A Right Approach to Election
A Sermon on the Doctrine of Election from Romans 9:14
Originally preached Jan. 11, 1963
Scripture
14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Sermon Description
Does God really choose who to save? How should one respond after hearing the truth about the doctrine of election? For some, this is the hardest concept to grasp in all of theology. In this sermon on Romans 9:14 titled “A Right Approach,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains Paul’s exclamation by first stating that one should never try to manipulate the Scripture of God to make it fit what they want it to say. He then goes on to outline several viewpoints of how people might respond after hearing the true teaching of election and salvation. In the second part of this message, Dr. Lloyd-Jones asks how someone should respond. First, they should be thankful that the apostle Paul never skirts around the issue. Just because something is difficult to grasp does not give permission to dismiss it from Scripture. One should always be careful of the inner spirit when dealing with this issue. One should never approach it with a bipartisan attitude or by debating it. Finally, one should always acknowledge that the Scripture is the word of God and the Christian must submit themselves to the whole of it even when they do not understand. Election is how God carries out his perfect plan and they should know that not all things are meant for human understanding.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is dealing with the question of why the majority of Jews are outside the church and Gentiles are coming in.
- Paul wants to show this does not mean God's purpose has failed or changed. God's purpose stands according to election.
- Paul uses the examples of Abraham's sons and Isaac's sons to show God chooses some and rejects others to carry out his purpose.
- Paul raises and answers an objection to this teaching in verses 14-24.
- We must understand what Paul has said so far to understand the objection and answer. Some common misinterpretations of Paul's teaching so far:
- Paul is only dealing with nations, not individuals. But Paul refers to individuals like Jacob and Esau, and says "us whom he hath called."
- Paul is only dealing with election to privilege, not salvation. But Paul is dealing with who comes to faith, not just privilege.
- Paul is just justifying justification by faith. But Paul is dealing with who is justified by faith, not just the method.
- God chose Jacob and Esau because he foresaw their faith. But Paul says the choice was before they had done anything good or bad.
- The correct view is that God chooses some for salvation and rejects others to carry out his purpose, according to his will alone. This view leads to the objection Paul raises.
- We must approach this passage with the right spirit: humility, reverence, recognizing we can't fully understand God. We must believe even what we don't understand.
- Paul deals with this topic using Scripture, showing he views Scripture as the word of God. We must submit to Scripture, not argue against it.
- Many great teachers in church history have held the view Paul teaches here. We must be careful not to reject it just because we don't understand.
- Paul's main point is that if we are God's children, we will always be in his purpose and saved. Election shows how God infallibly accomplishes his purpose despite our weakness.
Sermon Q&A
Understanding Romans 9:14-24: Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on God's Sovereignty
What is the main theme of Romans 9:14-24 according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Romans 9:14-24 addresses God's sovereignty in salvation through the principle of election. The apostle Paul is dealing with a critical objection that arises from his previous teaching - that God chooses some for salvation and not others based entirely on His own will, not on anything in us. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Paul is demonstrating "that God carries out his great purpose of salvation by means of the principle of election or selection," and that this salvation "depends upon God himself, what he does, and in no respect whatsoever upon us."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones refute the idea that Romans 9 is only about nations, not individuals?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones refutes this interpretation with several arguments:
- Jacob and Esau were first individuals before becoming heads of nations
- Paul's entire argument through Romans is about individual salvation
- In verse 15, God says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy" - referring to individuals
- Verse 24 clearly mentions individuals: "even us whom he hath called not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles"
Lloyd-Jones states this interpretation is an attempt to "get rid of the individual aspect" because people "don't like the idea and the teaching of personal election to salvation."
What are the four common misinterpretations of Romans 9 that Dr. Lloyd-Jones addresses?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies four common misinterpretations:
- That Paul is dealing with nations rather than individual salvation
- That Paul is only discussing election to position and privilege, not eternal salvation
- That Paul is merely justifying the method of salvation (justification by faith) rather than addressing who receives salvation
- That God chose certain individuals because in His foreknowledge He saw they would be good or faithful
He rejects all these interpretations as attempts to evade the clear teaching of the text.
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe the objection in Romans 9:14 confirms his interpretation?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that the nature of the objection in verse 14 ("Is there unrighteousness with God?") confirms his interpretation of the preceding verses. He explains: "The very form in which he puts the objection helps us to determine and to decide whether our exposition up to date has been the right one." If Paul were merely teaching that God rewards faith or foresees who will believe, there would be no reason for anyone to object that God is unrighteous. The objection only makes sense if Paul is teaching that God sovereignly chooses some and not others based entirely on His will, not on anything in the person.
What spirit does Dr. Lloyd-Jones urge believers to have when approaching difficult doctrines?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones urges believers to approach this difficult doctrine with:
- Humility - "Let us approach this passage with reverence"
- Recognition of our limitations - "Let us recognize before we begin that we are not in a position to understand everything"
- Submission to Scripture - "We've got to submit ourselves to the scriptures and we've got to submit ourselves to the whole of scripture"
- Patience - "Don't be too ready to say, I don't understand this. I can't see that. Calm down."
- Prayer for understanding - "Pray God to give you understanding and enlightenment"
- Avoidance of bitterness, impatience, debate-mentality or partisan spirit
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones view the authority of Scripture in addressing difficult doctrines?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes the absolute authority of Scripture. He points out that Paul's method of addressing the objection is to quote Scripture: "Having laid down this imaginary objection...he says, 'for he saith to Moses,' and he quotes scripture." Lloyd-Jones argues that Paul treats Scripture as the word of God, not merely human opinion.
He warns against saying, "that's only the opinion of the apostle Paul," calling this a denial of the inspiration of Scripture. He states: "The moment you begin to speak like that, you are denying that the New Testament scriptures are the inspired, infallible word of God." For Lloyd-Jones, our submission must be complete: "We mustn't only believe the scripture when we happen to agree with it. We must believe it when we don't."
What historical perspective does Dr. Lloyd-Jones offer on the doctrine of election?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones notes that the doctrine of election as he presents it has been the mainstream position throughout church history. He mentions that "the great majority of the greatest teachers in the christian church throughout the centuries have believed and have taught this doctrine exactly as the apostle Paul puts it."
He specifically lists Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, the Puritans, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Hodge, and Robert Haldane. He points out that this doctrine is in the 39 Articles of the Church of England and that until about 1860, all denominations in Britain except the Methodists held to it.
What is the ultimate purpose of the doctrine of election according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the ultimate purpose of the doctrine of election is to give believers assurance of salvation. He explains: "What the apostle is really concerned to do is to show that you and I, in spite of what we are still, in spite of our fallibility, our frailty, our weakness, our inconstancy, our lack of diligence, our ignorance, our proneness to sin...if you are born again at all, if you are a child of God at all, well, then you'll always be that."
The doctrine isn't merely for academic debate but to assure believers that "if you are in the purpose of God, you will always be in the purpose of God." Since salvation depends entirely on God's purpose rather than human effort or constancy, it is "safe, it is sure. It is final. It is certain."
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.