This morning, we're going to
talk about a subject that it seems like very few people understand. I know as you look around in
our country today, as they talk about open borders and having to do with the sovereignty
of our country and us having the right to do what we want
to as far as controlling our borders and everything. As far as the sovereignty of
a nation, but this morning we're going to talk about the sovereignty
of God and The title of the message is the potter and the clay if
you can go ahead and turn to Romans 9 we're going to begin
at verse 19, but I'm going to go over a few things and some
of the the verses prior to Verse 19, that kind of leads up to
what we'll be talking about this morning. Here in our study, the
apostle anticipates a third objection as to why all of the physical
nation of Israel are not saved, and why they're not all children
of God. And Paul begins to tell the Jews, his brethren, According
to the flesh, he was born a Jew, an Israelite. In Romans 9, 6,
and 7, Paul says, Now, Paul tells them here that just because they are the physical offspring
of Abraham, that this does not make them children of God. Just
because they are of the physical nation Israel, doesn't make them
a child of God. When Paul says, in Isaac shall
thy seed be called, he of course is speaking of Isaac, the promised
child, of which God promised Abraham and Sarah, and of which
the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ would come and save his people
from their sins. The all here is all those that
God gave to his son in the everlasting covenant of grace. All those
for whom Christ was their surety, their representative, their substitute,
and God will save all of Israel, but not all of physical Israel,
those that are born in the nation Israel, born a Jew. God will
save all of spiritual Israel, all those that come to God by
faith, looking to Christ alone for all their salvation. Now,
I'll go back and talk about the first two objections. The third
objection is going to be later on in our verses, beginning of
verse 19. But the first objection that
they had here when Paul was telling the gospel here, was dealt with
back in verse six. And the objection was, well,
God was unfaithful to his promise. And back in verse six, it says,
not as though the word of God had taken none effect. In other
words, God is faithful to his promise. And Paul answers the
first objection in the latter part of verse six, where he says,
for they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. And then
the second objection was God was just unjust and he was unrighteous. This objection was in verse 14
when it says, what shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness
with God because of him choosing whom he will? Paul answers the
second objection in Romans 9, 15, and 16 when he says, For
he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God that showeth mercy. Paul here begins to answer the
objection, which was that God is unjust when he chooses to
show mercy. and compassion on some and leave
the others to perish in their sins. And he uses Pharaoh as
an example back in Exodus 9.16. And you know back there, God
says for this purpose, speaking of the nation Israel, they were
in bondage and then God brought them out. And of course, you
had the Pharaoh that all y'all for me with all these things
that went that come about during that exodus. And he says for
this purpose that I raised up Pharaoh just for this purpose.
Now, let's go ahead and read the verses that we're going to
deal with this morning, beginning at verse 19. Paul said, thou wilt say then
unto me, why doth he yet find fault? Why does God find fault?
For who hath resisted his will? Nay, but old man, who art thou
that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honor and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show
his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, and that he might
make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy
which he had aforeprepared unto glory? Even us, Paul says, whom
he had called not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. In verse 19, where it says, thou
wilt say unto me, why does he yet find fault for who hath resisted
his will? God's absolute sovereignty, it
may be difficult for us to understand and to get a hold of, to grasp,
but the truth of the matter is, if it were not for God's absolute
sovereignty, there would be no hope for any sinner. The natural
man will not receive and believe these truths, which are of the
Spirit of God. Now, the natural man means all
men without exception, born of Adam. Even the elect, naturally
born. Now, 1 Corinthians tells us that
in chapter 2, verse 14. It says, but the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolish
unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. This morning, we'll look at this
third objection. We're already seeing two of them. They say, well, God's unfaithful
to his promise, and he's unjust and unrighteous. Well, the third
objection here was from the adversary is that God is just too severe,
and he's too cruel. And it comes from why does he
yet find fault? And who hath resisted his will?
The reason for this objection is due to what the Apostle Paul
had stated in Romans 9.18. Therefore, hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. So then
the question comes from the adversary, well, if God shows mercy or hardens
according to his sovereign pleasure, well, why then, it may be asked,
does God yet find fault with the sinner? This is the only
objection that can be made to what the apostle is stating in
the first part of verse 19, which says, why dost ye yet find fault
with the sinner? If God shows mercy to some and
none can resist his will, how can God find fault with the sinner? Then it is said in the next part
of verse 19, for who hath resisted his will? If the wrath of man
is entirely under the control of God, and that it too serves
his purpose, how can sinners be blamed, or how does God find
fault with a sinner? Paul anticipates his question
of why does he yet find fault and who resists his will, and
then he has this response in verse 20. Nay, but O man, who
art thou that replies against God? shall the thing formed say
to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Who is man
to dispute or disagree and question God, or even hope to understand
God's ways? How foolish and arrogant for
a finite creature to sit in judgment of God's mercy and God's justice. The answer to why God does what
he does is found only in himself. and is always totally consistent
with his character, a character that is holy and righteous, and
of which is not to be found in the sinner. Now, we must understand that God operates
upon a particular level of existence or plane. that is solely of his
own sovereign will, a will that always acts according to his
divine character and nature. And we just don't like it by
nature. You see, by nature, we are determined
to be in control of our own destiny. God has told us in his word that
all things come about because they are, according to Ephesians
111, predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. In the predestinating
will of God, there are certain secrets that we don't know, as
God has determined not to reveal them to us. Deuteronomy 29, 29
tells us that, the secret things belong unto the Lord our God.
On the other hand, we as sinners, God's creatures operate upon
a plane of our own responsibility. In Deuteronomy, the last part
of 29, verse 29, but those things which are revealed belong to
us and to our children forever that we may do all the words
of his law. That is, God's revealed will
by way of command. Now, the fact that we cannot
weave both of these truths, the truth that God The secret things
belonging to the Lord our God and the truth that those things
which are revealed belong to us, the fact that we can't weave
them both together into the fabric of our own human understanding,
well, it doesn't give us leave or allow us to deny either one
of these truths. The Bible teaches that all whom
God has chosen shall believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. According
to 2 Thessalonians 2, Excuse me, begin at verse 13.
But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth, whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. It also teaches in Romans
10, verse 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. Sinners have no reason not to
believe God, nor even to hesitate by wondering if they are one
of God's elect or not. Sinners are commanded to trust
Christ for all of salvation. Now, the last part of verse 20
that we'll look at now is a response to what Paul says in the first
part of this verse, which is, in verse 20, Nay, but, O man,
who art thou that replies against God? Then the apostle goes on
to say, shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why
hast thou made me thus? Paul responds to the objection
by the adversary, why hast thou made me thus? In the next verse,
when it's said in Romans 9.21, hath not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel under honor and
another under dishonor? Therefore, if God says he's sovereign,
and then he also declares that we have an eternal responsibility
before him, then it's so. And as Romans 9.20 says, nay,
but O man, who art thou that replies against God? As we continue
here with verse 21, where we see the analogy of a potter making
two vessels. Now, I don't know whether it's
one reason, I like this analogy, and I think there's no better
analogy of teaching us about the sovereignty
of God and his right to do what he will with his creation. From time to time in the past,
we've always vacationed up in the mountains or Georgia, Tennessee
or something. I enjoy going to these pottery
places sometimes. and going inside, and you have
a potter that's making these clay vessels. And I enjoy sitting
there watching them. And they'll be sitting down there
on that stool in front of that turntable where they have the
clay, and he'll reach over and he'll grab a lump of that clay
over here, and he'll pop it down on that wheel, and then he'll
go about making that vessel. that clay vessel. And he makes
what he will. And that clay vessel, it's an
inanimate object. It don't look up, why you make
me like this or why you make me like that? It's according
to that potter and his right to do what he will and make what
he will. And that's a good analogy with
God. It's his right to do what he
will with his creation. In verse 21 that we see here,
chapter 9, 21, in this verse, Paul begins to give the analogy,
as I said, of the potter having a right over the objects that
he makes. He says, hath not potter power
or the sovereign right over the clay? God created and owns this
world for his own glorious purposes. He will show forth his justice
in punishing sinners. and he will show forth his mercy
in saving his people in Christ. This is his master plan in revealing
his divine character, not only to this world, but in heaven
itself. Paul goes on to say that these vessels are made of the
same lump, this lump of sinful, fallen humanity. Since the whole
lump is wicked, and if left to itself would be content to remain
in unbelief, Can we find fault with God if He chooses, in His
grace and mercy, to save some by His grace and to punish others? God has the right to do what
best serves Him in revealing His divine character, His grace,
His mercy, His love, His justice in saving sinners and in the
damnation of sinners. Folks, Christ, God's the father's
dear son suffered under the wrath of God in order that God's divine
justice be displayed and be magnified. God is a just God and he's a
savior. Verse 22 says, what if God willing
to show his wrath and to make his power known endured with
much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction?
Does not God have the right to glorify himself as he sees fit?
If God chooses to glorify himself through letting people go their
own way and receive his wrath so as to make his power known,
who can oppose him? Also, if God desires to show
his mercy on some, who can oppose him? God has determined to make
known his wrath against sin and to make known the riches of his
grace and the salvation of sinners by the blood and righteousness
of Christ. All who desire to be objects
of his grace will flee to Christ and plead his shed blood and
imputed righteousness for all their salvation. And also realize
that if we do flee to Christ for salvation, it is God who
makes you willing to turn from self and to turn to God for salvation. God had to make you willing in
the day of his power as he sent the Holy Spirit. to impart life
to you. All of it being the fruit and
effect of what Christ accomplished at the cross by shedding of his
blood. The last part of verse 22, the apostle says that God
also endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath. The fact
that God has not destroyed sinners immediately proves this. The
nation Israel had so many advantages, but in their unbelief they proved
that they did not want to glorify God, even though they didn't
know it. They didn't know that, but this
is what they were doing. They were spiritually blind and
leaders of the blind, but they still chose to destroy themselves
by rejecting God's Christ and God's truth. The same holds true
for every sinner who perishes in unbelief. John 3.18 says,
he that believeth on him, on Christ, is not condemned. But
he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. The last
part of verse 22 says, vessels of wrath fitted for destruction.
God must display his wrath towards sin. Sin deserves death. The penalty for sin is death.
According to Ezekiel 1820, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The entrance of sin into the
world was necessary so that God could manifest not only his love,
his mercy and grace, but also his wrath, holy anger, vengeance,
and his justice. He's a just God. All of these
things reveal the character of God. that God, the God that we
all must deal with either now or in eternity or at judgment. We also see God's power as he
judges sin and condemns all who stand against him. The word fitted
here, fitted for destruction, means prepared. All who stand
in opposition to God's Christ and God's truth only manifest
that they were prepared by God for destruction. And God will
be proven just in the destruction of the wicked. Now, verse 22
here, where God shows his wrath on the vessels of wrath. Then
in the next verse, we have God making known the riches of his
glory on the vessels of mercy in verse 23. It says, and that
he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of
mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory. God also prepared
vessels of mercy so that he might make known the riches of his
glory. This glory is sure and certain
for all who believe in the person and the work of Christ. Every
difference between the vessels of wrath and the vessels of mercy
is entirely attributed to God's pure mercy and grace, with no
difference based on the personal merit by either vessel. Remember,
God makes both of these vessels from the same lump of fallen
humanity. Who makes the vessels of mercy
different? What makes the elect different?
What makes them different? The answer to this question is
God in his sovereign grace makes them different. The vessels of
mercy have no room to boast in their salvation. God saves sinners
in order to glorify his name and to reveal and honor the perfection
of his redemptive character. The vessels of mercy receive
his mercy and love and grace, not because they're better or
wiser than those that don't receive his mercy and grace, or because
they deserve it. but because God chose to reveal
his grace in them and to make them the objects of his mercy
and the vessels under honor, those that will give God honor
in all things. Now, we all know, I've been with the gospel some
number of years, talked to many, many people. And as you talk
to people and you start telling them about the gospel, it don't
take long for them to come up with a lot of these objections
here. Most of them will. And you know
what? We, God's elect, would do the
same thing. I remember back when the gospel
first started, God first started showing me some things about
justification. I thought about them in my own
mind, didn't say it out loud, but concerning God justifying
me by faith alone. And I said in my own mind, I
know I gotta do something. God's just not gonna save me
unless I do something. And we have to be in control
of our own destiny by nature. And we won't believe the gospel
unless God sends his spirit. to open our hearts, to impart
that new principle of life, causing us to believe Him and to trust
Christ alone. We won't, we got to hold on to
something that we do. Won't turn loose unless God comes
and makes us willing in the day of His power. The last verse
that we'll deal with this morning, verse 24, this verse speaks of
those that God calls which are vessels of mercy. vessels made
under honor. Now, it says, even us whom he
hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.
Who are these vessels of mercy that were prepared before prepared
unto glory? Paul says here, 924, even us
whom he hath called. The call here is a powerful,
it's efficacious, and it's an irresistible call. It's a call
of grace, a call that is internal, that reaches the heart and not
only the ear. It's an inward call. This call
is a special call, and it's a particular call. This is a call of grace,
wherein God calls only his elect to a saving experiential knowledge
of who he is and how he saves sinners by his grace. He does
this by the preaching of the gospel. Not a false gospel, but
the preaching of the true gospel. Gospel that identifies him as
a just God and a saver. A gospel that tells him that
salvation is conditioned and based entirely on Christ alone.
It's based on his righteousness alone, imputed, charged to your
account. It's not a false gospel. but
the gospel that identifies God as a just God and a Savior. This
is also a call to a peculiar people, which is only a call
to God's elect. This call is also a heavenly
and it's a holy calling. This call is to sinners who have
been invincibly called by the Holy Spirit of God through the
word of God and by the gospel of God, which is in Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1, beginning at
verse 22, says, And finally, our last scripture in Thessalonians
2, verse 13-14, says, But we are bound to give
thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto
he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ. This calling is not only for
the Jews, but also for the Gentile. Not all the Jews, nor all the
Gentiles, Carl, but some of each. Also, all are not chosen by God
for salvation, and not all are redeemed by the blood of Christ,
only God's elect, those chosen out of every kindred, tongue,
and nation, and people. The Jews were inclined to think
that God could not make them anything other than vessels of
honor. This is what was bringing all this discussion on. Paul
rejects this view and points out that God does what he will.
No Jew or Gentile would be saved apart from believing in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And their believing is not a
condition of salvation, but the evidence that they are children
of God. that he's saved them by his grace.
Any Jew or Gentile who dies in unbelief, anybody, he just reveals
himself to be a vessel of wrath prepared for destruction. Now,
I'm not saying this. This is God in his word. He said
these things. This is not Jim Casey. God's
saying this in his word. On the other hand, any Jew or
Gentile who believed God's gospel, wherein the righteousness of
God is revealed, there manifested to be vessels of mercy prepared
under glory. And all of this began with God's
everlasting love for his elect, of which he has mercy and compassion
on, and of which results in their salvation. A salvation that's
based on Christ's righteousness alone, the very righteousness
of God, which is freely imputed to God's elect. Salvation is
of the Lord. Amen.