It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”
So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.