Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 25, 2011

“How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 11:11-16.
 
“11  I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they?  May it never be!  But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.
 
12  Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!
 
13  But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles.  Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
 
14  if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.
 
15  For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
 
16  If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also;  and if the root is holy, the branches are too.”  Romans 11:11-16.
 
—————————
 
Today’s devotion continues the hope that we all have, but focusing on the hope that the Jews have.  We remember the context of today’s Scripture, namely the God’s decree of reprobation. 
 
It seem like there is no hope when we read yesterday’s Scripture in Romans 11:8-9:  “… GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.”  … “LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.  “LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.” 
 
But, we have a God Who raises the dead!  Even when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive together with Christ.  Ephesians 2:5.  “Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.  I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.’”  Ezekiel 37:5-6.  Notice Romans 11:15 “life from the dead”.   
 
We have a God Who will accomplish and fulfill all of His purpose. 
“… ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country.
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.”  Isaiah 46:10-11.
Notice Romans 11:12:  “their fulfillment”.
 
The Jews’ hope is not that they will be moved to jealousy on their own.  The Jews’ hope is not that they will come to their senses on their own.  The Jews’ hope, and the Gentiles’ hope, is that we all have a God Who raises from the dead and Who accomplishes and fulfills all of His purpose. 
 
Psalm 38:15
“For I hope in You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God.”
 
Psalm 42:11
“Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”
 
Psalm 62:5
“My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.”
 
Psalm 71:5
“For You are my hope; O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth.”
 
Psalm 146:5
“How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God,”

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 24, 2011

Reprobation

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 11:7-10.
 
“7  What then?  What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
 
8  just as it is written,
                              

   “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR,
EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT,
DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.”

 9  And David says,

   “LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP,
AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.

10  “LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT,
AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.”  Romans 11:7-10.

————————————— 

The Scripture for today describes the decree of reprobation.  God is not only sovereign over the elect;  God is also sovereign over the reprobate.  Here is what The Canons of Dordt state about it in part:

Article 15.  “… not all, but some only are elected, while others are passed by in the eternal election of God; whom God, out of his sovereign, most just, irreprehensible and unchangeable good pleasure, hath decreed to leave in the common misery into which they have willfully plunged themselves, and not to bestow upon them saving faith and the grace of conversion;  but leaving them in his just judgment to follow their own ways, at last for the declaration of his justice, to condemn and punish them forever, not only on account of their unbelief, but also for all their other sins.  And this is the decree of reprobation which by no means makes God the author of sin (the very thought of which is blasphemy), but declares him to be an awful, irreprehensible, and righteous judge and avenger thereof.

We, as the clay or the pottery, should not accuse God, the Potter, our Maker.  “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.  You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?”  On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?  The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?  Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”  Romans 9:18-21. 

But, there is hope!

Article 16.  Those who do not yet experience a lively faith in Christ, an assured confidence of soul, peace of conscience, an earnest endeavor after filial obedience, and glorying in God through Christ, efficaciously wrought in them, and do nevertheless persist in the use of the means which God hath appointed for working these graces in us, ought not to be alarmed at the mention of reprobation, nor to rank themselves among the reprobate, but diligently to persevere in the use of means, and with ardent desires, devoutly and humbly to wait for a season of richer grace.  Much less cause have they to be terrified by the doctrine of reprobation, who, though they seriously desire to be turned to God, to please him only, and to be delivered from the body of death, cannot yet reach that measure of holiness and faith to which they aspire;  since a merciful God has promised that he will not quench the smoking flax, nor break the bruised reed.  But this doctrine is justly terrible to those, who, regardless of God and of the Savior Jesus Christ, have wholly given themselves up to the cares of the world, and the pleasures of the flesh, so long as they are not seriously converted to God. (The Canons of Dordt)

There is more hope!

In the very same Psalm that is the source of the quotes for the Scripture today, Psalm Chapter 69, after stating this decree of reprobation, this Psalm Chapter 39 concludes with the following.

“29  But I am afflicted and in pain;
May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.
30  I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31  And it will please the LORD better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32  The humble have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, let your heart revive.
33  For the LORD hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.

 34  Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35  For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36  The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.”  Psalm 69:29-36.

That is, there is hope for those who humble themselves and seriously and diligently seek God. 

There is also even more hope!  Stay tuned to the Scripture following today’s Scripture!

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 23, 2011

“I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 11:1-6.
 
“1  I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be!  For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
 
2  God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.  Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?
 
3  “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.”
 
4  But what is the divine response to him?  “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.”
 
5  In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.”  Romans 11:1-6. 
 
6  But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
 
———————
 
God saved for Himself “SEVEN THOUSAND MEN” at the time of Elijah.  God saved for Himself out of Israel “a remnant according to God’s gracious choice”  at the time Paul wrote Romans.  God still saves for Himself His Elect today.
 
“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”  1 Peter 2:9-10.  
 
This is grace.  But, it certainly is not “common grace”.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 22, 2011

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 10:14-21.
 
“14  How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?  And how will they hear without a preacher?
 
15  How will they preach unless they are sent?  Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”
                           

16  However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”

17  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

18  But I say, surely they have never heard, have they?  Indeed they have;                                                                                                                                      

“THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH,
AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.”

19  But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they?  First Moses says,                                                                                                                                                   

“I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION,
BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I ANGER YOU.”

 20  And Isaiah is very bold and says,                                                                                                                                                  

“I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME,
I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.”

 21  But as for Israel He says, “ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.”  Romans 10:14-21. 

————————

It is important that the good news of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ is preached and teached.  The Scripture for today makes it very clear.  “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?  And how will they hear without a preacher?  How will they preach unless they are sent?  Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!””  Romans 10:14-15.

But, a one time presentation by preaching from the pulpit is not sufficient.  “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”  Colossians 3:16.  We are exhorted to teach each other.  We are exhorted to admonish and otherwise encourage each other each other.  We are exhorted to sing with each other.

But, even all this is not sufficient.  The content and context of this Scripture today reveals to us that we need the sovereign and infallible power of God’s word to irresistably draw His elect to salvation.

The content of today’s Scripture shows that all did not “heed” the good news (Romans 10:16) even though the message of salvation was extensively preached and teached.  “THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.”  (Romans 10:18).

The context of today’s Scripture is God’s election.  “For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.”  So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”  Romans 9:15-16.  

“Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.  For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables;  because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 
FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,
OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”  Matthew 13:11-16.

The ultimate assurance is that God’s Word will accomplish God’s purpose.  “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”  Isaiah 55:11

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”  We come to faith through hearing the good news.  We truly hear and heed this good news through this power of the word of Christ.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 19, 2011

“WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 10:5-13.
 
“5  For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.
 
6  But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down),
 
7  or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
 
8  But what does it say?  “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
 
9  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
 
10  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
 
11  For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
 
12  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
 
13  for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”  Romans 10:5-13.
 
—————————
 
We read again the contrast between attempting to attain righteousness through the law compared to attempting to attain righteousness through faith in Christ.  Those who attempt to attain righteousness through the law focus on themselves and what they can do such as:  ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THEABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”  Those who attempt to attain righteousness through faith in Christ don’t ask such questions about what they can do, but rather they believe that Christ provides all that is necessary for salvation and that Christ is “Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him”.
 
Through God’s grace, they (those who attempt to attain righteousness through faith in Christ) don’t only believe.  “… the demons also believe, and shudder.”  James 2:19.  They also confess with their mouth Jesus as Lord, and they call upon Him to save them, submitting to Him as Lord and trusting Him to provide all that is needed for salvation.
 
Here is what The Heidelberg Catechism states:
 
Question 21. What is true faith?
 
Answer.  True faith is not only a certain knowledge,  whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in his word, but also an assured confidence, which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel, in my heart;  that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ’s merits. 
 
In conclusion, so that we are reminded of God’s sovereignty over salvation;  and so that we don’t view “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” as our act of “free-will faith” and our contribution to salvation that would entitle us to some kind of credit;  let us view the source of that quote which is Joel 2:32.
 
“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the LORD has said,
Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.”  Joel 2:32.
 
Those who call on the name of the LORD are those whom God has called. 
 
“True faith is … an assured confidence, which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel, in my heart … that … everlasting righteousness and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ’s merits”. 
 
This sovereign grace of providing all that is needed for salvation is “abounding in riches for all who call on Him”.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 18, 2011

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 10:1-4.
 
“1  Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.
 
2  For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.
 
3  For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
 
4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”  Romans 10:1-4. 
 
—————————-
 
“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:24-26. 
 
“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”  Romans 7:4.
 
“For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.  For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ;  and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”  Galatians 2:18-21.
 
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free;  therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.  Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.   And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.  You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law;  you have fallen from grace.  For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”  Galatians 5:1-5.
 
“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,”  Philippians 3:8-9.
 
“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.  See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.  For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;”  Colossians 2:6-10.
 
“For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”  John 1:17.
 

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 17, 2011

Sovereignty, Stumbling Pursuing Law, and Surpassing Value of Knowing Christ

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 9:30-33.
 
“30 What shall we say then?  That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith;
 
31  but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law.
 
32  Why?  Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works.  They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
 
33  just as it is written,                                                                                                                 “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”  Romans 9:30-33.
 
—————————–
 
In God’s sovereignty over salvation, God saved many of the Gentiles by giving them faith in Jesus Christ.  These Gentiles did not pursue righteousness or salvation, but God caused them to attain righteousness and salvation by giving them faith in Jesus Christ.
 
On the other hand, but as still part of God’s sovereignty over salvation, God “LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”.  Israel stumbled over the stumbling stone (Christ) and did not believe in Him.  
 
Even though God is sovereign, we still have the duty to learn lessons and follow the right path to righteousness and salvation.  We can apply I Corinthians Chapter 10 to today’s Scripture.  Even though 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 speaks specifically about immorality, we can consider that what happened to Israel about pursuing righteousness based on the law can be a warning to us.  “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.  Do not be idolaters, as some of them were;  as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.”  Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.  Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.  Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.  Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.  Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”  1 Corinthians 10:6-12.
 
Like the Jews and like the Galatians, it may tempt us today to pursue righteousness based on the law.  “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?  This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?  So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”  Galatians 3:1-4. 
 
But, the warning is in today’s Scripture and throughout Scripture to not pursue righteousness based on the law.
 
“For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse;  for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.”  Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident;  for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”  However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.”  Galatians 3:10-12.
 
“You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law;  you have fallen from grace.  For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”  Galatians 5:4-4.
 
If anybody had motivation to pursue righteousness based on the law, it was Paul.  “circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;  as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.  But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,”  Philippians 3:5-9.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 16, 2011

The Sovereignty of God over Salvation and Love of God for those whom He saved

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 9:25-29.
 
“25  As He says also in Hosea,                                                                                                                                                “I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’
AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.’”
                                       
26  “AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’
THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.”
                                        

27  Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED;

28 FOR THE LORD WILL EXECUTE HIS WORD ON THE EARTH, THOROUGHLY AND QUICKLY.”

29  And just as Isaiah foretold,                                                                                                                               “UNLESS THE LORD OF SABAOTH HAD LEFT TO US A POSTERITY,
WE WOULD HAVE BECOME LIKE SODOM, AND WOULD HAVE RESEMBLED GOMORRAH.”  Romans 9:25-29.

——————————–

The sovereignty of God over salvation is not only over individuals (“Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”  Romans 9:13);  the sovereignty of God over salvation is also over peoples.  In today’s Scripture, we read in verses 25 to 26 the description that God saved many Gentiles, and we read in verses 27 to 29 the description that God only saved a remnant of Jews. 

Before we, the Gentiles, get proud and careless, we should remember “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP” that there was nothing more attractive about us that induced God to save so many of us Gentiles. 

Even though “IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED”, there is the hope that there are some Jews who were saved and some Jews who will be saved.  We know that Jesus’ disciples and most of the earliest Christians were Jews, and we read in this same chapter:  “And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.”  Romans 9:23-24. 

There is also this warning and promise in Romans Chapter 11:22-24.  “Behold then the kindness and severity of God;  to those who fell (Jews), severity, but to you (Gentiles), God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness;  otherwise you also will be cut off.  And they (Jews) also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches (Jews) be grafted into their own olive tree?”

Here is what The Canons of Dordt state about the need to humble ourselves and be diligent to walk in the ways of the elect: 

Article 13.  The sense and certainty of this election afford to the children of God additional matter for daily humiliation before him, for adoring the depth of his mercies, for cleansing themselves, and rendering grateful returns of ardent love to him, who first manifested so great love towards them.  The consideration of this doctrine of election is so far from encouraging remissness in the observance of the divine commands, or from sinking men in carnal security, that these, in the just judgment of God, are the usual effects of rash presumption, or of idle and wanton trifling with the grace of election, in those who refuse to walk in the ways of the elect.

With that warning of the severity of God and that promise of the kindness of God, let us go back to the main point of this Scripture for today to make sure it sticks with us.  God is sovereign over salvation not only for individuals but also for peoples. 

Let us also consider and cherish the three intimate descriptions of love for those Gentiles that God saved:  “MY PEOPLE”, “BELOVED”, and “SONS OF THE LIVING GOD”. 

When we thus consider both the extent of the sovereignty of God over salvation and the love of God for those whom He saved, what should be our response?

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!  For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?  Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”  Romans 11:33-36.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 15, 2011

The Sharp Contrast

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 9:22-24.
 
“What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
 
And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.”  Romans 9:22-24.
 
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The sharp contrast between God’s dealings with “vessels of wrath” and God’s dealings with “vessels of mercy” helps us better understand the riches of His glory upon those “vessels of mercy”.    
 
Consider God’s action of making Israel see the Egyptians dead on the seashore after He delivered Israel through the Red Sea by His miracle of pulling back the sea so Israel could cross through the sea safely on dry land, but then letting down the sea thereafter to drown the pursuing Egyptians.   “Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.”  Exodus 14:30-31.  
 
“7  A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8  You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9  For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.”  Psalm 32:8-9. 
 
““…  Hallelujah!  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;  BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS;  for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.”  Revelation 19:1-2.
 
In the parable of the wheat (symbolizing the righteous) and the tares (symbolizing the wicked), we are given insight through this parable to why God does not immediately wipe-out the wicked from the presence of the righteous.  “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then does it have tares?’  And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’  The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’  But he *said, ‘No;  for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Allow both to grow together until the harvest;  and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up;  but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”  Matthew 13:27-30.
 
In Psalm 73, the Psalmist first wonders why God patiently tolerates the wicked:
“2  But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.
3  For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”  Psalm 73:2-3.
 
But then, the Psalmist comes to his senses:
“16  When I pondered to understand this,
It was troublesome in my sight
17  Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their end.
18  Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!”  Psalm 73:16-19. 
                                    
So, what was the conclusion of the Psalmist to all of his observations and understanding?
“Surely God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart!”  Psalm 73:1.
 
In conclusion, there is no common grace, but rather there is a sharp contrast between God’s dealings with “vessels of wrath” and God’s dealings with “vessels of mercy” which helps us better understand the riches of His glory upon those “vessels of mercy”.  Although the wicked may even appear to prosper and we may question why God endures with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, “He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy“.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 14, 2011

“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 9:19-21.
 
“19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault?  For who resists His will?”
 
20  On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?  The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?
 
21  Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”  Romans 9:19-21.
 
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If man was in control over salvation, then Paul would not make this anticipated objection:  “Why does He still find fault?  For who resists His will?” 
 
If God elected on the basis of his foresight of who would have faith or works (which would be under the control of man), then man would still be in control and would not say:  “Why did you make me like this?”
 
But, God’s absolute and unconditional sovereignty over salvation is exactly what Paul is teaching, and Paul knows that it may seem unfair to man, so he makes these statements.
 
“You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay,
That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;
Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?”  Isaiah 29:16. 
 
So, what does man do? 
 
Man forms theories, such as evolution, that God did not make man. “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”  Psalm 2:3.
 
What does God do?
                                        

“4  He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5  Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6  “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”  Psalm 2:4-6.

“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—
An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!
Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?”  Isaiah 45:9. 

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