Introduction

Immediately after finishing last week on Paul's defense of sovereign election, I found myself asking the practicality question: what is the relevance of this doctrine for me, for us, for the church today? Practical issues begin with doctrine; the two really go together; they ought to be interfaced always. Christianity is practical life rooted in doctrine.

Of course one thing we can do is apply Paul's defense as a standard by which to determine if the church today is man-centered or God-centered? A man-centered theology opposes sovereign election because it seeks to give man the final authority over his life and destiny. God's sovereignty can be thought of in no higher terms than those allowed by man's assertion of free will and autonomy. Thus, objection is raised to sovereign election of some to salvation and the passing over of others. One of the common reasons given to oppose sovereign election is that it is unfair. And we are back to Romans 9.

Review

9:8, 11: Paul defends God's faithfulness to Israel by reference to Scripture which reveals God's sovereign choices from the very beginning, especially in the examples of His choice of Isaac over Ishmael and His choice of Jacob over Esau. His defense from Scripture is that God has always dealt with Israel in terms of an elect remnant of His choosing.

9:14a: Once he demonstrates God's faithfulness to Israel by going to Scripture and to the Isaac and Jacob passages, the objection is then raised that God is unfair in choosing one person and not another. Paul finds his answer again by going to Scripture, to God's word to Moses and to Pharaoh. He defends sovereignty by showing from Scripture that God is very sovereign: He has mercy on whom He chooses to have mercy; He hardens whom He chooses to harden (9:18).

9:14b: If you complain that this makes God unrighteous, Paul replies that this complaint fails. Why? Because Scripture teaches sovereign election in no uncertain terms (9:15, 17, God says, Scripture says; cf. the standard). If Scripture teaches it then it cannot be unfair. If Scripture teaches it, then this complaint ought not to be raised.

Furthermore, the passages Paul cites have nuances that speak precisely to the complaint.

1) 9:15: The mercy passage that Paul quotes (Exodus 33:19) shows that mercy arises from God's name, and thus from His character as the self-existing "I am" of whom we say, "He is" (Yahweh is literally "He is"). Mercy must arise from within God Himself, from His own independence, self-sufficiency, and choice or He would then be unrighteous (i.e., inconsistent with His name). It is righteous for God to show mercy on whom He chooses because then He is consistent with His perfect nature.

2) 9:15: Sovereign election is a matter of sovereign mercy where the issue of justice does not pertain; if justice pertained then none would be saved given our sinfulness; that some are saved is because of sovereign mercy.

3) 9:18: Sovereign election is a matter of sovereign severity in which God hardens whom He wills to harden; it is on a different field from justice, as well, for if justice pertained then all would be hardened.

4) 9:17: And finally sovereign election/hardening/reprobation accords with the highest righteousness conceivable; it glorifies God, so it is impossible that it be faulted as unjust.

Looking back over this material, we can say that Paul is very specific in his application to the precise matters at hand. But these specifics are part of a larger fabric of implications and applications. Today I want to discuss that larger fabric before we go on to the next section in Romans 9:19ff. In this larger fabric, I want to consider the practical application of sovereign election in particular and sovereignty in general in three ways: the application sketched, the application summarized, and the application detailed.

1A. The application of sovereign election sketched

Beginning right here in Romans 9:14-18, we can look at the particular threads Paul identifies and then widen our lens and note some other threads that are connected to it, especially threads of application (or fray a rope to see all that is intertwined).

1) First, the mention of mercy reminds us of our need as sinners (our need, my need, your need). We need mercy; we therefore ought to acknowledge our need and confess our sin. This is fundamentally proper, especially before the Lord, but also with one another.

2) Second, we are taught to petition the Lord for mercy and to wait upon Him in submission to His will. It is His decision and we wait upon Him trusting His faithfulness (looking to His promises but not in a mechanical or automatic way as a formula; He is faithful but He shows mercy on whom He chooses to show mercy).

3) Third, we are taught to fear God when we contemplate His sovereign severity (hardening whom He will). Do we not learn to have a very alert respect, reverence and awe before the majesty of the One with whom we have to do? The consequences of sin are extremely serious. This applies to us as His people as well. We should fear His hand of chastening and learn like we want children to learn from our correction—to stop and correct and turn around.

4) Fourth, we are taught to think and live by Scripture to bring every thought expressed in action captive to the obedience of Christ. We therefore say, "Scripture says is what God says and that is what will guide my thinking and doing by God's grace."

5) Fifth, we are taught the importance of being who we are. As God is consistent with His nature in sovereign election so we are to be consistent with our nature as His elect image bearers. One way of saying this is Paul's injunction to walk worthy of your calling, to live in a manner that is consistent with His effectual call.

6) Sixth, we are reminded that the highest standard of righteousness for our lives is that which glorifies God. God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart cannot be unrighteous because it served the ultimate end of His own glory. That must be our great end and goal in all of life: His glory!

This is quite a sketch. That God has mercy on whom He will have mercy shows us our need that we should acknowledge as we plead for mercy in submission to His will. That He hardens whom He chooses to harden shows us His sovereign severity and the consequences of sin which should instill in us godly fear and carefulness in our walk, that we walk worthy of our calling, according to Scripture, and for His glory.

2A. The application of sovereign election summarized

Much of what I am presenting today is like a shot gun blast with many pellets covering a large area. Only a few may strike home, or in God's dealing with us, the whole blast may hit us right in the chest-right in the heart. The sketch is like this and when we do the detailing it will be like this (a spray of pellets impacting us for righteousness!).

But for the summary, I want to stress a very specific point that pulls this sovereignty passage together in one concept, one word, one attitude. Can you guess where I am going? If you were to summarize all of these applications sketched earlier, what single concept, word, and attitude would you select that takes in them all?

Gratitude could be cited but it only takes in some but not all. The point I am seeking takes in the whole sketch.

I refer to the summary grace of humility. Sovereign election is a lesson in humility. Humility summarizes all the applications in a basic way. To acknowledge our sin is a matter of humility before our righteous God. To plead His mercy and to submit to His will is to humble ourselves before His Kingship. To fear God and to fear His chastening is to humbly acknowledge His justice and wisdom. To live by Scripture is to humble ourselves under His authority, under His authoritative word. It is a matter of humility to determine and resolve that your entire life glorify not yourself but God.

But objections are raised by the human mind elevating itself. As Calvin put it, "Monstrous surely is the madness of the human mind, that it is more disposed to charge God with unrighteousness than to blame itself for blindness" (Romans 354). And we must be alert to the fact that we carry such thinking into the Christian life: it is particularly difficult and painfully humbling to blame ourselves (cf. we are mask wearers looking in the mirror). But we can do this, it is reasonable to do this, before our Lord Jesus who is gentle with us. Expose yourself to Him, expose your sin to Him, this He requires and He is gentle in His dealing with us when we come to Him in humble acknowledgement of our daily sins.

It is humbling to note from the doctrine of God's sovereign and free election that our standing in grace is not due to anything we have done and that we actually should receive just the opposite. This should season our walk in grace; we ought to be seasoned by the fact that the good that comes to us is because God is pleased to show compassion to us through the means He has appointed, in the way and the time of His own choosing, and for reasons known only to Himself.

To live for His glory is to be a humble servant, to serve God and others not ourselves. This flows from recognizing His greatness and our relative smallness. If recognize the honor due to His name, then we will see that our work is for Him, for His honor and glory—we take second place—last place- leaving it to Him to exalt us (as at the table). It is a denial of our professed belief in the sovereignty of God if we do not carry ourselves with humility before God and man.

3A. The application of sovereign election detailed

For detailing we can ask this question: "Therefore, what kind of people are we to be?" I am going to answer this from treatment of the theme outside of Romans. In Romans many specifics are given later in chapters 12-15. We will work our way there to the "therefore" section beginning at 12:1. Today I will look elsewhere especially to the books of Ephesians and Philippians where sovereign grace is clearly spelled out (cf. Eph. 1:4; Phil. 2:13).

Here is some of what we find there regarding the application of the truth that God elects some to salvation and passes over others.

1) Holy living is the immediate purpose of our election by God to be saved (Eph. 1:4; before God, in His sight!).

2) Humble holiness is a governing principle (4:1-2; humility is a leading virtue in the promotion of love and peace; peaceful love, loving peace between sinners). This new life is to be marked by a total and complete humility: "be completely humble." This is not a secondary point or a small issue. It is maximal and primary; it is to be full and complete across the board of the Christian life. Humility is a cardinal virtue of the holy life. It goes with belief in the sovereignty of God. It is entirely inconsistent with belief in sovereignty to fail to be humble. Lack of humility betrays belief in sovereignty. Something is very wrong, inexcusably wrong, dishonorably wrong if we deny our sovereign Lord by not carrying ourselves humbly in relationship to others. Humility is not something we can have before God but not before men: it is a single whole lived in the sight of God.

Think of how complaining and quarreling manifest the opposite of a humble spirit (Phil. 2:14). When you complain you are not submitting to the will of God. I am doing a little better now but when I first started the new philosophy course at Cornerstone University I did some complaining. My complaining about the work demanded by various problems was done mostly to my wife; but I had to acknowledge that the complaining expressed an attitude that was not humble but one that insisted that I am so important that this should not be my lot in life. Admitting this does not change the demands, but it does free the heart for the work in a Christian way, a way that is worthy of the Christian calling. Otherwise we are proud and live in a manner that is inconsistent with God's gracious call. We show ourselves ingrates who betray a most solemn trust we claim to have received from God: mercy by sovereign election rather that sovereign severity.

Consider also how quarreling is the opposite of a humble spirit (cf. Phil. 2:14 in context of the call to be humble given God's sovereign work in you and given the example of Christ, Phil. 2:3, 13). It ought not so to be in our lives as the Lord's elect and called ones.

Look at some of the qualities of quarreling in 2 Timothy 2:24 (unkind, teaching without being duly qualified, resentful; this applies to all Christians in principle as to the pastor-to spiritual heads of homes, especially husbands but also to wives and to all of us in our witness and ministries to others).

3) Humble holiness is applied to all our stations in life.

A new life is set in motion by gracious electing love; so walk worthy of it (Eph. 4:1) and do so by putting off certain things and putting on other things (4:20-24). Put off the things mentioned in 4:31("brawling" connotes a bar scene; it is better thought of in a domestic setting referring to clamor or quarreling that becomes loud, angry, bitter, and malicious).

Instead, we are to put on those cited in 4:32 (especially lovingkindness that treats others always in light of how God treats us!; thus, "forgive as…."). It's all a matter of God-like-ness, of godliness, and of being like our Father in heaven; so live a life of love (5:1, as "imitators of God"; Give because Jesus gave!). Sovereign election is compromised, tainted, betrayed, and dishonored if we do not take up our several duties according to our stations in life as wives, husbands, children, parents, workers, employers.

What kind of people are we to be as God's elect? What am I to be? What are you to be? What kind of pastor, husband, father, son, daughter, brother and sister? We are to be persons who believe that God is the sovereign Lord who has called us to live a holy and humble life before Him.

Before leaving this thought, I have to stress the matter of biblical order here and say that this call to a humble holy life applies in a special way in the home to the husband, especially at home and especially to the husband (Eph. 5:21-6:4). Where do I get this especially? (From: "love your wives as Christ the church" which puts this matter on the highest possible plane). Amazingly, to be true to the doctrine of sovereign election and to be true to the sovereign Lord who chooses, the husband must have one primary goal in life above his work, his possessions, his own health and well-being: the well-being of his wife. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her and for her well-being in the highest possible sense. This has to be a key way to have the home as a stepping stone to heaven. It begins with the husband and rests primarily on the husband to glorify God at home (cf. my most important responsibility as a pastor is to my wife; as it is for any husband in any work).

Final Remarks

One thing we learn here is that to make God's glory our greatest aim and to work toward it in all that we do according to His commandments is the way to taste a little of heaven here and now on earth. To glorify God is where every fact is heading. When we make that our objective, we experience the joy of being what we are designed to be: God's image bearers who humbly reflect His glory in the world (note that the objective is not our taste of glory but His glorification!).

Just as Romans 12-15 reeks with the practical application of sovereignty and sovereign election, likewise the book of Ephesians reeks with practical application of election to our lives, to our walk. Walking speaks of wherever our feet take us, there we are to live in a manner that is consistent with belief in God Almighty, Sovereign God, and Electing Lord.

So here is the practical bearing of the doctrine of God's election of some to salvation while passing over others. It teaches us true humility that ought to show up in our living and that will show up if we truly embrace the electing love of a sovereign who is our sovereign-who commands and holds us accountable, who loves us and draws our hearts to Him in love.

May God grant us true repentance of our sins and enable us to turn away daily from proud selfishness to humble service at home and wherever our feet take us in our walk on this earth.