All right, go with me if you
would back to Romans 9. I have a Sunday morning message
on Wednesday night. This is normally the kind of
message that I would bring for a Bible study or a Sunday morning
message. I look over scriptures and notes
and feel led, this one should go here and that one should go
there. And this is normally a message
that I would bring either for a Bible study or a Sunday morning
message, but I felt strongly led to bring it to you tonight.
So I pray that this is of the Lord. I pray he'll make this
to be a blessing. I pray this will be for his glory.
I pray it'll be for our good. I just pray that this is of him.
Let's read the first six verses again in Romans chapter nine. Verse 1 says, I say the truth
in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the
Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow
in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according
to the flesh. who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth
the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving
of the law, and the service of God, and the promises, whose
are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ
came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. Not as though
the word of God hath taken none effect, for they are not all
Israel, which are of Israel. Last Sunday morning, a brother
came up to me after the service and he said, how could anybody
get mad at this message? How could anybody get mad at
this message? When it ought to be so clear
to everybody that we are what the scripture says we are. That
ought to be so clear. We are as ruined and we are as
sinful and we are as wicked in the mind and as lustful in the
heart as the scripture says that we are. And then to see what
Christ did for us. in spite of us, not because of
us, like most people think. Not because of us, but in spite
of us. After seeing what we really are
and then seeing what Christ has really done, when you get a hold,
sometimes you get a hold of what Christ really did to redeem us
and to deliver us from what we really are. When you get a hold of that,
how could anybody get mad at this message? I agree with his question. I say the exact same thing. How
could anybody get mad at the glorious, wonderful, joyful news, this glorious news, this
amazing news of what Christ has done for sinners against Him. In spite of their rebellion and
their sin against Him. And that's just it. It's not
just rebellion and sin. It's rebellion and sin against
Him. It's all against Him. David said, against thee and
thee only have I sinned. It's all against Him. And then after seeing His love,
I mean, you talk about love and after seeing his mercy and
after seeing his graciousness, how could anybody get mad hearing
about it? But do you know that some do?
Some do. There is an offense to the natural
flesh, the natural mind, the natural man. There is an offense
in preaching the truth of what man has done. and preaching the
truth of what Christ has done. And I got to thinking about it.
After he asked me that question, I started really thinking about
this. I started thinking about messages and thinking about preaching
and thinking about telling people the truth. That's what we're
striving to do in this moment is tell people the truth. We have one moment, this brief
moment to tell people the truth. So I started thinking about all
that and I was asking myself this question, where is the offense
really? Where is it really? There are
some obvious answers that come to our mind, but where is it
really? I don't think it all falls on telling men and women
the truth that they're sinners against God. I don't believe
it does. That is definitely an offensive
thing to tell people. There's definitely some offense
in that, but that's not all of it and here's the reason why.
Men and women deep down know that there is some amount of
sin in them, especially when you tell them to think about
the things that roll through their mind. I say it all the
time. I will keep saying it all the time because it is so powerful. It's such a powerful exposure
of what is really inside people and the sin that they are constantly
in contact with. Once they get a hold of just
some of the things that go through their mind, they have to say,
well, Yeah? So they may not realize the fullness
of it, but they do know that something's wrong. People do
know something's wrong. I also don't think that all of
the offense falls on telling people the truth that Christ
accomplished salvation alone. Alone. It is definitely offending to
tell people that their good works that they're trying so hard to
perform are absolutely worthless. Worthless. They have no part in earning
a righteousness. That's what they're trying to
do. And Paul so clearly tells us that in Romans 10. trying
so hard to earn a righteousness before God. And their works play
no role in earning any kind of righteousness, any kind of worthiness
for salvation, any kind of perfection before
God. After men and women work so hard
to obey the commandments in this Bible, and then you tell them
that all of their efforts are worthless, And not just worthless,
but utter filth in God's eyes. And the only hope that they have
of being accepted into the kingdom of his dear son is for them to
throw all of it away. Is that not what we all had to
do? Throw all of it away. Throw absolutely cast all of
it away. and cast our all on the blood
of the Lamb, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. When you tell
people that eternal salvation is Christ's work alone, it's
in His blood alone, therefore He gets all the glory for it
alone, there is definitely an offense in that. But I don't
believe that's where all the offense lies. And the reason
is because, to some degree, men and women know that the credit
ought to go to Him. To some degree, they do. The
end of that declaration is still salvation. It's still redemption,
so they're okay with that. And they think they're the ones
who are putting the final cap on salvation, but something in
them will say, oh yeah, now God gets the glory. They're not giving
him the glory, but that's what their lips will say. Oh yeah,
God gets a glory for it. Yep, salvation's of the Lord.
So I don't think the real offense is in telling men and women that
they're sinners. And I also don't believe that
the separating, that severing offense is in telling people
that Christ accomplished the entire work of salvation alone.
Here's where I believe the true offense is. I believe Romans
9 is a confirmation of this. The offense of the truth, the
offense of this word, the whole word, And when we say the offense of
the cross, when we talk about the offense of the cross, the
offense is in God's sovereign right. That's where the offense
is. God's right to be God. God's right to choose whoever
he will. God's right to save whoever He
wants to save. That's the moment that the flesh
says, I'm not listening to this any longer. Not listening to
that any longer. Don't tell me that anymore. Now
this is what I want to set forth tonight in this message. By the
end of this, I want us to see that the very thing that makes
the natural lost man mad is the very thing that makes the
redeemed man glad. It's the very same thing. The
very thing that offends the natural flesh That is the very thing,
the exact thing that brings comfort and peace and joy and happiness
to the child of God. Really, I mean really. What brings so much anger to
the natural world? That exact thing is what brings
so much assurance to the child of God. So much assurance. And that thing is God's sovereign
right. God's sovereign right. God's
sovereignty in all things. Now, as we know, Paul began this
chapter speaking of his heaviness, And speaking of his sorrow over
his kinsmen after the flesh being lost, sorrowing over them being
lost. And he said, we all, them included,
we all received the covenants and the giving of the law and
the serving of God and the promises. He said, they received it just
like we did, but they're still lost. And because of that, the
exhortation is we need to bring the gospel to them. We need to
go into all the world and preach the gospel. We need to preach
the word to men and women because the scripture says it, the gospel,
the word is the power of God unto salvation. If a lost sinner
is going to be saved. Our God said it's gonna be through
the preaching of the gospel. That's what quickens his people.
That's what calls them out. So by his grace, that's what
we'll do. With whatever ability he'll give
us, we will go and preach the gospel. But Paul said in verse
six, he said, let me be clear about this. If we preach the
word to people and they're not called from darkness to light
from it, It's not because the Word of God couldn't take an
effect on them. It's not because it couldn't
reach them, couldn't change their stubborn heart, could not accomplish
the work for which it was sent. He said, that's not it at all.
Verse six, he said, it's not as though the Word of God hath
taken none effect, for they are not all Israel, which are of
Israel. If the preaching of God's word
does not call a sinner from darkness to light. Now here I stand. Okay. This is what I do. Other
men stand and we preach and we preach and we preach and we're
trying with all of the simple little ability that we have,
who is sufficient for these things? But we preach this word and we
preach this word and like we saw Sunday morning, Paul was
preaching and all of a sudden the Lord opened somebody's heart.
If we preach this word and preach this word and tell people that
they're sinners and tell people that there's one Savior and where
salvation is and we point men to Christ and we point men to
the blood and we tell them that there's peace and freedom and
liberty and it doesn't do anything. which is a common thing to happen. Then it means that sinners, whoever
it does not affect, they were not chosen to be affected. If it does not call men from
darkness to light, It means those men were not chosen to be called
from darkness to light. That's the truth. That's the
absolute truth. God's sovereignty, His sole reign,
sovereign, His absolute reign, God's Godness is over all things,
including all souls, all men and women. And that's what the
entire chapter of Romans nine is talking about. If you notice
the heading, if you have a heading at the top of your page, mine
says Paul's sorrow for the Jews. And then it says the sovereignty
of God, the sovereignty of God. Now from this scripture, I'd
like for us to see two things. God's sovereignty. in choosing
who he would save. And then I want us to see who
God sovereignly chose to save. God's sovereignty in choosing
and who he sovereignly chose. And then after we see that, I
want us to ask ourselves the question, does that make us really
mad or really glad? All right. Concerning God's sovereign
right to choose verse 21. Look at verse 21 right here in
Romans nine. It says, hath not the Potter
power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honor and another unto dishonor. Picture a potter sitting down
at his wheel. Alright, you've seen a potter
and he's sitting there and he has a lump of clay sitting on
that wheel and he sits down and now they're confronted. Who has
the power? Alright, who has the power to
overrule who? Is it the potter over the clay
or is it the clay over the potter? Who's going to form who? Who's
going to mold who? The potter. He's quoting Jeremiah
18 right here. Jeremiah 18. I didn't want this
to get too long. We were going to go over there,
but I think I'll still just give you the cliff notes. The Lord
told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 18, he said, I want you to go down
to the potter's house. I'll speak to you there. So Jeremiah
did, and when he got down there, the Lord said, Jeremiah, I want
you to watch that potter. So the potter sat down at his
wheel, and he started forming some clay, and what he made was
marred in his hands, and he was dissatisfied with it, so he balled
it back up again, and he started over. And he formed it again,
and it was pleasing in his sight. And then the Lord said, now Jeremiah,
do you see what that potter did? He said, can I not do that with
you? Can I not do that with you? He said, don't I have the same
power over you? Did He not create us? Did He not create us? Did He
not make us? Are we not the work of His hands? He actually made us from clay,
didn't he? Doesn't that give him the right
to do with us whatever he wants to do? Whatever he wants to do. Have you ever made anything?
Anything, something with your materials that you bought, you
owned, start to finish, it was all yours. If it was your creation,
would you not have the right to do with it whatever you want
to do with it? Whether you want to show it off to people, you
know, sometimes you can be, I made that, yeah, look at that. Show
it off to people or burn it in the fire. Couldn't you do with
it whatever you want to do with it? Well, verse 21 says, hath
not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make
one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? Here's the answer. Yes, he has the power. He has the right. No matter what
he does with his own, he has the right. And verse 14, if you
look right here in Romans 9 at verse 14, it says, what shall
we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. If he does whatever
he wants with his own, is he wrong in doing it? Absolutely
not. God forbid. Verse 15 says, for
he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
He said, all souls are mine. I do with them whatever I want
to do with them. That's what he's saying. They
all belong to me. And I can have mercy on the ones
that I want to have mercy on, and I can have compassion on
the ones that I want to have compassion on. That's the truth. That's called the truth. He can
have mercy on whoever he wants to show mercy to, and he can
have compassion on whoever he wants to have compassion on.
That's the truth. Here's the gospel. He will have
mercy on whom he will have mercy. And he will show compassion to
whom he will show compassion. That's the gospel. That's the
good news. Verse 16 says, so then it is
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy. What that means is man has no
right in this. All of the right belongs to God.
Verse 17 says, for the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for
this same purpose, have I raised the up that I might show my power
in thee and that my name might be declared throughout all the
earth. He said, I raised you up to do
with you what I purposed to do with you. And that's what I did
with you. Verse 18, therefore hath he mercy
on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, why
doth he yet find fault for who hath resisted his will? Somebody
will say, well, if he's sovereign over all this, if he's controlling
the whole thing, then why does he find fault with me? Why would he blame it on me?
Here's the only response that can be given to that. Who do
we think we are? Who do we think we are to even
question God? Verse 20 says, nay, but oh man,
who art thou that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say
to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honor, and another unto dishonor. Does he not have that
sovereign right to work all things according to the will and the
desire of his own heart? Yes, he does. He is God. He is the creator. He is the
owner. He is the decider, and he can
save whoever he wants to save. Well, who does he want to save? who is in the will and the desire
of his heart to save. The end of verse six, it says,
they are not all Israel, which are of Israel, neither because
they are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but in
Isaac shall thy seed be called. Who does Isaac represent? That
chosen son. The one that was taken up to
be a sacrifice to God. Who does Isaac represent? Christ. Christ. Doesn't Ephesians 1 say
we were chosen in him? chosen in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse seven says, neither because they are the seed of Abraham
are they all children, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
That is they which are the children of the flesh. These are not the
children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for
the seed. The children of the covenant,
the children of the promise of his coming, the children of the
covenant of his blood. Verse 9 says, for this is the
word of promise, at this time will I come and Sarah shall have
a son. And not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the
children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, It was said unto
her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it is written." Now
who did God choose to save? Who was it that he had in his
heart to save? He said, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. What does that mean? That means
this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He came to save
sinners. God had the right, this makes me smile. God had
the right to save anybody he wanted to save. And he wanted to save the sinners. He chose to save the liars, the
cheaters, the tricksters, the Jacobs, the sons of Jacob. That's who he chose to save.
Now, if a man does not see himself to be a sinner, everybody is
a sinner, but he chose to save the ones who confess that they
are sinners. He chose to save the ones that
see that their only hope is that there's a Savior for sinners.
And if a man does not see himself to be a sinner, then he is going
to hate the truth of this Word. He will not like the choice that
God has made. He will not like God's choice. and he will not bow to God's
sovereignty in it. He will reject it and he'll get
mad at the declaration of it. But if a man can truly say from
the heart, "'Tis not that I did choose thee, for Lord, that could
never be,' this heart would still refuse thee. But thank God you've
chosen me." Thank God for the fact that you chose sinners because
that's what I am. Thank God for the fact that you
are sovereign in your choosing. Thank God for the fact that it
is forever settled in the blood of Christ. Thank God for the
fact that you will have mercy on those who need mercy. And you will have compassion
on those who need compassion, because if you did not sovereignly
choose to do those things, then I would have no hope. I'd have
no hope. I am not worthy of your choosing. I'm not owed your choosing. It was just sovereignly bestowed
on me. So this declaration doesn't offend
me at all. This declaration doesn't offend
me at all. I don't believe it offends you at all either. I'm
so thankful for that. This is the happiest news I've
ever heard in my life. How could anybody get mad at
this message? How could anybody get mad at
this message? If God ever makes a man a sinner,
he won't. He won't. If God ever sovereignly
reveals to a man that he is a sinner in need of a sovereign savior,
he won't. He'll seek Christ. He'll seek
Christ and he'll say, this truth is not offensive at all. It is
not offensive at all. This is actually the glory and
the beauty of the gospel. that God would sovereignly choose
to save sinners. I pray he might allow many people
to say that. I pray we see that. I pray that
we see men and women truly get glad over this declaration and
say that's the beauty and the glory of the gospel. I pray so. All right, let's all stand together.