[English Sermon 영어 설교]
Sunday, December 1, 2024 - Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn
Chosen by grace (Romans 11:1-6)
2024. 12. 1. 주일예배 설교- 로마서 강해 26
본문: 로마서 11:1-6
제목: 은혜로 입은 택하심
설교자: 손진국 목사
From chapter 9 onwards, the focus continues on the salvation of Israel. Today, through God’s Word, may we again feel the great and wonderful grace that has saved us, and may it be a time of joy and inspiration.
1. Focus on and be thankful for the grace of God's choice.
Let’s read verse 1 together.
[Romans 11:1] I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
At the beginning of this verse, it says, “I ask then.” This phrase is used to summarize the conclusion of what was said before. In the last part of chapter 10, it mentions how Israel has continued to be disobedient to God’s Word, yet God is still stretching out His hand and waiting. [Romans 10:21] But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."
With our human perspective, we might think Israel has been rejected by God because of its continuous disobedience. However, this is not true. God cannot do that. Even though they speak against God’s Word, He will not forsake His people. Who is the example of this? It is Paul himself. He points to himself. He is an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin, and yet God called him and saved him as His child, using him as an apostle. In Acts, Paul talks about who he was:
[Acts 22:3-5] “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel, I was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the council can testify.”
In short, Paul had a great zeal for God, but that zeal was misguided, leading him to disobey and rebel completely against God’s will. Yet God did not forsake him and saved him. Is Paul the only one like this? Aren’t we all like this?
I am the same. Until I believed in Jesus at the age of 33, I was an atheist. I had no good feelings about Christians, church, Jesus, or God. When a friend invited me to church every Sunday in high school, I kicked him and told him to stop coming. In college, I would have someone else attend chapel for me, just to receive scholarship benefits. I didn’t like churchgoers, especially pastors, whom I thought were scam artists. I believed they were people you should never get close to.
But God, in His grace, will never forsake those He has chosen and will ultimately save them. How does God’s salvation, or His choice, happen?
[Romans 11:5-6] So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
How is God’s salvation, God’s choice, achieved? By grace. What is the opposite of grace? Works. It is the belief that we are saved because of what we have done. But the Bible clearly says this is not the case. We are saved not by our choice, but by God’s sovereign choice. Salvation ultimately rests in God’s hands.
How do people respond to being chosen by grace?
(1) When we see someone good in character and personality around us, but they do not believe, we might wonder, “Why doesn’t God show grace to this person? Why hasn’t God chosen them?”
(2) On the other hand, when we see someone we don’t like, whose character, personality, and ethics are poor, and that person believes, we might think, “How can God choose such a person? God must be strange.”
I, too, have had such thoughts while living my Christian life. But when I was a deacon, I once got so angry that I grabbed a fellow believer by the collar and shouted that I would kill him. That was one of my dark moments. Did I change just because I believed in Jesus? No. The anger inside me, which I had hidden from high school through college and my working life, came out in an instant. Then I realized. The person I had been mocking, condemning, and disliking was not someone else, but myself. I repented for not yet being completely dead to my old self.
So, I prayed, “Lord, I want to die to myself and live as someone who is living for Jesus.” Until then, I didn’t understand. I thought believing in Jesus just meant being saved. But I didn’t really understand the gospel. To believe in Jesus means that I die, and now Jesus lives in me. This is the theme of our church this year.
[Galatians 2:20] “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
“It’s not that Christ lives in me.” No, it’s what? “I have been crucified with Christ.” This means I am dead. Now, it is Christ who lives in me.
There is a book in my library called Living the Life of Christ Alone by Pastor Yoo Ki-sung, which quotes a parable from another book, The Saint Francis of Assisi by Nikos Kazantzakis. It tells of a monk who, striving for perfection, gave all his wealth to the poor and lived with only the Lord. When he died, he knocked on the gate of heaven, but was told, “There is no room for two here. Go back.” He returned to the world and lived even more devoutly, but when he died again, he was told the same thing. Finally, at 100 years old, he knocked once more and said, “Lord, it is You, it is You.” Then the gate opened and he entered.
What should we focus on? It’s not “Why hasn’t God chosen that person?” but “Why has God chosen me, a sinner?” May we all, moved by the astonishing grace that chose us, thank God for the salvation He has given us.
[Application] Do I live with Christ in me? Or does only Christ live in me? Do I recognize that I am the person who seems least deserving of salvation and sincerely thank God for His grace?
2. Remember that you are not alone.
With gratitude for being chosen by God through His amazing grace, some people dedicate their lives to fulfilling God’s will and serving His kingdom. I hope all of us in the Heavenly Hope Church are such people. However, there is a tendency that often appears among those who work so diligently for God’s kingdom and serve with all their hearts. It is the thought that “I am the only one left.”
In the Bible, we see shocking scenes, one of which is the story of Elijah. He defeated 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, a total of 850, and killed them all. Despite a three-year drought, he prayed and God sent rain. He was a man of faith whose prayers God answered.
But after his great victory, when Queen Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, threatened to kill him, he became afraid and fled into the wilderness. He sat under a broom tree and asked God to take his life. [1 Kings 19:4] He himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, sat down under a broom tree, and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
This seems completely incomprehensible. What was Elijah thinking? We find out in verses 2-3 of today’s passage:
[Romans 11:2-3] God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me?”
What was Elijah’s heart? “I am the only one left. And now they want to kill me.”
Are there any of you who feel like Elijah? Have you given everything to serve God’s kingdom, yet feel like you are doing it all alone, with no one else by your side?
But God responded to Elijah, saying:
[Romans 11:4-5] And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
What does God say to Elijah? “You are not alone. I have reserved seven thousand who have not worshiped Baal.” Seven thousand here is not just a small number, but a large number, as the number seven signifies completeness. In the Bible, the number 7 represents God's perfection and fullness. God’s answer to Elijah is, “Don’t think you are alone. I have reserved many, and I am with you.”
Dear brothers and sisters, repeat after me: “I am not alone.” “Faithful saints are with me.” “The Lord is with us in the community.”
[Application] Have you ever been discouraged, thinking you are the only one remaining? May we remember that we are not alone in the work of the kingdom of God.