I make no apology at all for
asking you to turn again this morning to the book of Romans
chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. In preaching
through this blessed, very instructive epistle, I have deliberately
spent more time on the chapter 8 verses 28 through chapter 9
than I have on any of the previous portions or shall on those that
follow. And you may think, well, why
these portions? Well, for you here, I know you
don't think that. You delight in the things he
revealed. But should you wish to pull down
commentaries in most any library or bookstore and look at commentaries
on the Book of Romans, if you find one volume or three volumes,
you'll find a little tiny bit Romans 8 28 through chapter 9
verse 33 because these portions of Scripture are not only ignored
by the religious world but utterly despised by the religious world. So let's look again today at
Romans 9 verses 1 through 33. In this place, we believe and
preach without apology the gospel of God's free, sovereign, saving
grace in Jesus Christ all the time. I recall years ago, I was
sitting at Ashton and a man about my age, as a matter of fact,
he was exactly my age, was attending a meeting First or second time
he had been to one of the conferences and we were sitting at supper
and he said to me, he said, how often do you preach on these
things? I said, what things? He said, the doctrines of grace.
I said, you mean what's commonly called five points of Calvinism?
He said, yeah. He said, how often do you preach
on that? I said, three times a week, every time I preach.
every time. And he seemed shocked. So I said,
yes, every time I preach, we declare God's absolute sovereignty. Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. With you, with me, with
the angels, with the devils, and with all creation. He hath
done whatsoever he hath pleased. We delight to declare man's total
depravity. How can you delight to declare
that? Because only as you are made to know the utter depravity,
inability, and corruption of your own heart and nature, you
will never know the Son of God by faith. You who are without
Christ are dead in trespasses and in sins, dead, stone cold
graveyard dead, utterly helpless and your hearts full of corruption
so that you have no good thought, let alone good intention and
least of all good works coming from you. Nothing in you but
corruption. Nothing coming from you but corruption.
That's the nature of man. and we rejoice to declare God's
free, unconditional election. Oh, how blessed to hear God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Our Savior says,
ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And all who are made
the objects of his choice, in the blessed experience of his
grace, knowing his choice, rejoice in his free electing love. Well, preacher, I know a lot
of good Christian people who don't. No, you don't. You only
know religious folks who quit acting mean as hell. Believing folks rejoice in God's
election and rejoice in God's sovereignty. We delight to declare
the blessed Gospel doctrine of limited atonement. For the transgression
of his people, the Savior says, he was stricken. He said, I am
the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. His name is called Jesus because
he came into the world to save his people from their sins. And astonishing as this may sound,
to lost religious people who don't know God from a billy goat,
he actually did it. Jesus Christ actually accomplished
everything he came here to accomplish. He actually did bear our sins
in his body on the tree. And he actually did purge away
all the sins he bare in his body on the tree when he suffered
all the fury of God's wrath to the full satisfaction of justice
for poor needy sinners like you and me. And we to proclaim to
men God's irresistible grace, irresistible grace. That's confusing. No, you understand exactly what
I mean. You know what an irresistible
force is? That's a force you can't resist.
And sinners are saved by the force of God's irresistible grace. You mean God forces sinners to
be saved? Aren't you glad he forced you
to be? Aren't you glad he forced you into the arms of Christ?
Aren't you glad he forced you to come to his son? Had he not
forced you, you never would have come. But God steps in the way. He says, hitherto shalt thou
go and no further. And he wrestles you to the ground
like he did Jacob and makes you confess, my name is Jacob. I've got to have you. And we
delight to proclaim the certain and sure preservation and perseverance
of all God's elect in Christ Jesus. How do you know that God's
people are saved forever? Because God saved them. God saved
God said, if it's up to you, you'd mess it up. If it's up
to me, I'd mess it up. But God saved us. God saved us. And we're confident of this one
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it in spite of you until the day of Jesus Christ. I know we,
Folks like to talk about perseverance of the saints. I deliberately
chose the word preservation because our perseverance is made sure
by his preservation. We persevere in faith only because
he perseveres in grace. We continue in faith only because
he continues in grace. How many times? Have you not
proved by your experience you would have left Christ a thousand
times if he'd let you go? A thousand times if he'd just
left you to yourself. No, our perseverance is not our
work. Our perseverance is the fruit
of his preserving grace. Now, let's look at this ninth
chapter of Romans. Whenever unbelieving men and
women hear this message of God's free salvation in Christ, of
God's free grace in Christ, they always, unless being converted
by the grace of God, unless God changes them, when men and women
hear the message of God's free grace, they always get angry. They always get angry. I make
it my purpose, deliberately, whenever I go to a new place
of preaching to folks that I've not preached to before, to do
everything I can to confront them plainly with the claims
of the sovereign God in the gospel of God's free grace, so they
can't go away mistaken, because I want them either to be saved
or to show that they're not. One of the two. One of the two.
And where men and women are not converted, they always are enraged
by the message of God's free grace. Their eyes begin to bug
out and they clench their teeth and their fist and veins pop
out on their faces and their necks. They'd kill you if they
could. I'm talking about good religious
folks. I'm talking about Sunday school teachers and preachers
and theologians. They get upset and they raise
objections. And it is amazing to me that
the objections are always the same. Doesn't matter whether
you go and preach through a translator in a foreign language in another
country, or whether you're talking to somebody that you've never
seen before, or you're talking to your brother, your sister,
your mother, your daddy. The objections are always the same.
They don't even have to read a book to get them. These are
objections that just pop up out of the heart of depraved men
who refuse to bow to God, whose hearts are enmity against God.
They don't change as much as a syllable. much as a syllable. And the Apostle
Paul was inspired by God the Holy Ghost to deal with three
common objections to the message of God's grace. The title of
my message this morning is, Objections Answered. Objections to God's
Sovereignty Answered. Let's begin in verse 1. We'll
meet with the first objection in verses 6, 7, and 8. This chapter begins with Paul
expressing his own heaviness of heart for his lost kinsmen,
his brethren after the flesh, the Jews, who despised Christ
in the gospel of God's free grace in Christ Jesus. And because
they despised Christ, God sent the gospel to them for 2,000
years. God sent preacher after preacher,
prophet after prophet, wonder after wonder among them. We're
just studying right now what God calls His wonders in the
land of Ham. That's how God describes them
in the Psalms. Wonders in Egypt. We call them the plagues of Egypt.
God calls them wonders. He sent wonders for the children
of Israel to behold. And then for 40 years sent wonder
after wonder. For another 2,000 years sent
wonder after wonder to them. And they would not believe. So God cast them off. And Paul
said, that caused me Great heaviness, great heaviness. My brethren,
my kinsmen after the flesh, dying under the wrath of God because
they fully deserve it. Because they fully deserve it.
If you go to hell, You'll go to hell because you fully deserve
it. The time will at last come when
God cast you off and cast you forever into everlasting darkness
because you despise his son, will not bow to his son, will
not believe on his son, and there's no other reason. The wages of
sin is death. The wages of sin is death. And then, If we get to chapter
nine, verse six, and start to declare God's sovereignty, declare
that God has forever cast off the Jews as a nation, or that
God shuts the door today, God casts folks off today, God will
not save some folks today, that the chosen objects of God's grace
are found not just among this people or that, but found among
all people, scattered throughout all the earth, God's chosen sinners
among the Gentiles of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue. Well,
if that's the case, we're told, well, if that's so, then the
purpose of God means nothing. The word of God means nothing.
God promised to save the Jews, and if God doesn't return to
save the Jews, the word of God means nothing. God's promised
salvation to everybody, and if God doesn't save everybody, or
doesn't at least give everybody a chance to be saved, God's word
means nothing. And Paul answers that objection
in verses six, seven, and eight. Not as though the word of God
hath taken none of that. Don't ever imagine that, don't
ever imagine that. You see, we take this book, this
one right here, and try to shove it in here. And make it fit our
puny brains. That's kind of like taking a
thimble and trying to put the Pacific Ocean in it. It won't
fit. And God's word won't fit your
thinking. and it won't be made to fit your
thinking. You'll either bow to God or you'll
perish in your sins. It's not just a matter of believing
the right doctrine. Well, he studied, he got his
doctrine down, he believes everything. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no. That's not it, that's not it.
It's a matter, Bobby, of bowing to God or hating God. That's all there is to it. It's
a matter of bowing to what God says or saying, no, I won't bow.
That's all there is to it. That's all there is to it. So
I don't understand election. My soul, I don't begin to understand
it, but I can rejoice in it. I don't understand predestination.
I don't understand it, but I can rejoice in it. I don't understand
God's sovereign purpose, but I can rejoice in it. I can't
begin to explain these things. I simply declared them, declared
them for your joy, declared them for your confidence, declared
them for your peace. For the market, I've been talking
about the security system for the property here. He's looking
at some things and he said, I just want you to be safe. And I said,
I'm safe, with it or without it. He said, I know that. How can you know that? Because
I know I worship a God of purpose. God of purpose. Hell can't touch
me, let alone you, except by God's purpose. Not going to happen. Not going to happen. Look at
verse 6, Not as though the word of God hath taken none of that.
For they are not all Israel which are of Israel. That is to say
just because you are born a child of Abraham doesn't mean you are
of Abraham's spiritual seed. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they all children. But in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. which are the children of the
flesh. These are not the children of God, but the children of the
promise are counted for the seed." Now notice that word seed is
singular. The children of promise, these
are the ones counted for the seed. What's that talking about?
Turn over just a few pages to Galatians 3 and I'll show you.
Galatians chapter 3, verse 13, Christ hath redeemed us, not
provided redemption for us, redeemed us. Not made it possible, redeemed
us. Christ hath redeemed us. He specifically
redeemed somebody. God's elect, all the children
of promise, all the children of Abraham, all for whom He died,
all who ultimately receive the promise of the Spirit, sealing
covenant grace to their hearts in the new birth. Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree. Now verse 14, the sentence continues, look at it. Christ
died for us. He bore the wrath of God for
us. He satisfied the justice of God
for us. That the blessing of Abraham,
God's blessing to Abraham, I will bless you and make you a blessing.
I'll be your God and you'll be mine. Forever, it'll never change. That the blessing of Abraham
might come on every Jew. That's not what it says, is it?
But the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles. true Jews,
true Israelites, through Jesus Christ, that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit. That's the blessing of Abraham.
Life eternal in Jesus Christ the Lord. Brethren, I speak after
the manner of men. Though it be but a man's covenant,
yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto.
Now to Abraham and his seed, singular, were the promises made. He saith not unto seeds as of
many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. Who is
this talking about? Talking about one person, Jesus
Christ, Abraham's son, and all who are one with that one person. seed of Abraham. Paul goes on
in Galatians 3 and says, if you believe on the Son of God you
are Abraham's seed, not seed's seed. All right, back in Romans
chapter 9, the Lord God cast off the Jews
according to purpose, the natural seed of Abraham. The nation of
Israel was cast off because God determined that to make a short
work on the earth, and a short work he made of it in 70 AD when
he cast them off. Paul said to the Jews, said,
all right, I wash my hands of you, I go to the Gentiles. I
go to the Gentiles. And God cast off the nation,
exactly according to his purpose, in strict justice. In strict
justice. as a matter of righteous and
just retribution, because they despised the gospel he had sent
to them. He cast them off in strict justice,
but exactly according to his sovereign eternal purpose, to
save his elect among the Gentiles throughout all the earth in all
generations of time. Look at verse 25 of chapter 11,
Romans 11 verse 25. People ask about the death of
Christ. Well, oh, what a shame, what
a pity. Indeed, it's arguable. Alan just
sang one of my favorite hymns, in evil long I took delight.
But oh, my soul don't ever think this was an accident. Or this
is something God just couldn't prevent. Or that somehow or another
things just got out of control. Christ died according to the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, his absolute predestination,
according to his own purpose of love toward his elect, by
the hands of wicked men who wanted him to die. And because they
crucified the Lord of glory, God cast them off. but they did
nothing contrary to His purpose. Look at verse 25, Romans chapter
11. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of
this mystery, mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits.
That blindness in part has happened to Israel. That doesn't mean
they were partly blinded, that means most of them were, but
God hasn't elected them, they're gonna be saved. Some of them
won't be. the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." God cast
off the physical seed of Abraham and sent the Gospel to the Gentile
world until God gathers all His elect out of the Gentile world.
Then the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in. And when
that is finished, and so all Israel shall be saved. It is
written there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall
turn away ungodliness From Jacob. All right, look at verse 14 through
18 Romans chapter 9. Here's the second objection When
we declared the glorious gospel doctrine of God's sovereign election
free electing love in Christ. As Paul stated in verses 9-13,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. If you want to, next time you're
at Dunkin' Donut, or McDonald's, or Burger King, having your morning
coffee, or you're with your Liars Club, as you call it, Lindsay
down at Arby's on Saturday morning, if you want to bring up a good
subject to talk about the rest of the day, just quote Romans
9-13. I'll tell you what, brethren,
before we get started this morning, let's just read the scriptures.
Just read one verse together. Let's see, what can we read?
Romans 9, 13. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. I'll guarantee you they'll talk
the rest of the hour, or the next two hours, or the rest of
the morning, or the rest of the, as long as you'll listen, just
seething. That can't be right. That's not
fair. That's not fair. That isn't right. That makes God a respecter of
persons. That makes God unrighteous. Man
has a free will, you know. Well, look at verses 14 through
18. Paul deals with this. For this
is the word of promise. At this time will I come and
Sarah shall have a son. I'm sorry, read verse nine, verse
10. And not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceded by one, even by her father Isaac. Now, this
is the reason for all this. That's the parenthetical statement,
that the purpose of God according to the election might stand,
not of works with him that call it. It was said to her, the elder
shall serve the younger. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. Now look at verse 14. What shall
we then say? How do we reply to that? What
do you think of that? What do you think of that? This
is what the fellow will say. This is what the woman will say.
And it just pops up out of nowhere. They don't have to get together
and think about it. It comes out of every heart by nature.
Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For He said 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.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, I just, I made you for
just one reason, so I could dump your carcass in the Red Sea and
everybody know that I'm God. That's my paraphrasing, let's
see if that's accurate. 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. Well, what's the
conclusion to all this? God has mercy on whom he will
have mercy. Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. God, that's
not right, that's not right. Hang on, this is God's reply. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will he hearteneth. So much
for your imaginary free will. It's not of him that will it.
So much for your imaginary works of righteousness, not of him
that run it. The Apostle Paul states in plain, crystal clear
words, God's absolute sovereignty in the whole affair of salvation.
God Almighty has the unquestionable power and the unquestionable
right mercy on whom He will. He has the unquestionable power
and the unquestionable right to either save you or damn you,
to either save me or damn me. It is altogether up to Him. The Scriptures declare that Pharaoh
hardened his heart against God. And then the Scripture declares
that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. you have it. God hardened Pharaoh's heart
because Pharaoh first hardened his heart. He made his decision.
Yeah, that's true. That's true. That's exactly right.
But you've got to think about something else. A long time before
that God said, I'm going to do it. God said, I'm going to harden
Pharaoh's heart. In other words Pharaoh's heart was hardened
because God purposed it. And Pharaoh hardened his heart
because God purposed it. Oh, no, no, no. Pharaoh hardened
his heart because he said, who's God that I should obey him? He
hated God. And God in just retribution hardened
Pharaoh's heart because he would not hear God's prophet and God's
word. He said, I heard him and I'm
not gonna bow to him. I asked you who he was and you
showed me and I will not have him. And so the Lord hardened
Pharaoh's heart in a matter of justice, righteousness and truth. The fact is God still does that. God help you to listen to this
preacher. God still hardens the hearts of men. He does so exactly
according to his sovereign purpose, but always and only as a matter
of just, righteous retribution. If you go to hell, read this
book one more time, you'll go to hell because you just shoved
God out of your way and you won't have it. That's all. If light
is not given, darkness will reign. If faith is not granted, unbelief
prevails. If grace isn't bestowed, hardness
of heart only increases. How is it that God hardened Pharaoh's
heart? How is it? He left him alone. When Moses came in and spoke
to him, Pharaoh said, get out of my sight. And then Moses went
out and performed one of God's wonders. And Pharaoh said, oh,
I'm about to go to hell. Pray for me, Moses. I'll repent
you. You can go out if you want to,
but just do this and that. He starts to try to make a bargain
with God. And Moses said, won't work. Won't work. And he went
out, Pharaoh said, I'll kill you. And Moses performs another
miracle. And Pharaoh said, oh, Moses,
pray for me and my people, we've sinned. Scared to death, you're
gonna go to hell. And Moses said, all right, I'll
pray for you. And then Pharaoh heard and said, I've got God
in my hands now. And Moses comes in and says,
I'm speaking for God, Pharaoh. Pharaoh said, get out of my face.
You'll not see my face again. Moses said, you're exactly right.
You won't see my face again. You won't see my face again.
And God hardened Pharaoh's heart and killed the firstborn in Egypt. And Pharaoh got up and said,
get out, get out, get out. And he still didn't repent. As
soon as he saw what he did, he said, boys, I made a mistake.
Let's go chase him down and kill him. How come? Because he hated God. Now hear
me. Whenever the word of God is rejected,
Wherever the means of grace, the preaching of the gospel and
the worship of God is despised, that very thing which is the
instrument of grace to God's elect becomes a stone of stumbling
and a rock of offense to those who will not hear and will not
bow. we're confident, always, always,
that we're a sweet savor to God, in them that believe and in them
that perish. To the one, a savor to God of
life unto life. To the other, a savor of God
of death unto And when Paul thought of those things, he said, oh,
I have great heaviness and continual
sorrow in my heart for you, whom I love so dearly, who will not
bow to Christ. Who is sufficient for these things? Not me, but our sufficiencies
of God. All right, here's the third objection.
If we get this far without being stoned to death and dare assert
that God does indeed have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and
then we dare to declare that God's sovereign eternal will
and purpose is absolute and irresistible, men's eyes begin to bulge and
veins pop out rebels get so mad they could spit nails. And they
raise this third objection. Look at verse 19. Thou wilt say
then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted
his will? Now this is the objection. If
God's will is absolute, sovereign, and irresistible, If he so completely
governs all things, that even the wrath and evil deeds of wicked
men serve his purpose. If no one and nothing in this
world has power to resist his will, that just makes us robots. And God can't blame us for anything.
It's all his fault. Who resisted his will. How can
he find fault with us? We'll just do what he purposed
to do. Well, in the rest of the chapter, Paul gives three answers
to those objections, to this third objection. First, in verse
20, he says, it is utter foolishness and the height of absurd arrogance
for any man to dare to presume to set in judgment over God.
Who are you? Who am I that we should even
question what God says or does? What makes you think you can
sit in judgment over the Almighty? Look at 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?' Now, my daughter isn't here this
morning, but next time she's here, if you'd like to, ask her. Ask her. Faith, when you were
growing up, what would have happened if you'd have walked up and you'd
have slapped your daddy's hand and said, then why'd you do that?
Just ask her what would happen. She might still have marks on
her behind. What? You challenge me as to
why I did something? Honey, it's right, because I
said it's right. That's all the reason you got to know. I'm your
daddy. If I want to, I'll tell you why.
If I don't, I won't. But I'm your daddy. It's up to
me, not up to you. Who are you? Who am I to walk
up to God, slap him on the wrist, and say, what are you doing?
That ain't right. That ain't right. Skip, if God
Almighty does something, He doesn't do it cause it's right. It's
right cause He did it. If God does it, it's right. That's
all there is to it. Then Paul tells us in verses,
in verse 21, he says, God is the potter. We're nothing but
clay in His hands, just wet mud, that's all. Hath not the potter
power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel into
honor and another into dishonor? We're just wet mud in God's hand.
He can do with us what we want to. We're as worthless as the
wet mud. I recall when I first began to learn the importance
of using proper illustrations. I was 19 years old, I'd driven
up from Winston-Salem to what these fellas called a very intellectual
name, they thought they were theologians, the Sovereign Grace
Theological Society, we had a meeting every month. And I'd take off
from work and drive up there, and I thought maybe I'd get some
of a rub off if I met with the Brainy fellas. And a fella was
teaching, giving a lecture one day from Romans chapter nine,
this very text of scripture, verse 21. And bless his heart,
he was in Roanoke, Virginia. He just started pastoring there,
and he had several degrees all the way up to a THD, a Doctor
of Theology. And he liked to call him Dr.
Jack. But he was from Van Nuys, California. And folks from Van
Nuys, California have a tough time fitting into southern mountain
culture. And he showed it real well. He
said, if the potter, should take an old piece of clay and he chooses
to make one part of the clay a beautiful vase to sit on the
hearth over the fireplace in the living room. And the other
piece to make a slop jar to sit in the kitchen and we sat there
a little bit and Ernie Lucas sitting right in front of me
started to laugh out loud and then I started, and then about three
or four rows of us just rolling. He said, what'd I say? Lucas
looked up at me and said, Jack, down here we don't put slop jars
in the kitchen. Now you who get that get it, you who don't won't.
But he didn't get it. He didn't have a clue what was
going on. God makes of one lump a vessel to honor and of another
to dishonor exactly according to His will and His purpose. If you don't believe me, God
said, go down to the potter's house and see how it's done.
Jeremiah chapter 18. Now, oh Lord, thou art our father. We are the clay and thou our
potter, and we are all the work of thy hand. And then in verses
22 through 33, God, the Holy Ghost inspired Paul to tell us
that God has determined to make known two things in the universe, by which all men, the saved and
the damned, those in heaven and those in hell, the righteous
and the wicked, by which all men will know and be forced to
confess that he is God. He's determined to make known
the power wrath and justice, and the riches of His grace and
glory in Christ Jesus. How is that? Verse 22, What if
God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power known,
endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction? God Almighty is a God of justice. as well as mercy. He will send
sinners to hell. He's determined to make all men
see His holy wrath against sin and see it we will. Either in
the sacrifice of His Son or in our own experience of it. And
so He's made some vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. Now notice that word fitted.
It means thoroughly and completely made up to, fitted to destruction. Something thoroughly and completely
made up to this purpose. Oh, how we rejoice in the fact
that God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us. crucified, Peter tells us, is
a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense to them that stumble
at the word, being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed. The vessels of wrath are endured
with much longsuffering, not longsuffering toward them, longsuffering
toward God's elect, but endured with much longsuffering are people
who are vessels of wrath. And God's longsuffering with
them is longsuffering toward us among whom the vessels of
mercy are found, or the vessels of wrath among whom the vessels
of mercy are found. Look at verse 23, And that he
might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy
which he had aforeprepared unto glory. know a better way to express
what I know the Scripture teaches than personal experience. I come from a long bloodline
of godless, reprobate people. Long bloodline of godless, reprobate
people. Drunks. Just drunks. For generations, just drunks. Why'd God put up with them? Why didn't God wipe the world
of the name Fortner generations ago? I can give you one reason. Here is a vessel of mercy. preserved in a long bloodline
of vessels of wrath, a vessel of mercy whom God has determined
to prepare for glory. What's the difference between
them and this one? The difference that grace has
made by purpose, by redemption. by regeneration, by effectual
calling, by irresistible power, by divine intervention. That's
the only difference. The vessels of mercy are those
prepared by God, made fit by God for heavenly glory. Mark Medley, we've made ourselves
fit for nothing but hell. God's made us fit for glory in
His dear Son, so that we're complete in Him, complete in Him, worthy
of heaven in Him, accepted in Him. Oh, wonder of wonders is
the wonder of God's grace. Robert Hall Dane made this observation. In looking over this passage
of Scripture, Every man ought to observe that man plays no
part in the redemption of his soul. All is done by God. Everything pertaining to the
redemption of a sinner is done not through a cooperative effort,
but by God. He elected, He predestinated,
He called, He justified, He glorified. God has undertaken all for us. Now, get back down to verse 24.
Romans 9, Paul tells us that this promise of eternal salvation
is not just Abraham's physical seed, but to all Abraham's spiritual
seed. Christ and all who believe, these
are those to whom God has made the promise, even us whom He
hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. In verses 25-28 Paul quotes Hosea and he said, he
said Hosea told us this was God's purpose. And then he gets to
Isaiah chapter verse 29 and he says Isaiah told us the same
thing. God's always been determined to save a people out of every
nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue. God's always been determined
to save his elect whom he scattered through the fall of Adam into
the four corners of the earth. glory to His name. He'll say
to the north and to the south and to the east and to the west,
give up. Bring my sons from afar. Bring
my daughters from afar and they shall be brought to me. And so
all Israel shall be saved to the praise of the glory of the
grace of the triune God. Now what's the conclusion of
all this? Verses 30-33. Here's God's conclusion. conclusion, not Paul's conclusion,
God's conclusion. Now what's our conclusion to
this doctrine? Here's the result of God's purpose
of grace toward His elect, and is just wrath upon the vessels
of wrath that fit into destruction. The Jews who had the oracles
of God and would not believe, they would not trust the substitute. They would not be saved by grace.
They said, no, it just stands for a reason that we got to do
something. And they stumbled over the stumbling
stone, Christ Jesus, and went to hell because they would not
be saved by faith in Christ alone. They wouldn't trust Him. They
wouldn't trust Him. But the Gentiles, That is God's elect among the
Gentiles, chosen in grace, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ,
and called by His Spirit, though they made no pretense of righteousness. The Gentiles. The Gentiles, just
barbaric, heathen, indecent, immoral, profligate, base, corrupt,
vile sinners. Read about them in Romans chapter
one. That's our mammas and daddies. That's us, that's what we are
by nature. No pretense of righteousness, wanting it, seeking it, or desiring
it. The Gentiles, when called by grace, believe
on Christ, righteousness required of the law in Christ. And thus
the Scripture is fulfilled in us believing Gentiles where God
said, I am found of them that sought me not. Now get down to
verse 33, it is written, Behold I lay in Zion a stumbling stone
and a rock of offense. There he is, Christ crucified. Believe on the Son of God and
all is well. Trust Jesus Christ, salvation's
yours. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you are righteous, the very righteousness of God in him.
And there it is, there it is. And some folks say, nah, nah. I don't need him. I'm good enough
without him. Or I can make myself good enough
without him. He's a stumbling stone. And you'll trip up and
go to hell over him. And everything you read in this
book will be a stumbling stone to you. You'll trip up and go
to hell over it. But he that believeth on him shall not be ashamed. corrupt, helpless, vile, dirty,
rotten, hell-bent, hell-deserving sinner. Believe on the Son of God and
go home unashamed, unashamed before God, unashamed
before His law, unashamed while you live, unashamed in the day
of judgment, unashamed forever, because God has made you the
righteousness of God in His Son. God help you to believe. Amen.