Chapter # 11 Paragraph # 1 Study # 3
November 11, 2018
Humble, Texas

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1769 Translation:
5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
6 And if by grace, then [is it] no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if [it be] of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

1901 ASV Translation:
5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
6 But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.
7 What then? That which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened:
8 according as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day.
9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, And a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them:
10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, And bow thou down their back always.

• I. The "Election of Grace".
  • A. Paul's argument is that one of the settings for understanding God's Larger Plan is the conversation that Elijah had with Yahweh at a time of severe apostasy in Israel.
    • 1. The nature of the "apostasy" is clearly defined in the conversation as "bowing the knee to Baal and kissing him with the mouth" (1 Kings 19:18).
    • 2. At issue is not any of a host of "failures" by the people to live according to the covenant; it is the "failure" of Israel to retain Yahweh as Elohim in their hearts and minds. This is the primary failure at the most fundamental level (Exodus 20:3) and was a reiterated demand as exemplified by Exodus 23:13.
      • a. The point is not the "sins" of the people; it the "sin" of the people.
      • b. This means that "the election of grace" does not mean that people will be significantly more godly than others in the day to day activities of life; but it does mean that they will be significantly loyal to the identity of Yahweh as the God of gods and Lord of lords.
    • 3. The period of time is set somewhere in the ninth century B.C. (somewhere around 860 B.C.).
  • B. The "theological" setting is revealed by Isaiah in the opening remarks of his extensive record of Judah's situation in 740-680 B.C. in which he pointedly declared, "Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha" (Romans 9:29 as a reference to Isaiah 1:9).
    • 1. At issue is the progressively destructive downward spiral of the depravity of humanity into the bondage of Sin.
    • 2. There is nothing in humanity that can staunch the flow of this wickedness.
    • 3. Thus, any action that does inhibit this depravity must come from God Himself.
      • a. Elijah's claim is that he was "alone" in his faithfulness to Yahweh.
      • b. Yahweh's response is that he was not "alone" by reason of His own preservative activities toward 7,000 Israelites.
        • 1) These were inhabitants of the northern kingdom (Israel) who were continuously prohibited access to the southern kingdom's (Judah) temple, altar, and celebratory feasts (all required by Yahweh for worship).
        • 2) That they maintained loyalty to Yahweh in spite of these obstacles is, indeed, miraculous and occasioned by a direct "grace" intervention by Him.
  • C. Paul's claim to be among those who have been spared by God as "proof" that He has not abandoned His people whom He foreknew is potent because all knew of Paul's own progression into depravity before his conversion.
    • 1. This is the root of his claim that God's "election" of those whom He would spare from apostasy is "of grace".
    • 2. There was nothing of Saul of Tarsus that argued for his special treatment by God as arising out of his own essence. He claimed to have been the foremost sinner, saved as a demonstration of His extensive "longsuffering" so that others might depend upon this divine "pattern" for salvation through faith (1 Timothy 1:15-16).
      • a. In strong distinction from Elijah's faithful contemporaries, Saul of Tarsus had access to the temple, altar, and feasts; yet proved to be "the foremost sinner" in spite of these significant advantages.
      • b. Thus, Paul's focus is upon "grace" as the root of "election".
        • 1) This "election" was of 7,000 individuals; it was not an "election of a group" made of volitionally positive individuals who secured their place in the group by their own "desire for godliness" and "willful determination to be faithful".
        • 2) Just as Paul was drawn into the body of the "remnant" by divine action against Saul's motivations, desires, intentions, and activities, so also was Elijah a "prophet of Yahweh" and were the 7,000 "loyalists".
  • D. Bottom Line: God is to be the Sole Recipient of the "credit" for the existence of human beings who receive of His mercy.
    • 1. Paul's entire point is that the "foreknowing" of God set up the scenario of divine integrity and the "election" by God of those who would make up the "remnant" was the force behind God's actions in history to maintain that integrity. God has not "thrust His foreknown away" because of the unbelief of "Israel" as a whole.
    • 2. It is a grave error for men today to reject "Israel" as a nation with a definitive, earthly, future.

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This is article #085.
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