All right, well, with that being said, make sure that we're able to go on. So today we're gonna be covering Romans chapter nine, verses 19 through 29 is all one segment. We're not gonna get through the end of verse 29. So I have part one. And I always like to, I don't like to tell you how many parts they are, because as a pastor, that's my cop out that I can take as long as needed to get through it. But I think we can do this in two parts, Lord willing. And the creek don't rise, as they say in Wyoming. So with that Romans 9, 19 through 29, I want to start off by just asking you if you've ever struggled with God acting unjustly. Now I'm not saying you, I think everyone here biblically knows that God is just, but have you ever personally struggled with God acting in an unjust way. Maybe the way you perceive something or how he's acting, you perceiving that as unjust. Well, the individual that Paul's going to be dealing with or addressing in our passage felt that way. He felt that the way God has dealt with the nation of Israel since he hardened their heart, he's unjust to hold them accountable. And so we're going to deal with that question today. And I think that this passage will hopefully lend tremendous light to answering that sufficiently that no, he's not unjust. In fact, it's the opposite. He is perfectly just. And we will examine how Romans 9, 19 through 29 shows that. Before we do that, we've kind of taken somewhat of a break the last little bit as we've celebrated the resurrection of Christ, and just getting into the Book of Romans again, getting up to speed. I always like to think of introductions to sermons or books as kind of an on-ramp. And I might have used this illustration before, and I hope you all know that the on-ramp is intended for you to get up to the speed of the highway. You do not enter the highway at the speed you were driving on the residential areas. You're to get up to speed. We talked about praying for those who irritate us on the road. But with introductions, that's the idea. It can be hard when you jump into the middle of a passage. You kind of are trying to find your footing. And maybe midway through the sermon, you finally find your footing. And then I'm wrapping things up. And you're kind of scratching your head, wondering, well, what did I just learn? So by way of review, I know that you guys keep telling me and Dave that we don't do review enough. So we'll do review again. of Paul's persuasive argument in the book of Romans. And we at Fellowship Bible Church, we emphasize that we are saved by faith alone, in Christ alone. And we don't believe that arbitrarily. We believe it because scripture is absolutely clear. And I think all scripture is absolutely clear, but perhaps no book is clearer than the book of Romans about this simple point, that you are saved by faith. by grace, by God's grace, through faith in God's Son, Jesus Christ. And so Paul sets forth an argument to argue for the justification of mankind, and he does this in five cycles. So by way of review, we've looked at, he establishes, he gets us lost, right? The universal need of justification. Every individual who has had the breath of life has had the need to be justified. We are born in sin. And because we are born in sin, there's no amount of hard work or effort or devotion or reformation that we can do to reach the point where God declares us righteous in the sense of, in standard of His perfect righteousness. So there's a universal need. And then he explains well and clear the only means of justification is faith alone and Christ alone. And not only that, there's the wait, there's more part of the book of Romans of not only do you have eternal life, not only were you declared righteous by God, but there is immense benefits that accompany it. And we looked at that in chapters five through seven. and eight for that matter, but I have kind of somewhat deviated from Pastor Dave's outline ever so slightly with cycle number four being the ramifications of justification. And namely, I think chapter eight is abundantly clear, the doctrine of eternal security. Meaning the moment you are saved, you are saved forever. Oh, but pastor, what if I stop believing? If you at any moment in your life trusted in Jesus Christ, at that moment you were saved. You didn't save yourself, right? And you don't keep yourself saved. You have eternal security. But then there's a lingering question about what about justification in the nation of Israel? That's God's chosen people, right? Well, Their context, they understood that the nation of Israel was under the condemnation of God for rejecting their Messiah. And yet they knew the Old Testament was full of the promises of God, made to who? Israel. Many in this passage. I want to break up this passage into three parts. First of all, verse 19, there's a misguided question. Now, Pastor Dave and I have made a lot about this hupophora cycle. Now, hupophora is similar to a rhetorical question, except it's intended to give an objecting question and then answer it directly, whereas a rhetorical question is kind of just an open-ended question. And he's been utilizing this hupophora structure throughout each cycle. In fact, that's what Pastor Dave has observed demarcates the book. That's what divides one section from another is the way that Paul is asking these questions. Now today, he seems to deviate slightly from the hoopoephora structure, and he uses another structure, a rhetorical device, known as a diatribe argument. a diatribe argument. So we're gonna look at that, but it's in this form of a misguided question. It's very similar to a hupephora. It's a hypothetical opponent or an objector, and then he answers that objection very sufficiently. And so in many ways, again, it's similar to a hupephora, but it seems to fit more of a diatribe. And then verse 20, we see the answer to that question. And then in verses 21 through 29, we see a few illustrations from Hebrew scriptures, illustrations that the Jewish mind would have known well. And so Paul uses that to answer this misguided question. So with that being said, looking at the misguided question in verse 19, making some observations first. First we see in verse 19, you will say to me then, why does he still find fault for who has resisted his will? So that first clause there, you will say to me, Excuse me. That's typical of a diatribe structure. It's a formulaic response, or excuse me, a formulaic question or introduction to this diatribe type of argument. Excuse me. And it's not the only time that scripture use it. If you jump over to 1 Corinthians for a moment, you'll see Paul used it there. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Interestingly, talking about the resurrection, right, in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, down in verse 36, notice verse 35. But someone will say, so this is the diatribe formulaic structure to introduce a hypothetical opponent. And it's a hypothetical opponent who is an opponent. It's someone who is objecting to what is being discussed. And so it starts it and then it lists what their objection is. So someone will say, how are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Now the answer, or the close of the quotations, if you will, of the objector, begins when there's some statement of, oh man, or foolish one, something of that nature. And so we see in verse 36, foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. Now we're not looking at the argument here, but you see the diatribe structure in this text. We'll go over to a great example in James. In fact, I think this diatribe argument really shapes the argument of how you see what is being communicated in chapter two. And I think a lot of commentators miss this. But in James chapter two, the infamous James chapter two, look at verse 20, or actually, excuse me, that's the answer. Look at verse 18, but someone will say, same structure, right? So he introduces the diatribe. Now that's where you open the quotation, right? Someone will say, open quote, and this is what that hypothetical opponent is saying. You have faith and I have works. Now what does your Bible do at that point? It closes it, right? It shouldn't. The opponent is still talking. So someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works. He's still talking. You believe that there is one God. You do well, even the demons believe and tremble. Now, close quotes, but do you want to know, oh foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Have you ever heard that argument? Well, even the demons believe and tremble. That's what James said. That's not what James said. That's what the opponent of James said, if we follow the diatribe argument. So, that's perhaps a tussle for another day that we will leave appropriately right there. If you have questions about James chapter two, we could talk, I'm not afraid to talk, but we're in Romans nine. And so do you see that structure, that diatribe structure here? And in verse 19, he introduces it, he opens it up, you will say to me then, why does he still find fault for who has resisted his will? And then he closes it, verse 20, but indeed, oh man, who are you to reply against God? And so, you will say to me, and there's two questions in this diatribe. This hypothetical opponent is asking essentially two questions. Number one, why does he still find fault? Or literally, why still their fault? That's my wooden translation. In other words, why is Israel to be blamed? based on what he just said. Now we looked at last time God's will in hardening hearts and showing mercy, right? In fact, if you look at verse 18, therefore he has mercy on whom he wills and whom he wills he hardens. Now we talked about that. If you're interested, I encourage you to go listen to that. If you still have questions, come talk to Pastor Dave or myself or one of the elders. But based on that passage that we looked at, the hypothetical opponent says, well, why is it their fault if God hardened their hearts? Why are they still to blame? And then the second question, for who has resisted his will? Literally, it's in the perfect tense, so it should be said, who has been resisting his will? It's a past completed action that is ongoing. Who has completed? or who has resisted his will. So to kind of explain this more succinctly, they're asking the question, if God has hardened Israel, why is Israel to blame? That's logical, right? We might think a fair question, humanly speaking. They are resisting his will, yes, but isn't it because they have been hardened? Isn't that what he just said? Now we looked at, it's they hardened their hearts first, right? And so God gave them up to a hardened heart. The accusation is that God is not operating in justice with Israel. Do you see that? That's their objection to what Paul is saying. So the misguided question there in verse 19. So what do we do with that? Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt like maybe God is, you can't quite explain it, but it just seems wrong? Well, Paul's gonna answer that. Verse 20, making some observations first, but indeed, that's the New King James Version. Or on the contrary, the New American Standard, and I think on the contrary fits better. Some of the older is, nay, oh man. And I like those, but we don't say nay, right? Because we're not horses. On the contrary, oh man, again, this is that formulaic response in a diatribe argument. It's interesting that usually they'll say, oh foolish one, or foolish fellow, but he doesn't say that here, which maybe implies that this isn't so much of a hypothetical, but maybe an actual objection raised to Paul. And he's being a little bit, pulling his punch ever so slightly to not come down and call them foolish. But nonetheless, I don't wanna de-emphasize this because this is an intensely emphatic statement. On the contrary, oh man, and I love the way he says that because he's highlighting where this argument originates, right? This is human viewpoint. From a human viewpoint, they might come to the conclusion that God is operating unjustly, but that's a human viewpoint. And so he highlights this further, who are you to reply to God? Who are you to reply against God? And I think that's a, just kind of backing up from this passage for a moment. That's a really helpful thing to keep in mind when you come across a difficult piece of doctrine that you're struggling and you're chewing on and wrestling with, is recognize that you are creation and God is creator and there's gonna be some things that are hard to understand, right? Peter said that some of the things Paul talks about are hard to understand. The Bible also talks about milk doctrine, right? And then solid meat. I'll tell you Romans 9-11 is not milk doctrine. Okay? It's solid meat. And so there's times where we have to humble ourselves under the Word of God and let God speak and forego some of our potential questions or objections. because that's what Paul's doing, right? He's taking the believers at Rome through this persuasive argument concerning God's justification, and they're saying, hold on, Paul, let me stop you there. You just said God hardened their hearts, and yet they stand guilty before God. Well, of course they're guilty, because God hardened their hearts. And Paul's saying, silence, let me finish, right? And so that's kind of what's taking place here. Who are you to reply against God? And then he goes on to say, will the thing formed say to him who formed it, why have you made me like this? Now at this point, he's now alluding to something that we might not be familiar to, but the Jewish reader would be intensely familiar to, and it becomes all the more clear in the verses to come. So to explain this, verse 20, the question is, why have you made me like this? Which gives us insight into what Paul is arguing against. The hypothetical opponent is arguing that God is unjust to harden the nation of Israel. Paul's response is to emphasize the creator-creature distinction. The creator-creature distinction. Now what in the world is that? Well, it means that there is a distinction between the creator and creation. Does that make sense? Fairly straightforward. But I will tell you, that has got to be one of the single most important truths I have ever learned. That God is creator, and he's the only uncreated being. The only one. And everything else is creation. I've been doing a radio show going through the book of Genesis and the creation week, and I find it fascinating. Everything that's mentioned, the emphasis there is God said, and it was so, implying that he was before creation, right? In the beginning, God, he was there, and he created everything. And he created the sun and the moon, the stars, the sea, agriculture, beasts, you know, all of those things that mankind has worshiped. And I think what Moses is showing is that nothing is worthy of worship. And I loved that song that we sung. Worthy is the lamb. Because worthy, the very idea behind that word worthy is it's worthy of worship. God is creator. And so many of our questions biblically can be explained by understanding that there are certain things that only God can understand. He is the creator and I am but creation. I am not on par with God. Who am I to question God? Who am I to fill in the blanks that God has left blank? That's not our job. This reminds me of another occasion of God doing this. You might think of Job. Turn over to Job 38 for a moment. If you're ever feeling a little big for your britches, this is a great verse or passage to go to. Job 38. Now the book of Job, as you well know, Job endured a great many trials. He lost everything. And he had some well-meaning friends, but misguided friends, right? Who were trying to fill in the blanks that God left blank. And Job even bought into that, filling in the blanks, trying to explain what God is doing that God didn't explain to Job. Well, now God's gonna enter into this conversation. And in chapter 38, verse one, it says, then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man. I will question you and you shall answer me. In other words, I'm gonna put you on trial, Job. You wanna ask questions? You wanna point fingers at me? Your friends wanna point fingers at me? Now it's my turn. I'm the creator. Let me remind you of something. Verse four, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determines its measurements? Surely you know. You act like you know, Joe. Now, I used to struggle with this. It's like, geez, God, you're kind of a little harsh here. Yeah, he is. And sometimes we need a firm hand, right? We need a firm rebuke. We need to remember our place. Dearly beloved, we were fashioned from the dirt of the ground. Who are we to question God? He is the Creator. Verse six, to what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut in the sea with the doors when it burst forth and issued from the womb? When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band. When I fixed my limit for it and set bars and doors. When I said, this far you may come, but no farther. And here your proud waves must stop. Have you commanded the morning since your days began? Do you see where God's getting at here? Now, that being said, he's coming down heavy on Job, but I want you to know he loved Job. And he loves you too. He loves all of us. But we have to understand our position. We are not on par with God. We are not like God. We will never be like God. We were made in his image, yes. He loves us and we are now sons and heirs. Paul's made that abundantly clear. But that doesn't make us God. And to question what he does in his creation. And so that's what Paul is lovingly reminding the Roman reader. So it's a firm rebuke that he issues. Now back in Romans 9, looking now at verse 21, making some observations here, he gives a few illustrations from Hebrew scriptures. Number one, the illustration of Jeremiah and the potter. Jeremiah and the potter, verses 21 through 24. We're gonna only look at this today. But then he issues another one in verses 25 through 26, Hosea and the unfaithful Israel. Israel. Isaiah's remnant promise, verses 27 through 29. And I point these out, one, because Paul is pointing them out, he's using them to explain and answer this objection. But I point this out because I've pointed out before that whenever you come across an Old Testament quotation or an allusion, please stop what you're doing, go back to that quotation and study it in its context extensively, and then resume your study in the New Testament. And I almost, I, I can't guarantee what you're going to see, but I can guarantee that it will shed light on what is being communicated by the New Testament authors. Because the New Testament authors weren't rereading or rewriting the Old Testament, they were building upon its foundation. In fact, I will be so bold as to say that not much of the New Testament is new revelation. A lot of it is explanation of what God has said in the Old Testament. And that's where we come across mysteries, the mystery of the rapture, mystery of the resurrection. Those are previously unrevealed truths now revealed. Even the book of Revelation, all of it, except for chapter 20, 21, and 22, is from the Old Testament, put in a succinct order. And then we get Revelation concerning how long the millennial kingdom is, and then the new heavens and the new earth. So we are going to look at these this week and next week. But this week we'll look at Jeremiah and the potter. Let's first just read through kinda verses 21 through 24 and make some observations. First of all, verse 24, or excuse me, 21, does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath, prepared for destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? So there's a few questions you might have, right? There's questions I would have reading this. Who are the vessels of mercy? Who are the vessels of judgment? Who's the vessels of glory? Who is he talking about here? Well, I think you can make the connection in the context of who he's talking about. And I'll point out these observations, but then I want to go back and look at the original context of Jeremiah. But first of all, Verse 21, does not the potter have power over the clay? Again, the implied answer is he does, right? The potter has absolute authority over the clay. And we might think that's ridiculous, but we don't when we're that individual who's pointing a finger at God and questioning him, right? And so he does not the potter have power over the clay. From the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another vessel for dishonor. And so in other words, is he speaking literally or figuratively? Figuratively, right? This is an illustration. He's illustrating the point that he is making. What if God, wanting to show his wrath and to make his power known, so this is the truth that's being illustrated, right? He's explaining to us the truth that he's getting at. What if God, wanting to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? So whatever the dishonorable vessel is, it's prepped for destruction, right, according to what he just said. Now, fascinatingly, this is in the middle passive, so I think context just determines that. Well, if it's in the middle voice, this would literally be, has prepared themselves for destruction. So these vessels of wrath have prepared themselves for destruction. And that fits the context of what we looked at last week, right? That they hardened their heart, And thus they prepared themselves for destruction. And God said, fine, if you want it your way, have it. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart. And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy. So whatever he's saying, there are some vessels of wrath that are spared and these he calls vessels of mercy, right? Because mercy essentially means a withholding or refrain from judgment or wrath. So these vessels are vessels of mercy, meaning they are the recipients of God's mercy rather than wrath. which he had prepared beforehand for glory. The vessels that receive mercy are then prepped for glory. So he calls the vessels of mercy also the vessel of glory. And then he says, even us whom he called, whoever us is, is related to the vessels of mercy, right? Mentioned above. And then he explains the not only of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. This gives us insight into who Paul might be thinking about when he says us. So now with that being said, let's go back to Jeremiah 18 for a moment. Jeremiah 18. Jeremiah 18 and verse 1, but before I say that I want to preface this by saying it's important to understand that this is not an arbitrary illustration that Paul is mentioning in Romans. He didn't just pull out this random illustration to explain the relationship between God and man. He's taking it from Scripture. from the book of Jeremiah, especially Jeremiah 18, one through 17. There's other allusions to Israel being the clay and God being the potter, Isaiah mentions this, but I think this context in Jeremiah 18 fits best with what Paul is illustrating in Romans 9, 19 through 29, or 21 through 24. Now, first of all, the context of Jeremiah 18, because as you might imagine, Jeremiah 18 didn't start with chapter 18, right? There's 17 chapters before that. Well, the historical context was the nation of Israel just went into captivity. Now, what captivity did they go into? Babylon, right? And Jeremiah, who was also called the weeping prophet and wrote the book of Lamentations, do you know what the book of Lamentations was about? The fall of Jerusalem. he weeped over the city being destroyed. So that tells us a little bit about the historical context here of where he sits amidst this all. Israel has faced the fifth degree of divine discipline. If you go back to Deuteronomy 28 through 30, I've talked about this before, but they entered into a covenant with God that if they are obedient, God will bless them. If they're disobedient, God will punish them. If they continue to be disobedient, he will continue to punish them more severely. If they continue to the nth degree, or the fifth degree I should say, they'll be kicked out of the land. And that's what we see happen first with the Northern Kingdom. of Israel going into Assyrian captivity, and then because there were a few godly kings that led some reforms, but those reforms didn't last, eventually the southern tribes, excuse me, of Judah went into Babylonian captivity. They faced the disciplined hand of God, and Jeremiah is a prophet, raised up in that day to communicate the hope for Israel, but also the judgment that they're facing. So with that context in mind, we are in Jeremiah 18, And notice verse one and two, we see God wants to illustrate to Jeremiah what he is doing with Israel. Verse one, the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. Okay, so he's saying, Jeremiah, I'm gonna show you something, but in order to do that, I need you to go down to the potter's house, and that's where my word will come to you. So we see Jeremiah does this. Verse three and four, what Jeremiah sees. Verse three. Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred, or literally ruined, in the hand of the potter. So he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make." So Jeremiah sees this, right? This is what he sees. Now God explains the illustration, verse five. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter, says the Lord? Look as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. In the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to build and to plant, if it does evil in my sight so that it does not obey my voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. Now therefore speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, thus says the Lord, behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now everyone from his evil way and make your ways and your doings good. So the context of Jeremiah's day is that Israel was disobedient, right? And God was going to kick them out of the land. And yet he issues this warning, but also an opportunity, is it not? Saying that if Israel is yet malleable, is it too hard for me to fashion you into a vessel? In other words, is it too difficult for me to bring you out of captivity and give you victory over your oppressors? The implied answer is no. But he says, but if you continue, then I have devised destruction for you. And I won't go into detail right now for sake of time, but it was some of the most terrible and morbid things you could ever hear happen to people happened during the Babylonian siege. And it was because of their disobedience. So some things to point out. First of all, verse 5 mentions, O house of Israel. That's the audience, right? God sets himself against any nation that does evil. Should have been doing this. Some things to point out. O house of Israel, verse 5. God sets himself against any nation that does evils. Or is it just Israel? Does he have concerns with other nations? Assyria? capital city, Nineveh, come to mind? But especially ones that he's in covenant with, right? Israel. If that nation turns from their evil, God turns from his judgment against them. And Nineveh is an example, right? God was going to destroy Nineveh, and what did he do? He called Jonah to go preach to them. And Jonah said, boy, God, I'm so excited to do this. I'll get on the next flight, next ship. Can I start now, God? No, that's not what he said, right? But that's not what he said because he knew what God was going to do. Do you understand that about the story of Jonah? He knew what God was going to do. He says, absolutely not. Do you see the clay starting to feel a little too big for his britches? And so God humbled Jonah, right? Creator-creature distinction. God's warning were rejected. Look at verse 12. And they said, that is hopeless. So we will walk according to our own plans and we will, everyone, obey the dictates of his evil heart. Follow your heart, believer. Is that good advice? No, our hearts are wicked, right? Bad advice, follow God's word. Therefore, thus says the Lord, verse 13, ask now among the Gentiles, who has heard such things? The Virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing. Will a man leave the snow water of Lebanon, which comes from the rock of the field? Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters? Because my people have forgotten me, they have burned incense to worthless idols, and they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths to walk in pathways and not on a highway, to make their land desolate in a perpetual hissing. Everyone who passes by will be astonished and shake his head. I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy. I will show them the back and not the face in the day of their calamity." So they refused. And so God destroyed them. He cast them in all four directions. And while they were regathered perfectly, leading up to the birth of their Messiah, they rejected their Messiah. And as a result, God cast them out again. This is the context of Romans 9. Now, it hasn't happened yet by the time Paul is writing this letter. It happened in 70 AD, but their judgment was certain. And we know this because of the doctrine of the unpardonable sin. The unpardonable sin meant that that generation's judgment stood firm because they rejected the Messiah. In other words, I don't believe we can commit the unpardonable sin because it would require witnessing the earthly ministry of Christ. And is Christ ministering on the earth today directly? No. So we shouldn't be worried about committing the unpardonable sin. All our sin was paid for on the cross, amen? So God's judgment is sure, verses 13. So explanation, just to go through these quickly. God used the actions of a potter forming clay to illustrate something to Jeremiah. You can turn back to Romans for a moment. Jeremiah witnessed the potter fix the ruined clay by fashioning it into another vessel, quote, as it seemed good to the potter. The idea expressed in this action is that while the clay was still malleable, the potter could fashion it as he likes, but if it continues to not, quote, cooperate, then the potter may just throw it out entirely. God explains that if Israel is malleable, they can easily be fixed and fashioned into a new vessel, essentially returned into the land and back into the position of blessing. If Israel is not malleable, they will be a vessel set for destruction. This is exactly what happened. Interestingly, Israel was in captivity long enough for an entire generation to die off. Has God done this before? Yeah, the wilderness, right? So it's fine. You parents who led the Israel astray, I'll wait till you die. I'm eternal. And I'll lead your children and see how that goes. So back in Romans, Paul is using this familiar illustration to illustrate the present situation the nation of Israel found themselves in. They are set for destruction, yet as was also true in Jeremiah's situation, a remnant was spared from this destruction. Vessels of mercy. Paul and the rest of the Jews that trusted in the Messiah are the remnant. So he's beginning to explain the doctrine in Israel, right? The vessels of wrath. who have prepared themselves for destruction. Verse 23, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy. Who would that be? Well, in my estimation, and please don't feel like I'm the final word on this, but in my estimation, I think he's talking about the remnant, the believers within Israel. They are vessels of mercy. If today, but ultimately there will be a future coming to faith of the whole nation. But until that time, this generation is under the condemnation of God. And they did it to themselves. I don't think God forced people to not believe. I think that they hardened their heart, they reject, they suppress the truth and unrighteousness, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Who said that? Paul, right? He started his letter that way. They suppress the truth, and so God said, fine, have it your way. Does that mean they're unsavable? No, all they have to do is believe. And there are Jews to this very day that have believed, and they are part of the remnant of Israel.