The Gospel Announced: The Gospel is all about Grace

So we're reading from Romans chapter 9 starting at verse 14 and that's on page 1136 in the Red Church Bible.

Romans 9 · chapter mention

So starting in verse 14 of Romans chapter 9.

Romans 9 · chapter mention

What shall we say then? 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 man's desire or effort but on God's mercy.

For the 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 resists his will?

But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?

Shall what is formed say to him 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 noble purpose and some for common use?

What if God, choosing to show his wrath, made 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 it will happen that in the very place where it is said of them, you are not my people, they will be called sons of the living God.

Isaiah cries out concerning Israel.

Though the number of the Israelites is 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 his descendants, we would have become like Sodom.

We would have been like Gomorrah.

Thanks.

Thanks very much, Nick.

Well, as we continue on in our studies, in our series through Romans,

I just want to draw your attention to something in the news sheet again and related to that.

It's the section at the bottom on the inside.

It has gotherefore.com.

Two resources to encourage you to check out.

There's a little book.

They're called a little black book series.

I have a hard copy here if you want to know what it's like.

And it's on the subject of predestination.

That's a big, big word.

But it's helping us to unpack what it means that God would choose us by his grace or set his grace upon us

and deals with the whole subject of our free will and God's work in our lives.

It's aimed at students.

So it's right for me.

So I hope you get what I mean by that.

So easy to understand for people like me.

And then the other one is Peace with God, which is a little study book as well,

which takes you through Romans.

So those are just resources that are available that might help you as we go through this section.

And also the previous talks from Romans 1 to 8 are also up online from previous times.

Well, let's ask for God's help as we pray.

Amen.

Father, your word is good.

It is truth to us.

And it is truth that changes our lives, not just now but for all eternity.

And we ask that by the power of your spirit, you would help us to grasp your word to us this morning,

this afternoon, that it will indeed change us,

that it will tune our hearts to your grace

and know what it is to live in response to your grace.

So please help us, Father, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, I want us to imagine for a moment that you're the parent of two children.

It's come to the stage in life where they're grown up

and you must sort out the family inheritance.

But here's the catch.

The law states that only one child can receive the inheritance.

Only one.

So who do you choose?

Which one will you put on the list?

Of course, whichever one you choose, it's going to seem very unfair and very unkind to the other one.

Well, that's the issue that is being raised here.

And I know it has been a matter of much talk for a lot of us over this past week.

But this is the subject that is being raised.

God, we are told, chooses who receives his salvation.

So look back at verse 11 of Romans 9.

Well, it says this,

Yet before the twins were born,

this was the twins, Isaac and Jacob,

before they were born,

or before they had done anything good or bad,

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

or in order that God's purpose in choosing might stand,

not by works, but by him who calls.

She was told the older will serve the younger.

It's making it very clear that God made a choice.

He chose one and he rejected the other.

Now, to us, that seems very ungracious,

unloving, and unkind.

It doesn't seem to fit in with the God that we know

who loves to portray himself as the Lord,

the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger,

abounding in unfailing love and faithfulness.

We're struggling to put these two things together.

And in response,

what we find in this text

are two big questions that are raised.

But as we ask these two big questions,

as we answer them,

we discover that God is a gracious God.

In fact, his grace overflows to more and more people

than we could ever expect or imagine.

So what are these two questions?

Well, the first one comes in verse 14.

Question one, is God fair?

Look at verse 14.

What then shall we say?

Is God unjust?

Is God fair in choosing one and rejecting another?

Well, here's the answer.

Read on.

Not at all.

And he gives two examples to help us to understand that.

Firstly, we see it in God's mercy to Moses.

Look at verse 15.

For God says to Moses,

I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,

and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.

Now, to understand that quote,

we need to go back to the story from where it comes from,

which is in Exodus chapter 34.

Exodus 34 · chapter mention

So you can keep your finger in Romans 9

and go back to Exodus 34.

And Exodus, you know,

tells us the amazing story

of God's rescue

of the people of Israel

who were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt.

But as soon as God rescued them,

as soon as he brought them out of slavery

and was bringing them towards the promised land,

the people did something terrible.

They all turned their backs on God.

And when Moses was up Mount Sinai

receiving the law,

Aaron, the leader of them,

told all the people

to take off their gold earrings

to do something.

So look at Exodus chapter 32, it is.

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

Sorry, Exodus 32, verse 4.

Exodus 32:4

Exodus 32, verse 4.

Exodus 32:4

He took what they handed him

and made it into an idol

cast in the shape of a calf,

fashioning it with a tool.

Then they said,

These are the gods, O Israel,

who brought you out of Egypt.

How do you think God would respond to that?

Well, we're told in verse 9.

I have seen these people,

the Lord said to Moses.

And they're stiff-necked people.

They're stubborn and hard-hearted.

Now leave me alone

so that my anger may burn against them

and that I may destroy them.

But Moses prayed for the people in verse 11.

He prayed and he pleaded with God.

And as we read on the story,

we discover this is what happened.

Instead of everyone being punished,

the story goes on to tell us

that only 3,000 people were punished.

Now that's actually quite a small number

compared to the thousands upon thousands

of people who were released from slavery.

And so we read in Exodus 32, verse 14.

Exodus 32:14

Then the Lord relented

and did not bring on his people

the disaster he had threatened.

So rather than be troubled about the fact

that God punished 3,000 people,

we should be standing back in amazement

that he actually had mercy on any of them.

And it's in this context that God says,

look at Exodus 33, verse 19.

Exodus 33:19

Exodus 33, verse 19 we read,

Exodus 33:19

And the Lord said,

I will cause all my goodness

to pass in front of you

and I will proclaim my name,

the Lord, in your presence.

And here's the quote,

I will have mercy on whom I have mercy

and I will have compassion

on whom I have compassion.

This is the God we're dealing with.

So go back to Romans chapter 9.

Romans 9 · chapter mention

Chapter 9, verse 16.

It does not, therefore,

salvation does not, therefore,

depend on man's desire or effort,

but on God's mercy.

You see, everything Israel did

and desired to do,

their turning away from God,

their rebellious heart,

deserved God's judgment,

but God responded

with amazing mercy.

So he gives us the example

of his mercy to Moses

and the people of Israel.

But then he gives us another example,

God's justice to Pharaoh.

So, chapter 9 of Romans, verse 17,

he continues,

For the 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.

Again, we need to go back

and remember this story

back in Exodus 4 of Pharaoh.

Remember who Pharaoh was.

God had ordered Pharaoh,

the leader of the Egyptians,

who had been so brutal

to the Israelites,

enslaving them

and making them work

with little or nothing.

He told Pharaoh,

you are to let the people go,

but he wouldn't let them go.

And this is what we read

in Exodus chapter 4 and verse 21.

Exodus 4 · chapter mention

Exodus 4, verse 21.

Exodus 4:21

The Lord said to Moses,

When you return to Egypt,

see that you perform before Pharaoh

all the wonders I have given you

the power to do.

But I will harden his heart

so that he will not let the people go.

God says,

I'll harden your heart.

Pharaoh, who was already hard-hearted,

who was a brutal dictator,

causing trouble to all of these people.

And God says,

I will harden your heart.

Make his hard heart even harder.

So rather than be troubled

with the fact that God

is hardening Pharaoh's heart,

we should see

that God's justice

was being done.

Pharaoh was only getting

what he actually deserved.

So go back to Romans 9 and verse 18.

Therefore,

God has mercy

on whom he wants to have mercy,

and he hardens

whom he wants to harden.

You see,

when we begin to start challenging God

and claiming that God

is being unfair,

we must remember

that this is trying to tell us

that all of us

are just like

the rebellious people of Israel.

We're just like

stubborn Pharaoh.

In each situation,

both Israel and Pharaoh,

both of them

deserved to be punished.

They both deserved

God's justice.

But incredibly,

God chose

to be merciful

to a whole bunch of people

who deserved the opposite.

So the question

we should be asking here is

not why does God choose

one and not the other,

but why does God bother

to choose somebody

like you or me?

Remember the opening illustration

that we had this morning

about the two parents

who must choose

which child

gets the inheritance.

Well, let me add

a little bit more

to that illustration.

Suppose both of the children

were very abusive

and angry

towards their parents.

What if they never cared

for their mum or dad,

never rang them up

to see how they were,

never visited them?

What if they were

constantly borrowing money

and taking

and taking

and taking

and never paying back?

The point is,

while the parents

must still choose,

neither of them

deserve the inheritance.

In fact,

they deserve

nothing.

But in their grace,

they will give it

to one.

Well, that's how it is

with us.

We don't

deserve

God's mercy.

In fact,

that he does

show mercy

to us

is an act

of incredible

grace.

So that's the answer

to question one.

Is God fair?

Well,

God

is

gracious.

The second question

is another great question.

Why does God

blame us?

Verse 19.

One of you

will say,

he predicts,

doesn't he?

And I know I would be

asking the same question

and you're probably

asking this question too.

Verse 19.

One of you will say to me,

then why does God

still blame us?

For who resists

his will?

If God makes

the choice,

then why does God

still blame us

if we don't follow him?

And if God

made Pharaoh's

heart hard,

then is it not

unfair to blame

Pharaoh for being

hard-hearted?

It's a great

question,

but look at the

answer.

Verse 20.

But who

are you,

O man

or woman,

to talk

back to God?

He's saying to us,

let's get some

perspective here.

God

he's the creator,

he's the sustainer

of the entire

universe in which

we live.

He's existed

from before

time began.

He holds

everything together

in his hands,

bringing about

the stars

and the moon

and the sun

and the tides

and everything

he controls.

And he's going

to rule for

all eternity.

We're not

dealing with

some kind of

small person

here.

We,

on the other

hand,

are just

a tiny

part of

his creation.

We live

at most

for about

80 years

and then

we die.

So he

says in

verse 20,

so who

are you

to be

talking

back

to God?

Shall

what is

formed say

to him

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 noble

purposes

and some

for common

use?

Who are we?

Who am I

and who are you

to tell God

how he should

rule the

universe?

Who are we

to decide

who God

has mercy

on?

Who are we

to decide

who we

shouldn't

have mercy

on?

You see,

to be

challenging

God and

questioning

God like

this is

basically

an attempt

on our

part

to push

God off

his throne

and say

you don't

know how

to work

this world

I know

better than

you.

But that's

not the

full answer.

You see,

while God

doesn't answer

every single

question we

have,

he wants

us to see

in the midst

of all of

our questions

how gracious

he is.

And we

see this

in two

ways.

First,

God is

slow

to anger.

Look at

verse 22.

Follow

carefully

verse 22.

What if

God,

choosing to

show his

wrath,

his anger

and make

his power

known,

bore with

great patience

the objects

of his wrath

prepared

for destruction?

God

has a

right

to bring

to bring

his justice

and judgment.

But the

fact is,

and the

point is

here,

that God

delays

his justice.

Look at what

it says in

verse 22.

He bore

with great

patience.

God is

slow to

bring his

judgment

so that he

might demonstrate

his kindness

and his

grace.

grace.

He wants

to make

his saving

power known

to the

nations and

to all

people.

That is

why he

is bearing

with great

patience.

Go back

to Romans

Romans 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

and verse

4.

Romans

Romans 2:4

chapter 2

verse 4.

He's already

raised this

same issue.

Romans

Romans 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

and verse

4.

Talking

about God's

delay in

his patience

and the

purpose for

it.

He says,

do you

show contempt

for the

riches of

his kindness,

tolerance and

patience,

not realising

that God's

kindness leads

you towards

repentance?

repentance.

You see,

God doesn't

delight in

the death

of anyone.

He's not

willing that

anybody should

perish.

In other

words,

judgment

doesn't come

naturally to

God.

He seeks

to put it

off.

He wants

it to be

the last

thing that

he has

to do.

On the

other hand,

God in the

meantime is

longing to

save and

he wants

us to

grasp how

gracious he

is.

Romans 9

Romans 9:23

verse 23.

What if he

did this?

What if he

was so

patient?

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?

God

delays his

judgment so

that he

might display

his salvation.

salvation.

It's like

God places

his two

hands before

us and

in one

hand is

written the

words

justice

and on

the other

hand is

written the

word

riches.

And God

has opened

up the

hand of

riches to

us and

he has

invited us

to come

and see

his grace

and his

compassion.

He wants

us to

taste and

see how

good he

is and

on the

other hand

he keeps

his hand

of justice

closed.

But a

day is

going to

come when

the

riches,

the hand

of his

riches will

be closed

up and

the hand

of judgment

will be

opened.

He is

slow to

anger.

God

delays his

judgment with

great patience

so that he

might display

his grace

and his

salvation to

the nations.

God is

slow to

anger.

And

second,

God is

rich in

love.

God's

riches in

his patience

and in his

grace have

been made

known.

Look at

verse 24.

He's saying

there, not

just to the

Jews, not

just to

those who

had a

privileged

upbringing,

but also

to the

Gentiles, to

people from

other nations

who never

even heard

of God.

Look at

verse 25.

As he

says in

Hosea, I

will call

them my

people who

are not

my people.

I will

call her

my loved

one who

is not

my loved

one.

Do you

see how

far his

grace is

reaching out?

These are

people and

nations who

didn't have

the same

privileges as

the people

of Israel.

They were

considered

outsiders,

nobodies,

enemies of

God.

You turned

your back

on them,

but yet

God in

his grace

and because

of his

riches,

he says

to them,

verse 25,

I will

call these

people,

these outsiders,

these nobodies,

these enemies,

these people,

my people.

I will

call them

my loved

one.

my grace

is so

great that

I will

welcome

them in,

I will

include

them,

I will

draw them

in so

that they

can

experience

the wonder

of my

love.

You all

know Rocky

Bay,

and you

know the

stream in

Rocky Bay.

Well,

when our

kids were

younger,

we used

to try

and block

up that

dam,

or block

up that

stream,

try and

hold the

water

back,

but the

inevitable

was always

going to

happen.

At some

point,

somewhere on

that man-made

dam,

it would

break,

and as

you try

to shovel

sand and

try to

block it

back up,

then it

would break

somewhere

else,

and eventually

the whole

dam would

collapse,

and a

big stream

of water

would come

flowing

through.

Well,

that's like

the riches

of God's

love.

love,

it

overflows

to more

and more

people.

You cannot

hold back

the grace

of God,

and God

is telling

us through

this that

while people

like Pharaoh

may not

have known

God's

mercy,

many of

his

descendants

will.

While

Esau,

tracking back

in Romans

9,

may not

know God's

compassion,

many of

his

descendants

will.

While

Ishmael

may not

know

God's

love,

many of

his

descendants

will.

That's the

point of

verse 26.

It will

happen that

in that

very place

where it

was said

to them,

you are

not my

people,

they will

be called

sons of

the living

God.

God's

God's

mercy and

compassion

flows to

more and

more people

than we

could ever

think or

imagine.

We may

find many

things about

God very

difficult and

very hard,

but one

thing is

certain,

God is

incredibly

gracious.

You see,

if it were

not for

God's

grace to

us,

none of

us would

experience

his salvation.

Look at

verse 29,

the same

point is

being made

in verses

27 and

28.

Let's read

just verse

29.

It is

just as

Isaiah

said

previously,

unless the

Lord Almighty

had left

us descendants,

we would

have become

like Sodom,

we would

have become

like Gomorrah.

You remember

those two

great big

cities in

the Old

Testament?

Cities that

had experienced

God's just

and fair

judgment because

of their

rebellion and

their behaviour?

And what

happened to

the people

of those

cities is

what should

have happened

to the

people of

Israel.

However,

because of

God's

intervention,

because of

God's

grace,

it didn't

happen,

verse 29,

unless the

Lord Almighty

had left

us descendants.

If it

wasn't for

him intervening

into our

lives,

then we

would have

been like

the rest

of them.

It's only

because of

God's grace

that any

of them

were saved

at all.

I know

that Romans

9 has

raised lots

of questions.

I know

I've had

conversations

with some

of you.

I have

the same

questions

going on

in my

own mind.

But when

we question

God's

fairness,

when we

start to

blame God

as if he's

got it

wrong,

what we

actually

discover

is that

God is

actually being

incredibly

fair.

We don't

deserve

what we

get.

We deserve

to be

judged and

yet he

doesn't do

that for

us.

What is

amazing is

that God

not only

shows grace

and mercy

to some

people,

God

shows grace

and mercy

to people

like you

and me.

He shows

it to people

like you

and me.

And as

we'll discover

as we read

on,

he gives

us that

grace so

that we

might begin

to share

that same

grace with

other people

who have

not yet

heard the

amazing wonder

of God's

love.

It's only

by grace

that we

are who

we are.

God is

good and

God is

gracious.

Let's

pray.

let's

just

reflect

on what

we've

just been

thinking

through.

If God

was fair

then we

would be

judged.

God

but yet

in his

kindness

his grace

and compassion

he has

shown us

his love

his mercy

and his

kindness.

thank you

father that

you do

not treat

us as

our sins

deserve.

Thank you

that your

grace

overflows

to people

like us.

We thank

you for

what you

have done

and we

praise you

in Jesus

name.

Amen.

we're

going to

sing a

couple of

songs in

response.

The first

one is

only by

grace can

we enter

only by

grace can

we stand.

It celebrates

God's

amazing grace

to us.

in the

next

one that

we'll

rage

,

Amen.

that's

next Bill

create

Vine to

Mary,

Amen.