Here's Pastor Alan Wright with Today's Blessing: A Biblical Faith-Filled Vision. for your life. Every day for 40 years they ate it, the same white flaky stuff day after day for 40 years. They didn't need an omelette or French toast or a protein shake. Just Mana.
Always mana. What's the blessing in the sameness of the bread of heaven? Here it is, it's a picture of Jesus. It's a picture of the one answer you need every day. For every situation, need some peace.
Have some of the bread of heaven. Need some healing? Have some bread of heaven. need some hope. Have some bread of heaven.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. and he's all you'll ever need. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright. Do not ever ask God for justice. Ask him for mercy.
What you need from God is not fairness. what you need. is his grace. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light.
I'm Daniel Britt. Excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series, The Loved, a study of Romans chapters 9 through 11, as presented at Ranola Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Allen Wright Ministries.
So, as you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Just contact us at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. Or call 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860.
More on this later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. Are you ready for some good news? Life's not fair.
And that sounds like bad news. But what we'll see today is actually the best news. Ever. Saw a video on YouTube this week I'd never seen before. Millions and millions have seen it because it's really hilarious.
some groundbreaking work in behavioral psychology. In which the social scientist and his team had these capuchin monkeys. They were from the same. Family, they knew each other, and so, like, you know, these two monkeys really know each other. But he takes them, puts them in separate cages right next to each other.
They can see each other. And they've been trained that if they'll give the they'll give the worker a rock, so they've got some stones, little rocks in their cage. If they'll hand one through the cage, give them the rock, then in turn, the scientist will give them a treat. And so the treats were cucumbers. But he also had some grapes.
So the monkey over on the left, you're watching this, gives him a rock and he gives him the cucumber. Monkey eats the cucumber. You know, it's all right, a cucumber. I mean, you know, they're kind of bland, and monkeys know they're bland, but I mean, it's still a treat, and the monkey eats it and it's fine. But then the scientist goes over, the monkey on the right gives him a rock, and instead of giving him a cucumber, he gives him a grape.
A sweet, delicious grape. And the monkey eats the grape.
Well, the monkey on the left saw that his friend just had a grape, and he had a cucumber.
So, you know. He gives scientists, one on left, gives him a rock again, and expecting, maybe, I'll get a grape. But instead, scientist gives him a cucumber. And it's just hilarious to watch. You can look it up.
And just watch this monkey. He gets the cucumber, realizes, I got a cucumber. And you wonder, what's he going to do about this? He reaches his arm through the cage and throws the cucumber at the scientist. And then he goes over, and the monkey on the right gives him a rock.
He gives him a grape. He does it again. The monkey on the left gives him a rock, gives him a cucumber, he puts it out, throws it again at him. And it's just like people, right? It's like, that's not fair.
In fact, so much in life is not fair. I remember as a kid growing up, as the youngest of three boys, so I would often say, That's not fair. Why does he get to stay up so late and I got to go to bed? That's not fair. Why does he get to eat four pieces of the pizza and I only get two?
That's not fair. Why have it. Also, sometimes life circumstances just come at us. It just doesn't seem fair. I remember when Bennett was in college, I think his freshman year, he was driving on a road very near the campus at Baylor in Waco, Texas, and his roommate and dear friend Daniel was in the car with him.
And Bennett, at this one spot, I've seen it, you pull over to the right before he made a right-hand turn because there's a lot of space over there. But there actually is a solid white line, and it's not a space that's a real lane, but everybody turns from that lane, kind of a courtesy to the people behind you.
Well, he made the turn from that lane, and a police officer pulled him and said, That was an illegal turn. You're not supposed to be in that lane. Bennett said, I'm sorry. Didn't realize. Officer said, Well, I'm going to let you off with just a warning.
But while he was at the car, he looked over at Bennett's roommate and friend, Daniel, and noticed he didn't have a seat belt on. He said, But I am going to give you a ticket for not wearing your seat. Belt.
So the guy who got pulled gets off. The guy who was just sitting there ends up getting a ticket. Life's just not. fear. Romans 9 through 11, we're into a section of this incredible letter of Paul's.
that at first it almost seems like an intrusion. Almost seems like that it would flow more naturally just to go from the end of this crescendo at Romans 8 and just straight into Romans 12.
So, why is this inserted? In fact, it's kind of sometimes confusing, can cause consternation, a lot of questions, a lot of even some contention.
So, a lot of people just skip over chapters 9 through 11. But I think. Paul puts us in here to answer a couple of really important questions. One of the first questions is: You've been saying all of this about how we are saved only by grace through faith, so that no one, no one, including people who are part of Israel, are saved except through this grace by faith. And almost could hear them saying, Are you against the Jewish people?
And Paul's going to answer that. But they're also, in one way or another, saying, Is God's word? still true if the people of Israel were quote God's chosen and you've said to us that those that God foreknows and predestines and calls, he's going to justify and carry it all the way to him to glorify. But if you're saying they're not saved unless they have faith in Christ, then how is God's word true? He's going to answer that question as well.
But instead of just spending all our time on some of the intricacies of the theology, which we'll touch some on that, I instead just want to focus in on this scandal of unfairness and show you in the end why it's really the best news, the best news ever. We start with this: that Paul is actually really hurting on the inside when he thinks about any of his kinspeople, his fellow Jewish people, who don't know Jesus. I brought back a story I heard. Don't know if it's apocryphal or actually true. But in the Presbyterian church, we examine pretty vigorously the candidates for ordination as minister.
And all these potential pastors have to appear before Presbytery, which is this August gathering of elders and pastors that are all together. And they have the right to ask questions from the floor of Presbytery in the public meeting, questions of the person who's a candidate for ordination. It can be kind of harrowing when you're the candidate and anybody can ask you anything. And one time, so the story goes, there was a candidate for ordination. And thinking about Paul's words here in Romans 9, some old Presbyterian pastor stood up and asked the young candidate for ministry.
He said, son, He said, how much do you really love God and love people and care about evangelism? Would you be willing to be accursed, condemned to hell for the greater glory of God? And greatest line ever at a presbytery meeting, the young candidate said, sir. Not only that, I'm willing for this whole presbytery to be condemned. For the greater glory of God.
But Paul's not joking. Paul's hurting. Look at verse 1. I'm speaking the truth in Christ. I'm not lying.
My conscience bears witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. And he actually says these words: I wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. He's answering that question: like, are you anti-Jewish? And he's saying, no. He said, though.
It would never do any good for me to be cut off from Christ. It's staggering what he's saying. He's saying, I love them so much that if you were to tell me, That I losing all of the benefit of this relationship that I have with God and Jesus Christ now and forever, that I've been describing for eight chapters. If you were to tell me I have to lose all of that and be separated from God, I'd be willing to do that if it would, in some way. Enable all of my Jewish kinspeople to be saved.
It's a staggering thought, but what he's saying is, I just, I have so much love for my own people. He was, after all, a Jewish by descent and, in fact, called himself a Jew of Jews in every sense. And he had, in his former life, had been a Pharisee, a religious leader amongst the Jewish people. And he, again, applauds and commends and is thankful for all of the wondrous privileges the Jewish people have had. Verse 4, they're Israelites, and to them belong the adoption.
I don't think he means here the same sort of adoption that he talks about in Romans 8 of Christians. He's saying, but these were the ones out of all the nations that God adopted to be his light to the world. It wasn't the Egyptians, wasn't the Sumerians, wasn't the Babylonians? He chose this people, made them a people. And the glory, I think he's talking about the Shekinah glory of God that would rest at the tent of meeting in the ministry of the priests, the glory of God.
That would be seen at Mount Sinai, and a pillar of fire that would lead them by. Night and the glories of God. They were shown glory that no other people were. The covenants, it's used in the plural because it's not just referring to the Mosaic covenant, the wondrous covenant which God revealed himself to Moses, but there was a covenant with Noah, there was a covenant with Abraham, there was a covenant with David. All these covenants that were showing God's intentions towards his people, the giving of the law, that's at Mount Sinai, the worship.
I think this is talking about the sacrificial system of worship at the tent of meeting or later at the tabernacle, and the promises. All of these prophets that had spoken the word of God about great promises that were for the people of God, and to them belongs the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. And from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, the Messiah.
So Jesus was Jewish, he's saying. And all of this is something we praise God for. He's answering this first big question: Are you against the Jewish people? He's saying, No, I love them. And there's so many things that are special about how God has treated this people, and I love them with all my heart.
But there's a second big question that I referred to earlier, and that is like, if these people that God had called unto himself in the Old Testament are really his people, then how could you be saying these things that are suggesting that God won't see them through, all of them, into salvation? And it's a good question. And Paul is going to answer that question when he says, has God's word failed? And he says at verse 6, it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring.
But through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
So what he's saying is we need to define Israel properly. That's a big part of what this chapter is all about.
Some who are of the ethnic race, the natural genetic race who descended physically, in that sense, from Abraham, are not true Israel. Because the true Israelite, he's saying, is one who believes and receives the promises of God in Jesus Christ.
So not all of biological Israel constitutes the true Israel. And the Pharisees had traditionally taken a boastful sense of pride and false security in the fact that they were ethnically Jewish. And John the Baptist had very searing words for them. You may remember from Matthew 3, 7, when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, he said to them, You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come, bear fruit in keeping with repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. And listen to this, he says, For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
What a very Very important and prophetic word to them is that the real children of Abraham, he's saying, is something that is spiritual and miraculous. And then Jesus was even stronger with the religious hypocrites of the day. In John 8, for example, he said, I speak what I've seen with my father, and you do what you've heard from your father, speaking to the religious hypocrites of the day. And they answered him, Abraham's our father. And Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you'd be doing the works Abraham did.
But now you seek to kill me, a man who's told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You're doing the works your father did. They said, We're not born of sexual immorality, thinking they're saying that some other earthly father. He said, We have one father, even God.
And Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you'd love me. For I came from God and I'm here. I came of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It's because you cannot bear to hear my word.
You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. This is so strong words, but it's important because what he's saying is that it is a deception. It is an illusion to think that simply because you're of this physical race, that therefore you are assured all of these promises of God, and you are somehow this elite class, and you don't have to have faith in God, and you don't need the grace of God. That's essentially what he's confronting there.
So John, in the prologue of his incredible, incredible gospel, he makes this very clear when he talks about how Jesus came into his own and his own people, the Jewish people, didn't receive him. He said, but at verse 12 of John 1, to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. You see what he's saying? Not everybody's a child of God, and not just because you're of ethnic Jewish ancestry, are you a child of God? He's saying.
But he gave a right to become children of God who were born not of blood, that's genetics, that's natural descent, nor of the will of the flesh, that's works, righteousness, nor of the will of man, but of God.
So there's a difference between being the physical, natural descendant Israel, and being a spiritual descendant. This is why Paul says again at verse 6: it's not as though the word of God had failed, for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.
So when God promised that all Israel will be saved, He didn't mean that all ethnic Israel will be saved. He's talking about all that is truly the true spiritual Israel, those that receive grace from God, those that have faith in God. You could think of it as a graphic of two circles, and the larger one being ethnic or the natural physical Israel, but within that, there's the true spiritual Israel. And the spiritual descendant who's a child of God by faith, that is, in a sense, the true Israelite.
So, this is something that is really important and really astounding. But what he's saying is that the children of God are the children of promise. They are not just simply of one race. Or, as theologian N.T. Wright says, what counts is grace, not race.
So, all of this. He then begins to point to the thing that is just so Scandalously unfair, and he uses two stories to illustrate God's grace and mercy, how he works to choose out of his own gracious good. Pleasure so that he has children whose spiritual eyes are opened. And this gets really, it can really wrap your mind around this and go, wait a minute, I don't understand. How can we be predestined and also have free will?
The Bible teaches both. And there's a limit to what we can understand. But what God's trying to do here, I think, in His Word and throughout, is not so much to get us to be able to mentally process something that might not make sense to our limited minds, but He's wanting to point us to the gospel, and that's where we're going to go.
So we're going to get into the stories about some of this unfairness. But before we do, let me just highlight this essential principle so that your eyes will be poised to see the goodness of God here. And that is that in the end, what is it that we need most from God? We most need from God in a real sense for Him. To not be fair, and by that I mean find a way to not give us the punishment we deserve.
I'm sure I've told sometime in the past years about a great illustration of this from theologian, author, and professor R. C. Sprall, now in heaven. Who said that when he was teaching a class one time, and he gave a syllabus at the beginning, and he gave all the requirements of the course in the beginning, and he said on day one to all the students, he said, every paper, there are three of them, is due no later than these due dates. And he gave them the dates.
He said, It's very important that you turn them in on time. He said, I do not tolerate any late papers. He said, Here's the good news. He says, you know what the topics are, and you can write them in advance. You can get them done as early as you want.
But if they're so much as one day late, then you get an F. And he said, agreed. Everybody said, well, I understand, Professor.
Well, the date of the first paper rolled around, and all the students came in and dutifully turned in their papers. But there was one student, I'll call him Jimmy, who didn't have his paper. And he came up to him and he said, Dr. Sproll, he said, I am so, so, so sorry.
So I just apologize. My grandmother died. I had a funeral to go to. And then I lost a lot of my work on the computer at the same time. If you could give me this one time, a one-week extension.
Professor said, Well, I never do this, I'm never doing it again, but okay, you get a one-week extension. Um Alan Wright. Today's good news message: that's not fair in our series Beloved. The study in Romans and Pastor Alan is here in the studio in just a moment with our parting good news thoughts. Stick with us.
Whatever your spiritual need is for today, you'll find Christ-centered tools and help waiting for you at pastoralen.org. Whether you are seeking encouragement at the start of a busy morning, quiet reflection in the middle of a hectic day, or deeper teaching to grow your walk with the Lord, there's something prepared just for you. Begin with a daily blessing that speaks hope and truth over your life. Pause to reflect through thoughtful blog posts that invite you to consider God's Word in fresh ways. Tune in to a radio message that brings practical insight and biblical encouragement right where you are.
Watch a short teaching video that unpacks scripture in a clear, accessible format. If you're carrying a burden, request prayer and know that others are standing with you. And explore a range of resources carefully designed to strengthen your faith and equip you for the journey ahead. At pastorallen.org, ministry isn't just available, it's personal, accessible, and ready whenever you need it. Take a moment today to visit pastorallen.org and discover what's waiting for you.
That's pastorallen.org. Back here now in the studio to share Pastor Alan's parting good news thought for the day. And we have to reference the monkeys, okay? Because there was a video, a visual aid, if you will, and this experiment of monkeys and their reward system. Cucumber versus something sweeter.
It's so funny. And we showed the. The video in the live preaching, and you might want to look it up yourself sometime because it really is hilarious. What it reveals about a monkey's nature. It reveals something about our own nature, too, that.
The the monkeys are each given a little reward. that they give the researcher a rock. And they are they're given a a a cucumber. But then when this monkey, one monkey who can see the other monkey, instead of being given a cucumber, is given a grape. The next time that the other monkey is given a cucumber, he throws it back at the researcher.
Wait a minute. He knows that grapes taste much better than cucumbers. And he's like, you're fine as long as it doesn't seem like it's unfair. Right, right. And how we're so like that.
But the whole notion of unfairness is one we got to get comfortable with if we're going to embrace the gospel. Because there's nothing more unfair than this. Jesus took our sin. and gave us his righteousness.
Now that's not fair. That's what we rejoice in. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastoralen.org.
Today's good news message is a listener-supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.
