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Home , Esau, Jacob and Esau

Jacob, , and the God of Sovereign Grace (Genesis 25:19-34) More Than Stories Southern Hills Baptist Church July 13, 2014

INTRODUCTION Welcome, as always it is good to be with you tonight. Tonight I have the pleasure of teaching from some of the most God-centered, God-glorifying texts that remind us of just how much we depend on God. Texts like this thrill my heart and I hope they do for you as well. When you go to the Word of God I hope you are looking to see just how big God is rather than looking for texts that affirm your greatness or worth. Don’t get me wrong, there are texts that speak to man’s worth. We are loved by God so we certainly carry worth. However the point of the Bible isn’t to build us up, but to show us how big and how great the God that we serve is and we certainly have an opportunity to see that tonight in some difficult, but awesome passages of Scripture.

With that in mind go ahead and turn over to Genesis 25 and we will be there in a few minutes.

Series Recap Tonight we are continuing in our series, More Than Stories. I have really enjoyed this study thus far and I hope you have as well. We are considering the 20 most popular biblical accounts from the Old Testament. These are stories that many if not most of us grew up with. Stories like Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah and the Ark, and and the like. What we continue to see is that these biblical accounts are More Than Mere Stories as they reveal God to us in some powerful ways.

Seeing the Grand Narrative What I have enjoyed the most about this series thus far is that we have been able to trace God’s plan of redemption from the earliest chapters of Scripture through the Bible. What we have seen is that God’s plan of redemption through Jesus was not some kind of afterthought that God put together thousands of years after creation, rather He began telling humanity of this plan the moment sin entered the world and irreparably damaged it. We have seen God’s promises for redemption. We have seen God preserving a line for the promised redeemer Jesus to come through. We have seen God foreshadowing what this redemption would look like. As we continue to see all of this we see that the Bible is not a collection of random events in history, but a grand narrative that God is writing to reveal His character and bring Himself glory! God is building up to something and He is slowly preparing humanity for it. What a cool thing to see. As we see this it will help us more fully appreciate what we have in Christ today.

3 Main Figures of Genesis Now, we are still in the in our study and we are approaching the 2nd main figure in the book of Genesis. The book of Genesis is largely focused on 3 men. Abraham, , and . Essentially chapters 11-50 of Genesis are devoted to God’s work in their lives. God communicates some incredibly important truths about what it means to have a relationship with Him through these 3 men.

What They Tell Us About Relationship with God In Abraham we see how we can enter into a relationship with God. It is all about faith. We read in Genesis 15 that as Abraham believed in God it was counted to Him as righteousness. So faith in God, specifically Jesus, as Lord is what brings someone into a relationship with God. Now the question that might come up is what could threaten this relationship with God? Maybe it is the sin that we all inwardly struggle with. Our faith is constantly wavering as our sinful hearts lead us away from God. Maybe it is evil of the world that we live in that opposes us and seems so set on getting us to betray our loyalty to Christ. What is neat to see is how God addresses both of those questions in the next 2 main figures of Genesis. In Jacob we someone who struggles with sin regularly and whose faith seems to be in himself rather than in God. Will his personal sin threaten the relationship he has with God? In Joseph we see someone who seemingly has the world against him as external evils chase him down in every setting we find him in. Will the world’s constant effort to put Joseph down stop God’s plan for his life?

I share this b/c I want you to have this big picture view of what God is communicating through the lives of these men as it will give us a of direction as we consider God’s working in their lives.

Roadmap With all of that said we are going to be considering some of the life of Jacob tonight as we look at the birth account of Jacob and his twin brother Esau. There is a lot in this story that we could consider so here is how I want to walk through our passage tonight. I will read through the account for us and we will consider the story itself by taking note of important events. Then I want to pan out and consider what this account is teaching us about God. God does something very specific in this account to reveal something about Himself and the salvation He offers. Just to preview it and get your minds working on it as we work through the story let me ask you this question… Can your personal sin or your faith that seems to waiver at times threaten your salvation and relationship with God? Have this question in mind and after walking through the story we will consider it in greater detail.

Let’s read from God’s Word…

Genesis 25:19-34 19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called .) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Another Barren Wife 2 weeks ago we considered Abraham and Isaac. Tonight we fast forward 30 years or so and we see Isaac starting his own family. Isaac married a woman named Rebekah and it is recorded that Rebekah is barren. Abraham and Isaac sure know how to pick ‘em, huh? God promises to make a nation from them and they both go and marry women who can’t have kids! This is a recurring theme and will continue to be as we work through many of these Old Testament accounts. When you read through Genesis you might start to wonder if Abraham’s line is capable of finding a wife who can have kids.

A Bleak Canvass Prepared by God The reality is that this is not bad luck, this is God preparing a bleak canvass, that will cause people to wonder if the promise of God to bring forth a nation from Isaac’s line would be possible. God wanted to make the task seem impossible from a human perspective so that He could do the impossible and show Himself to be all-powerful.

And that is what happens. Isaac falls in love with Rebekah, a girl who can’t have kids. They marry and are married for 20 years without a child. 20 years is a long time to wait isn’t it? Abraham had to wait about 25 years from the time that God promised him a son. Isaac has to wait nearly as long. We don’t hear much about the wait. We don’t hear that Isaac and Rebekah try to take matters into their own hands as Abraham and did. Maybe Isaac learned something from his father and trusted God in the long wait.

Continued Prayer Even with faith in God the wait was long and it was hard. I am sure that Isaac and Rebekah sought God out hundreds of times for a child, but we read in verse 21 that Isaac prayed to God once again and asked for a son so that God’s promise could stand. God answered this prayer and Rebekah got pregnant. Our passage does not specifically say this, but I have to believe that Isaac had called out to God on this matter time and time again. Despite no response from God he continued to believe and continued to pray asking for God to deliver on His promises.

This should be a good reminder for us that we shouldn’t give up on prayer. Sometimes God answers prayer quickly, sometimes He waits 20 years. What have you stopped praying for b/c you got tired of waiting on God for? If it is something that would seemingly be in the will of God don’t give up. Keep taking it before our King.

Prayer and the Sovereignty of God This also gives us some great insight into the nature of prayer and the sovereignty of God. Some may ask why we should take time to pray if God is indeed sovereign? If God has mapped out all of history why should we pray? Truth is that God had already promised a son to Isaac, right? This promise was passed down from Abraham to Isaac. So if God had already made this promise why would Isaac need to seek God out for it? Should it have already been a done deal? The answer is yes, it was, but God uses prayer as the means to bring about His plan. It is yet another way He brings Himself glory as He gives good gifts to His children as they call upon His name. So despite the fact that God is sovereign over all we should be in constant prayer for God’s will in our lives as prayer is the means by which God brings about His plan for His glory. So keep praying Christian, keep praying.

So again, God answers Isaac’s prayer and Rebekah gets pregnant, but not just with one child, she is going to have twins! She is doubly blessed!

Struggling Twins As great as this blessing was the pregnancy was not smooth sailing. We read that the twins she was carrying were thrashing around in her. The ESV translates the Hebrew word as “struggled,” which is right, but there more meaning to this word that just “struggling.” The Hebrew word depicts a harsh struggle. It felt as if the two boys were trying to beat the tar out of each other in their mother’s womb.

I have never been pregnant, but I am married to someone who has and I can remember just a few months back when Addy was moving all around in Rach. There were times when Rach would tell me just how uncomfortable it was to have Addy kicking against her ribs and stretching. I can only imagine. What we have here with Rebekah though is not the ordinary movement of children in the womb. There was indeed a struggle going on.

Rebekah Inquires – Why God? Concerned and perplexed Rebekah goes to God and inquires of Him what is going on. She wants to know what is going on and why is this happening to her. She was supposed to be carrying the child of promise. God gave her two children and neither of them felt very promising at this point. She was wondering what she had gotten herself into at this point. So again, she very wisely goes and inquires of God.

Foreshadowing God responds by telling her that what was happening in her womb was to foreshadow the destinies that these two babies would hold. These two children would grow up to father nations that would oppose one another and that is exactly what we see happen between the nations of Israel and Edom.

Older to Serve the Younger Then God says something shocking and counter-cultural. He tells Rebekah that the older will serve the younger. More specifically this means that Esau, the oldest son, would serve and be subservient to Jacob, the younger son. This would have been incredibly strange to hear. Anyone who would have heard this back in Isaac and Rebekah’s day and age would have been like, “What are you talking about? The older serving the younger? The younger is to receive the greater blessing and lead the family?”

Preference of the You see in patriarchal families and societies, families lead by the oldest father in a family, firstborn children were everything, they were always given preference. They were given the birthright meaning that they were given the lion share of the inheritance, as they would take on the responsibility for leading and providing for the family. They would be reared and prepared to lead the family and call the shots one day once their father was gone. The family linage would go through them. They had everything. They had the brightest future, the greatest stature, the most respect.

God Shaking It Up – No Ordinary Shake Up Though All the other children were peripheral. They were on the backburner. They were afterthoughts in comparison to the firstborn. HOWEVER, in this family God was about to shake stuff up and do something very different. Now recognize, God was not just shaking stuff up with just any family, He was shaking stuff up with the family that had been promised great and wonderful things. They had been promised to have a nation come from their family. They had been promised to bless the world through their family. They had been that was bountiful. Weighty promises fell on this family and here we see God doing what no one would have ever expected. God did what the culture would have thought at the time was foolish and reckless.

In this shake up God shows us something incredibly important about Himself and His plan of salvation and we will circle back to this in a few minutes, but let’s continue walking through the story and we will come back with a greater focus on this in a few minutes.

Esau Born! So after this oracle from God to Rebekah we see the twins born. The firstborn Esau comes out and he is described as reddish and hairy. Sounds like a cute baby, right? Actually b/c the range of my studies knows no bounds I scoured the internet to find a picture of Esau for you and here it is… (throw up the picture of the Ewok). This guy fits the description almost perfectly, right? That is Esau.

Jacob Born Right after Esau is born Jacob comes out. We read that he is holding the heel of his brother. The name “Jacob” resembles the Hebrew term for “heel” (‘aqeb) and thus Isaac and Rebekah chose this name to commemorate the unusual birth of their second son. Jacob’s birth story foreshadows his life. Even in the womb he is desperately trying to overtake this brother. As we continue in the story we can see that he continues down this path.

Very Different Men As these boys grow up they grow up into very different men. Esau is what one commentator described as the “first redneck” to ever live since he was indeed reddish as our text tells us and he loved to be outdoors hunting and in nature. Esau was Isaac’s favorite son. Isaac loved the game that he hunted and killed for dinners.

Jacob on the other hand was quiet man and what we might call “indoorsy.” You would catch him outside just for the sake of being outdoors. He liked to hang around the tents more. Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite. This may have had to do with all the time they spent together since Jacob liked to hang back at camp or it could have to do with what Rebekah knew of Jacob’s future as he would lead the family and the promise God made to Abraham would continue through him.

Playing Favorites What is unfortunate to see in these verses however is that Isaac and Rebekah had favorites with their children. Of course each child was different and had characteristics that each parent might be able to identify with more, but the difference in these children displays God’s beauty and they should have loved the differences they had as well. The favoritism that is shown in this family unquestionably leads to the turmoil that they experience in the verses ahead.

Birthright for a Bowl of Soup Verse 29 picks up with Esau and Jacob after they had grown up a bit and we see Esau come home after a long day outside working in the fields. He was exhausted and famished. As soon as he gets in he smells the stew that Jacob was cooking and asks Jacob for some stew. Most brothers would have said, “Sure, let me grab you a bowl,” but not Jacob. Jacob was a schemer, who we regularly see manipulating people and situations for his own advancement. He does exactly that here in this situation. Rather than just giving his brother some soup he recognizes his brother’s weak position and pounces on him to take advantage of him in a moment of weakness. He tells Esau that he can have some soup if he will hand over his birthright.

What is a Birthright? What is a birthright you may ask? The birthright was an extra portion of the inheritance. When the father of a family would pass away his possession and money would be divided by the number of sons in the family plus one. The eldest son would get his share plus that extra share. In addition to that he would succeed his father as the patriarch and leader of the family and the family line would go through him. So in this case the birthright would be a double portion of the inheritance from Isaac, leadership of the family and the promises that God had made to Abraham and Isaac of a future nation and worldwide blessing would come through his family.

Satisfying the Temporal, Rather Than the Eternal Esau, more interested in immediate satisfaction than the long-term blessing of the birthright ahead of him foolishly sells it to Jacob for a bowl of soup. I know most of us are not familiar with the concept of a birthright, but just to make sure we are all on the same page this was a really bad deal, really, really bad. It is easy to look at Esau and say, “Are you stupid? Why would you trade something of eternal significance to satisfy a passing appetite that you could have cared for in another way?” But we have to be careful in doling out judgment as we do the same thing daily. How often do we let our momentary appetites for the approval of others, lust, pride, power, respect, pleasure, etc. rule our hearts to the point where we are willing to turn our backs on Jesus, a relationship of eternal significance? We pull an “Esau” everyday, don’t we? So Esau in this moment committed a great sin, but so did Jacob.

Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands As Rebekah’s favorite son it would be very safe to assume that Rebekah had told Jacob that God had come to her and told her that Esau would end up serving him one day. Had he trusted God he could have waited for God to provide, but much like his grandmother Sarah, he decided to take matters into his own hands and advance his cause on his own terms apart from God. So he manipulated his brother when his brother was an easy target.

How often do we do the same? How often do we desire God’s good gifts so much that we manipulate, deceive, trick or tweak to get what we want? When we go about our life willing to sin to get what we want we are showing God that He is not the treasure of our hearts, but rather His gifts are. We treat God like Santa Claus as we expect Him to bring us gifts, and we fail to see that God Himself is the gift. The other gifts He gives are meant to show us His good. They are not an end in themselves, they are a path to finding the greater gift, the giver, God.

Jacob’s Life Jacob’s story does not stop here of course. We don’t have time to walk through all of his life, but thankfully this passage gives us a microcosm of much of Jacob’s life. He is a trickster, he deceives to get what he wants rather than trusting in God. We see this again just 2 chapters later as Jacob dresses up like Esau to trick his nearly blind father into giving him the blessing that was intended for the eldest son, Esau. Over time God breaks Jacob down. Jacob finally begins to trust God over his own wits and ability to manipulate people and situations. When God finally breaks through Jacob’s stony, self- reliant heart he changes his name from Jacob to Israel.

WHAT IS GOD REVEALING IN THIS STORY? So what is the point of this story? What is God revealing about Himself? What is God showing us? I thought back to what I was taught about this story as a child growing up and I had a really hard time remembering what the big take away was. I remember a focus on how we should not manipulate like Jacob did. Also something about never making big decisions when you are really hungry like Esau. Really though I don’t remember much about what the big take away was. Kids loved the story though b/c we have someone dressing up and tricking someone else. Sneaky stuff. It makes for great flannel graph, right? But what’s the big point God wants us to see?

Deep End of the Theological Pool The reason why the big point of the story is rarely talked through is b/c the big point goes really deep. It takes us to a place theologically that many people are not comfortable going. The big point of the story hinges on the fact that God chose the younger son over the older son. God set His saving love on Jacob and chose him to be the heir of salvation, to be the patriarch, to have all of the promises made to Abraham flow through him. This is the portion of the story that was shocking. This is the portion of the story that gets referred back to time and time again throughout Scripture.

Romans 9 Context But why is this significant? Rather than give you my best guess let’s turn over to the book of Romans, chapter 9, and have the Holy Spirit through the writings of Paul give us the insight that we need. Now I wish I had time to start back in :1 and walk through this entire chapter, but for the sake of time I don’t. While I don’t have time to walk through the preceding 9 verses, let me tell you what Paul is saying…

9:1-5 Overview. Romans 9 begins with Paul sharing his broken heart for his fellow countrymen, Israelites, who did not know Jesus. He even went so far as to say that he would give up his own salvation in Christ if he could secure it for them. Of course this is not possible, but shows his heart of love for the lost Jews. Paul begins to set up a question he will in turn answer by rehearsing all that Israel was given by being God’s chosen nation, they were given the law, they had the temple, they were given promises from God, the came through them and even the Messiah Himself, Jesus. However, despite all of this most of Israel was on the outside looking in. They had not put their faith in Jesus as the Messiah. So the question that naturally arises is, has God failed? God chose Israel as a special people for Himself, so why are the vast majority not in a saving relationship with Jesus?

9:6-9 Overview. Paul picks up in verse 6 to say that God’s Word has not failed by any means. He goes on to point out that just b/c someone was born in the line of Abraham and was an Israelite by race did not mean that they were children of the promise. In other words, your family line does not guarantee you a relationship with God. So what group will find salvation? Paul says it is the children of promise. Who are the children of promise? illustrate that for us as we pick up in verse 10.

Romans 9:10-13 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

So what group will find salvation if not all of Israel will? It is the group of God’s elect, the children of promise, those whom God has chosen.

What was the significance of God choosing Jacob’s over Esau? That His purpose of election might stand. That God could show that in salvation He it is His choice that matters. That God is sovereign over salvation as well as every other aspect of life. The principle that God established in the choice of Jacob over Esau carries over into the salvation of all who come to know Christ today as well.

Before Good or Bad Listen to how God made his choice as well… before Jacob or Esau had done anything good or bad. Jacob had not some how dropped a line to God while still in Rebekah’s womb and struck a deal with God to be the heir of salvation. He had not preformed any good works towards his brother in the womb to show how great of a guy he was, in fact the brothers are described as warring in the womb, remember? God’s choice was unconditional. Jacob had not earned it in any way. God’s choice was based solely upon His will.

Not Based on Works We see this reiterated and expanded when Paul says it was not b/c of works. There was nothing that Jacob had done OR there was nothing that Jacob WOULD DO in the future. God had not chosen him b/c an accomplishment that he had or even on the basis of something God foresaw in Jacob as He looked into the future. He didn’t chose Jacob b/c He knew Jacob would chose Him later. No, Paul writes that God chose Jacob b/c it is God who calls. In other words, God chose Him b/c God chose Him. It was His sovereign, gracious choice and it wasn’t based on anything that Jacob would do or could bring to the table.

Jacob I Loved, Esau I Hated Verse 13 concludes with a summarizing quote from 1:1-4 concerning this idea of election. In this quote Paul emphasizes that God sovereignly set His love on Jacob and passed over Esau by saying… “Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated.” We don’t have time to deep dive into this verse, but at first glance it is troubling so let me speak to it quickly. We have seen God’s sovereign love towards Jacob displayed in his election already. We understand what we read when we read that God loved Jacob.

The troubling part of the verse is that God hated Esau. What does that mean? To understand that you would need to go back and look at this quote in its original context in Malachi. Let me sum up what it says. God in passing over Esau and not choosing him, left him to his own course of action and the end result is what we read in :4, people called Malachi and the country he and his family lived in wicked. This is important to see. God’s final condemnation is not unconditional like election is. God is not going bring condemnation upon an innocent Esau. Esau’s wickedness is what would bring judgment. Additionally in Malachi 1:4 we read that God’s anger would remain on this wicked people. So the flow of thought would go like this… God passed over Esau, not choosing him. Esau followed his own course in life, which was wicked. God’s anger rested upon this wicked man. The idea that God hated Esau is tied to the condemnation that God will have on those who live wickedly.

Ephesians 1 – Before the Foundation of the World The Scriptures affirm this electing action of God time and time again. Let me just share one more Scripture that teaches this truth very plainly…

Ephesians 1:3-6 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

So we see once again the Scriptures teaching us that God chose individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world. He predestined individuals to the adoption as sons through Jesus. So the example we see with God’s choice of Jacob is not an isolated event, but rather it reveals a portion of the salvation process. God chooses people before time, God draws His chosen to Himself through the sharing of the Gospel, God changes hearts and give faith, God’s chosen respond in faith, God justifies these lost sinners as they are united with Christ and they are eternally sealed for salvation by the Holy Spirit.

Why Does God Want Us To See His Sovereignty? So the big point of the story of Jacob and Esau was to show God’s Sovereign Grace, His unconditional election in salvation. Why might this be important to demonstrate in one of the lives of the patriarchs? Why would God use the birth story of one of the Fathers of the Nation of Israel to illustrate this? For a few reasons…

1. To Provide Assurance of our Salvation Do you remember how I told you at the start of our study tonight how God is answering some major questions about what a relationship with Him looks like? In Abraham’s life we see how we can enter into a relationship with God, it is through faith. The questions that God answers next in the lives of Jacob and Joseph deal with threats to that relationship we have with God. God uses Joseph to show us how He works through the danger of external evil oppressing us. We will talk about that in the weeks to come. In Jacob’s life and election God is teaching us about the threat of our own sinful hearts and evil desires towards our relationship with God.

Review of Jacob’s Character Jacob couldn’t have been a better example for God to choose to illustrate the truth He shares. The first interaction we see from Jacob is one of manipulation, the next is of deceit, he fails to trust God to provide what He promised. Jacob is not a man of faith like his grandfather Abraham was. He was a conniver, a trickster, a man after his own well-being that was willing to pick your pocket to get what he wanted. How could this man be used of God to father a nation? How could this man be an ancestor to Jesus? How could Jacob be a man of God that would be a light to the nations as Israel was always intended to be?

God’s Grace/Love Set Upon Jacob Sovereign Grace. Jacob was able to be these things b/c God sovereignly chose Jacob and set His grace upon Him. God relentlessly pursued Jacob over and over and over again b/c Jacob was His. God’s grace and plan for Jacob never diminished as Jacob pursued his own path and forgot about God. Why? B/c God chose him. Jacob’s eternal security, his future promise of salvation, the fulfillment of the promises made by God were all on lock down and guaranteed b/c God chose Jacob. This is not to say that what Jacob did in his life with his deceit and sin didn’t matter, what it means is that God’s grace was going to win out in Jacob’s heart, and it did.

We Too Are Secure! The same is true of us in our salvation today and this ought to be a relief b/c much like Jacob we forget God at times don’t we? We put our agenda before God’s on a daily basis. We seek after what pleases us without thought about what would bring God glory. As we look inwardly at our unfaithful hearts we should be alarmed and scared by what is there. Can our wavering faith and lack of faith put our relationship with God at risk? No! Just as God set His love on Jacob before the foundation of the world, He has done the same with each and everyone of us that have genuinely placed our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our assurance of salvation does not come from our faithfulness, but God’s. And His faithfulness is attached to His sovereign choice of people for salvation.

God’s Choice, Not Ours So the first thing that we see from God’s gracious election to salvation is that it is the foundation for our eternal security. Our salvation does not primarily hinge upon our choice of God, but His choice of us! This is good news, right? We change our minds all the time. We may not ever verbally deny Christ, but we deny Him in our hearts and actions regularly. If our salvation rested on our choice of God that would mean we would constantly lose our salvation, but b/c our salvation rests on God’s choice of us we can rest confidently in our salvation.

Rejoice in this reality Christian! You are secure!

2. To Give Him ALL the Glory Beyond showing that we can have confidence in our salvation b/c God’s grace relentlessly pursues us God is making salvation all about Himself. You see, if God’s plan of salvation rested on your choice of Him you would have to receive some of the glory for that wouldn’t you? Sure, it was God who did all the heavy lifting, but it was you who were wise enough to find the truth in the sea of lies that we live in. You were the one who saw through the dense fog of misinformation and found the right path to God. So it would be accurate to give God 99% of the glory, but you would deserve 1% b/c you were the one who found it when so many others who are looking can’t, right?

His… Start to Finish God’s sovereign grace in election eliminates all boasting in salvation. All the glory goes to God b/c salvation from start to finish was planned and empowered by God. Don’t misunderstand me, we have a role in salvation. We do have to believe and place our faith in Jesus, but it is God who empowers that. We just read this in our Ephesians 1 passage, God’s election of a people to salvation is so that He will receive all the praise and glory in salvation. Listen to how this truth jives with what Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9…

Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Our salvation was by grace! God’s grace! His grace in choosing us! His grace in giving us the gift of faith! It isn’t about our works or our choice of Him. Why is that? So that no one may boast! We should only boast in Christ! All the glory is His!

3. To Put Us in Awe of God The final thing I believe God is showing us with His electing grace in the story of Jacob and Esau as well as our salvation stories is that we should be in awe of Him. There is nothing we bring to the table. He provides everything for those who are saved in Christ. Our eternities rest in His gracious hands. Consider how much you depend upon Him and be in awe Christian.

COMMON OBJECTIONS TO ELECTION Now I know that this doctrine of election is hard for a lot of people. I know it was hard for me. I took me years and years of thinking through it specifically to come to terms with it. It is hard b/c as we think about it we think about brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, neighbors and friends who don’t know Jesus and in and of ourselves we can’t save them. As all of these faces cycle through our minds and we contemplate how have no control over their eternal destines we start to think things like…

1. It’s Not Fair It’s not fair that God would choose some and not others. This is the most common response to the doctrine of election. Paul anticipated this argument, listen to what he says in Romans 9:14…

Romans 9:14-15 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

Paul immediately says there is no injustice on God’s part by reminding us that God’s choice is a choice of mercy and He can dispense His mercy as He sees fit.

Election isn’t Fair… It is Gracious and Merciful Something important to remember is that the doctrine of election isn’t a matter of justice. You know what is true justice? Hell, that is justice. God’s wrath being poured out on people who have rebelled against Him. That is justice. Election is a matter of mercy and grace.

Got It Backwards We often picture things backwards. We imagine that there are people who are running to God and crying out to Him, “Let me in your family. Forgive me of my sins.” But is that the picture the Scriptures ever pain of lost sinners? No! Here is what the Scriptures say about man’s seeking of God…

Romans 3:10-12 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Romans 8:7-8 7 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

John 6:43-44 “Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”

Capture the truth of these verses. No one is running to God and seeking forgiveness on their own. The picture we have here is starkly different. They are all running FROM God. They are all running after their own heart’s desires, not God’s!

All of this culminates to teach us something critical about election. Without election Heaven would be empty and Hell would be bursting at the seams!!!

Do We Really Want Control? I think people struggle with the idea of election b/c control is taken out of their hands and it all rests with God. We want control in our lives, right? We want to be the pilot of our destinies, but considering what we just heard about our state of our hearts is that what we really want? Should we really want to pilot our own destines if we will not seek God, if we can’t do good on our own? The scariest possible reality to imagine is one where we are responsible for our own destines. What we need is a God who is gracious and merciful.

So this idea of election not being fair is right… election isn’t fair… Hell is fair… God’s choice to save some is gracious, it is loving, it is merciful, and it is our only hope in finding eternal life!

Transition So one common response to the doctrine of election is that it is not fair. Another way many respond to the doctrine of election is to say that we are…

2. Not Responsible Then Some argue that God’s choice of people to salvation removes human responsibility from the equation. They argue that if salvation rests on God’s choice and not man’s then man can’t be responsible for their choice. People back in Paul’s day had the same response. Listen to what Paul says in Romans 9…

Romans 9:19-21 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

So Paul poses the question, “How can God find fault with unbelievers if it was He who did not chose them?” He is addressing this idea of people not being responsible for their sin since God didn’t chose them to salvation. What does Paul say? He says that as the creature we have no right to respond to the Creator in that manner.

God Chooses AND We are Responsible The Bible repeatedly teaches us that we are responsible for the sin in our lives. Our sin is what condemns us and we are responsible for it. So the question as to how we can be responsible for our sin and yet have our salvation rest in the hands of a Sovereign God is a good question to ask, but it is not a question I think that we will get an answer to. The Bible teaches both realities to be true. If God says they are both true then we need to trust Him with this. He is the potter, we are the clay, right? This kind of question falls under the principle taught Deuteronomy 29:29…

Deuteronomy 29:29 29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Mystery of God Some things in life are just a mystery. We will likely never understand some things in Scripture b/c we have the realities of an infinite God being expressed to finite minds. The Trinity, Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility, The Incarnation and many other things in Scripture are things that we accept by faith and that we trust God with the unknown details with.

Both are Taught, Both are True So those who might claim that God’s sovereign election means we are not responsible for our sin are not giving weight to the full testimony of Scripture. Diving sovereignty is taught from cover to cover in Scripture, but so is human responsibility. Just b/c we can’t reconcile them does not mean one isn’t true, it means it is above us. We must trust the Creator as this is all His Word.

WHAT ELECTION DOESN’T MEAN So we have spent a lot of time talking about this doctrine of election. Let me close by stating 2 things that believing in the doctrine of election does not mean…

1. Believing in Election Doesn’t Mean You Lose a Heart for Evangelism or World Missions Many assume that if you believe in election, in the fact that a Sovereign God has chosen some to salvation, then there is no need to go out and share the Gospel with people b/c God has that all covered and He will save who He has predestined to salvation. While some people have taken the doctrine of election to this extreme it is most certainly unbiblical in every possible way. While God has chosen who will find salvation in Jesus, He has also chosen the means by which people will come to this saving faith. God’s elective purposes work in concert with the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There isn’t any way to work around this. People will only find salvation in the Gospel of Jesus therefore sharing the Gospel with others isn’t an option. There isn’t a plan B. We must take it to any and everyone we can.

Election Propels Evangelism The reality is that we don’t know who God has chosen to salvation so as His servants we will share it with all. Truthfully, election should propel us to share the Gospel more faithfully. We can share the Gospel confidently knowing that God has people out there that He has chosen to save and He is going to work through someone who shares the Gospel. The weight and burden of the salvation of others does not rest on me, but God. All I have to do is to share the truth about Jesus and God will work out the rest in the hearts and lives of the people I talk to.

2. Believing in Election Doesn’t Mean You Think Man Has No Role in His Salvation Additionally, believing in the doctrine of election doesn’t mean that we think man has no role in his salvation. There are some who wrongly assert that if God has chosen someone to salvation then that is it and the person’s salvation is complete. Biblically, this is not true. God’s election of people to salvation before time is only the starting point of salvation. Salvation isn’t fully secured until that person exercises faith in Jesus as Lord. Now we understand that the Bible teaches that faith is a gift from God when He regenerates us and gives us new hearts, but that gift from God is one that we exercise and express in our words and actions. I say all of that to say that faith is a key component in our salvation and the exercise of that faith is essential in salvation. Salvation never comes apart from someone placing their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Appealing to Our Side of the Equation Therefore when we talk to people about the Gospel we don’t tell them about Jesus then ask them to pray to God about whether they are elect or find out if God has chosen them. We invite them to repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. We focus on the portion of the chain of salvation that we play a part in. If someone does place their faith in Jesus that is how we trust that they are chosen of God.

CONCLUSION I know we have gone over a lot tonight. We have most certainly been in the deep end of the theological pool and we have been there for over half the sermon. You are probably tired of treading water and ready for a breather. Good news, we are done for tonight. Let me just close with this… • Maybe you came in tonight and you have already embraced the doctrine of election. I hope you were encouraged tonight by the fact that your salvation is not held up by your choice, but by God’s and therefore your salvation is eternally secure. • Maybe you came in tonight and you have already studied up on the doctrine of election and you don’t believe in it the way we have walked through it tonight. Let me just say that this matter is not a primary issue in the Scriptures that we would ever break fellowship. You won’t ever be a second class citizen at Southern Hills for believing differently. All I would ask is that you keep an open mind to what I have shared as I believe it to be a faithful interpretation of the Scriptures. • Maybe you came in tonight and had not given this doctrine a great deal of thought before in the past and you now have more questions than you do answers. To that let me say that is perfectly ok. We are all growing in our knowledge of God and you don’t have to have it all figured out tonight, but please have it sorted out by next Sunday… just kidding. But really, growth is a process and we just waded through some deep truth. So if you have questions or would like to work through some of this further please reach out and let me know. That would go for anyone of course.

Derailed Our time tonight originally began by focusing in on Jacob and Esau, I know we kind of got derailed, but with the doctrine of election being main focus of the story I didn’t just want to just open what may have been a can of worms for some and run away. I wanted to help show its biblical basis further as we have not dealt with this doctrine much in the past. So I hope you understand why we spent our time the way we did.

Secure and Boasting in Christ In the end this doctrine should give you great hope in a multitude of ways. Your salvation is secure b/c it does not rest on your choice, but God’s. With God being the author of your salvation we have nowhere to boast, but in Him alone. Let’s close tonight doing just that. Let’s close by boasting in the God of Sovereign Grace.

Let’s Pray…