seeks – Ministry of Grace Church

Romans 11:7 – Chosen or Hardened

What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Truth to Learn

God chooses some and hardens the rest.

Behind the Words

“Seeks” is from epidzēteō, made up of epi, used as an intensifier and dzēteō, meaning “to seek.” Thus, we see it means “to intensely seek” or “to strive for.”

The word translated “blinded” is pōroō, meaning “to make hard as stone” hence, “calloused or insensitive.” Applied to the mind, it means “hardened, insensitive, or not comprehending.”

Meaning Explained

Paul is now drawing a conclusion regarding the statements that he has just made. That is, God has not abandoned His people, but neither has Israel obtained the righteousness that they tried to obtain for themselves. Those whom God has chosen have obtained this righteousness (because God imputed it to them) but the rest, those who are not elect, were hardened.

We see here, then, two things at work with regards to the righteousness of the elect (Jews in this case). The first is that it is not earned. There is no amount of works that will save them (or us). There is absolutely no single thing or combination of things that can be done which will save them (or us) and give them (or us) the righteousness of God. It is, as Paul says in Ephesians 1:5, “according to the good pleasure of His will” that they (and we) were chosen.

The second thing that we see here regarding election, and the righteousness that comes with it, is that those who were not chosen were hardened. But the obvious question is, “Who is responsible for this hardness or blindness?” Let’s see what Jesus, Isaiah, and Paul have to say about it:

Jesus – He (God, the Father) has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts, and turn, so that I should heal them. (John 12:40)

Isaiah – For the LORD has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, the seers. (Isaiah 29:10)

Paul – Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. (Romans 9:18)

Paul – whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

It is God who chooses and it is also God (through various means, including Satan) who blinds or hardens those whom He has not chosen, so that they cannot believe. And even now I can hear some saying, “But that’s not fair!”

In the next few verses Paul will continue with this statement of God’s hardening by quoting a couple of Old Testament passages which affirm what he has just said.

Application

We may not want to believe that God chooses some and hardens others, but that’s precisely what Paul teaches. Your church may teach something different, and you may believe that teaching. We want to believe that we are the ones in control of our own eternal destiny, but Paul teaches that God chooses whom He wants to choose and He hardens the rest. That’s what the Bible teaches; therefore, I believe it.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Romans 3:11

There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.

Truth to Learn

We do not seek out God; He draws us to Him.

Behind the Words

The word translated “understands” is the Greek word suniēmi, which is made up of sun, meaning “together” and hiēmi, meaning “to send” or “to put.” So literally this means “to send together” or “to put together.” It refers to someone “putting it all together” or “understanding.”

“Seeks” is from the verb exzēteō. This is made up of ek, meaning “out” and zēteō, which means “to seek” or “to pursue.” Hence, exzēteō means “to seek out” or “to search diligently.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul declared the first of his great doctrinal statements of the book of Romans. This is the first statement of what some have come to call “The Romans Road.” The first step in the Romans Road is, “There is none righteous, no not one.” You will recall that this is a quote from the book of Psalms.

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one. (Psalms 53:1-3)

What Paul declared in the previous verse is that there is no one who is righteous in and of himself, or herself. There is no one in the human race (save for Christ Himself) who can stand in the presence of God Almighty and claim that he or she is righteous enough to deserve heaven.

In today’s verse Paul continues with his quotation, selecting a portion of Psalms 53:2. Not only is no one righteous, none of us understands what God wants from us. And today’s verse also tells us that none of us, left to ourselves, seeks after God. In fact, were it not for the drawing together influence of the Spirit of God, none of us would be able to come to God. We don’t seek Him; He draws us to Himself.

The bottom line is that none of us deserves heaven or salvation. No, not one! In order for us to be saved we must first realize that we are not worthy of salvation. We don’t deserve it, and there is no reason why God should grant it to us apart from His grace and His grace alone!

If you have never recognized your unworthiness for God’s free gift of salvation, now is the time to humble yourself before the mighty hand of God, confess your utter sinfulness, beg for His mercy, and accept His blessed gift of salvation through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Application

If you have already accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the payment for your sins, then you are righteous in His eyes. But you need to realize that without the illumination of the Holy Spirit you wouldn’t even understand what God wants from you. And, you need to recognize that you were drawn to Him; you didn’t come by your own effort.

Thank you Lord, for drawing me to Yourself, for allowing me to understand Your message, and for saving my soul!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: seeks

Romans 11:7 – Chosen or Hardened

Romans 11:7 – Chosen or Hardened

Truth to Learn

Behind the Words

Meaning Explained

Romans 3:11 – I Don’t Understand