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from faith Unto faith —Triday Nights With Romans
By Reb. Len G. ‘Broughton
Perhaps a word of explanation just here is nec
essary. These Friday night lectures by Dr. Brough
ton to his large, popular Bible class at the Taber
nacle were so rich and strong, that the stenograph
er’s notes have been worked out and carefully
revised* by Dr. Broughton for The Golden Age.
There are sixteen of them, and The Golden Age
will be glad to furnish back numbers to new sub
scribers. It is confidently expected that they will
be eagerly received as they contain the best work
of Dr. Broughton’s life and will greatly aid the
busy Bible student. Editor.
LECTURE XII.
Israel's Rejection.
Chapter 9-10.
E now come to the consideration of
the lessons that are taught in the dis
pensation concerning Israel. Let us
first get fixed in our minds what we
mean by dispensational teaching. We
mean that which refers eitheir to a
period of time or to a people. In this
case it is teaching with reference to
the Jews as a people; to God’s chosen
W
people, and these three chapters, nine, ten and
eleven, relate primarily, everything in them, to
Israel. But when I say that I, am not at all to
be understood as saying that there is nothing in
these three chapters for us, for there is much for
us, much that we have real need of, much that we
are expected to appropriate, but primarily these
three chapters relate to Israel. We come in, just
as we do in all dispensational truth, for that part
which is general. All dispensational truth is sus
ceptible to general application. The lessons which
we are privileged to gather from such teaching
are many, and they are just as much for us as for
the people for whom they were primarily written,
or who passed through the experiences that are
related. But let us keep in mind that the apostle
is talking distinctly to and about God’s Israel, and
not the Gentile world, not the church, not the
Christian, as we consider the Christian, but to the
Jew; to God’s chosen people, and if you will keep
these things in your mind you will be able to un
derstand many of the perplexing things in this
wonderful epistle.
At this time we have the rejection of Israel,
chapters 9-10.
I. PAUL’S ANXIETY FOR ISRAEL.
1. Kinsman.
2. Anathema.
3. Pain.
These three words express largely the force of
these first three verses. Paul’s anxiety for his peo
ple, v. 1,2, 3, chapter nine. Here are three things
that the apostle declares with reference to the peo
ple to whom and of whom he is speaking.
First, they are his kinsmen in the flesh. Paul
is not ashamed of the fact that he is a Jew, and
he is not ashamed of the fact that they are his
people. I have known people who were ashamed
of their own people. I have known many good peo
ple to try to deny their relatives, especially if
they are poor. I do not know of any more con
temptible soul than that one which is ashamed to
acknowledge his people because of their poverty.
The Apostle Paul acknowledges his relationship
to these people, his brethren, his kinsmen, accord
ing to the flesh.
The second thing is that he could see himself
anathema from Christ for this people. So anxious
is he about their salvation that he could see him
self a cast-away that they might be saved.
The next thing that we learn is that this long
ing that he has for their salvation is of such a
character as to give him unceasing pain in his heart.
" I know good people who claim to have reached
what they call the rest of faith with respect to their
loved ones who are not saved, which is an experi
ence that,l can not harmonize with my own feelings
Under my conception of the teaching of Christ.
The Golden Age for October 24, 1907.
For instance, I have heard a mother get up and
testify in a meeting and say, “1 have a son who
is lost. He is in sin. He is low down in sin. He
is an awful sinner, but 1 have given him to God,
and 1 now rest the case with Him. 1 have no more
anxiety about it.”
1 never hear such a testimony that I do not say
that it is contrary to the spirit that we see de-,
scribed in the {Scriptures. You remember that wo
man who came to Jesus with a broken heart, whose
daughter was possessed of a devil? She did not
have “the rest of faith” concerning her daughter.
•She came with broken, throbbing heart, and she
would not let go until Jesus gave her the blessing.
Paul never reached the experience of what is
called “the rest of faith,” certainly to the extent
that he had no further concern about such mat
ters, for he had unceasing pain in his heart for his
people “that they might be saved.”
Then, in the next section of this chapter he de
scribes Israel itself. He tells who Israel is, and
who the Israelites are, verses four and five. Now,
we will find eight words here that describe Israel
for us:
1. The adoption.
2. The glory.
3. Covenants.
4. Law.
5. Service.
6. Promises.
7. Fathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob).
8. Christ as concerning the flesh.
Who are the Israelites, these people that Paul is
talking about in this dispensational section of his
epistle?
First, they are the people of the adoption. Those
of you who have pursued these studies with me do
not need that I should explain what is meant by
the adoption. But merely to remind you: It means
a “setting in place of a Son,” literally it means
the placing in the relation of sons. These people
to whom Paul is writing are those who, by the
Lord himself, have been placed in the relation of
sons. They have been adopted as children of God.
Then they are the people of gloiy. They have
a great glory, and there is no people on earth like
them, so far as the glory of their history is con
cerned. They are the people of the covenants. They
are the people of the law. God gave the law to Is
rael, not to the Gentiles. They are people of service.
They are the people of the promise aside from the
covenants; the promises were made to Israel. They
are the people of the fathers —Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, these three great fathers that stand out in
the religious history of the world. And, lastly, they
are the people who gave to the world Jesus Christ
as the Savior of the world.
Now, let us take the next section, verses 6,7, 8.
Here we have the apostle describing to us the dif
ference between true and false Israel, and this is
a point well worth your consideration.
First, you will note that they are not all Israel
who are called Israel.
1. Not all Israel.
2. Not all children.
3. In Isaac. The children of promise.
There is Israel of the flesh, and Israel of the
Spirit. They are not all children who are the sons
of Abraham.
You know there are some people today who are
trying to make us believe that God is the univer
sal father of the race. God is not the universal
father of the race. God is the creator of the race,
but creatorship and fatherhood are very different.
God is only the father of that part of the race that
have been adopted into His family by him. He is
not the father of the wcrld of mankind. Ido not
know a more damnable doctrine than that doctrine
which is so popular in some great pulpits of to
day known as “The fatherhood of God.” My, how
they do rant! How they do talk of the fatherhood
of God and the brotherhood of man. It only shows
the biblical ignorance of the man who proclaims it.
God emphatically declares here that not even all
Israel —born of the seed cf Abraham —are children
of God.
Then let us go a step further. “Neither because
they are Abrajiam’s seed, are ‘they all children,
but in Isaac skill thy seed be called, it is not the
children of the flesh that are children of God, but
the children of the promise are reckoned for a
seed.” Only that part of Israel which is spiritual
belongs to the real family of God. There are two
separate and distinct branches of Israel. First,
there is the branch of the flesh that knows nothing
of the Spirit, and then there is the branch of the
Spirit, and it is only that latter branch that the
apostle speaks of when he calls them children of the
promise. It is only that branch that obtained from
Isaac the promise, the spiritual promise, and appro
priated it, that the apostle speaks of here as being
children of God.
Now, let us go a. Step further. In the fourth sec
tion of the chapter we have Israel’s election. Here
we come to the most difficult thing in all the Scrip
tures; at least, the most difficult to me. Long
hours have I wrestled with this old question! How
I have tried to reconcile election and free agency.
If I had all the hours that I have spent trying
to reconcile these two great truths there is no tell
ing what I could do. I thank God he has given me
new light and I see them now in a different light.
To me now there is no trouble at all about the
reconciliation, and you will see before we have got
ten through with this section how the light has
dawned.
11. ISRAEL’S ELECTION, v. 11-26.
1. The fact stated, v. 11.
Now, here is a bold statement made that God
has set His seal upon these people without any
reference to their side of the case whatever.
Then we have the argument given (v. 14-26). Is
it unrighteous in God to thus elect one part of the
race without any regard to their works, and not
elect another? That is what the question is, and
the Apostle Paul propounds that question, “What
shall we say, then? ’ Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. (As much as to say, No.) For
He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I
have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom
I have compassion. So, then, it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
hath mercy. ’ ’
There is no doubt about that being election, is
there? The old Hardshell Baptists themselves could
not get any stronger text, could they?
“For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, For this
very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might shew
in thee my power, and that my name might be pub
lished in all the earth. ’ ’
There is not much doubt about election there.
“Thou wilt say, then, unto me, why doth he still
find fault? F6r who withstandeth his will? Nay,
but, oh, man, who art thou that repliest against
God? Shall the thing formed say to him that
formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?” Just
as much as to say, ‘ ‘You have got to be, whether you
want to be or not.”
There is no doubt about the doctrine of election
being taught there. Now, there are three things
about this doctrine of election that I want to say,
and the first is this, that it is taught. There is not
a man in the world that will read that that will
say that election is not taught.
The next thing that I want to say is this, That
it is distinctly not an election of individuals, but
of a people, or a race, a nation, so to speak, with
out any regard, whatever to the individual. It is
a national election. It is an election of the people.
It is God choosing out a people through whom he
is going to manifest Himself to the rest of the
world.
The third thing is that it is not an election to
salvation, but an election to service; that these peo
ple elected are elected to serve. I said a while
ago that this was the distinct dispensational sec
tion of the epistle to the Romans; that it related
altogether to the Jews; that we are concerned about