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罗马书［第9章］
Book of Romans 9

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罗马书［第9章|Book of Romans 9

【神有拣选，人要回应】

主讲: 区箴唤实习传道 + 陈炎明牧师

07/12/2021

引言:

扫罗和大卫都是神所拣选的，但是他们最终却有着不一样的结局，扫罗最后被神废去，而大卫则是被称为合神心意的人！是什么导致他们有不一样的结局？其实答案就在于罗马书第9章所要带给我们的一个重要的观念，就是‘神有拣选，但人必须做出对的回应’。

一、选民不信的悲哀（V1-5）

保罗为着他许多的同胞以色列人不愿意接受耶稣就是救赎他们的弥赛亚而感到十分地伤痛。本来以色列人已经有了这些丰富的产业，但是因为他们不相信耶稣，所以就导致他们对这些产业的领受只停留在旧约而已，他们无法进入到这些产业来到新约时代那个更为完整，更为丰盛的领域里面。对当时的以色列人来说，神已经透过历代的先知，还有当时的旧约圣经来对他们说话，但是他们还是不信，所以他们就没有办法得着神在新约中所要给他们的恩典和祝福。

二、神有主权做拣选（V6-21）

1. 应许在于神的拣选 (V6-13)

亚伯拉罕从撒拉所生下来的以撒才是神所应许，要来成就神话语的，而不是亚伯拉罕透过撒拉的女仆夏甲所生下来的以实玛利。然后来到以撒从利百加生的两个孩子也是一样，神所应许要来成就祂话语，成就祂祝福亚伯拉罕的约定，是透过神所应许的这位以撒的小儿子雅各，而不是透过大儿子以扫。就是说神所应许要来成就祂的祝福和心意的人，都是出于祂的拣选。

2. 拣选出于神的主权 (V14-21)

神是那位全人类的创造者，其实祂对于所有的受造物是有祂绝对的主权的。所以祂才能够对摩西说，祂要怜悯谁，就怜悯谁，要恩待谁，就恩待谁。当我们如此地看到神的主权的时候，就会想：既然都是神所安排好了，甚至连法老这样的恶人也是神安排的，那神怎么还可以去指责法老的罪呢？这样的话有谁可以不按神预先设定的结局来行事为人呢？有关这些问题，我们需要去参照圣经其他地方的经文来看：彼得后书3: 9。神的永在性，让祂能够清楚地看到每个人对着祂救恩的回应，于是祂就拣选那些有信心来回应祂的人。如果我们退一万步来看，把神比作窑匠，神其实也是有绝对的主权来决定祂要把人做成怎样的一个器皿的。

很多时候，我们觉得人生有很多的不公平，其实就是因为我们人吃了分辨善恶树的果子，然后就自己去做神。这里保罗其实想要我们看到的是，神把我们创造成怎样的一个人，把我们安置在怎样的一个家庭，这个权柄其实不在我们的手中，我们不要去做神，去做许多的判断，我们应当降服于神的安排，这样，我们才能够从中去体会神美善的心意。例子：神使用破损生命经历重建的见证祝福许多有类似经历的人；神使用不同恩赐的人一起配搭来建造祂的教会。

三、人要选择做回应（V22-33）

1. 回应神恩才能得救（V22-29）

如果神真的是要在那些惹祂发怒的器皿上彰显祂的愤怒，然后又在那些要显出祂荣耀的器皿上彰显祂的怜悯，这也是人无法去指责的，因为主权是在神那里。本来不是蒙神所爱的外邦人，因为以色列的不信，救恩临到他们，他们最终也要成为神所爱的儿子。而以赛亚也说，选民以色列人虽然很多，但是最终得救的却不过是余下少数的以色列人而已。并且主因为留心保守祂话语的成就，所以祂才让以色列人在各样的患难中仍然能够存留余种，否则的话他们早就像所多玛那样被神所灭绝了。

神虽然是有拣选人进入到这个救恩的里面，但事实上是只有那些愿意去回应神的人才能够去领受这个救恩的。对以色列人，对外邦人都一样。这里经文所讲到那些余民，其实就是那些愿意相信耶稣是弥赛亚的以色列人！

所以神是很公平的，人都要因着信而进入到救恩的里面。哪怕对着那些没有听过福音，又或者是对着那些没有能力去理解福音的人，神也是公平的，祂肯定有祂最合宜的方式去安排和处理。圣经对着这种问题所提到的内容不多，但从彼得前书3:19-20我们清楚看到，神是怜悯人的神，就是有关讲到耶稣如何怜悯挪亚世代那些没有上方舟的人。

2. 唯独因信才能称义（V30-33）

本来不认识神，所以也就没有想要追求义的外邦人，因为听见了福音，相信这个福音而就得到了神所要给人的义。但以色列人因为领受了神的律法，所以就想要透过自己的行为来活出律法，来被称为义。结果他们就离开了这个以信为本的福音。耶稣对他们来说，成为了一块绊脚、跌人的石头；但是对于信的人来说，却是让人脱离羞耻感的主，脱离愧疚感的神！

总结：

怜悯人的神不愿一人沉沦，乃愿人人悔改，所以祂就预先拣选了以色列，来作为一个样品，然后也透过祂爱子耶稣为我们钉十字架来赐给我们那个永恒的救恩。人如果被拣选了，却不愿意去相信神救恩的计划，也不去回应神的心意，最终人其实也是会在救恩中坠落的。

让我们要透过神信实的话语来确信，神对着那些没有听过福音，还有那些没有能力去理解福音的人，祂绝对有祂最美善的安排！神是永在的神，所以祂也透过人会如何来回应祂的预知来做拣选的工作。我们无法否认，今天有很多关于神的事我们人透过有限的头脑是无法去理解的，而日后当我们见主面的时候，就一切都真相大白了。让我们把许多这些判断的权柄归还给神。当我们愿意去按着神的心意生活的时候，我们就是神眼中的义人，并领受上好的福分！

Romans 9: God chooses but man must respond
GK611 Morning Devotion
07/12/2021
Speaker: IP Moses Ou + Rev. David Tan

Introduction:

Saul and David were both chosen by God, but they ended up with different outcomes. Saul was finally abolished by God, while David was known as a man after God's own heart! What led to their different outcomes? The answer lies in an important concept brought to us in Romans 9, that 'God chooses, but man must respond in the right way'.

1. The sorrow of the unbelief of the chosen people (V1-5)

Paul was grieved by the unwillingness of many of his fellow Israelites to accept Jesus as the Messiah for their salvation. The Israelites already had these rich possessions, but because they did not believe in Jesus, their reception of these possessions was limited to the Old Testament, and they could not enter into the fuller and more abundant realm of these possessions in the New Testament. For the Israelites at that time, God had spoken to them through the prophets of the ages and the Old Testament of that time, but they still did not believe, so they were not able to receive the grace and blessings that God would give them in the New Testament.

2. God has the authority to choose (V6-21)

(1) The promise is in God's choice (V6-13)

Isaac, whom Abraham bore from Sarah, was the one God promised to fulfill God's Word, not Ishmael, whom Abraham bore through Sarah's maid, Hagar. Then came the two children of Isaac from Rebekah, and the same thing, God promised to fulfill His word and His covenant to bless Abraham, through Jacob, the younger son of Isaac, whom God promised, and not through Esau, the older son. That is to say, those whom God promised to fulfill His blessing and His desire were chosen by Him.

(2) Chosen was by the authority of God (V14-21)

God is the creator of all mankind, and in fact He has His absolute sovereignty over all of His creation. That is why He was able to say to Moses that He would have mercy on whomever He wanted to have mercy and compassion to whomever He wanted to be compassionate. When we see God's sovereignty in this way, we will think: Since it is all ordained by God, even such a wicked man as Pharaoh was also ordained by God, how can God still accuse Pharaoh of his sin? In that case, who can act as a human being without following God's predetermined end? We need to look at these questions in light of other passages in the Bible: 2 Peter 3:9. God's eternal nature allows Him to see clearly the response of each person to His salvation, and He chooses those who have the faith to respond to Him. If we take a step back and compare God to a potter, God actually has the absolute sovereignty to determine what kind of a vessel He will make out of a person.

God is the creator of all mankind, and in fact He has His absolute sovereignty over all of His creation. That is why He was able to say to Moses that He would have mercy on whomever He wanted to have mercy and be gracious to whomever He wanted to be gracious. When we see God's sovereignty in this way, we will think: Since it is all ordained by God, even such a wicked man as Pharaoh was also ordained by God, how can God still accuse Pharaoh of his sin? In that case, who can act as a human being without following God's predetermined end? We need to look at these questions in light of other passages in the Bible: 2 Peter 3:9. God's eternal nature allows Him to see clearly the response of each person to His salvation, and He chooses those who have the faith to respond to Him. If we take a step back and compare God to a potter, God actually has the absolute sovereignty to determine what kind of a vessel He will make out of a person.

Many times we feel that there is a lot of injustice in life, but it is actually because we humans eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then we go about being gods ourselves. What Paul actually wants us to see here is that the authority of what kind of person God has created us to be and what kind of family He has placed us in is not really in our hands, and we should not try to be God and make many judgments, but we should surrender to God's arrangement so that we can experience the goodness of God's heart from it. Example: God uses the testimony of a broken life experience to rebuild to bless many people with similar experiences; God uses people with different gifts to work together to build His church.

3. One has to choose to be responsive (V22-33)

(1) respond to God's grace to be saved (v22-29)

If God really wants to manifest His wrath on those vessels that provoke Him to anger, and then His mercy on those vessels that are to show His glory, this is also something that man cannot accuse, because the sovereignty is with God. The Gentiles, who were not loved by God, because of Israel's unbelief, salvation came to them, and they will eventually become the beloved sons of God. Isaiah also said that although there were many chosen Israelites, only a few of them would be saved in the end. And because the Lord is careful to keep His word, He has allowed Israel to remain in the midst of all their troubles, otherwise they would have been exterminated by God like Sodom.

Although God has chosen people to enter into this salvation, the truth is that only those who are willing to respond to God are able to receive this salvation. This is true for Israel as well as for the Gentiles. The remnant that the scriptures speak of here are actually those Israelites who are willing to believe in Jesus as the Messiah!

So God is fair, and all men will enter into salvation by faith. Even to those who have not heard the gospel, or to those who do not have the ability to understand it, God is fair, and He surely has His most appropriate way to arrange and deal with it. The Bible does not say much about this kind of problem, but from 1 Peter 3:19-20 we clearly see that God is a God of mercy, and it is about how Jesus had mercy on those who did not go to the ark in Noah's generation.

(2) Justification by faith alone (V30-33)

The Gentiles, who did not know God, and therefore did not want to pursue righteousness, received the righteousness that God wanted to give to them because they heard the gospel and believed it. But the Israelites, having received the law of God, wanted to live out the law through their own works, and to be justified. As a result, they left this faith-based gospel. Jesus became for them a stumbling stone but for those who believe, it is the Lord who frees people from shame and the God who frees them from guilt!

Conclusion:

The merciful God does not want one to perish, but all to repent, so He chose Israel in advance as a sample, and then He also gave us that eternal salvation through the crucifixion of His beloved Son, Jesus, for us. If a person is chosen, but is not willing to believe in God's plan of salvation or to respond to God's heart, he will eventually fall in salvation.

Let us be assured through God's faithful Word that He has His most excellent plan for those who have not heard the gospel and for those who are incapable of understanding it! God is an everlasting God, so He also does the work of election through how people respond to His foreknowledge. We cannot deny that there are many things about God today that we cannot understand through our limited minds, but later, when we meet the Lord, all will be revealed. Let us return to God the authority of many of these judgments. When we are willing to live according to God's heart, we are righteous in God's eyes and receive good blessings!