Romans 9:6-29
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SLIDE 3
Romans 9:6
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
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SLIDE 4
8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
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SLIDE 5
11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”
Rom 9.11-
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INTRO:
One of the most common questions that little children ask, is “Why?”
-You can’t have a cookie. Why?
-You can’t play on the road. Why?
-Let’s clean that maple syrup out of your hair. Why?
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There’s always a why… but with the ‘why’… there might not be an answer that fits into their limited wheelhouse of understanding.
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When I was a little kid in the early 70’s… I wanted to go and play with the Little Rascals. I actually thought they lived close by. I looked for them when we would drive places. I couldn’t understand that those kids were actors from the 40’s.
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I remember asking my grandma about them… but her answer didn’t make sense to me.
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The world of a child, is very small. Their understanding, is very elementary. Their perspectives are simple… therefore, when they ask, “Why?” - Well, we can’t always give them an answer that works.
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They don’t understand why you have to go to work… they don’t understand taxes… or mortgage payments… or medical bills. The answer to their “Why?”… sometimes goes very deep… too deep…
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WHICH IS WHY THE COMMON ANSWER WE GIVE IS: “BECAUSE.”
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As we grow up… we still ask why. Sometimes we have the capacity to understand, receive and process an answer. Sometimes, even as adults.. we don’t.
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Sometimes, it’s not an intellectual limitation… but rather, an issue of philosophy… loyalty… hate… emotion… or sympathy. - Which is part of the reason why our nation is so philosophically divided right now.
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One side asks, “Why?”… but when the answer is given by the other side, it does not work. We have a strong drive to place our loyalties and our sympathies in front of reason and logic. If our enemy says a truth… it can’t be true. If our team mate says a lie, it has to be a truth.
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We are unwilling to set aside loyalty, or hate, or sympathy… therefore… we become incapable of receiving an answer to our question.
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Why?
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There’s a lot of this in the Bible. Jesus was always coming up against the Pharisees and the Sadducees who were asking, “Why?”
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And while some were able to receive an answer… even as it offended their titles and their team philosophies… - MOST WERE HORRIBLY OFFENDED. - They couldn’t look beyond their loyalty to a belief system, and consider the answer that Jesus offered them.
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When we open our Bibles… we open them… usually, with this question in mind. Why? -
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And we might get an answer. Some people have already contrived their desired answer in advance… and they will make the scriptures say what they need them to say. THE BIBLE CAN say anything… if we QUOTE IT IN PART AND OUT OF CONTEXT .
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SO… If your agenda, or your hate, or your loyalty, or your sympathy… have wired you to only receive a specific answer… well, you might not get a true Biblical answer to your question: “Why?”
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SLIDE 6
Because the context of the Bible, does not take a back seat, to the context of our limitations… our prejudices… and our loyalties.
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So… the Bible gives us an answer… but sometimes it’s a hard answer to both understand… and receive.
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We often times lack that ability, to fully understand and accept what is in the mind of God.
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Today’s passage, would be a prime example.
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God… why are some saved, and others are not? Why are so few saved… and so many are lost? God, why did you love Jacob, and hate Esau? Why?
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God’s answer… in so many words… is simply this: “I am the potter, and you people… you are the clay.”
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If we make God out to be like us… puny humans with limited understanding… we might try to box him into our own sense of short sighted judgment.
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And we might say… if I were God…- I would do this differently. I wouldn’t allow war, or natural disaster, or I would save everybody, or I would change the list of rights and wrongs…
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We sing a worship song called, “The Earth Is Yours”… it’s a great song, that is true.. and was written by a talented song writer. - HOWEVER… -That song writer, Michael Gungor, has declared that he no longer believes in God.
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I recently heard him tell his story in an interview… -He spent years trying to re-define God into someone he wanted to believe in. -He used his life experience, his sympathies, his culture, and his influences… to determine what he thought God should be like…
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And since God was not like… the god he wanted… he finally came to a place where he said, “I don’t believe.”
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Like many others… he continually asked God “Why?” - But, like children who don’t understand quantum physics… he wasn’t satisfied with the answer… - And so, like many… Michael reconstructed his idea of God, until he couldn’t handle the burden of trying to believe in a God he had to continually recreate…
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The moment we start to reconstruct God… is the moment we take charge of God. We become His creator. We mold him into a being that does our bidding, and agrees with our ideas…
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That end of that road… is ultimately… disbelief.
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In today’s passage… Paul makes it clear… - God is who God is… and God does, what God does.
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This conversation was sparked by the thought of Israel. God is doing a new thing with the church… but what about the old thing… with Israel?
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And we looked at verses 1-5 last week, where Paul explained the incredible privilege that Israel was given…
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And then, we considered verses 6-8… Where Paul spoke to them on their own terms. Israel understood, that some who were from the lineage of Abraham were children of promise… and some weren’t.
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Through Isaac… not Ishmael… through Jacob… not Esau… - They understood that. They banked on that. They built their prejudices upon that.
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There was a lineage that they depended upon… because God had a plan for that lineage… spoke through that lineage… and had a purpose for that lineage…
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The end of this plan… this message… and this purpose… was a Messiah named Jesus… through whom, the promise of Abraham was fulfilled. We cited this last week....
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…from … where God promised Abraham, through his seed, or his descendant (a word which was singular, not plural)… all of the nations of the earth will be blessed. - Jesus is that seed.
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And because of Jesus… some are children of promise… and some are not… and it is no longer a matter of physical lineage. Now… it is a matter of spiritual lineage… this is where we experience the promise.
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Let’s look again at vss 9-13
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SLIDE 7
9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—
Rom 9.9
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9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
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SLIDE 9
12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
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I want to focus in on a phrase in verse 11… but first, let’s tackle this thing in verse 13 that many of you are struggling with right now..
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Wait a minute: God hated Esau?
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I thought God was love. I thought God so loved the whole world… How can God hate Esau just because he was innocently born from the wrong mom?
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If we think wrongly about what the Bible is saying here… at least two damaging things could happen.
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ONE: We could actually thing that God loves some and hates others based on our direct and literal reading of this , devoid of context and culture… - And we might walk away from God, because God is a hater.. and we don’t want to serve a god who hates..
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+That would be problem number one…
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TWO: If God loves His children, and hates everyone else… then I can do the same thing… I can hate Muslims and Homosexuals and and Atheists… because God hates Esau… - And some think this way… SOME IN THE CHURCH, express their difference in belief… with hate.
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= and a wrong understanding of verse 13… could lead to this dangerous conclusion.
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But sometimes… the context of a verse is linked to languages and cultures that thought completely differently than how we think.
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This use of love and hate, as a comparison, is used several times in the Bible..
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In , we read about an incident with Jacob and his two wives… Leah and Rachel. - You remember the story - of how Jacob worked for Laban for 7 years to receive Rachel as his wife..
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But after 7 years… he was tricked into marrying Leah… so he worked another 7 years to get the wife he originally wanted.
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He loved Rachel more than Leah
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But that difference… that comparison of love between the two, was defined with the words love and hate.
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SLIDE 10
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.
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Did Jacob hate Leah? - Let this be an answer: When he was about to die, he chose to be buried… with Leah, and not Rachel.
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SLIDE 11
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
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SLIDE 12
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
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SLIDE 13
25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
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Is Jesus saying, that you will hate one of two masters, if you have two? Is Jesus saying, that you have to hate your family to follow Him? Is Jesus saying, that you have to hate your life?
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No.
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Clearly, these passages bring to light a literary method of ancient Hebrew culture… - to prove a point, by means of comparison… one is loved, and another is loved less.. - this is communicated emphatically with the words ‘love’ and ‘hate’.
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In … God chose one over the other… not because one was better than the other… but rather… because God had a plan to fulfill through one, verses the other..
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Look at vs. 11.. - This decision was made… - before they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad..
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Here’s why God chose one over the other: “
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SLIDE 14
…in order that God’s purpose of election might continue.
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Being consistent with the message of grace… the message that says, “We don’t… and can’t earn anything good from God..” - verse 11 ends with this reminder.. - “not because of works but because of him who calls.”
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Here again, is something that affronts our senses. Shouldn’t we be able to earn things from God? Shouldn’t we be able to earn the right from God? Isn’t it unfair of God to choose one over the other, with complete disregard to their merit?
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So Paul gives an answer:
SLIDE 15
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
Rom 9:14-
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SLIDE 16
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”
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Paul declares… that there is no injustice on God’s part… but they he goes on the explain something that many would declare… as being unjust.
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God shows mercy and compassion on whom he wants to show mercy and compassion on. Not because of the human’s will… but simply, because of God’s mercy…
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That means… God is choosing to not show mercy on some… regardless of that human’s will.
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In our limited sense of human judgment… THIS WOULD BE CONSIDERED UNJUST.
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People should be treated in accordance with their merit.
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But God’s sense of Justice is quite different than ours. The word for justice, in both Hebrew and Greek, speaks of righteousness… and something that is just… is something that is right…
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And so… the Biblical idea of justice, is to bring righteousness… to make things right.
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In the OT, justice is often defined in the acts of showing kindness to strangers and travelers… of providing for the poor by leaving gleanings in the field… in showing kindness , compassion, and mercy…
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In this passage, justice is defined in the showing of mercy… from God… to man.
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According to God… here is what is just… to show mercy on whom He wills… and by hardening whom He wills… - Why? Because God has a bigger plan… and even as He loves the individual… He is using tribes, nations, and families… to bring about a greater plan.
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Why did God love Jacob and hate Esau.. - the answer is in vs. 11 - in order that God’s purpose of election might continue....
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It was His plan… that the Messiah would come through the lineage of Jacob, and not Esau… and the only way things could be made right… or righteous… or just, amongst humanity..
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the answer is in vs. 11 - in order that God’s purpose of election might continue....
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…was to give them Jesus, as their Messiah, to set things right on the cross.
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The story of Jesus was told, through the lineage of Jacob… and the fulfilment of Jesus… came through the lineage of Jacob… and through Jesus… - grace and salvation and justice… are now available… to everyone… even the descendents of Esau.
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Let’s continue on in the text… reading from 19 down to 29…
SLIDE 17
Rom 9:19-
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”
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21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
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Rom 9:21-
21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
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SLIDE 19
Rom 9.23-
23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ”
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SLIDE 20
26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ” 27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,
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SLIDE 21
28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”
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God is who God is… and God will do what God does. He as creator, has a right over His creation. He as the potter, has authority over the clay.
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And what is the purpose of all this? - If you want to reject God, or reconstruct God… you can come up with many of your own answers to this question…
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But God gives us His answer.
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To make known His power. (vs. 22)
To make known the riches of His glory. (vs. 23)
To call those who were not beloved, beloved. (vs. 25)
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This section comes to a conclusion with a difficult truth… Paul is speaking now, to those who would ask, “WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL”…
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This discussion began in verse 1 of chapter 9… and it’s going to continue for a while… - But here, he reminds them of a hard truth…
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In vs 27-29… concerning the vast population that is Israel.. Just as in the days of Isaiah… only a remnant will be saved. -Why? What about their lineage?
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Well… they chose to bank in their blood… rather than believe in God. And so.. they, as a nation.... became like Sodom and Gomorrah…
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Now… that’s a hard way to end this section… But as we have seen in the writings of Paul… HE LIKES TO SET UP AN UGLY SITUATION… SO HE CAN CONTRAST IT TO SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL.
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… What follows, is a beautiful message on the grace of God. Paul returns to his main message of grace… His declaration of the Gospel… The amazing mercy and grace that God gives to people who don’t deserve it....
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This beautiful and familiar story of grace… will be next week’s message.
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Today… we end with a reminder… that God is sovereign. He does what He does. He is bigger than us… smarter than us… and His sense of justice, by far, outweighs ours… since He is the one created and defined Justice.
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If anything, I hope today… we have reaffirmed even more… His greatness and preeminence in our lives.
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close.