And while we believe that everything in the Bible is totally and equally true, we also recognize that everything in the Bible is not always equally clear. Some parts of the Bible are difficult to hear not because they are difficult to understand; they are difficult to hear because they are clear and easy to understand and demand that something change in our lives that we may not necessarily want to change. Other parts of the Bible are difficult to hear because they are not necessarily as clear and seem to reveal truths that appear to be in conflict to one another.
And when two truths seem to be in conflict with one another, the result is often confusion and a lack of clarity. Perhaps nowhere in the Bible do we see this confusion and lack of clarity become more apparent than when we talk about God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility.
When we use the word sovereignty, we are referring to the fact that God is large and in charge of everything that happens in all of creation throughout all of history. When we say that God is sovereign, we are saying that nothing happens apart from God’s approval; nothing. No natural disaster, no human decision, no act of government, no supernatural event, occurs apart from God’s knowledge. God is not surprised; God is not in Heaven saying “Oh, I didn’t see that one coming”. As a matter of fact, the exact opposite is true. The Bible teaches us that God works all things according to the counsel of His will. God ordains, God causes, God works with every event throughout history to accomplish His desires and His purposes on earth. God is large and in charge of everything.
But if God is large and in charge of everything and if nothing happens apart from God’s approval and if God ordains and causes all things to happen, then what happens to choice? What about our will? Does humanity have choice or are we robots or puppets on a string? And if God is sovereign, then how can man be held responsible? If God is large and in charge then how can man be held responsible for what God ordains and causes? On the other hand, if man has choice and freedom to exercise his desires and will to whatever end, how can God be sovereign? If we have freedom to make decisions and exercise choice and our will to lead our own lives, how can God be sovereign? How can God be large and in charge if I am responsible for my life and I have the choice in how I live my life?
God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility seem to be on a collision course that leads to confusion and a lack of clarity. This lack of clarity and confusion when it comes to God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility is not new, however. And for the next several weeks, we are going to spend our time addressing these timeless questions by looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the Book of Romans. And in this section of this letter, we will see the Apostle Paul address the balance between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. And my hope and our prayer is that we would be able to gain clarity and be able to balance the two truths of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. So let’s begin where Paul begins, which is in Romans 9:1:
I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
Paul begins this section of this letter that was written to a first century church located in Rome by sharing his heart when it comes to the Jewish people. You see, while Paul was the missionary that God used in the most powerful and prominent way to spread the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the non-Jewish world, at the end of the day, he was a Jew through and through. He took great pride in being Jewish. And because he took great pride in his Jewish heritage, he found himself experiencing great sorrow and unceasing grief in his heart. Now these two phrases refer to an unceasing pain and distress that was felt from head to toe. In the core of his being Paul was in constant grief, pain, and sorrow.
Paul then provides the reason for this constant grief, pain, and sorrow in verse 3: “For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” Now the word accursed, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally meant to be devoted to destruction. This word was used to describe the offerings that were made to God in the Jewish sacrificial system as a result of selfishness and sin. In other words, Paul wished that he could offer his life and face eternity separated from God in Hell for the sake of the Jewish people.
Paul then reveals six privileges that the Jewish people had received from God. First, Paul explains that the Jewish people had received the privilege of adoption. Of all the nations in the world, the Jewish people were chosen by God to be His chosen people. Second, the Jewish people had received the privilege of the glory, which refers to the honor and recognition that the Jewish people received of experiencing God’s presence and power throughout their history. Third, the Jewish people had received the privilege of the covenants. Paul here is revealing the reality that the Jewish people had been the recipients of several decrees and assurance that God and God alone had made to the Jewish people. God had taken the initiative to enter into a covenant relationship with the Jewish people.
Fourth, the Jewish people had received the privilege of the giving of the Law and the temple services and the promises. God gave the Jewish people the message and teachings of the first five books in our Bibles today, which the Jewish people referred to as the Law or Torah. In addition, God gave the Jewish people the privilege of the service of the temple. You see, prior to Jesus arrival, there was only one church where God was to be worshipped. And that church was located in Jerusalem, the capital city of the Jewish people. The Jewish people were given the privilege of having the only church and the opportunity to worship the Lord in a way that was true and correct. And God gave the Jewish people His kingdom promises.
Fifth, the Jewish people had received the privilege of a rich heritage, which Paul refers to as the fathers. The Jewish people had a rich heritage and history of beliefs and practices when it came to God and following God. And sixth, the Jewish people had received the privilege of the promise of the Messiah. God had promised a rescuer, a deliverer, who would save humanity from the huge problem that it faced as a result of selfishness and rebellion. And that rescuer, that deliverer, was going to be from the Jewish people.
Yet, in spite of these amazing promises and privileges, Paul was in constant pain, grief, and sorrow for his Jewish brothers and sisters. But why was that the case? To understand why Paul was in sorrow and anguish for his Jewish brothers and sisters, let’s look again at something that Paul had written that we looked at last week, in Romans 8:28-30:
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
However, many, if not most of the Jewish nation had rejected the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. And many of the Jewish people were actually persecuting followers of Jesus, including Paul. In spite of all of the privileges that the Jewish people had received from God, it was apparent that most of the Jewish people, according to the words that Paul had just written, were not called and rescued by God. And this grieved Paul’s heart.
And this also provokes a huge question. And that question is this: Is God really sovereign? If God is sovereign, then why are the Jewish people, who He gave all these privileges to, rejecting Him? And why have they rejected Him throughout history. I mean if God is large and in charge, then how could this happen? And the response of many people, including the readers of this letter was “God does not seem to be too sovereign, in light of the history of the Jewish people, now does He?”
And as the Apostle Paul continues in this section of this letter, we see him address this question head-on, which we will look at tomorrow.
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