in God's holy word to the book of Romans chapter 9 and we will continue our study together going through the book of Romans and we will read beginning in verse 1 of Romans chapter 9 down through the end of this chapter. Hear now God's very word. I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit. that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham, because they are his offspring. but through Isaac shall your offspring be named." This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. Well, this is what the promise said. About this time next year, I will return and Sarah shall have a son. And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls, she was told the older will serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, With this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then, he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, Why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay To make out of the same lump One vessel for honorable use And another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory? Even us, whom He has called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles. As indeed he says in Hosea, those who are not my people I will call my people, and her who was not beloved I will call beloved. And in the very place where it was said to them, you are not my people, there they will be called sons of the living God. And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay. And as Isaiah predicted, if the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah. What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith. But that Israel, who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness, did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone as it is written. Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. Well, we'll stop there with the reading of God's very word. Let's pray. Oh Lord, we pray that as we come to this passage of scripture, indeed, the prayer that we just sang, you would grant to us by your grace in Christ. Father, you would send your spirit upon me and upon each of your dear lambs here this day. and you would open your word to us that we would rightly understand what you have said, what you mean by these words, and you would write it upon our hearts, Lord, to give us renewed faith in your Son, the only Savior, the Lord Jesus. to have hearts that are full of praise to you, the God of our salvation. Hearts that are captured and moved to be humble before you and full of compassion toward the people around us who are yet walking in darkness. And that, Lord, you would cause us to be built up and equipped to love and adore you and be tools in your hand, fit for service as we begin a brand new week. O Lord, show us your glory, we beg, and capture us to be those who delight to follow you, O Lamb of God. wield your mighty sword now Lord Jesus that sharp double-edged sword that comes out of your mouth in Jesus we pray amen it is not as though the word of God has failed this section of holy scripture is God answering that concern, that objection, that question. If Jesus is such a great Savior, if the gospel is indeed the power of God unto salvation, what about Israel's unbelief? And so the Apostle Paul begins now to unfold the incredible answer that God Almighty gives to us. You remember last Lord's Day we did a flyover at about 40,000 feet of these three chapters. And we saw that Romans chapter 9 declares to us The truth that God, His Word has not failed because He has, is, and will save those whom He is pleased to save. And then Romans 10, this great God graciously offers the gospel, calling all men everywhere to repent and believe. And that even though Israel has rejected this offer, Romans chapter 11, God reveals that He yet is going to do an amazing work with the vast majority of the children, the physical descendants of Abraham before history ends, and that those people who are alive when the Lord reaches down His hand and removes the scales from the eyes of those physical descendants of Abraham, that it will be like a revival that the world has never seen. It will be like life from the dead for the world. as the natural branches are grafted back in to the tree of God's people. And so today, we want to begin looking at the details. And in verse 6, we see the first argument that the Apostle Paul, writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, puts forth is, he says, well, we see right out of the blocks that God's Word has not failed because not all Israel are Israel. Now we've already seen this in the book of Romans. Turn back with me to Romans chapter 2 and we're just going to look quickly at a couple of verses that we've already seen. This concept has already been introduced and has been pointed to. We see in Romans chapter 1 verses 18 and following that God's wrath is being revealed from heaven against those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Every man, woman, boy, and girl who has ever lived is confronted with the evidence that God made this world, God made them, and all men and women, all people everywhere are confronted with that truth. God made me and I owe this great God my love and devotion. And even though that evidence is so clear and plain, we see the wickedness of people's hearts who suppress that truth. And the wrath of God is being poured out upon those who would suppress that clear truth. And we see how desperately Gentiles need the Gospel from the rest of Romans chapter 1. Then the Apostle Paul turns to, in Romans chapter 2, well what about the Jews? And he says, even though they have dressed up their unbelief, yet when you get right down to it, they also had the exact same problem of sin. And they also need a Redeemer. And in that context, Look at verse 27 of Romans 2. Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. One of the problems, the Lord Jesus addressed this, for example, the rabbis taught that as long as you outwardly kept certain aspects of the law of God, you were good to go. But Jesus said, no, it also includes the heart. That if you look on a woman and lust for her in your heart, You also have committed adultery in the sight of Almighty God. And so, the Jew also needs the gospel. The Jew also has the same problem of sin. And so, verse 28, he says, For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man, but from God." Now, this was not unique to the Apostle Paul. Over in John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus was dealing with physical descendants of Abraham. And we see in John chapter 8, Jesus has declared he's the light of the world. He's declared that he is the living water. And in verse 30 of John 8, we read, as he was saying these things, many believed in him. Many outwardly said, oh yeah, I'm going to follow Jesus of Nazareth. But notice what Jesus said. to these people, this huge crowd of people who was saying, oh yeah, I'm gonna follow Jesus, verse 31. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, they had given a verbal, oh yeah, I'm gonna follow you, but their hearts were still not touched with the gospel. If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. They answered him, We are offspring of Abraham, and have never been enslaved to anyone. Every time I read that, I just, I have to chuckle. How could anybody who knew anything about the history of the physical descendants of Abraham say such a ridiculous thing? We've never been enslaved to anybody. Pharaoh, Egypt, the exile in Nebuchadnezzar's day, and even at this day, Jerusalem and all of Israel was under the control of the Roman Emperor. But they maintained, we've never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say you will become free? Verse 34, Jesus answered them, truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever. The son remains forever. So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham. In other words, he says, I know you're physical descendants of Abraham. Yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my father, and you do what you have heard from your father.' They answered him, Abraham is our father." Now Jesus has just said, I know you are Abraham's offspring, but notice what Jesus goes on to say. Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did. And they said to him, we have not been born of sexual immorality. We have one father, even God. Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth. because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.' And the Jews answered him, Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? And Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. And the Jews said to him, Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets. Yet you say, If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be? Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my father who glorifies me, of whom you say he is our God. But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. And he saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, you're not yet 50 years old. Have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. And so the apostle Paul now, As he says, the word of God is not failed because first of all you need to understand that just because people are physical descendants of Abraham does not mean they are automatically right with God. They must experience the saving work of Almighty God in their heart. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham, because they are his offspring. He's going to come back to this truth at the end of Romans chapter 9. And we see a quote from Isaiah, and we'll look at it in greater detail, but I want you to jump over to verse 29. As Isaiah predicted, if the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, And this offspring is a remnant that God saved out of that mighty number of physical descendants of Abraham. He says, if the Lord had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah. Now you can go back and read the event of God judging Sodom and Gomorrah for their gross sin against nature in committing homosexuality. permeating the whole city of Sodom and the city of Gomorrah and the other cities of the plain. And the Lord tells us in the book of 2 Peter chapter 2 and the book of Jude that God has made those cities an example that is reverberating down through the ages of God's righteous judgment upon such wickedness. And God likened the physical descendants of Abraham. In Isaiah chapter 1, he referred to his own people that they were like Sodom. Shocking! And so what hope is there for people who are like Sodom? And the hope is the grace of God. The hope is that God Almighty has the power and the heart to redeem people. who left in themselves even the physical descendants of Abraham, who were those who had the greatest privileges and benefits that any person could ever imagine. But there was something that they needed. They needed the grace of God. They needed the hand of God Almighty to come upon them and touch their hearts. He says, It is not as though the word of God is failed for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring. It's easy for us to forget the amazing work of grace that God did in Abraham. Turn back with me to Acts chapter 7. Who was Abraham? It was not that here was a man who was living in Ur of the Chaldees and he woke up one day and he said, you know, I am going to turn my back on all of these false idols, and I have figured it out, and I'm going to start worshiping the true and the living God. Look in Acts chapter 7. Here is Stephen's recounting of the history of God's people, and he begins with great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaddy Abraham. In verse 2, Stephen said, Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia. before he lived in Haran and said to him, go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you. And then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land into which you are now living and so forth. Turn with me to the book of Joshua, chapter 23. And here we have more information about how amazing, for the sake of time, let's go over to chapter 24. Joshua 24 and let's begin reading in verse 1. Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders and the the judges and the officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God, and Joshua said to the people, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor, and they what? They served other gods. And then I took your father Abraham from beyond the river. And how did that happen? Well, Acts 7 tells us the God of glory came and appeared to Abraham. And what did the God of glory, what did the Son of God who appeared in human flesh say to Abraham? Abraham, I am God Almighty. in your mind now." And Abraham believed in God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. The Lord of glory called Abraham out of idolatry. Terah, Nahor, they were idolaters. And that's what little Abraham grew up in. He grew up in a home that worshipped idols. What changed? God came and called Abraham unto himself. And so here in our text in Romans chapter 9, what is the hope for people who left in themselves would be like Sodom? What is the hope for people who are left to themselves worshiping idols? It is that God comes and God claims them and calls them out of darkness into His marvelous light. The word of God is not failed, for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. And not all are children of Abraham, because they are his offspring. But through Isaac shall your offspring be named." Isaac, the term Isaac, the name Isaac, literally means laughter. You remember when the Lord came to Abraham, he said, Abraham, I'm going to make your descendants more numerous than the stars of heaven, more numerous than the sand of the sea. And Abraham, he thought, well, I don't have any sons. So how am I going to have descendants without a son? I'm going to have my servant be my heir. He'll be my heir." And the Lord said, no, that's not going to be your heir. A descendant will come from your own body. He will be your heir. And so Sarah and Abraham said, well, you know, We're getting up in years. Sarah came up with the idea, well, why don't you have a son by my handmaid, Hagar? And Abraham foolishly went along with that sinful idea. And little Ishmael was born. And Ishmael, we read in Genesis chapter 17, he grew up in that home. But he was not the child of promise. And the Lord revealed to Abraham and to Sarah about this time next year, you, Sarah, will have a son. And when Sarah heard, she had her ear there at the tent listening to this conversation that was going on. You remember what she did? She laughed. She was like, ah, that's hilarious. I am way past being able to have babies. My time has come and gone. No way I'm gonna have a baby. And Abraham, he laughed. But the Lord said, now Abraham, this is true. I'm really going to do this. And Abraham believed. And the Lord later confronted Sarah. Sarah, why did you laugh? And she was scared. She said, no, no, no, I didn't laugh. He said, oh yes, but you did laugh. And so sure enough, the Lord opens Sarah's womb. And Sarah conceives, and she and Abraham have a little baby boy. And guess what his name was? Little Laughter. And they did indeed laugh for joy. They laughed in faith. Well, who was this little Isaac? He was the child of promise. And the Lord is the one who is the promise. Messiah is the promised one. And he promised that he would give his spirit to make God's people alive. And it is those who know the promise, who know the Lord Jesus Christ by the spirit of God, who are counted as offspring. That's how the Apostle Paul begins to answer this supposed objection that, well, if Jesus is such a great Savior, what do you do with the unbelief of Israel? And the Lord says, well, you have to understand that God saves whom He is pleased to save. And we see that all through the Bible. We see God taking Abraham from a life of idolatry. We see God raising up little Isaac. And you remember the Lord records for us that after Isaac was growing now, the child of promise, the child upon through whom all of the promises of God depended. God told Abraham, I want you to take your son, your only son, the son that you love, and I want you to go to the mountain that I'm going to show you, and I want you to offer him there as a sacrifice, a burnt offering to me. And Abraham got up early the next morning, and he gathered the wood, and he gathered the fire, and he got his servants together, and little Isaac, and they set out. And on the third day, the Lord said, that mountain right over there. And it is fascinating that it was the region around where Jerusalem is. And it could have been the very hill. that the Son of God died on as the substitute, but Abraham turned to his servants and says, the lad and I will go yonder and worship and we will return. That's amazing. And the book of Hebrews chapter 11 tells us the commentary of what was going on that Abraham believed. He was a man of faith. He said, God, you've promised that it's through Isaac that all of these promises are going to come. And so, if Isaac dies, you will raise him to life. And that's how Abraham did what he did. And so they go up on the mountain, and Abraham builds the altar, and he puts the wood on the altar, and then he puts Isaac on top of the wood. And Isaac says, Daddy, I see the altar, and I see the wood, but where is the sacrifice? And Abraham said, The Lord will provide. The Lord will provide. And he brings the knife up, ready to slay his own son, and the voice from heaven boomed. And God said, Abraham, Abraham. And Abraham said, here I am. He says, do not put your hand against the lead. Now I know that you fear me. And Abraham turned and looked, and he saw A ram, his horns were caught in a thicket. And God provided a ram to die in the place of Isaac. And Abraham named that place Jehovah-Jireh. The Lord will provide. Indeed, what a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so those who believe in the Messiah, who was pictured over and over throughout the Old Testament, they are children of the promise. They're the ones who are counted as offspring. And so the Lord is beginning to answer. He says, For this is what the promise said about this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son. The word of God is not failed. God is saving those that he is pleased to save. Ishmael was full of unbelief. Isaac grew up in the same home. Isaac was a child of promise. who believed in Messiah. And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of Him who calls. She was told, the older will serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. And so that's where we're gonna stop. And we're going to look between now and next week, I want you to read in Isaiah chapter 63, and I want you to read in Malachi chapter 1, and if you have time, I want you to get a concordance, and I want you to look up the references to Edom, okay? Edom. And we're going to look and see how God argues and is showing us about God's amazing grace from this passage of scripture. As God takes us and shows us and points us to the history of these two men and their descendants. And even within the descendants of Jacob, and that's his point, Not even all of the descendants of Jacob love Messiah. Why? Well, why do you love Jesus? Why do you love Jesus? And I'll give you a hint. It's not because you were smarter than everybody else. It's because of God's amazing grace. And what does that do for us? Well, we're going to get to it, Lord willing. If I live long enough, in Romans chapter 11, the Lord says, don't be arrogant. Remember why you are in the tree of God's people. And remember why the natural branches are broken off. They were broken off for their unbelief. You stand only by your faith. And as Ephesians 2 tells us, where does faith come from? It's the gift of God. Glory in this God who has saved you. God could have left me worshiping idols like Tara and Nahor and Abraham. He could have left you. But oh, how amazing God's grace is. that God has come and His glory has appeared to us. God could have left me and Ishmael despising the gospel, even though I grew up in a home that was permeated with the Bible. I didn't love Jesus until the God of glory came. and revealed His mercy to me. Oh, the wonder of God's grace. God is going to save a multitude that is so numerous no man can count. Isn't that amazing? How exciting. What a wondrous God, the God of the Bible is. This stirs us up to worship God, does it not? This stirs us up to be humble before God. This stirs us up to love and adore the God who has come and plucked us as what? Brands from the burning. Read Zechariah chapter 3 this afternoon. That's who Joshua the high priest was. He was a brand that deserved to burn. But God plucked him. That's the only reason I love Jesus. God just reached down his hand. That's the reason you love Jesus. Glory in this Savior. And not only do we glory in this Jesus, but we pray for and speak of our great Savior to the people around us, pleading with them. Embrace this Savior and live. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you that your Word has not failed. And Lord, we're just getting started. And we pray that you would bless us to be a people who love you, Lord Jesus, and stand upon your Word, and have great comfort and joy. and peace in our hearts in the midst of all the chaos and turmoil that this fallen world is. And Lord, that your gospel would go forth, not only in our own hearts, but in our homes and in our church family, we pray for our nation. We beg, Lord, that you would have mercy upon the people of this land, that we would not be turned over to what we deserve, to what we would be left to ourselves. Edomites, oh Lord God, have mercy upon us. Send forth your spirit, we beg. Don't leave us, Lord, worshiping idols. Don't leave us as Ishmael's mockers of the Lord Jesus. O Lord, give us hearts that are soft and tender toward you. Lord Jesus, you're the only Savior. There is no other Savior. Thank you, O Lord. Thank you, thank you that you have plucked us as branch from the burning. Use us now, Lord, to shine forth your grace to the people around us, to share your gospel, and reap a great harvest for your praise, we beg. In Jesus' name, amen.