Insight for Living

Narrator: When facing a terminal diagnosis, financial ruin, or a devastating loss, our perspective determines whether we survive or thrive. So, how do we rise above our suffering when we're tempted to wallow in our pain? Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll shares the answer from Romans 9 through 11.

In this passage, Paul shows us that God's sovereignty, his justice, and his faithfulness will transform our perspective and relieve our pain. Need some relief from the pressure and disappointment you feel? Chuck calls today's study in Romans, Three Faces of God.

Pastor Chuck Swindoll: In God’s great plan, he—if I may use the words—he is the star of the show. He is the preeminent one. In chapter 9, he is sovereign. In chapter 10, he is just. In chapter 11, he is faithful. That’s what these chapters are about. It so happens to be applied to the Jews.

But in chapter 9, he is sovereignly in charge of selecting those who will come into the family and blinding those who choose not to. In chapter 10, he declares his justice: the only way I can receive anyone into my family is through faith in my son. Jew, Gentile, it doesn’t matter. In chapter 11, I haven’t forgotten my people. I had made promises, and I will make them good.

God’s faithfulness is promised there. God’s sovereignty, chapter 9; God’s justice, chapter 10; God’s faithfulness, chapter 11. Three faces of God. Now when you get into chapter 9, it isn’t long before you feel the heartbeat of a Jewish pastor, a Jewish missionary, a Jewish writer of Scripture.

Verse 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." Why, Paul? After coming to that climax at the end of act one, the curtains close, "Nothing will separate us from the love of Christ." Paul says, "Wait, wait, wait. But what about my fellow Jews?"

I'm grieved. Verse 3, you wonder how grieved: "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." So he says, "I'm grieved. I would be willing to be accursed if my kinsmen would believe." Then he reminds himself and us in his writings that it is God who is at work.

Verse 6: "It is not as though the word of God has failed, for they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel." Just because you’re born a Jew doesn’t mean you’re truly a part of the family. That’s a surprising message to the orthodox Jew. "Nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants." They would consider that heresy. No wonder they don’t read the New Testament. They are descended from Abraham; that means they are in the family, they're born in the family. Wrong, says Paul.

Your Messiah has already come, though you did not recognize him. The Messiah has already paid the penalty for your sin, though you haven’t received it, haven’t accepted it. So understand, just because you’re Jewish doesn’t mean you’re in the family of God. Matter of fact, God has selected those who are in his family, and this is called divine election.

You will never understand the doctrine of election if you do not see it's a matter of perspective. As God looks down upon humanity from the portals of heaven, if I may use that term, as he looks onto this earth and sees all of humanity, from his perspective, none of it is a surprise. Everyone who believes has been called to believe. Everyone has been elected. Everyone is in the family that God has chosen to be in the family. That’s chapter 9.

Matter of fact, when you get deeply into the chapter, you realize there’s an illustration about a potter with a piece of clay, and the clay cannot say to the potter, "What are you doing?" It’s the potter’s sovereign right to shape the clay as he pleases. So it is from God’s perspective, his sovereign right to select whom he chooses. He is the one who makes that decision.

And he places in our path those individuals who will lead us to a knowledge of Jesus, and then we respond by faith to the message. And then we believe, and horizontally it looks like we’re the ones who made the decision, when in fact, we are responding to the divine work of God in our lives. We have not been taught Romans 9 correctly.

All the way through this chapter, there’s the reminder that he is in charge. He is the one making the call. He is the one who determines these things. God’s sovereign hand is at work. Now there are some who say, "If I really believe that, and even in survey fashion, if I believe that it’s all about the sovereign hand of God, then I’d lose all my zeal for those who are lost." Really? Look at chapter 10, verse 1. Does this look like a loss of zeal?

Brethren, sisters, my heart’s desire, my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. And the message of the Savior is Christ died for you, and if you will believe in him, Jew or Gentile, young or old, boy or girl, man or woman, you will know a peace that you can’t know any other way.

Look how he puts it right in the center section of Romans 10. This is a familiar part. Verse 11: "The scripture says, whoever believes in him will not be disappointed." It’s wide open, whoever will believe. How can that be? I thought chapter 9 says God chose. Chapter 10 says whoever believes. Which is it? Both.

I don’t know who the elect are. I just know who the lost are. And my job is to tell the lost how to find bread, how to find light and hope. It’s God’s work to do a work in your heart and to bring you to himself. That’s his sovereign work. My message is whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.

Look at verse 12: "There’s no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on him." You mean I, a dog, can call on him and he will answer? He’ll answer your bark. He’ll answer you when you call on him. You, an old, sorry, sinful Gentile, you trust in Jesus, he’ll answer you.

What if I’m a Jew and I come from a long line of Jews and my father was a rabbi and I’ve been taught all of this all my life? Same thing. God’s just, remember? He can’t alter his plan because you happen to be Jew. He’s just. It’s a plan that goes across the board regardless of your heritage. Whoever will believe will come to know the Savior and will have the same benefits.

And chapter 10 emphasizes the justice of God. Does that mean I’m not involved? No, look closely. Verse 14, chapter 10: "How then will they call on him whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?"

Wonderful questions, all involving human responsibility. When I am called to ministry, I go into ministry. As a part of the ministry, I preach the gospel. Whoever will may come. Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things." Beautiful feet right there.

He doesn’t mean literally my feet. It’s a symbol of walking in a path of obedience so that we make the message known. How wonderful it is to have those who will proclaim the truth to those who are lost. Because without the hearing of the gospel, there will not be a belief in the gospel.

Well, has God forgotten the Jews? All those promises he made and special favor he’s shown toward them over the centuries? Look at chapter 11. Here’s the answer: "I say then, God has not rejected his people, has he?" *Me genoito*. May it never be! Perish the thought! May it never be! I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left and they are seeking my life." Elijah is so introspective here. He can only see where he is and he doesn’t realize God’s at work in this.

Look at the answer. But what is the divine response to him? "I have kept for myself 7,000 who have not yet bowed the knee to Baal." In the same way then, verse 5, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. Watch closely. "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace."

So it’s got to be according to God’s plan. Grace is going to be the way it happens. What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it and the rest were hardened. Just as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day." That’s from God’s perspective. Keep perspective in mind.

Verse 11: "I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they?" May it never be. But by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them jealous. Isn't that a great line? Because they rejected and rejected and rejected, Paul realized my ministry really is to turn to the Gentiles, which isn't revolutionary to us in the 21st century, but in the first century, it made news.

A Jewish messenger proclaiming the good news to dogs, to Europeans, to those who are not Jewish. It’s called the church, the work of diversity, God’s ministry to Jew and Gentile alike. And God has not forgotten his people. As a matter of fact, the point of this is when we who are Gentiles come to Christ, our lifestyle and our relationship with the Jews ought to be such that they become jealous over what they’re missing. That’s the whole point.

Because God has not forgotten his people. And you come to the very end of this 11th chapter and here again is this great doxology: "Oh, the depth of the riches, both the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable, how unfathomable!" Longer you live as a Christian, the more you will realize God’s work is unsearchable and unfathomable. It’s a matter—listen to me—of perspective.

When you look at it from this perspective, the horizontal, it will be confounding, it will seem contradictory, it will seem impossible. Situations will be bleak and depressing, discouraging, when you only look at it from this perspective. But when you see God’s hand at work as he breaks through the impossible, it is remarkable what it does to you. Remarkable.

The depth of the wisdom of the knowledge of God, how unsearchable his judgments, unfathomable his ways. Who would have ever thought that the pathway it would take to bring you to Christ took the pathway it did? God’s sovereign hand was at work. William Cowper wrote it this way:

"God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform. He plants his footstep on the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines of never failing skill, he works together his bright design and accomplishes his sovereign will." He works among us in profound ways.

Of him and to him and through him are all things, to whom be glory forever and ever. I’m going to say it again. It’s all about God. It’s just all about God. Now you might wonder, since you can’t get your deck chair open, you might wonder, what does this have to do with me today?

Seriously now, Chuck. I know you theologian-type people are all excited about stuff like this, but what is this really saying? It’s saying God has not forgotten his chosen people. He has not forgotten his promises to them. As a matter of fact, why is this so relevant? Listen to this. In this way, our past and our present are not a model of our future.

Israel is a perfect case in point. Our past and our present are not a model of how it will always be. God continues to work. He works sometimes through us, sometimes in spite of us. God continues to work. Here’s the other lesson I learn. Our situation and our struggles are not one-dimensional.

I'll explain that. Our situation and our struggles are not one-dimensional. Every one of us has gotten some tough news over the last five years, maybe over the last 12 months. It’s been difficult. In some cases, it’s impossible. Doctors use words like terminal, irreversible.

They bring an x-ray, they show you it’s a mass, and it’s the worst kind, and it looks treacherous and frightening, and your immediate response is why? How could this happen to me? I have served him more in these last 10 years of my life than ever before. How could this happen? That’s all horizontal thinking.

When you bring in the perspective of the vertical, you ultimately come to realize God’s using even this for his greater purpose. Speaking of perspective, I read this past week of a coed who was having two problems. Same problems many students in college have. She had low grades, and she ran out of money. She was forced to communicate both facts to her parents. She knew she’d have trouble understanding.

After considerable thought, she used a creative approach to soften the blows of reality. "Dear Mom and Dad," she writes, "just thought I’d drop you a note to clue you in on my plans. I’ve fallen in love with a guy named Jim. He quit high school after grade 11 to get married. About a year ago, they got a divorce. We’ve been going steady for two months, and we plan to get married in the fall. Until then, I’ve decided to move into his apartment. I think I might be pregnant. At any rate, I’ve dropped out of school. Last week, I dropped out of school, although I’d like to finish college sometime in the future after I have the baby."

The next page: "Mom and Dad, I just want you to know that everything I’ve written so far in this letter is false. None of it is true. But Mom and Dad, it is true I got a C in French and flunked math. It is true that I’m going to need some more money for my tuition payments."

If my daughter ever wrote me a letter like that, I’d send her any amount of money she wanted. You know why? Perspective. I mean, compared to marrying Jim, how much do you need, toots? I will find the money. I will find it. What’s the difference? It’s how he looked at it. Before, a C in French and flunking math is like a show-stopper, but compared to marrying Jim, having a baby... our situation and our struggles are not one-dimensional.

I don't know where you are today, but you face something that's impossible. Maybe a relationship, maybe a job relation, it may be a job itself. You may find yourself backed up against the wall of reality with the latest x-ray from your physician. You may be going through the depths emotionally. You may be under serious medication just to survive.

And your mind plays tricks on you. Happened to me this week. I buried Nancy, looking into the face of Will whom I have loved for years. Fifty-six-year-old woman, mother of a son 14 and a daughter 12. And a grieving husband and two motherless children sat in front of me, and we all cried.

And I realized again that this is not the way I would have run things. This is not what you and I would have done. Seems cruel, until I remind myself that God’s too good to be cruel. He doesn’t play games with his children. On some occasion, he selects individuals to bring home to himself and to leave us in our grief, momentarily stunned and disillusioned, but knowing that it will turn and become for us a deeper reason to trust him. I have to believe that.

Like Joseph who said to his brothers, "You meant it to me for evil when you sold me into slavery, but God meant it for good." I went through hell on earth, but as a result, there’s grain in the silos, there’s food for the family, and through that misery of the past, God brought about good.

It’s a matter of perspective. If you don’t keep the right perspective, you will live a defeated life. Your life will center around yourself and how you personally would run things. Then when you realize after the fact how God was running it and what his plan was, you go, thank goodness I’m not running things.

Because you see, I’d keep everybody happy. I’d make everybody contented. I’d give everybody a quarter of a million dollar salary every year. Don't you wish you worked for me? I would take away all your pain. I would never let there be any tears, and I would raise nothing but an immature family that is indulged.

Thank God I'm not calling the shots. Our God is sovereign. And he sovereignly selects those in his family, and he sovereignly chooses those to take off the earth. Our God is just. He will not play favorites because this person is of that heritage and you're not. It’s all on the same level. All the ground is level at the cross. Isn't that great?

That little boy in West Dallas that can hardly read, walking barefoot on the streets, has just the same chance to hear the gospel and to believe in Jesus as you with your PhD and your fine job and sophistication. God’s just. God’s faithful. He never writes us off.

Aren’t you glad that when you go to him in prayer, he doesn’t answer, "And who are you?" or, "Is that you again?" No, he says, "Come on. Come to me. I'll give you rest. Come on."