The Word Unleashed Tom Pennington

To build his case for the doctrine of divine election, the apostle Paul goes to the Old Testament for evidence and support. To begin, he demonstrates that God’s plan of redemption, including justification by faith alone, wouldn’t be through Abraham’s son with Hagar, Ishmael, but would be through Abraham’s firstborn with Sarah, Isaac.

The doctrine of divine election is often misunderstood and caricatured, so much so that its true teaching is often obscured or disregarded. If we aren’t careful, we can allow inaccurate and inadequate explanations of this doctrine to cloud our understanding to the point that we outright reject it altogether.

In Romans 9, the apostle Paul sets out to explain why the nation of Israel had largely rejected the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though they are the people of God through the line or seed of Abraham, many of them had not embraced Jesus Christ for salvation but rather rejected Him.

In Romans 9, the apostle Paul addresses a crucial question: If God is a saving and justifying God, why have His covenantal people, the nation of Israel, largely rejected Jesus as the Messiah? That’s what Paul answers in Romans 9—and he sets out to explain that they haven’t believed in Jesus because of a divine, sovereign election.

James 4 warns believers to never forget or doubt God’s sovereignty because such acts are sin against a holy God. As we conclude this series in James 4, let us never forget that our King sits on His throne, ruling over all things, and as His people, we can trust that He is working out His good and perfect plan.

James writes so that Christians of all ages will embrace the sovereignty of God in their lives. But James isn’t writing only to establish several theological truths. He also writes so Christians will know how to practically respond to the great truth of God’s sovereignty. This first and foremost begins with a humble acceptance of God’s mighty power and His providential workings.