All right, let's open our Bibles
tonight to Romans 9. I'm going to back up just a little
bit. We begin our study tonight with
verse 20, but I want to go back to verse 11 and read why Paul
ask this question in verse 20. Let's begin with verse 11, Romans
9. For the children, being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of God that calleth It was said to the mother, the elder shall
serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is God
unfair? 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 salvation is not of him
that willeth, it's not of the will of the flesh or the will
of man, nor of him that runneth activities and works and duties,
but salvation is of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture
saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised
thee up that I might show my power in thee, that my name,
Jehovah, God my Savior, that my name might be declared throughout
all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will be hardened. I will say
then unto me, well, why doth he yet find fault? Who hath resisted
his will? Who can resist his will? And
here's the question. Nay, but, O man, who art thou
that replies against God? Who art thou that questions the
purposes of God, and the will of God, and the word of God,
and the declaration of God? Who are you to question God?
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast
thou made me thus? Martin Luther. German monk, born in 1483, 600 years ago almost. And the Lord saved him, brought
him to the knowledge of Christ and the gospel. He was a genius,
brilliant, brilliant man. God used him in that century. 14th and the 15th and 16th centuries
as he used no other man. Just a genius. He personally
challenged the whole Roman Catholic Church and was victorious. But he wrote something that was
a blessing to me. I found it in my files. He wrote
something on this verse here. Oh man, who are you? reply against
God. Who are you to question anything
that God says? Luther was such a brilliant man
that once when he was in exile, fleeing from the Catholic hierarchy,
he took the Old and New Testament in the original language and
translated it into German while he was in that castle, Wartburg,
or somewhere like that. a mighty man. Now listen to what
he has to say about this first hymn. It is unwise for the novice
to meddle with divine purposes and divine dispensations. Nothing
has a greater tendency to confound the understanding and even to
harden the heart than to take strong too early. Let no man think or talk of God's
counsel, God's will, or God's purpose too lightly. These matters
concern the character of God. These matters concern the eternal
interest of men. And the hidden, secret things
belong to The things that are revealed
belong to us and our children. So let us, rather than question,
rejoice that the great doctrines of divine grace have been written
both in his word and on his works in characters of life and glory. The scripture says, as touching
the Almighty, We cannot find him out. But he is excellent
in power, in judgment, and justice. And he will not afflict without
cause. He will not afflict without cause. Let us beware of sinning with
our mouths and replying against God. Let us humble ourselves
and thankfully look forward to the day when we shall know as
we are known. Then what now troubles us when
we know as we are known, those things which now trouble us,
we will delight in and rejoice that God brought them to pass.
Our God is working all things after the counsel of his own
will, and he has done all things well. Blessed be the name of
the Lord. Verse 21. That's enough said
on that verse, isn't it? All right, verse 21. Hath not
the potter power over the clay? of the same lump to make one
vessel under honor and another under dishonor. The word power,
I told you Sunday night, it denotes rights, R-I-G-H-T-S. If not the
potter, the right, the right to do with the clay what he will.
It's his clay. The word power is right, crown
rights in the case of our Lord. He purchased the crown rights.
He's Lord. by death, by decree, by design,
and by death. And not only crown rights, but
this word power signifies privilege and authority. God has a right
to do with his own what he will, but always in reference to God. The word power and crown rights
is more than just authority. We believe in the sovereignty
of God. We believe in the privilege and authority of God. But the
Lord's purposes and providence toward all things and toward
all creatures is exercised not just in authority, but it's always
exercised consistent with wisdom. A lot of men have authority and
to do things that aren't right and aren't wise. God has an authority
that is consistent always with wisdom. Shall not the judge of
the earth do right, wisely, in righteousness and globally? So he not only does with his
own what he will, he does with his own what is best. You see
what I'm saying? What is best, what is wise, what
is right. And he always does those things
which best serve his glory and the good of his kingdom. That's
the reason he says all things are working together for your
good. All right, verse 22 and 23. What is God willing to show his
wrath and make his power known? I want you to notice two things
while I'm reading this. The two things that God has determined
to show and to make known. We encountered this back there
in verse 17. Go back for a moment to verse
17. The scriptures, the Lord said
to Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up,
for this purpose, a twofold purpose, that I might show my power in
thee, and that my name might be declared. What's his name?
God my Savior. My power, under power comes justice
and judgment. My name, under name comes God,
will provide God our righteousness, God our Savior. Two things, I'll
show my power and I'll glorify my name. And I'll do it through
you, an object of wrath, and I'll do it through others, objects
of mercy. That's what we're going to read
now in verse 22 and 23. What if God, willing to show his wrath,
his wrath against sin, his judgment, and to make his power, the same
thing, his power known. He endured with much longsuffering. He endured this wicked world
in the days of Noah. How many centuries, how many
millenniums did that world go on? But he finally destroyed
it. He showed his power. He endured
Israel's captivity in Egypt 400 years, 400 years. They were kept
under the heel of those pagan Egyptians. God, with much long-suffering,
endured these vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction, but finally
He destroyed them. Sodom and Gomorrah, how long
did those cities stand there in their rottenness and corruption
and wickedness? How long did they stand there?
Who knows? They don't stand there now. And that's what we're saying
here. Almighty God endured with much
long-suffering. You know, the scripture says,
because, because execution against an evil work is not executed
right now, speedily, therefore the hearts of men are set in
them to do evil. They should keep on. God's patience. They mistake the long-suffering
and patience of God for permission. Permission. And now just keep going. The
wheels of God turn slowly, but they turn. And that which is
on the top will someday be on the bottom. he endured. What if God, willing
in time to show his wrath, to make his power in judgment and
justice known, endured, put up with, with much patience and
long-suffering, vessels of wrath, pitied for destruction? Now here's
the second thing he's going to show. And that he might make
known, make his power known, and make the riches of his glory. What's the riches of his glory? That's what he said to Moses.
Moses said, Lord, show me your glory. And he said, I'll make
all my glory pass before you. My glory is my mercy. Mercy. Mercy to sinners. Grace in Christ
Jesus. Goodness. Forgiveness of sin. That's the riches of his glory. Let me read it to you. You stay
right there. And let me read it to you over here. Ephesians
says, talks about what we were in times past, walked according
to the course of this world. Among whom we all had our conversation
in times past and the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind were by nature children of wrath.
But God, who is rich in mercy, rich in mercy for his great love
wherewith he loved us. We hated him, he loved us. Even
when we were dead in sin, he quickened us together with Christ,
by grace are you saved, raised us up together, made us sit together
in heavenly places that in the ages to come he might make known. Exceeding, exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us Christ Jesus. Verse 23 of
my text, you're looking right at it, that he might make known
the riches, the riches of his grace and glory on vessels of
mercy. I thank God I'm not a vessel
of wrath. Should be, could be, but by his grace I'm not. I'm
a vessel of mercy. The promise of And look at which
he afford a pardon to glory. Let's read this back to verse
23 again. First line, that he might make
known. He might make known to the whole universe. What? The
riches of his glory, his grace, his mercy. On whom? Vessels of
mercy. Not people that deserve it, not
people that earn it, not religious folks, but on vessels of mercy.
The miserable need mercy, the guilty need grace, sinners need
saving, rebels need cleansing, redemption. So he's going to
make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which
he, how long ago? Before. Before is before. Before what? Before the foundation
of the world. before he laid the foundations
of the earth, he prepared them for glory. Whom he foreknew,
he prepared and predestinated them for glory. Look at verse
24, even us, even us, whom he called and he foreknew them,
he prepared them and he called them. Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians
says, I'm bound to give thanks for you, brethren, beloved of
the Lord, because God has, from the beginning, chosen you to
salvation, prepared you, predestinated you to be like Christ, through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereby
He called you. He called you, too, by our gospel. And He, even
our Father, has given us a good hope and consolation in Christ.
He did it all. Therefore, he's going to get
all the glory. He might make known the riches of his glory,
not handing out trophies and crowns and stars up there for
what we did. We are the trophy. We're going
to praise him. He's going to have all the glory.
But watch this, even us, even us, even me, thyroid, blood,
righteousness, even me. whom he called, not of the Jews
only, but of the Gentiles." Now look at this scripture right
here, verse 24, "...even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews
only, but also of the Gentiles." There's a verse over here in
1 John, turn over there a minute, that's the first time I've ever
connected these two verses. Over here it gives people some
trouble, people who do not believe that Christ's blood was shed
for the elect. They believe Christ died to make
it possible for everybody to be saved, but he died to make
it dead certain that some people should be saved. That's right.
But here in 1 John 2, verse 2, and he is the propitiation for
our sins, not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
world, the whole world. Look back at verse 24. Even us
whom he had called, not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles,
not of the Jews only, not of us only. That's what these Jewish
apostles kept saying. He didn't die for us only, he
died for people, Gentiles too, but of the Gentiles also, but
of the world, the world of sin. He's the perpetuation for our
sins. Even us whom he had called, not
of the Jews only, not for our sins only. but for the Gentiles. All right, verse 25. He said
in Hosea, that's Hosea. Now watch this. He said in Hosea,
I will call them my people. Now who's he talking about? He's
talking about the Gentiles. See that, that verse 24, even
us whom he had called, not Jews only, but Gentiles. Because he
said in Hosea, I will call them my people which are not my people.
He's talking about the Gentiles. and her beloved which was not
beloved. What does that mean, I'll call them my people which
were not my people? Well, we know they were his people
from the foundation of the world. They've always been his people.
What does this mean then, who were not my people? It means
this, they were not openly known to be his people. The Jewish
nation of Israel, Abraham's seed, was known as the people of God.
These pagans and heathens were not known openly as the children
of God, as the Jews were. They were not known to themselves
that they were people of God. They were not known to others
that they were people of God. They were not willing worshippers
of God. There was no indication that
they would ever be the people of God, the Gentiles. So they
were not my people in that sense. But I will call them my people
which were not recognized or known or even willing or indicated
to be my people. I'll show you a verse that helped
me with that. Turn to Genesis 22. Genesis 22.
Verse 12. Genesis 22. Abraham took his son, where the
Lord The Lord called Abraham and gave
him the son Isaac. And then this supreme test of
faith that he brought upon Abraham, take that son, only son whom
you love, on the mountain, and cut him up, quarter him, burn
him as a sacrifice, sent off for him to be. And Abraham took
him up there. Abraham believed God. But Abraham
knew If he killed that boy, God would raise him from the dead,
because he goes back to the promise of God. In Isaac shall thou saved
be called. In Isaac shall the Redeemer,
shall the Messiah come. Isaac can't die, and stay dead. That's how much he believed God. So he went up there and raised
that knife. Now look at verse, Genesis 22,
verse, I believe it's verse 11. Genesis 22, verse 11. Verse 10, Abraham stretched forth
his hand, took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the
Lord called to him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham. He
said, here am I. Lay not thine hand upon the lad,
neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou
fearest God. Now I know. Now I know you. No, God knew that. He's saying
now it's known. Now, you know it, the world knows
it, everybody will be born of God, sons of God, they'll know
it, it's known, now it's known, that's what he's saying over
here. And in verse, in Romans 9, and Hosea said, I will call
them my people which were not my people. They were his people
in divine election, in the eternal covenant, but it wasn't known
until he called them. And nobody here knew he was God's
child until he called you. And nobody else knew it until
you were called. And that's what he's saying there.
And if you come to Paris, verse 26, in the place where it was
said unto them, you're not my people, what place is that? Philippi,
Macedonia, Galatia, Ephesus, anywhere except in Jerusalem.
England, Ireland, Italy. Germany, America, that's where
nothing but paganism reigned. There was no priesthood. There
was no worship of God. Nothing but paganism and idolatry
reigned. And in the place where it was
said, you're not my people, they shall be called the children
of the living God. They were children of idols,
pagan idols. And now they're children of the
living God. In such places as China and Africa, India, islands
of the South Pacific, they were not my people. It was Abraham
and Jacob in the 70s that went down into Egypt. There's his
people. And in the place where it was said, you're not my people,
they shall be called children of the living God. Gentiles. All right, verse 27. Isaiah also cried concerning
Israel. Now, we've been talking about
Gentiles, we're going to talk about Israel now. We're talking
about Gentiles. Now, Isaiah cries concerning
Israel. This is quotation from over in
Isaiah 10. You know, Isaiah, just like Paul,
wept over Israel. He wept over Israel. He cried
over their rebellion. He said, Lord, who hath believed
thy report? To whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed? They've torn down your places of worship. And Isaiah
said, though the number of the children of Israel be as the
sand of the sea, only a remnant shall be saved. What is a remnant? F-E-W. That's what that word
means. Let's turn to Romans 11 for a moment. Romans 11, verse
1 through 5. Listen. Romans 11. I say then, has God cast away
his people? God forbid. I also am an Israelite. I'm the seed of Abraham, the
tribe of Benjamin, God has not cast away his people whom he
foreknew. What ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias, how
he maketh intercession to God against Israel? Say, Lord, they
killed your prophets, Isaiah just like Elisha, just like Azijah,
just like Isaiah and Paul. They dig down your altars. I'm
the only one left. I'm left alone. They seek my
life. But what saith the answer of God to him? I have reserved
to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image
of Baal. And even so, at this time, also there's a remnant,
there's a few, according to the election of grace. That's what
Isaiah said about Israel. Verse 27, though the number of
the children of Israel be as the sands of the sea, a remnant,
shall we say. Where have you read that before?
Though the children of Israel be as the sands of the sea, the
descendants of Abraham. God said that to him. In Genesis,
in Genesis chapter 15 or 17, stars of the sky and the sands
of the seashore. How many? That was especially
accomplished in the days of Solomon. You read the book of 2 Chronicles
about Solomon's kingdom. the richest, most glamorous,
most glorious kingdom upon the face of the
earth, Israel, ruled by Solomon. Read it. It's the most fascinating
reading material. That, the wealth and riches of
Israel, the number of, I'm not going to, if I turn to it, I'll
never get out of it. It's amazing. 2 Chronicles 9,
I believe it is, but you find it, about Solomon's kingdom. Sands of the seashore, only a
few say. And verse, listen, verse 28.
And God will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. Now
what are we talking about here? We're talking about Israel. You
go back to verse 27, Isaiah cried concerning Israel. Though the
number of the children of Israel are as the sands of the sea,
a remnant shall be saved." Far! Far! There's not a period there.
There's a colon. Far! He'll finish the work and
cut it short in righteousness. What's that talking about? It's
concerning Abraham's natural seed. That's what he's talking
about. Israel. Israel. They were from Abraham
to the apostles. Now you think about Israel. From
Abraham to the apostles. Dominating. Dominating everything
spiritual. From Abraham to the apostles. It's all Israel. The kings were
Israel. The prophets were Israel. The apostles were Israel. Everything's
Israel. Even the Lord Jesus Christ came
from Israel. Born in Bethlehem. Israel, Israel,
Israel, Israel. Everything pertaining to God.
After the apostles. Cut it short. Cut it down. Blindness. That's what he's talking
about here. Suddenly, cut off, cut down,
blinded. A.D. 70. 35 years after our Lord died on
the cross. Jerusalem was wiped out. Titus, the Roman emperor,
destroyed it. That was it. Gentile churches.
Paul the Apostle raised up. Gentiles. Gentile churches. What
about Israel? Romans 11 again, turn over there.
Romans 11, verse 7. What then? Israel hath not obtained
what he seeketh for. They sought it in the wrong place,
in the law. But the election hath obtained it, and the rest
of them were blinded. According as it is written, God
hath given Israel the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should
not see, ears they should not hear, and to this day it has
been reversed. That's what we were, having eyes
but couldn't see, ears but couldn't hear, hearts but didn't understand. God's revelation was to Israel.
Now it's the other way. Israel's blind. David said, fulfilling
this scripture, let their table, their Passover table, be made
a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, a recompense, and let
their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down
there and back always. God finished the work having
to do with Israel, fulfilled all that was written of him,
took him down from the tree, put him in a tomb, cut him off. Now, what the future holds, I
don't know. But I do know for 1900 and some
odd years, Israel has been blinded. That's what that verse is talking
about. pride concerning Israel, though
the number of the children of Israel is the sands of the sea."
You know how many Israels and Arabs there are out there? Sons
of Abraham. They are all sons of Abraham.
There's a Time magazine article, Abraham. The Jews and the Arabs
and the Christians all claim him as father. Whose father is
he? He's all three of their fathers. Their father. They don't say
that in that magazine article. But I know whose father he is.
He's the father of believers in Christ. But he's also the
father of the Arabs through Ishmael. And he's the father of the Jews
through Isaac. So he's the father of all, but
especially of us who believe. That's right, Abraham. But there's
billions of them. I mean in Satan. Just a few. Just a few. And then verse 29, still talking
about those Jews, he said, except the Lord of Zebella, what's that
word mean? Write it in your Bible, Host,
H-O-S-T-S. That's the Lord of Hosts. Except
the Lord of Hosts. I didn't say there was just a
handful saved, I said just a handful of Jews. He's the Lord of Hosts. He's the Lord of Hosts. He's
the Lord of Hosts. Except he left us a seed, we'd
be like Sodom. And Gamara. How many of those
folks was saved? None of them. Lot wasn't a sodomite. He went down there and camped
for a while. God took him out. He's God's
child. None of them. And that's what, if it wasn't
for God's grace, that's what we would be. One of those old
writers wrote this, if it were not for electing grace, Both
Jew and Gentile would be like the wicked cities of the plains,
for corruption, for evil. Had it not been for God's electing
grace, God's mercy, an act of grace in choosing us to life,
to happiness, to holiness, here and hereafter, we would not only
be void of good, totally given over to corruption, like Sodom
and Gomorrah, we would be like them in their punishment, burned
in the wrath of God. If the Lord of the Baal left
us a seed, we'd be like Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, here's another
question, then I'm going to close. What shall we say then? You notice about three times
in this chapter he said, well, what shall we say to these things?
What shall we say? Well, here's the conclusion.
What shall we say? What's the response? Well, let's
take the Gentiles first. The Gentiles, which followed
not after righteousness, born in Adam, dead in trespass and
sin, who knew not God, without God, without hope, without Christ
in this world, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, They
have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which
is of faith. Those Gentiles, us Gentiles,
have attained unto the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. And we didn't follow that at
all. The Gentiles were happy with their idols, but he came
to them. All right, now the Jews, but
Israel. which followed after the law of righteousness. There's
the difference. They followed after the law.
They thought by keeping the law that they could find acceptance
with God and find righteousness before God. Look right across
the page in chapter 10, verse 3. They being ignorant of God's
righteousness, which is the righteousness of faith, the righteousness of
Christ, they're going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God,
because Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
everyone that believes it. So Israel, verse 31, which followed
after the laws of righteousness, the Sabbath, circumcision, all
the laws, they haven't attained to the law of righteousness.
They haven't found what they're looking for, because they looked
in the wrong place. They looked to the Lord, not
to Christ. And then he answers, why? Why is that Jew in that
mess? Wherefore? Why? Because they
sought it not by faith, but they sought righteousness as it were
by the works of the law. And they stumbled at that stumbling
stone. That's Christ. They stumbled
it. A laying Zion of stone, a cheap
cornerstone to you that believe he is precious, but to them he's
a stumbling stone. You know, you would think that
with all the preaching going on, and all the Jewish people
in this country and over there, that somebody, somewhere, would
see what is so clear to us. But you know why it's so clear
to us? We got eyes. We can see. God gave us eyes.
We got ears. We can hear. They have eyes,
but they can't see. They have ears, but they can't
hear. They're under judicial blindness. That's right. God has blinded them. And as
it is written, Behold, I lay inside a stumbling stone, a rock
of the fence, whosoever believes on him. We know who that rock
is, don't we? It's on him. We shall not be
ashamed.