Well, the primary issue throughout the book of Hebrews is faith. The Hebrew Christians had professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and yet were being tempted to turn from Christ back to the old covenant, back to their traditional and ancestral religion in order to avoid the persecution which they were now enduring because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the opposition of their unbelieving Jewish friends in their community who did not believe that Jesus was the Christ and so tempted to turn back they were in effect renouncing their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, refusing to continue forward in the doctrine which they had been taught, the revelation which God had given to them, the truth about Jesus Christ ushering in the new covenant to replace the old.
They were tempted to stop embracing that, stop holding to that, stop believing that in order to make life more comfortable for themselves. And so the author of Hebrews is writing to admonish them, to instruct them, to prod them, to encourage them in any way he can to not lose their hold upon Jesus Christ, to continue to believe in him. And in the course therefore of this book we come eventually to chapter 11 where we are now and that chapter which is often called the Hall of Faith and it is a wonderful chapter on this subject of faith to help them understand the meaning of faith and to exercise more fully faith in the word which God has given. There's a description of faith in verse 1, now faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. There's an illustration of faith in verse 3, by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. We wouldn't know that except by faith, that is faith in the revelation of God.
God has told us that if we believe it we understand where this universe came from, something that continues to perplex those who try to find an explanation outside of the revelation of God. And so that's one area of truth that faith enables us to lay hold of when others are unable to do so. We have the necessity of faith in verse 6, without faith it is impossible to please him, that is God, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. And then the chapter is primarily given to illustrations of faith as personage after personage after personage from the Old Testament scriptures is set before the Hebrews that are being written to here to remind them of the faith of Abel, verse 4, Enoch, verse 5, Noah, verse 7, Abraham, verse 8, Sarah, verse 11, and now finally Isaac, verse 20. A short verse, by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Isaac, Abraham's special son, Abraham's son of promise, Abraham's son who was promised by God but did not come until Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old and the biological possibility of their producing a child had long since passed and yet God in miraculous power fulfilled the promise that he had made. He promised a son, Abraham believed that promise by faith for God had revealed it and sure enough it came to pass and here is Isaac, that son, who now is in the position that Abraham had been in earlier, namely to pass on the patriarchal blessing to his son, Isaac, who now is in the place to pass on the patriarchal blessing to his son, Jacob. And when we speak about the patriarchs of Israel, we are usually speaking about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, those three.
Patriarchs, fathers, fathers of the nation of Israel which began with Abraham and continued with Isaac and continued with Jacob and then branched out into a large nation eventually with the 12 sons of Jacob as the 12 tribes of Israel and so forth. Isaac, interestingly of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, less is said about Isaac than of either Abraham or Jacob. In fact, even much less is said about Isaac than is even said of Joseph.
So we don't know as much about him as we know about the others. We do remember that he seemed to have exercised great faith in God when his father Abraham, with the command of God, took Isaac, his promised son, to sacrifice upon an altar as God had commanded him to do. And it doesn't seem possible that Isaac could have been placed upon that altar if he had resisted his father, for he was a young man and his father was an old man and the servants had been left behind. And so there is at least the implication of a strong faith at that time in his life.
If God said this to you, father, then I submit and lay down upon the altar, recognizing that that meant evidently his death and would have if God had not intervened at the last moment. But we now come to a more mature Isaac. He's getting old. In fact, he thinks he may be close to the day of his death, as we read in Genesis. Now actually, those who study the lives and chronology of these people carefully tell us that it really turned out that he had about another 40 years to live before he expired. So he was anticipating his death a little bit prematurely, but nevertheless, he recognized that he was getting old.
He recognized that he would not live forever. He recognized that he needed to pass on this patriarchal blessing to his son. And so we read in Hebrews 11 20, by faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. So his mature faith is implied in verse 17, as Abraham offered him upon the altar. His faulty faith is described in Genesis 27 that we read a moment ago.
But his record of faith, as it is recorded eternally in the scriptures by God is before us in our text in Hebrews chapter 20. And what we find here is that God accepted Isaac's partial faith, for that's the best way we can describe it. God accepted his partial faith and forced it to grow.
And I chose that word carefully. But God boxed him in, in this incident. God forced him to accept the divine will to submit to what God had chosen instead of what he chose.
And he submitted to that. And in that he exercised faith. But let's consider, first of all, the Genesis 27 account quickly. But we need to be reminded of the historical narrative that precedes the short statement in Hebrews 11 20. And the writer of Hebrews clearly expects that his readers will know the Genesis account. A little bit he says in verse 20 is not enough to understand at all what's going on here. But for people who know the Old Testament, they should understand by that short statement, by faith, Isaac blessed his sons Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. They should be able to understand that statement in the light of the account in Genesis and realize therefore what God is doing in the life of Isaac and in Jacob and Esau.
So let's just quickly go over the portion we read earlier to remind ourselves what happened. In Genesis chapter 27, we find at the opening Isaac's, what shall we call it? Isaac's willful plan. He says, I'm getting close to death. I don't know the day of my death is what he says, as nobody does.
But apparently some of the, what should I say, some of the evidences of age were now making themselves known to him in a way that he realized he's not going to live forever. And so he recognizes that he has a responsibility to make provision for the Abrahamic blessing given to him to be passed on to his progeny. And so he calls Esau as you know and his first son, his oldest son and clearly his favorite son.
And he says, go out and hunt and get some game and come back and fix it for me and bring me that food that I love to eat. And I will therefore bless you when you do that. I will pass on to you my patriarchal blessing. But we are aware, if we've read the chapter or two before, chapter 27, we are aware that Esau, though obviously is Isaac's choice, is clearly not God's choice. That was made clear in the birth of these boys in Genesis chapter 25. We read when Rebekah was coming close to delivering her child at that point, I don't think she understood that it was children, not child. But it says in verse 22, but the children struggled together within her and she said, if all is well, why am I like this?
So she went to inquire of the Lord. The struggling of the twins in her womb apparently signaled to her that there's something abnormal. Turns out that it's really not abnormal, it's just twins. And they're struggling in the womb. But if you have one, not two, that particular struggle won't take place. And so she's inquiring about what's going on here. And God told her what's going on. In verse 23, the Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb. Two peoples, plural, shall be separated from your body. One people shall be stronger than the other. And, and here's the most, perhaps the most important part, the older shall serve the younger.
The older shall serve the younger. God clearly indicated by those words that the second born was going to take precedence over the first born in God's plan for their lives. So we read in verse 24, her days were fulfilled for her to give birth and indeed there were twins in her womb.
And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over. So they called his name Esau, which means hairy. He was a red haired baby with a lot of hair, a lot of red hair.
Afterward his brother came out and his hand took hold of Esau's heel. So his name was called Jacob, which means supplanter. So his name was called Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when she bore them and so forth. The boys grew, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
So that sets the background. Now in chapter 27 we have the account of what, what is being referred to briefly in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 20. And Rebekah who overheard Esau giving instructions, I mean heard Isaac over and giving instructions to Esau regarding the capturing of game and coming to be blessed. She went to Jacob immediately and started to put into place her deceitful plan in order for her favorite son Jacob to receive the patriarchal blessing instead of Isaac's favorite son Esau.
So she told him what to do. Go get two kid goats out of the flock. I'll fix them up. I'll make food. Take these garments that belong to your brother.
They smell of the field. They will help deceive your father. I'm going to give you this food. Go into your father before Esau gets back and tell him your Esau and receive from him the blessing. And Jacob says, but I don't have hairy hands and hairy neck.
My brother does. What if my father feels me? And he can tell that I'm not Esau. She said, oh, we'll fix that up. So when she took the skin from the goats that she had cooked and she put a patch of skin on the back of each of his hands and on his neck so that the father would feel that, his father who was now blind or nearly blind would feel that and would feel the hairiness of it, would be deceived into thinking it was Esau. And that's exactly what happened. I read the story to you a moment ago. And so Jacob comes in and he presents the food and he lies and says he's Esau. And he lies and says that he got the game more quickly because God blessed him in it.
Wow. What sinful use of God and of things religious that people will resort to in our sinfulness. Most people I'm afraid are trying to use God rather than serve him, than to submit to him. Most are willing to misuse him for their own purposes rather than to serve him out of a heart of surrender and faith to him. And Jacob is in that category right now. He lies and he basically takes the name of God in vain.
He uses God's name in a lie, in a deceitful way. And he leaves his father and Esau or Isaac says well I guess you are Esau. You sound like Jacob but you've got the game. It tastes like game.
You've got the hairiness. You feel like Esau. So he blessed him. And in the blessing as we read it a moment ago, he starts out blessing him in what we might call immediate temporal blessings and then the blessing grows a little bit bigger and it begins to take in what obviously are his children and children's children, the generations that are to follow Jacob and ends it up with a phrase or two that comes right out of the Abrahamic blessing that God will bless the nations that bless you and curse the nations that curse you.
It's clear now what he's doing. He's passing on that patriarchal blessing that God had given to Abraham. And Jacob says thank you sir and makes his exit about the time that Esau appears. And of course Esau is alarmed. He's shocked. He's dismayed. He's angry, so angry later that he's planning to kill Jacob.
He's crying out with rage. Jacob has deceived me twice. Jacob has stolen from me twice. Now that's not exactly true Esau. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You sold your birthright to Jacob for a mess of pottage, remember?
No deception there. Don't put that off on Jacob. You're failing to acknowledge your own sin. What a bunch of sinners. Isaac is sinning. Rebecca is sinning. Jacob is sinning. Esau is sinning. These are the people that God is making his chosen nation out of?
Yep. People just like you and me. Sinners. And nothing but sinners except for the grace of God. So Esau cries out for a blessing. Don't you have a blessing for me father? And Jacob recognizes that what has transpired is not merely a deceptive act on the part of Jacob and he probably guesses that Rebecca is behind it, but that God's behind it. And he said to Esau, he said I have blessed your younger brother Jacob and he will be blessed.
I'm not going to try to take it back. I think he recognized he couldn't take it back because it really didn't come from him anyway. It came from God. And Esau says well don't you have another blessing for me?
If I can't have that one don't you have another one? So Jacob does pronounce a blessing upon Esau. It goes like this in verses 39 and 40. Behold your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth and of the dew of heavens from above. Temporal blessings like were given to Jacob to begin with. By your sword you shall live. That's not so much a blessing that's a prophecy of struggle to come in his life and in the lives of his children. And you shall serve your brother.
Wow that's a tough one. And it shall come to pass that when you become restless that you shall break his yoke from your neck. Now it really takes the rest of the Old Testament scriptures to see how all this fleshes out in the lives of Jacob and Esau and their descendants. And for hundreds of years the descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, remember Jacob's name was changed to Israel, the Israelites and the Edomites. Esau's name was, another name was ascribed to him besides Esau. It was Edom.
That happens along here somewhere and I won't try to find that passage but that's in the passage as well. And Edom means red so he's hairy red. But Edom becomes the name of the nation that grows out of him, the Edomites. And throughout the centuries to follow the Israelites and the Edomites seem to have a particularly troubled relationship, constantly fighting one another and at times Israel, the nation of Israel, conquers Edom and subdues them and Edom truly is under the yoke of Israel.
And then other times Edom gets stronger and breaks off the yoke of Israel just exactly like Isaac prophesied. Alright, now the statement in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith. Hebrews 11, 20.
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. We could call this the New Testament summary of the Old Testament account. The Old Testament account, lengthy. The New Testament account, short. But if you understand the Old Testament account you know what's taking place here.
And three things I think need to be noted in this short statement. Number one, Isaac blesses his sons. Number two, Isaac prophesied concerning his sons. And number three, Isaac acted in faith. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Isaac blesses his sons. To bless someone normally means to pray for a blessing. The blessing of the Levitical priests upon Israel I think primarily falls into that category.
I think it bleeds over a little bit to another category. But here's the blessing. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. In essence what that is saying is I pray that God will bless you and keep you. I pray that God will be favorable toward you and gracious to you. I pray that God will give you peace. I'm praying these things for you as I pronounce this blessing. Now some would say well it's that but it's also a little more than that. It is actually by divine enabling the priest bestowing these blessings upon the nation of Israel.
And I wouldn't I wouldn't argue against that that definition as well. But normally to bless someone means to pray for God's goodness to enter their lives. And Isaac blesses his sons, his twin sons. And we almost always when we talk about the sons of Isaac what do we say? We always say Jacob and Esau. But we probably should say Esau and Jacob.
Why? Because Esau is older. And yet God as we know elevated Jacob above Esau so which is the right order? Well the Bible puts it in this order almost every time Jacob and Esau. And Isaac asked God to bless Jacob who he thought was Esau. And then Isaac later blessed Esau when he knew who he was and he blessed both of them asking God to do them both good. Isaac blessed his sons. By faith Isaac bless Jacob and Esau. But more than that he more than just blessed them he prophesied about them.
Because it says not just that he blessed them but that he blessed them concerning things to come. Isaac prophesied concerning his sons. Isaac was divinely enabled to speak to the future. Isaac was divinely enabled to see the future to some extent.
Remember faith is a substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. Things that Abraham never saw with his physical eyes or during his lifetime he saw in the future by faith. Isaac likewise is seeing things in the future promised by God that he did not realize throughout his lifetime. And so Isaac was divinely enabled to foresee the future. Isaac was divinely enabled to speak about the future.
He spoke as a prophet that means a mouthpiece for God speaking the word of God to his sons. But even more than that he spoke as a patriarch because there's a special blessing from Abraham patriarch to Isaac the next patriarch to Jacob the next patriarch. And Isaac is now speaking as a patriarch the one who has been enabled by God to transmit the Abrahamic blessing. And there's so much in that blessing that would take many many studies just to study what God said to Abraham. But ultimately it is the promise of a Messiah the Christ to come in the line of Abraham and many other things as well. And so Isaac is enabled to speak as a patriarch. He not only prayed for divine blessing but he bestowed divine blessing both immediately and long range. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
But then we come to the third element of our text and this one is really puzzling. Isaac not only blessed his sons Isaac not only prophesied concerning his sons but Isaac did all of this acting in faith. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. You go back and read the account in Genesis 27 and you say I'm having a hard time seeing the faith. Faith is believing the revelation of God and acting accordingly. And it looks like Isaac is ignoring the revelation of God and acting willfully rather than acting according to God's revelation doesn't it?
Is that what it looks like? And it does look that way because it is that way. Where is the faith in the actions we read about in Genesis chapter 27?
Well it's in a couple of areas. First of all Isaac exercised faith by understanding the importance of passing on the patriarchal blessing of Abraham to his son. He understood that by faith. He understood that the blessing that Abraham gave to him was not just a casual blessing not just a wish for God's goodness upon him but was in fact a special special special special blessing that belonged to him in a divinely enabled way as it belonged to no one else and there was no one else in the world who could do this. And so he took up his responsibility as a patriarch to pass on his patriarchal blessing to his son and even that in itself constitutes an act of faith.
However as we know his intention was to give the patriarchal blessing to Esau not to Jacob and that is contrary to divine revelation. God said the elders shall serve the younger. The younger is going to take precedence. The younger is going to be in the first place.
The younger is the one that I have chosen over the older. And Isaac says I don't like that scenario. I want the blessing to go to Esau and he makes provision to do exactly that.
That is not acting in faith that's acting in unbelief that's acting in rebellion against God. He makes provision to do exactly that but God using a conniving mother and a son who's willing to cooperate with their conniving to conniving deceitful people to trick Isaac into giving the patriarchal blessing to Jacob instead of to Esau and as soon as Isaac realizes what happened what does he do? He says that shall stand. That was God's will. Jacob Esau speaking to Esau I didn't intend to do this but God forced me to is really what he's saying and I submit. I now act in faith.
Last minute you might say but nevertheless I now act in faith. I submit to God's revealed will revealed at the birth of these boys. I submit to God's revealed will. I agree with what God has done what God has chosen. I stamp my approval upon that which God has done and it shall stand and Esau I cannot give you the patriarchal blessing. It's already been given to Jacob and that was the way God determined it and I submit to it.
It's done. That was his faith. That was his faith. Isaac believed the revelation regarding the nation of Israel and Christ that's why he's passing on the blessing to a son but Isaac reluctantly submitted to divine revelation concerning God's choice of Jacob over Esau but recognizing the divine inspiration of the blessing that he gave he knew that wasn't just Isaac speaking when he blessed Jacob thinking it was Esau that was God speaking through him and recognizing the divine inspiration of his blessing he submitted to the providential circumstances that laid that blessing upon Jacob instead of Esau. Here's how Jeffrey Wilson a commentator that I have grown to appreciate states this quote aware of his speaking by divine inspiration he did not attempt to revoke the blessing upon discovering Jacob's deceit. Aware of speaking by divine inspiration he did not attempt to revoke the blessing upon discovering Jacob's receipt and that is described by the inspired writer of Hebrews is Isaac's faith. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
Well let's consider some lessons out of this account. First of all a lesson in divine forbearance. It's interesting in Hebrews the Hebrews account which is so short there's no mention of Isaac's unbelief nor of Jacob's deceit it's not mentioned is that because it didn't happen oh it happened and it's eternally recorded in Genesis 27 but no mention of it in Hebrews chapter 11. God has chosen not to remember it anymore as it were as it were because God of course can't truly forget anything but when the Bible says that he remembers our sins against us no more it means he doesn't charge them to us any longer.
They no longer are attached to us. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute transgressions will not will not charge transgressions and that's what's going on here. God has every right listen God has every right to remember against us every single sin that we have committed and that is enough to sink us to the deepest hell but God also has the right not to impute unrighteousness to us having secured that right by giving his son to bear the penalty upon the cross so that justice is served. God doesn't overlook justice. God doesn't forgive just on a whim or emotionally. Forgiveness depends upon the price being paid but God has delivered his own son as the substitute in the place of believing sinners so that the judgment falls upon Christ and not upon us and God has a right to do that. God has a right to take our guilt and place it on Christ. God has a right to take the judgment that we deserve and place it upon Christ who bears it in our stead and God has a right to take the perfect righteousness of Christ and apply it to our account and treat us as if we are as righteous as Jesus Christ and he does. No wonder we sing amazing love how can it be that thou my God should die for me. No wonder we sing who is a pardoning God like thee and who has grace so full so free. We're talking about divine forbearance. If God should charge our unrighteousness to us who could stand the Bible says quoting loosely but it's God's privilege to overlook our transgressions according to his mercy, according to his kindness, according to his love, according to his grace. Christ died in the place of sinners so that God might at the same time be just and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.
Justice has been served. The penalty has been paid and the sinner is now counted righteous and we see a little illustration of that here. Isaac were you acting in submissive faith when you determined to bless Esau instead of Jacob?
No you rebel you are acting sinfully but when you acknowledge that which is the implication that he says in saying God has done it it will be done it stands forever I accept it and that submission to the will of God was counted to him for righteousness just like the Bible tells us that Abraham's faith was counted to him for righteousness and now in the eyes of God Isaac is no longer guilty of that transgression as real as it is and then Jacob is no longer guilty of his deceit as real as it is. Those who trust in Christ receive divine forbearance in the place of divine judgment which we richly deserve. What a wonderful truth.
What else? A second lesson would be what I would call a journey in faith and that is faith doesn't come in its fullness at the beginning. It comes in little bits and pieces along the way. That's why Jesus said that if you have even the faith of a grain of mustard seed a teeny little seed that that's all that's needed that's enough to move mountains not because your faith is anything great but the one you're placing your faith in has the power to remove to move mountains and if you will believe him even with a little bit of faith that that's enough to tap into the omnipotence of God. What I'm suggesting to you is from this passage that partial faith is a good beginning in our relationship with God. Because of the truth of matter it is I don't think any of us ever come to 100% faith in this lifetime. So we have to start with partial faith. It continues to grow but even at the end it's partial faith until we get to heaven. But we start with a little faith and it grows along the way. Like the man in the Bible who got what Jesus said to him if you believe I can heal your son and what did he say?
Lord I believe help though mine unbelief. He recognized that he had faith but not much. He needed more and he recognized that he could only get that from Christ. He didn't say Lord I believe and wait a few minutes while I muster up a little more belief.
What I got it what I've mustered it up enough then you can bless me. He said no Lord I believe that's enough but help thou mine unbelief. Give me more faith and that's the way all of us should pray to God. Lord I do believe your word. I believe your son. I believe the revelation that you have given and yet I struggle with some things.
Lord I believe but help thou mine unbelief. I want my unbelief to be turned into full fledged faith and faith is a journey. God doesn't expect us to have full faith at the beginning but God doesn't expect us to stop growing in it either. He expects us to continue to grow. What does Peter say at the end of I think his second epistle but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In other words the more you learn of God's word the more you are able to grow in faith in the grace of God's word that grows your faith in receiving the revelation which God has given.
So you believe but you still need to believe more. So don't stop believing. Don't stop growing. Don't stall.
Don't coast. Don't quit. Don't say I have enough.
No you don't. Keep growing growing growing growing until you're with the Lord in heaven and you can say finally it's done. I'm complete.
I'm perfect. I'm sinless. I'm like Christ. What a journey.
Wow. What a journey. Ups and downs back and forth but God's hand was on me all the way and God kept pushing me to grow in my faith and God brought things into my life that forced me to grow in my faith. Those difficult trials that we have almost always are there for us to grow in faith and to submit areas of our life that we're struggling with like Isaac. God said this but I'd rather this.
God just has a way of boxing us into a corner till we say your way your way not mine your way. I submit. I believe.
Forgive me. Thank you for doing so. A journey in faith. But finally in this passage a lesson in divine sovereignty. Clearly everyone understands it's God's right to choose Jacob not Esau if he determines to do that. Surely even as Isaac realized it was God's prerogative to choose Isaac not Ishmael. That's God's prerogative.
Who would deny that? And we see how that truth works out in various areas. In this passage it works out in what we might call the doctrine of providence the circumstances that God brings into our lives even the disobedience is that take place along the way. God orchestrates all of them to fulfill his purposes perfectly. Isaac was sinfully willful but God orchestrated the circumstances and the disobedience is of his life to accomplish God's purpose. Rebecca was sinfully disobedient but God worked those circumstances to accomplish his purposes. Jacob was sinfully willful but God used those circumstances to bring about his purposes and in the end this rascal supplanter deceiver Jacob and his mother who was just like him and his father who wasn't much better one of the commentators called Isaac the reluctant patriarch I don't know if that's an accurate term or not but but at this point it looks like he was. All of that to accomplish God's perfect will.
Jacob I have chosen over Esau. Is that God's right to do that? When God brings difficult circumstances into our life we call those the providences of God. Does God have a right to do that? Do you fuss at God? Do you object to God?
Do you rail against him? Don't do that. Why have you done this?
I don't deserve that. No no no no no no. It's as simple as this. If it happened, God willed it.
Fill anything into that blank. If it happened, it happened because God designed it to happen. We don't know what God has planned for the future. We don't know what his will is ahead of us but we can know with a hundred percent certainty what his will is behind us.
Why? Because whatever happens turns out to be God's will or it wouldn't have happened. It's as simple as that. If you can get that down you've got most of the truth of the sovereignty of God under your belt and you can move on from there but there is one particular area of this truth that seems to trouble many people and I'll touch upon that before closing and this is all under the doctrine of sovereignty but it is the doctrine of election. God's choosing the people he wants for the purposes that he has in mind. God chose Jacob over Esau. God chose the second born instead of the customary first born. God did it. Again, does God not have the right to choose?
Of course he does. I remember years ago now, thirty years or more, maybe forty, someone who was attending our church brought his and I can't remember if it was his wife at this point or the one he wanted to marry but she was a strong objector to the doctrine of election and she knew that that's what I believed and taught and so he brought her to me so that I could help her with this. I didn't succeed but I don't know how the Lord used it but I opened the Bible somewhere and said well what do you think this means? It talks about God choosing. Oh and it talks about election and God's choosing. It's just talking about God choosing the nation of Israel. It doesn't have anything to do with salvation. Well I said if God chose Israel and bestowed upon them the prophets that gave his word and the written word and basically left the rest of the world in darkness with no word from God, isn't that pretty clear that in that sense he was not only choosing Israel to be his chosen people upon earth but he was also choosing at least from among Israel people to be his eternal people because in omitting these blessings to the rest of the world he was basically choosing not to give his revelation to them. You know this business of free will doesn't work very good if you don't know anything about the Bible, you don't know anything about Christ, you don't know anything about your sin.
You can will all you want with what you know but it's not enough. And who does that? Who did that? Who makes these choices? Who determines these circumstances? God. Clearly. You think all this is an accident? God.
God does it. And so God has the right to choose. So when it comes to the doctrine of election what should you be asking? The question is not do you like it or do you agree with it.
That really doesn't matter though I hope you really need to come to agree with it. But so what? Here's the question. Does God's word reveal it and if it does are you willing to submit to it?
That's it. If that's the revelation of God then the only right choice is to submit to it. The only right choice is to exercise faith concerning it. What's faith?
Believing the revelation of God and acting accordingly. But I don't like it. Sorry it's not your choice. God didn't ask you if you liked it. God didn't say if you agree to like this then I will do it. God said this is what I have done. Are you going to believe me or not?
Are you going to submit or not? Are you going to have faith or are you going to refuse to believe? And I implore all of you submit to the sovereignty of God. In many ways that's the beginning point in a true and fruitful Christian life. Let's bow. Father take these truths apply them to our hearts I pray in Christ's name. Amen.
