Is God Sovereign?
Romans 9:6-29
I want to walk through some very difficult verses of Scripture in Paul's letter to the church at Rome that are very difficult to understand, and at the same time, important for us to understand. I told somebody last week that I thought the message on free will and election was tough, I think this may be a more difficult passage. But in these verses we find some very important points that put much into the right perspective.
But I want to begin with these words of our Lord from Jeremiah. Please remember these throughout the evening. Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." With that, hear these words from Paul,
Romans 9:6-29
9:6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they [are] not all Israel who [are] of Israel,
9:7 nor [are they] all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called."
9:8 That is, those who [are] the children of the flesh, these [are] not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
9:9 For this [is] the word of promise: "At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son."
9:10 And not only [this,] but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, [even] by our father Isaac
9:11 (for [the children] not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
9:12 it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger."
9:13 As it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."
9:14 What shall we say then? [Is there] unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
9:15 For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion."
9:16 So then [it is] not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
9:17 For the Scripture says to 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."
9:18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
9:19 You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?"
9:20 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?"
9:21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
9:22 [What] if God, wanting to show [His] wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
9:23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
9:24 [even] us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
9:25 As He says also in Hosea: "I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved."
9:26 "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ['You are] not My people,' There they shall be called sons of the living God."
9:27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved.
9:28 For He will finish the work and cut [it] short in righteousness, Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth."
9:29 And as Isaiah said before: "Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah."
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God is sovereign in His plan vv 6-13
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I want you to see three key points regarding God's sovereign plan:
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His plan is personal vv 6-7. Paul reminds the Romans of a point that he had already made back in Romans 2. Just because someone may be able to claim Abraham as their physical "father" or as a physical descendant of Abraham, does not guarantee that they are children of God. In fact, quite to the contrary. Paul tells the readers that the real children of Abraham, the spiritual children of Abraham, are those that have placed their trust in Christ alone. That means that there are Gentiles that Paul would call children of Abraham, and there are Jews that Paul would call the children of Abraham. But not every Jew is a descendant of Abraham where it really counts - in their spiritual relationship with Christ.
This simply reminds us again that God has a sovereign plan and His plan is very personal. Are there national consequences to national decisions? There sure are. And even in those national decisions, God is still able to protect those that are His. Why? He is a personal God. And it is amazing to consider that the God that created this world, this solar system, this universe - with stars that make our sun seem like a spec - that He is still a very personal God. He created YOU. He formed YOU. He knows your need for purpose and that it is found ONLY in a relationship with Christ. And by the way, if He knows all of those stars by name, what makes you think that He doesn't know your name, or know your needs, or care about what is going on with you? God is a personal God and He has a personal plan just for you. But understand that,
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His plan calls for us to wait on Him vv 8-9. In these first four verses we see where Paul talks about the children of Abraham - Ishmael and Isaac. We remember the story. Ishmael was Abraham's first son and should have received the inheritance that came to the firstborn, but that was not to be the case. The Lord made it clear that Abraham's seed was not going to be through Ishmael but through Isaac. That meant that Ishmael would be rejected. Why did Ishmael come along? It's simple: impatience. Sarah thought, "I guess God needs a little help in all of this stuff about a child. I know I can't have a child since I'm past childbearing years. So, I'll just give Abraham my maidservant." And Abraham said, "Okay." And we've been paying for their impatience ever since.
You know that the descendants of Ishmael are the Arab nations, bitter foes of Israel to this day, and for long centuries passionate adherents of Islam.1 All because of impatience. All because they just didn't wait for God to bring about His plan in His time.
This is a much needed word for this impatient society. I have a feeling that I'm speaking to some impatient people about to make a bad mistake that you will live with for the rest of your life because you just can't see how things could be different. There are some of you about to throw away a marriage and God has told you to hold on and wait on Him. Some of you are about to commit financial suicide because of your impatience, and God is telling you to wait on Him. Some of you are about to mess up the lives of your children and grandchildren because you refuse to allow God to be the One in charge because you think you have it all figured out. Learn from Abraham and Sarah's impatient decision that has left its mark on the world till now!
There's something else you need to understand about God's sovereign plan,
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His plan makes sense in the long run vv 10-13. Here we see where Paul moves down from Abraham to Isaac and his two sons that were born - twins - Jacob and Esau. And even before they were born God had already declared that the older would serve the younger. Now, we may react here and say that it really wasn't right or fair of God to make such a decision. But Romans 9:13 takes it even a step further. "Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated." Now wait just a minute. What does that mean? It seems a contradiction to what Jesus said in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him…." Here's the best way to understand this. Note the nations that came from these two. From Jacob - the Israelites came, thus a fulfillment of what God had promised Abraham. But what about Esau? The Edomites came from Esau. I just read this week that it was the Edomites that refused the Israelites as they were making their way to the Promised Land, passage through their country. So, this statement that is made here "has to do with national election, not individual. Since God's election of Israel does not depend on human merit, their disobedience cannot nullify the elective purposes of God. God is faithful even though His people are unfaithful."2
So, God in His omniscience, looked ahead and knew the way that Esau would live and operate, as well as Jacob. Some may argue that they don't understand why God "hated" Esau. I think a bigger argument may be why God loved Jacob!
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Church Family, I want you to understand that I believe with all my heart that God has a sovereign plan. Is everything that happens a part of God's perfect plan? No. God doesn't will sin. But I'm convinced that God has a way of working events and difficulties and situations to bring about His desired result in the end. All you have to do is to look at Joseph's life. He was a living testament to a confusing (and it could have quickly become a very bitter) life working out to bring about an incredible end. My point to you is this: you may be going through some very tough and questionable struggles and difficulties and you just don't understand what is going on. In fact, you may not know the source of those struggles - the devil or God. But can I remind you that God's plan will make sense in the long run? In fact, you may never get all of the answers in this life, but rest in the certain fact that God knows the answer and that is enough. God is sovereign in His plan.
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God is sovereign in His righteousness vv 14-18
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The natural tendency may be to question whether or not God wills unrighteousness vv 14-18. A strong statement made by our Lord seems to suggest that this may very well be the case, "I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion."
I want you to understand that the thought that God wills unrighteousness is nothing more than an attempt to bring down a holy and just God to our level. "Surely a loving God wouldn't send anyone to hell." That's an attempt to bring a holy and just God down to our level. Understand something about our God - He is not under any obligation to show mercy to anyone. No one deserves God's mercy. No one can earn God's mercy. Have you experienced and responded to God's mercy? Then thank God.
And then Paul moves to a discussion about Moses and Pharaoh. If you are at all familiar with the story of the Exodus out of Egypt, then you will remember an interesting phrase that is found some 20 times about Pharaoh's heart being hardened. In my studies this week I learned something that I think brings a wonderful understanding of this passage. Half of the time that we find a mention of Pharaoh's hardened heart is because he hardened his heart. The other half is of our Lord hardening Pharaoh's heart. In the Old Testament there are three different words used for "harden": 1. to make hard or insensible; 2. to make heavy or unimpressionable; 3. to make firm or stiff, immovable. All three words are used in the instances. But here's what we understand. "The making hard, heavy and firm of the heart is exactly as often and in precisely the same terms traced to the agency of Pharaoh himself as to that of God."3
After mention of the first six plagues we find where Pharaoh's heart hardened, because he hardened it, not God. "Only when still resisting after the sixth plague do we read for the first time that the Lord made firm the heart of Pharaoh…. But even so, space for repentance must have been left, for after the seventh plague we read again that Pharaoh made heavy his heart; and it is only after the eighth plague that the agency is exclusively ascribed to God." So what we find here is that "step by step, the hand of God became more clearly manifest, till at last he was, by his own confession inexcusable."4 "The fault lay not with God but Pharaoh. The same sunlight that melts the ice also hardens the clay. God was not unrighteous in His dealings with Pharaoh because He gave him many opportunities to repent and believe."5
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Can I put it to you like this? God still works in the same way today. We start to do something wrong and the Holy Spirit of God begins to convict. "You shouldn't do that…. That's wrong…. Turn now before you get any more involved. It's a trap…." But we harden our heart and say that we can "handle it." Next, someone comes up to us and says, "Hey, I've been worried about you. Everything okay? I heard this about you…. I saw you with…. I'm here for you." But we tell them that we're okay. Nothing to worry about. And then we stiffen our necks and do something else anyway. Someone else comes with a humble desire to confront us and help us get back on the right track. Once again, we stiffen our necks and refuse to listen - getting upset with all these people that are "judging me."
Before long, the consequences to the sin begin to make their payment - and they will make their full payment. And do you know what we do? We say, "Why is God out to get me? It's not fair…. God must have it out for me…." Brother, Sister, don't blame God for your refusal to turn from your sin and turn to Him. God made attempt after attempt to extend His mercy to you and to allow you time to repent, but you chose not to. And now you'll experience a hardened heart and consequences you thought never would come.
I want you to understand that God's sovereign work in a life, in this world is not the same as God arbitrarily working in a life or a world. God is sovereign in His righteousness and He will work in such a way as to get glory - in one's obedience, or in another's disobedience.
I want you to see a third point,
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God is sovereign in His judgment vv 19-29
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We know that God by nature is perfectly just. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25) It is unthinkable that God would will an unjust purpose or perform an unjust act. But at times it seems that He does just that. He had mercy on Moses but condemned Pharaoh. Is this just? Remember as well for Pharaoh that he resisted the Lord (that is, he had taken and continued to take a stand against God (v 19)). He elected Israel and rejected the other nations. Is this just? Paul gives three answers to this charge.6
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Who are we to argue with God? (vv 19-21) This is a logical argument. God is the Potter and we are the clay. God is wiser than we are and we are foolish to question His will or to resist it. (The reference here is to Isaiah 45:9.) To be sure, the clay has no life and is passive in the potter's hand. We have feelings, intellect, and willpower, and we can resist Him if we choose. But it is God who determines whether a man will be a Moses or a Pharaoh. Neither Moses, nor Pharaoh, nor anyone else, could choose his parents, his genetic structure, or his time and place of birth. We have to believe that these matters are in the hands of God. However, this does not excuse us from responsibility. Pharaoh had great opportunities to learn about the true God and trust Him, and yet he chose to rebel. Paul did not develop this aspect of truth because his theme was divine sovereignty, not human responsibility. The one does not deny the other, even though our finite minds may not fully grasp them both.7
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God has His purposes (vv 22-24). We must never think that God enjoyed watching a tyrant like Pharaoh. He endured it. God said to Moses, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people... and have heard their cry... for I know their sorrows" (Exodus 3:7). The fact that God was long-suffering indicates that He gave Pharaoh opportunities to be saved (see 2 Peter 3:9). The word "fitted" in Romans 9:22 does not suggest that God made Pharaoh a "vessel of wrath." It is better read that "he fitted himself for destruction" God prepares men for glory (Rom. 9:23), but sinners prepare themselves for judgment.8
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All of this was prophesied (vv 25-29). First Paul quoted Hosea 2:23, a statement declaring that God would turn from the Jews and call the Gentiles. Then he cited Hosea 1:10 to prove that this new people being called would be God's people and "children of the living God." He then quoted Isaiah 10:22-23 to show that only a remnant of Israel would be saved, while the greater part of the nation would suffer judgment. Romans 9:28 probably refers to God's work of judgment during the Tribulation, when the nation of Israel will be persecuted and judged, and only a small remnant left to enter into the kingdom when Jesus Christ returns to earth. But the application for today is clear: only a remnant of Jews is believing; and they, together with the Gentiles, are the "called of God" (Rom. 9:24). The final quotation from Isaiah 1:9 emphasized the grace of God in sparing the believing remnant - or else they would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah."9
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What an indictment of proud Pharisaism and proud church membership today! Only God's mercy keeps any of us from going to hell, my beloved.10
I want to go back to what I shared at the beginning of the message. Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." I'm here to tell you that God deeply and greatly loves you. He has a plan for you that is outstanding and incredible - but it calls for you to live in obedience to His will each and every day of your life. There are consequences to your obedience and disobedience. Rest assured, God will get glory in our blessing when we yearn and live a life that seeks to glorify Him, or in our punishment because we hardened our heart against Him. Which do you want to be said of you?