Sunday Recap for 011220 God’s Sovereignty Part One

Sunday Recap for 011220 God’s Sovereignty Part One

Sunday, January 12, 2020, Evident Grace Fellowship looked at Romans 9.1-5:

 

Romans 9.1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

 

From these verses, we pursued this Big Idea and 3 points:

 

Big Idea: God is Sovereign Part One

 

Paul is Explaining a Hard Truth

Hard Truths Require Humility

God’s Sovereignty Excludes Some

 

Paul is Explaining a Hard Truth

 

Romans 9.1 I am speaking the truth in Christ

 

What hard truth? These are the truths he is speaking.

 

Background:

 

God chose His Children before time began:

 

8.29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

 

Because God chose His children, no one can take that choosing away:

 

33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?

 

As a result, the world hates Christians:

 

36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 

But nothing can separate you from the love of God:

 

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

With background, Paul continues:

 

Hard Truths Require Humility

 

1a I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

 

Paul is so humble about being chosen by God. In fact, he is so humble, he mourns that his fellow Israelites don’t believe. His humility goes so far as to say that he wishes that he wasn’t chosen (accursed) so that his fellows Jews would believe. This is the posture of our understanding God’s sovereignty. We aren’t chosen and then proud. We are chosen and humbled and moved to compassion to those who don’t know our gracious God.

 

God’s Sovereignty Excludes Some

 

4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

 

God’s choosing means that He does not choose some – even some who were born Israelites. Paul details how heart-breaking it is for his brothers to not cry out in faith. They were so blessed with so many things. This should serve as a lesson for us and our children. We are blessed with so much from God but we must do as 1 Peter urges us to make every effort to make our calling sure.

 

Big Idea: God is Sovereign Part One

 

Paul is Explaining a Hard Truth

Hard Truths Require Humility

God’s Sovereignty Excludes Some

 

 

Truth: Approaching and understanding God’s sovereign choosing of some and excluding others requires humility and faith on our part.

 

Application: Live knowing that God is so gracious that He chose you out of the whole world to believe in Him.

 

Action: Pray that God would transform your humility surrounding His sovereignty into a sorrow that leads to evangelism.

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