Pastor Chandler did a wonderful job as he took on the challenging doctrine of election on Sunday that Paul begins to unfold in detail in Romans 9:6-13. Paul's anguish for his fellow Israelites has him answering the question, "have the promises of God to Israel failed?" And the answer, of course, is a loud "NO." Using the examples of Isaac and Jacob, Paul states that this is because salvation and the covenant promises are according to the sovereign election of God. Those who are true descendants of Abraham, the true Israel, are the ones who become recipients of the covenant promises through faith and inward transformation. This means the true Israel of God is made up of both Jews and Gentiles.