It is so good to see you, so
good to be with you again, and I appreciate you. You've driven
long ways to be here, and I especially appreciate the Harmon being here. I know folks who don't realize this
don't realize it, folks who do, do. But passengers take what
they do seriously. And Saturday's precious times. My daughter's 47 years old. She
will tell you how she used to tiptoe around the house on Saturdays.
We just don't plan anything. Dad's not going to do it. So
I appreciate you being here, my friend, so very much. And
every time I look at your posture, I think, I was born looking older
than he looks. So I appreciate you putting up
with looking at me. My text this afternoon is without
question among professed Christians the most ignored, the most despised,
and the most controversial chapter in all of Holy Scripture. If
you would care to do so, and I'm not a betting man, but if
I were a betting man, I'd bet you $100 to a pack of crackers. that you could call every person
in every church in this county and ask them how many times they've
heard a sermon from this chapter and you wouldn't find one except
in this congregation. Wouldn't find one. In fact, I
would almost make the same wager you wouldn't even find one who
ever heard this chapter read in public. It's the most despised
most ignored, the most controversial chapter in Holy Scripture. And
yet, it's one of the most blessed, blessed chapters to be found
in the book of God. No chapter in all the Bible more
thoroughly exalts and glorifies the triune God, our great Lord
Jehovah, than my text. No portion of Holy Scripture
gives more solid hope to sinners. None give poor, helpless, lost,
needy, doomed, damned, helpless sinners greater encouragement
and reason to trust Christ. If you're here under the wrath
of God, I've got good news for you. Oh, may God give you grace
to hear it. No chapter can be found in the
Word of God more instructive for, more comforting to, or more
fully encouraging hope in God's saints than the text I've chosen
for today. And there's no portion of the
inspired Word of God that more inspires or more thoroughly compels
saved sinners to give themselves utterly Utter devotion and consecration
to God than the chapter that is our text I Can think of no
passage that gives more excitement and more encouragement to God's
servants Have I got your attention? Let's turn to Romans chapter
9 Romans chapter 9 The title of my message is the
truth in Christ and Our text will be Romans chapter 9, verses
1 through 33. The chapter begins with Paul
expressing a matter of great heaviness and continual sorrow
in his soul. The Jews, the nation of Israel,
Paul's kinsmen, his blood relatives, his brothers and sisters, his
mother, his father, those with whom he had been raised, those
he knew best, had been so greatly privileged of God that God gave
them and them alone his word. God gave the nation of Israel
and the nation of Israel alone his word. He didn't just not
give it to the Gentile world, he hid it from them. He hid it
from them. He sent his prophets to none
but Israel. He raised up his tabernacle nowhere
but in Israel. He had his altar only in Israel. He gave his priest only in Israel. He revealed his word only in
Israel. For 2,000 years, the Jews alone
had the revelation of God. Few exceptions scattered here
and there indicating what God spoke in the prophets, that he
would gather his elect among the Gentiles, but Israel alone
had these privileges. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's
darling son, was born out of the nation of Israel. He was
bone of their bone and flesh of their flesh When he came into
this world preaching the gospel of God's grace He came unto his
own and his own received him not They said we won't have it
we won't have it They rejected his gospel. They crucified the
Lord of glory. And in doing so, they brought
upon themselves the wrath and judgment of God by their willful
rebellion and hard-hearted, stubborn unbelief. Their self-imposed
ruin broke the apostle's heart. Would to God I thought and felt
more like this man. We get angry when folks despise
the gospel. We get angry when folks fight
against the gospel. And we draw swords and fight
with them. The Jews brought on themselves the judgment
of God and Paul wept. He was brokenhearted. They were
going to hell. And as he contemplated that fact,
the apostle Paul was in heaviness. Look at verse one. I say the
truth in Christ. The truth in Christ. That's my
subject. 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." Now, I have read in the past 45 years every commentary
I could get my hands on on those three verses of Scripture, good
commentaries and bad. And I haven't read one yet that
satisfies me. Haven't read one yet that doesn't
try to do something with the text that's not there. Listen
to Young's literal translation. As you know, I have utmost regard
for our King James translation. It is, without question, the
very best translation there is. There's no modern translation
that has improved it. But it is a translation. Listen
to Young's literal translation. numerous words and phrases in
scripture that can be translated in different ways. Not contradictory
ways, but different ways. And the translators have to determine
by the context how to translate it. But it would really be better
for us if they gave us each translation. Because if a verse or a passage
or a word could be translated in a different way, It was the
intention of God to use those words just as he did. So that
both translations are equally so. Listen to this Young's literal
translation. Truth I say in Christ, I lie
not. My conscience bearing testimony with me in the Holy Spirit. That
I have great heaviness and unceasing pain in my heart. Not much difference
there. But when you get to verse three,
there's a big difference. for I was wishing myself to be
anathema, to be accursed, to be damned from Christ for my
brethren, my kindred, according to the flesh." Now put both translations
together and you get the right idea, I'm sure. The Jewish people
hated Paul intensely. Nothing could surpass their malice
against this man they looked upon as the most vile apostate
in the world, because this man, who was their leader in opposing
Christ, in opposing the gospel of Christ, was converted and
became a follower and a preacher of Christ, and for that they
despised him. But Paul's heart broke for them. Paul's heart broke for them.
We must not judge Paul's words merely by strict rules of grammar,
but as the expression of a broken, heavy heart speaking the truth
in Christ. He's not giving us here logical
arguments, but the expression of heartfelt grief. And he gives
it to us by divine inspiration. Before he knew the Lord, before
God saved him, before Christ was revealed in him, Saul of
Tarsus wished to have nothing to do with Jesus of Nazareth. He wanted nothing to do with
that man who claimed to be God. That man who claimed to be the
Messiah, the Christ, the King of Israel. He wanted nothing
to do with him. And he wanted to rid the world
of his name. This man, Saul of Tarsus, was
a terrorist against Christianity. It was his purpose in life to
destroy what's called Christianity. But I'm convinced that Paul is
talking about another grief and heaviness as well he had been
up to this point throughout his life as a believer devoted to
the salvation of his kinsmen after the flesh everywhere he
went he went preaching the gospel and he was willing to make every
sacrifice to do it listen to what he said none of these things
move me Neither can I my life dear unto myself, that I might
finish my course with joy, and to minister which I have received
of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
The Jews to whom he ministered loved him. And they wanted him
to take care of himself. He said, he's, I'm ready to die.
Agabus came and he said, he took Paul's girdle and wrapped it
around himself. The man whose girdle this is
shall be arrested if he goes to Jerusalem. And Paul answered,
what mean you to weep and break my heart? I'm ready not to be
bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the
Lord Jesus. He loved his family, his kinsmen,
his own people dearly. So much so that he was ready
and willing to die if God might be pleased to use his death for
the saving of his people. I know something about that and
I expect you do too. I expect you do too. He's not
saying by any means I'm willing to go to hell to be saved. I'm
willing to forsake Christ that you might be saved. He said,
I could wish myself death. If by my death you might live. And then Paul seems to brace
himself up a little bit. He shows in the verses three
through five, What wasted, misused, misprint privileges the Jews
had. In verses 4 and 5, Paul is not
asking a question or not making a statement. I'm sorry, he's
not asking a question. He's continuing with a statement.
It looks like a question, but actually the statement begins
in verse 3 and continues in verse 4. I could wish that myself were
accursed, cut off 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 services of God and the promises, whose are the fathers and of
whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, whose over all God
blessed forever. This is the thing that troubled
Paul so much concerning his kinsmen. This is the thing that troubles
me for you. Some of you sitting here, I've
been preaching to for a long time. You've been raised up under
the sound of the gospel of God's grace. And you, Just wipe your feet on it. That's all. It means nothing
more to you than that mat right there. Nothing more. Oh, what
a privilege God's given you. What a privilege God's given
you. How many times y'all meet here? Once a week, twice a week, three
times a week? You come here. You can come here and hear the
gospel of God's grace. Sing God's praise, meet with
God's people. Meet with God. What a privilege, what a privilege. And grandma comes to town, she
said, well, I'll stay at home. Granny don't wanna go to church
down there. She gets upset. Well, let Granny go to hell by herself. But granted, go to hell by yourself.
You don't have to go with it. We have the privilege of all
peoples in this world, of all peoples in this world. We have
the privilege of having the gospel of God's free grace proclaimed
in our midst. This is what Paul saw in the
Jews. And they, they, pushed God out of the way! They said,
to hell with God! We'll have things our way. We'll
have things our way. And they went to hell for it.
God cut them off. God cast them off as a nation. Destroyed them as a people. Oh,
how terrible the hardness of the heart of man is. What poor
things the greatest privileges and the greatest opportunities
are, except God make them effectual to our souls. Except God calls
us to believe his son. Except God reveal his son in
us. Look at verses 6, 7, and 8. Here's
the third thing. As I said, Paul seems to brace
himself up. He seems to console his own heart
as he assures himself and us that God's purpose is sure. God's
elect shall be saved. Not as though the word of God
hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel which
are of Israel. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they 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 promise are counted
for the seed Here Paul is saying exactly the same thing David
did on his deathbed You remember God's servant David David was a pretty good fella.
He was just a pretty good fella. When David left this world, God
Almighty recorded three things about David he looked upon as
evil. Three things. I'd sure like to leave here like
that, wouldn't you? Three things. David was a remarkable man. I
know you've had religious folks tell you, All kinds of religious
folks there years if if you really God then you raise your children,
right? You raise your children. God will save your children if
you're if you if you really believe God David Was a man after God's
own heart and his whole family went to hell His whole family went to hell
except for Solomon and Bathsheba and Abigail far as I can find
in the book How did he handle that? He said, although my house
be not so with God. Things weren't the way I planned
it. Things aren't the way I wanted them to be. Oh, Absalom, Absalom, Absalom, my
son, would God I had died for thee. Things are not the way
I wanted them to be. 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
But that's not all he said This is all my desire Although he
make it not to grow Paul said wait a minute My brethren, my
kinsmen after the flesh, these are not the children of promise.
These are not God's elect. Being kin to me doesn't give
him a foot up on God. Being related to me doesn't make
me more accepted with God. Being kin to me doesn't mean
they have a head start in getting to heaven. Oh no, they're not
children of flesh, they're not children of promise, but the
children of promise. The children of God's promise,
these are the seed of Israel. The blessing of God's grace,
you see, doesn't come to anyone according to carnal descent.
Yes, God promised to bless the seed of Abraham, but Paul uses
the word seed in a very special way. He uses the word singular
because seed refers not to many but one, that is Christ. But
then he goes right down in Galatians chapter 3 after telling us that
and he said that if you Believe Christ you are Abraham's seed
singular So seed takes in all the host of God's elect, accepted
of God in one man, Jesus Christ the Lord, all together, perfectly
accepted in that one representative from before the world began.
So Abraham's seed God's elect God's people God's chosen our
Lord Jesus came into this world and it took not on him the nature
of angels But it took on him the seed of Abraham He didn't
take on him the seed of Adam. He didn't come to die for all
of Adam's race He took on him the seed of Abraham. He came
to redeem God's elect God's covenant people God's chosen if my dear
kinsmen those I love, those for whom I would this moment lay
down my life, if that might be used of God to cause them to
trust the Savior. I say the truth in Christ, I
lie not. I'd gladly die this minute, but that won't save If God taking my life while I'm
speaking to you might be used of him to give you life and faith
in Christ, I'd gladly drop dead right now. I'm either telling
you the truth or I'm lying to you. There's no in between ground. But that won't save you. That
won't give you life. That won't give you faith. If
those who are dearest to me and dearest to you you who now hear
my voice perish under the wrath of God there is one reason one
reason one reason why you perish is because you will not trust
God's Son and that's all that's all God's word of promise however
God's purpose God's decree will not be injured, altered, or harmed
by your rebellion. God's elect will all be saved. God, the God of all the earth,
will still be right and just, faithful and true, good and wise
and gracious if you choose death instead of life, if you choose
to go to hell, if you continue to choose to rebel against his
son. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael
and Isaac. God passed by Ishmael, the firstborn,
the strong, the manly, the impressive, and God chose Isaac. Abraham bowed to God and worshiped
God and believed God. At first he was upset. Sarah
said, cast out the bond woman, her son said, I won't do it.
That boy's been my boy 15, 16 years. I'm not gonna cast him
out cause you don't like him. And God said, listen to your
wife, Abraham. The son of the bond woman shall
not be heir with the son of the free woman. Cast him out. And Abraham bowed. Abraham bowed. And he devoted his whole life
to God because of his great mercy. goodness and grace heaped upon
him. God, my God, give me grace to
walk in the steps of faithful Abraham. Give me grace to bow
to you no matter what, to bow to your will, to seek your purpose
and your glory no matter how it may conflict with my personal
feelings and my personal desires and my personal ambitions. Number
four, verses nine through 13. The inspired apostle shows us
God's word of promise, God's decree that must be fulfilled,
his decree of both election and reprobation. 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, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Oh, boy, that's deep. No, it's as plain as the nose
on your face. It's just plain as nose on your face. Jacob have
I loved, Esau have I hated. Well, but that's because God
looked out with a long telescopic vision of his omniscience and
he knew that Jacob was gonna be a good boy. If he did, he
sure didn't see Jacob the way I do. And Esau, he was gonna
be something else. Esau, man, he was just the kind
of boy every daddy wants. Just exactly the kind of boy
every daddy wants. No, no, the children hadn't done anything
good and they hadn't done anything evil. Why did he say that? He tells you why. So that you
will understand that the purpose of God according to election
doesn't stand by what you do or don't do, but rather by what
God does in that alone. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. Esau was not chosen of God. Jacob was. Two boys, twins, born
from the same mama's womb. But Esau was numbered among the
chosen seed. Jacob was. How come? How come? God answers that as
plainly as it can be answered. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. It matters not how closely you
may be connected with God's people unless God saves you, you won't
be saved. You cannot and will not be saved
unless God Almighty from eternity chose you in electing love. You cannot and will not be saved
unless Jesus Christ, God's darling son, died for you, shed his blood
for you, satisfied the law and justice of God for you in his
death at Calvary. And you cannot and will not be
saved. You cannot and will not believe
God unless God the Holy Ghost gives you life and faith in Christ. And I want to tell you something. For most people, that doesn't
come as a sudden climactic experience. So it did for Saul of Tarsus,
yeah, but it wasn't for one Saul of Tarsus. For most people, that's
not the way it happened. I think I can put my finger on
the time when God revealed himself to me, but it doesn't matter.
It's very important that you not do it. Very important that
you not do it. Because just as sure as you do,
you're going to look to that for your assurance. But somehow,
something happens. You tried to believe God, and
tried to believe God, and tried to believe God, tried to trust
his son, tried to trust his son. You came and listened and said,
Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, give me faith. Let me believe
on Jesus. I want to believe him. And you
couldn't. And you couldn't. Kept looking
for something in you. And then suddenly, you found
yourself Believe in God. Cause you just couldn't help
it. You just couldn't help it. You found yourself believing
God because faith is the gift and operation of God in you. But if you go to hell, you won't in any way alter God's
purpose. You will not mar his goodness.
You won't corrupt his righteousness. You won't spoil the joy of his
heaven. Your eternal damnation will be
your fault alone. And as the saints of God in heaven
hear the screeches of the damned in hell, they'll sing, hallelujah,
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. I understand things now the way
God does. Number five. As soon as we mention
anything about election, predestination, divine sovereignty, limited atonement,
irresistible grace, or heaven forbid, reprobation. Well, I'm
pretty sure I can speak for these pastors here, but I'm dead sure
speak for this one talking to you. Where I preach, you're going
to hear those things real regular, real regular. And if there's
any opposition, you're going to hear them real loud. Infidels
hear those things, they scream, that's not fair. That's not right. How can God find fault with sinners? How can God judge sinners if
he's determined everything? Read verse 14 and you'll hear
what God says we're to do in answer to the infidel. Commonly
we think, and we teach others to think, that the way to deal
with people who despise the gospel is to give up everything to the
infidel. consoled him in his unbelief and you say, well, I
believe he's coming around. I believe he's coming around.
Nah, nobody comes around. It just don't happen. It just
don't happen. You can convert him from being Catholic to being
Pentecostal, to being Baptist, to being Presbyterian, to being
Methodist, to being Episcopalian, to being Catholic again. But
you ain't gonna get him to come around to the gospel of God's
grace. It ain't gonna happen. It ain't gonna happen. No, I'll
tell you the best way to keep an infidel an infidel, make him
feel like he's a Christian. Just console him. Be not, well
brother, we'll just have to agree to disagree. You go your way,
I'll go mine. Now there you're beginning to
tell him the truth, because you're not going both the same way, or maybe
you are. The only way to deal with people
who hate God is to confront them. You confront them with God's
truth. You confront them with God's truth at precisely their
point of rebellion and you give up nothing. I mean nothing. I hear folks tell me all the
time, well they don't tell me anymore, they tell folks about me. He
ought not be sublime. Instead of saying limited atonement,
he ought to say Christ really redeemed all his people. That
won't offend folks. If you're offended by God's truth,
I'm intending to offend you. That's one of my reasons for
being here. So all you got to do is just hint you don't like
limited atonement, and you're going to hear it. As a matter
of fact, you'll hear it without hinting. We confront rebels with
God's truth. We don't say, God says pretty
please won't you? God demands you bow. And you're
gonna bow. Either now, by his grace, or
in the day of judgment, but you will bow. Look at verse 14. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
But that's not fair. That's not right. Well, let's
see. He says to Moses, I'll have mercy
on whom I will have mercy. And that's not all he said to
Moses. And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
And that's still not all he said to Moses. So then, so then, here's
the conclusion of the matter. It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Salvation doesn't come by the
decision of your little impotent free will. Man's free will. What a laughable
statement. Man's free will. I like what
Brother Scott Richardson said one time in my pulpit. He said,
he said, I'll give in to you, all right, your will's free.
Just as free as a frog in a snake's belly. You can jump around all
you want to, you just can't get out. And your will is bound by
your nature. No, salvation's not by your will.
And salvation's not by something you do. Salvation's by God who
shows mercy. All right? Look at verses 17
through 26. Here God the Holy Ghost speaks as plainly as possible
about something that you just don't hear much about in churches. It's amazing to me. You just
don't hear much about it because most places the Bible doesn't
mean anything. God doesn't mean anything. Grace doesn't mean
anything. Christ doesn't mean anything. Only thing that matters
is what we want to do and how good we want to feel. Here God
the Holy Ghost speaks about vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy. Now there is somewhere back yonder
a vessel that was designed to hold coffee. And there's another vessel somewhere
back there, I suspect. I didn't see it coming in, but
I suspect. There's another one right there that's designed to
hold bread. Now if you should happen to try
to pour coffee into that vessel designed to hold bread, they're
usually baskets, and they just won't hold coffee. They weren't
designed for that purpose. And if you should be so foolish
as to put your bread into that vessel that's designed to hold
coffee, it won't be worth eating in just a little while. It wasn't
designed for that purpose. There are vessels of wrath and
vessels of mercy. according to God's wise, good,
gracious, righteous purpose. Read what the Scripture says.
For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, you remember Pharaoh?
Everybody knows all about Pharaoh, everybody does. 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. That is Pharaoh, oh boy, I made you your little peanut
piece of a man, and I sat you on a little peanut throne in
the greatest power on the earth, and I did that for one reason,
so that everybody, knowing your history, would find out who I
am. The only reason I raised you
up, for that reason. Therefore, therefore, verse 18, hath he
mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Well, how's that connected with Pharaoh? Pharaoh was raised up
by God to be an example of God's absolute sovereignty. And God
said to Moses, I'm going to send you to Pharaoh, and you're going
to tell Pharaoh, let my people go, and I'm going to harden Pharaoh's
heart. And he won't let you go. And
I will perform all my wonders in the land of Ham. And when
I get done, Pharaoh's going to shove you out of the country
and give you the gold to take your trip. And everybody is gonna
watch Pharaoh drown in the Red Sea. 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? Nay, but, O man, who art thou
that replyest against God? Who do you think you are to challenge
God's right to be God? Who do you think you are to sit
in judgment over the Almighty? Who do you think you are to say
what God does is right or wrong? And yet men do it. Men would
just as soon contradict God and declare that what God does is
evil and wrong and unjust and unfair. They'll do that quicker
than they speak evil against you to your face. Because men have no respect for
God, only contempt. Nay, but, O man, who art thou
that replyest 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? Of course he does. I have a sister who's a master
potter. And she makes whatever she wants
to out of clay. She just makes whatever she wants
to out of clay. And, you know, I've not discussed
it with her much. I ask her a little bit about
it, have a little interest in what she does. But I never thought
about asking her, if she ever asked the clay, what would you
like me to make of you? Now, she's my sister, but she ain't
that crazy. never thought of asking that question. Maybe I
should have. Does not the potter have the
power over the clay to do with it what he will? Of course he
does. What if God, willing to show
his wrath and make his power known, now watch this, endured
with much long-suffering Endured. That's a good word. Why on earth
does God put up with the humanity we see in this world? He endures
them. He endures them with much long-suffering. Those two words are contradictory.
They are if you apply them to the same person. God endures
the reprobate. in long-suffering to his elect,
because God's elect are found scattered through the world among
the reprobate, often the seed of the reprobate. And God endures
the reprobate with long-suffering toward his elect, not willing
that any of his elect should perish, but that all should come
to repentance and knowledge of the truth. He endured with much
long-suffering the vessels of wrath. Now watch this. Fitted
to destruction. Fitted. Fitted by their own sin. By their own willful unbelief.
By their own obstinate rebellion. Fitted. Made fit for hell by
what you do. You've heard the gospel this
hour. If you walk out that door, that door, and go to hell, You
have, by your willful, deliberate unbelief, fitted yourself for
hell. Nobody's going to hell who doesn't
fit himself for hell. Nobody. Read on. And that he
might make known the riches of his glory. Oh, what a word, the
riches of his glory. On the vessels of mercy, watch
the difference now, which he had aforeprepared unto glory. Ah, if you believe on the Son
of God, You walk out that door, or you walk out that door and
your body drops dead right there on that sidewalk while I'm shaking
hands with you. If you believe on the Son of
God, you are fitted for glory. Prepared for glory may meet you
are in Christ Jesus to be partakers with the inheritance of the saints
in light How is that not by something you do? but by everything God
does by his sovereign election, by the sacrifice of his son,
by the righteousness of his son, by divine regeneration, and at
last, in the resurrection glory, made perfectly fit for the company
of God forever. That's called grace, free grace. Even us, who is this? Whom he hath called. Not of the
Jews only, but of the Gentiles. As it said in Hosea, I will call
them my people which were not my people, and her beloved which
was not beloved. And it shall come to pass that
in that place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people,
there shall they be called the children of the living God. I've
got to hurry. Look at verses 27 through 29.
Here's the seventh thing. And here 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
also crieth concerning Israel. Though the number of the children
of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved."
A remnant. I love that. Don't you? A remnant. A remnant. My wife and I, most
of the furniture in our house, we bought it at auctions or at
yard sales. It's just junk. It's just junk.
Most of it was. And she's real good at taking
care of things. And I'd take her to places to
buy cloth. to have the couch covered, or
to have the chair covered. And we always bought remnants.
You know why? Because remnants is what nobody
else wants. We got one chair in our house, we bought material
for it, and it was sure enough a remnant. I mean, you couldn't
even roll up the cloth. It was just, just enough to get
it around there, and the fella had to mismatch some of the pieces
where you can't see them, put some other stuff in there. Just
remnants, just junk, just junk. But man alive, that fella was
a master with that chair. You'd look at it, every line
on that thing, just perfect. I mean, he was a master at it.
God Almighty has a whole lot of stuff in this world that the
whole world looks at as junk, waste, worthless. Might as well
throw it away. Give it to somebody and sell
it for a nickel. Just throw it away. It's called a remnant. According to the election of
grace, which shall, not might, shall be saved. For he will finish
the work and cut it short in righteousness, because a short
work will the Lord make upon the earth. That's talking about
the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Paul said God's gonna
destroy this nation, like that, and he's gonna send the gospel
into the world and call out his elect. And as Isaiah said before,
except the Lord of Sabaoth, that word means the Lord of Hosts.
I'll tell you what it means. It means God who runs the business. God who controls everybody and
everything. Except he had left us a seed.
If God hadn't left us a seed, if there hadn't been a remnant
chosen of God, redeemed by Christ, all of us would have been like
Sodom and Gomorrah. Just as wicked and just as thoroughly
destroyed. Now look at the last thing in
verses 30 through 33. Is Christ and his gospel a stumbling
stone over which you're stumbling into hell in rebellion and unbelief? I won't have that. If that's
the God I've got to worship, I won't worship God. Okay, okay. If that's the God I've got to
trust, I won't trust it. Okay, have it your way. Or is
the Lord Jesus the foundation stone on which you're built? What shall we say then? Verse
30. The Gentiles, which followed
not after righteousness, have attained righteousness. even
the righteousness which is of faith, the righteousness accomplished
by the faithful obedience of God's darling Son, and received
by the gift of faith in His Son. But Israel, that is the physical
seed of Abraham, which followed after the law of righteousness,
hath not attained to the law of righteousness. And let me
put that in shoe leather. Here's a congregation of many
women. Drunks and thieves and whores
Dopeheads Derelict Abominable worthless garbage who never tried
to do anything, right? Please look here a minute. My
name is Jehovah Sidkin you the Lord our righteousness the That's
what God says in Jeremiah 33, 16. Me, me, me. Man who never thought about doing
anything right. Never, never. Until God revealed
his son in me and I trusted him. And then there's a whole bunch
of folks. who keep on trying to be good. You lie to your boys
and girls when you get them in, I hope you haven't done it, but
you probably have. Probably have. Good girls go
to heaven. No, they don't, they go to hell. Everyone up. Everyone
up. Good boys go to heaven, bad boys
go to hell. No, the good boys go to hell. Every last one up.
Every last one up. There's not any who do good.
Just folks who think they do. Just folks who think they do. How is it that they didn't get
righteousness? Because they sought it not by
faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled
at that stumbling stone. I'm not so sure of my feet anymore. Some of you noticed it. Up in
Alaska, I carried a cane with me because I knew I'd be walking
around in the snow, and if I turned my foot just a little bit, I'd
stumble and fall. I used to play football, wrestle,
and box, and I was agile on my feet. I wasn't a fast runner,
but I was pretty agile. And you had a tough time knocking
me off my feet. But not anymore. I stumble over rugs in the house.
Sometimes stumble over towels getting out of the shower. They
stumbled over the stumbling stone. God has laid a foundation stone. on which he builds his holy temple.
A tried, sure, precious stone. Jesus Christ crucified. And God's
people are built on that stone. And all who are built on that
stone will never be confounded. They'll never be confused. They'll
never make haste. They're gonna stay right there.
But other folks, they see that stumbling stone, try to kick
it out of the way, and fall into hell. That's exactly what he's
talking about. As it is written, behold, I lay
in Zion a rock of offense. And whosoever believeth on him
shall not be ashamed. Here's the sinner's hope. Jesus
Christ crucified. all my righteousness, all my
redemption, all my holiness, all my sanctification, all my
acceptance with God. But pastor, what part have I
got in this? Do what? What am I supposed to do, what?
What? Well, I'll tell you what you
do. You do the running. I pray God won't let you run
where you want to. I pray God will do the catching
and give you faith in his son. Whatever comes to pass will be
exactly according to his purpose. And I want to bow and worship
him. Amen.