustice on God's
00:34:29.540 part. There is only justice and mercy. That's it. Everybody
00:34:34.760 deserves hell. God has for some reason granted mercy to some 0.90
00:34:40.100 and left others to justice. There's no injustice. There's no
00:34:47.180 one that deserves heaven and didn't get heaven. This is the
00:34:54.680 scripture. We have to conform our flesh to the scripture. We
00:34:58.820 yield our hearts to the scripture. The second reason for them being anathematized is their own 0.78
00:35:08.740 responsibility. This is the conundrum of the scriptures. One of the great mysteries of the
00:35:12.240 scripture is where does God's sovereignty and man's responsibility intersect? The other mysteries
00:35:20.800 are the Trinity and the hypostatic union. God being or Jesus being fully God and fully man.
00:35:27.360 Those are the three great mysteries of the Bible. There are no answers. You study those realities 0.54
00:35:34.220 and you end up at a black door that you cannot open.
00:35:41.500 We get to trust that somehow God is sovereign and yet we are still responsible.
00:35:49.860 Man's responsibility. The Bible claims that the Jews exercise the sin of presumption. 0.92
00:35:54.720 presumption believing that their national or religious identity equaled spiritual security
00:36:00.480 that somehow what they did as individuals would secure salvation they didn't realize that it
00:36:08.100 wasn't about doing it was about done in christ john the baptist says in matthew 3 9 quote and
00:36:15.840 do not presume to say to yourselves that we have abraham as our father for i tell you god is able
00:36:21.100 from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
00:36:25.160 Don't presume.
00:36:26.980 Don't presume.
00:36:29.100 Now, where does this hit us?
00:36:31.200 Where does this hit you?
00:36:32.640 Now, we live in America.
00:36:33.900 We live in America where thousands upon thousands of people
00:36:37.060 come to the church and do not come to Christ.
00:36:39.480 Do you know how many people I've met
00:36:41.340 who have been in the church for a decade
00:36:43.240 and actually converted after that?
00:36:47.220 That they were never born again.
00:36:48.740 They were in the church, spiritually dead, in the covenant, yet not alive.
00:36:58.420 You know how common it is in America for people who, quote, said the sinner's prayer to think
00:37:07.180 that they're saved, but they've actually never heard the real biblical gospel, a bad news gospel
00:37:13.700 that sends them to absolute sorrow over their sin,
00:37:17.400 to cast themselves upon the cross
00:37:19.940 and the righteousness of Christ.
00:37:23.260 The sin of presumption still deceives
00:37:26.860 many people in the church today.
00:37:31.300 Multitudes are in the covenant,
00:37:33.320 by birth, by baptism, 0.97
00:37:35.640 who follow in the footsteps of the Jews. 0.55
00:37:39.320 they presume that their religiosity 0.81
00:37:44.140 that their baptism, that their taking the Lord's Supper
00:37:46.820 that reciting the sinner's prayer
00:37:48.060 that their intellectual grasp of the scriptures
00:37:49.700 is something that will save them
00:37:51.380 my preaching professor
00:37:54.420 Dr. Stephen Lawson
00:37:56.640 he once said
00:37:59.160 and this is an amazing quote
00:38:00.580 you might want to write it down
00:38:02.740 he says
00:38:04.120 the only thing worse than not having the assurance of salvation
00:38:07.680 is having the false assurance of salvation.
00:38:11.780 The only thing worse is to think you're saved
00:38:14.220 and not be saved. 1.00
00:38:16.740 This is the Jews. 1.00
00:38:18.760 This is the Pharisees. 1.00
00:38:22.580 Caiaphas, the high priest, 0.57
00:38:24.240 the man who is supposed to know more about God
00:38:26.660 than anyone else on earth, 0.76
00:38:29.220 kills Jesus. 0.89
00:38:32.920 What?
00:38:35.880 God writes incredible stories.
00:38:37.680 unpredictable plot lines.
00:38:44.980 The Jews, like us, need faith.
00:38:47.660 You need faith.
00:38:49.500 Now, what does faith mean?
00:38:52.240 I think we, in America, we're just like,
00:38:53.720 oh, I have faith.
00:38:54.380 I believe that Jesus existed
00:38:56.560 and that that is somehow what we're talking about.
00:38:59.800 No, no.
00:39:01.300 Faith is trust.
00:39:05.140 Faith is trust.
00:39:06.440 So what do you have faith in Christ to do?
00:39:10.120 Well, I have faith in Christ to earn a righteous verdict for me on judgment day that I cannot earn on my own.
00:39:17.040 That's what I have faith on.
00:39:18.360 I am standing on that.
00:39:24.200 I also have faith that my sins have been punished justly, crushed upon the body of Christ.
00:39:32.720 I stand on that.
00:39:37.440 What we need to do as a people is see our utter inability to be found righteous before God.
00:39:46.160 Legalism is right there creeping, right there hoping that you will rely on your works,
00:39:53.780 that somehow God is happier with you, or he loves you more,
00:39:57.560 or he thinks that you're more righteous because of something that you do.
00:40:02.460 You've got to have a distinction here, people.
00:40:04.080 our obedience does not contribute to our salvation only the perfect obedience of Christ
00:40:13.940 our faithfulness does not secure us or make us more loved by God now our obedience pleases God
00:40:25.500 and our disobedience displeases God.
00:40:29.880 God will discipline those he loves,
00:40:32.940 but our works do not keep us saved.
00:40:36.880 They do not sustain our salvation.
00:40:39.260 You know what keeps us saved?
00:40:40.680 The perfect work of Christ,
00:40:42.700 the immovable work of Christ.
00:40:45.700 So when I sin, I don't panic that I lose my salvation,
00:40:49.640 that God's wrath is back upon me.
00:40:52.720 No, God's wrath was upon Christ.
00:40:55.500 you get to rest in the fact that you have a rock to stand on that doesn't change.
00:41:07.920 We must cast ourselves, body and soul, upon the cross.
00:41:13.140 Without that happening, without recognizing how wicked you really are
00:41:17.900 and what you've been saved from,
00:41:20.600 your assurance will be limited.
00:41:26.140 Part of having assurance is having a biblical anthropology to understand what the Bible says
00:41:32.000 about who you are. Now, you're a saint if you are a believer, but you're a saint who sins.
00:41:37.360 You don't just need the gospel once. You need the gospel on an ongoing, regular basis,
00:41:42.360 a minute-by-minute basis. Without complete submission to the Lordship of Christ,
00:41:50.820 You will be accursed. 1.00
00:41:52.520 You will be deceived like the Jews. 1.00
00:41:56.400 The only solution is faith. 0.99
00:41:59.680 And for those around you, for your fellow Americans, for the people in this city,
00:42:03.940 for the people of your own family,
00:42:07.060 for your parents and your in-laws and your cousins and your brothers and neighbors,
00:42:12.620 care about them with the gospel.
00:42:21.180 Yes, align with the justice of God.
00:42:22.960 Yes, recognize that wickedness must be punished.
00:42:25.860 Yes, know that God will bring his wrath upon those who reject his son.
00:42:32.500 But don't let them perish without your prayers.
00:42:36.760 I'll close with a quote from Spurgeon that I think fits the occasion.
00:42:41.740 He says, quote,
00:42:43.160 If sinners be damned, at least let them leap over to hell over our dead bodies. 0.99
00:42:48.940 And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped around their knees, 1.00
00:42:55.760 imploring them to stay. 0.98
00:42:57.320 If hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions,
00:43:02.900 and let no one go unwarned and unprayed for.
00:43:07.660 Amen? Amen. Let's pray.
00:43:10.680 Father, we thank you.
00:43:14.140 We thank you for the example of your Son on the cross,
00:43:17.860 the lover of enemies,
00:43:20.740 the atonement for those who hated him.
00:43:24.220 Father, we thank you for Paul
00:43:25.260 and his faithfulness
00:43:26.520 who is willing to sacrifice himself
00:43:31.260 for the peace of his own people.
00:43:36.320 Father, we ask that you would impute that courage,
00:43:39.300 that gift, that blessing,
00:43:41.180 that posture, that heart,
00:43:42.820 that mind and soul to us.
00:43:44.720 Lord, that we would love your justice,
00:43:46.700 but also weep at the perishing of the lost.
00:43:50.620 Lord, that it would inform the way that we behave.
00:43:56.240 That we would care about the people near us.
00:43:59.280 That our cities would not perish uninformed and unprayed for.
00:44:04.600 That our hearts would be to proclaim the gospel.
00:44:09.780 To stand up for the righteousness of morality according to your law.
00:44:14.600 Lord, that we would love our own people.
00:44:16.700 as Paul did.
00:44:21.260 And that you would bless this church
00:44:22.920 and this congregation.
00:44:24.600 Lord, that you would do a mighty work here,
00:44:26.380 not of numbers,
00:44:28.400 but of transformation of the heart.
00:44:31.120 Father, we ask all of these things
00:44:32.540 in Jesus' name.
00:44:34.280 Amen.
00:44:35.400 Amen.