Oct
9
Written by:
Bob Flynn
10/9/2009 8:07 AM
All the Jews and Gentiles who have been invited by the preaching of the Gospel to receive justification by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and have come to the Gospel feast on this invitation. (Dr. Adam Clarke)
In election, God exercises His sovereign will to accomplish His perfect plan. Keep in mind that the election discussed in Romans 9–11 is national and not individual. To apply all the truths of these chapters to the salvation or security of the individual believer is to miss their message completely. In fact, Paul carefully points out that he is discussing the Jews and Gentiles as peoples, not individual sinners. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (391). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.)
even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. (Romans 9:24 NASB)
Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (Romans 9:24 KJV)
even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? (Romans 9:24 NET.)
And we are among those whom He selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles. (Romans 9:24 NLT)
Rom 9:24 (24) Even us, whom he hath called, not of the (a) Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
(24) Having established the doctrine of the eternal predestination of God on both parts, that is, on the part of the reprobate as well as of the elect, he comes now to show its use, teaching us that we ought not to seek its testimony in the secret counsel of God, but by the calling which is made manifest, and set forth in the Church, propounding to us the example of the Jews and Gentiles, that the doctrine may be better perceived.
(a) He does not say that each and every one of the Jews are called, but some of the Jews, and some of the Gentiles. (Geneva Bible Translation Notes)
I suppose that the mystery of the calling will continue to elude our understanding until we see the face of the Savior of our souls. The questions that come to mind as we struggle through the multifaceted concepts are always in dynamic tension. If we are indeed foreknown, predestined, and called, then are we not just puppets? In contrast, if there is now divine intervention, how does a reprobate mind make a righteous decision? Somehow the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has made a way for us to be saved by faith in His only Son. It is good for us to struggle with the how as described in the Scriptures because as we study we learn more about Jesus. This is a good thing! If however, we allow our discourse to divide us, then we must consider that the enemy is in the camp and using us to do the work of the terrorist. It is our labor to believe in the doctrines of the Bible and to better their explanation. To that requires that we are in submission to the Holy Spirit that we might display the unity given because of His presence within us. The unity that gives us agreement with Christ! Then will we understand how huge is His Amazing Grace given through His shed blood on Calvary's Cross that we might be delivered from our lost and abysmal state. For this much we know, that God did for His good pleasure graft into the root of Jesse the gentile nations of the world so that His name would be glorified.
“At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you.”
Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
(2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT)
The apostle, having asserted the true meaning of the promise, comes here to maintain and prove the absolute sovereignty of God, in disposing of the children of men, with reference to their eternal state. And herein God is to be considered, not as a rector and governor, distributing rewards and punishments according to his revealed laws and covenants, but as an owner and benefactor, giving to the children of men such grace and favor as he has determined in and by his secret and eternal will and counsel: both the favor of visible church-membership and privileges, which is given to some people and denied to others, and the favor of effectual grace, which is given to some particular persons and denied to others. (Matthew Henry)
Arminius objected to Calvin’s doctrines of predestination and reprobation and sought to modify Calvinism so that “God might not be considered the author of sin, nor man an automaton in the hands of God. 1"In developing this concept he wrote a treatise on Romans 9, advocating conditional election. A corollary doctrine he advocated was man’s ability to initiate salvation and cooperate with God in salvation. In contrast to both Luther and Calvin, who taught that freedom of the will was forfeited at the Fall, Arminius believed that God granted everyone primary or prevenient grace, enabling anyone to respond to the call of the gospel. Arminius also argued against supralapsarianism—the Calvinistic view that God decreed the salvation and reprobation of certain people prior to the Fall. He believed that supralapsarianism made God the author of sin.
Arminius also taught an unlimited view of Christ’s atonement—Christ suffered for everyone. Additionally, he emphasized that God’s grace could be resisted. On the basis of 1 Peter 1:10, Arminius also taught that believers could be eternally lost.
1 1. Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954), p. 351.
Enns, P. P. (1997, c1989). The Moody handbook of theology (489). Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press.
Copyright ©2009 Robert Flynn