Topic: God’s Call and Election
Reading: Romans 9:9-29
Introduction and Overview
In this section of scripture we see God’s call and election in play. He chooses people according to His purposes and to fulfill His will, according to His plan and purposes.
We are told elsewhere in Matthew 22:14 that “Many are called, but few are chosen.” What we are being shown in these words are the call and choosing of people, or the call and election of people and even nations to do God’s purpose.
Does this mean that there is no freewill? Not at all. Every person has the opportunity to choose the way of God and to follow Him, even those whom have been chosen for ill purposes. The offer of repentance and salvation is open to everyone, including those who chosen for evil purposes.
We need to separate the ideas of those who are called from those who are chosen, and those who are called from those who are “elected.” The call of God to salvation goes out to the whole of mankind. Those who reject His call still hear the call, but it is their choice not to listen to or heed God’s call. And there are some who are selected or “elected” to follow certain paths and roles, some for good and some for evil. But even those who are evil can still turn and repent as it is their freewill to choose right or wrong.
There are two destinies set before every person by God. One is to follow His ways and be saved, the other is to reject His ways and be lost. And we all start from the same place, as sinners in need of a Saviour. But even though we start out as sinners, we do not have to stay there. God has offered us release from sin and the power to overcome the passions of human nature in Jesus Christ. But to receive those things is left to us. This is our freewill, to choose God or to reject Him.
Key points from reading:
- God calls and elects some people to specific roles in His grand plan and for His purposes.
- We do not always understand His selection and election process, but have to accept that it is for the purposes He sets in place.
- All calls and elections are based upon God’s purpose and His compassion and mercy.
Discussion:
- Scripture: Romans 9:9-13
- Here we are given examples of God’s call and election, specifically with respect to the forefathers of Israel. It was noted in scripture that God chose Jacob over his brother Esau before they were born, and that God loved Jacob and chose him to be the father of Israel.
- By contrast God hated Esau. Esau was an impetuous man who thought more of his belly than the things that were important. He sold his birthright for a single meal and lost his birthright as the elder son. The blessings of their father Isaac then went to Jacob, but curses fell upon the head of Esau.
- It is worth noting that Esau became the father of the Edomite people, and throughout the Old Testament we see that they were a people hated by God. Edom was struck down again, and again and today we are not even aware if any of the descendants of Edom still exist. It is as if they have been wiped from the face of the earth, or at least they have been so widely assimilated into the peoples around them that their DNA is indistinguishable. They are as good as extinct as a nation.
- God chose Jacob and elected him to be the father of the nations of Israel. God knew beforehand that Jacob would choose to follow the God of his fathers, Isaac and Abraham, and that Esau would not. And it was the faith the Jacob held for God that set him apart as God’s chosen vessel to be the father of Israel, and we should note that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel at a later time and he became the father of the twelve tribes that made up the people of Israel.
- Scripture: Romans 9:14-16
- Now, if God is choosing people according to His will to be either good or evil according to His plan, can we blame God when people are evil and not good? And if God elects someone to be a force for evil rather than good, should we fault God for His designs and His choices?
- No, we should not. God established a plan for all of mankind, and the basis of His plan is the plan of salvation. But the choice to be saved or not is not forced upon anyone. It is we the people who make that choice. Likewise it is we the people who might choose to reject God’s plan and live lives of evil and sin instead.
- But God is the Creator and whether we are saved or not is based upon the power of His grace. It is in His grace that He shows mercy and compassion, and He has chosen the pathway of faith as the mechanism by which He will give mercy, compassion, and grace to save those who believe. God could have chosen any pathway He liked to save us, such as by works, or keeping the letter of the law. But He didn’t. He chose faith as the means to receive His salvation. When we believe in God we will be saved.
- But what about those who will not be saved? If they choose to reject His call that goes out to all mankind, then they have rejected salvation. God established the process so that we all start from the same place; lost in the power of sin. But God offers His mercy to everyone if they will accept Him in faith. If they do not, then they do not receive mercy and they will be lost. He may still use them for His purposes, but they will not receive salvation.
- Does this sound harsh? Perhaps, but why should God accept someone who rejects Him? Do you accept people who reject and hate you? If not, why should God do the same? But in His great love and mercy He has made the offer of salvation to those who reject and hate Him if they will repent and seek His mercy. So, salvation depends initially on the mercy and compassion of God, but it is our choice to accept or reject it. It is not based on anything we do, but is based on faith and God’s mercy towards us when we have faith in Him through Jesus Christ.
- Scripture: Romans 9:17-24
- This section opens with an example of where God used Pharaoh for His purposes. Pharaoh had rejected God even after Moses went to him and spoke about God. And because Pharaoh rejected God, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to do evil and to continue to reject Him and the people of Israel, so that God’s power would become clear when Israel was released from their slavery in Egypt.
- The power of God to overwhelm and defeat His enemies became clear in the defeat of Egypt. The Egyptians under Pharaoh did not want to let Israel go, even pursuing them to the edge of the Red Sea. But God opened the sea for the Israelites to pass through as if on dry land, and then closed the waters over the pursuing Egyptian armies, destroying and defeating them and proving that the hand of God was with and on the people of Israel. Pharaoh and the Egyptians were elected by God to show His power and the judgement He pronounced on those who chose to reject God.
- It is not as though the Egyptians did not have a choice. Before God released all of the plagues at the hand of Moses, Pharaoh was asked to let the people of Israel go. And after the latter of the plagues Pharaoh said they could go, but then changed his mind and continually rejected the will of God. They had chance after chance to repent and the Israel leave, but they chose to reject God’s command and refused to let the people leave.
- But we see Egypt defeated, not by the hands of the Israelites, for they did not lift a finger against the Egyptians. Rather, they were defeated by the power of God who chose Pharaoh to show God’s power in the defeat of Egypt as a reminder to all who reject God of what their destiny will hold.
- We must remember that it is not the will of God that anyone perishes, as it says in 2 Peter 3:9 saying:
“The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
But when someone has chosen the path of evil and the rejection of God over the path to salvation, they can and may be used by God for the negative purposes of His plan. I truly believe that all of the great evil dictators of history were so used and elected by God to do their evil work as part of His plan. We may not understand it, but for His purposes they were necessary, and they were chosen because they rejected the mercy and salvation of God, and refused to repent of their evil. - But the reverse side of those evil situations is seeing the power of God at work on those He protected and showed mercy to in the face of such evil. I am reminded of the work and salvation of Corrie Ten Boom who was a prisoner in the concentration camps of Germany under Hitler’s Nazi regime and how God protected her to preach and teach the gospel of salvation to many as a result.
- So we see that God can and does use even the evil people of the world to advance His goodness and kindness to those who come to Him.
- Scripture: Romans 9:25-29
- What is truly amazing is that even though God had selected the people of Israel as His people, He still showed great mercy and compassion to the rest of humanity. He opened up the way of salvation for all peoples, Jew or Gentile, salve or free, through the offering of His son, Jesus Christ.
- Jesus was given and died so that every person could choose to follow the ways of God and receive the gift of salvation by faith and through God’s grace. God’s mercy towards all mankind is without bounds provided that they will believe and trust in Him.
- And this is what it is all about. Yes, God will use some people and elect or choose them for evil, but that is to serve His purposes. He is the Creator. He is God and created all mankind and so He has the right to choose to do whatever He wishes. And I believe that for most who are elected for evil purposes to advance God’s plan in some way, such as Pharaoh, it is because they have rejected Him and He knows they will not exercise their freewill to choose Him. The offer is there and the opportunity is there, but still they reject Him.
- Even though there will be many saved who do come to Christ, there will be many who are lost. There will be many who choose to reject God. And a very few of those who reject God will be selected and elected by God to do what is evil for His plans and purposes. We should accept this to be true because prophecy tells us of the evil to come. We see that there is a man of sin and antichrists who will arise, false teachers, and more. There are many evil people and purposes yet to be seen and these cannot occur without the election and direction of God.
- But on the other side, those who choose to follow Jesus Christ and the ways of God will be protected and saved from these evil designs. Do not think for one minute that these evils that are upon us today were not pre-planned and preordained by God. He has allowed these things to occur, as they must, so that prophecy can be fulfilled. And for evil to occur there must be evil people designing and causing these things to happen. God knows these things will unfold because it was prophesied several thousand years ago that this would be.
- But the decision to be on the side of good or evil still remains with us. It is still within every man and woman’s free will to choose to follow what is right or not. And many will not follow God, which is why this last scripture talks about only a remnant will be saved. Is it God’s fault that only a remnant will be saved? No it is not. He offers the same salvation to everyone. So, if any are lost, it is their choice. And with the exception of a few like Pharaoh who are raised up for evil purposes, the rest have chosen their paths and will receive or lose salvation based upon their own choices.
Key Takeaways:
- God chooses a few for evil purposes just as He chooses a few for His purposes to exercise righteousness and to fulfill prophecies. But even they still have a free will to choose just as the rest of mankind does too.
- The choice is ours and if we choose God, His mercy, love, compassion, and grace are extended to us to find the way of salvation and life.
- God is not unjust in any of His decisions. He is the Creator and maker of all things and has the right to select a few for evil purposes to show His power to others in their defeat, as He did in Pharaoh. Despite everything, and even Pharaoh in his time, we have the free choice to follow God’s commands or to reject Him.
Prayer Points
- Pray that you can come to the fullness of insight into these matters.
- Pray for those around you, especially those that seem to be following the wrong path in the hope that they will repent and choose God.
- Pray for insight and understanding so that you recognise what is going on and act accordingly, and always in the will of God.