| The apostle Paul writes to us in this chapter concerning his sorrow
over the plight of his people, the nation Israel. These people were chosen
by God before the foundations of the Earth to be His people. This nation
would be established, led, and blessed like no other before or since. The
Israelites had an amazing revelation of the all-knowing, all-powerful God.
In spite of the many prophets sent from God to testify to the coming Messiah,
or Christ, the Israelites would not listen. They were looking for something
different - a military ruler who would "fix" the seeming injustice in the
way other nations treated them, the chosen people.
Today, sadly, many people do the same thing by trying to fit Almighty
God into their own image of who He should be. When confronted with their
own inadequacies before the Creator, they balk and wonder why they should
be blamed: "Well, this is the way God made me..."
One of you will say to me: 'Then why
does God still blame us? For who resists his will?' But who are you, O
man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it,
'Why did you make me like this?' Does not the potter have the right to
make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some
for common use? (Romans 9:19-21, NIV) God did not make you for any unholy activity. God did not desire any unwholesome
thoughts or attitudes in that marvelous mind of yours. In his sovereign
will, God planned a way for each of us to be righteous and holy before
Him. This is the promise of God. Because He made us in His image, He gave
us a will to choose and desires that we use it to cooperate with His divine,
holy, and sovereign will. The homosexual or the alcoholic who claims that
"God made me this way" is lying to himself. Each of us chooses the course
we take moment by moment. The person who lashes out in anger when things
do not work out to their immediate satisfaction is trying to inflict judgment
on others. Emotions are a part of us and we will get angry on occasion.
The important thing is how we treat others when we are angry. You see,
God did not make you for any unholy activity.
So what about this promise of God? Speaking of the nation Israel and
their pride in the fact that their nation was chosen by God:
It is not as though God's word had failed.
For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they
are his descendants are they all Abraham's children...In other words, it
is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children
of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. (Romans 9:6-7a,
8, NIV) The Lord God promised to make Abraham's descendents into a great nation
and his "seed" one through whom all nations would be blessed. The "seed"
is none other than Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the Living God, who fulfilled
this promise as the Messiah, or Christ. God knows all and foresaw the sin
of humankind. He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to take away the sins
of the world. He predestined, or established the boundaries, that all men
and women who personally trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will be
saved. If you trust Christ, then you are part of the Elect. If you do not
trust Christ, then you are not part of the Elect. Do not let God's plan
and sovereign will make you think your decisions do not count. Each decision
we make on this Earth has eternal consequences, drawing us closer to Christ
or pushing us away.
Trust Christ today. Then live for Him moment by moment! Our God is an
ever-present help!
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