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
