Book of Romans - Ch. 9, Vs. 18-Ch. 10, Vs 4 (07/14/2002)

Romans 9: God’s Mercy, Hardening, and the Potter’s Rights

We're in the ninth chapter of the book of Romans, and we'll start with verse 18. So, open your Bibles to Proverbs 16. Proverbs 16 .4. David, will you read that nice and loud for all of us? If you didn't know, that would blow your mind.

The Lord has made all things for himself. That pretty well says it. Even the wicked. He's made even the wicked. He made them wicked for the day of evil. The wicked can do only that which they have been programmed to do.

Verse 18. Therefore, because of this, he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. Now, Archie, that seems pretty settled to me. Not, doesn't leave much room for argument.

Whom he will, he hardeneth. As he did Pharaoh. Do you remember Pharaoh? He hardened him by continually asking him to face questions that caused him to harden his heart. He continued Pharaoh on earth, and suffered him under judgments and mercies to act out his wickedness, and thus grow harder and more wicked than he was before.

That doesn't sound like the God that I serve, but it is. 19. Thou will say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault for who has resisted his will? The reason that God can justly judge is what? Why is it God can judge justly?

Archie? Well, man does. All right, man operates on this earth. We have a reason for doing what we do, but can God judge me justly when he has made everything and causes everything to be for himself? Who said that?

Put up your hand. I'm not kidding. I can't see. Okay. 20. He knew the end from the beginning. Well, is he working toward that end? All right. Greg, how can God judge justly when man does what he wants to?

Well, as far as he knows he does. All right. The reason God can justly judge everybody is simply because man does that that he wants to do. He's held responsible for that that he does. He never, never knowing that what he does is the will of God.

We don't know that. So God took Pharaoh. He hardened his heart. He kept him here on earth as long as was necessary. He got a good lesson out of it and everything's already been done. Everything has already been finished.

This is what Archie said. Now, if everything is already finished, everything already done, he can see the end from the beginning. He can see the middle from the beginning. 21. Then he could justly say, Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest against God?

Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus? Shall the thing formed? What is the thing, David? You and I, the whole world, every individual, all of creation, every rock, every tree, everything come out of God.

There is no sure demonstration in any matter because it is grounded upon this principle that the will of God is the rule of righteousness, an amplification of the former answer taken from a comparison by which to also appear that God's determinate counsel is set by Paul as the highest of all causes so that it depends not in any way on the second cause but rather shapes and directs them.

What do I mean by the cause of the first cause, Greg? The first cause of the first cause, he is that cause. Man always looks at everything as cause and effect. He was the first cause. God was first. He caused everything.

I've got to force myself to remember that. Hath not the potter power over the clay? You have a lump of clay here and you want to make something out of it. Does the clay dictate to me? No, I dictate to it.

The clay is just an inert mass but I can form something beautiful. He says, hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? Now I have a rather difficult question for you.

Does God reason? And if so, why? And if not, why? Dennis? All right. Well, that's not reasoning. He explains what we need to know of himself. Well, then does God make decisions, David? It's hard for me to not think in sequence.

In fact, I can't do it because I'm in time. Yes? Jesus what? Well, he can reason with us in trying to get us to see his view. But Jesus is the same way. Jesus doesn't change his mind either. Yes? All right.

Romans 9 .22. What? If God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. There are those people in this world that after their assigned work is finished for Satan, they go into hell forever.

You believe that? Do you believe that? Don't be afraid to answer. Everything in existence is just for the Lord. All of creation came because God wanted to please himself. There is nothing made that he needed, and he needed nothing that he made.

Man was not necessary, and neither were the angels. 23. And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had aforeprepared unto glory. When did he make us? Yes. It just hadn't come into existence yet.

Now, just as certain ones are made, and after they finish their work, they go to hell. There are those that are made for heaven. And you can't go anyplace else. He's taken it all out of our hands. Well, it never was in our hands.

There'll be no one in hell or heaven because of you. You understand that? You can't send somebody to hell or heaven. This means that no matter how poor a witness you are, you will not send them to hell.

I remember when I first discovered that. Lloyd Allison was in the group, and he says, you mean to tell me that I can't send somebody to hell? That's what I mean. He said, boy, that takes a load off my mind.

Too long, people have been taught that if you don't go and witness to that person, he could slip into hell. Sin is a composite of human effort and divine judgment. It's what sin is. 24. Even us, whom he hath called, not of Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, as he saith to Osie, I will call them my people, which are not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved.

Salvations of the Lord, not of man. But most people believe that man must accept it. Is that true, Greg? No. You do not accept salvation. You receive it. As long as you are believing that you accept it, I can't say you're lost, but 26.

And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people, there shall they be called the children of the living God. There shall they be called the sons of God. So that they need not leave their own country to come to Judea.

He can save you any place you are in the world. He's put you there. He can save you. Isaiah also cried concerning Israel. Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the seed, a remnant shall be saved.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and who makes profession of his name and truth, the number of those who will be at that last eternally saved will be but a comparative few out of this world. A remnant.

It's always been a remnant. It will always be a remnant. 28. For he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. These appear to be forensic terms and refer to the conclusion of the judicial judgment.

The Lord has tried them, found them guilty, and will immediately execute upon them the judgment that their sins bought, not brought, bought. The judgment will be swift. There'll be no change of venue, no reversal of the judgment.

And as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Sabbath had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom and had been made like unto Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah had perished on account of their sins, the most abominable sin of all.

Had it not been for God's mercy, Israel would have been blotted out for the same cause years ago. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

Greg, what's he talking about in that verse? Church members that think they're good enough to be saved cannot be taught the word. You realize that? Church members that think they're good enough to be saved cannot be taught.

Thirty-one. But Israel which followed after the law of righteousness hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Why, David, why is it that Israel has not attained righteousness? Pride. They cannot overcome pride.

Wherefore, because they sought it not of faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at the stumbling stone. Dennis, who was the stumbling stone to the Jew? Christ. Christ Jesus. Archie, what made him such a stumbling stone to the Jew?

That's right. And even his disciples were expecting him to set up an earthly kingdom, but he went away. They couldn't fathom that. Wherefore, because they sought it not by faith, they did not look for it by faith.

It was here that they had their mistake, being ignorant of God's righteousness, of his method of saving sinners, saving us by faith in Christ. They went about to establish their own righteousness, which Archie says they could not.

Their own method of obtaining everlasting salvation. It has to be done the way of the Lord. Now, salvation is not the end product. I'm not striving to get salvation, but the method that he uses was against their reasoning.

As it is written, behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Of course, this is talking about Jesus Christ. But so far shall any be from confusion or disappointment who believe in Christ Jesus, that on the contrary, every genuine believer shall find salvation.

Christ as the End of the Law and the Stumbling Stone

The remission of sins here, and eternal glory hereafter. Chapter 10, and I'll ask you a question as we go in. Greg, look up Matthew 22 -23. Archie, turn to Mark 12 -27. David, go to Luke 20 -38. Do you have that?

All right. Who has Matthew 23 -32? Yes. No. 22 -33. Mark 12 -27. Luke 20 -38. All right. He is the God of the dead or the living? The living. What if I could prove to you that he is the God of the dead and the living?

Go to Romans 14 -9. Read that, Greg. Well, we found a mistake, haven't we? Do you want to say something, Clarence? Well, think about that. We'll come back to it. Romans 10 -1. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.

He would not have prayed this if they had been absolutely condemned. For I bear record that they have zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. They have zeal, but not according to knowledge. Zeal without knowledge is like this.

It is like a blind man looking for a black cat in a coal bin at midnight. He gets exercise, but doesn't accomplish anything. Zeal without knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness. Isn't it amazing? People can read the Bible all of the time and be ignorant of his teaching to them. It's for somebody else. We must be taught that we are to submit ourselves to him every day.

I don't hear this in churches today. This is their schedule. Monday, they have basketball. Tuesday, football. Wednesday, they have volleyball. Thursday, baseball. Friday, they just have a ball. They have the people so busy that you never have time for the Bible.

Scripture must be obeyed with the obedience of belief. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Philippians 129, for unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.

And Philippians 2 .13, for it is God, it is he which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. It is he that is working in you, in me. Now, Greg, does that leave any time for me to work?

Why is it that we don't recognize that? I think you're right. Everything that happens is under his control. Everything comes from him. I don't care how destitute you are. God put you there. We should not find fault with people.

Yes, the anointing of God is the end of the law. There had to be a body. There had to be somebody here to do that. That was Jesus. Jesus the Christ. He was the anointed. He came. He was God. He came as God, as man.

He was anointed. He was the end of the law. That's right. Does that answer your question? You're the first person I have found that looks at that like I do. Jesus the Christ. Christ is God. Christ is the anointed.

Christ is that essence that came. It was housed in a man called Jesus. Now, Jesus Christ was just as free of sin as God is, but Christ was the anointing. It was applied by Jesus. There had to be a man here to do that, and that was Jesus.

Jesus is the Christ. In 1 John 3 .22, and whatsoever we ask, we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Greg turned over to that 1 John 3 .22, and let's look at something else.

Yes, read it, and then the following verses. That's it. We keep his commandments, plural. Commandments. Because we kept his commandment, and his commandment was to believe on Jesus Christ. You see that?

One little letter makes a difference. We keep his commandments, all of them, because we keep his commandment. Loyalty in action gives assurance in prayer. Loyalty in action gives assurance in prayer. Did Jesus keep the law for us?

No. Why did he keep the law? That enabled him to do what, David? He kept the law so he could be my substitute in pleasing God. Well, I want to stop here. We'll start with five, more or less. Don't forget your question and your answers you gave me.

Is there anything from anybody? Well, is there nothing from nobody there? We have a visitor with us this morning. I didn't. Natalie Holmes. Let's stand, and Greg, will you dismiss us, please? What? Yes, yes.