in the book of Romans. And I'm not sure if we will be able to cover as much as I hope, but we'll get as far as we can. I'd love to get through the end of chapter 9 today, but we'll see. Romans chapter 9, and we'll begin reading God's very word in verse 1. Hear now the word of the living God. 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, For 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? 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 were 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. Thus ends the reading of God's very word. Let's pray. Lord God, we ask that you would come now and impress upon us the wonder of your grace, the wonder of your amazing mercy and love. Indeed, that you would cause our hearts to leap for joy. that you have been pleased to make us vessels of mercy, to show the riches of your glory. Lord, we pray that you would not only thrill us, but you would also, Lord, humble us that we might have Better. Hearts of compassion. For those around us. In pleading. With them. To turn to Christ. Lord God come now by your spirit. And show us. The truth of your word right upon our hearts. That we would. repent and believe in you, O Lamb of God. In Jesus we pray. Amen. Well, we want to look at the potter and the clay. A potter takes a lump of clay. He throws it on the wheel. He centers that clay and then he begins to form and fashion some vessel. The Lord uses now this analogy to help us better understand the wonder of the gospel, the wonder of God's mercy to us His lambs. The Apostle Paul is answering the question, the objection. If Jesus is such a great Savior, if the Gospel is indeed the power of God unto salvation, then what do you say to the wholesale rejection by the vast majority of the physical descendants of Abraham? And that is what the Apostle Paul, writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, addresses. He says the Word of God has not failed. That's the theme of these chapters. And so in chapter 9, he is declaring, well God saves those he is pleased to save. And in chapter 10, God graciously is offering his gospel to all men. And you would think because the vast majority of the physical descendants of Abraham had, and sadly still to this day, reject Jesus as Messiah, then that's it. But no, chapter 11 of Romans tells us that before history ends, God is going to do an amazing work and the gospel is going to burst forth, and the physical descendants of Abraham will be moved to jealousy as they see the blessing of God upon the Goyim, the Gentiles, and they will run to the Lord Jesus, embracing Him, confessing Jesus is Lord. He is Christ. And God will graciously graft them back into the tree of God's people, where we have been gifted to be by the grace of God. Wild olive branches, contrary to nature, grafted into the tree of God's people. And so we continue looking at this argument in chapter 9 now, God saves those he is pleased to save. And he has just put forth the example of Moses and the children of Israel after the golden calf, the Lord graciously spares Moses and the children of Israel. And then he puts forth the example of Thera. God has mercy upon whom he wills. He hardens whom he wills. And we've seen that this hardening, as we looked last week, God is not violating people's wills. But God simply, as the judge of heaven and earth, turns people over to what they want. And Pharaoh hardened his own heart. God hardened Pharaoh's heart by judicially giving him what he was and what he wanted. And so the question is then, In verse 18, 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? At first glance, it seems to be a powerful argument. Those who would say, well, it just doesn't seem fair to me that God wouldn't save everybody. And you remember we addressed that last Lord's Day. The question is not why doesn't God save everybody because everybody is deserving. The question ought to be look at The amazing work of God, everyone deserves God's judgment, but God is pleased to save a multitude. He's under obligation to save no one, but He has given His Son to save a multitude. And so what is the answer to this question? Indeed, ultimately, God is the one who alone can rescue people. God alone is the one who can make the dead bones alive. That is very true. Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will? And so what is the Apostle Paul's answer? It is to put forth this illustration of the potter and the clay. But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? In the book of Job, we have a glimpse at the dynamic going on here. Job is a righteous man. Job is described in chapter 1 as a blameless man who fears God. Job is a man who is confessing the Christ and who is diligent in not only keeping short accounts himself with the living God, but even offering sacrifices on behalf of his children because he says, well, maybe they've done something in secret that I don't know about. And you know what happened. Satan comes and he says, God, the only reason that Job loves you is because you're so good to him. And you've put this hedge of protection around him. I can't touch him or anything that he has. Just take that away. Let me at him. And I will prove to you that Job is fake. Job only loves you superficially. He only loves you because you're good to him. Take away all of his goodies and he will curse you. And the Lord sovereignly took away that hedge of protection. And Satan attacks Job. And Job loses all of his wealth, but the final blow on that day was all of his children die. Now God is not the author of evil, but God is sovereign even over evil. Satan comes back, he says, well, it's true that Job still confesses you, but if you take away his health, that'll do it, because a man will give anything for his health. And the Lord says, well, you can touch him, but you can't kill him. And so Job is afflicted now with horrible boils from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. And Job agonizes. Job says, Lord, I don't understand. Why has this happened? You know that I love you. You know that I have sought your face. You know that I have confessed all the sin that I am conscious of. I've sought your face. Lord, where are you? Why? Help me. Save me. Even though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him. His friends come and they say, Job, fess up. God's chastening you because of some sin in your life. And Job says, guys, I know God chastens for sin. That's true. But I've confessed my sin. And so finally, God does come and he presents himself to Job. He said, Job, here I am. And Job says, Lord, I'm going to put my hand on my mouth. I had said that I wanted to ask you questions, but you are God and It's not my place to question you. You can do whatever you are pleased to do. I am yours. And God spoke to his friends who had been so misguided and said, I want you to go and I want you to ask Job to pray for you. and to offer sacrifices on your behalf. Job does not hesitate. He shows the compassion of God. He immediately prays for these men who had been such a thorn in his side. And when Job prayed for them, the Lord graciously restored Job and gave him even more wealth and gave him children once again. But Job says, it's not my place to question. And that's what we see in this passage. 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 for glory, even us? whom he has called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles." And so, what's the answer to this objection? It is, I have no right to question God. Just like Job. Job said, I'm just going to put my hand on my mouth. You're God. And in this passage, we say, oh God, you are the potter, I'm the clay. And God, you have the right to make from the same love vessels. Vessels that will declare your glory in your justice. or vessels that will declare your glory in your mercy. That's what's put forth in this passage. From the same lump, it's the same clay, we are undeserving of God's mercy, of His love. Is God unjust to leave men and women to what they want? He is not unjust to pull forth his wrath upon sin. That is justice. Is God unjust to show mercy? He has done justice by giving His own Son to take the wrath that His sheep deserve upon Himself. And so, 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." It's for His glory. It is to declare who God is. Who are you, oh man, to say to God? That is a very humbling thing, is it not? But that is God's answer. It is a humbling thing. It is a sweet thing. To think that God would save any. It is amazing that God would save one like me. That God would save one like you. Or if we understand rightly. We are of the same love. You see, this does several things. First of all, it does away with pride. In the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul asked the Christians there, what do you have that God didn't give you? And if it was given to you, why do you boast as if you had earned it? Do you ever get frustrated? Do you ever lose your cool? I'll tell you what is the root of that. It is pride. It is me thinking I deserve better. Ouch. Henry, you didn't have to say that. But that is what happens when I get frustrated. I think I deserve better. Rather than me trusting. In God Almighty. And saying Lord. I don't know what you're doing. But I pray that you will give me grace to be faithful to you and to shine forth who you are in this situation. No, when we lose sight of who we are and who He is, we get puffed up. This teaching of Holy Scripture humbles us in the dust. The same lump. And we cry to God for mercy. We glory in the God who has given us mercy. We are amazed at God's mercy. I want you to turn with me in your hymnals to hymn 469. How sweet and awesome is the place. with Christ within the doors, while everlasting love displays the choicest of her stores, while all our hearts and all our songs, it's 469 by the way, join to admire the feast. Each of us cries with thankful tongue, Lord, why was I a guest? You see, when we understand the truth, we understand that it was not because we were a cut above. It's not that God is sorting out humanity and He goes, okay, these over here, they're the better ones, so I'm going to redeem them. Third stanza, why was I made to hear your voice and enter while there's room when thousands make a wretched choice and rather starve than come? Here's the gospel being offered, a genuine offer, come to Jesus and live. And what do thousands of people do with that offer? Here's a man dying. And left to himself, he says, no, I don't want that. Go on down the road. But if you're a Christian, why did you say yes? I will partake of Jesus. Yes, Jesus, I take you to be my Redeemer. The fourth standard, "'Twas the same love that spread the feast that sweetly drew us in, else we had still refused to taste and perished in our sin.'" Do you believe that? I'm going to tell you something. If you. Don't have a heart of compassion. Toward the people around you. If you have no patience with people who are struggling with sin. You and I need to take a good hard look. At whether we really believe. God's grace. Because if we understand God's grace. Oh, it will make us humble. And it will change the way we look at other people. It will cause us to see it was the same lump of clay. was the same love that spread the feast that sweetly drew us in, else we had still refused to taste and perished in our sin. But you know what else it does? It makes us bold. It not only makes us humble, it not only causes us to have a heart of compassion toward the people around us, But it makes us bold. We go, Lord, you have a people that you are going to save. And so I'm going to proclaim the gospel. I'm going to share the gospel. I'm going to offer your gospel. To the homosexual, to the transgender, to the person who's woke. to the person who's eaten up with all of this madness. Pity the nations, O our God. Constrain the earth to come. Send your victorious word abroad and bring the strangers home. We long to see your churches full, that all the chosen race May with one voice and heart and soul sing your redeeming grace. So that's his answer. Now would you look in verse 24, even us whom he has called. Not from the Jews only, but also from among the Gentiles. And now he's going to show what God has sovereignly done. The potter is sovereign over the clay. And the clay has a responsibility to believe. The potter offers the gospel. And the potter calls to life from Jews and Gentiles, those he is pleased to save. And he quotes from Hosea. Hosea describes, Hosea is told to go and marry a prostitute as an illustration to God's people that they had turned away from their glorious bridegroom, but God was full of mercy. And God was calling them back unto himself. And in the context of doing that, God says, not only am I going to be gracious to these physical descendants of Abraham, but I am even going to call The goyim, the Gentiles, those ucky, yucky Gentiles. You know, the people that Jonah said, God, I don't think I can do this. I can't go to Nineveh and tell them your message of life and hope. They deserve to die. And they're enemies of your people. 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 God had told Hosea to name his children these names that were living illustrations of the need of God's grace. Lo-ru-ha-ma, lo-ah-me, not beloved, not my people. And God says, but I'm going to have a people who love me. How? The sovereign hand of God Almighty, the potter. That's how people come to love Jesus. And when people come to love Jesus, Who gets praised? God. We don't praise ourselves. We don't get to heaven and pat ourselves on the back and say, ooh, Henry, you done good, boy. You did a good job. You need to give yourself a real hand of applause. Look what you, no. When we get to heaven, what are we going to do? We're going to take the crown that God has gifted to us. And what are we going to do with it? We're going to throw it at the feet of the King who planned our redemption and purchased our redemption and accomplished applying our redemption and has kept us and taken us to glory. That's what we're going to do. Every child of God. What about Israel? Look at verse 27. 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. What's the Apostle Paul saying? What is God saying in this passage? God is saying, look, my word hasn't failed. I save whom I am pleased to save, and it was my good pleasure to save only a few, only a remnant. The rest were what? Turned over to what they wanted. They are trophies of God's justice. For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay. Has God done wrong? It is just. Justice was done. And as Isaiah predicted, if the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Amar. If God would have given what Israel deserved, what would they be? Like Sodom and Gomorrah. What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? Completely destroyed. turned to ash, fire and brimstone poured from heaven. But God saved a remnant. God saved a remnant. The sovereign potter saved a remnant. Verse 30, what shall we say then that Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it? That is a righteousness that is by faith. Gentiles did not pursue righteousness and yet here they are right with God. How could that be? The sovereign potter sent forth his gospel. and Gentiles were saved by the grace of God, by faith in Jesus. Turn with me to the book of Ephesians chapter 2. If you're a Gentile, now if you're Jewish, I'm going to get to you here in just a moment. But if you're a Gentile, okay? I'm going to give you a hint when we talk about the Jews. The Jews are just like the Gentiles, only they don't think they are, okay? But in Ephesians chapter 2, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work, and the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived. We. The Apostle Paul includes himself. He was a Jew. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. Jews and Gentiles, and we've seen this already in the book of Romans chapter 3. We all are under what? The power of sin. And so, what hope is there? Let's keep reading. We all once lived in the passions of the flesh, our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. God But God, by grace you've been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. The tool that God uses is faith to join us to Jesus. Not faith in works, but faith. And where does faith come from? This is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. Not as a result of works so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." And so at the end of Romans chapter 9, he says, look, here's what God has done, the Sovereign, He has proclaimed the Gospel and called Gentiles unto Himself. Verse 31, But that Israel, Romans 9, 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. And who's the stumbling stone? Jesus. Jesus is offered. Offered to everybody. In the book of Acts chapter 17, we read how God is commanding all men everywhere to repent and believe. And what will the natural man do? Left to himself? The natural man will say, no thank you. I don't want that. Get away from me." And here, even the Jews who had all of these blessings, of all the people, they were the ones that should have embraced the Christ. But it was not pleasing. to the potter to yet save the bulk of them. God saves whom he is pleased to save. That's a jarring truth to a lot of people. But it's because we have too low a view of God. and too high a view of man. May the Lord give us grace to not stumble over the stumbling stone. And if you love Jesus, it is because of God's grace. If you love Jesus, it is because God sweetly drew you 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. Now chapter 10 is going to hammer the free offer of the gospel. Chapter 10 is going to over and over declare to us the graciousness of God in offering the gospel of life to everyone. And is going to show us. Here's what man does left to himself. No thank you. Our hope is God to save us. And if you love Jesus, I pray that God will set your heart to singing his praise. I pray that God will revive our hearts to have greater compassion for the people around us. Who are of the same lump of clay as we are. And that God will make us bold. to declare the gospel, knowing that God is going to save whom he is pleased to save. No movement, no political party can stop the gospel from going forth. Communism can't, Islam can't. They are doomed to failure. You know why? Not because they're not powerful, but because God is all powerful. And His gospel will be victorious. Praise God. What a God we have. It is not as though the Word of God has failed. because God saves whom he is pleased to save. Let's pray. Father, we are humbled. Lord, we are also full of amazed joy that you would set your love upon such as us. Lord, choosing to take us from the lump of fallen humanity to be trophies of your grace, vessels of mercy, to declare the riches of your glory in your Son, the Lord Jesus, saving us. O Lord God, we were once not a people, but now we are your people. Once we were not loved, but now we are loved by you. That's your amazing grace, Lord. And we praise you with all our heart. And Lord, we pray that you would bless us and equip us to be more diligent and full of more compassion, to share your gospel with the people around us, neighbors and friends and our extended families. Lord, showing them the compassion of Jesus and telling them the gospel that those who repent and believe in Jesus have forgiveness and life. Oh Lord, we pray that your gospel would go forth with great power all over in this nation and that people would repent and turn to you so that indeed our nation would be made great again. Lord, we beg that you would have mercy upon the other nations of the world. Lord, that they would repent and believe in you, Lord Jesus. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you, O Lord, that you have told us the truth. And Lord, we want to believe your word and live your word for your praise. Blessed now as we sing, in Jesus' name, amen.