ISRAEL’S PLACE IN GOD’S PLAN OF REDEMPTION PART 2B – GOD’S PERSON DOES NOT CHANGE BECAUSE OF ISRAEL’S UNBELIEF (Romans 9:14-24)
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we began looking at the second section of Romans 9, verses 14-24. In this passage Paul is answering two questions that he knew his Jewish readers would ask after he had spoken of God’s sovereign election of Isaac and Jacob to be the children of the promise. These two, Isaac and Jacob, had been sovereignly chosen by God and Ishmael and Esau had not. So, the first question was a question that asked if God was unfair in choosing Isaac and Jacob and not choosing Ishmael and Esau. Paul’s response was an absolute no, God is not unfair, there is no injustice in God’s sovereign choice because God is sovereign, and He has mercy on whom He has mercy and compassion on whom He has compassion. We learned that it is not man who chooses God or merits God’s mercy by who he is or what he has done, rather salvation always begins in God’s sovereign will initiated by the act of mercy received completely and only by His grace. This is a question that is always raised when we speak of God’s sovereign election and predestination. Paul went on to demonstrate that God hardens whom He desires, and He has mercy on whom He desires and by this He carries out the purposes of His will. We also learned that because we are sinners God would be just in condemning us all to die in our sins and be forever punished for our sin in the lake of fire where we would be eternally separated from God. That would fulfill God’s justice, but in mercy God has sovereignly chosen or elected some to salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His substitutionary atonement for us through His death, burial, and resurrection.
This morning I want to finish up this passage and look at the second question Paul knew would be asked after he responded to the first question. We will first look at the question and then at Paul’s response to it. Let’s pray and then read our passage again this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles again this morning to Romans 9:14-24, we will read the whole passage again to pick up the immediate context. Please, follow along while I read.
Romans 9:14-24,
“What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 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 does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.’ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’ On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.” (Romans 9:14–24, NASB95)[1]
THE QUESTION (Romans 9:19)
As I begin this message this morning I want to just say that I understand that the doctrine of election and predestination is a controversial subject for many people. My goal in this message is not to upset you but my goal is to clearly, as clearly as I can teach what Paul teaches in this passage. I believe that this doctrine of election is clearly taught in Scripture, I do not believe as finite beings we can ever fully understand the infinite wisdom and knowledge of God, but we can know the character of God and we know that He is righteous and just, and loving, and merciful, and gracious, and that He is sovereign and all-powerful and holy and faithful and trustworthy and because of this we can trust Him and rest in the truth that His perfect will and purpose will be fulfilled and we who are His children can rejoice that He chose us in His mercy for salvation.
Paul opens verse nineteen with the words, “You will say to me then…” (Romans 9:19a, NASB95)[2] because he knows the question that is coming. He had just stated to his readers that God “has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” (Romans 9:18, NASB95)[3] Having said this Paul anticipates the question that will be asked, it is actually a two-part question: “Why does He [God] still find fault? For who resists His will?” (Romans 9:19b, NASB95)[4] In other words, how can people be held responsible, how can they be blamed for their sin and unbelief when God has already decided our destiny by having mercy on some and hardening others? This question again like the question we looked at last week challenges God’s justice and righteousness.
To question God’s justice and righteousness is to question the very character of God. As we looked at last week God is perfectly righteous and just, this is who He is, He is His own standard of righteousness and justice and because of this He cannot be unrighteous or unjust. In His perfect, infinite wisdom and knowledge, and in perfect righteousness and justice God has elected some people for salvation by His grace through an act of His mercy. In the same way, because of their sin and unbelief, He has left others to condemnation and damnation by His wrath.
We have to understand as I mentioned last Sunday that when we speak of God’s justice we must acknowledge that every human being since the Fall, when Adam and Eve plunged the world into sin, every human being since that time deserves nothing but God’s just condemnation to an eternity in the lake of fire. If God were to only operate according to His perfect justice, no person would ever be saved, we would all spend eternity in hell. Understanding this, it is hardly unjust if, according to His sovereign grace and mercy He elects some sinners for salvation.
With that said, I do not believe that we can fully understand what God reveals about His sovereign election and predestination. What has been revealed to us can only be accepted by faith. We can acknowledge the truth of this doctrine simply because God has revealed it to be true. As believers, sinners saved by grace, we know that we deserve God’s rejection and condemnation. But we should also know that for His own sovereign reasons He has elected us to be His children and in His own time and way he brought us to saving faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Though it is hard to understand how this all fits together, we also know that our human will had a part in our salvation. We see these two, God’s sovereign election and our human will working together in a statement made by Jesus that we looked at last week. Jesus said in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me,” (this speaks of the choice of God’s will,) but then Jesus went on to say, “…and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (John 6:37, NASB95)[5] This speaks of the choice of man’s will, which God in His grace agrees with for all who believe in the Lord Jesus. Do not forget that even the faith needed to come to Jesus Christ is a gift of God. Paul said in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” (Ephesians 2:8, NASB95)[6]
PAUL’S RESPONSE (Romans 9:20-24)
Paul does not seek to answer this question directly, instead he just continues to uphold God’s perfectly sovereign righteousness and justice and in doing so Paul responds with a question for those who would question the Sovereign Lord. Paul writes in the first part of verse 20, “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?” (Romans 9:20a, NASB95)[7] Paul is seeking to show with this question that to even question God or deny Him the right to hold people accountable when they are captives to His sovereign will is blasphemous in the very least. Who are we as humans compared to God? We are simply creatures of His creation, special creatures created in His image but fatally flawed due to our sin, rebellion, and unbelief. As a part of God’s creation, we have no standing by which we can question the Creator.
This question by Paul may be directed mainly at his Jewish readers who would ask the questions in verse 19 not because they are seeking God’s truth but instead, they are seeking self-justification. These questions are an attempt to excuse their own sin, rebellion, and unbelief, instead of owning up to the fact that they are sinners, they accuse God of injustice. With that said, even the most sincere questions concerning God’s sovereign election and predestination made by sincere people who want to sincerely understand the truth must go unanswered because of our limited and finite understanding. As I already stated, just as many truths are difficult to understand, we must study them to the best of our ability and then accept them by faith because God has revealed them to us in His Word.
Paul again turns to the Old Testament as he continues to respond to the questions in verse 19 that question God’s righteousness and justice. The apostle continues to rebuke those who would ask these questions showing the foolishness of anyone questioning God in this way. He writes in the end of verse 20-21, “The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?” (Romans 9:20–21, NASB95)[8] With these verses Paul is alluding to two Old Testament passages that used the Potter and the clay to make a point many years earlier. Isaiah used this analogy in Isaiah 64:6-8 when he wrote, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.” (Isaiah 64:6–8, NASB95)[9] Jeremiah also spoke of this idea of God as the potter and Israel being the clay, he wrote in Jeremiah 18:3-6, “Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:3–6, NASB95)[10] As I already mentioned, God is the Creator of men, just as a potter is the creator of his clay vessels. Paul in these verses shows the absurdity of a clay vessel being able to question the potter who made him. This is not possible, just as it is foolish for finite beings to question the justice and wisdom of our infinite God and Creator. To fully understand God, we would have to be equal to the God who made us, an idea that is even more outrageous then a clay pot being equal to the potter who made it. Paul’s point is that God as our Creator has the right to make us objects of His mercy or leave us in our sin and unbelief. Martin Luther speaking to an unbelieving friend said, “Mere human reason can never comprehend how God is good and merciful; and therefore you make for yourself a god of your own fancy, who hardens nobody, condemns nobody, pities everybody. You cannot comprehend how a just God can condemn those who are born in sin, and cannot help themselves, but must, by a necessity of their natural constitution, continue in sin, and remain children of wrath. The answer is, God is incomprehensible throughout, and therefore His justice, as well as His other attributes must be incomprehensible. It is on this very ground that St. Paul exclaims, ‘O the depth of the riches of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!’ Now, His judgments would not be past finding out, if we could always perceive them to be just.” (See Martin Luther on the Bondage of the Will, trans. J.I. Packer and O.R. Johnston [Westwood, N.J.: Revell. 1957], 314-14.)[11] At times I believe as Martin Luther says we make God to fit into our idea of what God should be, and our idea most often is not who God truly is.
We must also understand that whatever the sovereignty of God means in its completeness, it does not mean and cannot mean that God chose for men to sin or to become sinful. Because God is perfectly holy and righteous, He cannot be responsible for our sinfulness in even the slightest degree. Remember the words of James in James 1:13, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” (James 1:13, NASB95)[12] The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk said of the Lord in the first part of Habakkuk 1:13, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor.” (Habakkuk 1:13a, NASB95)[13] The last three verses of this passage do not attempt to show the source or origin of evil but are a statement on the justice and righteousness of God. Paul makes a statement in the form of a rhetorical question, He writes in verse 22, “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?” (Romans 9:22, NASB95)[14] Within this verse Paul gives us two reasons that God allowed sin to enter and corrupt His creation, those two reasons, however, are not qualified with an explanation. The Greek word translated “willing” in this passage is a much stronger word then the English word implies. It is a word that has the idea of determined intent, it is not a word that means a willingness because of indifference or helpless agreement or acceptance.
Paul is saying that God determined to allow sin to enter into His creation, the first reason was because it gave Him the opportunity to demonstrate His wrath. A demonstration of God’s wrath will bring glory to God, as much as a demonstration of His grace will bring Him glory. Any display of any of the attributes of God by God will bring Him glory and show His worth to be worshipped and adored. God’s wrath displayed in His anger and vengeance and retribution poured out on sinners who refuse to believe Him is glorious because it displays His majestic holiness that cannot and will not tolerate sin. The second reason God allowed sin to enter His creation was to make His power known. His infinite power will be seen in His judgment and punishment of sin. We learned what that will look like as we went through the book of Revelation, it leaves no doubt that God’s power will be made known. God’s awesome power was originally seen in creation, it will be equally glorious in destruction. His infinite power in vengeance and judgment will be demonstrated in perfect righteousness and justice as He completely and utterly conquers and destroys all enemies who would oppose Him and try to conquer Him.
God has every right to glorify Himself through such wrath and judgment, but He has by His great mercy endured with much patience a world of sinful people. He has endured their unbelief, their rejection, their hatred, their blasphemy, and their wickedness while patiently giving time for repent. Paul calls them vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ungodly and unrepentant human vessels who will one day feel the wrath of God for which they have been prepared for destruction by their own unbelief and rejection. Again, understand it is not that God makes men sinful but that He leaves them in their sin unless they repent and turn to His Son in faith for salvation. The verb translated “prepared” in the Greek is in the passive, which means God is not the subject doing the preparing. This use of the passive voice removes the responsibility of preparing from God and puts it fully on those who refuse to listen to the Word and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. They are prepared for destruction by their own rejection, to an eternity in the lake of fire, where they will be tormented forever and ever for their sin and rejection.
Paul after giving us this serious truth regarding unbelievers, now gives the truth concerning believers and it is a comforting truth. He writes in verses 23-24, “And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.” (Romans 9:23–24, NASB95)[15] In other words, Paul declares that God allowed sin to enter His creation not only to display His wrath and power, but also to demonstrate the riches of His glory by pouring out His grace on vessels of mercy. These vessels of mercy are people, men, women, and children that God prepared beforehand for glory. The verb “prepared” used here in the Greek is active, and the subject doing the preparing is God, which He (God) prepared beforehand. God’s work in saving the elect puts His glory on display for all to see, it is on display before all angels and all men. God because He is God has the sovereign right to display His glory in any way that He chooses, He can demonstrate it in His wrath and power in His just condemnation of sinners or by making the riches of His glory known through His gracious salvation of His elect believers by His mercy.
You understand that God’s Word makes it very clear that for a person to be saved he must put his faith in Jesus Christ, no person is saved apart from faith in Christ. God in His sovereignty requires that human response to His offer of grace. You must also understand that the primary purpose of salvation is not the benefit that it brings to those who are saved but the honor that it brings to the God who saved them, by making “known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy.” We know from what we have studied in Romans so far that believers are saved without any work of their own so that God has a means of displaying His glory which is seen in His grace, His mercy, His compassion, and His forgiveness that He alone bestows on those who come to Christ in faith. Paul closing out this passage identifies who are the vessels of mercy, including himself and all believers, God’s vessels of mercy are those He has called, not just from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. Here we have the glorious truth that God’s offer of grace is for all mankind, Jews and Gentiles.
CONCLUSION:
This truth that we have been looking at over the last two weeks, that God chooses some people for salvation while leaving others in their sin and unbelief is not to confuse us or upset us, and it is certainly not revealed to cause us to question the character of God’s person. This truth as clearly presented this morning is to demonstrate God’s glory and sovereignty to all people. This truth is also revealed to cause believers to be thankful that God has chosen us, who are no more worthy of His mercy and salvation than those who remain in their sin and unbelief and are lost. God in showing mercy to some and judging those who do not believe does so without basing His choice on our ethnicity, or where we are from or who we are, neither is it based on what we have done or will do. In Scripture there is only one distinction made, those whom God has chosen, His vessels of mercy, and those not chosen, the vessels of wrath. This is not an easy truth, not even the best taught and most studied believer can fully explain it. Even so it is a fully biblical truth. For us who believe that the Bible is true and without error there will always exist this tension between the sovereign will of God and His requirement of human faith. We can only believe what God’s Word teaches accepting it truths in our hearts even if it cannot be explained by our finite minds.
Let me just close by reminding you that although this truth of God’s election based on His sovereign will is taught in Scripture, God’s Word also makes equally clear that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked and He does not wish that even one person should perish (Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 2 Peter 3:9). This truth does not in any way compromise God’s holiness or His justice. Jesus made this promise to us, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (John 6:37, NASB95)[16]
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Romans 9-16. Chicago, IL : Moody Press, 1994.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.