God’s righteousness – Romans 9

[0:00] I want to welcome each one here and greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I guess just another quick little update again on the baptism classes.

[0:17] They did start yesterday. The change in schedule will be that they will be happening on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. So for anyone wanting to attend, you are free to do so.

[0:32] They are going to be this coming Friday at 7. So just a little update there. Has anyone here ever asked God why?

[0:45] Why has this happened or why are things, why are you allowing these things to happen? Do we have a right to question God?

[1:05] A thought that comes out in our text this morning. So last Sunday we were going through the first 13 verses of Romans 9. And we're made aware of a burden that Paul had.

[1:20] He had great sorrow and grief. He was grieved over his countrymen, his brethren, the Israelites. And his grief was a result of them having rejected Christ.

[1:35] There was a promise of God at the end of chapter 8 that we looked into. That nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. And yet Israel had rejected this Jesus.

[1:48] And therefore they were accursed or separated from the love of God. And that gave Paul grief. The key with all of that was then that it was not God who was at fault there.

[2:02] His word, his promises we saw, they do not fail. He keeps his promises. His promises. Any failure that happens is on men's behalf.

[2:16] Paul went on and he clarified the promises to the Israelite forefathers. That being an Israelite, being called an Israelite, a child of God, it didn't have anything to do with being of the bloodlines of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

[2:34] It had nothing to do with that. It had everything to do with faith. But throughout all of that, another question comes up.

[2:47] Is there unrighteousness with God? Is God sovereign? The question is laid out in the first verse in our text here. And so today let's look into that question.

[3:00] Let's answer that. Is God sovereign? And if so, what is our place? And then just to circle back and kind of conclude chapter 9 more so.

[3:12] If God made promises to the Israelites, how did the Gentiles become part of them? I've titled today's message, The Potter's Vessel.

[3:25] So is God sovereign? Now before we go into the text today, let's go back to Genesis chapter 12 and let's take a look at that promise that God made to Abraham.

[3:42] So Genesis 12 verses 1 through 3. Just to bring that promise in here, freshen it in our minds.

[3:57] Genesis 12 verses 1 through 3. Now the Lord had said to Abraham, So the promise in chapter 9 in Romans.

[4:27] So we see that God promised Abraham that he would make him a great nation. And yet time goes on.

[4:41] Abraham has no children. And so we know that Abraham and Sarah, they decide to help God out. Try to help him out with his promise there.

[4:54] It needs to be children for this promise to come about, right? And so we know the result was Ishmael. And he was brought up in the first part of chapter 9 there. And we see that God says no.

[5:09] Ishmael isn't the one. My promise is to come through Sarah's son, through Isaac. He then is born later on. We see that God rejects Ishmael.

[5:23] He chose Isaac. Isaac. And so this is what Paul talks about as he clarifies the promise in the first part of chapter 9.

[5:35] And then he goes on and he includes Jacob and Esau as well in his explanation of the promise. And here too, God chose one of the two to bring about his promise.

[5:47] So in both cases, God made his choice before the children had even been born, before they had a chance to do good or evil.

[6:00] We see that in verse 11 of our text. For the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls.

[6:12] So God had chosen these children before they were born to carry out his promise. So on the surface, it seems that Ishmael and Esau never really had a chance, right?

[6:30] Their fate was set before they were even born, before they had a chance to prove their faith. And so that brings us to this question then.

[6:42] First part of verse 14 of our text. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? And the answer, certainly not. Plains it here in the next verses, 15 and 16.

[7:03] Paul, he's dealing with the Israelites here.

[7:24] And he brings up God's words to Moses. Words that should speak loud and clear to the Israelite nation, right?

[7:35] To the children of Israel. These words, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.

[7:47] They are a quote out of Exodus 33, 19, where God is speaking to Moses. And this is shortly after the children of Israel had decided that Moses wasn't coming back off the mountain and they had Aaron make this golden calf for them, this golden calf there in the wilderness.

[8:14] So God spoke these words shortly after that. And so with bringing that out, saying then that, Israel, are you questioning God's righteousness?

[8:29] Do you dare to think that God might be acting unfairly? That he isn't merciful? He's kind of giving them a tap on the shoulder, reminding them, what about, what about your relatives before you, the children of Israel before you?

[8:46] were worshiping an idol. Didn't they deserve destruction there? Didn't they deserve to die?

[8:58] And yet, God did spare them that day. He let them live. Is that not showing mercy? Is that not showing mercy? God would have been in his right to destroy them on that day.

[9:15] And yet, he remembered his promise to them and he let them live to uphold his promise. So we see, God is faithful to his word.

[9:27] He keeps his promise. Neither of his good works bring on God's mercy. Our desire and our effort, they do nothing to affect God's righteousness.

[9:43] We can live with the best of intentions all our life. We can do good work after good work. As many as we want. God does not show mercy according to these things.

[9:59] God is righteous. He is sovereign. He shows mercy and compassion on whomever he desires. It's not because of anything we do or we desire to do.

[10:13] It's all in God's hands. And he just further brings that out in the next couple of verses. For the scripture says to the Pharaoh, for this very purpose, I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the earth.

[10:31] Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills and whom he wills, he hardens. So we have another example. Pharaoh. Who was Pharaoh?

[10:45] Well, he was a Gentile, ungodly, unrighteous. In fact, the nation of Egypt, they worshipped many idols and their Pharaoh, this king of their land, was considered a god as well.

[11:10] And if we think, think of Pharaoh, who he is, we remember what it said back in chapter 2 of Romans about the ungodly and the unrighteous.

[11:23] We're talked of God showing his wrath in that he gave them over to their uncleanness, to a debased mind. this was Pharaoh.

[11:33] Pharaoh. The ungodly and unrighteous and God had given him over to his wicked ways. Would a righteous God not have been just in destroying Pharaoh a long time ago?

[11:51] Why was Pharaoh allowed to continue, continue in his ways? You know, wicked as he was, he deserved to die a thousand times over.

[12:06] Yet, it pleased God to show mercy to Pharaoh. He raised him up, cleaned him, make him a great leader known all around the world to just, to build up a reputation.

[12:23] And then, as we read further through the Old Testament there that God brought him through all of these plagues as well. You know, starting in the seventh plague with the great hailstones and so on, people started dying.

[12:42] Yet, Pharaoh was spared through all of this. There was wrath against Pharaoh, right? He was the one hardening his heart and refusing to let the Israelite children go.

[12:53] And so, why the wrath on, on other people and Pharaoh was, was allowed to, to live on? What was God's purpose in all of this?

[13:06] Well, it was that he might show his power through Pharaoh and that God's name would be declared throughout all the earth. So, we can see that God allowed Pharaoh to make a name for himself.

[13:22] More or less, he was world famous. I think, in that day and age, knew Pharaoh, knew who he was. And, to be a great and feared leader, there was respect all around for him.

[13:36] and for God to show his power through this, the time come, would come when Pharaoh would be brought down, all the world would know that it was the Lord God's doing.

[13:55] And they would know how great God was. Pharaoh wasn't worthy of God's mercy and yet, he extended it to him. Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills and whom he wills, he hardens.

[14:12] He hardened Pharaoh and he had mercy on him as well. And if we think of the other names that we've heard from even this past Sunday in the first part of chapter 9, was Isaac any more deserving of mercy than Ishmael?

[14:32] Did Jacob deserve more mercy than Esau? Was a hardened Pharaoh calf worshipping Israel deserving of mercy at all? Does any one of us think we deserve one more ounce of mercy than our brother?

[14:53] God extends mercy according to his will, not to what we think we may deserve. What is our place then?

[15:09] Let's read on in our text. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? For who has resisted his will? But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God?

[15:22] Will the thing formed to him say, will the thing formed say to him who formed it, why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

[15:38] So the questions continue. If God has mercy on whomever he wills and it has nothing to do with us, with our good intentions, our works, why does he still find fault in us?

[15:59] How can we be to blame then? Are we not simply doing his will? We're going through life, this and that is happening, it all is good, right?

[16:17] We're only doing God's will. We can't be blamed for that, right? The answer to that is in the form of another question fired right back at us then.

[16:29] But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? What do we think gives us the right to talk back to God? Isn't God the creator?

[16:41] Didn't he create us? He did, he made us. And we ask, why have you made me like this? Shouldn't we stop and maybe think a little bit about the limited understanding we have?

[16:59] who is this God that we are questioning? He is just, he is powerful, he is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing, he is righteous and he is sovereign.

[17:16] God is not limited. There is nothing he cannot do. He doesn't need our permission to do anything. Isaiah 55, verse 8 and 9 says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

[17:32] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. We may not understand God's ways, and we will not because we don't have the ability to do so.

[17:51] And that's okay. God is sovereign, he is righteous, his ways are his and he knows what's best. So speaking of God being the creator, Paul brings in the illustration of the potter and the clay.

[18:16] I'll reread verse 21 here. Does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? So he's referring to a portion of scripture back in Jeremiah.

[18:32] Let's turn there and read that. Jeremiah 18. Jeremiah 18 verses 1 through 6.

[18:54] The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. Then I went down and there he was making something at the wheel.

[19:07] And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter. So he made it again into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter, says the Lord?

[19:25] Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so you are in my hand, O house of Israel. So we see this potter, he's designing a vessel out of clay.

[19:40] And when he sees that it's not turning out the way he would like it to, he stops and he pushes that clay right back down into a lump again. And he starts over until he's satisfied with whatever it is that he's making, that he's happy with the finished product.

[20:05] And in that, the warning from God is, can I not do with you as this potter? If I'm not satisfied with you, can I not make changes?

[20:19] So as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, God says. A reminder that we are at the mercy of God's will.

[20:31] If he doesn't like what he sees, he has the power and the right to destroy and he will not ask permission. The question to us then is, does God like what he sees from us?

[20:46] Is he satisfied? Is he seeing the fruit that he desires to see in us? Let's go back to our text.

[21:11] So it speaks of the potter having the power over the clay. He has this choice on creating two types of vessels, one for honor and another for dishonor.

[21:24] So we see where Paul is going with this. Can we see who the potter is? The potter is God and we are the clay in God's hands.

[21:37] It is his choice to make us a vessel for honor or a vessel for dishonor. He creates one man who honors God and another who dishonors all from the same lump.

[21:52] It is his choice. Isaac, he was created a vessel for honor. Ishmael for dishonor. Jacob for honor. Esau for dishonor. Moses for honor.

[22:04] Pharaoh for dishonor. Let's read on in our text. What if God wanting to show his wrath and to make his power known endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had prepared beforehand for glory even us whom he called not of the Jews only but also of the Gentiles.

[22:36] So now let's bring in the illustration that we had of Pharaoh into these verses as an example. God was displeased with Pharaoh right?

[22:48] Pharaoh was an ungodly and he didn't care to change that. He hardened his heart. So the result was that God already revealing his wrath by giving him over to his ways Pharaoh that is to give him over to his ways Pharaoh grew increasingly wicked.

[23:13] So we have two types of vessels that are given different names here. We're the vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy. Pharaoh he was designed a vessel for dishonor a vessel of wrath and God wanted to bring his wrath down on Pharaoh and to make his power known and he was in his right to do so.

[23:45] And yet God endured with much long suffering so with much patience he was patient with Pharaoh he could have destroyed him a long time ago for his ways his lifestyle but he waited until his timing God's timing to do to make his power known.

[24:17] So if we think of that example with Pharaoh we have the drought which causes the children of Israel to move to Egypt to survive there's food there right and they do well there all the way up until the Pharaoh that we're talking about here in this portion of scripture today until he comes into power and then he forces the Israelites into slavery and he makes life hard for them God hears the Israelites cries and through Moses he brings the plagues down on the land of Egypt the interesting thing about these plagues is that they affect Egypt but they don't affect the surrounding countries this is where God is laying out the steps to make

[25:18] Pharaoh really great to so that when his time is done that God's power will be known the whole world is on notice here they're seeing they look over into Egypt all these things are happening they are not affected it's within the borders of Egypt very strange coincidence there right so what is happening in Egypt God is at work there he's setting up the circumstances to destroy Pharaoh a vessel of wrath and to make his power known across the whole world so all this it takes some time so we see that God is long suffering towards Pharaoh he had a lot of patience with him when God finally decided the time is right to destroy him he did it in a way that no one in the world could deny his power

[26:23] God's power hand in bringing Pharaoh down no man could lay claim to having brought down Pharaoh we know the story of the Red Sea crossing how Pharaoh and his entire army drowned in the sea it was not by man's hand the children of Israel on the other hand we look at this illustration they were the vessels for all vessels of mercy and in delivering them and bringing them to Canaan the promised land making them a great nation if we look back to the promise to Abraham riches of God's glory were showered on them now there's other details to that story but as an overview we can see we can understand the two types of vessels that it's talking about in our text here vessels of dishonor or the vessels of wrath who are prepared for destruction and the vessels of honor the vessels of mercy which

[27:36] God has prepared beforehand for glory for salvation so we need to be careful to understand this properly though on the surface it seems that we have no choice on our destination God has made that choice for us already there's nothing we can do about it that's not how it is we do have a choice to make God in his infinite wisdom need to remember he's all knowing he already knows the choice we will make before we are born as the cases of Ishmael Isaac Jacob and Esau same it is for us he knows the choice we will make before we are even born yet still it is up to us to make that choice so if we look back into chapter 8 of

[28:39] Romans Paul has already explained that in verses 29 and 30 for whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren moreover whom he predestined these he also called whom he called these he also justified and whom he justified these he also glorified so whom he foreknew we were talking about God's foreknowledge he knows the choice we will make so he also predestined us to be conformed to the image of his son the early stages of the vessel that it talks about in chapter 9 a vessel for honor or dishonor these are the early stages of that vessel being shaped then on to verse 30 in chapter 8 moreover whom he predestined these he also called this is revelation 3 20 behold

[29:48] I stand at the door and knock God is calling here's where our choice comes in do we answer the knock on our heart's door choose God or do we hide behind that locked door with the lights out refusing to answer and wait for him to move on if we had been created a vessel of wrath prepared for destruction why would God bother to come knocking on our heart's door if God had already planned everyone's destination why did you have to send Jesus to die we looked at this John 3 16 also comes to mind again for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him believes in him here's our choice again should not perish but have everlasting life scripture is very clear on that we have a choice to make so then maybe a question why are there so many vessels of wrath then let's look at

[31:11] Matthew chapter 7 Matthew 7 verses 13 and 14 familiar verses as well it reads enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it we're all born onto the broad way every one of us it tells us that it leads to destruction only those who respond to God's knocking on their heart's door only they will find that narrow gate that narrow way that leads to life and it says there are few who find it let's go back to our text so how have the

[32:31] Gentiles come to be a part of the promise God made to the Israelites so with all we've discussed here today and last Sunday Paul circles back to what our text was last Sunday the beginning of chapter 9 where he said they are not all Israel who are of Israel that in last Sunday in verse 6 so we know that physically being a descendant of Abraham that didn't make anyone an Israelite it was through the spiritual aspect of being called if we look back at verses 23 and 24 in our text and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had prepared beforehand for glory even us whom he called not of the

[33:34] Jews only but also of the Gentiles so we see the Gentiles too have been called and there are those among the Gentiles who have been designed to be vessels of mercy they were a part of God's promise to Abraham throughout scripture we have the world separated into two basic people groups there's the Israelites and the Gentiles God's people and heathens prophecy prophecy in the next verses in 25 and 26 they're quoted from Hosea chapter 2 verse 23 his prophecy there is very plain and clear let's read in our text here and he says also in

[34:35] Hosea I will call them my people who were not my people and her beloved who was not beloved and it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them you are not my people there they shall be called sons of the living God so it's very clear Gentiles are called as well they are a part of the promise there are vessels of honor vessels of mercy among the Gentiles too Paul continues on and he brings in a quote from Isaiah that shows that not all of Israel is a part of this promise that only a remnant of them will be saved verses 27 and 28 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel though the number of the children of

[35:36] Israel be as the sand of the sea the remnant will be saved for he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth so we see again God's promise to Abraham has further been fulfilled the number of the children of Israel is the sound of the sea he also says there will be a remnant that will be saved with this prophecy there also comes a reminder God has started a work here on earth in us what he has started he will finish the Lord will make a short work upon the earth the end is fast approaching you're seeing the signs of it all around us the day of judgment it comes it is a call for us to be ready are we ready and then to be very honest with

[36:59] Israel Paul quotes Isaiah again verse 29 and as Isaiah said before unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed we would have become like Sodom and we would have been made like Gomorrah I'll use this final verse as a bit of a conclusion it kind of touches on every aspect of what we've gone through in chapter 9 so the wording it's interesting here the Lord of Sabaoth Sabaoth if I'm pronouncing it right is Hebrew for hosts so we could read it as the Lord of hosts to bring it into English so we understand it right so this wording that he is

[38:01] Lord over hosts he is Lord of hosts he is Lord over all not only Israel but the Gentiles as well so God is sovereign that has been brought out God is righteous he is sovereign and had he not had mercy on Israel and left a seed or remnant rather dealt with Israel as they had deserved to be dealt with they would have been made like Sodom and Gomorrah we know the stories the story of Sodom and Gomorrah what happened there like those two cities the Israelites would have been utterly destroyed if God had not spared a remnant and it is what they would have deserved to be destroyed it is what all mankind deserves all of us are born in a sinful state there is none who is righteous no not one we had that earlier in

[39:12] Romans we all deserved we all deserve God's wrath as much as Ishmael did as Esau did and as Pharaoh did yet as God says I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy only because of God's righteousness his sovereignty his mercy are we able to stand here today and be called vessels of honor vessels of mercy prepared for glory by God's grace we are children of the promise we are called sons of the living God let us remember we serve a righteous God who is sovereign who does not need our approval to act but he acts according to his will according to his good pleasure he shows mercy on whomever he will have mercy praise him that we are under his mercy let's pray heaven before you again today lord we thank you for for being sovereign for having created us who we are lord we thank you that we have been created vessels of honor vessels of mercy and we have been prepared for glory for salvation thank you for that lord and may we bear that good fruit that you desire to see in us lord as we go from here this day may we go out into the world throughout the coming week may we be the light to the world to those out there who have been designed as vessels for honor but they have not yet made that choice that we go out and we be a light to them and help guide them to that point where they too answer when you knock on their door ask that you go with us as we leave here this day in

[41:40] Jesus name amen