I come, I come, I come. I can hear somebody now. Why
are you singing that before the service? Romans 9. Read the last verse
with me. Romans 9, verse 33. As it is written, Behold, I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone, a rock of offense. Whosoever believeth
on him, Shall not be ashamed. Look at Romans 10, verse 11. Romans 10, verse 11, For the
Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Not ashamed is the title of this
message. Shame, being ashamed of something,
means something that you think is offensive to you. That's a
shame. A shame. Romans, the whole book
of Romans, is a plain, clear declaration of who God is. Chapters
1 through 3 very clearly declare the utter depravity of man. Romans 1, or chapter 3, 2. clearly tell us that man is not
a good creature, he's a sinner, a rebel against God. Clearly,
Romans 1 through the whole book tells us of the election, the
unconditional election of God of a people before the world
began. It tells us very clearly of the particular or limited
atonement which Christ made for His people on their behalf, for
their salvation of their soul. He did it, like Moses. He did
it all. Romans clearly declares the irresistible
grace and power and working of the Spirit of God upon God's
chosen elect people. He will find them and they will
believe the gospel. And it clearly tells of the perseverance,
I said it right, the preservation of God's people. They're kept
by the power of God. Romans, there's no clearer, there's
no book in the Bible that declares more plainly the truth that I
just summed up in five points. Like those five smooth stones
of David. Any one of them will knock down
this giant called unbelief. Romans 1, go back there, Romans
chapter 1. Paul begins in Romans 1 verse
16 by saying, You have it in Romans 1.16, I am not ashamed
of the gospel of God, of Christ. It is the power of God and the
salvation to everyone that believes it. The Jew first, also to the
Greek, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith. That is, from Abraham to the
last believer, or Abel. As it is written, the just shall
live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven. See that? He talks about the righteousness
of God and the wrath of God. Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. And he goes
on to talk about God the Creator and men's rejection of Him. And
then he goes all the way over here to Romans 9. And he says
a great deal, doesn't he? Much is written when you get
to Romans 9. The whole truth. And you get
to Romans 9, the last verse says, Whosoever believeth on him shall
not be ashamed. And Paul started out by saying,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel. The power of God. He was ashamed
at one time, wasn't he? He was an unbeliever. He was
a Pharisee, a Pharisee, a Hebrew, a Jew, a good Jew, you know,
keeper of the law. Thought he knew God, didn't know
God. He hated this gospel. He hated it. How could anybody
believe that? And he went about to persecute.
But God chose him. Why did he believe? God chose
him. And now he preached. He said, I preach the faith that
I used to reject. I love it. I'm not ashamed of
the Gospel. It's the power of God. He that
believeth on Him. Hebrews 11 verse 6 says, He that cometh to God must believe
that He is. He that cometh to God must believe
that He is. He is what? God. He that believeth on God knows
that God is God. God is God. We just read, talked
about the righteousness of God, the wrath of God, the judgment
of God, didn't it? The creation of God. God is our
Creator. God made all things with His
hands. Heaven is the work of His fingers.
This is God's world. He made everything and everyone
for His glory. Everything is according to God's
will. He that believeth on Him. I'm not ashamed of this. It's
all according to God's will. It's all according to God's purpose.
Everything that's happening right now is predestined and purposed
by God. Do you believe that? You believe
on Him. You're not ashamed of that. Already, right now, if the world
were to hear what I'm saying, they'd just be fighting mad. This is God's creation. This
is God's world. It's God's order. It's God's
way. It's God's truth. It's God's choice. It's God's
election of people. Salvations of the Lord. Everything,
everyone, everything is completely, totally up to the will and power
and working of God. Are you ashamed of that? What would you be ashamed of
your only hope? Alright, now in this chapter,
he talks about Abraham. He said, I chose Abraham. One
man. One man out of Ur of the Chaldeans. One. Isn't it? Why? Was Abraham called one? Oh, no. He's an idolater. Heathen. But God chose this one man. Alright? He brought this man.
Revealed himself to it. He said, Abraham, I've chosen
you. You're mine. I'm going to bless you. and everyone
in you who is a picture of Christ therein. My covenant is concerning
you. Nobody else. You. Well, you can't do that. Well,
he did. That's unfair. Ask Abraham if he thinks that's
unfair. He'll tell you, I stand amazed that he would choose me. Alright? Isaac. Abraham had two
sons, one that he produced, named Ishmael. And God said, kick him
out. Kick Ishmael out of here. He's
not mine. Tough, wasn't it? Ishmael had
no use for God. He didn't love God. He didn't
care about God. God said, kick him out. Isaac's mine. I've chosen Isaac. Son of promise, didn't he? That's
what God said. Okay? Alright, then Isaac, he's
going to have two sons. Before they were born, God said,
I've chosen the second. I've set my love on the second.
The elder shall serve the younger, as it is written. Jacob, have my love. But the older one,
Esau, Check him out. He's not mine. Is that up there? Let's ask Jacob. Ask Esau. Esau, do you want God? No, I
have no use for Him. Don't you want the birthright,
Esau? No, I'd rather have a bowl of beans. Not interested in God. I'd rather get my belly filled.
You can have that God stuff. Give it to Jacob. He wants it.
Right? That's what he did. That's what
happened. But God said to Jacob, well, who's Jacob? He's no better
than Esau. He's born just like him. Didn't
know God at all. I may say, but God, in the course
of this message a hundred times. Jacob was on his way, running,
scared, a poor little mama's boy. Didn't need God, didn't
want God, wasn't calling on God. But God found him, Brother Mack,
He found him. lying on a stone and took hold
of him, buddy, and said, You're mine, Jacob. You're mine from
here on out. I bought you. I brought you.
I'm going to teach you. I'm going to bring you. I'm going
to save you. I want my covenant with you, Jacob. I have put my
love upon you. You're mine forever. Was Jacob a sinner? Did Jacob
stay faithful and true all the rest of the time? No, he lived
a pretty miserable life. Ask Jacob if he's ashamed of
sovereign election and grace. Ask him. Sovereign love. Ask
him. Jacob, what do you think about God not loving everybody?
I don't see how He could. I sure don't see how He could
love me. Oh, I'm not ashamed of elections. I'm glorious in the fact that
God would choose me. Ask anybody that knows anything
about themselves. Knows anything about God? Are
you ashamed of this gospel? Oh, no. He that believeth on him, that
God is God. It's his right, his will. Jeremiah
31. Go over to Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah
31. Go over there. God said, Jacob
have I loved. Jacob wasn't offended, and Jacob
wasn't A shame? Glory! Oh, how He loves sovereign
mercy. I bet you if He was in a worship
service, He'd say, preach Romans 9 again. Preach it next Sunday. Jacob, tell me how Jacob... God
said He loved Jacob. That's what all sinners... tell
me. You know, Jacob wasn't ashamed of the truth. He was ashamed
of himself. Do you know who's not ashamed
of this Gospel? Those that are ashamed of themselves. Jeremiah 31, verse 18. Jeremiah 31. I have heard Ephraim
bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me. I was chastised
as a bullock, unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn Thou me, and I
shall be turned. For Thou art the Lord my God. Surely after I was turned, I
repented. Or I wouldn't have. And after
that I was instructed. I smote on my thigh, and I was
ashamed. He had no shame before. Do you
have that in Jeremiah 31, verse 19? He had no shame before. He
wasn't repenting before. But God came to him and said,
I gave you up for a while to your idols. I let you have your
way. But now, you're mine. I can't give you up, Ephraim.
I've chosen you, and I'm not going to give up on you. You're
mine. You're coming. And so old Ephraim, I shame myself. Ask Ephraim if he's ashamed of
God's truth, of God's sovereign mercy. Ask him. He'll tell you,
I shame. I'm ashamed of myself. Go to Ezekiel 16. Ezekiel 16. Boy, if you don't know these
passages, I hope you'll know them in a minute. Ezekiel 16
is the story of that girl that was born and thrown out in the
field. It's just a picture of all of
us by nature. Yes! All of us. Look at verse
1. Again, the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying, Son of man, call Jerusalem to know her abominations. He didn't say, go tell Jerusalem
how much I love her. Tell her she's an abomination
to my side. And he goes on to say, your birth,
your nativity, the land of Canaan, your father an Amorite, your
mother a Hittite. In other words, you're just a
heathen. Your nativity, the day you were born, your navel was
not cut, neither were you washed in water to supple thee. You
were not salted at all or swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee
to do any of these unto thee, have compassion upon thee, cast
out into the open field to the loathing of thy person the day
that you were born. Loathsome. Oh no, preacher, these little
babies are innocent. That's not what God said. David,
in Psalm 51, did he not say, in sin did my mother conceive
me? I was altogether born in sin. Pharisees one time said
that to that blind man. They said, you were altogether
born in sin. We're not sinners, you're born in sin. Wait and see who Christ came
to. The man that loathed himself. Alright? Read on. Ezekiel 16. Then when I passed by you, verse
6, I saw thee polluted in your own blood. I said unto thee,
when you were in your blood, live. Yea, I said, I spoke when
you were in your blood, live. Christ said, I am come that they
might have life, not offer life, give life. Like He said to Lazarus,
come forth. He said that to you one day,
didn't He, brother? He said that to me one day. He didn't ask
me. He told me. I came. Live! You don't offer life. You give it. And it's not in
the power of any human being to give life. Do you believe
that? Ah, look at verse 8. Now, when I passed by thee and
looked upon thee, see salvation of the Lord, behold, thy time
was a time of love. Whose love? His love. He set
his love on this child. There could have been others.
There were others. But he chose this one. I spread
my skirt over thee. What's that? That's the righteousness
of Christ. Covered thy nakedness. Remember
that. Yea, I swear unto thee and entered
into a covenant with thee. Could that child agree to anything? No, it's a baby. He did it all. Say it with the
Lord. You became mine. I washed you
with water. I washed away your blood from
you. I anointed thee with oil. That's the Spirit of God. All
this is the blood of Christ, the Spirit of God. He did it
all, didn't He? I did it all. I clothed thee
with broided work, shod you with the gospel, girded you with the
truth, covered you with silk. I decked you with ornaments,
gold and silver and precious stone, bracelets on your hand,
chain on your neck, jewel on thy forehead, earrings in thy
ear, a bond slave of mine, a crown upon your head, decked you with
gold and silver, gave you food to eat. You're in my kingdom
now, verse 14. Your beauty is mine. Perfect
through my comeliness I put upon you. I did it all, saith the
Lord." Are you ashamed of that? Some of you have a story to tell
when the Lord found you in the pit in which you were digged?
Huh? Are you ashamed of that? Do you
have anything in your past? I'm talking about yourself, your
past. Where He found you. Are you ashamed
of that? Aren't you glad He's not ashamed
to call you brethren? Now, if He's so merciful and
so gracious, set His sovereign love upon you, how could anybody
Can't. Nobody who's known mercy as experienced
could ever be ashamed of this gospel. Can't do it. Can't do
it. You don't know God if you're
ashamed of this gospel. If you don't believe this God and
this Christ, and that you were dead and no good and rotten and
filthy and abominable in God's sight, and it took the sovereign
electing mercy and grace and love of God to set upon you,
and you didn't deserve it, you deserved to go to hell, But God chose you and didn't
choose somebody else. He didn't need to, didn't have
to, shouldn't have, but He did and chose you. If you don't believe
that, you don't know God. You don't know God. Is that too
plain? Paul said, I am not ashamed of this gospel. And whoever is
ashamed, Christ didn't die for them. I'm not ashamed. Ephraim is ashamed of himself.
That child, you know what that child did? Look at here in Ezekiel
16. You know what this child did?
There's so much I wanted you to read. She played the harlot. Verse 15, she trusted her own
beauty. Oh my, she went out after everybody and everything in the
world. She went out after other lovers. After all He did for
her, she went out in the world and gave herself and sold herself
to everybody and everything. Whew! But God. Look at verse 60. Verse 60. Nevertheless, I will remember
my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth. I will establish
unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy
ways and be ashamed. Like Ezekiel 36. I'm going to
give you a new heart. I'm going to give you a new my
whole spirit. I'm going to wash you. I'm going
to do all this for you. And you're going to loathe yourself. And
you're going to love God's sovereign mercy. And you understand that
only sinners like this need mercy. And if you're a real sinner,
it's sovereign mercy. Because a holy God, a holy God
can't love an out-and-out sinner. You've got to make them righteous.
Right? He loveth righteousness. Romans
9. Go back to Romans 9. Let me hurry. Romans 9. Look
at verse 19. Thou wilt say then, why doth he yet find fault? Who
has resisted his will? If everything is according to
his will. He said, I will, I will, I will. It is not of him that
willeth. I will have mercy on whom I will. I have compassion
on whom I will. I will choose whom I will. I
will, I will. If everything is according to
his will, then we can't resist his will. How can he hold us?
Accountable. Isn't that what they're arguing? Isn't that what they're saying?
How can he hold us accountable if we can't resist his will?
How does Paul answer him? You reply against God? He doesn't
argue with him, does he, Brother John? He doesn't argue with him. And,
you know, I've used this statement before, and other men have, long
before me. If salvation were an offer, go ahead, offer a sovereign,
holy, righteous God to men. Tell them about the Jews. Christ
came to the Jews, said, salvation's free. Then, come unto me, all
you labored, heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Come unto me.
Not the law. Not keeping the law. You can't keep the law. It's all up to me. Come unto
me. What? Is that unfair? Come unto me. Forget. Trying to keep the law,
you can't. What'd they do? We like the law. We're fine without
you. That's what man... Offer it to
him. Offer him a choice. You know what he'll choose? Evil.
His own righteousness. That's what Romans 10 goes on
to say. I bear them record, I have a
zeal for God. Oh, but it's not for His glory. They've got their own righteousness
they're trying to hold up before people. They're quite insipid.
Not knowing their righteousness is filthy rags. And if you tell
them that, they'll get angry at you. But now, he that believeth
on him who is naked, and finds out Christ clothed in it. Oh,
he's not ashamed of this gospel. Oh, he's not ashamed of sovereign
mercy. He's not ashamed of righteousness imputed. He knows it's only hope.
He's only plea. He renounces all that. And the
Lord came to a man named Nicodemus, remember? Or had him come to
him. Nicodemus argued. And the Lord
said, all he said to him, You must be born again. You must be born again. Well, sovereign Lord, sovereign
election. He said to many of these Jews
in chapter 9, look at verse 24. to us whom he hath called, not
of the Jews only, but Gentiles. He said in Hosea, I will call
them my people which are not my people, and beloved which
are not beloved. They have come to pass in the
place where they said unto them, you are not my people. God said,
you are my people. That is to a bunch of no good,
unbelieving, heathen Gentiles. Let me give you an example. Jericho.
The city of Jericho was in Israel. Did you know that? You might
think Jericho was in Israel. It's supposed to be good Jews
in there. Well, Joshua sent word, I'm going
to wipe this place out. Everybody in it. That's what
he said. Joshua sent word, I'm going to
destroy everybody in this decadent, worthless, godless, filthy place
called Jericho. It's coming down. Not one stone
is going to be left standing on another. But Joshua sent two spies. To man with his message, with
his truth. Where descendant? To a harlot. A what? A harlot. A woman they may have. Go into
her house. She'll receive this. She'll fear
God. She believes God. She believes
she deserves to be destroyed with the rest of the city. Go
in there and tell her, I'm sent to you. Tell her, Joshua is giving
you a sure token that you belong to him. Look, there it is. A
scarlet line. What's that doing there? Put
it in the window. And when I come, Joshua said,
I'm taking you out. You and your house and everybody's
under that scarlet line. What's that? The blood of Jesus
Christ. Well, Abraham said, Me? Really? Me? And they left. And they didn't
come back for months, maybe years. All that time, Rahab's waiting. She's looking. She's checking
the line. That's her lifeline. The blood's
still there. Always has been. Before the door. One day, that trumpet sounded. Loud. And everybody in Jericho,
whoa, what is that noise? And Rahab said, listen to that. My redemption's here. Joshua
has come for me. The harlots are no good. He said
he's come, he's come. Listen to that. Isn't that music
to your ears? Oh, we hate that. Oh, I love it. And you know what
happened? Those same men, the truth, the
gospel, came in, picked her up, Took her out down that line.
Took her all the way to Joshua. You know what the Scripture says?
She's still there now. She's there right now. What's
she doing? Praising God for sovereign electing
mercy and grace. For the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son. For sending His Spirit, His Gospel,
His Word to call her out of darkness into light. To pluck her as a
bran from the burning. For choosing her. and bringing
her out and carrying her all the way to the Lord Jesus Christ. How about you? And you know what? That woman was in the Lord's
line, in His lineage. That was His great-great-great-great-great-grandmother. You think Rahab is ashamed of
sovereign grace? Whosoever believeth on him shall
not be ashamed." Rahab the harlot. Whosoever believeth on the Lord
Jesus. That same Lord who sent Joshua came to Jericho a thousand
years later. You know that? He came to Jericho,
Jesus Christ. You know what He did on the way
into Jericho? Because He said long before this,
Brother Kelly, He said, curse that city. Curse it is that city.
Whoever builds that city, curse it. On the way into Jericho, there's
a blind beggar. He ain't barred a man. Jesus,
thou Son of David, have mercy on me. He stopped. Brought him to me. Opened his
eyes. Clothed him with a new garment. Went all the way through Jericho.
Didn't stop for a moment. Didn't save one person. Not one
person. On the way out of town. He went
through Jericho on the way out of town. He had somebody plant
a sycamore tree a hundred years earlier, just so he could put
a fellow up that tree, named Zacchaeus. A publican! And Christ
is walking out. He knew exactly where he was.
He put him there. Put him up a tree on purpose.
And he came by that tree that day and looked up. Zacchaeus come
in. I'm coming to your house. Why?
That's the son of Abraham. Mighty leg. I've come for you. You like that? You ashamed of
that? I'm not ashamed of the gospel,
the power of God and of my salvation, the wisdom of God, the glory
of God. The Lord Jesus Christ came. And he said, let me close
with this, Mark chapter 8. I want you to read this with
me. Mark chapter 8, and I'll close. Mark chapter 8. You have it? Our Lord said this. I love this. I love what we're doing here,
don't you? I love this gospel. I love His people. I love His
worship. In Mark chapter 8, our Lord said
in verse 38, He said, whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of
me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation. God calls
this world this untoward generation. He calls it this present evil
world. That's what He calls it. And
He's about done with it. And He says, whosoever is ashamed
of me in this adulterous and sinful generation, Of Him shall
the Son of Man be ashamed when He cometh in the glory of His
Father with the Holy Angel." And you know, brothers and sisters,
it's a sad time, isn't it? No fear of God. Yet it's a joyful time. We still
have the gospel here. The same gospel that Rahab heard.
Consider the foolishness of man, how that he's not ashamed of
that which he should be ashamed of. And he's ashamed of that
which he should not be. Glory is in his shame. This plague
going on that God has sent, clearly because of sin, judgment, and
wrath. At the same time, they have a big parade marching about
with pride. Homosexuals marching proud. Not
ashamed. Unashamed. Jeremiah 6 says, were
they at all ashamed? He said, no, they wouldn't even
blush. Isaiah 2 says, no, they're not ashamed to declare their
sin like that. Proud. It's no wonder to us that God's
going to be done with this place, isn't it? It's shameful, isn't
it? It's shameful. And here's the
amazing thing is, such were some of you. He chose you. Ashamed? Ashamed? Ashamed? How could anybody be ashamed?
Huh? You must not be a sinner. Oh Lord, that song, Ashamed of
the Lord Jesus, yes I may, but I have no sins to wash away.
No guilt to put away. We're going to be singing throughout
eternity to Him that loved us, washed us, and chose us in His
own precious blood. Unto Him, unto Him, unto Him.
Unworthy. Alright, Brother John, you come.
235. 235. Rahab could have sung this. Pass me not. Pass me not.
235. Pass me not, O gentle Savior.