Romans 9 Part A

The work which is goodness begun, the arm of his strength will complete. His promises yea and amen, and never was forfeited yet. Things future nor things that are now, not all things below or above, Can make him his purpose forego, or sever my soul from his love.

My name from the palms of his hands, eternity will not erase. Impressed on his heart it remains, in hearts of indelible grace. Yes, I to thee and shall endure, as sure as this earnest is given.

More happy but not more secure, the souls of the blessed in heaven. Could we turn then to Romans chapter 9. Could I say on behalf of my wife and myself, we're delighted to be here. First time in this part of the states.

We've enjoyed fellowship elsewhere, but it's good to be here. And I ask you to please to turn to Romans chapter 9. But before we read, could I just digress for one moment. Preparation for Bible readings, especially could I speak to the young people.

What's a basic minimum we all need to do? I remember as a young believer, being much encouraged and helped. By a good Bible teacher in South Wales, where I was brought up. He said, before you study a serious passage, read it through 10 times.

Read it through 10 times. You will be amazed, by read it once, you gain a little. You read it 10 times, you gain a lot.

Now coming over in the plane from the UK, I just timed this. Reading just 4 of these chapters took quarter of an hour. 9, 10, 11 and 12, quarter of an hour.

I managed to read them through 4 times, so that was an hour. 8 hour flight, 4 hours. It's better than watching the television.

Let me tell you, therefore. So, it's very simple. We haven't even come to the concordances and the helps and the commentaries yet.

Read it through 10 times. Now, having maybe anticipated that, we'll read it again, please. Romans chapter 9 and verse number 1. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not.

My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren.

My kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites. To whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law. And the service of God, and the promises.

Whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. Who is over all, God, blessed forever, Amen. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect.

For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God. But the children of promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise.

At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac. For the children, being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil.

That the purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this purpose, same purpose, have I raised thee up. That I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

Therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. Thou wilt say unto me, then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For, who hath resisted his will? Nay, but Oman. Who art thou that replies unto God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, and of, out of, the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, that he might make known the riches of his glory, on the vessels of mercy, which he hath aforeprepared unto glory? Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, as he saith also in Ossee, I will call them my people, which were not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved.

And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it is said unto them, ye are not my people, there shall they be called children, sons, of the living God. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved, for he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Esaias saith before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth hath left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been like unto Gomorrah.

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed, pursued, after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were, by works of the law.

For they stumbled at that stumbling block, as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone, and a rock of a fence, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. May the Lord bless His word and its consideration in these coming hours. The Apostle Paul was coming to the end of his third missionary journey.

A very fruitful time it had been. He says, I fully preached the gospel from Jerusalem right around to Illyricum, modern day Croatia. And what a great fertile crescent of gospel activity it had been.

And indeed, as he says now, well, I have no more place in these parts. No place where he could feel that he should have preached the gospel, because he'd done it. He'd been there, and he'd certainly done that in a most commendable way.

And coming towards the end of this now, for the moment, something else was on his mind. The delivery of the gift that was collected from Gentile assemblies for the poor saints at Jerusalem. And along with representatives from those assemblies, in Macedonia, and over in Asia, and in south now in Nicaea, where he is.

He was about to set off on a, perhaps a long route, but nevertheless, to get across to Jerusalem. And having got to Jerusalem, to deliver that grace. And having done so then, set off, perhaps via his commending assembly, we don't know, but that would be the plan perhaps.

And then, to set off on a long hop right across to Spain. Spain was an integral, important part of the Roman Empire. We don't think of it as such.

Spain provided a number of Roman emperors, including Hadrian, who built the wall between England and Scotland. And the English are very thankful for that. There's one Scotsman here at least.

Thank you. Now, but now the apostle has this in mind. A very strategic move to make.

And on the way, he was going to stop off at Rome, to have some gospel meetings, as we would say, to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. Now, in anticipation of that, he sends this epistle to the assembly. He's heard and knows fully well there are problems there.

Yes, there are believers and there are opportunities in the gospel. Not that he's going to build on another man's foundation, but at least he's going to help. Moving through then, and he would no doubt address himself, as he intended, to the problems that had arisen in the assembly because of the coexistence of Gentiles and a good number of Jews as well.

Saved they were, but they brought with them, these dear believing Jews, a lot of problems, a lot of baggage, and things had to be dealt with. They were very often just burdened with things about days and diets, about the calendar and the calendar, and all these other things that went along. And indeed, there was friction between the Gentiles and the Jews, but there were other great issues as well.

The great and grand issues of the gospel and the purposes of God. Where did the Gentiles fit in? They no doubt knew full well that there was meant to be blessing for the Gentiles, but no doubt, of course, not being able to fit in the great mystery now made known through the Apostle Paul relative to the church. And they would look on to other things when, yes, Israel would still be dominant in the things of God in millennial days.

Yes, Gentiles would be blessed, but still, prominence for Israel. But now, here in the gospel, there's been confusion, and they need to have things clarified, and this is what the Apostle seeks to do. And as well as that, no doubt, there would have been family members of the Jews and opposition that the Apostle would find when he eventually got to Rome from the Jews.

So these things had to be dealt with, issues had to be addressed, which he doesn't elsewhere because he doesn't need to. At least, maybe in one sense, of course, you'll think these were dealt with in the epistle to the Galatians, but that's another matter. So now we come to this epistle, and it's a grand epistle indeed, a great masterpiece with regard to the teaching, Christian teaching.

And so the Apostle sets out, first of all, to set down the gospel, but again, the gospel often with reference to Jews. You'll find indeed that there are numerous quotations from the Old Testament, especially here in these chapters, but we'll come back to that later, because it has to be stated clearly, not only now, about the gospel for Gentiles, but for the Jews as well. And the great conclusion is, one simple phrase, no difference, no difference.

Now this is very surprising. If you've been brought up to think that you are different, maybe superior, and indeed you have a very special role in this world, and then comes the gospel, you get saved, but then you begin to reflect upon it, and you see what's happening around you, that the majority of believers now in your new community, they're Gentiles, and they don't change to be like you, they're expecting you to change maybe to be like them. So all these things are there, and the Apostle sets it all out, and the grand conclusion is, no difference, all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

So we come to that, and this occupies the first eight chapters, set out in different parts, in different ways. And then the Apostle comes to that great conclusion at the end of chapter eight, therefore, what shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus? The answer, nothing. No difference, with regard to the gospel, nothing to separate us from the love of God.

So here am I, a young believer today, and I read through these first eight chapters, and come to the end, and I'm cheered, really cheered, to think that now I'm in a position of wonderful blessing, great security. Nothing, indeed, can get in the way of these things. And then I come to chapter nine.

Ah, now it's slightly different. And the Apostle is not now addressing the issue of Jews and Gentiles, but for the first time, you'll find the use of the word Israel and Israelites. Very different.

And in these three chapters, the first three chapters, at least, nine, ten, and eleven, that's the issue. And it would be now, Israel and Gentiles, the expression is still there, but viewed as groups. Not as individuals, but as groups.

How's God dealing with these groups? Now that's vital to grasp, or you'll not understand these things. They will cause you confusion. And many believers, by the way, different places, have been totally confused by these three chapters, and they've just closed these chapters, gone on to chapter twelve, as we shall, and enjoyed themselves, and the cheer of chapter eight goes on to the challenge of chapter twelve.

And they're happy. But they've lost something. They've lost a lot.

For see, if nothing else in these three chapters, what we're going to find is this. Three questions answered. Number one, is God righteous? Number two, is God faithful? Number three, is the word of God reliable? Or does it come to nothing? And these three things, if nothing else, please, when you go away at the end of the conference, take these things with you.

God is righteous. God is faithful. And the scriptures don't fail.

And then, after that, you can begin to enjoy Israel, and God's dealings with Gentiles as well, by the way, not just the Gentile believers addressed in the epistle, but in one place, at least, the apostle will address Gentiles. And the fact that they're in danger. They don't continue in faith.

And that's not, indeed, a warning that they could lose their salvation, these dear believers. This is Gentiles as a group. So please understand, the overall picture now is Israel Gentiles as groups.

And then we can move on from that. This is important, you know, to learn about this. You might say, well, look, I don't even know any Jews.

Let alone, I've never been to Israel, and I don't understand all these things. Well, please, listen carefully. And remember those three things that we talked about.

So now, when we come into these three chapters, I've been asked to give some kind of general overview. And these three chapters themselves parallel the three sections that Paul deals with in the first eight chapters. You'll find, indeed, that the apostle is addressing these things, paralleling different parts, and with respect to, you'll find chapter 3, where, again, God's righteousness is addressed, is paralleled by chapter 9, that we're going to look at now.

Is God righteous? God's righteousness. Chapter 10, well, that parallels chapter 4. Faith for salvation. Faith and not works.

And then chapter 11, well, that's the long parallel going from chapter 5 to chapter 8. God's grace and mercy. How indispensable they are. So they run along, but viewed from a different viewpoint, as we said, not just individuals now, but groups.

Now, when we come to Israel, the general movement in these three chapters we're looking at, chapter 9, well, Israel's past riches. Chapter 10, Israel's present rejection because of unbelief. And chapter 11, we find Israel's promised restoration.

That's a wonderful thing, isn't it, to know that God is faithful for these things. The Apostle Paul, he writes these things. He doesn't write them objectively.

He's writing very subjectively. He's very much aware that when he touches on Israel, they're his people, and he feels for them. At the beginning of each chapter, you'll find, indeed, they punctuate the whole section that the Apostle introduces something of himself and his feelings in these matters.

You'll find in chapter 9, it's his heart's sorrow and unceasing pain. Then in chapter 10, his heart's desire for their salvation. In chapter 11, his heart felt empathy since I am also an Israelite.

So he felt this very keenly. And so we'll find in these chapters going through that these are the overall pictures. And then chapter 11, of course, we find the important word to begin with, therefore.

Because of the mercies of God, a great plea is made that the believers, on the one hand, to begin with, their bodies should be sacrificed to God, and their minds not conform to this age. Then it says, well, here is indeed the Christian's intelligent, spiritual response to an understanding and appreciation of the great tender mercies of God. No, then he would say, well, here we are.

And such spiritual intelligence should be displayed in the realization and the utilization of individual spiritual gifts. And that's chapter 12 to begin with. Moves through then to a great number of practical exhortations with regard to the local assembly and to society in general.

Now, behavior, one to another. So that's a general outline, and we might turn now, please, to chapter 9 and look at it in a little more detail. And we'll think, first of all, of the servant of God.

He's heavy-handed. I would take the little phrase I've written over this chapter, God's dealings with man. God's dealings with man.

And so we start off, verses 1 to 5, the servant of God is heavy-hearted. He's certainly heavy-hearted. And here, chapter 5 would speak of Paul's heart's pain.

Chapter 10, of course, opens with Paul's heart's prayer. But this is Paul's heart's pain. How he feels for his own folk, because they're not saved.

And then we come into verses 6 to 8, the Word of God has not failed. Ask the question, has it failed? Literally, has it come to nothing? Think of that in a moment. Why? Well, you see, what the Apostle has done, the Apostle has looked back at the great past blessings of Israel, the eight specific things that they can boast of.

And the things, indeed, that look forward to future promises included. And so it says, the things that they had, to whom pertaineth. In other words, whose are? They were theirs.

Irrespective, indeed, of whatever else they could claim this. And they could say these are uniquely ours and nobody else's. So we have, to whom pertaineth the adoption, the placing of sons.

We'll see these in a moment in detail. The glory, the covenants, the law, etc. And then, of course, we have amongst that the promises.

Great promises God had given. And then, the Lord Jesus Himself. Of whom concerning the flesh? Is Christ God over all, blessed forever? And then you could think as well of the fathers.

These three issues, if nothing else. Then you come along and here am I, a Jew, unsaved, but listening to what the Apostle says and reading through this in mind. And to understand Romans 9-11, you have to understand not only what's there, but what's implied.

That which is understood between the lines. There are people arguing with Paul. And he's answering questions here that have been raised and could be raised.

Maybe that he himself would have raised if he was in that position, as he had been. So he's answering the questions. And he would say indeed, well, now this is the question, verse 6. Not or but, says.

Not as though the Word of God has taken none effect. Hasn't come to nothing. What about those great promises that are contained here, that pertain to the Jews, that now they claim to be theirs from the Word of God? Has it failed? What's happened? Israel, God's rejected them because as a nation they haven't accepted Christ.

And so what's happened? It's all failed? It's all come to nothing? Oh no, not at all. You're not looking at it in the right way. So Paul now corrects people's view of the dealings of God with men in general and with Israel in particular.

So now he will say, now look, this is how it is. And here we have now, by the way in these sections here to begin with, we are not talking about individual salvation. Let's get that straight.

We are not talking about individual. We're talking about God's purpose, certainly. But not about individual salvation.

But then there are certainly what we might call God's unlikely choices. Now I know the word election will come in. That's a very emotive term.

It gets people's hackles up, I think you say over here, and people get very hot under the collar, we say over there. Well, election simply means choice. God's choice.

And the question that Paul would say, isn't God allowed to choose? I know he will emphasize, and this is a very important thing, God's choice. And we use the expression, of course, divine sovereignty. Now Brother Murray in his prayers, he was praying about certain situations today.

We've got dictators. And there's the effort to try to sort things out in North Africa. Because we're not used to dictators, we can't picture this.

And when we speak of sovereignty, it's an old idea going back to the times when kings, the sovereign, he was in charge, that was it. His word went. His word ruled.

Now we find that hard. I know in our situation we find it hard to think one man has the say. But in those days, that was it.

And that was a good picture because God has his say. God will choose. Now that's one side.

But running alongside that throughout Scripture, we have another thing. That God has made us responsible creatures. And God looks to us to be responsible.

So we've got divine sovereignty here in maybe unlikely choices from a human point of view, but as well we've got human responsibilities. And we'll see that coming through as well in the beginning, and it'll certainly come in the following chapters. So now, let's just very quickly then think about God's unlikely choices.

On the one hand, we've got humans. If it was left to human beings, history would not have been like it was. Divine history would have to be rewritten.

Because number one, what about the fathers? Of whom were the fathers? Well, think of two of the fathers who came from Abraham, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How did it come to be that the fathers were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Not Abraham, Ishmael, and Esau. How wasn't it like that? God chose.

Not on a human basis. To begin with, you'd think, well, what did Abraham say about Ishmael? Oh, that Ishmael might live before thee, said to God. God said no.

He was brought in by extraordinary supernatural means. And that's number one in the choice. God's choice was Isaac.

Now comes number two, and it's a choice here. And so we now, but of course you could have said, well, look, that other woman anyway was a bond woman, so that doesn't count. Wait a minute, okay.

Here's a proper wife. Two sons, twins. Who do you choose? Nature would say, number one, and God says, number two.

The elder shall serve the younger. God's unlikely choice. Then we come to Pharaoh.

Here's dear old Pharaoh. And here's a man. And God has given him plenty of opportunity that he might change his mind.

God gives him plenty of opportunity. But Pharaoh, as we'll see time and again, said, no, I'm going to harden my heart against it. I'm not going to soften up on this one.

I'll stay with my decision. I'll stick with it, whatever God does. I'll harden my heart.

Time comes. Well, eventually, God says, no, I'll use you for a purpose. Irrespective of the fact that you are hardening your heart, I'll use you.

And ultimately God's glory is seen and was known throughout the earth when God dealt with Pharaoh as he did. And it propagated out through the nations. Everybody knew.

Because God had used Pharaoh for his purposes. Even though, even though it was that Pharaoh had hardened his heart. And so God, judicially, eventually said, right, I'll harden your heart.

And be very careful. And we'll come to this again later with Israel. God hardened them.

God never hardened the heart of anybody who hadn't hardened their own heart. Now that's very important to realize in the Gospel. But God made a choice.

An unlikely choice. Pharaoh. Yes, He used Pharaoh.

And the ultimate was His glory. Then you can go right down. Choices again.

What about Israel? Well, you come there. God says, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, compassion on whom I will have compassion. God, the God who's righteous, gave Israel the law.

Brought down from Israel. And what was happening? Here they were dancing around a golden calf. God, in the most unlikely way, had mercy.

The righteous God had mercy. God showed mercy and compassion on His people. And He listened to the intercession of Moses.

Moses who said, blot me out! As Paul says here. But no. God says, I'll have mercy.

Alright, I'll have mercy. Unlikely choice. Sinners.

Chosen for God's glory. And you go right through as well. Time will allow me.

We'll go into detail now. And you come then to these interesting things. And it says 22.

What if? You know, one of those what if situations. It's a question. Now, it's not forced.

This is a what if. It's not answered by the way. Exactly.

What if God, willing to show, to demonstrate His wrath, and to make His power known. Two things happening at once. God could do that.

By His choice. But all the while, look at this. Verse 22.

Endured with much longsuffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. Interesting, isn't it? Here's a man, hardened his heart. What was God doing? He was enduring with much longsuffering.

Now, many people will use this phrase, and the thought behind it. And they will talk about God fitting out people for destruction. That God not only elects people to go to heaven, but people are elected by God to go to hell.

That's what they say. Now, that's exactly so. You'll find this originates in modern thought.

It's an older thought. But it comes, of course, from Calvin. Many people say, well, Calvin was not an ultra-Calvinist.

Well, all you've got to do is read Calvin's Institutes. Book number 3, chapter 21. What do you find? Calvin stated in explicit terms that God certainly, as it says in Scripture, certainly chose certain folks for heaven.

Therefore, you'll read through his arguments, therefore, it is obvious that God chose certain people for hell. That is not obvious. It's not in Scripture.

Oh, certainly, don't run away from election, but don't let it run away with you. Here's something to be balanced. Two things to be enjoyed.

Not understood. Not completely there. And to rationalize it and put it into a human understandable framework that he might understand, this is the man, Calvin, who put it all into that election framework and force-fitted it.

It doesn't fit in Scripture. But here is God. Let me prove this.

You see, if God, now, if God had chosen Pharaoh, and by the way, this predestination is called double predestination. Not only has God chosen the elect for heaven, but God has chosen the other elect for hell. That's called double predestination.

That is unscriptural. Now then, what if, what if indeed it was true? Well, I'll tell you this, it wouldn't say that God endured with much long-suffering, for God was here holding the man in responsibility and waiting, giving him opportunity. And here, this isn't the action of someone programming a robot.

This is the action of a loving God, a God of mercy and grace who will ultimately, for His own purpose, demonstrate His glory using this man. But to begin with, He gave him His opportunity, but it was time-limited. God said, now, here you are.

You must repent. You must change your mind about these things. But He didn't.

And He hardened His heart. And then ultimately, for His own purpose to be worked out, God hardened His heart as well. God just sealed the whole thing off.

Hardened it. Blinded the man to this. No softening now because God had judged.

He's had His opportunity. Plenty. And He'd had plenty of proof as demanded.

God gave it. Everything. And He rejected.

So that's it. And now, yes, don't run away from this fact, says Paul, that God has afore not prepared, but God has aforeprepared certain vessels unto glory. And then verse 24, even us.

I like Darby's translation. Verse 24, he says, just plain that us. That's all he says.

Us. He doesn't say even us. Just plain us.

And that must have been a wonder to Paul. Us. Of all people.

Us. Aforeprepared unto glory whom He hath called not Jews only, but also Gentiles. And there we are.

And then we get the scriptural proof, by the way. First of all, the Gentiles. Verse 25 down to verse 27.

And the not my people are now people. And the not beloved are beloved, etc. And then as well, you'll see in verse 27 the number of the you'll quote the number of the Israel.

And we get there with respect to the Israel, the remnant. Yes, there are people, says Paul. I'm one of them who are Jews.

But it's only a small number. It's a remnant. It's a seed.

And now he will say the Scripture for that as well. So us, well known in Scripture anticipated the Gentiles first, then come the Jews. And that's from verse 28 and verse 29.

And then we have what God will do for a seed. That's a lovely thought in verse 29. And we're nearly finished.

And it says, except the Lord of Sabaoth hath left us a seed. The Lord of hosts, innumerable company of angels. He's got a small number.

A seed, a remnant in Israel who believe. More than the 5,000 that we find elsewhere. But it's a seed.

It's a remnant. And now then, drawing it all together in verse 30, what should we say then? That's one of Paul's favorite phrases for drawing everything together. And looking for a culmination.

He says that the Gentiles which followed... The word followed here means to pursue eagerly. As in a quarry, you know, you're hunting people around here. You go after things.

They don't wait for you. You've got to go after them very often. That's the picture.

A pursuit. An eager pursuit of something that is elusive. Well, here's the... They didn't... No, we didn't do that.

But on the other hand, what have you got? Well, you've got before verse 16, Him that runneth. And then you've got the Jews here. They are pursuing the Lord of righteousness.

And then you've got them later, it will say about going about a zeal for God. And He that doeth these. It's all activity.

And they're seeking by activity to get hold of what? Not righteousness now. It says the Lord of righteousness. They never got there.

They never caught up with it. That's the idea. They never caught up with it.

And here the Gentiles, we are here doing nothing. Didn't go anywhere. Didn't pursue anything.

We've got it. We've got it by faith. Paul just can't get over this and he's really enjoying it.

Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the Lord, for they stumbled. Stumbling, of course, is a picture of people moving along and hitting something. Literally, it's the stub with your toe and then you stumble.

And by the way, you'd say later, return to stumbling, they're not fallen permanently. Well, they certainly stumble for the moment. There's a lack of progress and there's a hurt and a pain and an upset.

That's what you do when you've stumbled on the sidewalk here. You trip over a stone and you're walking. It's hurting.

It stumbles you. It slows you down. That's what's happened for Israel.

They're pained by the Gospel. They're offended by the Gospel. They stumbled.

But now it says, no, that's for the time. They followed not, but stumbled. And they didn't attain.

So says God, yes, but look, here's the irony. Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone. God knew.

God anticipated what would happen. It's a stumbling stone, yes, and a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Oh, no, it's not a matter of being offended.

No, it's a matter of not being ashamed. There's no shame in trusting Christ. And we've done that.

That's all we've done. We didn't rush here and rush there after this, after that. We believed.

We got it by faith. And that's so wonderful. And that's what the Jew finds is so hard to grasp.

So hard to grasp. Well, we'll leave it there please and we can just open our discussion up. Brother Barnes, just a word of continuity with what we looked at last year, Chapter 5 through Chapter 8. Chapter 5 opens with the justified believer rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.

Chapter 5, 6, 7, and 8, Paul will deal with a number of different objections to show that the justified believer is indeed secure. Until he comes to Chapter 8, and there he touches upon the fact that the justified believer is secure in the very purpose of God. Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to the glory.

So the glory is secure. But then the bigger question, is the purpose of God valid? Is it solid? And so it links in, what we're going to look at in these chapters, the purpose of God, it links in with what has gone before. Securing the justified believer for the glory.

The purpose of God is absolutely solid. Thank you, Brother William. That's most helpful.

Very good. Nice continuity and connection between these chapters. Now behind it all, I take it again in this first part, Paul needs to assure and reassure anyone who's listening, as it were, who's prejudiced against him, of his integrity.

And he says, look, what I'm telling you now, what I'm going to say about my own feelings, are absolutely true. Because here is a man who obviously has been attacked and questioned as to his integrity in these things. But he assures them, first of all, before he says a word, he says, look, what I'm going to say is true.

Presumably because people would say, it's not true. You've come along and told us about, you know, Jews, they're only going to be saved and they're on their way to perdition, etc. And all these things.

And you've said all this. Now Paul says, look, I'm going to tell you what's true. It is so characteristic, isn't it, Brother Barnes, of the apostle, how he brings his conscience into all of this.

And then he leads from that to his heart. And as you put it, I think in your opening, that in Chapter 9, really we have the description of his heart. We get to Chapter 10, we have the desire of his heart.

Right. Very good. That's right.

Brother Barnes, would you suggest that there are three things he's suggesting, verse 1. Not only what he knows to be the truth of God, but he's saying, I've got the Word of God for it, as well as that, my own heartfelt convictions. And then that's backed home by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost. You might say, what more could he say? Every guarantee he could give of his integrity is here.

There's nothing else he could say. So sometimes we hear the expression, well, my conscience tells me this, but Paul just didn't base this just alone on conscience. There was the truth of God which is mentioned as being in Christ, and it's also backed home by in the Holy Spirit.

I take it here, he's picturing his conscience, as someone says, the little man inside. The little man who's honest and faithful and everything else. And he says, my conscience bearing witness with me.

So it's the little man inside is agreeing with what he's saying. It's agreeing with what indeed being a Christian, it's in Christ, it's what the Holy Spirit is saying as well. So he is constant and witness to man's integrity.

So here's a conscience that's sensitive to the Spirit of God. There was men with seared consciences. They were not sensitive to the Spirit of God.

That's right. Yes. Would the sentiment, brother, of the Apostle here be possibly expressed in 1 Timothy 1 and 16 when he's speaking of his own conversion and feeling towards the remnant that shall be restored and saved in the future? Speaking of himself as the pattern of it? Very good.

Yes. Yes. He's the chief of sinners, but he's number one example of what God has done.

Could do. Great heaviness, continual sorrow. Here's someone.

It never left him. It was deep and long-lasting. It never left him.

There was never a day when he wasn't burdened. He was the Apostle to the Gentiles, but he had a constant burden for Israel. And we must move on.

But verse 3 says, for I could wish. Now, there are many ways that people have looked at this, but here is in his mind, he says, if it were possible almost. If it were possible, then indeed, I could imagine myself a curse from Christ.

Not possible, of course. And we are secure in Christ, not a curse. We never could be.

But he says, if it were possible. He pictures something in his mind. And he says, I'm prepared to go that far.

It's not just my heart. But indeed, he says, I put myself on the line here. It's not possible.

That's the measure of my feeling for Israel. Do you think he had Moses in mind here, brother? Do you think he had Moses in his thoughts? I'm sure, yes. As you referred already.

Moses says, blot me out. I pray thee from the book that was written. That's right.

But again, that wasn't possible either. It wasn't possible. No.

But that was a measure of the feeling that people had. But now the interesting thing, we often think of the Lord Jesus as well. But the Lord Jesus did become a curse for us.

Now the other way around, it's a lovely measure of the love of the Lord Jesus becoming a curse for us. That's good. Mr. Newberry says, I was wishing.

That's right. Is this a period in Paul's life when he didn't have the intelligence he has today? And he says, because of the great love and desire in my heart, I would give everything. Now I know intelligently I can't do that today.

Yes. So would that be correct? That is one way. And you read others.

Yeah, that's the kind of feeling. It's something Paul now, at least now, if not before. He now realizes it's impossible.

But at least that's the way he was going in his feelings. He'd go that far. But of course he can't.

So my brother and my kinsman, according to the flesh, that would be the whole of the nation. Who are Israelites. Anybody could claim.

Now that's the point. We are now talking about people with claims. And they say, this claim makes me something and gives me something.

You've told me I'm lost. Yeah. But wait a minute.

What about all these things? You're saying, you know, I have faith in Christ. What if I don't? What if I have? Okay, I admit. Hands up.

I've broken the law. I'm still an Israelite. What about these things? And I've got all these things which were, they pertain, they belong to us, et cetera.

So you haven't robbed me of that. And therefore I can hold on to this. And Paul says, of course, lady, no, no, we're doing it.

You're looking at the wrong way around. Brother Barnes, there's a movement afoot, not new, but yet gaining momentum of replacement theology, that the church has replaced Israel and all the purposes of God. Now, just for the sake of, especially younger believers, could you again emphasize the fact that we have the expression, Israel, Israelites.

Yes. Only in these three chapters, 14 times, showing that he's dealing with a nation. Yes.

And it cannot refer to believers in any sense, the church in any sense. Could you just underline that? Absolutely right. And to say, indeed, that God has purposes and dealings, groups of people as well as individuals.

But which group? And as we say that modern and certainly reformed theology, which is gaining ground in lots of ways now, it certainly holds on to this. And it's that it isn't new either. You go right back to Augustine.

And it's all through Calvin. It's all there. And they replaced it.

And the city of God that he wrote goes right back and replaces Israel with the church. Because, indeed, they couldn't believe that God's literal promises to Israel were true. Couldn't see how it can conceive.

And this is still people's misunderstanding of these chapters. And it's not true. Still, God's promises.

Indeed, God did give them promises. And God is as good as his word. And God will keep up to these promises.

Of course, you have to understand them in the context of God's purposes of with regard to the church, which is God's big secret. And when God revealed his secret, he gave every plenty of evidence that it was all right. But, again, the Jew couldn't quite understand it.

People can't understand it today. So they say, well, let's just see the church and nothing else. And they don't see the importance of God's dealings with Israel with regard to the earth and God's dealings with church with regard to heaven.

Brother Barnes, just to reinforce what Brother Higgins just mentioned, as far as I can see, the word Israel in our New Testament never applied to anybody but Israel. Even in Galatians 6 and 16, peace be upon all and upon the Israel of God. So, while sometimes people say that even Christians say, I'm a true Jew because I've trusted Christ.

They are not. They are a Gentile believer and the word Israel always applies to Israel. Do you look at it that way? Absolutely, yes.

But another thing we must also, you'll realize that people as well, there is another group growing and gaining emphasis as well and these are Messianic believers. Now, equally, you'll see as well that some people over-emphasize Israel in that respect and the remnant. Listen, the remnant is along with the Gentiles.

We're dealing with the two here. And Israel now, certainly, those remnant are along with the Gentiles and it's all to be one. And this was the problem to be overcome certainly in Romans chapter 14.

Right? And how the two could coexist peacefully. And peaceful coexistence between the two. And now you get people trying to maybe draw out this remnant idea and Israel and Messianic Christians to make them different.

That's a dangerous route. See, I wonder too if that is the reason why the word disciple, the noun disciple disappears completely and is never found in the epistles. It's lastly found in the book of Acts.

That's right. Because those early disciples became Christians and the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch and now we have one name for all believers whether they're Jew or Gentile. That's good.

That's good. Yeah, that's very helpful. Thank you.

So, in this list then, verse 4, that Israel could claim they had the adoption, sonship, God called Israel his son. The glory, that'd be the Shekinah glory of God. The covenants, including the old covenant, the new covenant.

Yeah. The giving of the law through Moses. The service of God, the tabernacle system, the temple system, and the promises.

Promises given to Abraham and that which relates to the future. Whose are the fathers, the patriarchs, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. So, Israel was used of God to introduce the Messiah.

Exactly. So, what you could say, what more could a nation ask? Yeah. And what great claims and what great boasts they would have.

They were literally holding on to these. You know, they might have felt drowning, but they were holding on. This was it.

Nothing else. I've got this. Would you say, Brother Barnes, that while this is primarily the promises for Israel, eight of them here, the same is true for the Gentiles today? Correct.

You've got later on, you've got, for instance, there in verse 26, and I changed the wording here, they shall be called sons of the living God. Now, adoption means placing as a son. So, we've got this there.

Then we've got the glory in verse number 23, before prepared unto glory. So, a lot of these are shared now. Shared.

Sorry, not shared. It's not replaced by shared in that sense. Yes.

Isn't it significant that when it comes, our brother Skates has enumerated these, when it comes to Christ, it's not that He belonged to Israel. No. A distinctive term now.

It doesn't say, yet whose are, which means belonging to. Right. Now, it's out of whom came.

Yes. So, He is really for all. Yes.

Not just for the nation. Good. Brother Burns, not to hold you back, but did you see a difference between verse 3, my brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh?