Transcript from an audio teaching by Dr. James White – Part 1

….let’s look at Romans chapter 9 and let’s start off with the context…. again chapter and verse divisions were not a part of the original text of Scripture.

And so what have we just had? We’ve had the Golden Chain of Redemption, Romans chapter 8. In fact, it might be well to go back and to remind ourselves of what has come before.

“We know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God, for 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.” (Romans 8:28-29)

I just stop long enough to challenge in the minds of anyone who thinks that this term foreknew as a verb is the same thing as the noun to simply have foreknowledge, that you are wrong. And that you need to look at the text of Scripture and realize that this is an active verb. This is something God is doing and every time God is the subject and this is the verb in the New Testament, the object is personal it is never actions. To simply say God knew who was going to believe, there is no example of that statement in the New Testament. It is not there. It is not an untrue statement but it doesn’t answer anything and it doesn’t tell us what it means for God to foreknow someone.

It says God foreknew Christ, does that just mean God had knowledge of what Christ would do? No. This is an active verb. It is something that God does. So, “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.” Here is the Golden Chain. God is the one doing every single verb. Foreknew – predestined – called -justified – glorified. God does each one. It is the exact same audience in each one. Those whom He foreknew he does all the other things that result in their glorification. It is a certainty. It is all to God’s glory.

Now, we know for example that one of those things is justification. And we know that the bible says we’re justified by grace, we’re justified by the blood of Christ, and we’re justified by faith. So obviously, the means by which these things then come into play, they come into our experience are included in God’s sovereign capacity and power to do these things. And so having said this, then verse 31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us who is against us?”

Notice those terms that are used there. Us. Follow the pronouns. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

If the ‘us’ here is all humanity, you are going to be forced into the position of absolute universalism here. You will not be able to affirm the existence of those who are saved and those who will be lost.

Who is the us in Romans chapter 8 verse 33? “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? ” God’s elect. God is the one who justifies. Justifies who? Justifies the elect. Who is it that is justified in the Golden Chain? Foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified. “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised to the right hand of God.” Who also does what? “intercedes for us.”

The work of atonement and intercession are both the singular work of the High Priest. Those for whom Christ dies, He also intercedes for them. Continue reading →

I was shocked one day when studying the original Greek of Hebrews 13:5. In this verse there is a fourfold repetition of denial showing the absolute impossibility of God leaving or forsaking one of His own children (literally “I will not cease from holding you up”).

This repeated denial is brought out most clearly in the Amplified Bible where it says:

“for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not!]”

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.

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

After the crescendo of revelation in Romans 8, Paul now attempts to deal with an objection that he knows would be mounted against all he has communicated so far, namely, “If it is impossible for the people of God to be separated from God’s love, why is it that most of the Jews now stand in just such a condition?”

Most of Israel did not embrace Jesus as Messiah. As such, there is no salvation for them. Paul desires this with a fervent passion (Romans 10: 1Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.) But it still needs to be explained why a nation who are His special chosen ones failed to come in to the kingdom of God at the very height of Israelite ministry, the time all the prophets had pointed to for generations; the coming of the long awaited Messiah.

Many theologians, in failing to recognize that this is indeed what Paul is seeking to do here, also fail to see the point of the three chapters of Romans 9-11. Some have even gone so far as to say that these chapters are something of an apolostolic digression – that Paul went down a theological rabbit trail – and we should wait for him to emerge back up from the hole at chapter 12, when he comes back to the point of our response to the gospel.

I could not disagree more. Paul is doing what he knows must be done – defend the integrity of God and His promise. Paul is a Jew and it grieves him tremendously that his fellow Jews (as a whole) failed to recognize Messiah when He came.

The theme of God’s righteousness is central to Paul in this epistle (Romans 1:16, 17; 3:21-27; 5:17-21; 8:4) and so he understands that God’s very righteousness is on the line if there are all the many promises made to Israel and in the end, none of them happen. “What is at stake ultimately in these chapters is not the fate of Israel; that is penultimate. Ultimately God’s own trustworthiness is at stake. And if God’s word of promise cannot be trusted to stand forever, then all our faith is vain.” – John Piper

That’s why all the opening verses of Romans 9 are a preamble to talk on this issue in the sixth verse – Paul wants to tell us with apostolic authority that God’s word has not failed at all and he wants to explain why this is the case.

On the way there, he tells us of his apostolic heart for Israel (verses 1-3). Paul was no mere theological brain without a heart. Paul was so consumed with love for Israel that if it were possible (which it isn’t) he would revoke his own election if it might mean the salvation of the Jews.

This is so important to recognize. Many who embrace the doctrine of election share no passion whatsoever to reach lost people. Paul proclaimed Divine Sovereignty in salvation at least as much as any other apostle, and yet no one could doubt Paul’s tremendous compassion for those lost in their spiritual blindness.

Some see election as a dampener to evangelism, yet they do so without any biblical precedent. For Paul, election is the fuel in the tank FOR evangelism… Just as Jesus has many others not of this fold, and that is why He must proclaim the kingdom elsewhere (John 10:16; Luke 4:43)… so Paul recognizes that God has His people everywhere and He must go reach them by preaching. Without election, evangelism would be tantamount to the frustration a salesman would have trying to sell his wares in a graveyard. The dead do not buy anything, and likewise, spiritually dead people do not come to Christ. God elects people and through the proclamation of the gospel (the effectual call, Romans 8:29-30), raises these ones to spiritual life (being born again or born from above) so that they respond in faith to the message.

THE SPIRITUAL PRIVILEGES OF ISRAEL

Jesus said “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). This is a fact borne out by the fact that the Old Testament is a Jewish book, Jesus is a Jew, and most of the New Testament was written by Jews also. Humanly speaking, Gentiles owe a great debt of gratitude to the Jews. Indeed, the very book we are reading (Romans) is written by a Jew.
Continue reading →