Romans (Program #23) – God’s Selection, Our Destiny (1)

God’s selection is not according to our work, our effort, our labour but altogether it is of God who shows mercy.

We begin a new chapter in our life study of Romans today which marks a whole new section of Romans.  At the beginning of this life study of Romans, sections of this book has been pointed out.  We have covered the section of condemnation – this section showed us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and are under condemnation. This was followed by the section on justification and this happily pointed out how God’s wonderful way in which justifies us freely through the redemption of Christ Jesus can be our experience and justifies us before God.  Then in the section on sanctification, he pointed out that the wonderful way that we have the freedom in the spirit by the indwelling of Christ, showing us in chapter 8 that we are heirs of glory will be conformed us to the image of Christ, the Firstborn son of God.  So we saw at the end of that chapter nothing can separate us from the love of God.   In one sense chapter 9 opens up the beginning of three chapters 9, 10 and 11 that apparently are like a parenthesis between chapter 8 and chapter 12.  Some Bible teachers have considered that they are a parenthesis and chapter 12 actually follows chapter 8 but in a very real sense, Paul is not confused. This chapter does continue the development in the previous sections and the previous chapters. This section is on the subject of selection and shows us that all the benefits we receive in Christ are because of His mercy and His sovereignty. We will see that our obtaining so much from God is due to His sovereign selection and not due to our will and our working. In other words, our being selected is of God, of God who wills and of God who shows mercy.

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