The Election Hath Obtained It

The Election Hath Obtained It

Romans 11:7

“What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded”

                       

            “What then ?” Here begins the exposition of the answer which the Apostle Paul had given to the question; “Hath God cast away his people?” (Romans 11:1) In verse one the question had been anticipated and in verse two the Apostle had given the answer “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew” though God had determined to cast away the nation (Matthew 22:7) yet not His people which He foreknew. God had determined to give up the nation to their evil ways and this determination was brought to fruition in A.D. 70 by the Roman armies in the destruction of Jerusalem. Still God had not cast away his people which he foreknew, for His people “whom he did foreknow” (Romans 8:29) are His “remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11:5). These individual persons, for such they are, are “the children of the prophets, and of the covenant” (Acts 3:25), they are children of the prophets, for the prophets spoke of them in the Old Testament, they prophesied of them before they were called into being, and they are the “children of the covenant” for God knew them in the covenant of grace from everlasting, which covenant is in Christ Jesus (Isaiah 42:6; 49:8) in whom they were chosen “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4;) and “from the beginning” (II Thessalonians 2:13). The remnant according to the election of grace is that body of particular individual persons, whether Jews or Gentiles, which God has known in Christ from everlasting, whom God loved in Christ as He loved Christ, (John 17:23). The remnant according to the election of grace is the church of God, “which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:23). For it is written “Not as though the word of God had taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, (natural seed or national Israel) 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 the promise are counted for the seed” (Romans 9:6-8).

            “Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for;”  “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness” (Romans 9:31). Israel sought acceptance by God through a justifying righteousness. But Israel obtained not that which he sought. Israel did not find a righteous standing in the sight of God because they did not seek it through faith in Jesus Christ. “Wherefore?  Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at the stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and a rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” (Romans 9:32, 33). Those who are “Israel after the flesh” (I Corinthians 10:18) sought a righteous standing by the works of the law, that is, “Israel after the flesh” sought to justify themselves in the sight of God by their own personal works of righteousness. They were of the same mind as those of old who said to Moses “Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there was such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it may be well with them, and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:27-29).

Men by the light of nature aided by the light of reason know nothing of “the righteousness of God” (Romans 1:17) “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:3, 4). Isaiah the Prophet gives us a very clear picture of our own righteousness “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). The righteousness of God is in Christ Jesus, He is “THE LORD OUR RIGTHEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:6) and this perfect righteousness is upon everyone that believes on Him as such “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:” (Romans 3:22). Those that go about to establish their own righteousness by their own personal works are an affront to God and His law; to God, because they do not seek Him in the way He has appointed, and to His law, because they being sinners by nature, habit, and choice, believe they are able to fulfill the law of God. Those who go about to establish their own righteousness, do by implication declare that they have no need of Christ the Mediator, Christ the Great High Priest, Christ the Propitiation, Christ the Advocate, nor Christ the Surety, not to mention Christ the Prophet, Priest and King of His people; to all of which offices God in great mercy has appointed Jesus Christ for men.   

            “but the election hath obtained it” The election hath, in all ages, obtained the righteousness which is of God through faith in Jesus Christ. It is written of Noah “And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1). It was not that God saw Noah as righteous in and of himself, it was that God had given Noah faith in the promised Seed of woman (Genesis 3:15) and accounted the righteousness, of that Righteous One in whom Noah trusted, to Noah. And therefore God saw Noah clothed in that righteousness which in time Jesus Christ would establish. And again, our Lord Jesus said to the Jews “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). Abraham also looked forward to the promised Seed of woman, and by faith saw, that God appointed representative of the people of God, and trusted his soul to the keeping of that one whom God in due time would send. For it is said of Abraham “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Abraham “believed in the Lord” by which is meant Abraham believed God, Abraham believed God’s promise or God’s word. Abraham “against hope believed in hope, (there was, according to nature, no possibility that Abraham would be the natural father of children by Sarah, but that was the promise of God) that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, (the promise of God) So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able to perform. And therefore it was imputed (or accounted, reckoned) to him for righteousness (Romans 4: 19-22). So it has been in all the following generations to the present time, God’s elect out of every generation has been blessed to believe the word of God.

What then is the blessedness involved in believing God’s word?  What hath the election obtained? The Apostle Paul answers “to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Romans 4:5-8). And this is the case of all who actually believe the good news of the accomplishments of the Christ of God, for “their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their off spring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:9, 10). The “remnant according to the election grace” (Romans 11:5) were espoused to Christ before the world was made, they have had an interest in all that Christ did from everlasting, for Christ spoke for them as advocate in eternity before time, and all that Christ did in time He did in union with His people. Therefore the people of God are clothed in the perfect righteousness that was established by Jesus Christ, and it is by God given faith that they are made aware of that blessedness in which they stand before God. In Jesus Christ they are absolutely perfect in righteousness and holiness, for Christ is that to them. For “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. (I Corinthians 1:30, 31).

            “and the rest were blinded” These that are styled “the rest” are blinded by that, that is within themselves. For by one sin, committed by one human nature or one man, all who were in him as branches in the family tree, are fallen into sin and ruin. As members of the natural race of men we all inherit a nature that is evil, the bond slave of sin, for even the thought of sin is sin, and the desire to commit a sin is the sin committed in the heart (Matthew 5:28). Our Lord Jesus said “Verily, Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” (John 8:34) The Apostle Paul declares that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that “the scriptures have concluded all under sin,” (Galatians 3:22). Therefore all unregenerate persons are the bond slaves of sin, or are the servants of sin, and therefore will perish in sin unless they are delivered from the condemning power of sin.

With the regenerate it is not so, for though they are sinners in themselves, yet sin can never be imputed to them, for their sins have already been laid on Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, that is, the sins of all the elect have been imputed to the head of the election grace, Jesus Christ (Isaiah 42:1; 53:6). Therefore they speak foolishly who affirm that Christ Jesus died for all men without exception, for if that were the case, then all men without exception would absolutely be saved, which according to the word of God is not to be. The corrupted nature of all natural men has blinded their eyes, and stopped their ears, and hardened their heart, so that they cannot see the Kingdom of God, hear it’s truth, nor understand the things of the gospel, for our Lord Jesus said “Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” (John 3:3). All who are born in the natural race of men are born blind to the things of God, and will perish in that blindness, unless God in sovereign mercy rescues them from their own evil nature and ways. “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins” (Proverbs 5:22). “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquities, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it: but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment” (Isaiah 1:4-6). This is the case of all natural men and in this condition must they perish, unless the Sovereign Mercy of God Intervene. Let not the free-will-works religionist think he stands in better stead before God, for he has declared his decision is that thing that has brought salvation, his own will, void of the sovereign grace of God, is the root cause of his turning from death to life; Oh! But he does not know that he is now even more tightly held in the clutches of Satan, for he is deceived by Satan through another gospel, (Galatians 1:6) which concerns another Jesus (II Corinthians 11:4).

            Second: Sinners are the lawful captives of Satan. “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive be delivered? But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children” (Isaiah 49:24, 25). Notice, Dear Reader, it is the children that are to be delivered, not one who makes a decision, but one who is a child of the everlasting covenant of grace (Acts 3:25), one of the Lord’s little ones. For the children are such by the stipulations of the covenant, by eternal election of grace. The children can never contend with Satan in their own strength, but the Lord Jesus must contend with this devil, and this He has done on Golgotha, when He wrenched the keys of death from Satan’s hand, to open the prison house of Satan and set the captives free (Isaiah 61:1; 42:7). But natural men are taken captive of the devil at his will, for “the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (II Timothy 2:24-26).

You may ask, how is a lost sinner to know whether he has interest in the blood of the everlasting covenant? How can one know if his name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? How can a person know whether he or she is a child of God? Answer; The Lord has instituted ordinary means of grace, that is, God has established the way in which He will call out His children; and it is the same today as it was in the days of the Apostles. Today His ordinary means of grace is by the preaching of the gospel. The Lord Jesus sends a preacher to a community, or a person, with the word of the gospel in his mouth, and He causes His preacher to cross the path of His chosen one. Most usually the Lord will send a preacher to a local assembly of His people where He has raised up a church. For, the Lord still works through His Church, there is no place in the universe where the gospel of Jesus Christ is that the Lord of glory has not put it there. And by His providence God causes His elect to pass under the sound of the gospel, to whom the Lord will, at the appointed time, give eternal life by the preached word. Spiritually quickened (made alive) the elect sinner will have hearing ears, seeing eyes, and a heart to understand, the sinner will be enabled to close with the gospel, he will hear it, understand it, and believe it. At that point the child of God may know his election of grace, that he is one of the Lord’s own for the promises are to believers. This is God’s ordained means of communicating eternal life to His elect. “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:11-15).

Does it make a great deal of difference where one would go to hear the gospel preached? Answer; It makes all the difference, for there are many who preach, and for various reasons, You Must Hear The Truth. You Must Hear the True Gospel Message, for there is life in no other. Should I just stay at home and wait for the Lord to send His message? The command of the Lord is; “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). Wherever you should decide to go, make sure Christ is the center of the message, if the message is about the things you must do to be saved, it is the wrong message, the true message is all about Jesus Christ and all that He has accomplished in the behalf of His chosen people. Do not listen to men tell you what you must do, but listen for what Christ has already finished, the message is not you must do to live, but the message is; Christ has finished all that must be done, and is Himself the life of His people (Colossians 3:4). It is true, you must be born again, but that is the work of God the Holy Ghost in you, not you in yourself. Did you give birth to yourself naturally, no! Nor can you give yourself birth spiritually. Yes, you must repent; but that too is the work of God, for God must give you repentance, that is, God must work repentance in you (II Timothy 2:25; Acts 5:31). And finally you must believe on Jesus Christ as the believers all, in salvation, and men are only enabled to believe by God given faith, for Christ is all the believer’s Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption, and Christ Jesus is to the Church; Prophet, Priest, and King, “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Faith or believing the truth of the gospel is the gift of God. “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching (that is, what men of the world call foolishness) to save them that believe” (I Corinthians 1:21).

A.J.Ison