FBC Morning Light (12/7/2024)

Faith Baptist Church

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Good Saturday morning, people of faith. This weekend, our reading is in Romans chapters nine through 16, and I'm going to concentrate mostly in Romans chapter nine this morning.

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The book of Romans stands as one of the,

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I mean, they're all great books within the Bible, but as far as doctrine goes,

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Romans stands among the greatest of all the books of the Bible.

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For myself, I've always had, or I've had this longstanding struggle with the book of Romans going all the way back to Bible school back in the early 1990s.

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My professor or teacher, it wasn't really a professor, but my teacher at Bible school was terminally sick at the time of teaching the book of Romans, and, well,

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I just never felt like I had a really good handle on it. And then a few years ago, in another ministry setting,

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I had opportunity to teach through the book of Romans, and I thought, well, you know, it's been nearly 30 years since I had these struggles, it's time for me to study and wrap my mind around these great doctrines in the book of Romans.

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And I was in a setting where they said, you are not allowed to teach the doctrines of grace, that you are not allowed to teach, as it were,

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Calvinism. And so everything was fine until I got to Romans chapters 9 through 11, and there was a great, great struggle for me internally, wanting to honor what

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I had been told and yet be faithful to Scripture. And let me see if I can bring out what that struggle was.

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In verse 6 of Romans chapter 9, it says, But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect, for they are not all

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Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children, because they are the seed of Abraham.

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But in Isaac your seed shall be called. So in Isaac, right, not, excuse me, says,

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That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

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For this is the word of promise, at this time I will come and Sarah will have a son.

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So Sarah has the son Isaac, as opposed to Ishmael, right?

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And it's through Isaac that the word of God will be brought forth, that the

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Messiah will come. And it says in verse 10, it says, Not only this, but when Rebekah also had conceived by one man, even by our father

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Isaac, for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand not of works, but of him who calls, it was said to her,

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The older shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.

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All right. So even before Jacob and Esau are born, Jacob is the one who's chosen, even though he'll be the younger.

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And to illustrate the idea of election here, that God chooses whom he is going to choose, right?

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And so there's a natural objection here in verse 14, it says,

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What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not. You cannot ascribe evil intent to God and him showing mercy to some and not to others.

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That is not, we have no right as creatures to say that. In verse 15, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever

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I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

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This whole salvation thing is of God. It is not of you or me.

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It is God's doing. All right. It doesn't mean that we aren't without a need for response.

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It's not the point of this. It's the point that it is God is the one who does the saving. Verse 17 for the scripture says to the

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Pharaoh for this purpose, for this very purpose, I have raised you up that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the earth.

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Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills and whom he wills. He hardens. Remember the story of Pharaoh who would harden his heart and then

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God hardened his heart. And why did those things happen? It says here so that God could show his power in Moses and in Pharaoh.

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Says verse 19 says, you will say to me then, why does he still find fault for who has resisted his will?

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But indeed, oh man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it?

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Why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump of to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

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Well, I think in all of this, you could see the struggle that I had several or many years ago in trying to reconcile this whole idea of who is it that saves?

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Is it we that save ourselves by making the right choice? Or is it that God changes us so that we are able to make the right choice?

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And I must say that I have now come to the conclusion that it is of God's doing.

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He has mercy upon those whom he will have mercy and he hardens those whom he will harden.

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And there is no wrong in whatever God chooses to do. And so what then can

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I say? I can only say this, that I have been saved by the mercy of God and he has changed me from the inside out so that it is not of my doing and not by my working, but what

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God has done in me. And I pray that that is the same for you on this day.

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Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this truth that you are

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God. And it is you who has the one true sovereign will to save whom you will save, to have mercy upon whom you will have mercy and to harden whom you will harden.

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Who are we as creatures of your creation to shake our fist at you and say, why have you made me this way?

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Help us to understand your mercy and your grace in a new way this morning.

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It's in your son's name, Jesus, we pray, amen. Have an excellent day, people of faith.