7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac [not Ishmael] your seed shall be called.”
Beginning in verse 7 and running through verse 13, Paul gave two Old Testament illustrations distinguishing regenerate from unbelieving Israel. God never promised that all ethnic Israel would be saved. Something more than physical descent from Abraham is required to become a true believer. These two examples show the regenerate from the unregenerate line of Israel:
Isaac and Ishmael, vv. 9:7b-9
Jacob and Esau, vv. 10-13
7 nor are they [Jews] all children [regenerate] because they are the seed [offspring] of Abraham;
The Greek word for “children” is born ones. “Children” here carries the idea of regeneration.
Just because an Israelite is born a Jew does not mean that he is in the regenerate line of Abraham. God requires something more than physical connection to Israelites in order to receive salvation.
PRINCIPLE:
There are only two institutions founded entirely on regeneration—Israel and the church.
APPLICATION:
Although the argument of this section deals with the nation Israel, we can apply the principle to the church.
There are cultural Christians and then there are true Christians. The United States may be culturally Christian (although that is changing fast) but it is not truly Christian. Many so-called Christians are culturally Christians; that is, they grew up in a Christian family and maybe even in a Christian church, but they are not true believers.
True believers accept the promises of God by faith. They believe what God says. Christianity is based on regeneration, not reformation. The Word of God never teaches socialism, the greatest good for the greatest number. It teaches none of that. All that is political and religious drivel in the name of Christianity.
It is not possible with fallible human nature to make everyone equal. Any attempt to do so will reduce society down to the least common denominator. It will destroy the producers and catalysts in our society. Redistribution of wealth is the road to destruction for a national entity. Legislation of equality always ends in disaster. Communism is the ultimate form of socialism. What did that bring the world? Autocrats who tried to run the lives of their people. Regeneration is God’s answer to the problems of man.
