“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Ro 11:29 AV)
The context
here is Israel. A great proof text for
those who reject the eternal nature of God’s covenant with Israel. The whole chapter affirms God’s covenant with
His chosen people in spite of the gospel going to the Gentiles. The gifts and calling of God here are His
covenants with the Jewish people. Even
though they messed up for thousands of years and are responsible for killing
their Messiah, God still honors His word.
What grace! The same principle
can be applied to the New Testament saint.
God has gifted us with spiritual gifts by which we serve Him and His
church. He has called us to different
responsibilities and roles. A husband or
wife. A father or mother. An employee or employer. A citizen or pol. There are many roles or callings which
apply. Just because we mess up and don’t
meet a standard we have placed on ourselves, does not mean the LORD has
rescinded our gifts and calling. As life
changes and our abilities adapt, our calling may alter. But it will not change. It may modify to accommodate a lack of
ability or opportunity, but it will not disappear.
It seems
all the great men of God have had their major failures. David is the first to come to mind. He occasioned the death of the priests, had
an affair, and numbered the people. Moses
had an anger issue. Abraham fathered a
child out of promise. Jacob fled to
Egypt. Even Paul ignored the leading of
the Spirit and wound up under house arrest in Rome. There was Gideon who lost all his sons
because he had a spiritual failure. Of
course, who can forget Samson? Then
there was Peter. He denied the LORD. John the Baptist has a serious bout with
doubt. Solomon has more problems than
any king because he chose to chase after women.
Jeremiah threw a temper tantrum and quit on God. Elijah had a severe case of burnout. James struggled with the church at
Jerusalem. In fact, failures seem to be
a normal part of service to the King.
There seem to be fewer exceptions than there are rules. There is Enoch and Stephen. Joshua didn’t seem to have a slip-up. The Apostle John was unique. However, for the most part, the men of God which
He uses are far from perfect. They
suffer failures of leadership, failures in their walk with God, and failures in
their relationships with others. What they
do not seem to have is a failure of calling.
This is what makes them great men of God. It isn’t that they failed. It is after the failure, they get up and
continue on. Samson is a great example. He slew more in his death than he ever did in
his life. David went out on top. He anointed Solomon to succeed him and saved
the kingdom. Jeremiah and Elijah
recommitted to preach and did so until their death.
We may feel like complete failures, but that probably is not the case. Sure, there are things which we regret. There are things we wished never happened. That is life. We confess them and get back in the saddle. Tenacity is what separates the men from the boys. At the heart of tenacity is knowing and believing the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. God is not going to let us off the hook just because we think we have failed one too many times. The gifts and calling are without repentance. God has not rescinded our calling just because we tripped. He has not absolved us of our responsibility just because we have fallen a time or two. The job goes on. The task is still undone. A good soldier knows how to bounce back. He knows how to clean out his weapon, reassess the situation, and come up with a plan on how to defeat the enemy. Just because he took a round in the arm, or his misjudgment caused losses in the platoon, does not mean the war is over for him. He heals up and gets right back in the fray. God has not asked for the gifts and calling to return to Him, nor will He allow us to give them back. They are there for good. Time for a rededication to that which God has assigned and seek the Spirit’s renewal that we might finish our course with strength.
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