Okay, this is Romans lecture number 20. Romans lecture number 20. We're finishing up Romans 9 verses 14 to 18, and then we'll pick it up in verse 19 to 33. But I was making the point that God gave man free will. Look at Matthew 23 and verse 37. Now the five-point Calvinist argues that no man is free to accept Jesus. God has to regenerate to make you born again against your will. And then when you're regenerated, you freely choose Christ as your Savior. So it's the work of God. Man did not freely do that. But let's take a look at what Jesus says. in Matthew 23 and verse 37. And by the way, a lot of my best friends are five-point Calvinists. Dr. Mike McKenzie, he's at the Institute of Biblical Defense. He's a five-point Calvinist, and many great theologians are, and I have no real problem with them. I just tend to disagree with them on this point. Matthew 23, verse 37. Jesus said this, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. And so Jesus is saying, hey, I wish I could save every one of you, but you're unwilling to turn to me. And so it seems to me, that Jesus, you know, the Calvinists would argue, well that's because all men are unwilling. But Jesus seems to be saying, yeah, but I am God, and I want them to come to me. And then the question comes up, if God's going to zap others, it seems that Jesus is saying he would love to zap or regenerate those in Jerusalem, but they were unwilling, so he didn't. So it seems that God leaves the choice to man whether to accept or reject his son, though he does try to persuade them. 2 Peter 3.9, 2 Peter 3.9, Peter in that passage, states that the Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. So God wishes that all would come to repentance. So if the Calvinist was right, and God is the one that works repentance in our heart, totally apart from our free will, then that would lead to universalism. God would just regenerate all mankind. But apparently God has left that choice to man. God has given man free will. Look at Isaiah 55. Isaiah chapter 55. Isaiah 55. Oh, I'm still in the wrong book. Isaiah 55 and verse 1. Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Then look down a little further, verse 3, incline your ear and come to me, listen that you may live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you according to the faithful mercies shown to David. So the context is salvation, and God is pleading with these Israelites to come to Him of their own free will. Verses 6 and 7, seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." So God is very clearly calling out to man, saying, seek me, come to me, forsake your evil way, and return to me, return to the Lord, and then I'll have compassion on you. So if you come to my son and trust in my son for salvation, then I'll regenerate you. And so I disagree with the Calvinist who would say that regeneration precedes faith. In other words, God regenerates us and then we believe I believe that faith precedes regeneration, we believe, so God regenerates us. Now it's a logical order, it's not a chronological order. It's a logical order because they actually happen simultaneously, but Our believing causes God to regenerate us rather than God regenerating us causing us to believe. Now, by the way, just because you believe does not mean you deserve to be saved. You do not deserve to be saved. But the fact of the matter is, when we were slaves to sin, Paul says in Romans 6, 17 and 18, when we were slaves to sin, we became obedient from the heart. when we heard the gospel message, and then God made of slaves the righteousness, okay? Jeremiah chapter 29, this is closer to Jeremiah, I'll handle that verse next. Jeremiah 29, verse 13, And that reads, and you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. And again, it appears that man is being described as having free will and the ability to seek for God under heavy divine persuasion, I admit that. We don't have time to turn it, but Joshua 24, Verses 14 and 15, Joshua tells the people to choose that day who they will serve, whether the false gods of Egypt, or the false gods of the Canaanites, or the true Lord, the true God. And then Joshua says, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Elijah in 1 Kings 18 verse 21 tells the people Do not hesitate between two opinions. And he's basically telling you to choose the false Canaanite God, Baal, and worship him or worship the God of Israel, but don't try to hesitate between the two. And he calls on them to choose as well. Then look at James. James chapter 4, verses 6 to 10. James chapter 4, verses 6 to 10, and James says this, But he gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. You see, God doesn't take the proud and just make them humble, regenerate them, but God gives grace to the humble. And so there's a certain person, the humble person who admits his sin, admits that he can't save himself and turns to God. God saves him by His grace. Verse 7. Submit therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you." Okay? The reverse of that is also true. Exalt yourself in the presence of the Lord, and He will humble you. That's why one of the key passages given by 5-Point Calvinist, I believe it was in John chapter 12, where Jesus is quoting from Isaiah, earlier in Isaiah, I forget if it's Isaiah 2 or Isaiah 6, somewhere in that area. But in that passage, Jesus is telling to the Pharisees that what was being fulfilled was that God was blinding their eyes so they couldn't see the truth. We need to recognize the Pharisees had already exalted themselves, were refusing to humble themselves before the Lord, so this is God turning a man over to his own evil desires. When God hardens a man's heart, it's because the man has already hardened himself to begin with. And that's the case with Pharaoh. Let's take a look at one more passage. And then we'll discuss, bring this into Pharaoh. 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 1 to 6. Now, the Calvinist, the consistent Calvinist, and there's only one kind of consistent Calvinist, that's a five-point Calvinist. Anybody who calls themselves a four-point Calvinist isn't really a consistent Calvinist. I only agree with one point of Calvinism, that's the fifth point, perseverance. Those who try to call themselves four-point Calvinists, if you really, if you hold to total depravity, In the true sense, it brings the idea of regeneration precedes faith. It brings with it the idea that man is so totally depraved he cannot freely accept Jesus as Savior. God has to zap him. God has to regenerate him so then he's able to believe. And so the first four points of Calvinism are all tied up together. But in 1 Timothy 2, 1 to 6, the Calvinists usually respond, they recognize that Calvinism demands limited atonement. Even though John Calvin himself in his commentaries, his commentary on Mark chapter 14 and on 1 John chapter 2, John Calvin believed that Jesus died for all mankind, not just the church. Well, modern day Calvinists recognize that If election is His choice and it's not based on His foreknowledge of whether or not we would choose Christ given a certain sequence of circumstances which God predestines to come about in order to persuade us to accept Christ, The Calvinist recognizes that if his Calvinism is true, then it makes no sense that Christ would die for all mankind if he was never intending to save anybody but the select few, and if man had no say in the matter and God was just going to zap those he was going to save. So it demands limited atonement that Christ only died for the church. And so whenever you get a passage that says that Christ died for all men, the Calvinists will argue that that means that Christ died for men from every nation. Well, there's a problem with that, and that these men from every nation are going to be in the church. There's a problem with that because in 1 Timothy 2, verses 1-6, it actually explains who all these men are that Christ gave himself a ransom for, that Christ died for. In fact, I think it's 2 Peter, it's either 1 Peter or 2 Peter, where it talks about that Christ paid the price and bought the world, but especially the church. But look at 1 Timothy 2, verses 1 to 6. It says, First of all then, Paul speaking, I urge that in treaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men. for kings and all who are in authority. Now there weren't too many Christian kings or Christians in authority at that point, so Paul is saying when he says pray on behalf of all men, he's talking about all men, believers and non-believers alike. It's very clear from the context. in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." So here again he's talking about all men, the same words as he mentioned before, the ones that you should pray for all men, And then he says that these all many include kings and all who are in authority. There weren't many Christian kings in authority at that time, so Paul is saying God desires all men, both inside the church and outside the church, to be saved. and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Verse 5, For there is one God and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time. So Jesus Christ paid the price for all men, not just those who were going to be in the church, and therefore God wanted to save all men. He chose to provide the salvation for all men, but then to leave the choice up to us and then to persuade us to accept His Son, but He gave us the freedom to accept or reject Jesus as our Lord and Savior. And so the Bible is clear. God gave man free will. We are free to accept or reject Jesus Christ as our Savior. But even if we accept Christ, contrary to what a five-point Calvinist says, we did not earn our salvation. A Calvinist doesn't teach that you earn your salvation, but a Calvinist teaches that if we're free to choose Christ, then we would earn our salvation, therefore we couldn't be free to choose Christ. I argue that if we're free to choose Christ, the fact of the matter is, we're free to accept God's grace, but it's God's grace, it's something that we don't deserve. And therefore, we still deserve to fling to hell even if we choose Christ, so it's God's choice to save those who choose the Son that saves us, and we're saved by God's grace, we don't deserve it. Now, Paul teaches that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, here in Romans, you know, back in Romans 9. And God did harden Pharaoh's heart. You find that written in the book of Exodus. But you also find written in the book of Exodus that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. There's several occasions where the Bible talks about God hardening Pharaoh's heart. And there's many occasions where it talks about Pharaoh hardening his own heart. I'm going to list for you all the passages that I found through my concordance and through looking through the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 4, verse 21. Exodus chapter 7, verse 3. And verses 13 and 14 and verse 22 of Exodus 7. In Exodus chapter 8, verses 15, verse 19 and verse 32. In Exodus chapter 9, verses 7, 12, 34 to 35. Exodus chapter 10, verse 1, verse 20 and verse 27. Exodus chapter 11, verse 10. And Exodus chapter 14, verses 4 to 5 and verse 8. Sometimes it says Pharaoh hardened his own heart, and other times it says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 6, verse 6. 1 Samuel, chapter 6, and verse 6. And that reads, Why then do you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had severely dealt with them, did they not allow the people to go, and they departed? It's talking about the fact that the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their own hearts. But then, there's many times in Exodus where it says God hardened Pharaoh's heart, but there's many times in Exodus where it says Pharaoh hardened his own heart. We need to recognize that the same sun that melts ice, the same rays of the sun that melt ice also hardens clay. And so it's not so much the actions of the sun, but it's the response of the substance, the response of that substance, or the nature of that substance, if you will, even that would have theological overtones, but it's the response of the substance to the rays of the sun which brings about the final outcome. In other words, Mr. A can choose to push the buttons of Mr. B in an attempt to anger him. But the fact of the matter is, and then if he does anger Mr. B, he could say, I, Mr. A, angered Mr. B. But the fact of the matter is, it does not take away Mr. B's free choice to be angry, because he was free to choose not to be angry and to just walk away and ignore Mr. A. Okay? So you could say Mr. A angered Mr. B, but you could also say Mr. B freely chose to be angry. Same way here, God hardened Pharaoh's heart, but Pharaoh freely chose to harden his heart. You see, how did God harden Pharaoh's heart? The answer is the ten plagues. That's how he hardened Pharaoh's heart. But how did God cause the Jews to believe? The answer is the ten plagues. The same thing. You see, God said, I'm going to... Just picture God having a conversation with an angel in heaven. Obviously, it's a hypothetical conversation. God says, hey, I'm going to bring down the ten plagues. That's going to melt the hearts of the Jews and it's going to cause them to believe. And then an angel says, yeah, but you know, God the Father, don't you realize that's going to harden Pharaoh's heart? I mean, he wants to be number one. He's exalting himself. He wants to be the king. He doesn't want to recognize any power greater than himself. If you bring the ten plates, he's going to see there's a power being revealed greater than himself, and it's going to anger him, and that's going to harden his heart. Well, then God could turn to the angel and say, well, there's no possible situation or in philosophical language, there's no possible world, no possible scenario in which Pharaoh would ever accept me, accept my son as savior. Therefore, if it hardens his heart, so be it. If it angers him, so be it. I'm putting up with him, I'm enduring him, and I'm going to use him and work my purposes through him so that it causes the Jews to believe, and if it hardens him, so be it. So keep in mind, when God takes an act, since he knows what the outcome is going to be, even if it involves the free choice of the person that he's taking an act against, since God knows what that free response is going to be, God has a part of the causation there. Okay? He's not responsible for Pharaoh's sin, but he is responsible for bringing about that sin only to the degree that he knew what Pharaoh would do. He knew that Pharaoh would do B if God chose to do A. But God decided, hey, I'm going to do A anyway because the Israelites will be saved through it. And Pharaoh, there's no situation where he's going to accept me and bend the knee. And so I'm going to do A, even if he's going to do B. So yes, God's action caused Pharaoh to do B, but it still does not remove the fact that Pharaoh was free. And he freely chose to harden his heart to God. Conclusion of these first 18 verses of Romans 9, God never promised that all Jews would be saved, so God's word has not failed. God's election of the Jews as a chosen nation has not failed. He never promised that all Jews would be saved. God's election to salvation is not based on physical descent. Just because your father was saved or your father was a physical Jew doesn't mean that you are saved. It's not based on human effort. We're not saved by works. It's not even based on man's will. Sure, we freely choose to accept Christ as our Savior, but the fact of the matter is, we still deserve the flames of hell. If God didn't choose to save those who freely chose His Son under heavy divine persuasion, we would still burn in hell forever. And so God's election to salvation is based solely on God's promise and His choice, His mercy. He chose to have mercy on people who don't deserve His mercy, but on people who would humble themselves and accept His Son. So the Jews had a definite advantage. Still, no one's salvation is guaranteed. We must accept Christ. That's why Jesus said in Matthew 11, 28, Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. In John 14, 6, Jesus Christ said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father. but through me. In Isaiah 45, 22, the Lord says, Turn to me and be saved, O the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other. Man is free, and he must freely accept the Lord Jesus Christ as a Savior. Now, verses 18 to 21, Paul asks the question, Who is man to judge God? Now, we're going to just read verse 18, because it's kind of the verse that bridges the last section with this section although we already covered verse 18. So we're going to read verses 18 to 21 of Romans 9. So then he has mercy, in fact we'll read verses 18 to 19 first. So then he has mercy on whom he desires and he hardens whom he desires. He will say to me then, why does he still find fault for who resists his will? So Paul's asking the question, who is man to judge God? The question comes up, who resists his will? Now this question assumes that we are only puppets. We are only God's puppets. It assumes that we have no free will. But as we have shown, the Bible teaches differently. Matthew 23, 37, Jesus said that He wanted to save Jerusalem, but the Jews that lived there were unwilling to come to Him. 2 Peter 3.9, Peter says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. So it's man's choice, so we do have free will. So this question is off base. You can sum up the question this way. If God made me the way I am, why does He condemn me for being me? Okay, so you see the pride there, the arrogance in the question. You could also word the question this way. If God made me sinful, why does he condemn me for being sinful? See, the fact of the matter is, God didn't do this. He did not create us sinful. He created us perfect and then we fell and became sinful in the garden. We need to remind ourselves the same acts of God, such as the ten plates, The same acts of God that hardened Pharaoh's heart caused the Israelites to believe. God had to do something to get the Israelites to believe. They wouldn't have done it on their own. But he knew that if he did that, if he did the ten plagues, it was going to harden Pharaoh's heart. But God said, hey, so be it. There's no circumstance that this guy is going to bend the knee to me. He's always going to exalt himself. And so I'm going to perform, I'm going to show my... The Jews saw God's power and they worshiped God. Pharaoh saw God's power and he said, I hate this God. God took Pharaoh's firstborn son and Pharaoh said, I hate this God, I hate His power. The more power He displays, the more I hate Him. Well, the Israelites said, the more God displays His power, the more reason for us to serve Him. Again, the same son hardens clay. who melts ice. Paul's response is found in verse 20 and verse 21 to the question, well, who resists God's will? You know, why does he still find fault? Why should he judge us? Because who can resist his will? He's God. I mean, he could just toss us around. If he doesn't have mercy on us, then it's his fault, not our fault. Verses 20 and 21, Paul responds, on the contrary, who are you, old man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, why did you make me like this, will it? For does not the potter have a right over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? And so Paul's response, now his ultimate response, the later response that he gives in verses 30 to 33, he says, hey, Israel had free will. He mentions that the reason why the Israelites of his day were not saved because they did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. So that's his ultimate response, but his first response, he doesn't even answer the question. All he does is he just comes, his first response is, hey, man has no right to judge God. Now Paul's not speaking of God's creative work when he speaks of the lump of clay. He's speaking of God's redemptive work. You see, the clay is man in his unregenerate state. You see, God takes this lump of clay, man in his fallen, sinful, depraved, fallen state, and God works some of that clay and molds people into vessels of honor. vessels brought into existence for salvation, but he molds some of that other clay into vessels for judgment. Okay? So it almost sounds again like five-point Calvinism. Of course, Paul's ultimate answer, verses 30 and 33, that Israel freely rejected Christ. But the clay represents man in his sinful, depraved, fallen, unregenerate state. You see, man in his created state did not deserve hell. Okay? But man freely chose to rebel against God. And so now we are in a fallen state. Since all deserve to be condemned, that's the claim, man in his fallen state. Since all deserve to be condemned, God is free to choose who he will mold into his son's image and who he will leave in their condemned state. Now, Paul isn't saying that God's choice there has nothing to do with human free will. I believe that God chose to save those who would freely trust in Christ, though it would be under heavy divine persuasion. C.S. Lewis, who believed in free will, said that he came kicking and screaming into the kingdom of God. I had a professor say that God holds no man. He was a defender of Dr. Mitchell at Liberty University. He said, God holds no man at gunpoint. Well, we are free, Dr. Mitchell's right, but God does worse than holding us at gunpoint, He dangles us over the flames of hell. But the fact of the matter is, even though He dangles us over the flames of hell and threatens us with more than physical death, but eternal spiritual death, most men still freely go the way of Pharaoh, rather than freely going the way of Jonah and finally throwing up their arms and saying, I give, and surrendering to the Lord. But Paul's point here is God is God. His choice. He has every right to choose who goes to heaven and who doesn't. And so, since all deserve the flames of hell, God is free to choose who he will mold into a son's image and who he will leave in their condemned state. And so I believe God chose to save those who freely trust in Christ and the divine persuasion. God is sovereign. This is Paul's point. God is sovereign. He sits in throne. He's the king. He's the boss. He is free to deal with man as he chooses. Still, he will not act unjust or unloving. Paul doesn't bring, at this point, he's not bringing God's love into the picture. He's not bringing God's goodness into the picture. But the fact of the matter is, we can bring those into the picture. He does do that a little later on. The fact of the matter is, all he's saying is his first response to this question is, well, if it's God's choice and it's not my choice, then what right does God have to condemn me for just being what he created me to be? Paul just comes right out and says, look, God is God and you've got no right to slam God. He is sovereign. He's free to choose who he's going to save and who he's going to leave unsaved. So God is sovereign. He's free to deal with man as He chooses. Still, He will not act unjust or in an unloving manner. He is a good God and He will act out of His goodness and His love and His mercy. So if someone burns in hell forever, that was their choice, not God's choice. I'll give you an example here, an illustration rather. Let's say there's some death row inmates. And there's a governor, and the governor freely chooses, this particular governor is a guy who decides to freely, he freely chooses to pardon all who freely accept his pardon. So those who freely choose to accept the governor's pardon, they're not really saved by their choice. They're saved by the governor's choice, even though they freely chose to accept his pardon. But those who had too much pride and said, no, I don't need your help, governor. I can do it on my own. Well, they suffer and it's their own fault. But those who accept the pardon aren't going to leave that prison and say, yeah, it was my choice that got me saved. That's not the case. God endures. Paul tells us God endures. He puts up with the unsaved man. He tolerates the unsaved man or endures the unsaved man. God could destroy every unsaved man right now. But He doesn't. He endures the unsaved man. Verses 22 and 23 of Romans 9. What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath, and to make his power known, endure with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. And he did so in order that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy which he prepared beforehand for glory." By the way, in verse 21, I didn't mention it before, but the vessel for honorable use, symbolic of believers, That's like a work of art that you put on a shelf for display, and the other vessel for common use, actually, it's basically making a bowl for the purpose, serving the purpose of a toilet bowl that you would go to the bathroom in and dump it out of. Paul's using very strong language. He's saying every possible person that God actualizes their existence, brings them into existence that God knows isn't going to accept Christ to say that it's going to burn in hell forever. God chose to make this toilet bowl or this vessel of dishonor to bring them in for his own reasons that Paul does imply a little bit about as we go on in this. But Paul says here that God endures the unsaved man. God is willing, he says God is willing to judge and punish. He's totally just. Yet he patiently endures vessels of wrath. prepared for destruction, those who will not accept Christ as Savior. Now we need to recognize that, you know, when you look at this verse, it says in verse 20, He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He prepared beforehand for glory. You see, from these vessels of wrath sometimes come vessels of mercy. I'll throw out a couple questions here. Supposing God decided not to bring Cain into existence, okay? Well, were any of Cain's descendants saved? I don't know. Maybe they weren't. Maybe every descendant of Cain died and went to hell. Okay? I don't know. What about Esau's descendants? You know, it appears that Esau wasn't saved, but did Edomite go to hell? I mean, we know that there were many non-Jews who their parents and their grandparents were not saved, but Ruth was a Moabite woman. But she was saved. In fact, Jesus and David came from Ruth. And so it appears that God endures. One of the reasons why God endures vessels of wrath, why he actualizes the existence, brings into existence people that he knows will never get saved, one of the reasons is because their children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren or some ancestor is going to get saved. Phil Fernandes would never come about if his great great great grandparents didn't come about. Now they might have died and went to die and went to torment in Hades and someday they'll burn in hell forever. But if they didn't come about, the genetic combination that made Phil Fernandes would not come about. Okay? So God endured those... God gave man free will, but he endured those who would reject Christ until death. in order that those who would freely accept Christ, would freely accept Christ. An example of this is given in verse 27, just look ahead. And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant, only a small portion that will be saved. You see, so God gave man free will, but he endures the whole nation of Israel, even though many of them would not get saved. At this time, most Jews were not being saved at that time. The time Paul was writing, even now, most Jews are not being saved. But God is willing to endure the Jews that reject Christ, the unsaved Israel, because he has a remnant that in the last days will come about that will accept Christ. If God wiped out all the Jews in the time of Paul that didn't believe, many of the remnant would not come about. So God endures those who reject Christ, but saves those who accept Christ. And the example there is the nation of Israel. And so God reveals the wealth of his glory upon vessels of mercy those who would freely accept Christ, He forces His mercy on no one. Paul talks about Gentiles in the church, verses 24 to 26, talking about vessels of mercy which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. And He says also in Hosea, I will call those who are not My people, My people, and her who was not my beloved, beloved. And so Gentiles in the church, when the Jews rejected the gospel, it was proclaimed to the Gentiles. The church was mostly Gentile at the time of Paul, and it's mostly Gentile today. John chapter 10, Jesus predicted that this would happen, that the gospel message would be proclaimed to the Gentiles. John 10 verses 14 to 16. Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me. Even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Now at that time, the only sheep he had, for the most part, were Israelites. Verse 16, and I have other sheep. which are not of Israel, they are Gentiles. I must bring them also, and they shall hear my voice, and they shall become one flock with one shepherd in the church, both Jew and Gentile in the church. So Gentiles in the church, when the Jews rejected the gospel, it was proclaimed to the Gentiles in the church. It was mostly Gentile at Paul's time, as it is today. Paul says that the remnant of Israel shall be saved, verses 27 to 29. of Romans 9, and Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved. For the Lord will execute his word upon the earth thoroughly and quickly. And just as Isaiah foretold, except the Lord of the Sabbath had left to us a posterity, we would have become as Sodom and would have resembled Gomorrah. And so here he says, the remnant of Israel shall be saved. Not all Jews will be saved. But God was willing to endure the backslidden Israel, the Israel without hardly any true believers for the sake of the future remnant. The remnant is talked about in Romans 11, verses 25 to 27, the last days. So God is enduring, He's putting up with the Israelites who have hardened hearts towards Him for generation after generation after generation, because in the last day there's going to be vessels of honor born to them, vessels of honors born to them, the Jews of the last day who will accept Christ as their Messiah look at Romans 11 25 and 27 for I do not want you brethren to be uninformed of this mystery Let you be wise in your own estimation that a partial hardening but there were some Jews who were saved like Paul for a partial hardening has happened to Israel until The fullness of the Gentiles has come in so when the last Gentile was going to get saved before the second coming of Christ gets saved Then the fullness of Gentiles will come in so this hardening is not only partial, but it's also temporary verse 26, and thus all Israel will be saved. So the hardening of the hearts of the Jews will be removed. And thus all Israel will be saved, just as it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion, that Jesus at his return, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob, and this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. So when the Jews as a nation accept Jesus as their Messiah, in the last days, as the final domino to fall, the remnant of Israel will be saved and at that time nothing will hold back the Lord Jesus Christ from returning. When the Jews turn back and accept Jesus as their Messiah, then Jesus Christ will return. And then Paul closes this in verses of this chapter In verses 30-33, that Jesus is the rejected cornerstone, the Jews are not being saved, not because God just decided to harden them for no reason in themselves. God's choice was not arbitrary, but they rejected Jesus Christ and tried to save themselves by works. So Romans 9, verses 30-33, what shall we say then? that Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith. But Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at the law. Gentiles were living pagan lifestyles, sinful lifestyles, weren't even pursuing righteousness, but they knew they were sinners. And so they pursued the righteousness by faith. They trusted in Christ through faith. But Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed. And so Jesus Christ is the rejected cornerstone. He said in Matthew 21, verses 33 to 46, He gave the Jewish religious leaders a parable. about a man who owns a vineyard, had hired hands taking care of the vineyard, and he sent his servants there and they beat him up, beat up the servants. So then he said, well, I'll send my son and they'll treat my son kindly. He sends his son and they kill his son. And then he says, well, he says to the Jewish religious leaders, what do you think that the guy who owns the vineyard is going to do when he returns? And they said, well, he's going to probably take out vengeance on his hired hands. And Christ said, exactly. And then Christ referred to Himself, the Son, as the cornerstone that was rejected by the Jewish religious leaders. And Ephesians chapter 3 verses 19 to 21, the apostles and the prophets are the foundation of the church, Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 10 to 11, Jesus Christ alone is the true and ultimate foundation of every believer. So Jesus is the cornerstone. The Jews stumbled over Christ by rejecting him. They tried to save themselves by the law. Yet many Gentiles recognized they were sinners, they were not self-righteous, they did not think of themselves as being self-righteous. Many Gentiles accepted Christ by faith. God has proclaimed only one gospel. And that gospel hardened the hearts of the Jews, yet it melted the hearts of the Gentiles. God's choice is based on His foreknowledge. 1 Peter 1, verses 1 and 2. We don't have time to turn there. Look it up when you get a chance. God's election. He elects those to be saved based on His foreknowledge that we would freely accept Christ given certain circumstances. And so Christ is the only foundation. upon which a genuine relationship with God can be built. Matthew 7, 24-27, build your house on the rock of the Lord Jesus Christ, because when the storms and the trials come, you'll be able to stand. Psalm 144, verses 1 and 2, Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who changed my hands for war and my fingers for battle. Turn to the rock, the Lord Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone for refuge. In conclusion, We all deserve hell, still God's choice of those who'll save is just. We have free will, we can accept or reject Christ. When the Jews rejected Christ, the gospel went to the Gentiles, yet God has endured a rebellious Israel for the sake of a faithful remnant.