THE ELECTION OF GRACE

"Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the
election of grace" (KJV). "In the same way then, there has also come to be at
the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice" (NASB). "So too, At the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace" (NIV). -- Rom11:5

Devotion 12 of 18
THE CASE OF PHARAOH
     "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show My power in thee, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth" (Rom 11:17).

     It is true that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Ex 8:15,32; 9:34). It is also true that God hardened his heart (Ex 10:1; 11:10; 14:8). According to the Holy Spirit, God "hardens whom He wants to harden" (Rom 9:18, NIV). And who does God want to harden? We have an example in Pharaoh, and it is recorded for our learning and admonition! God wills to irremediably harden those who maintain obstinate hearts. Those who reject His counsel will, if they do not repent of the condition, be hardened by God. That is who He wills to harden. He  does not make men's hearts impervious to His will and Word by caprice, arbitrarily, or to make repentance impossible for those desiring to change!  Such views bring reproach upon the Lord! But let it be clear, those that dally with God stand on the precipice of condemnation. They are flirting with eternal death, and they do well to "rend" their hearts, as God demanded through Joel  (Joel 2:13). If you have not thought about it lately, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb 10:31).

     Those who harden their own hearts, yet thinking they are accepted in that condition, are asking God to violate His own nature to save them. He will not do it! Either men subscribe fully and unreservedly to the truth as revealed through Jesus Christ, or salvation is not possible. God will give people a love for the truth if they will receive it. However, it they do not, they will suffer the consequences. As it is written, " . . . and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess 2:10-12).

The Incontrovertible Conclusion
     "Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden. 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? What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath--prepared for destruction?  What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory--even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?" (Rom 11:18-24, NIV).

     And upon whom will God have mercy? Those with "broken" and "contrite"
spirits will find mercy with  the Lord (Psa 34:18; Isa 57:15; 66:2). He will "prepare the heart" of the humble (Psa 10:17). Those who "forsake" their wicked ways and unrighteous "thoughts" will receive mercy from the Lord (Isa 55:7). God wills to do this! More specifically, those who believe the revealed Word about His Son, and act upon their faith, will experience His mercy in the "washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Tit 3:5). The inclination of the Lord to give mercy is not hidden! He has graciously revealed His heart on this matter. He will, without exception, show mercy to those who are believing on His Son. 

     Those without faith will seek an excuse for their unbelief and recalcitrance. They choose to dwell in unbelief, and God will choose to harden and reject them. Even so, they are still used for "ignoble purposes," like Pharaoh of old. They cannot blame God for their condition, because He wills to have mercy on the humble and contrite. He has a right to reject them, because they had their origin in Him. He put them in His world, and surrounded them with evidence of His Person. But they refused to believe, and so He refuses to accept them! He has not violated their will, and He will not allow them to violate His!

PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You for revealing Your nature in Scripture, and in the Person of Your Son. It is clear how You feel about the obstinate, and how You regard those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. In the words of David, and in the name of Jesus, I ask, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

-- TOMORROW: GOD WILL NOT BE INDEBTED TO MAN --