All right, the youth can be dismissed for Sunday school. Go ahead and follow the crew behind you. And the rest of us, go ahead and grab a Bible and turn to the book of Romans. Romans chapter nine. If you don't have a Bible, definitely look around and grab one as we continue and really ascend in our time of worship through the hearing and the study of the word of God. Romans chapter nine. We are in a verse by verse study through this book. And as there are 168 hours in a week, it behooves us to take at least one to gather together as God's people in person for the study and the sitting under of God's inerrant word. Romans chapter nine. We started way back a long time ago in chapter one, verse one. And if you're newer with us, we do what's called expository preaching here, which is to say we follow the scriptures as the Holy Spirit has spoken them and given them to us, entire books with the context, logical flow. And so the Spirit of God has spoken and it is contained here in this book, and so we follow along. and do our best to unpack the scriptures one verse at a time. Romans 9, we are in verse 27 through 29. And again, as you're turning to Romans 9, welcome to all of you, especially those of you who are newer, it's a joy to have you. Thank you for gathering with us this morning. Romans chapter 9, we'll briefly, as you're turning there, I want to comment on something, maybe a little Bible hermeneutics, aka, interpretation refresher, a hermeneutics meaning, how do we understand the Bible? There are not many interpretations. There is only the interpretation, God's interpretation. And we seek to understand that as we come under the word. Well, a week ago, of course, you know that there was an assassination attempt on President Trump, a terrible thing. Someone, there was life lost. The guy in the crowd actually, he lost his life. I believe he's a believer in Christ. So while he leaves his grieving family, he's doing fine. However, in the wake of it, many popular commentators started saying something along these lines. Mr. Trump was shot at 6.11 p.m. And Ephesians 6.11 says, put on the full armor of God so that you'll be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. End quote. Pretty amazing, right? This is incredible. Shot at 6.11 p.m. and Ephesians 6.11 says that. Incredible. While it's good that people may be interested, in the Bible and what it says, this is a misusing of God's word that we have to be very careful about, isn't it? We could just as easily say, well, Amos 6.11, there's lots of 6.11s in the Bible, aren't there? Amos 6.11 says, for behold, the Lord is going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces. Or we could go, Galatians 6.11 says, see with what large letters I'm writing to you with my own hand. Or perhaps we could go to Genesis 611, which says, this might be more accurate, the earth was corrupt in the sight of God and the earth was filled with violence. So we just have to be very careful about these sort of mishandlings and subjective superstitious approaches to God's word. This is an irreverent and a juvenile misuse of holy scripture. And it's not meant to be used that way. The modern verse references, for one thing, were not added until well over 1,000 years after the scripture was given. And that time, 611 p.m. or whatever it was, that's a particular time zone with daylight savings. So it's important that we handle God's word carefully in a way that's consistent with the original context, the grammar, the historical situation, as the author intended, authorial intent. There is the. the interpretation of scripture. So with that, let's have a word of prayer and we'll get into our study of Romans 9. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. It is refined as silver seven times in a furnace. Every single word from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, from your mouth, inerrant, inspired, sufficient, authoritative, And now by your Holy Spirit, would you give us great strength to understand it, to come under it, and to worship you as you are worthy of. In the great name of our crucified and risen Lord Jesus, we pray, amen. One thing that has been a little tricky for believers throughout the centuries and the millennia is that we often find ourselves in the minority. in the great minority, not most people. There are few who are being saved, as the scriptures say. And this has been a source of discouragement at times to people. that it seems like a small, a very small fraction of people actually know the Lord Jesus Christ. We understand that recent surveys, some of them have said, well, 45% of Americans surveyed say that they are saved and born again and know Jesus Christ. But if you were to look at 45% of the population and compare that to what Holy Scripture teaches about what it means to be someone who is regenerate by faith alone in Christ alone, that might differ. Fact of the matter is there are few who are being saved. Christ himself even discussed this. In Matthew chapter seven, verse 13, Jesus said this, quote, enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and there are few who find it. Few, smaller, the minority, not the majority. So there are few who are being saved. If you take any swath of the population, The minority will know, savingly, Jesus Christ. If you travel throughout the world, especially, this is especially true in many foreign nations, it is small. There are very few. But this in no way is to be a source of discouragement, because God is on the throne of the universe. Psalm 93, one of my favorite psalms, the Lord reigns. He is clothed with majesty. The Lord has clothed and girded himself with strength. Indeed, the world is firmly established. It will not be moved. Now, why is it that less than more seem to be saved and putting their faith in Jesus Christ? Why is that? Well, we don't know entirely. God doesn't say, there's no particular verse that says exactly why there are fewer than more. There are certain verses that relate to that. But God never says, here, I'll explain myself why there are few. And as John Calvin rightly said, where God makes an end of teaching, we need to make an end of learning. We ought not to speculate beyond what God has said. There are few who are being saved, but God's not breaking a sweat in heaven. He's not wearing a path in the courtroom of heaven as it were, pacing back and forth as if he's worried about it. So whether it was the days of Israel in Old Testament times or today in the church, there are fewer who are being saved, and this is in part the topic of our next passage in Romans. Follow along as I read. Just to re-give us some context, I'm gonna start in verse one and read through verse 29 of Romans chapter nine. God's Word says, I am telling the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow, Paul writes here. I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart, for I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the temple service, and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh who is God over all, blessed forever, amen. Verse six, but it is not as though the word of God has failed, for they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel, nor are they all children because they're Abraham's seed, but through Isaac your seed will be named. That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed. For this is the word of promise, at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but there was Rebecca also when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac. For though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that the purpose of God according to his choice would stand, not because of works, but because of him who calls, it was said to her, the older shall serve the younger. Just as it's written, Jacob I loved, But Esau hated. What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be. For he says to Moses, I'll have mercy on whom I have mercy and I'll have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then, it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I raised you up in order to demonstrate my power in you in order that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? For who resists his will? On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? Will the thing molded say to the molder, why did you make me like this? Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? And what if God, wanting to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience, vessels of wrath having been prepared for destruction, and in order that he might make known the riches of his glory upon 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, as he also says in Hosea, I will call those who are not my people, my people, and her who is not beloved, beloved. And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, you're not my people, there they should be called sons of the living God. And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel. Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it's the remnant that will be saved. For the Lord will execute his word on the land thoroughly and quickly. And just as Isaiah foretold, unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and we would have resembled Gomorrah. This is the reading of the word of God. Well, as you can see there, it concerns in large part the nature of God's dealings with Israel. We've plowed through verses one through 26, took us a little bit of time. And what we're dealing with here, Paul assumes we understand a chunk of world history and biblical history as it concerns the nation Israel. And in fact, if you were to take the Bible from Genesis 12 to Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, most of that is dealing with this peculiar nation. Israel. Much of what God is doing, not exclusively to and with Israel, but through Israel concerns, of course, to the world, I should say, is through this little peculiar nation in the corner of the Middle East, Israel. And God's people need to understand this. We need to have an answer for what in the world, what do we do with Israel? Again, that's the focus of 39 plus chapters of the Bible. What are we, how are we to think about them? Are they just gone now? Do we throw them out? They weren't a nation officially for millennia. Has God kicked them to the curb? What do we do with all the promises in Jeremiah and Zechariah and Isaiah? The issue of Romans nine is big picture. Can God make promises and still keep them? Is he a God who is trustworthy or untrustworthy? Is he faithful or unfaithful? This was much of the issue in the first century. Why God's dealings for millennia deal with this particular nation, but why, since her Messiah came, who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave, in whom alone there is eternal life, why does the majority of this people, and even to this day, 20 centuries later, why do they reject them? This is the issue here. And so Paul is ramping up to deal with this complex but very encouraging enlightening issue through the rest of Romans chapter 11 beginning here in Romans 9. So this is about understanding God's saving plan. for Jew and Gentile and understanding who he is, a God of faithfulness. We looked in verse 24 to 26, the large hearted multinational love of God that God was dealing with Israel, but not exclusively, the promises weren't exclusively to them. Second, we saw God's extravagant mercy upon two unworthy peoples, Israel and the church. And then in verse 26, we saw the glorious new status for saved Gentiles. Now moving on to verse 27 to 29. We're gonna see three headings here. Number one, we're gonna see the remnant of God's grace in verse 27. The remnant of God's grace. Number two, we'll see the rejection of God's grace in verse 28. And in verse three, we'll see the restraint of God's grace in verse 29. The remnant of God's grace, rejection and restraint of God's grace. So this passage in part, is to understand how God has been dealing with Israel so that we would understand the character of God and the nature of salvation. Verse 27 to 29 in its original context is speaking about saved and unsaved ethnic Israelites, but there'll be application to all people. Number one, let's get into it. A lot to study here. Paul has an economy of words in verse 27 to 29. Number one, the remnant, I want you to notice number one, the remnant of God's grace in verse 27. The remnant of God's grace. Look at verse 27. Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved. So we're gonna be looking at Isaiah a bunch here as well as Romans 9, so be ready to turn there. So Paul's quoting from Isaiah, and let's notice something about Romans 9 if you've been with us. This is now the fourth Old Testament book that Paul has pulled from in talking about God's faithfulness and sovereignty in salvation. To teach this high theology of God and the character of God, four Old Testament books. So what? The Old Testament is as relevant as ever. We don't unhook from it or throw it away or unhitch. One of my professors has called it the First Testament. I think that's helpful. And it's incredibly foundational to the New Testament. So Paul quotes, turn to Isaiah 10. He quotes from this eighth century B.C. prophet turning to Isaiah 10. Very important prophet. Some would say the most important prophet besides Moses. One of the largest books Isaiah is in the Bible. Isaiah chapter 10, I want you to look at verse five to get some context as Paul is quoting here. He's quoting from verse 20 to 23, but let's back up and look at Isaiah 10, verse five. Isaiah chapter 10, verse five. He says, woe, woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger and the staff in whose hands is my indignation. I send it against a godless nation. And he's talking about Israel here. A conservative, religious, temple-going, religious-doing nation. He says a godless nation and commissioned it against the people. of my fury to capture booty and to seize plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. Yet it does not intend, nor does it plan so in its heart, but rather its purpose is destroy and to cut off many nations." So he's rebuking both Assyria, whom he's gonna use to punish, Israel, and he's rebuking Israel. Now look down at verse 10, excuse me, verse 20. Verse 20 of chapter 10. And so here, he's warning, this is before the judgment happens, he's warning Israel that Assyria, excuse me, is coming. Now he says in verse 20, it will be in that day that the remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord, or Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob to the mighty God, "'For though your people, O Israel, "'may be like the sand of the sea, "'only a remnant within them will return. "'A destructive end is decreed, "'overflowing with righteousness for a complete destruction. "'One that is decreed, Lord Yahweh of hosts, "'will do in the midst of the whole land.'" So, some context here, what's going on. We gotta spend about the first half of the sermon on some history before we can get the so what. There's a lot of substance to God and to his word and to understanding him and benefiting from him. So God's ethnic people, his chosen people in the Old Testament, Israel, they've been in disobedience by the time Isaiah writes in the 8th century BC for centuries. They were this privileged nation chosen by God to be a vehicle through whom blessing would come to the rest of the world. They've abused that. In the 8th century BC, if you were to walk around there and just take a walk around Israel, just kind of a superficial, just kind of a quick glance, you'd see a lot of religion in the nation. It was a conservative nation. Religious fixtures, temples, people saying God and God is good and God did this and God did that. Religious activity on the surface. However, however, though they had external fury and warmth and running around, Their hearts were cold, ice cold to God. Lots of outward religious activities, but spiritually dead in the heart. It's a lot of speaking about God with the lips, but denying him with the life. And we understand from scripture, God's not a fan of that. He's not a fan of the surface level. sort of religious devotion. And so instead of Israel at the time relying on the Lord for prosperity as a nation, they relied on pagan nations, Assyria being one of them, which is forbidden for Israel. And that would come back to bite them. So God warned them centuries earlier in Deuteronomy 27, 28, a very important section of scripture given in about 1400 BC, where God says, I'm gonna lay this out for you. You can choose blessing or cursing. Here's what will happen, and he's so gracious to tell them centuries ahead of time, you choose my ways, you bow the heart to me, things are gonna go well. You don't, they won't. He even says in Deuteronomy 28, 36, the Lord will bring you, if you go on and on in disobedience and superficiality, the Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone. And so again, after centuries of Israel treating God like a cosmic hot dog stand, finally he keeps with his promises for better or worse. And he's saying here in verse 20 to 23 of Isaiah chapter 10, this powerhouse nation, they were the strongest nation in the East, in the ancient East. a greatly hated by the nations around them, very strong nation, Assyria. They would march on Israel and ruthlessly invade the nation, destroy it, take many of them captive as Deuteronomy 28 said, forcing them off to live in Assyria. So here in Isaiah 10, Isaiah foretells that in verse 22 to 23. On the one hand, he says, look, the population of Israel, it might seem huge. It's in the millions, perhaps, more than that. Metaphorically, it was like the sand on the beach. as the text says there. However, not all the nation would survive this invasion and this exile. And not all the nation would turn to the Lord for forgiveness and eternal life. Only a remnant, I want you to think about that word there, remnant. Only a remnant would. And when he's talking about them in verse 20 to 23, returning from the invasion, he's not only talking about physically coming back to the land of Israel, look at verse 20 and 21, he's talking about actually being saved, repentance, turning to the Lord, realizing, oh my goodness, Lord, we had been in sin, we were hypocrites, Forgive me, please forgive me, save me. That's what he's talking about. Look at the end of verse 20. They will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Verse 21, a remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. Not just to the land, but to God. Only a remnant will, not the whole nation. Now let's talk about this word remnant, what it means. It means, it has the idea of a leftover piece of something. For example, say a large piece of cloth or a piece of carpet. You use a huge piece of carpet in a house and there's some scrap pieces that are left over, that would be called the remnant. The word remnant also referred to a leftover piece of food that remained from a huge meal. They referred to a few small pieces of wood. After a massive pile of wood was burned, a remnant would be the couple of stubby pieces of wood that are still hanging out on the side. The remnant. And in scripture, the word usually means this, when you have a large group of people, say the entire nation of Israel in BC days, and only a portion of them actually knew God, actually would go to heaven, actually with their mouth and with their life worshiped God. That smaller portion of the whole is called the remnant. And so here the Lord says through Isaiah in 8th century BC, he looks around at the entire nation and he says two big things that are critical to grasp what's going on in Romans. Number one he says, the whole nation of Israel will experience this ruthless invasion and suffering brought by Assyria. The whole nation will. Everybody living in the land at the time. But number two, he's saying only a fraction of them will truly be saved, will truly turn to the Lord, despite the suffering. Sometimes we think, oh, that person, they need to be brought lower, and then they'll turn to Christ and bow the knee to him. That doesn't always happen that way, and Israel's situation with the Assyrian invasion in eighth century BC is a prime example. Only a small portion will come to know the Lord, the remnant. So this remnant, this is a theme in the Old Testament, and Paul's assuming in the Book of Romans, we understand what's going on here. Couple of verses from the Old Testament to mention this, Micah 7,18, kind of a well-known one, one of my favorite Old Testament verses. Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of his possession? In Zechariah 8,12, this is the Lord speaking 5th century B.C., after the exile. yet looking forward to Israel's national, material, and spiritual prosperity. which has yet to happen and will in the millennial kingdom when Jesus returns, and he prophesies this, quote, for there will be a peace for the seed, P-E-A-C-E, peace for the seed, the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, the heavens will give their due, so great national geographic prosperity looking forward to the future, and he says, I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. The remnant saved Israel. So, critical to get here. The remnant is not the entire nation of Israel, nor every Israelite ever born. Rather, it's only the Israelite who has bowed the knee to Christ, put faith in the Lord, in old times looking forward, Old Testament times, now we look back to Christ, and received grace, the grace of salvation. This idea that only a remnant of ethnic Israelites will be saved is, again, it's a major theme in the Old Testament. In Isaiah, the word's mentioned 14 times. In Jeremiah, it's mentioned 22 times. Why the frequent mentions in those books? By the way, it's mentioned in those two books more than any other place in the Old Testament. Why those two books? Because those two prophets were brought to Israel when the nation culturally was conservative, but extremely superficial, saying God with the mouth, oh yes, we believe in a God, they would say, but dead hearts. No true submission to the word of God. And so Jeremiah and Isaiah brought in 6th century BC and 8th century BC respectively to rebuke them and to call for repentance. And to say, look, it's only a remnant that's gonna be saved. And the fact that they would, that a remnant would be saved from all of national Israel is so central that God actually has Isaiah name one of his kids Shiar Yashub, which means a remnant shall return. God wanted a picture of this with Isaiah. Now, I want us to look at one more passage. We're laying the foundation for Romans 9. Hang with me here. Look at Isaiah 6. Isaiah 6 of me, if you would. Turn sort of towards the beginning of the book. And this is the call and the commissioning of Isaiah to the ministry. This is where God, in effect, commissions him, says, I'm gonna pluck you out of your normal life and you're gonna be a prophet now, Isaiah chapter six. So, in the year of King Uzziah's death, he sees the Lord sitting on the throne, high, exalted, this sobering vision. By the way, this is the pre-incarnate Christ we know. This is Christ before he comes, sitting in the temple. Verse three, the seraphim are calling out, holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts. Verse five, Isaiah is convicted of his sin as anyone is when they truly see and know the holiness of God. Verse five, woe is me, I'm ruined. I'm a man of unclean lips. I live among a people of unclean lips. From my eyes I've seen the king. And then look at verse eight. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send? In other words, to the people, to this superficial, conservative, but lost, religious but dead people of Israel. Whom shall I send? Who will go? Notice that God sent a missionary to these people. Lost conservative people need missionaries and preachers to them. Because they're dead. Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? Triune God. Then Isaiah said, here I am, send me. very meekly, I'm here Lord. Verse nine, and he, God said, go and tell this people, keep on listening, but do not perceive, keep on looking, but do not understand, renders a very peculiar commissioning of Isaiah to the ministry, render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed. So Isaiah kind of has a hardening ministry among these superficial, this lost, Religious nation. Kind of sobering. And then verse 11, notice, then I said, Lord, how long? And he answered, until cities are devastated and without inhabitants, houses are without people, and the land is utterly desolate. Looking forward to these invasions that would happen with Assyria and Babylon that God brought upon Israel. Verse 12, Yahweh the Lord has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land, yet there will be a tenth portion, verse 13, notice that, a tenth portion in it, and it will be subject to burning like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains when it is felled, the holy seed is its stump. So this remnant is pictured as a stump left over after this giant boastful, massive tree has been chopped down by God's judgment and it's been thrown to the ground and yet there's a stump with a couple of little shoots coming out of it remaining. That is the remnant. So the idea is not everyone, this is what Paul is dealing with in part in Romans 9, not everyone with Israelite blood in their veins goes to heaven. And that should have been well understood by the time Christ steps out of heaven and comes to the land of Israel in the first century, but sadly they were self-deceived on the true nature of salvation. What does it mean to be saved? So then back to Romans 9. Turn back there with me. What does this have to do in Romans 9 with the remnant? Verse six, look there. This is what Paul's talking about in verse six, which is somewhat of a thesis statement for the rest of nine, even 10 and 11. It is not as though the word of God has failed, verse six, Romans nine, for they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel. Paul's saying there is a true Israel within Israel. And that is the remnant. It's the same thing in verse 27 of chapter 9 when he says, though the number of Israel is the sand of the sea, Millions upon whatever it is, millions. Verse 27, it's the remnant that will be saved. He's saying the same thing in verse six. Not all Israel is Israel. The true Israel or the remnant of Israel are ethnic Israelites who have bowed the knee to Christ and not just profess God with their lips, but have a submission to him with their life, which evidences they've been saved by faith. Again, remember the issue in the first century. They're objecting. They're objecting to, okay, God supposedly is dealing with Israel for centuries, fast forward in the first century, why do most reject him? Does God keep promises he can't, does God make promises he can't keep? No, verse six, he has, the word of God has not failed. God never said anything about the idea that Israelite ancestry is the ticket to heaven. Not every ethnic Israelite is saved, only the remnant. So this clarifies things on how we should think of Israel for the rest of Romans 9 through 11 and even today, as this is a hot topic. Two, there'll be many things we need to talk about, but number one, does having an Israelite passport or blood or ancestry mean you're going to heaven? Answer, no, and it never has. Second question, or point we should say within this, salvation has always been the same in the Old Testament and the New Testament for an Israelite person or a non-Israelite person, aka a Gentile, whether 21st century B.C., 21st century A.D., salvation is always by faith alone in Christ alone. In B.C. days looking forward to the Messiah who would die for my sins because I can never get to heaven by my works. A.D. days looking back to Christ who paid for sin. Confessing our sins of the Lord, turning from them in faith, bowing the knee, and trusting in the Messiah alone is what reconciles to God. So this is the remnant of God's grace. God's grace alone ensures, not ancestry, that some Israelites will be saved. Number two. The rejection of God's grace. Number two, the rejection of God's grace. I want us to see in verse 28, the rejection of God's grace. This is how we're to understand Israel today and the nature of salvation. Verse 28, look there. For the Lord will execute his word on the earth thoroughly and quickly. Again, quoting from Isaiah chapter 10 in particular, he's pulling a bit from verse 23. That word translated thoroughly, it has the idea of completion, finishing something without leaving anything undone, and quickly, abruptly, swiftly. What is he talking about here? What does this have to do? Again, context. Assyria and future judgment that in the 8th century BC was imminent on Israel. They were numerous as a nation. They were commanded by God to be a light to the world. People were to see Israel and their great humility and their great zeal for God and their brokenness over their sin and their love for each other. And they were to see the nations around them in BC days were to say, oh, that must be the true God. Because of your transformed life, I need to come and put faith in that God. They failed. They thought, well, we live in Israel. There's nothing we can't do as a nation. As Israel, God's on our side. He'll defeat all our enemies. They failed to realize that's not true. Only insofar as they confessed their sin, lived in obedience to God's word, and were saved. And so, verse 28 is talking about this rejection of God's grace. The rejection of it. Jesus brings this up again. He quotes from Isaiah 29 in Matthew 15. You don't have to turn there. Jesus says this, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites. Looking at Israelites, even Israelite teachers at the time, he said, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. You get the idea of why Christ was fired up. So at the time, again, remember this, 8th century B.C., when God judges them, again, this is so important for us to keep in mind today, especially in our nation, they were a culturally conservative nation on the outward. Very much so. Religious, going to the temple, not some total pagan, outwardly immoral nation. Even so, God judges all of them. And to an Israelite in that day, there was nothing worse than thinking about Assyria of all nations coming in to plant the Assyrian flag in downtown Jerusalem and in every other Israelite town. For many Americans, that would be now like if China came and completely invaded the United States and planted a Chinese flag in every state capital in all 50 states. It's just repulsive to think for many. Why did God do that? Again, God's not a fan of religious theatrics and of spiritual show. Jesus said in Matthew 23, 25, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but the inside is full of robbery and self-indulgence. So God brought judgment to Israel, and that's part of what's going on here. When there's a rejection of God's grace, no matter how outwardly a person might seem religiously or spiritually, when there's dead hearts and just playing games, God judges them. So he really made a distinction within Israel. The whole nation is brought into exile after God warned them. and only a remnant will be saved. You're not gonna be spared just because, is the idea, you have some external association with God's chosen nation. That was the idea. only a portion of ethnic Israel would survive the captivity and be saved. Again, that is the remnant and all the rest, notwithstanding being born in Israel, going to temple growing up, having mom and grandma pray for them, going to Sunday school, Saturday school actually in Israel, going to Bible camp, memorizing Torah, If their hearts were dead and it was just simply this goofy show, they're judged. They're gone. God plays no favorites. There is no partiality with God. It was only those who get to exile and realize, oh my goodness, this is because of my sin. It's my sin. Only those who were more upset about their own sin than other sin, that were more grieved about how they had offended God than what Assyria had done, only those who were saved would be spared and go to heaven. So it's a warning here. External association should be no assurance. that God is on your side. The rejection of God's grace. Number three, number three, let's notice the restraint of God's grace. The restraint of God's grace. Number three in verse 29. Number three, the restraint of God's grace. Look at verse 29. And just as Isaiah foretold, he's quoting from a different passage in Isaiah, just as Isaiah foretold, unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and would have resembled Gomorrah. The Lord of Sabaoth, kind of it's a transliteration, the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of Armies. Let's look at this quote. This is all the way back in Isaiah one, what we read in our scripture reading this morning. Turn back to Isaiah chapter one. And this is, again, what is one of the more important books of the Old Testament, some say. The very first chapter, out the gate. This is from verse nine. And we saw there that verse three, God says, an ox knows its owner, a donkey its master's manger, but Israel does not know. They don't know me. Alas, verse four, sinful nation. So this is a rebuke on this culturally conservative religious nation. Yeah, they know who God is. They believe in God. They would say, oh yeah, we're believers. They had heard Torah read and the prophets. But God says, he's saying a donkey is better off than you. A donkey knows who its master is, but Israel doesn't know that its master is God. They have dead hearts. Alas sinful nation. I mean just a firm rebuke there to superficial religion. Look what he says in verse 11. What are your multiplied sacrifices to me says Yahweh. I've had enough of burnt offerings. I cannot endure. Look at verse End of verse 13, I cannot endure wickedness and the solemn assembly. He says, when you're gathering to worship me, your hearts, I know that the other six days of the week, you're not repenting of sin. You're not trying to honor me with your life. Verse 14, and then this firm rebuke, he says, my soul hates your new moon festivals and your appointed times. They're a burden to me. Verse 15, when you spread out your hands in prayer, I'm gonna hide myself. And so he's saying here, look, your religious festivals and, you know, starting your meetings with prayer and saying my name, God says that, I hate that. Because your lives and your private lives and your thought lives and the things that you do behind closed doors, they're dishonoring to me. You're just hypocrites. This is firm words here. And yet there is the remnant. Verse nine, look there in Isaiah one. He says, Paul quoted, unless the Lord had left to us a posterity or a seed, we would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah. Wow. Were it not, Isaiah is saying, were it not for God's grace, Isaiah is saying, we would be like these ancient cities sometime around 2000 BC of Sodom and Gomorrah. What were they like? Well, God gives us a picture in Genesis 19, doesn't he? A disturbing graphic picture where you have gangs of men trying to rape other men. Just hard to read that section. And eventually God's patience runs out with the city and he rains fire down on it. And today archeologists understand that it's probably underneath, probably the south end of the Dead Sea, these cities. So Isaiah's point is humble. He understands human depravity. He's saying it's only the restraining grace of God that keeps all of us from having fallen into deeper sin and unleashed depravity and the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah. It's only God's grace that we haven't all fallen into that. And notice Isaiah, look back at Romans 9 verse 29. Notice Isaiah doesn't say, for example, well, if it were not for how morally heroic we are, we would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah. Or if it weren't for, you know, how great of a nation we are, how strong we are, then we wouldn't, we'd become, no, it's only unless the Lord had left us a seed. Only God's grace. that is keeping us from having decayed and ended up judged like Sodom and Gomorrah. And this is a reminder we need to have the attitude of Isaiah here. And so, before I say that, let me say this. This is the explanation for the fact that saved Israelites still existed then, and saved Israelites today, and even by way of application that anybody would be saved. That it's God's restraining grace that God has decided to reach down and pick some people out and save them. And rescue them from the depravity and the sprint to hell that we would otherwise be on apart from God's restraining grace. So, we need to have the attitude of Isaiah. of humility, that it's only God's restraining grace that would keep us from hell. Because unsaved religious people at that time and this time say things like, well, we're better than those outwardly immoral people. We're pretty good. We'll go to heaven because God sees that we've done better. But saved people would say, if it were not for God's mercy, I'd be worse than them. I'd be worse. And the unsaved religious person says, well, I'm not perfect, but I got what it takes to go to heaven. But the saved person who knows God says, given 10,000 lifetimes, I can never come close to God's moral standard of perfection. And it is purely God's mercy that reached and saved a sinner like me. It's just like in Luke 18, where Jesus compares the Pharisee, who people thought, well, if anything, that guy's going to heaven, and the tax collector, the Pharisee's praying to himself, Luke chapter 18, verse nine to 14. Oh God, I thank you that I'm better than leftists. I'm better than those people who are so outwardly immoral. And I'm better than Democrats. I thank you that I'm so much better than them, as it were, he's saying. And Jesus said, that guy didn't go to heaven. It's only the tax collector who won't even look at the temple and he's beating his chest saying, God be propitious is the Greek word he uses. Be propitious to me the sinner. Which means turn your just anger from me. Jesus says that guy and that guy alone is saved. So this certainly clarifies a subject that ought not to be confused but sure is in our nation today. What it means to be saved and the nature of salvation. If God left us to ourselves, we'd plunge ourselves into the deepest sins, and it is only God's grace that restrains me and protects me from it. That is the restraint of God's grace. Now I want to close with just four points of application for us, because probably most of us aren't Israelites here. And even if you are, this still applies to you. Four so what's here about all this. Number one. It is critical, number one, that we understand the true nature of conversion. Number one, we must understand what true and false conversion and true and false salvation is. This is much of what Jesus is doing in his ministry and what the New Testament is doing. Again, Israelites in Isaiah's day and in the first century. And if you go to Israel today, I've been there, it's been a few years, but there are many there, with all due respect, who assume that their outward devotion, their association with a nation, that that is their ticket to heaven and God's word is very clear that it is not. Notwithstanding his love and care for the nation as a whole. We'll talk about what that means later in Romans 11. We're not to presume upon outward external association as a ticket into heaven. In other words, sometimes we hear people say, well, how did you become a Christian? Well, and why do you think you're going to heaven? Well, my grandma prayed for me and I've been to church. There's not a single verse that says, if grandma prayed for you, if you go to church, you're going to heaven. Not a single one. No, not a single one. We must not presume upon external association for salvation. John the Baptist comes in Luke 3 in the first century and he's preaching and he says this, he says this, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee the wrath to come? Preach in Israel. And he says, So you see what John the Baptist is preaching. He's addressing the same issue that Isaiah was in 8th century B.C. John the Baptist, an Israelite guy, is saying the axe is at the tree, guys. My ethnic brothers here. You need to bear fruit. But what does bear fruit means? It means have a heart that is in submissive obedience to the Bible. Glad, submissive obedience to the Word of Scripture. He's saying that and not having a Jewish passport is what evidences salvation. Otherwise, God will chop you down. Firm words. Understand the nature of salvation. The nature of salvation is that I have understood one sin, even one sin renders me guilty of eternal hell, and yet I throw myself entirely on Jesus Christ, confessing and turning from my sin, throw myself on Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness and right standing with God, trusting that the cross alone is where my sins are wiped away, and his resurrection is the vindication that he is who he said he is, and there is no, not even 1% of my works contribute to reconciliation with God. Understand the true nation of salvation. Number two, be encouraged God's people will never go extinct. God's people will never, ever go extinct. This is what a study of the remnant tells us. Times can be tough, days can be dark. At one point, sometime around Isaiah's day in 1 Kings 19, the Lord says, I'll leave, I have 7,000 in Israel who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Think about that. There was a time on earth when only 7,000 people were believers. Only 7,000 of the whole globe were saved at one time. And yet, the light never went out completely. Be assured of this, beloved, if biblical Christianity were a creation of man, or something that just some people had manufactured, it would have been dead long ago. as it survived unspeakable persecution in the Roman Empire and persecution around the world. Believe me, if it were possible for this thing to go out, it would have a long time ago. There are no social accolades, there have not been any social accolades for the most part of following Christ, and yet this thing keeps going and increasing around the globe. Why? Because God is behind it, the God who made the stars and the sea and the Tetons and you. This would have gone out a long time ago. And even in the tribulation, there will be believers, people who get saved, and a mass revival of Israelites. So, as days are crazy, it's normal you're in the minority. You're not crazy. You are not crazy, notwithstanding what people want you to think. The true God is behind this thing, he always has been. You're in the wake of the sovereignty and the strength and the plan of Almighty God and it'll never go out. Third, prioritize the only indestructible organization. Number three, we need to prioritize the only indestructible organization. Prioritize the only indestructible organization. God's been talking about this remnant. He always has his people. Salvation depends on him, not us. Not what powerful nation is in control at the time. It's all God, who predestines, calls, justifies, glorifies. That's why he always has his people, because he is the savior. And look, I'm grateful for the United States of America. I'm grateful for this nation. My mom was an immigrant from a foreign nation. She came here, grateful for the sacrifices men and women have made in this nation. However, we understand this. The United States is not indestructible. I wish more people would hear that today. It is not indestructible. It is not indestructible. It will not last forever. America is not in the Bible. There are zero promises concerning the United States in the Bible, except for maybe if you don't repent, beware. Yet today, Christ is building his indestructible organization, his people, the church. Prioritize this and the only indestructible organization. Why would we prioritize anything over what God is doing? And finally, number four, if you are saved, if you know the Lord, rejoice. If you know the Lord, rejoice. You're in the minority. Most people are not saved, as Jesus said in Matthew 7, 13 to 14. Brethren, we should rejoice that I get to be part of what God is doing. Though it's purely been grace and mercy, why me? Why you? Why any of you if you're saved? Why me? God only knows, because he's merciful. Praise God. Give God glory for how good he is. to rope you in with his loving crucified arms into the only indestructible organization. And if you have not trusted in him today, you know what to do. Maybe you've been like a superficial Israelite saying the name of God with your lips, but with your life, holding on to sin. Whatever it might be, the good news is Romans will go on a little bit later to say, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. You can confess your sin and be truly saved and be spared of what the superficial Israelites and many others will face by trusting in Jesus Christ alone as your savior. Father in heaven, thank you for your word. It is rich. It does not sugarcoat things. You get to the point because you love, because you care, Father. Because you are a loving God, you speak truth. And so as we look back in history, we understand that there is a remnant by your grace alone. And we ask that none of us hearing this and listening to this would ever be like those who were not of the remnant who rejected your grace. but we would receive Christ and we would know and always remember that it is by your restraining grace alone that we have not been lost and fallen into the darkest depravity. So let us go forward this week trusting in you and thankful that you will always have your remnant in the world. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.