Romans 9:1-29 - Salvation belongs to God

Romans chapter 9, verse 1 to 29.

Romans 9:1–29

I speak the truth in Christ.

I am not lying.

My conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit.

! I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people,

those of my own race, the people of Israel.

Theirs is the adoption to sonship.

Theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law,

the temple worship, and the promises.

Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,

who is God all over, forever praised. Amen.

It is not as though God's word has failed.

For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children.

On the contrary, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.

In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children,

but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.

For this was how the promise was stated.

At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.

Not only that, but Rebecca's children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.

Yet, before the twins were born, or had done anything good or bad,

in order that God's purpose in election might stand,

not by works, but by him who calls,

she was told,

the older will serve the younger.

Just as it is written,

Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.

What then shall we say?

Is God unjust?

Not at all.

For he says to Moses,

I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,

and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.

It does not, therefore,

depend on human desire or effort,

but on God's mercy.

For scripture says to Pharaoh,

I raised you up for this very purpose,

that I might display my power in you,

and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

Therefore,

God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy,

and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

One of you will say to me,

then why does God still blame us?

For who is able to resist his will?

But who are you,

a human being,

to talk back to God?

Shall what is formed say to the one who formed us,

and formed it?

Why did you make me like this?

Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay,

some pottery for special purposes,

and some for common use?

What if God,

although choosing to show his wrath,

and make his power known,

bore with great patience,

the objects of his wrath,

prepared for destruction?

What if he did this,

to make the riches of his glory known,

to the objects of his mercy,

whom he prepared in advance for glory?

Even us,

whom he also called,

not only from the Jews,

but also from the Gentiles.

As he says in Hosea,

I will call them my people,

who are not my people,

and I will call her my loved one,

who is not my loved one.

And,

in the very place where it was said to them,

you are not my people,

there they will be called children of God,

of the living God.

Isaiah cries out concerning Israel,

though the number of Israelites,

be like the sand by the sea,

only the remnant will be saved.

For the Lord will carry out,

his sentence on earth,

with speed and finality.

It is just as Isaiah said previously,

unless the Lord Almighty,

had left us descendants,

we would have been like Sodom,

we would have been like Gomorrah.

Thanks so much, Jamal,

for reading for us.

Let's pray,

as we come to God's word.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father,

we are so very conscious,

of our need of your help this morning.

Certainly I am.

Lord,

we long to listen,

to what you say in your word.

We don't want to come here,

and just leave the same as we walked in.

We want to engage with you,

we want to hear from you,

we want you to be at work by your spirit.

And none of those things can be done,

because we deserve them,

or achieve them,

or because of our own great skill,

whatever that might be.

But Lord,

we need you.

We need you to work by your spirit,

for your glory's sake.

So be at work,

we ask,

as your word is open.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

It's going to help you this morning,

especially if you're here,

for the very first time,

to know that we have been working our way through,

the New Testament book of Romans.

We've been doing that,

because our conviction as a church,

is that the Bible is God's book.

That is,

we believe that it is written by people.

So this was written by Paul,

and you can see his fingerprints in it,

his kind of use of language,

and his personality come through.

But behind that stands God,

by his spirit,

who is the author of the book.

These are his words.

Now,

I start there,

and it's worth remembering that,

because we've been through Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

in the last few weeks.

And Romans 8 is one of the most comforting passages,

in the whole of the New Testament.

And now we come to Romans 9,

and that is one of the most challenging chapters,

in the New Testament.

But what I have just said about God's word,

is no more or less true,

of Romans 9,

than it was of Romans 8.

Just because you enjoy something,

doesn't necessarily make it more God's word,

than something that you find challenging,

or difficult.

And the particular challenge,

I think,

of Romans 9,

is that it gives us,

essentially,

a very difficult answer,

to a question,

that we are all asking this morning.

It's a painful question,

and a difficult answer.

And so I want to urge you this morning,

to have your Bible open.

I know I pretty much say that every week,

but this week,

please,

have your Bible open.

If it's on your phone,

and you can trust yourself,

not to check your emails,

right?

I can't do that.

As soon as my phone is open,

and I'm checking my emails,

or something.

So,

if you can,

if you can have it on your phone,

and not do that,

then do that.

But if you want a physical Bible,

there should be one near you,

and have Romans 9.

Because I want you to see,

more than anything,

is that,

what I am saying this morning,

is coming from this passage,

in the Bible,

and not from my head.

So let's start,

with a question,

that we're probably not asking,

right?

A question,

that we're probably not asking.

You might,

and you might not,

remember that,

right at the very beginning,

of the letter to the Romans,

Paul says,

in Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1:16

verse 16,

for I am not ashamed of the gospel,

because it's the power of God,

that brings salvation,

to everyone who believes.

First for the Jew,

then to the Gentile,

right?

And then he spent,

eight chapters,

if you like,

articulating the gospel,

the message of good news,

that is the power of God,

to save.

And now,

in chapters 9 to 11,

he's returning,

to the next idea,

which is,

well,

what about the Jews first?

What about the Jews first?

So chapter 9,

it is not,

everything he's got to say,

about the gospel,

in the Jewish nation,

but it is the start of it.

And he's going to,

articulate this more,

in chapters 9,

10,

and 11,

to everyone who believes,

first to the Jew,

then to the Gentile.

Now,

his reason for returning to this,

should be obvious to us,

right?

The church in Rome,

and actually,

Paul's ministry in general,

has been dominated,

by preaching to Gentiles,

and not Jews.

So he knows,

like,

theologically,

from reading the Old Testament,

and from understanding God's word,

he understands,

that the gospel is first,

for the Jews,

but in his experience,

it has been the Gentiles,

who've responded to the gospel,

and it's them,

to whom he's writing.

And that brings a sadness to him,

the lack of responsiveness,

of the Jewish people,

to the gospel.

And so he says,

chapter 9,

verse 1,

look down at it,

I speak the truth in Christ.

I'm not lying.

My conscience confirms it,

through the Holy Spirit.

I have great sorrow,

and unceasing anguish,

in my heart.

But don't miss,

the layers,

that he's building up here.

It's like a,

it's like a kind of,

first century highlighter pen,

before highlighter pens existed.

He goes,

listen,

this is the truth.

I affirm this is the truth.

It's the truth in Christ.

I'm not lying.

My conscience tells me I'm not lying.

The Holy Spirit tells me I'm not lying.

I have great sorrow,

and unceasing anguish.

Listen how he continues.

It gets more serious.

Verse 3,

Now,

the word race there,

is a really unhelpful translation of a Greek word.

As far as I can tell,

the NIV is pretty much the only translation that uses it.

The word is better,

sort of,

kinsman,

or kindred.

And that's really,

in one sense,

because there is only one race in the Bible.

That is the human race.

God made us all the same in Adam and Eve.

But also,

it's because Paul's affinity is not with a race category,

as we might understand it now.

It's not really even just with a national identity,

the people of Israel.

Rather,

it's not national pride or racism.

It's really a concern of who they are in the plan of God.

Verse 4 will explain it to you.

He then goes on to say this,

doesn't he?

What belongs to the Israelites in the plan of God?

Well,

there is the adoption to sonship.

They are called the sons of God.

Theirs is the divine glory,

the covenant promises of the Old Testament,

the receiving of the law,

the temple worship,

and the promises.

Theirs are the patriarchs,

and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,

who is God over all,

forever praised.

Amen.

See,

the issue,

it's not racism.

It's not national pride.

Paul is wrestling with the fact that despite the Israelites being given all of those things,

still,

they are hard and cold to the gospel.

And Paul is heartbroken,

and he wants to know why.

Why?

Now,

I said at the start,

that's probably a question that you're not asking,

right?

I think it's probably,

we are so used,

I think,

to Jews not believing in Jesus,

that we don't feel the strangeness of it in the way that Paul does here.

But I hope you can see that it leads to a question that you are asking this morning.

It's a question we're all asking.

And that is,

why are some people saved,

and others not?

Why is the gospel,

the power of God for salvation,

for some,

and not for all?

You know,

we share Paul's pain,

don't we,

for his kinsmen,

when we,

we think about the people that we love,

who don't believe the gospel.

But we,

we wonder,

or maybe even sitting here this morning,

wondering,

why are some members of my family in this room with me,

and others not?

Why is it that some people,

walking off the street,

come to faith in Jesus Christ,

almost straight away,

and others hear about Jesus all their lives.

They go to Sunday school,

they go to church,

they go to youth group,

and they never respond.

And we can feel about the question,

just like Paul does in verse three,

wishing even that we might swap places with our loved ones,

our friends,

and our family who don't know the Lord.

Wishing that if it was possible,

that we would be cut off,

that they might be included in him.

Paul knows,

and we know it doesn't work like that.

But still the question hangs.

Why has being around the church

been of so little eternal benefit to so many?

Why have so many people seen the glory of God?

They might even have sort of sensed it

in a room like this,

but now they've walked away.

They have no interest.

Why are there people who know their Bibles,

but still don't believe it?

Why are there people who are Christian in name,

but not really in practice?

That's the bigger question,

isn't it,

that Paul raises

and is dealing with

in these chapters to come.

And so then the rest of chapter nine

is really a difficult answer

that we won't fully understand.

It's not really a great headline,

is it,

for the next section of my sermon,

but let's pick this up in verse six

and let me show you

that this is a difficult answer

and we won't fully understand it.

But we're going to walk through these verses

and see how Paul deals with the question.

Again,

eyes on the Bible.

This is God in his word.

This is not Steve's ideas,

right?

This is what God says.

Firstly,

notice he says,

it has always been like this,

right?

Step one,

always been like this.

If you look at verse six,

he says that right from the very start,

not every ethnic Israelite

was a child of the promise.

He says,

there's always been a distinction,

which this means cannot be a failure

of God's word

because God's word has never

meant that every single individual Israelite

without exception would be saved.

The selective salvation is,

if you like,

a feature of the covenant,

not a bug in it.

So of Abraham's children,

verse seven,

it was only the son of Sarah,

Isaac,

verse nine,

that was of the promise.

Then of Isaac's children

from his wife,

Rebecca,

the twins,

Esau and Jacob,

only,

verse 12,

Jacob,

who surprisingly is the younger,

not Esau the older,

he is saved.

So this distinction is,

that's causing Paul such pain

in chapter nine,

verse one,

which causes us pain

as we see it in our families,

in our community,

this distinction between those who are saved

and those who are lost,

that distinction,

says Paul,

has always been there

from the very beginning of the Bible.

And it doesn't matter who your parents are.

It doesn't matter how close

your connection with the promises

were,

it doesn't matter how much

you knew of the Bible.

You know,

Ishmael was Abraham's son.

Esau was Isaac's son.

But both were lost.

Perhaps you could put it this way,

God has never in the Bible

been what you might call

a universalist.

In other words,

God has never saved everyone

without exception.

There has always been

inclusion and exclusion

from the promises of God.

If you're here this morning

and your expectation is,

do you know what?

Probably in the end,

God will save everybody.

It will be all right.

God will just save everybody

in the end.

Hell is probably an empty place.

You know,

like the sort of hollow threats

of parents.

It's probably what God's like.

Listen,

that is not the God of the Bible.

That is not the God of the Bible.

The Bible is littered

with people who hear

and never believe

and are lost as a result.

People who have access

to the eternal promises of God

but never benefit from them.

Look down at verse 27.

Paul is picking up that idea

from Isaiah.

Though the number of Israelites

be like the sand by the sea,

only a remnant,

a part will be saved.

That's step one.

It's always been like this.

Second step,

step two,

God chooses those he saves

and those he doesn't.

Look at verse 11,

talking about Rebecca's twin boys.

Yet before the twins were born,

all had done anything good or bad

in order that God's purpose

in election might stand,

not by works,

but by him who calls,

she was told,

the older will serve the younger.

Just as it is written,

Jacob I loved,

but Esau I hated.

Here it is then,

outside of anything

that Esau or Jacob did,

before they had done

anything good or bad,

because they'd not yet been born,

right?

God declared that Jacob

would go ahead of Esau,

that Jacob would be loved

and saved,

and Esau would be hated

and lost.

This is God's purpose

in election,

as Paul puts it.

Literally,

this is God's say-so.

Salvation belongs to him.

And it's not that God

sort of foresaw

that Jacob would do some good,

you know,

some salvation-deserving stuff.

So outside of time,

God decides,

I'm going to save Jacob

because he's a kind of

salvation-deserving

kind of person,

and I'm not going to save Esau.

No, it says before,

doesn't it?

Before anything

that they'd done.

And not just in,

not just before

kind of chronologically,

but before logically

as well,

outside of,

disconnected from

anything good or bad

done by Jacob or Esau,

God chose to save Jacob

and not to save Esau.

Now, I know these are

difficult things, right?

It's why I want you

to keep looking at your Bible.

It's worth pointing out to you

that Romans 9

is not out on a limb

in Bible terms, is it?

Paul himself

is just expounding

the Old Testament for you.

Paul didn't write,

Jacob I loved,

Esau I hated.

God said that to Malachi

and he wrote it down.

Paul didn't write

the story of the Exodus

where consistently

we're told that God

hardens Pharaoh's heart

so that he will not

let the people go.

What Paul says

is also just in line

with what Jesus says.

In John chapter 6

John 6 · chapter mention

Jesus says,

all those that the Father

gives to me

will come to me.

Notice what he says.

Jesus doesn't say

all those who decide

to come

the Father will give.

He doesn't say that.

Rather he says

all those the Father gives

those are the ones

that will come to me

he says.

Jesus said of his disciples

in John 13

that he knew

those he had chosen

before adding

that Judas

would betray him

because despite

being around him

and dipping his bread

with him

still he was not

chosen

as one of

Jesus' people.

The other apostles

also carry on

that teaching

say the apostle Peter

in 1 Peter 2

calls the church

a chosen people

a royal priesthood

and the person

they're doing

the choosing

is not us.

It's not that

we have chosen

to be God's people

rather that God

has chosen us

to be his people.

Paul is just

echoing that Bible

theme from the beginning

to the end

that we looked at

with the children.

Salvation belongs

to our God.

in verse 16

he underlines

the implication

of it all.

Verse 16

so

it does not

therefore depend

on human desire

or effort

but on

God's

mercy.

In other words

it's not that

good people

or hard working

people

or people

who do the right

thing are saved

and others lost

rather it's about

God's mercy

and not human effort.

People are saved

because of something

that is true

about God

not something

that's true

about them

or me

or you.

Now

it's worth knowing

that this is not

the only thing

that Paul says

about those

who are saved.

Over the page

in chapter 10

he will tell people

that they need to hear

about Jesus

and believe in him.

In chapter 10

which we're going to

look at next week

he says that

everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

He then says

in chapter 11

that large numbers

of Jewish people

will be saved

as Gentiles

hold out the gospel

to them.

But he starts

not in contradiction

to any of that

but rather to go ahead

of all of that

he starts here

saying listen

first

you must understand

this is about

God's mercy

not about anything else.

And he reminds us

verse 15

and verse 18

repeat exactly

the same line.

He has mercy

on whom he

wants to have mercy

and he hardens

whom he

wants to harden.

Now that's not

because people

go to him

looking for mercy

and some are

turned away

but knowing

that people

who come to him

for mercy

are those

who have been

mercifully called

by God himself.

So here we are

so far

this is the

difficult answer

to the painful

question.

Number one

belief and unbelief

has always been a thing

it's always been like this.

Step two

behind all that

stands the sovereign

plan of God

who chooses

to show mercy

to whom he wills.

He chooses

to save those

he wants

and those

he doesn't.

There's another

step to make

because in verse 19

Paul anticipates

the obvious objection

look down at verse 19

one of you

will say to me

then why does

God still blame us

for who is able

to resist his will?

This is surely

what any thinking

person

who is tracking

Paul's argument

is asking now

right?

Wait Paul

if you are saying

that behind

belief and unbelief

ultimately lies

the sovereign

choice of God

in showing

mercy and hardening

how can anybody

then be held

responsible for

unbelief?

If the reason

that they don't

believe the gospel

is ultimately

because God

made them

not believe

then surely

it's not their fault.

Listen this is

so important

right?

If you are not

at this point

asking this question

two things are possible

right?

One you've zoned out

and you're checking

your emails on your phone

like I said you might be

at the beginning

in which case

come back

or two is you just

not really understood

what's been said

because if you are

thinking

and knowing

what Paul has said

this is the important

question isn't it?

How can God

be sovereign

over belief

and unbelief

and people

still yet

be held

responsible

for their actions

whether they

believe or not?

These two things

seem to us

to be a contradiction

to one another.

How can they

both be true?

Either surely

God does choose

and people are

therefore not

responsible

or people are

responsible

and God does

not choose

but surely

these two things

cannot be true

at the same time.

Which one

is it going to be?

Well look down

at verse 20

because Paul gives you

the answer

you're not going

to like it

but this is the answer.

Who are you?

A human being

to talk back to God.

Shall what is formed

say to the one

who formed it

why did you make me

like this?

Does not the potter

have the right

to make out

of the same lump

of clay

some pottery

for special purposes

and some for common use?

This is the mind

blowing answer.

The mind blowing

answer is listen

that is the obvious

question you're right.

but you cannot

tell God

what he is

and isn't allowed

to do.

You cannot

say to God

you are not

allowed to retain

your sovereignty

in a world

of human freedom.

In other words

while human freedom

and responsibility

are true

and we'll see

more of that

next week

still they are

not true

in a way

that compromises

God's freedom.

God

God

is

free.

That's the answer

isn't it?

And you are not

allowed to tell him

that he is not

free.

And more than that

we need to be

careful don't we?

Because you and I

are not in a position

to lecture God

about what he is

or isn't allowed

to do.

He is the potter

and we are the clay.

In this world

the world

that God

has made

the world

that God

will hold

to account

the lives

that he has

given us

which we will

one day

stand before him

he is the one

who is allowed

to dictate the terms

not you or I.

Because in this world

it's not just

human freedom

that matters

but it's divine

freedom

because step three

is God

is free

to do

as he wills.

God must be free.

Now we need

to be careful here

because there is

more to notice

in these verses.

I want you to see

I don't think

verse 20

is meant to be

angry

or confrontational.

Paul is not

waving a stick

at you

saying

how dare

you ask

that question.

That's not

the tone here.

His point

is not that

asking the question

is necessarily

rude and objectionable.

Rather his point

is something like this.

When it comes

to the issue

of divine sovereignty

and human responsibility

the idea

that God

chooses those

whom he will save

and everyone

who calls

on the name

of the Lord

will be saved.

When it comes

to understanding

how those two

things hold together

the question is

who do you think

you are

as a mere

human being

to expect

to understand

that?

Do you think

you can understand

God?

Do you?

Do you think

that you can ask

God

listen God

tell me

because this is

a trouble to me.

Listen

you must

explain to me

God

please

because I

don't understand

you must

explain to me

how it can be

true that you

are sovereign

and still

hold people

responsible.

Do you expect

God

to explain

that to you

in a way

that you

can understand?

Do you?

Of course

he couldn't.

Not because

God doesn't

know

but because

he doesn't

have to

explain it

but even

if he did

you wouldn't

understand it.

Now I realise

that's probably

not the answer

that you were

maybe looking for.

You're perhaps

hoping for more

that maybe

Paul might

land an answer

that would

end the debate

that's rumbled

on in churches

for centuries.

Churches are

full of

churches that

emphasise God's

sovereignty

at the expense

of human

responsibility

and you have

other churches

which are all

about human

responsibility

and swerve

away from the

idea that the

Lord is sovereign

but Paul says

no you need

to live in the

tension because

both are true

but you cannot

understand them

because you're

a mere human

being

I'm a mere

human being.

There's one

last step

let's rehearse

the steps

right?

Belief and

unbelief has

always been a

thing.

God chooses

those he

says and

those he

doesn't

and then

next God

is free

to do

as he

wills

but there

is a

fourth

step

God does

all this

so that

God will

be seen

as glorious.

This is

where this

section ends

verse 22

look down

at it

what if

God

this is

Paul's

suggestion

and answer

what if

God

although

choosing

to show

his wrath

and make

his power

known

or with

great

patience

the objects

of his

wrath

prepared

for destruction

what if

he did

this to

make the

riches

of his

glory

known

to the

objects

of his

mercy

whom he

prepared

in advance

for glory

even us

whom he

also called

not only

from the

Jews

but also

from the

Gentiles

here

Paul's

point

now

is

essentially

to move

on

and to

say

what is

true

of a

God

like

this

what am

I to

think

of a

God

who

saves

and holds

to

account

what is

true

if

God

sovereignly

raises

up those

who will

experience

mercy

and

sovereignly

raises

up those

who will

experience

his

judgment

what is

true

of a

God

who is

able

to do

all of

that

that

God

is

glorious

says

Paul

and

notice

how

he's

glorious

verse

23

by

making

known

his

glory

to

those

prepared

in

advance

for

his

glory

I'm

going to

slow down

here

so that

we get

this

look at

verse

22

again

notice

that

God's

decision

to

allow

unbelief

to

persist

in

his

world

his

patience

with

the

objects

of

his

wrath

or

his

judgment

is

his

patience

there

is

for

the

purpose

of

showing

glory

to

those

who

will

be

saved

this

is

so

important

okay

God

allows

unbelief

to persist

in his

world

not because

he is

weak

not because

he's

not in

control

of it

but so

that

he

might

save

and

that

those

he

saves

might

know

what

it

is

they've

been

saved

from

the

order

there

is

the

important

thing

God

doesn't

allow

mercy

to

exist

in

order

for

him

to

provide

an

opportunity

for

judgment

instead

he

provides

patience

in

judgment

in

order

to

prioritize

mercy

use

Paul's

example

of

Pharaoh

right

God

did

not

save

the

Israelites

from

Egypt

so

that

he

could

judge

Pharaoh

rather

he

patiently

waited

to

punish

Pharaoh

so

that

he

might

save

Israel

salvation

was

and

is

God's

priority

not

judgment

and

the

Israelites

will

look

over

the

bodies

of

the

Egyptians

bobbing

up and

down

in

the

Red

Sea

and

they

are

to

think

that

should

have

been

me

but

God

showed

me

mercy

Jesus

tells

a

parable

in

Matthew

13

of

weeds

and

wheat

where

the

kingdom

of

God

is

compared

to

a

field

that

has

been

planted

with

wheat

and

then

someone

an

enemy

goes

and

plants

weeds

in

the

field

and

the

servants

say

shall

we

pull

up

the

weeds

and

the

farmer

says

no

don't

do

that

because

you

might

pull

up

the

wheat

with

the

weeds

by

accident

and

we

really

don't

want

that

because

what

we're

really

about

is

harvest

harvesting

wheat

no

instead

wait

until

the

harvest

and

then

we'll

separate

them

and

we'll

bundle

the

weeds

to

burn

and

the

wheat

to

go

in

the

barn

and

so

it

is

here

God's

sovereignty

over

belief

and

unbelief

means

that

he

can

patiently

wait

to

show

mercy

prioritizing

showing

his glory

in

saving

his people

even

to us

who don't

belong

the old

testament

promises

because we

were never

part of

the jewish

nation

we are

the

gentiles

and so

we can

say

can't

we

that

because

of

God's

great

patience

he

has

time

to

include

even

us

so

as

verse

25

puts

it

as

he

says

in

Hosea

I

will

call

them

my

people

who

are

not

my

people

and

I

will

call

her

my

loved

one

who

is

not

my

loved

one

and

in

the

very

place

where

it

said

to

them

you

are

not

my

people

there

they

will

be

called

children

of

the

living

God

it's

you

and

me

you

!

you're

a

Christian

this

morning

let me

just ask

as we

close

what are

we

to do

with

all

of

this

we

are

surrounded

aren't

we

like

Paul

by

the

heartbreaking

!

reality

of

unbelief

people

that we

love

care

about

deeply

see

no

need

to

trust

in

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

or

follow

him

or

turn

from

their

sin

it's

not

ignorance

they

know

their

Bibles

they've

attended

church

we've

shared

the

gospel

with

them

they

just

don't

think

it's

important

they

just

don't

care

and

yet

we

know

because

the

Bible

is

so

clear

that

judgment

stands

before

us

all

what

are

we

to

think

what

are

we

to

do

well

we

are

to

see

that

while

we

don't

really

understand

God

is

still

in

charge

and

God

knows

what

he's

doing

even

if

we

don't

know

and

yes

we

know

because

we

kind

of

come

to

chapter

10

we

should

keep

sharing

the

gospel

people

don't

carry

labels

do

they

we

don't

know

who

God

has

chosen

only

God

knows

that

and

so

we

share

the

gospel

but

we

also

pray

why

pray

why

do

you

pray

for

your

friends

and

family

who

don't

know

the

Lord

to

come

and

trust

in

him

you

pray

because

you

know

that

salvation

belongs

to

God

and

that

he

has

the

power

to

save

that's

what

Romans

9

has

been

telling

you

but

let

me

just

finish

with

a

plea

if

I

can

perhaps

you're

here