My text this morning is without
question the most ignored, most despised, and most controversial
passage in all of scripture. Romans chapter 9. It is ignored
by almost all religious people, despised by the vast majority
And if it's even quoted, it raises controversy. I rather suspect
that some, even in this congregation, have never heard the chapter
read in public, let alone preached from. I would almost be willing
to wager, if I were a betting man, You could go throughout
San Diego County, ask folks in every church house in this county
this morning how many times they heard a preacher read the ninth
chapter of Romans from the pulpit, and I could give you $100 for
every one, and I wouldn't run out if I just had $100. Folks
despise this chapter of scripture. They ignore it. They fuss about
it. It raises controversy. When the
passage is quoted, religious people immediately start to boil. They become enraged, furious. And yet, this is one of the most
blessed, delightful portions of scripture to be found in the
book of God. No chapter in the Bible more
fully glorifies the triune Jehovah than this ninth chapter of Romans. No portion of scripture gives
greater hope to sinners. None give poor, helpless, lost,
needy, doomed, damned sinners greater encouragement and reason
to trust Christ than Romans 9. Romans 9, like all of the book
of God, but Romans 9 specifically, strips everything out of the
hands of man with regard to God's salvation and God's grace, and
puts everything only in the hands of God. Would to God I could
get you to think like that? Would God, the Spirit of God,
would cause you always to think like that? Anything that puts
something in your hands to do for God, by which you gain God's
favor, improve your standing in God's favor, by which you
make yourself holy or make yourself more holy. Anything that's put
in your hands by which you earn or in any way improve the work
of Jesus Christ the sinner substitute and the work of God the Holy
Ghost in you is not of God but of the devil. Romans 9 strips
everything out of the hands of man. Oh sinner you who believe
not God here is good news for you. May God give me your attention
as we look at these 33 verses. No chapter in the Bible is more
instructive for, more comforting to, or more encourages hope in
God's elect than these 33 verses. And there is no portion of scripture
that more inspires or thoroughly compels sinners, saved by God's
free grace, to utter devotion and consecration to God than
this chapter. Would to God the Spirit of God
would speak this day to me and to you and inspire in us utter
devotion to Christ. Utter devotion to the Son of
God. Let me tell you something about
Him. He is utterly devoted to you. If you're His, the Son of God
is utterly consecrated to you. Completely faithful to you. Oh God make me to be utterly
devoted to you. Utterly consecrated to you. Completely faithful to you. And
I can think of no chapter no portion of scripture that gives
me more excitement and more encouragement in preaching the gospel than
this portion of Holy Scripture. Let's look at these 33 verses
together this morning. The title of my message is The
Truth in Christ. The Truth in Christ. What is
the truth in Christ? The Apostle Paul begins this
ninth chapter by expressing a matter of great heaviness and continual
sorrow to his soul. The Jews, the nation of Israel,
Paul's kinsmen, his blood relatives, his brothers and sisters, if
he had any, his mother and his father, all who had been so greatly
privileged as to be given the word of God, the prophets of
God, the ordinances of divine worship, the law of God, and
even kinship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole nation of Israel
had been utterly rejected because they had utterly rejected the
gospel. They were cast off because they
despised and crucified the Lord of glory and brought upon themselves
the wrath and judgment of God by rebellion and unbelief. Now listen to me. You listen
to me. If you go to hell, if you go
to hell, it'll be your fault. You will bring upon yourself
The wrath and judgment of God by willful, deliberate rebellion
and unbelief because you will not hear God speak because you
will not bow to God's son. The preacher, you just told us
everything about divine predestination. It is indeed. You will go to
hell because of your own wicked deeds and you will do nothing
in any way to alter God's sovereign purpose. The purpose of God stands
the same. The Jews were under self-imposed eternal
ruin and that broke Paul's heart. Word to God, I had some kinship
with what Paul expresses in these verses. They were going to hell
and Paul was broken hearted as he contemplated the fact that
his neighbors, his family, people he loved, his kin, were going
to hell. I say the truth in Christ. I
lie not. My conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Ghost. That's about as strong an affirmation
as you will ever hear or read of any statement. I say the truth
in Christ. I'm not lying to you. My conscience
bears me witness. God, the Holy Ghost bears me
witness. That I have right now, I have great heaviness and continual
sorrow in my heart. for that I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according
to the flesh. Now let me tell you what I know
that does not mean. Paul was not wishing that he'd
be damned, that others might be saved. He had better sense
than that. He was not wishing that he'd
be separated from Christ in order that others might know Christ.
He had more sense than that. I love my wife dearly, but I
wouldn't want to be separated from Christ for her. Now, that
would be blasphemous. That's not what Paul meant. Let
me read this to you in Young's literal translation. I think
you'll get a better understanding of it. Truth I say in Christ,
I lie not, my conscience bearing testimony with me in the Holy
Ghost, that I have great heaviness and unceasing pain in my heart,
for that I was wishing myself to be anathema from Christ for
my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. The Jewish people
were Paul's people. And they, along with the Apostle
Paul, that is Saul of Tarsus, hated Christ intensely. But once God saved Saul, and
he was converted, the Apostle Paul was the most intensely despised
and hated man in the Jewish nation. They considered him the greatest
of all, the most vile of all apostates. This man who once
persecuted Christ in his church, who once sided with the Jews
in everything, this man who was a Pharisee of the Pharisees has
now become a disciple of Jesus the Nazarene. We judge Paul's
words In the light of what he says in this passage, in the
light of his relationship with God, what he's saying is, I write
now as a broken-hearted man because there was a day when I wished
I were damned from Christ. There was a day when I wished
that I were cut off from Christ. I wanted his name rid from the
earth. I was just like them, my brethren,
my kinsmen according to flesh. I'm broken hearted because of
what I did and what I was and I'm broken hearted because they
are now cut off. Before God saved them, Before
Christ was revealed in him, Saul of Tarshish wished for nothing
greater than that Christ would be eradicated from the earth. But Paul is now talking about
another great grief. He had been up to this point
throughout his life as a believer, devoted to the salvation of his
nation, his people, his family, the Jews. Read Acts chapter 20. Paul said, he said, I go bound
to Jerusalem. In chapter 21, he said, I'm going
to Jerusalem to preach the gospel of Jerusalem. He was a Caesarea. And one prophet Agabus came and
took Paul's girdle and bound his hands and said, thus shall
the man be bound whose girdle this is if he goes to Jerusalem.
and the disciples begged him don't go Paul don't go this man
speaks for God don't go this is what awaits you don't go and
Paul's response was what mean ye to weep and to break my heart
don't you know I'm ready not only to be bound but also to
die at Jerusalem that I might preach the gospel to these people
but now the family he loved the kinsmen he loved for whom he
was willing to die, were cast off. Cast off forever. Paul said,
I go to the Gentiles. God set them aside as a nation. Our Lord Jesus said, your house
is left unto you desolate, and desolate to the nation of Israel
is. Now, they were cast off in spite of great privilege. Look
at verses 4 and 5. Paul shows us what wasted, misused,
misspent privileges the Jews had. In verses 4 and 5, Paul's
not asking a question, he's stating a fact. These two verses are
just a continuation of verse 3. So read verse 3 again. I could
wish that myself were a curse from Christ. I was wishing myself
a curse from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the
flesh, who are Israelites. Who are they? My kinsmen, who
are Israelites? To whom pertaineth the adoption?
Read the seventh chapter of Deuteronomy. God said, I chose you and no
other nation. You're not talking about spiritual
adoption. The Jews had been adopted among all nations. They were
the people to whom God had revealed his glory in the tabernacle. His Shekinah glory in the pillar
of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. To them pertained
the covenants. God made a covenant with Abraham.
Later he made a covenant with Moses. Later he made a covenant
with David. The covenants all pertain to
the children of Israel and the giving of the law. God gave his
law at Sinai. Those commandments he gave, they
were given to the Jews only. Nobody else. Nobody else. God
spoke to no people but the nation of Israel. To them God gave the
service of God, the tabernacle, the priesthood, and the promises. Whose are the fathers? And of
whom as concerning the flesh Christ came? The Lord Jesus was
born out of the Jews. He's the lion of the tribe of
Judah. This one who is overall God blessed
forever. There was no people in the world
blessed like the Jews. God gave his law only to the
Jews. God sent his prophets only to
the Jews. God gave his word only to the
Jews. God established his worship only
among the Jews. And when the Lord Jesus came
being born himself a Jew, they spit in his face and nailed him
to a tree and said, to hell with God. We won't have it. We won't have it. Oh, my soul. This is the thing that troubled
Paul so much concerning the Jews. They had such extraordinary privileges
and opportunities, and now they're cast away, reprobate, and damned
as a nation. The Lord Jesus, the Savior of
men, one of their own race, bone of their bone and flesh of their
flesh, they nailed to the tree. Oh, how terrible the hardness
of the human heart. Now I've said all of that to
say this to you. Are you listening to me? Be warned. Be warned. What privileges God
has given you. God has established in your midst
this gospel church. Don't take it lightly. Don't despise the privilege God's
given you. To all the people, there may
be exceptions, I don't know of any, but to all the people in
San Diego County, California, God sent his servant to you. You have heard the gospel of
God's free grace. God has made himself known in
your midst. Don't be so foolish as to ignore
what God's given you. Don't be so foolish as to despise
it. After expressing such great heaviness
and sorrow, the apostle seems then to brace himself up. He
consoles his own heart in verses six through eight. Here he assures
himself and us that God's purpose is sure. God's elect shall be
saved. I've had the privilege of preaching
the gospel of God's free grace now for better than 50 years,
52 years. And I've seen lots of folks come
and go. I've seen lots of people get
real excited and after a while they decide they've had enough
of this, they move on to something else. There are lots of folks
in Denver, Kentucky now, whoever once in a while they'll decide
to tip their hat in our favor and come do God a favor and visit
us at Grace Church some Sunday morning or Sunday night or Tuesday
night and just hold us. Isn't it wonderful here I am? Despising God and His worship. Despising the gospel of God's
grace. Mocking at God's goodness. God
won't take it lightly. I promise you. Don't be so foolish. But regardless of what others
do, regardless of man's rebellion, ungodliness and unbelief, regardless
of the Jews taking the Lord of glory and nailing him to the
cursed tree, spitting in his face and saying, we won't have
it. God was unaffected and he still is. unchanged and he still
is his purpose unaltered you're not going to do anything to hurt
God or his people or his cause look at verse 6 not as though the word of God
has taken none effect for the fact is 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
That is they which are the children of the flesh The flesh the descendants
of Abraham. These are not the children of
God but the children of promise These are counted for the seed
Paul is here saying exactly the same thing David said on his
dying bed By these words David consoled himself. David looked
out over his household. He had a huge family. He had
a huge family. So far as I can discern, out
of David's whole family, out of his whole family, the whole
family, only David, his dear wife Bathsheba, his wife Abigail
and his son Solomon the only ones who knew God the only ones
who knew God and this is what David said although my house
be not so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant
ordered in all things and sure for this is all my salvation
and all my desire though he make it not to grow now understand
these things The blessings of God's grace do not come to anyone
according to carnal descent. Yes, God promised to bless the
seed of Abraham. But Paul uses the word seed here
in a very special spiritual way. Abraham's seed is Christ. And Abraham's seed is all the
host of God's elect in Christ. Paul makes that abundantly clear
in Galatians 3. God promised salvation to his
elect before the worlds were made. The Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world and he passed by the fallen angels. He took
not on him the nature of angels, and he passed by the fallen sons
of Adam. He took not hold of the seed
of Adam, but he took hold on the seed of Abraham and redeemed
and justified and saved the seed of Abraham. God's elect shall
be saved. regardless of what other men
do. If my dear, dear kinsmen perish,
if those I love, those for whom I would at this moment lay down
my life, if that might be used of God to bring them to trust
my Savior. And I would at this moment lay
down my life for that cause. If God might use it to bring
them to the Savior. If they perish under the wrath
of God, it will only be because they have refused to trust the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now you hear me. If you perish
under the wrath of God, it will be only because you refuse to
trust the Son of God. God's word of promise, God's
purpose, God's decree will be unaltered. God's elect will yet be saved. The God of all the earth will
still be right and just, faithful and true, good and wise, gracious
and sovereign. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael
and Isaac. God passed by Ishmael, his firstborn,
and chose Isaac. What did Abraham do? He bowed
down and worshiped God. He devoted his whole life to
God because of his great goodness, mercy, love, and grace heaped
upon him. God, my God, give me grace to
walk in the steps of faithful Abraham. Grace doesn't run in bloodlines.
God will save you because you're akin to somebody who will save.
This notion of covenant family, the continued practice of papacy
among Protestants, sprinkle a little water on baby's head and calling
it baptism because they're in the covenant family. That's a
covenant lie is what it is. No truth to it. God's grace doesn't
run in bloodlines. God won't save you because your
daddy was a godly man or your mama was a godly man or your
daddy was a preacher. It won't happen. God saves sinners
by his free grace. And all who trust his son are
born of his grace. And if you refuse to trust his
son, you'll go to hell. Next look at verses nine through
13. The inspired apostle here shows us God's word of promise,
God's decree that must be fulfilled. His decree, both of election
and reprobation, both are taught in scripture. Our Lord Jesus,
on one occasion, said, I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. And there were a bunch of Pharisees
standing around, religious folks who hated God, and they said,
we don't like that. He said, I wasn't talking to
you. You're not my sheep. You're not my sheep. You believe
not because you're not in my sheep. Look at verse 9. 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." That's a pretty
good explanation, isn't it? Now, I want you to understand
exactly what I'm saying. Why did God love Jacob? Why did God
hate Esau? The children had not yet been
born. They hadn't done anything good or bad. So God's love for
Jacob didn't depend on Jacob doing something good. And God's
hatred of Esau didn't depend on Esau doing something bad.
They weren't around yet. But that the purpose of God according
to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said to her, The elder
shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. Brother Don, I don't understand
that. Yes, you do. That's the reason you don't like
it. That's not hard to understand. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. Well, God couldn't do that. He
did that. He did that. You see, doesn't matter how you
read this book, Doesn't matter which version you should have
to pick up trying to ignore this book. The book of God still declares,
Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. God just keeps on insisting
on being God. He won't give you the reins.
That's what all free will works religion is. All of it. They
set man in the house of God demanding that he, man, be worshipped as
though he were God. Attributing to man power and
work that belongs only to God. The whole religious world says
that you gotta do something. God's waiting on you. Giving
you the power that belongs only to God. That's utter blasphemous
idolatry. It's not worshipping God. Here
are two children born at the same time. Twins born to the
same parents. And yet Esau was not numbered
among the chosen seed. Esau was not chosen of God. Jacob
was. Why? God answers the question. And I love the way God answers
the questions of fools. I hope I learned to just say
things plain. Jacob have I loved. But Esau
have I hated. That's all it says about it.
Well you got to explain this. No you don't. You had two choices. You can bow to God or you can
go to hell. That's the only two choices you got. You either believe
God or you go to hell. That's the only choices you've
got. Jacob have I loved. Esau have I hated. It doesn't
matter how closely you may be connected with the people of
God. Unless God saves you, you won't be saved. You cannot and
will not be saved unless God the Father shows you, God the
Son redeemed you, and God the Holy Ghost calls you by irresistible
power, omnipotent mercy, and life-giving grace, salvations
of the Lord. And if you go to hell, you will
not in any way alter God's purpose, mar His goodness, or corrupt
His righteousness. Your eternal damnation will be
your own fault alone. What does the book say? The wages
of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Back a good many years
ago, Shelby and I were driving out of town one Sunday night.
I was going somewhere to preach, I've forgotten where. But the
pastor of First Baptist Church in Danville, a fellow by the
name of Albert Giesler, was preaching on the radio. and I happened
to turn it on for some strange reason just as they were finishing
and Mr. Giesler pretending to cry crocodile
tears you know preachers can get a kind of weepish voice said
oh won't it be a shame won't it be a shame that there were
so many in hell for whom Christ died whom God tried to save But
you would not believe. I pulled aside the road and I
said shove it right that down just like he said it. I want
to remember it. I want to remember it. Shame? Yes! To God Almighty. Shame? Yes! If God tried to do what
he failed to do. If Christ tried to do what he
failed to do. If the Spirit of God tried to do what he failed
to do. Let God bear the shame forever. And he would. Oh no. Man's actions, good or bad, man's
belief or unbelief doesn't affect God's purpose. As soon as we
mention anything about God's election, predestination, divine
sovereignty, limited atonement, irresistible grace, or heaven
forbid reprobation, religious infidels scream, that's not fair,
that's not right. How can God find fault with anybody
if he predestinated everything? How can God do that if he's already
determined everything? Read verses 14, 15, and 16. and
you'll see how God answers the infidel's objections. We commonly
think and teach others to think that the way to deal with people
who despise God and his gospel is to give up everything to the
infidel, console him in his unbelief, and then say he's beginning to
come around. You know, I believe he's beginning
to see the doctrines of grace. Nothing of the kind. Folks don't
begin to come around. God reveals Christ to you or
he doesn't. It's just that simple. The best way to keep the infidel,
to deal with the infidel, is to keep the infidel an infidel. Don't make him think he's a believer.
Don't pretend he's a believer. The only way to deal with people
who hate God is confront them. You just confront them. I never
was in the military. I tried to join up when I was
16 years old, lied about my age, but they found out I was lying.
For God's sake, I'm glad I didn't, but I never was in the military.
But I suspect, I suspect that the way you deal with an enemy
in the military, if you walk up to him, you stick your gun
right in his face and demand that he surrender. I've never seen a movie or read
anything in history where any fella ever dealt with a foe otherwise,
have you? You walk up there, surrender
or die! That's your choice. Surrender
or die. Only during the modern era, us
dealing with those idiots in the Far East, Muslim folks who
are insane, do we say, well, maybe you don't have to surrender,
we'll capitulate to you. You see what that got you? No,
no, you deal with the enemy with confrontation. And faithful pastors,
faithful preachers deal with God's enemies just that way.
We tell folks the truth. Don't argue with them. Don't
debate with them. Don't fuss with them. Just tell them the
truth. This is what God says. If you prefer to go to hell,
go to hell. But this is what God says. This is what God says. You mean
you think I'm lost? I didn't say that. You did. You
did. I don't worship that God. That's what I suspected. That's
what I suspected. Look at verse 14. What shall
we then say? Is there unrighteousness with
God? How dare you think such a thing? How dare you think such
a thing? God forbid. 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. Well, what does that mean? So
then, it is not, it is not, it is not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Oh how I thank God. There are
some people in this world from whom God won't take no for an
answer. Aren't you? I heard God speak by his word
and I said no. And I heard God speak by his
word and I said no. I heard God speak by his word
and I said, we'll do it my way. I heard God speak by his word
and I said, we'll do it this way. I heard God speak by his
word and I said, no, no, no. But God wouldn't take no for
an answer. He sweetly, graciously forced
me into the arms of his son. And I'm telling you the only
way any sinner will ever come to Christ is if God forces you
to come. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and causes to approach unto thee. Now, let's read verses
17 through 26. Here God the Holy Ghost speaks
as plainly as words can be written, as plainly as possible about
vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy. asserting in the clearest,
most forcible terms possible, both the absolute sovereignty
of God and the righteousness of divine judgment. For the scripture
saith to Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have
I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that
my name might be declared throughout all the earth. God said, Pharaoh,
the only reason I called you to be born in this world, the
only reason I gave Egypt such power and made Pharaohs in Egypt,
the only reason I gave you to be the head over the largest
army in the whole world was so I could dump your carcass in
the Red Sea and everybody know I'm God. God fulfilled his purpose. Everybody in the world knows
God dumped Pharaoh in the Red Sea. I raised you up for that
purpose. Read on. 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? If I had a nickel for every time
somebody said that to me, I'd be a rich man. Why doth he yet
find fault? Who hath resisted his will? Nay,
but O man, O you fool, O you rebel, Oh, you ungodly wretch! Oh, you will-worshipping idolater! Who art thou that replies against
God? How dare you challenge God about
anything? 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? Whoever heard
the tale of a potter asking a lump of mud what he wanted to be? I've seen a few potters at work.
My sister used to be a potter when she was alive. Very good.
She was very good. But if I should ever, and my
sister and I are pretty close growing up. We did some crazy
things, but if I ever happen to walk in while she's at that
wheel and she gets a lump of mud in her hand and said, now,
what would you like to be today, honey? I'd call somebody to check
her in the funny farm. Whoever tells such a thing. The
potter has dominion over clay. What if God then, the potter,
that's what he says in Jeremiah 18. What if God, the potter,
Willing to show his wrath and make his power known Endured
with much long-suffering not long-suffering to them Long-suffering
to his people his chosen second Peter 3 now He endures with much
long-suffering the vessels of wrath now watch this fitted to
destruction How are they fitted to destruction? They come forth
from the womb speaking lies. They live with a fist in God's
face all the time. They live like this all the time.
God, get out of my way. God, get out of my way. I will
be God. Get out of my way. Fitted to
destruction. Read the next line. and that he might make known
the riches of his glory the glory of God in the face of Christ
the gospel of his grace on the vessels of mercy what's the difference
which he had athore prepared under glory which he had athore prepared
under glory. Kevin, before the world was made
God tells us in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 3 the works were finished
for the foundation of the world these vessels of mercy were prepared
by God before he ever made Adam in the garden prepared in Christ
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world in whom by whom
with whom we were justified sanctified and glorified being redeemed
by his precious blood read on even us whom he hath called now
We are His whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also
the Gentiles. You see this always was God's
purpose. His elect will be brought from the four corners of the
earth, Jew and Gentile, male and female, bond and free, rich
and poor, black and white, from every part of the earth He'll
gather His own. That was always His purpose. When I was in college,
I went to real prominent Bible colleges. But our basic theology
book was a Scofield reference Bible. One of the Bibles has
been messed with a lot. I suggest if you have one that
you throw it away. But this is the theology we were taught.
God had plan A. Plan A was Jesus came down here
to be the king over yonder in Palestine and sit on that little
peanut throne over there. But the Jews wouldn't let Jesus
be king. and they crucified poor Jesus.
But God had plan B. Since the Jews wouldn't let him
have his way, God switched to plan B and decided to have this
thing called the Church Age. They called it a parenthesis.
A parenthesis in the purpose of God. Do you remember what
a parenthesis is? It's got the brackets around
it. Parenthetical brackets. It's fitted into a sentence.
If you pick it up and take it out of the sentence it doesn't
change a thing. It doesn't change a thing. They
said the church age is a parenthetical age of parentheses in God's purpose
because he had to switch to plan B. No. God didn't change anything. He said in Hosea I will call
them my people which were not my people. In her beloved which
was not beloved and it shall come to pass that in that place
right here in San Diego, California. Back yonder in Danville, Kentucky.
Down yonder in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In that place
where it was said unto them, you're not my people, there shall
they be called the children of the living God. Now, verses 28
and 29, we're again reminded and assured of the fact that
there is in this world a chosen remnant who must and shall be
saved by the grace of God. Isaiah crieth also concerning
Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as
the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. For he will finish
the work and cut it short in righteousness." I like that. Because a short work will the
Lord make upon the earth. And as Isaiah said before, except
the Lord of Sabbath had left us a seed, We should have been
in Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah. He will finish the
work. God Almighty is going to accomplish
his purpose exactly on time, exactly according to schedule.
He will cut it short in righteousness. That is, he'll finish it speedily.
He'll do it in righteousness. He's a just God and a Savior.
He's a just judge. who must and shall do right.
And were it not for God's election, redemption, were it not for the
Spirit's grace, His calling, the whole human race would become
Sodomites. The whole human race. This world is running to sodomy more rapidly than we can imagine. It's becoming popular and acceptable. Preachers say nothing about it.
It's a demonstration of God's judgment. Let me tell you why
the whole depraved race of man does not become the reprobate
race of sodomites. Because there is a remnant. According
to the election of grace. They're called Christ's sheep.
And our business is to seek the sheep. We're on the trail of
Christ's sheep. I don't know who they are. If
you could clip their ears or paint a stripe down their back,
I'd go lifting their coattails and find out who they are. But
I can't tell. So we preach the gospel to you. To everybody. Freely. and declare the scriptures
plainly knowing that God has an elect remnant who must and
shall be saved and as a general rule that elect remnant as they're
called by God's grace are the least likely in our eyes the
very last ones you'd expect God sent Samuel down to Jesse's house
and said, there's a king in Jesse's house. One of his sons, go anoint
him. And Samuel went down and Jesse
heard the news. Oh boy, one of my boys is going
to be king. So he started bringing them in.
He had them dressed and shaved and hair cut just right. Had
them fixed up fine. Brought them in one after the
other. And God said, nope, that's not him. Nope, that's not him.
Nope, that's not him. Nope, that's not him. Got the
last son. Nope, that's not him. Samuel said, Jesse, ain't you
got any more son? He said, yeah, but it ain't him. He's that little
old scrawny, ruddy sheep, young fella out in the field, tending
the sheep. He said, go get him. And David came in, and God said,
arise and anoint him. This is he. God's elect remnant,
not who you expect, and you won't find them where you expect to
find them. God finds them. Our business is to declare the
word of his grace to them. His Christ and his gospel, to
you a stumbling stone over which you're stumbling into hell in
rebellion and unbelief or is Christ the foundation stone laid
in your heart by God himself upon which you're built. Look
at verse 30. Or shall we say then that the
Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained righteousness. They've attained to righteousness.
The Gentiles, they didn't follow the law. They weren't given the
law. They didn't have any Sabbath days. They didn't even have 10
commandments given to them. But they've attained to righteousness.
Even the righteousness which is a faith. But Israel, the religious
folks, which followed after the law of righteousness, they had
the 10 commandments posted on every door. They had 10 commandments
in the courthouse. They had 10 commandments on the
wall of the schoolhouse. They had 10 commandments in the
church house. Hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
They just talk about it. Wherefore, one reason, because
they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of
the law. How come? Because they tripped
over Christ. they stumbled at the stumbling
stone as it is written behold I lay in Zion a stumbling stone
and a rock of offense and there's something else written whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed believing on Christ we
have attained to the righteousness of the law We've attained it
by Christ's obedience as our substitute. By Christ's death
as our redeemer. And we've attained it by the
call of God the Holy Ghost making us partakers of the divine nature
in the new birth. And we shall attain it at last
in resurrection glory when the Lord God makes these bodies exactly
like His in resurrection glory. Would you have God's salvation?
Would you have God's salvation? Hear God's word. Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed. That's the truth in Christ. You can fuss with it and argue
with it, fight with it until you go to hell or you can believe
that Jesus is the Christ. And if you do, life everlasting
is yours. Free for nothing. Free for nothing. Nothing required beforehand,
nothing required in the process, nothing required after you get
it. Free for nothing. I used to sell grit when I was
a boy. Some of you may be familiar with it, been around a long time.
I got my first job carrying regular papers when I was eight years
old. Before that I sold grit in mowed yards. But back during
the days of the Great Depression in Chicago, there was a little
boy who commonly sold grit on the streets of Chicago. And this
fellow drove up one day, and got out of his big black limousine,
chauffeur-driven limousine, and walked over to that boy and sat
down beside him on the bench and talked to him a little bit,
and the boy asked him, said, would you like to buy a Grit?
And he said, no, son, I'd like to talk to you. I'll buy a Grit,
but I want to talk to you a little bit. He said, where do you live? He
said, I don't live anywhere. He said, where are your mom and
dad? He said, I don't have a mom and
dad. And the man said, Son, would you like to go home with me and
have supper tonight? And the father said, well sure. And he
took him home with him, fed him, and they chatted a little bit.
And the old man and his wife didn't have any children. He
said, son, how would you like to be my son? He said, what? He said, how would you like to
be my son? This house, be your house. All
these things be yours. And he said, oh. You want me
to be your son? That'd be fine. It'd be fine. It's fifth evening, servants
gave the boy a bath, took him up, put him in bed, and the old
man and his wife came in there and sat down on the bed. And
he's laying there just looking all around the room, just wide-eyed,
couldn't believe where he was. And he said, he said, son, from
this night on, everything you're looking at is yours. Everything
I've got is yours. And the boy just gasped, just
a young little boy. He looked up and after a little
bit he said, all this? All this. Free for nothing? Free for nothing. That's God's
salvation. Free for nothing. Oh God give you grace to trust
his side. Amen.