 Welcome back everyone. We are continuing in Romans chapter 9. So we've looked through till verse 13. So Paul has now said, you know, basically, we just recap. Paul said, look, whatever God spoke, this is Romans 9 verse 6. Whatever God spoke about Israel, those words have not gone of, those words have not become ineffective. One, because he was actually speaking about children of promise, not just the natural children. And secondly, because of God's purposes, which are at work. And that's what he wants to highlight. So in talking about God's purposes, which is, you know, verse 10, and not only this, that means in addition to what I've said that God's word is being fulfilled in children of promise. Secondly, God's purposes are being fulfilled, predetermined purposes are being fulfilled. And so then he begins to refer to a series of both Old Testament figures, that is people, as well as Old Testament scriptures, to show us that the purpose of God, according to his shoestring, according to his selection, is being fulfilled through people that he has called or he has appointed as agents through whom things will unfold. So the first figures that are people that Paul has referred to, which we have seen now, is Jacob and Esau. And we saw that God, even before they were born, already spoke and said, this is what's going to happen. So we are trying to interpret it or understand it correctly, while trying to bring together both the sovereignty of God and also the choice, the free will of man. So that's where the challenge is. Where do these two meet? We don't want to completely eliminate the free will of man because we see that through our scripture it's wrong to say man doesn't have his choice in the matter, in the unfolding of the purpose of God. And so we need to somehow reconcile the two. There is the sovereign purpose of God which he will fulfill, like Paul said in Romans 9.11, according to people whom he has selected and not based on people's choices, because in this case, sorry, not based on people's works, because in this case, even before Jacob and Esau was born, he already said, this is what's going to happen. So there is the sovereign purpose of God, his selection, and his unfolding of that purpose. And there should also be, it should also be reconciled with the fact that Jacob and Esau both had the freedom to make the choice. So that's what we were trying to understand. How will we understand it? And why did God say, I love Jacob, I hate Esau? Because of the spiritual significance of their lives, Jacob, as we know, was a man who pursued God in spite of his flaws. And he even wrestled with God. That was at that night when he held on to the angel of God, which was God himself manifested and said, I won't let you go until you bless me. And that wasn't that moment that his name was changed from Jacob to Israel, because he said, you are somebody who has stature with God. You are somebody who's engaged with God and prevail in the sense that you've got what you wanted. So that was Jacob. He wasn't a perfect man. He had his flaws, but he pursued God and he's so engaged with God that he got what he wanted, his blessing on his life. But Esau, on the other hand, was very careless, so to speak. He just didn't care about the blessing of God on his life. He just threw it off. He said, okay, just give me a bowl of food. Take God's blessing on my life. And God really disregarded that kind of attitude or that kind of what Esau represented. So that's the first Old Testament people that Paul is bringing out to show that the purpose of God is going to be fulfilled the way God chooses. Then we're going to read verses 14 onwards. And then Paul begins to build this up. It's going to get a little complicated, but then in the end, we will get an understanding of it. Let's read verses 14 through 18. And then, yeah, it was 14 onwards, 14 to 18, please. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? With God said to me not. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I have compassion on whomever I have compassion. So then it is none of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For scripture says to the Pharaoh, for this very purpose, I have raised you up that I may show my power in you, and that my name may be declared in all the earth. Therefore, he has mercy on whome he wills, and whome he wills, he harden. Okay. So Paul is asking the same question that you and I would feel inclined to ask after reading versus what he has just written, and versus 9 through 13. So the question in verse 14 is, hey, is God being unrighteous, or is God being unfair, unjust? And then Paul says, no, no, no, certainly not. God is, like we said, Paul's style of writing throughout Romans is he asks a question, and he answers it himself. So he asks the question, is God being unfair by doing this? And he says, no, God is not unfair. God is just God who has mercy and compassion on whomever he wants. So his mercy and compassion are extended to everyone. Right. Again, he must understand mercy and compassion, not as being selective and partial. So God is not merciful. God is not partial, or God is not selective in his expression of mercy and compassion. Like Psalm 145 verse 9 and 10, the Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are overall his works. The Lord is gracious, slow to anger, a bounding in mercy, and he extends it to everybody. Right. So God is not merciful just to few. Right. So his mercy and his compassion is available to every person. And this mercy and compassion then begins to work in the lives of those who receive it and specifically in the case of Jacob. So what happened in Jacob's life is an expression of God's mercy and compassion. But it was not a selective and partial thing because we must interpret even this exercise of mercy and compassion from God in the light of the rest of scripture, which is God's mercy and God's compassion is available to everybody. But it is effective in the lives of few people. Why? Not because of partiality or that only they received it. It was extended only to them. No, it was because they were willing to receive that mercy and grace. Right. So verse 16, so then once again, the focus doesn't fall on the person who's made the choice, more of him who runs. So verse 16, so then it is not of him who wills, not of him who runs. That means the big deal is not about the person who said yes, or who did the right thing, but it is still has to do with God who gave mercy. But on the side of man, the man willed Jacob willed to receive and Jacob ran with what God wanted for his life. He cooperated with what God wanted for his life. But yet we can't credit or we can't, let's say, say Jacob was a hero. No, it's still because God extended mercy. So is God being unfair? No. Why is he not unfair? Because his mercy and compassion is available to all. And yet the person who says yes to it is the one who actually receives it and experiences it. And yet we can't give credit to the one who said yes, because ultimately it's because of his mercy and because of his compassion that whatever happened happened. And then he says, verse 17, he points to another person, Pharaoh. It's a look of Pharaoh. God raised him up that he may be that he may be an agent through whom God would cause his part to be displayed and his fame go out through that known world in that time. And yet verse 18, he has mercy on those whom he has mercy and whom he wills he hardens. But then is it because that God hardened Pharaoh's heart? God was able to display his power, or was it Pharaoh choosing to harden his own heart? So now when you look into the Old Testament, you find both positions. You'll find in the beginning, you know, that you'll find both scriptures on both that God, Pharaoh chose to harden his heart. And there will be scripture that say God hardened his heart. So how do we understand the scripture saying God hardened Pharaoh's heart? Because if God did it to Pharaoh, then Pharaoh is not to blame. Pharaoh doesn't deserve punishment. How do we understand it that when the scripture saying God hardened his heart? Well, we have to understand it in the same way, like we read in Romans chapter one, when God said, God gave people up, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to a corrupt mind. That means he didn't cause them to become depraved and corrupt, but he let them go. So it wasn't God made them that way, but he didn't prevent them from taking that direction, going that direction. So when the scriptures are saying God hardened Pharaoh's heart, we must understand it in the light of the other scriptures would tell us that Pharaoh chose to harden his own heart. That means as Pharaoh began to harden his own heart, God chose to let him go that way. And he just chose to harden his heart towards the God that Moses was talking about and the miracles that Moses was doing in the name of God. That means Pharaoh said, I don't care, you can do whatever you want, but I'm stronger, I'm bigger, I will show myself to be stronger and bigger. And so while God let Pharaoh move into that position of hardening his heart towards Moses and towards God, the God of Moses, it only became an opportunity for God to display more and more of his power. And as a result, the greatness of God, his name spread throughout the neighboring regions. So even before the people of Israel reached Jericho, people inside Jericho said, hey, we've heard of all the things your God did in Egypt. So the news already spread. So again over here concerning Pharaoh and Pharaoh hardening his heart, we have to understand it from this perspective that the Pharaoh is responsible for choosing to harden his own heart against what Moses was saying and against the God of Moses. And the only thing God did was to let him continue that way. In that sense, the scriptures are saying God hardened Pharaoh's heart. He let him go that way, not that he caused or made him to do it, but he let him do it. So he builds on this further now if you read from verses 19 to 24, please. 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? Will the thing fall into him? Who formed it? Why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over that way? From this some 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 lung suffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the faces of mercy, which he had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. Thank you. So Paul is continuing to develop the thought and again he's asking questions. It's a very interesting style of writing. So he asks another question verse 19. He's kind of asking questions which he thinks his audience would ask. So he's saying you will say to me verse 19, why does God still find fault? For who has resisted his will? Meaning, if we are saying God hardened Pharaoh's heart, then God cannot find fault with Pharaoh because if God was doing it to Pharaoh, Pharaoh has no choice. He can't resist the will of God. So this is an obvious question somebody would ask if that was the way things happened. So verse 20, Paul is saying, you know, but oh man, who are you to question God? In other words, how, you know, who are we to, this is in verse 20, oh man, who are you to reply against God? Who are we to question God? Will the thing formed? Say to him who formed it, why have you made me like this? In other words, he has this picture of the potter as he explains in the next verse as well. You know, a potter from the same lump of clay, he could divide the lump into two portions. With one part of the lump, he could create a vessel that is used for honorable purposes, maybe like a nice showcase piece that is kept and, you know, very prominently, you know, looks very grand and elegant, he could do that. And from the other half of the lump, he could make a vessel that's used for routine things, you know, maybe collecting trash or doing something, you know, whatever. So he's saying from the same lump of clay, he could create two different vessels, one is for, you know, honorable use and one is for just regular dishonorable use. And the clay has no choice here. So he's saying in that sense, God is going to unfold his plan and his purpose through different individuals that he chooses, in that sense. But like I mentioned earlier, there is a difference. Unlike the lump of clay, the lump of clay has no free will, but we human beings, we do. So here's the interesting intersection, the interplay of God's predetermined plan and the free will choice of man. That's interesting interplay. So for Pharaoh, God already had a purpose that through whoever was going to be the leader of Egypt, at the appointed time, he would raise up Moses. And through Moses, he would display and through Moses and through this leader of Egypt, Pharaoh, in this case, God would display his power and God would display, you know, his mighty works, so that his fame would be, would go out among the nations and he would deliver his people. So that was God's plan. Nobody can stop it. But that does not do away the free will choice of either Moses or Pharaoh. And Moses is not specifically mentioned here, but I'm just bringing him into the picture because he was an important actor or participant in all that happened. Both had a free will choice. In fact, Moses could have refused when God came to him, said, Moses, you know, I want to go and deliver my people. Moses was reluctant. And so God had to, you know, kind of encourage him and send Aaron with him, so on. So there was God raising up a deliverer in Moses. But he, Moses had to, you know, co-work with God. He had to cooperate with God. So Pharaoh, God had purposed that at that time he would deliver his people. Pharaoh was there. And Pharaoh, in one sense, could not escape the purpose of God. Moses, God was going to make this happen and get at the same time. Pharaoh had his free will. He chose to harden his heart. He chose to refuse. But the more he chose to refuse, it only gave greater opportunity for the power of God to be displayed and the fame of God to be made known. So if God found fault with Pharaoh, God was not being unjust. That although the purpose of God was being unfolded at that time, and God had purpose to deliver his people, at that time, yes, the purpose of God was there. The election of God was there. The foreknowledge and the predetermined working of his purpose was at work. Yet Pharaoh had his own choice to harden his heart and continue. So there is this analogy of the potter and the clay, but there is the difference between clay and human beings. But what Paul is saying is, as he continues in verse 22 and 22 on, that there are these vessels of wrath and vessels, he calls this mercy. So he's contrasting two vessels. The vessels of wrath, that's verse 22 of vessels of judgment, and then verse 23, the vessels of mercy. So like we said, in verse 21, he's contrasting two kinds of vessels. In verse 21, there is the vessel for honor, and there is the vessel for dishonor. That is, you know, from the same lump, you can have two kinds of vessels, one that is, you know, very elegant and put on display, kept in honor, and the other one is just used for ordinary purposes. So contrast. Now, he's using the same contrast, and he says, look, there are vessels of wrath, the vessels of mercy, that means he's referring to people, people who ended up receiving God's judgment, and there are people who ended up receiving God's mercy. They both are creation of God, like the porter worked on the clay and cost the vessels to come into being. They are both creation of God, but it is not that they were just pre-appointed for wrath, because he says in verse 22, God endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath. So God had a plan. There would be destruction to those who do not receive him, but it was not that God just said, okay, these are vessels of destruction. Here, take my judgment. No, he endured with much long suffering the people who ultimately received destruction. What was he enduring for? If they were already pre-determined for destruction, why would he have to endure with much long suffering? So the fact that God was enduring with much, verse 22, enduring with much long suffering on these vessels, prepared for destruction, doesn't mean that, or let me say put it this way, the fact that God endured with much long suffering was that he was waiting for even these vessels, these people to repent, but when they did not, they ended up receiving his destruction. So where does sovereignty come and where does a free will of man come? The sovereignty of God predetermined the purpose, which is those who reject him will end up in destruction. That's the sovereignty of God. He predetermined the purpose, but each vessel experiences God's enduring mercy, enduring or long suffering. God is extremely patient with each vessel, and if they still choose to reject his mercy, they end up receiving what has been prepared for those who reject him, which is destruction. It is not that God determined the choice that vessel was going to make, that person was going to make, but God determined the destruction for anyone who would refuse his purpose, similarly for the vessels of mercy. Verse 23, God prepared beforehand that those who would receive his mercy would experience his glory or display his glory. Verse 23, they would know the riches of his glory. So these are referred to as vessels of mercy. So what did God determine beforehand? He determined that all who receive his mercy will experience the riches of his glory and his goodness. He did not determine the choice that each individual vessel would make. That was up to them, but when the individual made the choice to receive mercy, they became vessels of mercy and God determined beforehand the vessels of mercy would experience the riches of his glory. So what we're doing is we're kind of bringing together the sovereignty of God and the the free will of man in all of this, whether it is Jacob Aniso, whether it is the display of God's mercy and compassion, whether it's Pharaoh or whether it's the potter working with the clay. There is God's sovereignty, there is the free will of man and both come together. So ultimately, God's purpose is still fulfilled while man is going about making his free choice. And that's just an amazing, call it a mystery or an amazing working of the purpose of God. And having said all this, verse 24, Paul says, even us whom he called, not other Jews only, but also the Gentiles. And now he's saying, hey, everything I've said applies not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. So God's sovereign purpose is at work, not only among the Jewish people, but among the Gentiles. And both Jews and Gentiles become those who say yes to God, now become those whom he called. So going back to what Paul was explaining, the God's purpose to the word he had spoken to Israel has not gone void, but he was speaking of those of the promise and he was speaking about the fulfilling of his predetermined purpose that would take place for both Jews and Gentiles, to everyone who would say yes to his call. So he's put both these two together side by side. What God was speaking to Abraham, he was speaking not just to the natural children, he was speaking to those of the promise and then his purpose will be fulfilled, is being fulfilled in both Jews and Gentiles who say yes to him. And then in the next set of verses that we're going to read, Paul shows from the Old Testament scripture that God had already planned to bring Gentiles in, that God's purposes was not just only for the Jews, but it was actually for Jews and Gentiles. So let's read verses 25 to 29, please. Romans 9, 25 to 29. As he says only in Hosea, I will call them my people who were not my people and her beloved who was not beloved. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, you are not my people. There they shall be, they shall be called sons of the living God. I also cries out concerning Israel through the number of the, though the number of the children of Israel be as a sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. For he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth. And as I just said before, only the Lord of Sabbath had left us a seed. We will, we would have become like Sodom and we would have been made like Amorah. So the apostle Paul is quoting from both the prophet Hosea and the prophet Isaiah. So in, from quoting from Hosea, that's in verse 25 and 26, he says, you know, God already spoke, he already spoke, saying those people who are not called my people, I'm going to call them. She's actually referring to the Gentiles. And this is only one place, and there are other places, you know, especially even in the Psalms, we see, you know, the Gentiles will praise God, all nations will praise. But Paul is just quoting, you know, one, one from, one passage from Hosea, to show that God had already purposed that the Gentiles would call him and they would become his people, his beloved, and they would be called his people, they would become sons of the living God. So just like how God had spoken ahead of time, of Jacob and Esau, he'd spoken ahead of time on that he was going to deliver his people from Pharaoh. God has already spoken ahead of time that the Gentiles would come in and be his sons and sons and daughters. And at the same time, concerning his own people, the Jewish people, so as Paul quotes from Isaiah, saying that though there's going to be so many descendants, as numerous as the sand on the sea, God is going to cut short his work so that he can have at least some of these people for himself and not all of them be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. So he's presenting two contrasting thoughts. One is these Gentiles who weren't, he's letting them know, letting this audience know that Gentiles, we never thought God had anything for them, but actually he had already spoken and said they would all come in and become his sons. And then his own people, Israel, God actually has to kind of, it's almost like what we would think of as pre-pwn certain things so that at least some of them could be saved and be with him. Otherwise all of them will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. So he's kind of contrasting. He's opening things up for the Gentiles, he's spending very kind and so on, but for his own people, he's kind of got to do a kind of like a rescue act, cut short his work so that at least some of them could be saved. And he's saying, hey, this was already spoken by the prophets. God already announced it earlier. So God's purposes continue to be fulfilled and this is what he has already spoken, that he will fulfill. So why then or what is the conclusion then? What about the Jewish? So let's say it was 30 to 33. What is happening with them? Somebody could read it. Romans 9 30 to 33, please. What then shall we say that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have obtained it? A righteousness that is by faith. But Israel who pursued a law of righteousness has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone as it is written. See, I lay in Zion, a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Thank you. So he said, okay, so what's the conclusion? What do I want to say? He says, this is what I want to say. That the Gentiles, they have got righteousness. That means they came into a right standing with God through faith. But Israel, this nation to whom God had given all the covenants, the law, the ministry and all of that, they, instead of receiving righteousness by faith, they are continuing to try to get it through the law and they can't. And they are stumbling over Christ. So that stumbling stone, he talks about verse 32, we know, he's talking about Christ because he says, I lay in Zion, a stumbling stone. They stumbled at that stumbling stone. We know later on in scripture, it's a very clear verse, Peter 2, that this rock is Christ. So what's the conclusion? Romans 9, if you want to summarize that chapter, Paul says, look, I have great affection for my people. I really wish they would be saved. And they are very special people. God gave them the law, he gave them the covenants, he gave them the priesthood, he gave them all the promises, all of that, very special. And none of what he spoke to them has failed, but it's being fulfilled in a different way from what we thought. What he actually spoke to them was that the children of promise are the ones who would be the real seed. And he's actually unfolding his purposes this way. He's continued to unfold his purposes. And his purposes were spoken by the prophets. And the prophets said, the Gentiles will come in and become sons of God. The prophets also said that among his own people only a remnant would be saved and that only if God cut short his work. And that is what is actually happening now, because the Gentiles have opened up to this message of receiving righteousness by faith. But his own people, the Jews, are struggling. Because they, first of all, they want to go about getting righteousness through the law, which they cannot, and they're stumbling at Christ. But yet, the purpose of God is being fulfilled. Because when God said to Abraham, in eyes that you will have your seed, just talking about people of promise, children of promise, those who would come in by faith. So the purpose of God is being fulfilled and man is responding to that purpose. And those who receive his mercy become vessels of mercy and they experience the riches of God's glory. Those who reject his mercy become vessels of judgment and they experience destruction. So that kind of summarizes Romans chapter 9, which I know was a little complicated reading through it, but the end is beautiful. He is basically saying how Gentiles are saying yes and the Jews are struggling, but God is fulfilling his purposes, which he had spoken beforehand through the prophets. Any questions, we can take some time to ask. Any questions or things you want to ask? Was it okay? Romans 9 somewhat clear. Come through. Okay. All right. So I think we've kind of dealt with some of the difficult part. Now, let's move on to chapter 10. Chapter 10 is pretty straightforward, which we will cover next week. Chapter 11, again, gets a little complicated when he's talking about, you know, grafting, he's talking about, and he uses a different analogy. In chapter 9, he talked about the gardening analogy. He talks about one plant being grafted into the other. He uses that, but it may be a little difficult, but the point he gets across is God is bringing both Jews and Gentiles together. Chapter 10 is pretty straightforward. The message has to go to Gentiles. And that's the focus of chapter 10. We will look at it next week. Okay. So let's wrap up, close in prayer. Thank you for listening. If you want to go back and listen to this one more time, you know, the recording will be available. So take some time to just go through it. And what I would emphasize is as you try to interpret it, try to reconcile both the sovereignty of God and the free will of man as you try to interpret the chapter and don't totally disregard the free will of man, because then you'll just end up saying, you know, everything happens because God decided. Okay. Let's close in prayer, please. Somebody could pray with us and close. Anyone? Go ahead, Thomas. Father in Jesus' name we thank you, Father, we praise you. Thank you for the wonderful revelations from the book of Romans, Daddy. Thank you, Dad, for made us righteous. Thank you, Lord. We love you, we praise you, Father. Give us the grace, mercy and help of the Holy Spirit to walk in your righteousness, Lord. We thank you, we praise you. Be with us and guide us. Give you glory and honor in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. All right. Let's go for a break and see you in the next class. Thank you. Bye now. Bye everyone. Thank you. Thank you. God bless. Bye now.