Good News: God Is Sovereign! - [Romans 9:9-23]

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

The Promise to Abraham and the Justice of God

Well, please take a Bible and open it to Romans chapter 9, Romans chapter 9. And I mentioned that I thought Romans chapter 8 was a fitting introduction because, hey, here we are in Romans chapter 9. For those of you who don�t know, I served in Los Angeles County on the Sheriff�s Department for 21 years.

And one of the things I learned being in law enforcement is that I don�t like injustice. I hate it. Whether it�s somebody not in uniform or somebody in uniform, I don�t like it. I want to make it right.

And I always root for the underdog. Who wants to go to a movie and see the guy who was the obvious favorite win or the side that was the obvious favorite win? The only exception to that, of course, is if your favorite team is playing, then you really don�t care if they�re the favorite or not.

You want them to waffle-stomp whoever the underdog is. But generally speaking, not in all cases, but generally speaking, I want justice. I love justice. I like to see right prevail, except when it comes to sin, my sin, and even the sins of others.

In that case, I don�t want justice at all, because what is justice? The justice of God is eternity in hell. I know that�s what I deserve. I know what other sinners deserve. And I don�t think, I thank you, God, that I�m not like those other people.

I know who I am. And I thank God every single day, because even though I�m not good, He has shown me and countless others grace in Christ. Not justice, but grace. Let�s go to our text in Romans chapter 9, and I�m going to read verses 9 through 23.

For this is what the promise said, �About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing, either good or bad, in order that God�s purpose of election might continue.

Not because of works, but because of Him who calls. She was told, �The older will serve the younger. As it is written, �Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God�s part?

By no means. For he says to Moses, �I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then, it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

For the scripture says to Pharaoh, �For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then, he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, �Why have you made me like this

Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory?

Romans is, I think, Paul's greatest work. So much truth and insight packed into these 16 chapters. The first 11 are doctrinal, and then the last five are kind of the practical outworking of that doctrine.

In light of these truths, in light of who you are in Christ, now what? How do we respond? And the theme of the epistle, the theme of Romans, is found in Romans 1, verse 16, and I'll go ahead and read 17 as well.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.

The power of God unto salvation. Hear the gospel. You have your eyes open to it, and what happens? You are transformed by the power of God. And Paul establishes the universal need for that power in Romans 1, Romans 2, Romans 3.

First he starts on the Gentiles, says they all need salvation, they're all condemned. Then he goes to the Jews and says they all need salvation, they now all need forgiveness because even though they had the law, they did not obey it.

And he culminates that line of argument in Romans 3, 23 when he says that all have sinned and what? Fallen short of the glory of God. Paul also in Romans chapter 3 points out that Jesus is the propitiation, the sacrifice offered to satisfy the wrath of God so that God might justify the ungodly and yet also remain just.

Security in Christ and Israel’s Rejection of the Messiah

Now in the second half of Romans chapter 8, which I just read a few moments ago, Paul praises God for all the blessings that are secured for us who are in Christ. And it ended in verses 38 and 39, for I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In other words, for those Christians, for believers, can you be lost? The answer is no. And he's just rejoicing this, exulting in this truth that there is nothing that can pull us apart from the love of God because we are in Christ Jesus.

So it's a little bit jarring when you start chapter 9 and he goes from absolute rejoicing to lament. His thoughts go from those who belong to Christ to those who don't, specifically his fellow Jews who have rejected Jesus.

Going to verse 3 in Romans chapter 9, he says, for I could wish that I myself were accursed. That is to say, he says, I wish I could be damned and cut off from Christ. He can't be. We just read that. Listen, for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh, I care so much about these Jews that I wish I could be accursed.

I wish I could take their place, but I can't. Why? He's just said nothing can separate him from the love of God in Christ. Verse 4, they are Israelites and to them belong, listen, the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever, amen. Now I'm going to quickly go through this, but listen, Israel, adopted by God, sovereignly chosen from all the nations of the world.

Israel had the glory to escort them while they were leaving Egypt and even in the wilderness. They had the covenants, the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants were given to Israel alone. They had the written law of God, which no one else had.

They had the honor of worshiping God in the temple, the tabernacle before that, but ultimately in the temple. And the greatest of any blessing, the second person of the Trinity, the eternal son, took on another nature, that of a man, and dwelt among whom?

Among the Jews. He wasn't, sorry, Irish. He wasn't Japanese. He wasn't Zambian. He was a Jew. And Paul says that they're blessed by that. But the nation of Israel, largely, rejected their Messiah. They rejected the one who is God over all.

I mean, Paul makes a very clear statement, even there in Romans chapter 9, that Jesus Christ is God. Truly man, because he's born among the Jews, and truly God, eternal. The Jews soon became persecutors of the church, and if we read the book of Acts, and we will, you know, the only reason we're not in Acts this morning is because I really can't bring myself to break up the Sermon on Pentecost, but anyway.

We read the book of Acts, and who is it that's most upset about this new sect, this new religion? It's the Jews. And who do they often beat? It's Paul. And he's not mad at them. He says, I would count myself accursed for them.

I would go to hell for them, if it were possible. This is the attitude of the Jewish nation, much of it. John chapter 8, you don't have to turn there, I'm just going to read it, verses 39 and 40. They answered him, Abraham is our father.

Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, if you were Abraham's spiritual descendants, you would be doing the work, the works that Abraham did. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.

This is not what Abraham did. I mean, if we look at the Old Testament, the Old Testament consistently says what? God is faithful and Israel is not. Israel rejects the God of the Bible and pursues idols.

Paul will later cite Isaiah 65 too. Listen, this is God's attitude toward Israel in the Old Testament. I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people. In other words, take, take of my grace.

And what do they do? Instead, they rebel against him. And this is how Paul introduces this discussion of the sovereignty of God, because he's talked about the security of Christ in Christ that believers have.

Then he says, the Jews have rejected Jesus. And he says, the word of God did not fail. It brought about exactly the result God ordained. This word, this very power of God, would be preached to the ends of the earth.

And ultimately, the real Israel, the genuine Israel, would believe God and be saved. Well, what does he mean when he's talking in such terms? He means the elect, those chosen by the Father, wherever they were, in Israel or not.

And this morning, as we go through our text, we have five truths, five truths that will ultimately drive us to this. Not only is God sovereign in salvation, but this is good news. It's good news. We need a sovereign God because we can trust a sovereign God.

Just think of all the promises we read in Romans chapter 8, how we're secure in Christ Jesus. There's nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Why is that true? It's true because God's sovereign.

If it's not true, or if God's not sovereign, then we can't trust him. We're going to see five truths that ultimately will cause us to view the whole passage here, the whole of the sovereignty of God through this lens, that God so works through his gospel that he saves all that he desires to save.

God’s Power in the Birth of Isaac

Truth number one, God is powerful. Verse 9, for this is what the promise said about this time next year, I will return and Sarah will have a son. Now you read that and you go, okay, what's that all about?

Or maybe you'd know, right? It's kind of cryptic, but it's not cryptic if you're a Jew. This is talking about Isaac and Ishmael. It's talking about Abraham and Sarah. I mean, if you'll recall, Abraham and Sarah get a little impatient.

They're tired of waiting for God to fulfill his promises. So Sarah says, what, have you considered, you know, my hand servant Hagar? And they have a, ultimately, Abraham has a child with Hagar. Then the pre-incarnate Christ appears to Abraham in Genesis chapter 18, verse 10.

The Lord, how do we know it's the pre-incarnate Christ? Because it's a physical manifestation of God. Always a Christophany, the pre-incarnate Christ. The Lord said, I will surely return to you about this time next year.

And Sarah, your wife, shall have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. And how did Sarah respond? She laughed. She laughed. She was too old. She knew it. She said, the way of women is no longer with me.

She was done. And what was naturally impossible was entirely possible for God. And so what happens a year later? Isaac is born just as God has promised. When God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, promises something will happen, it does happen.

Isn't that good? If Jesus or if God says, all these things are true and all these things are going to come about, isn't it good to look back and see God's faithfulness even in something like this? God is powerful.

God’s Purpose in Election

Secondly, God is purposeful. God is purposeful. So we go from Isaac and Ishmael to Esau and Jacob, all these comparisons he's doing. I mean, we've had kind of the saved people and then the Jews who reject.

And now Isaac and Ishmael and now Esau and Jacob. Now, you could look at Isaac and Ishmael and say, well, you know, that's really not a fair comparison. Because just think about it. I mean, we know that Ishmael is, he's kind of conceived in adultery.

He's the result of a sinful conspiracy between Abraham and Sarah. Conspiracy, I like that. A conspiracy between the two of them and Ishmael is the result of that. So he's not the promised son. But look at verse 10.

And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac. So we could say, well, those two aren't exactly equal. So if God favored the one who was actually the son of the promise, that would be reasonable.

But Jacob and Esau is a different story. I mean, what could be more fair than twins, right? They're created on the same day. But their fates, the Bible tells us here in verse 11, were determined before they were born.

Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad. In order that God's purpose of election, which is the constant theme of this passage, this whole section from Romans 8 on. God chooses, God acts, and that makes all the difference.

That God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls. We want to say, well, this is a more fair comparison, but ultimately fair doesn't have anything to do with it.

It's about favor. It's about mercy. It's about grace. It is the result of God's purpose in election. Well, what is God's purpose in election? Why does God choose one and not another? It's simple. We don't know.

It's Deuteronomy 29, 29, because he does. The secret things belong to the Lord. When we start trying to figure out who the elect are, we're in a bad situation. I have people, sometimes they'll say, well, how do I know if I'm one of the elect?

You know, and Mike says this, do you believe? The answer is yes, keep believing. The elect believe, not perfectly, but they believe. Deuteronomy 29, 29 says the secret things belong to the Lord, but the things revealed, what?

Belong to us, to our children. Sometimes we like to, you know, well, what about this and what about that? Well, here's what we know. Everything that we need to know is revealed to us in this book. The things that we don't need to know are not revealed to us.

Does that make sense? I think it does. Okay. So who or what made the difference when we're talking about twins? Identical twins, born on the same day. No difference between them. God did. God made the difference.

Verse 12. She, the mom, Rebecca, was told the older will serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What's supposed to happen? We can see it right there. The older will serve the younger.

That's not what's supposed to happen. The whole order of the Middle East is, if you're the firstborn, you've got it made. You're going to be given the largest portion of the inheritance. And, you know, when the father dies, who's in charge?

The oldest one, which is the way it should be in every family, by the way. You only say that when you're the oldest child. But why does God hate Esau before he's done anything? Some people say, well, you know, it's not really hate.

And I don't have time to go through the whole study. But if you look at Malachi and other places, the answer is yes. God actually hated Esau. He hated Esau because Esau was not the object of God's grace.

He was not the object of God's love. And when we look at Esau's life, how he treated his birthright, he essentially trades it for a good lunch. We understand, you know, here's his God-given, ultimately, God-given birthright, and he just trades it easily away.

Now, Jacob, we could get into Jacob the deceiver and all that. Jacob is not a great guy. But God's favor was on Jacob and not Esau. And here's a truth, basic truth, that we talked about a little bit in Sunday school.

Shameless plug. We tend to think that people are morally neutral. That, you know, here's, and I'm not on you if you use this phrase, or even if you've said it to me. I think so-and-so is searching, that they're looking, that they're seeking after God.

Maybe they are, but if they're seeking after God, why is it? Because God's drawing them. In our minds, we want to think that people are neutral towards God. And we want to believe that God is neutral towards them.

Is that the way the Bible describes it? No. We could go over and over again and find places where, you know, Romans chapter 5, where those unbelievers are described as enemies. We were once enemies. Psalm 5, where it says God hates sinners.

We underestimate, we think that people are morally neutral, but it's because we underestimate what happens in Adam. We underestimate the effect of original sin. Even in the womb, a child is not neutral toward God.

He or she bears the sin of Adam. That's why, you know, when they come out and we think they're cute, and I totally think babies are cute, but, you know, they're the cutest little vipers ever born. I mean, that's just, that's the reality.

Esau was not neutral. Then again, again, as I said, Jacob was not neutral either. He was a deceiver. He was sinful. But this is just as true for Jacob as it was, or as it is for any believer here today.

Romans chapter 8, I didn't read this part, verses 28 to 30. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew.

And I'm going to pause there for a moment. To foreknow someone, in biblical terminology, is to set your affections on them. What God did was he foreknows people, not events. He sets his affection. He loves them.

He chooses them. He sets them aside. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called.

And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. With Jacob, even his sin, God used for good, for his good, for Jacob's good, and ultimately for God's purposes.

God is not the author of sin, but he uses secondary means, like Jacob. Okay, so God is powerful, God is purposeful, and third, God is just. Sorry, there's no P here. God is just. This question arises.

If we have two equal parties, Esau, Jacob, why is it that God hates Esau and loves Jacob? And the question is in verse 14. What shall we say then? Is there injustice, right? Don't we just want to go, well, that's not fair.

And Paul says, by no means. It's the strongest form of negation in the Greek language. Absolutely not. In each case that we've looked at, the nation of Israel, Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob and Esau, was God unjust.

One commentator said this. He said, for God to do such a thing to favor Jacob over Esau, even though they hadn't done anything, he calls it thoroughly immoral. Just wrong. What does that bring about for you?

What does that make you think if you think, well, that's not fair, that's not right, that's thoroughly immoral. Here we are, we are the judges. God is on trial. That's the picture. We're going to decide that God is not fair.

God is unjust. And really, it's not even that so much. For the unbeliever, as they look at this, they're not the jury. They're more like a lynch mob. They think they know what God ought to do, how he ought to act, how he ought to think, that he ought to be fair, that he's obligated to give grace to everybody.

And Paul says in Stevies, get that idea out of your head. It's foolishness. It's wrong. It's unbiblical. You're redefining God. Excuse me. You're refashioning God in your own image. You're determining what is fair and then saying, well, God should be like me.

God determines. God judges. God decides. Look at verse 15. For he, being God, says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy. I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. This is an allusion to Exodus 33.

I'm going to read verses 17 and 19. If you recall, Moses asked to see the glory of God. In fact, we'll read that here. And the Lord said to Moses, this very thing that you have spoken, I will do for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.

Verse 18, Moses said, please show me your glory. And he, God, said, I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name, the Lord. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Moses asked to see the glory of God and the Lord agrees to show him a bit of it. But our concern is what God says, and Paul repeats, that grace and mercy belong to God. They are his to dispense. They're his to give as he desires, to whom he desires.

He's under no obligation. And the idea that God would be unjust is simply outrageous. Is God obligated to be gracious? Is he obligated to be merciful? And the answer is simple. If grace is obligated, then it's not grace.

If mercy is obligated, then it's not mercy. As we open, I said, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. In other words, the truth that Jesus came to earth, took on an additional nature, lived the sinless life God demands, died to pay the price of every sin of every believer, and then rose on the third day.

That truth is propelled into the heart of every believer. They become, they're unsaved, and God, the Holy Spirit, causes them to be born again. What? How? By the proclamation of the gospel. He uses that to cause them to be born again.

And if the Holy Spirit does not cause someone to be born again, is he unjust? If he doesn't take everyone and give them a new heart, new desires, new affections, is he being unjust? And the answer, of course, is no.

So why is it that we think somehow, or does anyone really believe, that God is obligated to show mercy to everyone? And look, man cannot earn mercy. Verse 16, so then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Again, it's His alone. Every false religious system says that you can do something to gain God's favor, that He will then give you mercy. But this passage cannot be more plain. God is the determiner of who does or does not receive His mercy, and nothing we can ever do will change that.

There's no amount of sacraments we can take, confessions we can make, you know, good works of any kind that we can do that are going to force God, as it were, that corner Him into giving us mercy. He goes on to describe the example of Pharaoh.

Verse 17, for the Scripture, notice how Scripture is used in place of really the voice of God. It is fascinating here. You want to talk about God breathed. How about this? For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

Most powerful kingdom in all the world, Egypt. Why was it powerful? Because they had slave labor of Israel. But when Israel is delivered from Pharaoh's hand, when they are wandering through the wilderness, and then when they go into the promised land, there are countries that, and there are people groups that want nothing to do with them.

Why? Because they've heard what happened. If the power of a nation was measured by the power of a God, this was a powerful God who delivered Israel out of the mouth, as it were, of Egypt. Look at verse 18.

So then he, talking about God, has mercy on whomever he wills, and then he hardens whomever he wills again. The mercy of God is his alone. But here we have this idea of hardening being added. Well, how did God harden Pharaoh?

If we went through, we're not going to go through the whole thing, but if we went through the account in Exodus, Pharaoh hardens his heart. He rejects what Moses says. He, you know, he, well, here's what happens.

He says, Moses says, this is what's going to happen, and Pharaoh appears to relent, and then he doesn't. He hardens his heart. Every single time then in response, text says God hardened him. Well, what did that mean?

It means if God hardened somebody, he takes a little bit of the restraining grace away from them. We're not all as bad as we could be before we get saved. Some people are a lot worse than others. Well, what is the difference?

It's that restraining grace of God, that he keeps people from being as wicked as they otherwise would be. So when it says he hardens Pharaoh, or he hardens whomever he wills, it simply means that instead of keeping them at this level, he pulls back a little bit and lets them be more wicked.

So described over and over again in Romans chapter one, what happens? You know, somebody sins, or they worship the creation instead of the creator, and God gives them over. We have this constant refrain, God gave them over, God gave them over.

That's the restraint being removed step-by-step so that a society becomes more and more sinful. But God is perfectly just, and he sets the standard for what just is. That some people want to set their own standard is of little matter, except when we consider what peril their souls are in.

God Beyond Reproach and Beyond Understanding

So first, God is powerful. Second, God is purposeful. Third, God is just. And fourth, God is beyond reproach. God is beyond reproach. Look at this question here in verse 19. Paul writes, You will say to me then, why does he still find fault?

For who can resist his will? Okay, Paul, if what you're saying is true, if God is so sovereign in salvation, if he is the giver of mercy, if he is the giver of grace, if he is the determiner of who's going to be saved or not, then how can he judge anyone?

If he's that sovereign, why is he going to punish anyone? It's not their fault. No one can resist his will. As I consider this, it reminds me, reminded me a little bit of, you know, this is kind of like the argument of a little child.

Because it's like this, I don't know if anybody's ever had this experience. But as a child, you're throwing something around, either in the house or in the backyard. I guess here in New England, it's usually in the house because you have like what?

We have about three months where you can go outside. So they're throwing something around the front room and, you know, crash, something breaks. Well, I didn't mean to break it. Well, okay, but, you know, throwing the football around in the house is, you know, a little hazardous.

I don't care if you are Tom Brady III or whatever, you know. It's not my fault. But that idea that it's not my fault, that I didn't intend it or whatever, misses the mark. Why? Because these, again, are not morally neutral people.

We inherit a sin nature from Adam. And then we sin, not just by nature, but by choice. It's not just throwing the ball around in the house or doing something, you know, just childish. It's very intentional to suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness and a sin.

We all have consciences. I mean, I'm just like recapping all of Romans. And Paul says, essentially, check yourself with this whole question. It's really not fair. How can God find fault? How can he judge anybody?

After all, nobody can resist him. What's Paul's answer to that? You know, typically, what do you say? If you answer a question with a question, have you ever done that? Yes. And it's usually because you're trying to dodge.

In this case, Paul answers a question with a question because the question in verse 19, why does he still find fault, is impertinent. It's shocking. It's disgraceful. Verse 20. But who are you, oh man, to answer back to God?

It's absurd. I'm going to ask you a question because you really need to rethink what you're saying. You ever said that to one of your kids? I heard what you said. I think you need to think it through again.

Will what is molded say to its molder? Why have you made me like this? Is that a good picture? Isn't God the creator? He goes on to say in verse 21, has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

When I worked in a jail, sometimes people would say, I know this is shocking to you. Some of the inmates would say rude things to me. It was amazing. And, you know, so I would get that kind of shocked look on my face like, a lot of times, depending on their size, walk up to them and I'd just go, pull the sleeve of their jumpsuit and I'd go, you know what?

Your arms aren't big enough to talk to me like that. Why? It's the same picture here. Only it's like times a million. You think you can talk to God, you insignificant creature, you little lump of clay, you really think you can question the eternal God.

Do you know who you are, right? It's like, you know, when the cop stops a politician, do you know who I am? Well, this is the opposite. Do you know who you are? God made you out of dirt. He breathed life into you.

He sustains you and the entire universe, and yet somehow you think he's subject to your authority. Paul says, there are some questions that don't deserve an answer. God didn't make you sinful. In your sinfulness that you were born into, you rebelled against him, and he did not intervene.

You did it. He didn't grace you, but you are guilty. Here's how our confession of faith said it. By the decree of God for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ.