God’s Word Does NOT Fail

Is it possible to God to contradict his own words?

There is an interesting concept in the Bible that you may be familiar with. When kings make an edict, when they make a command, they cannot go back on their word.

• OT – Esther -> The king decreed that the people could kill the Jews. Then, when the plot was exposed, a new edict was made -and it was not to undo the first, was it? Nope. Instead, the Jews had permission to defend themselves.
• NT – Herod -> had a birthday party and his daughter danced and pleased him. So he said to ask fro anything up to half his kingdom, and her mom convinced her to ask for the head of John the baptist. He regretted his word but kept it, and just was killed.

Neither of those kings were Godly people. But they both understood that a king, a supreme ruler, must not go back on their word or their word means nothing.

If that is the case, then for God’s words to fail, or for him to go back on his word, would be a terrible disgrace and even suggesting such a thing would have been unthinkable.

What do you do when it “seems” like the God is contradicting himself? You go back to the Word to see what was really said by God!

Romans 9:6–13 CSB

⁶ Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. ⁷ Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac. ⁸ That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring. ⁹ For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son. ¹⁰ And not only that, but Rebekah conceived children through one man, our father Isaac. ¹¹ For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—¹² not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger. ¹³ As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.

Paul has spent a lot of time and a lot of words saying things that might have sounded like they contradicted God’s words. Or, if what Paul was saying was true, then God went back on his word. So at this point he clarifies:

Romans 9:6 CSB

⁶ Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

“Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because…”

The Jews thought they were the “in the family” because they were born of Abraham. Then Paul declares that being a descendant of Abraham means nothing in regards to being accepted by God and brought into his family.  So either Paul is a heretic and needs to be stoned (which some believed and tried to do), OR there is something that we do not understand or have misunderstood about God and his plan.

In either case, it is NOT AS THOUGH God word CAN fail! It cannot. I has not. So Paul says WHY. This is his argument, and it is a passage that has been troubling to Jews AND to Christians for 2000 years!

As Justin brought out, if you asked a Jew what God they serve, they would often say, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This is actually the way that God introduced himself to Moses when they met at the burning bush:

Exodus 3:6 CSB

⁶ … “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

In this section of verses, Paul used the LIVES of those patriarchs to demonstrate how God REALLY works and what God’s promise to Israel really meant, because they had some misunderstandings. He starts with this statement:

Romans 9:6 CSB

⁶ Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

WHO was the person given the name Israel? It was Jacob.

Genesis 35:10–12 CSB

¹⁰ God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel. ¹¹ God also said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed an assembly of nations, will come from you, and kings will descend from you. ¹² I will give to you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac. And I will give the land to your future descendants.”

God “called” Jacob, Israel. And he promised that a nation would come from him. That nation became known as Israel, named after the new name that God called Jacob.

But not all of Israel’s descendants are part of that nation. Why?

This could be true for multiple reasons – like if thy failed to keep certain festivals, or if they committed certain sins, or if they married certain people they would be “cut off” from the nation.  Just because you are in the lineage of Jacob does not mean you are part of Israel.

So, this statement might not totally surprise his listeners. But it certainly would raise eyebrows.

Romans 9:7 CSB

⁷ Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac.

Paradox: All of your children are your offspring. Even if they come from a different spouse, they are YOUR offspring. That is a biological fact, right? So why would Paul say, “Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants.”

• Abraham had Ishmael first, through Hagar.
• THEN, Abraham had Isaac through Sarai.
• THEN, he had 6 more through Keturah his concubine.

Ishmael, the first born, had 12 sons! But those are not considered “the descendants of Abraham”.  [put on the screen but do not read]

Genesis 25:12–16 CSB

¹² These are the family records of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham. ¹³ These are the names of Ishmael’s sons; their names according to the family records are Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are Ishmael’s sons, and these are their names by their settlements and encampments: twelve leaders of their clans.

12 children, like Jacob had 12 children.

Ishmael had many descendants. HE even had this promise from God:

Genesis 17:20–21 CSB

²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father twelve tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But I will confirm my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”

NOTE: this promise made regarding Ishmael is identical to the one made with Issac other than one point. God’s covenant with Abraham, which would happen through Isaac’s descendants, is that through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed because the Messiah would come through them.

Those were still ALL descendants or Abraham were they not? Yet Paul says that It is Isaac, the one born of promise, to Sarai as God had said, is the one that God chose to bless and call his people, HIS descendants.

So Paul has some explaining to do, and he does:

Romans 9:8–9 CSB

⁸ That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring. ⁹ For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.

FINALLY.

Paul says it is not physical lineage that matters. He is using Isaac to point out that it is God’s promises, God’s WORD, that determine who the promise belongs to.

CONSIDERED/CREDITED/COUNTED

Romans 9:8–9 CSB

⁸ That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered (λογίζομαι) to be the offspring. ⁹ For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.

This is the same word Paul used when talking about Abraham being justified by FAITH. We covered this in detail in chapter 4:

Romans 4:9 CSB

⁹ … Faith was credited (λογίζομαι) to Abraham for righteousness.

λογίζομαι – This is THE word from Chapter 4.

You might be thinking, WELL God blessed Isaac because he was the the son of the legit wife of Abram, not a servant. After all, she was married to Abram and in society, that would be more significant. So OF COURSE Isaac was chosen – he was the birth son of the marriage, to the wife and thus would have preeminence over Ishmael, the son through a slave.

BUT that is not the case. That had nothing to do with the selection of Isaac over Ishmael. It was because that is who God picked. That was God’s WORD, and his word does not fail.

God surprisingly considers those who fulfill his promise to Abraham as Abraham’s children and therefore God’s children also – regardless of genealogy.

NOTE: It is not JUST the removal of those who do not have faith (SUBTRACTION), but the ADDITION of those who DO have faith! That would include the Gentiles.

Not everyone who is a descendant of Israel is Israel, and just because you are from Abraham does not make you his child.

Israel (Jacob), Abraham. Who are we missing? Isaac. Let’s talk about HIS descendants.

Romans 9:10 CSB

¹⁰ And not only that, but Rebekah conceived children through one man, our father Isaac.

“our father” – I love how Paul keeps the connection of being a descendant of Isaac! What do you know about Isaac and Rebekah? Isaac sent his servant to find him a wife. He found Rebekah. They got married and she remained without child for 20 years.  THEN, she got pregnant… with TWINS!

Genesis 25:20–26 CSB

²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord was receptive to his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. ²² But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “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; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. ²⁴ When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first one came out red-looking, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they named him Esau. ²⁶ After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

In this case, they were TWINS – in the womb at the same time. The same mom and the same dad – unlike Ishmael and Isaac who had different moms. They had not even been born yet, and God said this:

Genesis 25:23 CSB

²³ And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.

The older will serve the younger? Not only is that counter-cultural, but there was no merit at that time to deem one more worthy than the other.

Romans 9:11–13 CSB

¹¹ For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—¹² not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger. ¹³ As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.

THIS is where this passage becomes a problem for many.

FIRST with this phrase, “I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau”

LOVE/HATE.

We understand love. This is the Greek agapao ἀγαπάω which is that unconditional love. Love not based upon what someone does, or how they perform. It is love just for loves sake. Intentional regardless of response.

We don’t understand “hate”. Because we are told that hating someone is evil. Jesus said that!  This is the word μισέω miseo which is translated as hate, detest, despicable.

When you read the passage Paul is quoting, there is no other way to describe it! While God may have blessed Esau, he also cursed his descendants.

Malachi 1:2–5 CSB

² “I have loved you,” says the Lord. Yet you ask, “How have you loved us?” “Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob, ³ but I hated Esau. I turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to the desert jackals.” ⁴ Though Edom says, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of Armies says this: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called a wicked country and the people the Lord has cursed forever. ⁵ Your own eyes will see this, and you yourselves will say, ‘The Lord is great, even beyond the borders of Israel.’

God chose, because he wanted to. He chose one to bless and one to curse. Literally. But isn’t that God’s choice? If you are going to declare that God is sovereign, then you also must allow for him to be so in his relationships with people.

Some might say, “Well, God did this because of the way that Esau behaved.” Some of the punishment might have come from that, BUT that is not what our passage says in Romans. Let’s get a little more uncomfortable.

To make his point that God is sovereign, and that his words and decisions, like those of the kings of men, are irrevocable and never fail, Paul calls our attention to 3 things:

1. purpose
2. election
3. call

PURPOSE.

Paul says that God chose Jacob over Esau because that helped accomplish his purpose. What is God’s purpose? It goes back to the promise to Abraham:

Genesis 12:1–3 CSB

¹ The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

• There is no promise that his descendants will all be his people.
• There is no claim that only Israel will be God’s people, there is contrary a teaching that all nations will be God’s people.

The purpose of God was to bless the nations (more than just Abraham’s descendants) by proving the serpent-crusher, the one who will save people from their sins.

God chooses people according to HIS purpose to accomplish his purpose.

HOW does God do this? How DID he accomplish this?

ELECTION.

God chose. Selected. Chose. Picked. Period.

Romans 9:11–12 CSB

¹¹ For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—¹² not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger.

Their election was based not on what the boys would do but on what God does. The decree was issued according to the purpose of God so that his purpose would be exalted and established. His purpose is the ground of election.

Inevitably discussions of predestination come down to the free will of the creature, but bringing the notion of free will to this text is humanistic. The idea of a human will not enslaved by sin is an unbiblical understanding. At the heart of this text is indeed a profound affirmation of free will. It teaches that our salvation rests ultimately and eternally on free will, but it is not our free will; it is God’s. It is the free will of the Creator, the Redeemer, who, in his sovereign grace, pours his mercy out upon those he chooses. In this case, God distinguishes between Jacob and Esau, the younger and the elder. ~Sproul, R. C. (2009). Romans (pp. 315–316). Crossway.

We talked about something like this previously when we talked about there being two thrones. There is Satan’s throne and God’s throne. To say that God sits on our throne is to make US the most important thing and WE ALLOW GOD to be in control. That is a very narcissistic and arrogant perspective of who we are and how important we are. Not to mention, it places God’s will at our whim.   It is not that we put God on the throne of our lives, we have no throne! We are slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. We cannot have two masters is how Jesus put it.

Similarly, to say that we have free will and God chooses us because he knew we would choose him carries with it the same humanistic world view. This is called prescience (pre-knowledge) and is the common way that I hear people grapple with the concept of election. “God knew I would accept him so he called me”. Think about that, and then read the passage of Romans 8-9.

God picks whomever he wants, for whatever purpose he wants. We plan to cover more of that next week, but for this week, let me ask you this:

Did Abram pick God or did God pick Abram?

Genesis 12:1–3 CSB

¹ The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

There is no talk about their relationship before this. God approached Abram, because of his own choosing.

• Did Moses choose God or did God choose Moses and condemn Pharaoh?
• Did God choose Noah and condemn the rest of mankind?
• Did Paul choose Jesus or did Jesus choose Paul?

Friends, a few weeks ago I told you that the topic of election could not be avoided. The important thing is that you wrestle with it and form your theology based upon the Scriptures. God’s word is clear the calls and elects (chooses) whom he wants out of his own good pleasure and according to his purpose.

The blueprint of election is seem all throughout God’s Word because God is sovereign and his words never fail.

CALLS.

So, God PICKS people based upon HIS PURPOSE. Then Paul talks about CALL.

Paul has used this word “CALL” a few times in Romans:

Romans 1:5–6 CSB

⁵ Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles, ⁶ including you who are also called by Jesus Christ.

Some of the Gentiles were called by Jesus (not all who are born of Abraham and his descendants)

Romans 4:17 CSB

¹⁷ As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations— in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.

God called, spoke into existence, the life of Isaac when he made the promise to someone whose womb was dead.

Romans 8:28 CSB

²⁸  We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Notice in that last verse how calling and purpose co-exist. They are combined. We are called because he has purposed it to be so, because it helps to accomplish his purpose.

The word for “call” καλέω (kaleō) carries the idea of being called by name and often used of giving someone a name.

Luke 1:60 CSB

⁶⁰ But his mother responded, “No. He will be called John.”

There is a different verb to “call to oneself or summon” and while that can be implied in our passage, I think it is not necessary to make that step. If Paul want to say “called to” he could have used προσκαλέω (proskaleō) but he chose to use καλέω (kaleō).

God called Abram, Abraham. God called Jacob, Israel. Jesus called Simon, Peter. God calls you and me!

2 Peter 1:3 CSB

³ His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

God called us, why? Because he knew we would answer? Not what the Bible says. He called us by how own glory and goodness. His purpose. His choosing.

This idea of being called is that it is God speaking.

The same voice that called creation into existence, call us into existence. The same breath that gave life to the first man, gives live to those he chooses. Not only that, but God gives us a name. “He will be called my son. She will be called my daughter”.  There is nothing in use that makes us worth (like birthright), no deeds we can do (like Jacob & Esau).

The same voice that called existence into being calls us his children.

—-

I realize that leaving off here may make you uncomfortable. That is fine, come back next week and you may be satisfied – or more uncomfortable. 😂

FOR YOU AND ME:

1. God’s word never fails because God calls and God chooses people based upon his own purpose and pleasure.
2. that means that if you have become a Jesus follower, it was not by accident. God knew, and he called and picked you because YOU are a part of his plan! How amazing is that?!?
3. we must also remember that you and I do not know who God has chosen. So we pray for all to come to know Him. We share God’s unfailing word with them. Paul will cover this in chapter 10 ( in just a few weeks!)

1 Thessalonians 2:11–12 CSB

¹¹ As you know, like a father with his own children, ¹² we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

I encourage and implore you: walk worth of God who calls you into his glory.