That's Not Fair!

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, Beloved, a study of Romans chapters 9 through 11. It's presented at Renola 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 Alan Wright Ministries. So as you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Just contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.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 and 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, and they'll hand one through the cage, give them the rock.

Then in turn, the scientists would 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 them a rock and he gives them the cucumber. Monkey eats the cucumber.

You know, it's all right. Cucumber. I mean, you know, kind of bland and monkeys know they're bland, but I mean, it's still a treat and a 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, but he had a cucumber. So, you know, he gives scientists and went on left, gives him a rock again and expect him maybe I'll get a grape, but instead scientists gives him a cucumber.

And it's just hilarious to watch. You can look it up and just watch this monkey gets the cucumber realize 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 scientists. And then he goes over and the monkey on the right gives him a rock and gives him a grape. He does it again.

The monkey on the left gives him a rock, gives him a cucumber, he brings 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 saw, I'd 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? I don't know. 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, 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 seatbelt on. He said, but I am going to give you a ticket for not wearing your seatbelt. So the guy who got pulled gets off the guy who was just sitting there ends up getting the ticket.

Life's just not fair. And when we get into Romans nine 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 eight 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 nine through 11. But I think Paul puts us in here to answer a couple of really important questions. One of the first questions is like, 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.

It 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 end of glorified. 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 kin's people, 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. For the greater glory of God. But Paul's not joking.

Paul's hurting. Look at verse one. I'm speaking the truth in Christ.

I'm not lying. My conscious 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 said, 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 kin's people to be saved. It's a staggering thought, but what he's saying is I just, I have, 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 and every sense, and he had his former life had been a Pharisee, a religious leader amongst the Jewish people. And, and he, he again, applauds and commends and is thankful for all of the wondrous privileges that Jewish people have had verse four, they're Israelites. And to them belong the adoption.

I don't think he's means here the same sort of adoption that he talks about in Romans eight 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. 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, 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, with Noah. There was a covenant with Abraham. There was a covenant with, 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 belong to 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, he's, he's answering this first big question. Are you against the Jewish people said, 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. That's Alan Wright. And we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. It has been called the most influential letter ever written. Every word written by the apostle Paul and his epistle to the Romans is dripping with the astounding news of what God has done for you in Jesus. Answering the two biggest questions of life, what went wrong and how has God made it right? Discover the richness of those answers and enhance your Bible journey today. Make a donation to Alan Wright Ministries this month and unlock our Romans reading guide paired with the ESV scripture journal, immerse yourself in the word and capture personal insights, prayers, and reflections directly alongside the powerful text.

These sleek portable journals amplify your study enrich group sessions and deepen personal reflections, elevate your spiritual Odyssey and forge a stronger connection with the scriptures. Help Alan Wright Ministries reach the world with the good news of the gospel with your gift today and receive these essential tools that will elevate your study, enrich your prayer life and deepen your understanding of the book of Romans. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860 or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan Wright. But there's a second big question that I referred to early. And that is like, if, 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, it's a good question. And Paul is going to answer that, that question when they says, has God's word failed. And he says at verse six, 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 there is 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.

And 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. And the fact that they were ethnically Jewish and John the Baptist had very searing words for them. You may remember from Matthew three, seven, 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 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. And John eight, 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 some other earthly father 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 on my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say is 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 he's he's confronting there. So, John, in the prologue of his incredible, incredible gospel, he makes us very clear when he talks about how Jesus came into his own in his own people. The Jewish people didn't receive him, he said. He said, but at verse 12 of John one 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 is a child of God. And not just because you're 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 six, 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 can 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 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 open. 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 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 great illustration of this from theologian, author and professor R.C. Sproul, 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 him 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 there's so much as one day late, then you get an F. And he said, agreed. Everybody said, we 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. He said, Dr. Sproul, he said, I am so, so, so sorry.

So I just I apologize. I 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 again. But OK, you get a one week extension. Alan Wright, today's good news message.

That's not fair. In our series Beloved to study in Romans. And Pastor Alan is here in the studio in just a moment with our parting good news thoughts.

So stick with us. It has been called the most influential letter ever written. Every word written by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans is dripping with the astounding news of what God has done for you in Jesus, answering the two biggest questions of life.

What went wrong and how has God made it right? Discover the richness of those answers and enhance your Bible journey today. Make a donation to Alan Wright Ministries this month and unlock our Romans reading guide paired with the ESV Scripture Journal. Immerse yourself in the word and capture personal insights. Prayers and reflections directly alongside the powerful text.

These sleek, portable journals amplify your study, enrich group sessions and deepen personal reflections. Elevate your spiritual odyssey and forge a stronger connection with the scriptures. Help Alan Wright Ministries reach the world with the good news of the gospel with your gift today and receive these essential tools that will elevate your study, enrich your prayer life and deepen your understanding of the Book of Romans. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.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. Cause 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, uh, we, uh, uh, we showed the video in the live preaching and you might want to look it up yourself sometime.

Cause it really is hilarious. What it reveals about a monkey's nature. It reveals something about our own nature to that, that the monkeys are each given a little reward that they give the researcher a rock and they are, they they're given 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. He knows, he knows the grapes tastes much better than cucumbers. Yeah.

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. teaching, delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.