As the open Bible commentary confirms, Romans 6-8 provides a foundation for understanding how those who are called are delivered from sin. As we get into Romans 8, we're actually reminded there is a difference between those who walk according to the flesh and those who walk according to the Spirit. We see that clearly. We see Paul's language on the subject. If you're already heading for Romans 8, you might leave a marker there. I'm going to ask you to turn with me to Ephesians 5, because Paul, also writing in the book of Ephesians, will summarize as many of the ideas that appear in Romans 8. Ephesians 5, we're going to read several verses here, because what we find in Ephesians 5 is Paul directing the same message to those at the church at Ephesus, as he does to the church at Rome. But he does so in verses 8 through 17 in a little more condensed manner. We don't have to read all of Romans 8 to get the essence of what Paul is describing and discussing, because he offers it here in Ephesians 5, verse 8.
The point we know that Paul is making here is there are certain acts, actions that people engage in, you know, the seedy side of the Internet. We oftentimes talk about the Internet's underworld, that you don't want to see this. There are shameful acts that we shouldn't even entertain in any way. And this is in part what he's addressing here. You don't have to go to the second Internet to see those things.
You can, sad to say, in a few clicks, come first-hand with what all kind of garbage is all on the Internet itself. But that said, he says, we don't even want to speak of these things. Verse 13. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light. For whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore, he says, Awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. See then that you walk circumspectly, or walk carefully, my margin notes, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And then he goes on from there to talk about being filled by God's Spirit. You know, if that offers a summary of what we then covered the last time we were in the book of Romans, prior to the Feast of Tabernacles, providing an overview, what we see in Romans 8, back in Romans 8, is where Paul actually clarifies how deliverance from sin occurs. And we see it, and we can just hopscotch through a couple of spots here in verse, excuse me, in chapter 8, where we read how Paul is inspired to address this.
Romans 8, verse 3, Now, we know this. The law is just a standard. He's personifying the law here, but the law is nothing more than a standard. It's we who are weak, as human beings. We're the ones who fall short. The law has integrity. It doesn't change. Verse 4, To affirm what you already know, then, as you go forward here, Paul makes the point there is no comparison between being carnally minded and being spiritually minded. You just can't compare the two. They are night and day, and that's the exact metaphor that he uses here, in terms of light and darkness. One brings turmoil, and in the end, death. The other affords a clear sense of how to live, and what is expected so that we, you and I, can receive eternal life.
God's Spirit makes this difference. That means the God's Spirit, by which God then frees us from the shackles of strife, that so encumber this world, and he grants peace. He allows you and me a lifestyle that many desire, this world desires, and have no idea how to achieve. It's Christ's intercession that then makes justification possible, which is what we've read through much of the early part of Romans.
It's Christ's return that should then drive us forward, and that's what we've been reminded about through the Feast of Tabernacles. That we have gone, and we have caught a vision, that Christ is and will return to this earth. And in doing so, he will not set up a system, I'd say this, a two-party, generally a two-party system where we're waiting for the next mud to be slung on the other person. I don't know if you happen to see Der Spiegel with the two candidates, the two primary leading candidates for the race for presidency on Tuesday.
What's going to happen on Tuesday? You and I both have no idea. If you know, boy, I'm shocked. I have no idea what's going to happen on Tuesday. To come this close up to this upcoming election, and all we see, you may have seen many of the surveys that have talked about this, all we've seen is how many people want it to end. Let's just let the mudslinging end. We don't know where that will take us, but let the mudslinging end, because it's just gotten uglier and uglier.
But what we're reminded of is that Christ, from the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day, the eighth day, is that Christ will return to this earth. There will not be some shady mudslinging going on. He's going to deal with that. He's going to remove Satan, and he's going to make sure that God's law goes out from Zion, and that all must keep it. And if you don't keep it, fine. We got that one addressed, too. Just won't send you rain for a while. And then we'll see if you show up.
And so what we see, and we're reminded of through those fall feasts, is that Christ is returning to this earth. That is why we were reminded that God is looking for a select group to help him in all of this. That's where you and I came in. Because there's a special purpose that he has in mind, and we'll hit on this as we go through Romans 9. And the beauty is, once he calls you, he never, ever gives up on you.
He never, ever gives up on you. And it's up to you to answer that calling and do your part. It's up to me. But God never, ever gives up on you once he calls you. So today I've asked that we go through Romans 9. We've moved through the first eight chapters of Romans. Today let us go through Romans 9. I've entitled this message, Ancient Israel and the Qualities of God.
Ancient Israel and the Qualities of God. Now I'll lay out what I term those four qualities that appear in this chapter. There are four very specific qualities that show up here that help describe God. But we'll address those, and I'll offer those here momentarily.
But this is really about ancient Israel by background, and it's going to fit as we'll see here with Romans 10 and also Romans 11. So if we kind of get some context, get our bearings here, as a reminder, we know Paul is writing to the church in Rome. He's writing to Jews and Gentiles. We're reminded of that, and we've noted that all the way through the sermons on these various chapters of Romans. When we get to Romans 9, it is a forerunner. It is the first of a three-part set.
What we find in Romans 9, 10, and 11, and I'll offer it this way, Romans 9 is Israel past, Romans 10 is Israel present, and Romans 11 is Israel future. Now here's what I mean by that. Romans 9 is about ancient Israel's rejection, well, election originally by God, and rejection. Romans 10 is about Israel's present, modern Israel's rejection of God today, because they continue to reject God today, and we'll see this in Scripture, as noted by Paul. And then Romans 11 is about Israel's future, or Israel's future restoration and salvation.
So that's why all three of these chapters all fit so neatly together, because they all address Israel in some way. If we want to break down the chapter, Romans 9 in general, and we do so by these chief qualities that reflect God's character, verses 1 through 13 reflect God's faithfulness. 1 through 13 reflect God's faithfulness. Section 2 is verses 14 through 18. It talks about God's righteousness.
Verses 19 through 29 is God's justice, because God is just in judging his people. And then the last section, section 4, verses 30 through 33 is God's grace. So what we've kind of do is we've chomped this chapter, Romans 9, into four pieces that become a little bit more manageable here. I'll offer a reminder of the headers that run for each of these sections. An interesting note, there are a couple of things I'll draw your attention. One is, each of these sections is divided by a question, and I'll just note this. Whereas verse 1 doesn't necessarily offer a question. Sections 2, 3, and 4, which appear in verses 14, 19, and 30, they all start with questions. So if you look structurally at what's happening here, and our eyes can maybe fall on verse 14, what shall we then say? What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not. And if you drop to 19, another question. And if you drop to 30, there's another question. What God does is he breaks this section up through Paul into these various questions and sections that we can easily see. So if we're going to make our way in and through Romans 9, I'm going to ask us to back up just here, to offer some lead-in. Verse 31 of chapter 8 says, What then shall we say to these things as God for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all? How shall we not be with him also freely, give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God's who justifies. And we've been at length through what this term justification means, initial and ongoing. Verse 34, He is he who condemns. It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. So one of the things he's addressing even before we get to chapter 9 is that there happen to be those outside of the church at Rome who were condemning, who looked down their noses at those who happen to be in the church at Rome, but there is potentially also those within the church. Remember we talked about the self-righteousness of the Jews and Gentiles at the church at the time? There were those who might look across the aisle and think, well, it's a good thing I'm better than you are. Because I know you're just not as converted as I am. I know how this works. And Paul talks about this here. Who is he who condemns? He's fighting this attitude. He will in chapter 9. And if you drop with me, we'll read one more verse in 8, verse 38.
So we make our way to chapter 9, verse 1. And I'll read the first five verses, and then let's go back and we'll detail what we have here.
And then we'll read the last verse.
What we find here for starters is he starts with this by saying, hey, I'm going to tell you the truth. Verse 1. That truth is in verse 2 that I'm torn up by what I see. What's he torn up by? You might ask yourself, because I got curious here. What is he so bothered by you? Well, verse 3, we get an indication of this. For I wish I could that I myself were a curse from Christ for my brethren and my kinsmen according to the flesh. He's bothered because he recognizes the Jews in Rome at the time, despite having the law. We get a stacking of things in verse 4. Despite having all of these items in verse 4, are still not choosing to follow God.
He's talking about those in the church, and he's also talking about his kinsmen who happen to be Jews outside of the church. And we oftentimes think of those who happen to be outside of the church. It quickly comes to mind. Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, all of those alive during Christ time. He's addressing all of them, because he's saying, you had every reason to follow God.
And his comment here is, I wish I could take the blame for everyone. I wish I could be a curse for everyone. I wish my life could be taken so that you might live on. This mindset is established many years prior with Moses. If you will, go with me back to Exodus 32. We're going to go to Mount Sinai just for a second. Exodus 32. Remember by background what happens? He goes up the mountain. Israel willfully disobeys. He comes back down. Aaron's got a tall tail. We took the jewelry off. We threw it in and boom! We had a calf. Wouldn't you look at that? And we just all decided to run around it and worship the thing. That's how it worked.
And in verse 30, note what happens here because Moses takes the same mentality as Paul is taking for those in Rome. Verse 30, it came to pass in the day that Moses said to the people, you have sinned a great sin, recognizing what they did in terms of idolatry. So now I will go to the Lord. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, Oh, these people have sinned a great sin and made for themselves a God of gold. Yet now, if you will forgive their sin. Here's Paul's mentality. But if not, I pray, blot me out of your book, which you have written. He's trying to negotiate this, isn't he? There was a sincere intent on Moses and Paul's part that if I'm the one who has to take the blame for all of this, let them all go on.
We see a response here in verse 33, and the Lord said to Moses, whoever has sinned against me, I, I might add, I alone will blot him out of my book. So what we find here, if you're all the way back to Romans 8, excuse me, Romans 9, is we see Paul's mentality here. Don't allow this people to suffer when if you'll allow me to take the blame for this.
Verse 4, here's why he was so moved by this. Verse 4, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, the promises. Wow, we've got a lot to unpack here. I mean, one of the things we might ask ourselves even as we get into this is why did God choose Israel?
God could have chosen any people. Why did God choose Israel? And I'll ask that rhetorically, and then I'll let it kind of ruminate just for a second. This all goes back to who? It goes back to one man, to Abraham. One man's faithfulness. Now, I won't go and read Genesis 12, verses 2 and 3 there. Remember in my background what that says? God said, get up and get out of here. And he doesn't get up, doesn't wring his hands.
He didn't say, no, wait a second. I've got a nice posh place over here. I don't want to leave. What did Abraham do? He got up and he left. And if you go forward to Genesis 26, verse 5, you're reminded that it's because of his obedience. That God makes a promise to him, that his lineage, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that they would be blessed physically. So, by background here, as we deal with all of this, this is why Israel was being blessed.
As we get into verse 4, we see then the different ways that they were blessed. This notion of adoption. If you remember back, if we harken back to what the term adoption meant, even in previous chapters of Romans, adoption means that God viewed them as his own people. That's what adoption references. In terms of glory, as noted here, he was reminding them, those that happened to be at the church in the church at Rome, that the Jews, that Israel, Jews as a tribe of Israel, and Israel more broadly, had God's glory present with them.
You could probably recall a number of different places in the tabernacle. God's glory was present. We see this in Scripture. Mount Sinai, we just read this. God's glory was present. For 40 years, they were led by God's glory. Unmistakable who God was with. All the nations around them knew this. When they went into the Promised Land, remember the language there? These people have God. So there was no questioning who God was with. So Paul notes here that God's glory was with them. In terms of covenants. Covenants being a set of agreements with specific terms. That's what the Greek language offers here.
They were given very specific agreements that they were responsible for adhering to, and they agreed to at Sinai. They were given the law. They were given the Ten Commandments. They were given the law in all of its different permutations. And all its variations. By detail. First by books. They had the law. Always had the law. He gave them the service of God by language in the latter end of verse 4, means an understanding of how to worship God.
And he gave them promises. Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26 talk about blessings and cursings. Go do these things. Don't do these other things over here. He had given them everything. And he says, his kinsmen, which in this case Paul's riff, referring really to his own people, but the Jews in general, he's saying, You've all turned your backs on God, of whom are the fathers, verse 5, and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all the eternally blessed God.
You know, the faithfulness of Abraham included a promise that the Messiah would come. Israel knew this. The Jews knew this. There was unmistaking this. And despite all of this, the Israelites failed. They were given one item after another. They were given the whole package. And they still turned their back on Christ when he came, didn't they?
I only make one mention here of Isaiah 1. You can go read the middle part of verse 2 through verse 4. It talks about there, the prophet Isaiah says, even a dumb ox knows its own. You have no idea who I am. You have no idea who I am. So that's what he's addressing. There's the emotion you're getting out of Paul through these verse 5 verses.
Verse 6, we're continuing on the same topic. But it is not that the Word of God has no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham. But in Isaac, your seed shall be culled. And I'll read up through verse 8. That is, those who are children of the flesh, they are not the children of God.
But the children of promise are counted as seed. You know, Paul is really asking here, does Israel's failure to keep the terms of the covenant then thwart the covenant's terms when given in the future? And that kind of seems worrying. Does, in this case, does Israel, put this in other words, maybe more simpler terms, does Israel's violation, breaking of the covenant, make the covenant itself null and void? No, it doesn't. The covenant was not at fault. The human beings were at fault. Spiritual Israel, which is what he talks about here in verse 6, is not exclusively made up of physical Israelites.
There are some physical Israelites in spiritual Israel, but not all. And we're reminded of this, if you go back just a few chapters to Romans 2, we're reminded of this by the point that Paul makes in Romans 2, where he calls Gentiles, Romans 2, verses 28 and 29. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly.
And circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God. If we go backwards and think about what was contention there, we know in other places, you can go back to the book of Acts and see, this was always in contention. God in the new covenant was about circumcision of the heart, not of the flesh.
So the big T truth was no longer limited to the physical line of Israel. Instead, God was initiating and had initiated a spiritual lineage. As we have read in verse 7, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham, but in Isaac, your seed shall be called. There's a difference then between the promise of physical seed to ancient Israel and the spiritual seed then given to spiritual Israel. Under the new covenant, the spiritual promise involved the gift of God's Spirit. That's the point he's making here. God chose Isaac by human descent.
If we go back to the time and the period, probably to some extent, it still happens today, the firstborn was always the one who was given the blessing, wasn't it? In many Middle Eastern nations, it's still the same way. And yet we know from Isaac's case that that blessing by human descent was given to the secondborn. God chose by human descent Isaac. Not Ishmael, although Ishmael was the firstborn, if we think about Ishmael. Remember, God made a promise to Abraham and Sarah, not Abraham and Hagar. I know here. God does the choosing whenever he's going to choose anyone.
That's the aim of it. And so what God is saying here is, and we'll see much more teased out as we move forward, is that God is really the one who chooses. He can choose to go against what we think socially is acceptable, culturally acceptable. God chooses the one he wants to be in his family. And we see that through verse 8. Verse 9, For this is the word of promise, At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. There I referenced that a little bit earlier in my notes.
But that's what we read in verse 9. And not only this, but when Rebekah also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac, but the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to the election, might stand not of works, but of him who calls. It was said to her, The older shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. You know, when you get into the language here, what we're reminded of is that God determines who he's going to bless.
You know, we see by background, and we saw scripturally in the Old Testament, that Esau actually was a servant of Jacob. God is the one who determines who he's going to bless. God promised prior to their birth that he would actually bless Jacob. And if you go and we read further, we're reminded of this in a number of different ways. In verse 13, I'll only make additional note here. As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.
He's using these examples in Scripture again, Paul is inspired to use them, as a reminder of who God chooses. The language in verse 13 is not necessarily specifically about Jacob and Esau in terms of those specific people, but rather about the lineage that comes from each. And so you can go back, and I'll make reference to Malachi 1, verses 2 and 3, because what it talks about there is really this Jacob being Israel and Esau being Edom, are a comparison where one was blessed and one loved, and the other one hated or loved less, which is what the Greek actually indicates. And so what you see through verse 13 is you actually see this faithfulness up front, which is what we've talked about. Verse 14 then introduces a whole other section. It begins with a question, and we're going to see God's righteousness in play here. Verse 14, what shall we then say? Is there unrighteousness that God with God? Well, certainly not. I pose the question, was it fair that Jacob was given the birthright and not Esau? Well, we're not calling the shots, are we? Is it fair, I can ask us here, is it fair that you're sitting here with an understanding of God's truth, and everyone else has no idea of this truth? Is that fair?
Well, we don't make the decisions. God's the one who makes the decisions. If we were to run this world according to the way we think, I'm not trying to be facetious, heaven help us. This world would not work, because as human beings, we are, I could say this, without God, we are phallus.
It is a comedy of errors. And we're reminded of this in a number of different places. I'll just make reference to Isaiah 55 verse 9 of how much different God is. As far as heaven's above the earth, so are His thoughts above our thoughts. So are His ways above our ways. And so we see here this question posed, because that was the question that was being posed by the Jews at the time.
Well, wait a second here. God can't do this. And He kind of moves up the abstraction ladder and says, well, is God unrighteous in this? And He answers His own question in verse 14, and certainly not. For He said to Moses, verse 15, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. God knows each of us from the womb. He knows us before the womb.
And for whatever reason, and I can't stand here with a stack of things in my backpack telling you exactly why I know why I'm here and being called, I don't have that reason. I don't have that answer.
But I know that I've been, like you, blessed to have an understanding of God's truth. I know that when I think through how much different it is that God has revealed to me an understanding of His plan of salvation, of those holy days that we just kept, of those laws, a spiritual understanding of how those laws are applied, about what's yet to come in terms of Christ returning to this earth and setting up a millennial reign of a thousand years of Satan being removed, when I think about that, I'm awestruck, probably like you.
Because I've got nothing special to bring to me here. At least not in my mind, but for whatever reason, God views you and me as special.
He sees something in you. He sees something in me. Some of us, He's called directly, having no family, no friends. Some of us, He's had the opportunity to call through family members. And we've been able to hear and see what others have done, and to come along that way. But what we find here is that God is the one who makes the decisions.
He knows, He sees in you whatever qualities that He can use yet in the future. Verse 16, So then it is not of Him who wills, nor of Him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be declared in all of the earth.
And verse 18, Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. Now, you probably remember by background, we can go back and read some of the details there regarding Pharaoh's heart. You can find Scriptures that talk about Pharaoh's heart being hardened by God. I'll give you a reference to that, Exodus 4, verse 21. You can also find separately sections of Scripture where Pharaoh willingly participated in hardening his own heart. God kind of knew Pharaoh's predispositions. He knew his inclinations. And he knew that at times he might have to influence him, so that his heart is hardened. But he also knew that at other times, that likely Pharaoh, when the Israelites are gone, and he's looking around going, man, we don't have anyone to do the building. We've got a big problem here. He did the hardening of his own heart. Matthew 7, verse 13, and Exodus 7, verse 13, and Exodus 8, verse 15 both make reference to that. The point being made in both instances is God chooses to use people as he sees fit. We, though, have opportunity, particularly those who are called at this time, we have opportunity to participate in our own conversion and our own development. That's what Deuteronomy 30, 19 is all about. Choose life. He doesn't come up with robots. He doesn't come up with automatons. He allows us to once call, participate in our own conversion. And so that's what we see here, referenced in this section, that God is righteous, we're not. And the only way we understand righteousness is by Him. That then takes us to the third section here that begins in verse 19, and it goes to verse 29. Verse 19, this is, God is just. You will say to me then, why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will? But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? So He's asking again rhetorically those who question God, why is He doing these things? The middle of verse 20, will the thing form say to Him who formed it, why have you made me like this? You know, one of the things He talks about here, and it's actually kind of funny to go see. In fact, let's leave a marker here. Let's go to Jeremiah 18. It is observed, and Paul is eloquent and advanced in making such a point. He's drawing a parallel about those who question God, and the parallel is between us being likened to potter's clay and God being the artist, the one who makes the pots. Jeremiah 18, verses 3 through 6 reads this way. Jeremiah 18 verse 3, Then I went down to the potter's house, here's Jeremiah writing, and there he was making something at the wheel, and the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hands of the potter. So he made it again into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to make. So I have to stop just momentarily and ask the question, how many of us have ever been on a potter's wheel? Have you done this before? I was kind of an artist junkie for a while. In fact, I was convinced that anything career-wise had to be an art. And one of the, well, a couple of the classes that I took whenever I was in college involved potter's wheel. I loved being on a potter's wheel. I couldn't believe how much fun it was.
It is absurd, and here's the point being made here, that at some point when you're shaping a pot or dealing with a pot, that the pot turned to the potter and say, Ha! Don't like looking like this. This is not really working for me. This is not one of those Disney teacups that stands up and walks around and says, This doesn't work for me. Could you do something else? What we find in verse 6 is, 5 and 6 offers this, Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter, says the Lord?
Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. This is the exact point that Paul is making back in Romans. Go with me to just one verse in Isaiah, because the same point is made here. Isaiah 45 verse 9. This is where I got the example I just provided. Isaiah 45 verse 9. Because those in the church at Rome, particularly the Jews, were questioning God. They were questioning Paul. They were questioning everything about it. Paul says, You have no reason to question God.
Isaiah 45 verse 9. One single verse. Woe to him who strives with his Maker. Let the pots heard, strive with the pots heard of the earth. Shall the clay say to him who forms it, What are you making? Or shall your handiwork say, He has no hands? And then he goes forward from there to finish the thought. But the idea is that God works with each of us individually.
Just as He works with those in Rome, those in the church at Rome. And he was drawing the point here that we shouldn't be questioning God when God works with us. We have no right to question God. The Jews at the time, they were questioning God. And that's what he was so troubled by. Verse 19. You will say, Why does he still find fault? For who has resisted his will? Going forward in 20. But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God?
Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, Why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay? From the same lump to make one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor. What if God, wanting to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
What he's getting into here is the fact that human beings are a difficult bunch. I mean, just in the Old Testament, we see the Israelites. God suffers with us. God is long suffering with us. He endures with us. You know, at times he probably thinks to himself, What is he doing now? What is she doing now? Why would they do that? Now, we have Christ as our elder brother, who is there at God's right hand, saying, Here's why he's doing it. He's a dopey human. When we're human and we're in the flesh, we make all kinds of dopey decisions. But that's the question that we're seeing addressed here in 22.
What if God, wanting to know his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had prepared beforehand for glory.
Even us, whom he called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. So what he's saying here is that because the Jews, as we dealt with in terms of the front of the chapter, the Jews, despite the fact of having covenants and law and being led by God's glory and promises, they said, No, no, no. We want to do it a different way. What do you think? We already know the answer to this. Christ was so angry when he dealt with the Pharisees and Sadducees. You knew I was coming. You knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. You had the law, and you took the law and made it a whole separate false sense of worship.
You took people away from me when you should have brought people to me. That's what we see Paul reflecting here. He's actually indignant about this, and he's conveying God's frustration, and at the same time, long suffering through all of this. Verse 25, as he has also said in Hosea, so he's going to reference Hosea. I will call them my people who were not my people, and her beloved who was not my beloved, and it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people.
There they will be called sons of the living God. At this point, he's then saying, you know, the Jews weren't listening. Only some, only select few, will. So I'm going to start working with the Gentiles. These people who have never known me, I'll work with. Because you know what? I'll get a much more receptive ear, a receptive mind, a receptive heart. These people who have never had the benefit of knowing me, I'll work with these people.
And that's indeed what he does. And that reference there, as we see down in verse 26, is that God is now calling Jews and Gentiles to become part of his family. They are becoming spiritual Israelites. This is the calling of the Gentiles addressed here, spiritual Israel. Verse 27 reads this way. He's quoted to Hosea. He's going to go to Isaiah. Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel. Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the rimnet will be saved, for he will finish the work and cut short and right, and cut it short of in righteousness, because the Lord will make short a work upon the earth.
And he goes forward. That's from Isaiah 10 and verse 29 and reads, And as Isaiah said before, unless the Lord of the Sabaoth, or of Hosea, had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah. You know, through all of this, what he's addressing here is that only a remnant of the Israelites are called. Only a remnant of the Israelites actually answer that calling. But at some point in the future, and you can go over to Romans 11 verse 25.
I'll read one verse over here. He talks about the fact that there will be a conversion of the entire Israelite nation. Verse 25, For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that hardening, in part, has hardened to Israel.
That was his frustration. Their hearts were hardened until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. You know, I'll make reference to Isaiah 1 verse 9. It says this, Unless the Lord of hosts has left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been like Sodom, and we should have been like Gomorrah. So what God did is he allowed a small remnant to continue. Most rejected. Most of Jews of the house of Judah rejected, and certainly most of the Israelites rejected.
But what we find from a couple of locations is he did leave a remnant, and that remnant was so that Christ could come, according to prophecy, and be born the Messiah. Romans 3.3, I'll only add one more, says that God is faithful, despite the fact that the Israelites turned their back on them. God still remains faithful. And he will remain faithful as he moves forward. We only have then four short verses to address. Verse 30, and this is where God extends grace. We learn another attribute of God. Verse 30, What shall we say then, that Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained a righteousness, even the righteousness of faith?
But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained the law of righteousness. Again, Israel was given God's laws for righteousness. They knew it all the way through, and yet they turned their backs on God. And so he wound up going to the Gentiles.
Verse 32, why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. Remember at the time that Christ was here, one of the frustrations he oftentimes had is, the Pharisees had made everything oppressive.
You couldn't do anything. And as we know, as we get to chapter 10, I need to say this, this still happens today. There are still too many little nuances that the Jewish faith still requires that aren't even in the law. They have made the law their God. This is what Paul was so frustrated by, and that's what he addresses here. Verse 32, why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone, as it was written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone.
Who's that stumbling stone? That's Christ. And rock of offense, whoever and whoever believes on him, will not be put to shame. You know, the Jews rejected Christ, despite the fact that they knew prophetically it was coming. Despite the fact that they had covenants and promises, they had been led by His court, and all of it still rejected. They had the law, they rejected the law giver. They set themselves up as gods. They set up a system where only you could earn salvation through works.
And Paul comes along and says, nope, that's not how it works. It's faith and works. Gotta have faith. That's where Hebrews 11 comes in. So what do we take from this one chapter? You've been kind to bear with me through this. I've got two short lessons. One is, ancient Israel rejected God's calling and the coming of the Messiah. That's the same point we've made all the way through. I'll only reinforce what I've noted.
They had laws, they had the Sabbath day to guide them, they had the Holy Days, they had prophecies, they knew Christ was coming, and then they still rejected Him when He came. They turned their backs on Him. They did not accept the salvation that involves grace.
They did not accept the sacrifice of Christ. They did not accept the repentance that they knew they had to have. They did not accept the fact that it's Christ who produces righteousness in us. They rejected God, hook, line, and seeker. They took the law and used it for their own purpose. That's one of the things we're reminded of in terms of what ancient Israel did.
They rejected God's calling and the coming of the Messiah. The second lesson I have goes a little bit longer, but I offer it this way. God calls people on His schedule. This is the point we made earlier. How does God determine someone He wants to call? Well, I've already noted this. Sometimes God calls you and me directly. Sometimes He calls my family. We read 1 Corinthians 7, verse 14. The young people in the room—and maybe I'm going to be wrong here. I consider myself a young person. I consider the fact that I happen to have grown up in a family that had knowledge of God's truth is a tremendous privilege.
And like any of these young people here, at some point I had to make a decision. You had to make a decision if you were called without any understanding of God's truth and no family.
And you had to commit to that decision. We each have this opportunity. God calls us. We have to be the ones who answer this calling. We have to be the ones who, on a daily basis, renew the commitment of that calling every day. So why would he need you and me? Well, I'll go read one scripture, 1 Peter 2.9. I've made this point earlier, and I'll read it again here now. 1 Peter 2, verse 9.
Why would God need this select group? Why? Verse 9. 1 Peter 2, verse 9. It doesn't help to be in 2 Peter. It better be in 1 Peter. Because you are—this is you and me— you are a chosen generation. A royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous life. God has to have teachers ready so that when Christ returns, he has people in place to help all of those, the millions and billions of people who need instruction and guidance.
At Christ's return, he's going to—we know this, 1 Corinthians 15, and then Thessalonians. The first fruits are going to rise up. And then he's going to expect us to help him as he lays out 1,000 years of prosperity, 1,000 years of instruction and right action.
He's not going to do it by himself. He needs—you fill your name in here—Sam Laird. He needs Sam Laird to be ready to teach. He needs Kirk Talbot to be ready to teach. Can't wait. Can't wait whenever Christ comes. As I mentioned at the feast, you can't say, give me five minutes. Can I do a reset? Because I really wouldn't pay any attention for about the last five years.
When Christ comes, you and I have to be ready to go. That's how it works. And he's chosen a select few, and you happen to be part of that select through. One of the things that oftentimes is difficult to make sense of, if you go through many of the commentaries, is the fact that it feels as though if someone is not saved now, they're never saved. But the reality is, if we go back to, and I'll reference 1 Corinthians 15, verses 22 and 23, and we see in Revelation 20, that everyone will be given an opportunity at a given time. Each in their own time are they given an opportunity.
This is our time now. We have to make sure we make the most of it. So we have been through Romans 9 today. You've been kind to work with me here. Israel, while blessed with the promises made through Abraham, with the covenants, with all that went with the gift that God gave them, rejected the covenant that they had agreed to. But God was kind enough to establish a better covenant. We see that in the book of Hebrews.
We see that covenant made and established when Christ came to this earth. One set up was defined with a divine purpose. It's a covenant that God will see through. I'll only quote one verse as we come to a conclusion here. Philippians 1, verse 6. And it says this, Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it out to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. As we conclude Romans 9, we see sadly that Israel chose not to change. They chose to reject God. That was ancient Israel. When you get to Romans 10, and we'll get there shortly, they are still rejecting God today.
Let us not be like Israel. Let us be one to embrace and wholeheartedly are committed to our calling. That's the lesson of Romans 9.
