Preaching through the book of Romans, and I know today's Easter, but I also know this is where the Lord has us, and I can see why the Lord has us where we're at right here in this spot for today. In Romans chapter number 9, we're going to pick up right where we left off, just glancing through to try to catch up to speed where we left off. Paul's writing to the believers there in Rome. And he, in chapter number 9, turns his direction to speaking to the Gentiles there about the Jews. There was some animosity between them and the Jews and the Jewish believers. And Paul is saying here that the Jews need to be saved just as the Gentiles need to be saved. And you see his great burden that he has in verses 1, 2, and 3. Paul even makes a statement in verse number 3 that is hard for us to understand. He says in verse 3, I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. Paul is able to say, we can tell from verse number 1, that God was his witness, the Holy Spirit was his witness in his own heart. What he said was true. That if he could, he would willingly go to hell for His brethren to be saved. It's such a burden that we don't quite understand because I've rarely met anyone, including, unfortunately, myself, who could say the same thing about meeting other people that they know. I am thankful today that I know I'm going to heaven. I'm thankful today that I can get excited about what Mom just sang about, that the Lord's coming back one day. I'm thankful today that I am enthralled to talk about a resurrected Lord and that He is my Savior. I'm thrilled today that there are so many people all across this country sitting in church services who will hear the Gospel and how to be saved. I'm thrilled today that there will be many who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ today in hearing this Gospel. But I am challenged by Paul's words to have a burden like Paul held in his life. He goes on to talk about how God had dealt with Israel. He talks about the promise and how Israel was very blessed people. And I'm not going to preach all this again. He comes down and he's talking about how God had dealt with Israel in their past. In his wisdom in verses 6-13, how God had chosen Isaac and the part that Ishmael had and how God had chosen Jacob And how Esau rejected the Lord in his way. He talked about the Lord's will in verses 14 down to verse number 24. And he gives two illustrations, how Israel, remember when the Ten Commandments were given and Moses came down from the mountain, that he found all of Israel worshiping this golden calf, this false image that they had made. And Moses went and, of course, he was upset with the people and he went on behalf of the people. God said, I'm going to judge these people and their absolute rebellion because of the way that they've chosen. God even said that I will no longer lead them through this wilderness, but I will just send an angel who will do that. And they had enjoyed the very presence of God in a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of smoke during the day that led them in the Shekinah glory of God that came down upon where they would meet. But Moses went and he begged on behalf of the people, just as Paul was begging on behalf of the people. And just as Paul said, I wish myself were accursed, Moses said, God, blot my name out of the book. Forgive these people. And you know what the people were doing? The Bible says, while Moses was speaking to God, that every one of the Israelites were in their tent door worshipping God. They had a heart to get right with God, too. This is just a great promise. It doesn't matter what you've done. You can't get about as low and wicked as what Israel had just done. God had just took them out of Egypt, the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, all these things, and here they were worshipping a false image. But when their heart was repented and there were people pleading on their behalf, God said, I will forgive them. And I'm thankful today that God will forgive any sinner. I don't care who you are and what you've done, God will forgive you. It gives a second illustration that of Pharaoh and how that Moses had gone to Pharaoh and said, God said to let my people go. And the Bible says that Pharaoh hardened his heart. He said no. Matter of fact, we studied it last week. Pharaoh said no once, twice, three, four, five, up to eight times. Pharaoh said no. And the Bible points it out that he hardened his heart. But finally, after that eighth plague, something a little bit different in the Scriptures is found. The Bible says the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. And what that shows is this. You know what? God is so patient. It's hard for us to understand the patience of God. God is so long-suffering. But look at me. There comes a time when we've said no to God one too many times. We can only say no to God so many times. And I'm not the one to tell you how many times. I'm just telling you there comes a point when you've said no to God one more time than you should. We pick up here in verse number 19. If you're able to, let's stand as we read the Scriptures in respect to the Word of God. Romans chapter number 9 and in verse number 19. It says this, That 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 replyest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, Of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, And another unto dishonour? What of God, willing to show his wrath, And to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering The vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory, even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. As he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people which were not my people, and her beloved which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there shall they be called the children of the living God. Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Sabbath had left us a seed, we had been like a Sodom, and had been likened to Gomorrah. What shall we say then? that the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at the stumbling stone. As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of the fence, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Father, I pray you take this message. I pray you use it for your honor and glory. Thank you for bringing us here in this place. Now speak to our hearts. May our hearts and our minds be captivated by the Holy Spirit of God. And may He speak to us. And may you hide me. May you hide any distractions. And may you lift up your Son in your word this morning. And in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Thank you. Please be seated. We're picking up right here. And I hope I can make this as Paul did and express this thought. He had just said, there comes a point when you've said no to God one too many times, and then God will harden the heart. You know, there's not many of us in this auditorium this morning who this is the very first time we've heard about Jesus. I can tell you that I wasn't saved until I was 14 years old. And I grew up in church. I went to my first church service when I was five days old. My mom's here. She can testify to that. You can count on one of your hands how many Sundays I've not been in church, and that's been because I was sick. I've always been in church. I heard the Gospel repeatedly. I heard it over and over and over again, how that I was a sinner and Christ died for me, that He was buried and He rose again, and if I will believe in what Jesus has done for me, I can be saved. But I kept saying no to it. for pride's sake, for whatever reason, I said no. I don't understand the long-suffering of God. He is so patient with every one of us. And I'm thankful that there came a day in my life when I finally said yes to the Lord, and I put my faith in Jesus Christ. I made a choice to believe what Jesus had done for me. And I wasn't ashamed of that. I believed it with my heart. I confessed it with my mouth. And from that day on, I know that I'm saved. Amen. Maybe you're here today and you've heard it before, too, but you've never put your faith in it and made a choice. I believe in this. You know, God is so rich in mercy. He's brought you here again today. You know, God loves you so much, He wanted to allow you to hear this one more time today. Isn't that a blessing that God would love us that much, to care that much for us, to hear the truth over and over again? But I have seen with my eyes people who have known the truth and said, no, so much. I've been at the bedside of people who are dying and they said, I know it, but I just can't believe it. I believe there comes a time when God quits convicting. because they've said no. They have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. It is an unpardonable sin to continue to blaspheme that Holy Spirit and die without having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there were some people we picked up now that said, OK, Paul, if you're saying that God eventually hardens that heart, then I guess it's God's fault that they go to hell. That's what they're saying. Look at it with me real quick. It says there in verse 19, it says, Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? God's the one that quit convicting. So it's God's fault. Now, you'll hear that argument under a lot of different tags today. One of them is Calvinism, that you can't get saved because God chose you to go to hell. I got news for everyone who believes that way. That is a lie from the devil. The Bible says that Christ so loved the world that He gave Himself. God loved the world that He sent His only Son. For whosoever believeth in Him shall be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. God died for everyone and He loves everyone and everyone has a choice to make today. You have a choice. And I pray you'll make the choice in believing in Him. Well, Paul's going to address this opposition in saying that, well, it's God's fault then. Well, in verse number 20, he says, Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replies against God? Number one argument, what Paul says is this. Your man, number one, you don't have a right to question God. Now, he's going to explain things, and I will too, to the best of my ability. But who are we to question God on anything? He's God. All right. And so Paul's just throwing this in to say, be careful because you're on dangerous ground when you start thinking that you know better than God. When you and I start thinking that we've got things figured out and we know we know more than what God does, we're wrong. When we start thinking that God did something wrong, we're in error. God does only right. God will only do right. He is what good is, Psalm says. He is the epitome of goodness and righteousness. He is just and he is holy. And we dare not to question that God. But in any case, he will explain things, but just as a way of saying, be careful about questioning God, because God's always right. But then he says in verse number 20, And now he's going to give an illustration of a potter and explaining what he's been talking about. Now, I think most of us understand the picture that he's trying to give us. If you'll use your imagination here, I think all of us have seen a potter who has been turning that wheel. We've all seen a lump of clay that he'll put down. It's all wet and moldable and he puts it on there. That thing starts spinning and he starts using his hands to make those pots out of the clay. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Everybody with me? Alright, good, alright. And so he's making that, and he's using his hands, and he's forming the outside into a beautiful pot. He's making the inside of it, and that thing's constantly spinning, and he's forming that thing. And Paul uses this illustration to teach how God loves everyone, and God wants everyone to be saved, but there may come a time when you have rejected what God is doing, and you reject too much, and one day you'll die and go to hell having rejected what God wanted for you. And he uses his illustration because of this. And we'll read the verses again in just a second. But think with me. I think we can all picture. Let's say that I'm that potter. And I'm forming this. And that's my profession. Alright? I would be terrible at it because I'm not crafty at all. Alright? But let's say that that's my profession. I guarantee you this. If that's my job, I've never once put a lump of clay down there and start spitting and thinking this in my mind. Ready? I hope this turns out terrible. I already know, man. I'm putting this lump of clay down here. I'm going to make this thing a piece of junk and throw it away. There's not a potter in the world that would do that. Now look at me. Every time something is formed, it is with the purpose of being formed correctly and being formed for glory of the Maker. That's why He makes it. He never wants to put it down there with this intention. I'm going to make a piece of junk right here. And I'm going to take it and look at it and throw it away because it's a piece of junk. And I intend to make a piece of junk. He would never do that. If you look at your scriptures in the next few verses, it says that every vessel is prepared for His glory. That's what it's prepared for. It's being made, the design and the purpose of it is for His glory. In case you're missing the picture, we're the lump of dirt. We're the lump of clay. You can go back to the book of Genesis when God took His finger, and in the dust of the ground, He formed man, and He breathed into him life, and man became a living soul. We are that piece of dirt. Do you understand? And God, when He formed us, He formed us with the purpose of bringing glory to our Maker. That's why we were formed. Everyone is reformed that way. But Paul, using this illustration, says, by that time, You can read the scriptures while I'm saying this. At times, a vessel must be fitted for destruction. Fitted means this, it's adjusted from what it originally was. It had to be changed from its original purpose. I was telling the school kids this the other day, using the same verse, and I was telling them, you know, if you go and maybe some of you men are going to get you a custom suit, alright? And you go down to one of these fancy suit shops, and you put it on. When you first put that thing on, the pants are about that much longer than it should be, alright? And the waist has to be adjusted, and the sleeves to your jacket go right down about here. And they take something, and they measure it, and then they fit it to you. What the Lord, using Paul and saying, is this. When God created you, when God created me, when God created you, His purpose, His intention, the reason He formed you, this is that you would bring glory to your Maker. That's why you were made. But unfortunately there are some who fight against the potter, who do not want to be what the potter wants them to be. And so in the end, when it's completed, and the clay has become hard, he then has to say, this has been fitted for destruction. Those who reject Christ, reject Christ, reject Christ, will one day stand before Christ And having died and rejecting Him, the Bible says they will be cast away into outer darkness. But don't miss the point. That's not what God wants. That's not what He intends. He intends you are, as the book of Psalms says, the apple of His eye. God loves you so much. And God, if you're lost today, He's here today, and His gentle hands are here, and they have you here trying to get you to see the truth today, that you'll harden not your hearts against the Lord. And today will be the day of salvation. For we that are saved, we should all rejoice today what God has done in all the patience He has shown us and the longsuffering that He's poured out upon us. We should be thankful to that God today and stop and say, Thank You, Lord, for Your love for me. Thank You for Your Son. Thank You for Your patience. And we ought to praise Him today, we that are saved. If you're lost today, don't harden your heart. Because eventually, you'll get so hard Just did that piece of clay that you have to be fitted for destruction. Read the verses with me and we'll go on. Verse 21, Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel into honor and another into dishonor? In other words, in the end, it's God that chooses. In the end, it's God's justice that prevails. What of God willing to show His wrath and to make His power known endured with much longsuffering? He's been so patient, and if you die lost today, you did not live without experiencing the patience and the love of God. The vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, had to be changed from its original purpose if you die and go to hell. That He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He hath afore prepared unto glory. Every one of us, it is God's intention that you are saved for His glory and for His Son. Verse number 24, Even us whom he hath called, not the Jews only, but also the Gentiles. Again, Paul is trying to bring these Gentiles and the Jews together, and he says the same salvation is both for the Jew and the Gentile. And it doesn't matter what Dr. So-and-so is saying out there in the world, or how many times John Hagee may say it, the bottom line is this, it's the same salvation for the Jew as it is for the Gentile. We've seen that over and over again from the book of Romans and I like to trust God more than I do a person. He talks about his wisdom and he talks about his will and then he talks about his word in verse 25 to 29. His word promises how God deals with people. And then in verse number 25 he talks about the book of Hosea. It also saith in Hosea, I will call them my people which were not my people, and her beloved which was not beloved. You say, what's that verse talking about? I think everybody in this auditorium is talking about us. That we were Gentiles. Even in the words of Jesus, we were a Gentile dog. You understand what I'm saying? We don't deserve salvation, but God loved us, and we who are not His people, praise God, we can be called His people today. By believing in His Son and what Jesus has done for us, I am a child of God. Praise the Lord. He says, as it is said in Hosea, but also as Isaiah said, starting in verse number 26. Come to pass, and where it was said unto them, ye are not my people, there shall ye be called the children of the living God. Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved, for he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness. because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. He says that just as the Gentiles can be saved and called the people of God, so the Jews can be saved and will be the people of God. Those who are saved, and the key there, they must be saved. How are we saved? We're all saved the same way, by believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and that He died and was buried and He rose again. We're saved, be it Jew or Gentile. Verse number 28, for you will finish the work. Verse number 29, and as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Sabbath had left us a seed, we had been a Sodom and made like unto Gomorrah. You know what Israel deserved? You know what we deserve? We don't deserve heaven. We deserve, you understand, what Sodom and Gomorrah was. It's a wicked place. For an everlasting testimony, God sent judgment down upon those places. It was destroyed by fire and brimstone because of its filth. Can I stop and say this? God hates sin. He loves the sinner, but He hates sin. Those who continue in sin, look at me, God will judge sin one day. So I'm not perfect. If you're saved, you're covered in a son's righteousness. If you're lost today, you are living under condemnation. John chapter 3 verse 17 and 18. And that judgment will come. And they say we ought to be a thankful people because we deserve to be just like Sodom and Gomorrah. But God is rich in mercy. And then he closes this chapter in how Paul summarizes the problem in verses 30 to 33. And it's real simple. It says in verse number 30, what shall we say then? that the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith." You know what he said? The Gentiles have become righteous because of faith. That's a wonderful thing. What faith in what? That we have put our faith in what Jesus has done for us. We'll go over it real quick. We'll come right back here. 2 Corinthians 5, and in verse number 21, I love this verse. 2 Corinthians 5, and in verse number 21, it says this, just a few pages to the right. 2 Corinthians 5.21, the Gentiles were made righteous because of faith. Ephesians, by the way, chapter 2, verse number 8 says, For by grace are you saved through faith, and not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Our faith, and look what it says here in 2 Corinthians 5 21, For he hath made him to be sin for us. Now, who is that? That is Jesus. Jesus went to a cross and all of our sin was cast upon him. was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." That moment that I got saved, that moment that you got saved, if you're lost today, that moment that you say, God, I believe that your Son died for me, And I don't understand it all, but I know I'm a sinner, and I believe that Jesus died for me, and I ask you to save my soul." At that moment, you receive John chapter 1. You receive, upon your believing, you receive salvation. You receive Jesus Christ. And at that moment, you are covered in Jesus' righteousness. So that when a holy God looks down upon me and you that are saved today, He does not see the wickedness that we are. He sees the righteousness of His Son. That is why someday we get to go to heaven, because we are clothed in His righteousness. Praise God. And so that transaction takes place. And we became righteous, he says, as Gentiles by faith. But then he contrasts that back in Romans chapter number 9 with the Jews. The Gentiles received righteousness by faith, but the Jews had tried righteousness, but they failed. It says there in verse number 31, but Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore, because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. You know, Paul says this, Israel failed because they wouldn't look at Jesus as their Savior. They were looking at themselves as their Savior. They were saying this, I'll just keep all the law. I'll just be a really good person. I'll just take all these commandments and I'll follow every one of them. You remember whenever the rich young ruler came to Jesus and he said, Master, he said, how can I have eternal life? And then the Lord brought up, because he knew that man's heart. He said, well, how about the Ten Commandments? And remember what he said? I have kept everyone from my youth. But the key to that whole conversation, Jesus was not seeing if he had kept the law in order to be saved, because you can't do that. I just told you in Ephesians chapter 2, if it were by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. If it was based on what we did when we got to heaven, we'd say, look what I did. I made it. But I got news for you, when we get to heaven, if you're saved, we won't be saying anything that we did. We'll just be saying, look what Christ did. He gets the glory and He gets the praise. And so it's not that. Titus says it's not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. And in the whole conversation with Jesus and His rich young man, the key to it all is He said this, why calleth me good? There's none good but God. And the rich young ruler missed it all because he was looking at himself and he wasn't looking at the One who could save him. He was trusting in his own works. You can say, well, I thank God I let me go into heaven because I've been good. I came to church. I put something in an offering plate. I did this or I did that. Works won't do anything for your eternal salvation. All that works are, by the way, is proof of our salvation. The reason we do these good, because people can do good works for a while, but eventually the wicked heart always shows itself. Always shows itself. And so Paul says this, the Gentiles, they received righteousness by faith. The Jews, they tried righteousness, but they failed. They couldn't do it. Because all them Jewish people, what did they do with Jesus? Crucify Him. Crucify Him. They looked at him and said, he said he's God. If you're God, come off that tree. What they didn't know is he was dying for them on that tree. People mocked when he was buried. People spat on him. They cursed him. They rejected their only way to heaven. So Paul says, the Jews, they tried their own works and they failed. Gentiles that are saved, it is because we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hear the conclusion of the whole matter, verse number 33, as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Paul said the bottom line is this, whosoever, by the way, Jew or Gentile, whosoever, You must believe, it says here, in that stumbling stone, that rock of a fence. I close with, what's he talking about? And why would God have us look at this passage on a day like this? Turn over to 1 Peter 1, and we'll close the sermon. In 1 Peter 1, what is this stumbling stone, this rock of a fence? In 1 Peter, it's to the right. In 1 Peter 1, Peter now is talking, and you'll see the same usage of words. 1 Peter 1. Give me just a few more minutes and we'll close. Start reading with me in 1 Peter 1 and verse number 18. For as much as ye know that we were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. I love verse 19. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." If you're redeemed today, it's because of the Lord Jesus Christ and His blood. Verse 20, "...who barely was ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." By the way, Peter says here, and we can look at other verses, that before the Lord even created this world, He had a plan. His Son would come one day and die. And his son was manifest. About 2,000 years ago, he came to this earth and he died. He was buried, but he rose again. Verse 21, who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God? Now he says in verse number 23, being born again. That's us that are saved. Being born again. Remember what Jesus said to Nicodemus. Nicodemus said, I want to go to heaven. And the Lord told Nicodemus, you must be born again. We are born again that are saved, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever for all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man is the flower of grass. The grass witherth, and the flower thereof falleth away. You can try to work your own way and try to be a good person and bring all the glory you want to, but just like the grass and the flower, it will die. But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word by which the gospel is preached unto you, chapter 2. Wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and evil speakings, by the way, if you get saved, you'll be something different too. If you get saved, your life will change. You say, well, I'm saved, but I still continue in my sin. There's something wrong. You didn't get saved. Because if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. I'm not saying people have, we all have to grow and mature. And I, I'm not saying otherwise, but there's something wrong with someone who says they're saved and no change has taken place in 10, 15 years. There's something wrong there. Verse number two, because when you get saved, there's newborn babes. desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. He also, as lively stones, are built up as spiritual house and a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion, the chief cornerstone, elect. precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believeth, he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of a corner, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient, whereinto also they were appointed." What's Peter saying? Same thing Paul said. Jesus Christ came and He died just as He ordained before the world began. He came to die for our sins. And just as we read, He was buried. But in three days, He rose again. That's important because it showed that He is more mighty than death. He had conquered death. He had conquered sin. And He had conquered the curse of sin and death. He arose from that grave. And now look at me. We'll close. This fact is either a rock that you will stand on or a rock that you will stumble over. It is something either today that you leave today saying, thank you, God, for your Son. I have believed on Him. He is my Savior. By the way, you'll either stand on the rock or you'll stumble over it. But you will not avoid it. You will not avoid it. There's many people today who say, well, I saw nothing to do with God. Oh, yes, they will. You either stand on it, or you're stumbling over it today. I hope that everyone that's out of Torrim leaves today standing on this rock. But you will not leave avoiding it. You may stumble your way out of here having rejected the Lord again. But listen to me. There will come a day If you keep rejecting, then as that piece of pottery, you'll become so hard that God will have to fit it for destruction. Don't leave today having a hard heart. Put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.