If you would, go ahead and turn
to Book of Romans, chapter nine. This morning, the title of the
message is The Potter and the Clay. And before I begin speaking
on this subject here, and especially before I start giving you the
context of which we're talking here about the
potter and the clay, unlike in most of the religion that we've
been brought up in and what we've been taught most of our lives
until God came in time and opened our eyes and our minds to the
gospel and to the true and living God, who he is. Most in religion today, and I
look back in some sermons here on the website Just looking back
at the topic the Potter and the clay looking at some sermons
to see what most religion that's still teaching concerning that
subject and They're still still teaching the same thing that
we were taught coming up in religion and and our parents and so forth
and the way we were taught most of our life. And that is that
the potter and the clay, the potter they say is God, he's
a sovereign God. But this clay here has a free
will. The clay being the center, he
has a will. And what it amounts to for the
most part is this potter wants to mold you and make you like
Christ, he wants to do those things to you that will improve
you and make you in such a way that you'll eventually be saved
and so forth. But the clay, because of that
free will, it's up to the clay on how that potter finally molds
you, on whether or not you want to be molded this way or that
way. And so it really dishonors God so much. And they exalt that
free will in man in such a way that it's so much powerful than
God because God can't do this to you. He can't mold you the
way he wants to mold you unless you let him. It dishonors God in every attribute
of his character. Now what we're gonna speak on
this morning, I'm gonna give you a little context on what
we're talking about, the potter and the clay. Here in our study
this morning, the apostle anticipates a third objection as to why all
of physical Israel are not saved and why they are not all children
of God. You know, we've been talking
about that in some of our previous studies having to do with the
objections that come about because the Jews and the Israelites,
when they thought of God saving all Israel, they thought that
he was going to save all physical Israel. Well, Paul begins to
tell the Jews they were his brethren according to the flesh. In Romans
9, beginning at verse 6, not as though the word of God had
taken none effect, for 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." He tells
them here that just because they're physical offspring of Abraham,
that this does not make them children 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 Israel here is
all those that God gave to his son in the everlasting covenant
of grace. All those for whom Christ was
their surety, substitute, and representative. God will save
all Israel, but not all of physical Israel, He's gonna save all the
spiritual Israel. All those that come to God by
faith, look into Christ, into Christ alone for all their salvation. All those who have the faith
of their spiritual father, Abraham, the father of our faith. The
first objection that Paul had dealt with back in verse six
of Romans nine was that God was unfaithful to his promise. Back
in verse six, it says, not as though the word of God had taken
on effect, or that God was not true to his promise to save all
Israel. Paul answers the objection in
the latter part of Romans 9, 6, when he says, for they are
not all Israel, which are of Israel. That's what he says in
verse six. Now, he answers this second objection. The second objection, which said
that God was unjust and unrighteous. This objection in verse 14, what
shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Paul answers the second objection in Romans nine, beginning
at verse 15. For he saith to Moses, I'll have
mercy on whom I'll 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 others to perish in their sins. And he uses Pharaoh
as an example of those that perish because of their unbelief. Now
let's go ahead this morning, and I'm gonna go ahead and read
these verses here, beginning at verse 19. or Romans 9, begin
at verse 19. 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 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 under honor and
another under 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 thus, Paul says,
whom he had called not only of the Jews only, but also of the
Gentile. In our first verse here in verse
19, thou wilt say unto me, why doth he yet find fault for who
hath resisted his will? God's absolute sovereignty may
be difficult for us 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 in this world. The natural man will not receive
and believe the truths which are of the Spirit of God. And
that's according to 1 Corinthians 2, 14, where God says, but the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.
For there are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. This morning, we'll
look at the third objection that Paul presents beginning at verse
19. The third objection from the
adversary is that God is just too severe and cruel. When they say, why does he yet
find fault then? If he's gonna show mercy on whom
he will, and compassion on whom he will, and he harden who he
will, why in the world does he yet find fault with us, and for
who hath resisted his will? The reason for this objection
is due to what the Apostle Paul had stated in Romans 9, 18, and
that is, therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and
whom he will he harden. God's in total control. He's
the potter. So then the question comes from
the adversary, well, if God shows mercy and hardens according to
his sovereign pleasure, well, why then does God yet find fault
with the sinners? This is the only objection that
can be made to what the apostle is stating in the first part
of verse 19, which says, in that first part of Romans 19, why
does he yet find fault? If God shows mercy to some, and
none can resist his will, how can God find fault with sinners? Then it is said in the next part,
verse 19, the last part, for who hath resisted his will? If
the wrath of men 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 this
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 or is responding 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
with and question God? or even hope to understand God's
ways, the creator of all, how foolish and arrogant for a finite
creature and the sinner at that to sit in judgment on God's mercy
and justice. The answer to why God does what
he does is found totally within 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 a sinner's natural wisdom, what we're born with and the
way we're born as sinners on this world, depraved sinners.
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 by nature,
by nature. We just don't like that. You
see, by nature, we're determined to be in control of our own destiny,
just like that clay I was telling you about and that wheel, that
free wheel that's in control of how God molds you. We're determined
by nature to be in total control of that, no matter what we do. God has told us in his word that
all things come about because they are, according to Ephesians
1.11, predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. In this predestinating
will of God, there are certain secrets we don't know, as God
has determined not to reveal them to us. Look at Deuteronomy
29 and 29. It says the secret things belong
to the Lord our God. On the other hand, we as sinners
operate upon a plane of our own responsibility. Look at Deuteronomy
29, the last part of that verse. But those things which are revealed
belong unto us, those things that God revealed to us. And
to our children forever that we may do all the words of this
law. The fact that we cannot weave
both truths, the truth of that the secret things belong unto
the Lord our God, and the truth that those things which are revealed
belong unto us. The fact that we cannot weave
both of these truths into a fabric of our own human understanding,
well, it doesn't give us leave or allow us in any way to deny
either one of these truths. The Bible teaches that all whom
God has chosen shall believe the Lord Jesus Christ, and that
according to 2 Thessalonians 2, 13 and 14, where it says,
but we're bound to give thanks all the way 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. But it also teaches in
Romans 10, 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're one of
God's elect or not. Sinners are commanded to trust
Christ for all of salvation. That's what they're commanded
to do. Now the last part of verse 20 that we'll look at now is
Paul's response to what he says in the first part of this verse,
which is Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest against
God? Then the apostle goes on to say in the last part of verse
20, shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast
thou made me thus? Paul responds to the objection
by the adversary of why hast thou made me thus, when in the
next verse it said in Romans 921, hath not, or does not the potter
have power over the clay of the same lump, that same lump of
fallen humanity, to make one vessel under honor and another
under dishonor. Therefore, if God says he is
sovereign, and then also declares that we will have, we have an
eternal responsibility before him, then it's so. That's what God says. And in
Romans 920, Paul said, Nay, but O man, who art thou that replies
against the God, the God of all creation, the God that created
all things, determined all things from the
beginning to the end. As we continue with Romans 921,
where we see the analogy of a potter making two vessels here. Now,
in verse 21, in this verse, Paul begins to give this analogy of
a potter and his ride over the objects that he makes. I thought
about this quite a bit when I was doing this study and thought
about, you know, up in Georgia Mountain, North Georgia and Eastern
North Carolina, Western Tennessee and everything. You have a lot
of these artists that are potters and they They make all these
objects of clay. And I thought about this a lot,
having to do with that potter and him having total control
over that object that he makes, and him determining what he's
going to make, how he's going to make it. But Paul says here,
hath not the potter power or 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'll
show forth his mercy in saving his people in Christ, those he
chose before the foundation of the world, and give them to 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, the same lump, same lump of clay. This is the lump
of sinful, fallen humanity. Since the whole lump is wicked,
any if left to itself would be content to remain in unbelief.
Can we find fault with God if he chooses to show 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, and His justice in saving sinners and
in the damnation of sinners. Listen, folks. God 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, but he's also
a savior. He's gonna do right in everything
that he does. In verse 22 of Romans 9, it says,
what if God willing to show his wrath and to make his power known
endured with much longsufferance 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 justly 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 in the salvation of sinners based entirely on God the Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. All who desire to be objects
of his grace must flee to Christ and plead his shed blood and
imputed righteousness alone for salvation. This is what God commands. Why won't sinners do this? Why
won't they flee to Christ? They'd rather hold on to that
free will and their will and not have a sovereign God that's
over all things. We must also realize that if
we do flee to Christ for salvation, it is God who made you willing
to turn from self and turn to God, the true God, for salvation. God had to make you willing in
the day of his power if you do this. In the last part of verse
22, the apostle says that God has also endured with much suffering
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
that 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. Look at John 3,
18. He that believeth on him is not
condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. because
he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. The last part of Romans 9.22
says vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. These are vessels
of wrath fitted for destruction. God must display his wrath toward
sin. Sin deserves death. The penalty
for sin is death. And according to Ezekiel 18.20,
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, mercy, and grace, but also his wrath, judgment, holy anger,
vengeance, and justice. All of these things reveal the
character of God, the God that we all must deal with either
now or at judgment. We also see God's power. as he
judges sins and condemns all who stands against
him. The word fitted means prepared.
All who stand in opposition to God's Christ and God's truth,
all those that won't flee to Christ, all those that rather
hold on to them being in control of their destiny rather than
looking to Christ alone for salvation, all those that that want to hang
on to their own self-righteousness and religious pride. All those
that stand in opposition to God's Christ and God's truth, well,
they only manifest that they were prepared by God for destruction. And God will be proven just in
the destruction of the wicked. Now, let's look again back at
verse 22, 9-22. where it says, 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?
We have in verse 22 where God shows his wrath on the vessels
of wrath. Then in our next verse, we have
God making known the riches of his glory on the vessels of his
mercy in Romans 9.23. which says, and that he might
make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy,
which he had aforeprepared unto glory. God also has 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 finished 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 personal merit by either vessel. Remember, God makes both
vessels from the same lump of fallen humanity. Who makes the
vessels of mercy different? The answer to this question is
God and His sovereign grace makes them to differ. The vessels of
mercy have no room to boast. God saves sinners in order to
glorify his name and to reveal and honor the perfections of
his redemptive character. The vessels of mercy receive
his mercy, love, and grace, and not because they're better or
wiser than others or because they deserve it because of what
they do, but because God chose to reveal his grace in them and
to make them the objects of his mercy and the vessels under honor. Well, the last verse that we'll
deal with this morning, verse 24, this verse speaks of those
that God calls those who are the vessels of mercy, vessels
made unto honor. Now in Romans 9, 24, it says,
Paul says, even us, who God makes the riches of his mercy, whom
he hath called. even us whom he had called, not
of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. Who are the vessels
of mercy that were before prepared under glory? Paul says here in
verse 24a, even us whom he had called. This call is by the power,
powerful, efficacious, and irresistible grace of God. A call that is
internal, that reaches the heart, and not the ear only. Folks,
there's a lot of people that hear the same gospel that you're
hearing now. There are a lot of people that
hear it with the ear. But there are a lot of people
that don't believe it. It don't reach the heart. Some
of them give mental agreement to it. But God has to prepare
the ground as that seed in the sower. He has to come by His
Holy Spirit and prepare that ground, that heart. where when
the gospel is preached out, this message of how God saves a sinner,
who God is in his character is received. But God has to do this
work. He has to do this work. This
call is a special call, and it's a particular call, special and
particular. This is a call of grace wherein
God calls only his elect to a saving experiential knowledge of who
God is and how he saves a sinner by his grace. He does this by
the preaching of the gospel, not a false gospel, but the gospel
that identifies God as just when he saves a sinner. This is also
a call to a peculiar people, which is only a call to God's
leg. 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 through the Word
of God and by the Gospel of God, which is in Christ. The dictionary,
when describing invincible, says, so great or difficult as to be
impossible to overcome. This call is impossible to overcome.
This calling is invincible, and it's also effectual. That is,
this Holy Spirit calling is successful in producing its desired and
intended result. It's effectual. Something's accomplished
here. This call is also the fruit and
effect of what Christ accomplished in his death. His blood shed
for the payment of a sin debt that all those he represented
owed, all of them owed this debt, all of God's elect, but a debt
that none of them could pay, none of them. Folks, nothing
will justify a sinner before a holy God except the precious
blood of Christ, and that alone. Also, this call, spoken of in
verse 24, is invincible and effectual because it's the fruit and effect
of Christ's payment for sins. that payment made by God the
Son as He obeyed God's law and justice, and thereby glorifying
God His Father, even until His death on the cross. Everything
that Christ did in His person and in His work was to reveal
God's holy character in all of its glorious attributes. Look
at Hebrews 10, beginning at verse 9, where it says, Then said He,
this is Christ, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God, He taketh
away the first, he may establish the second, by the which will
we are sanctified and set apart through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. Let's look at this calling a
little more here in Acts 2 verse 39. For the promise is unto you
and to your children and to all afar off, even as many as the
Lord our God shall call. Also look at Romans 1 16. For
I'm not ashamed, Paul says, of the gospel of Christ, for it's
the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first and also the Greek. This is that gospel call made
effectual by the Holy Spirit of God. Also Romans 8, 28. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. Watch this now, to
them who are called according to his purpose. And in 1 Corinthians
1, begin at verse 22, for the Jews require sign and the Greeks
seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews
a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto
them which are called, both Jews and Greek, Christ, the power
of God and the wisdom of God. And finally, 2 Thessalonians
2, begin at verse 13, But we're 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 Gentiles, Not all the Jews nor are all
the Gentiles called, 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, nation, and people of this earth. The Jews were inclined
to think that God could not make them anything other than vessels
of honor. That's the reason you had all
these objections here. Paul rejects this view and points out that
God does what he will. No Jew or Gentile will be saved
apart from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. And their believing
is not conditioned on is not any kind of a condition of their
salvation, but it's the evidence that God has saved them by His
grace. Any Jew or Gentile who dies in unbelief reveals himself
to be a vessel of wrath prepared for destruction if they die in
unbelief. On the other hand, any Jew or
Gentile, any sinner, any Jew or Gentile, no matter what nationality
you might be, who believes God's gospel, wherein the righteousness
of God is revealed. There's righteousness wherein
God is glorified in every attribute of his character. There's righteousness
that Christ worked out on the cross. His obedience, even unto
death. All those that trust this, that
has this faith, well, they are manifested to be a vessel of
mercy. and they're prepared under glory.
And all of this began with God's everlasting love for his elect,
of which he has mercy and compassion, and of which results in their
salvation. A salvation that's based on Christ,
his righteousness alone, the very righteousness of God, which
is freely imputed to God's elect. Salvation is of the Lord. Now, in closing, there is mention
of the potter and the clay in the Old Testament a few times.
The reference here in Romans 9, 21 will refer you back to
Jeremiah 18, 6. It's a good reference. But in
closing, let's read another reference given a little further back in
Isaiah 64, beginning at verse 6, where it reads, but we, are
all an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy
rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the
wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth
upon the name, and stirreth up himself to take hold of thee,
for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us because
of our iniquities. But now, O Lord, Thou art our
Father, we are the clay, and Thou art our potter, and we all
are the work of Thy hand. All I can say to close is thank
you, Heavenly Father, for making known the riches of Your glory
on the vessels that You've shown mercy to, Thine elect. The vessels that you made for
your honor, for your glory, help us, thine elect, to continue
to honor you in the proclaiming of your gospel, of your gospel,
the gospel that identifies you in all of your holy attributes
and character, that we may glorify you in everything that we do.
the Potter and the clay. Amen.