Romans chapter 9 verse 10 through 13, these are God's words. And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac, for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of works, but of him who calls, it was said to her, the older shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. And thus ends this reading of God's inspired and inerrant word. We learned in verses six through nine that the way someone is saved is not by who they are, Abraham was not saved by being Abraham. He was saved by the seed to whom the promise was given. The promise was spoken to Abraham, but it belonged properly to Abraham's seed. And as Abraham believed in and about, the one who was promised to him, namely the Lord Jesus Christ who had come from him. That promise which belongs to Jesus became Abraham's through faith in Jesus. Just like the promise of salvation for all for whom Jesus lived, for all for whom Jesus died, for all for whom Jesus rose again, that promise that is made to Jesus becomes yours through faith in Jesus Christ, through faith in the seed who was promised to Abraham, which makes him the father of those who without circumcision believe like he did in Genesis 15, uncircumcised, but circumcised. believing, and also, of course, to the circumcised, whose circumcision pointed them to the promise that was given even before circumcision itself was given. And so circumcision was a sign and seal of a promise that belonged to Jesus and belongs by faith to all who believe. And so there's this question then, if salvation comes to Jesus and in Jesus, to all who believe in Jesus, if he is the promised seed to whom and in whom salvation comes, who determines who is going to believe in Jesus? Abraham believed in Jesus, Sarah believed in Jesus, although both of the quotes in verses six through nine are from times, one when Abraham was not believing as well as he should, and where Sarah was not believing as well as she should. And yet, of course, Lord Jesus, who is perfect, is the one into whom they believed and were justified. But who decides? They were saved by believing, and Isaac, of course, was not saved by being the one through whom the seed came. saved similarly by hoping in the seed who came through him. And even Ishmael, we have good reason to believe, if we examine the Bible carefully, was saved, obviously not by being the one through whom the promise did not come and had to be sent away when Isaac was weaned. But Ishmael, if he was saved, as we believe that he was, was saved by believing in Jesus. But who determines who will believe in Jesus? And the first part of the answer that we see here is not the parents. He says in verse 10, not only this, but when Rebecca also, had conceived. So just as Abraham had fathered two children, so Isaac fathered two children, but now Isaac doesn't father them through two different women. He fathers his two children through the one wife, Rebekah. In fact, not only do they have the same father and the same mother, but they have the same version. of the father and mother because they are conceived at the same time, right? Husband and wife may have many children. We have eight and each of you came to us by the Lord's mercy at a different time in our lives. And so different place in our spiritual growth and different place in our wisdom, different place in our faithfulness and unfaithfulness. And yet Jacob and Esau not only had the same father and the same mother, but at the same time they shared the same womb. And so it was not their parents that were the determining factor in whether or not they would believe. And it was not in themselves that was the determining factor. Because the word that comes to her, the older shall serve the younger in verse 12, is borne out or confirmed by the word that Malachi speaks hundreds of years later, more than a thousand years later, as it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. And in this case, it is talking about Esau perishing in his sins, as Hebrews 12 warns us against, even us who are in the church, even us who have many of the same experiences and advantages, even us who participate in a worship that is a satellite worship service of the worship that takes place in Zion. That's all in the context there in Hebrews 12 about Esau. And here he is, Quoting from Malachi chapter 1 about Jacob and Esau, explaining why it is that Jacob, despite his wickedness, is going to be shown mercy. Why it is that up to this point in history, there are precious few, if any, believers from among the descendants of Esau one after another perishing in their sins, and comparatively many more descendants of Jacob, descendants of Israel, who have believed. in the Lord Jesus who was promised and who were, as we call them, Old Testament saints. Of course, the election that belongs to Israel as a whole, as a covenant people on earth, as a visible church, does not apply to every member within the church, but only to those who are brought to faith. But there is this reality then that is displayed in the difference between Israel and Edom, in the difference between Jacob and Esau. And so it is not the parents who make the difference. It is not anything in the children that make the difference. They were not yet born when the Lord said this. So the children not yet being born nor having done any good or evil. So what is it that makes the difference? And we see that in the second part of verse 11, that the purpose of God that the purpose of God should stand, might stand. That is what makes the difference. Now, why does God purpose? Well, the reason that God purposes to save some is because of election. Notice that the purpose is according to election, not reprobation. Election is that love of God that He sets upon some before the foundations of the world in the Lord Jesus Christ. His determination to adopt them in the Beloved, to make them to be like the Beloved. Election is the same thing as we were considering when we talked about the word foreign knowledge or foreign you in chapter eight and verse 29. And so there's this selection, there's this love, there's this determination to unite a people to the Lord Jesus Christ. There's this determination to adopt, people, particular individuals, in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is that election that, according to this verse, is driving the purpose of God as he brings some people to faith. His purpose, then, is that they, having sinned and fallen would need be redeemed by the Son, the Lord Jesus himself, and being brought into union with the Son through faith. They would be justified, made right with God. They would be adopted, become children of God, and therefore be sanctified, be made like the only begotten Son of God until they are glorified. when they are perfected in Christ and he is the firstborn among many brethren. So this election, this foreknowing is what drives the purpose of God to do all of these things in what we have previously called the golden chain. And so that which determined who would believe is this purpose of God according to election, that this purpose would stand. And that then answers the question of what is determined? How are we brought to faith in Jesus Christ? And faith comes by the powerful calling of God. not by the work of man. Faith itself then is not a work. Faith is what God produces in us by his word. And so that is what's being taught in the end of verse 11 there, not of works, but of him who calls. The nature of faith, that it is not a work, but the abandoning all hope of our works. And the cause of faith, that it comes by God's calling, by God's word, that God's spirit uses to give us faith, not something that we find in ourselves to set upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Those two things. are both necessary, that it is not a work and that it is not of us. So we come to faith not of works, but of him who calls why, so that the purpose will stand according to election by God, rather than the purpose standing as the result or fruit of an election by us. Undoubtedly, There is a choice made when one believes in Jesus Christ, chooses to belong to Him. But that is not the choice that makes the difference. The choice of God from all eternity is what produces the choice in man. That choice comes not by works, but by Him who calls. And it is the fruit of Spirit-given faith, not the cause. of spirit-given faith. So, when you come to believe in Jesus Christ, what made the difference? Was it your parents? Or whatever instrumentality Mama Rai had? It was because God was determined to save you. And yes, he was the one who picked your mom for you and your dad for you. He is the one who has told us to use his means, word, sacrament, and prayer. And yet all of these things you have only because he who intended to bring you to faith had appointed these means. And so in his providence, he brought you under them. But even having brought you under them, it was still he who had to call you by his spirit. It was he who had to give light to our minds so that we could understand. Light to your mind that you could understand. It is he who had to give life to our hearts so that we could believe. Light to your mind so that you could believe. And so when you come to faith in Jesus Christ, you don't say, oh, my parents gave me this faith, or I chose to have this faith. You thank God that it came not by works, but by him who calls. And if you do not have faith, or if you do not know that you have faith, one of the things that you may do is cry out to God that by his spirit, he would call you. And you will probably conclude, and probably rightly so later, that even that crying out to him was something that his spirit gave you by the light that he gave to your mind to understand, the life that he gave to your heart to respond. Let's pray. Our gracious God, we thank you and praise you that it is your electing love that drives history and that drives redemption. And we pray, oh God, that you would work in our hearts. We thank you for calling us. We thank you for all of the providence that has gone into fulfilling that purpose that was according to your election. And so we pray that you would receive glory and honor and praise, the love and devotion of our hearts and lives forever and ever, which we ask in Jesus name. Amen.