God's Sovereignty in Election: Trusting His Divine Will

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So father as we pursue further now the way your inspired apostle unfolds his vindication of your holiness and your righteousness in the way you choose to save, I pray that we would have humble hearts and that we would have capacities for worship and submission and obedience that honor you. I pray this in Jesus name, amen. [00:00:28]

Though they Jacob and Esau were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue or might persevere might stand, not because of works but because of him who calls, she their mother Rebecca was told the older Esau will serve the younger against all convention. [00:01:18]

The point of that unit right there is that God freely, that's the point here, freely, not determined by any human works they hadn't been born, they hadn't done anything good or evil, and so election the choosing of the younger here the choosing of Jacob, this election was not because of their works but because of him who calls. [00:01:59]

God says to Moses I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion and we saw that that quotation from Exodus 33:19 was a description of the very essence of the name of God or the glory of God. God's name or his glory is his freedom. [00:02:51]

My mercy and my compassion are not determined by forces coming from outside of me ultimately they are determined by me. I have compassion I have compassion just like it says here not because of works but because of me and my call and we saw that the name of God and the glory of God. [00:03:31]

When God acts to uphold his name and his glory which consists in his freedom he is acting in righteousness and therefore he is righteous to freely choose Jacob over Esau that was the argument in verse 15 and now all he does here is draw out the inference again that he's already said. [00:04:09]

It depends not on human will or exertion but on God who has mercy and this is a paraphrase of not on him who wills or him who runs it's a picture so running is the exertion here and willing is the willing here and what is this it depends it's not of human will or human exertion but on God. [00:04:38]

Election or God's mercy on whom he wills is not dependent on human will and it is not dependent on human exertion it is dependent on God alone. I think verse 16 is one of the clearest verses in the Bible to show that there is at least in regard to mercy and compassion and election and salvation. [00:06:50]

There is no such thing as ultimate human self-determination now if you want to put the word free will on that you can if that's your definition of free will then free will doesn't exist but let me show you something very very interesting just by way of application and conclusion. [00:07:48]

Thanks be to God who put it in the heart of Titus who put in the heart of Titus the same earnest care that I have for you and then he gives the evidence for how he knows that that is in fact what God did in the heart of Titus for he not only accepted our appeal but being himself very earnest. [00:08:22]

When Paul looks at Titus and he sees earnest care for the church in Corinth and he sees an eagerness to go from his own accord, Paul knows that God has acted thanks be to God who put it in the heart this earnestness in the heart of Titus and Paul calls it of his own accord. [00:09:16]

There is real genuine human meaningful activity real emotion real willing real passion real desire real volition and yet when all is said and done Paul knows how in bondage we would be to sin without God and therefore he gives God the glory and says God put it in our hearts. [00:09:45]

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