Israel’s Unbelief and the Person of God

We are continuing in our study of Romans Chapter 9. This fantastic section of Scripture that sadly gets neglected by many pastors and commentators. Chapters 9-11 are, in my opinion, the hinge to the entire epistle. I understand that these seem to have less connection to the Christian life, but in reality, we gain a deeper understanding of our faith, but understanding how all of this relates to Israel today.

Romans 9:13–24 ESV

13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 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. 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?” 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— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Israel’s Unbelief and the Person of God

What we're studying today is really a smaller portion of a larger segment of Scripture starting in verse 6 and continuing on into the first few verses of Chapter 10. What Paul is really addressing is the sovereignty of God, particularly when it comes to salvation. Scripture is very clear regarding the sovereignty of God when it comes to salvation.

Jonah 2:9 ESV

9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

John 15:16 ESV

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Ephesians 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

2 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Israel’s Unbelief and the Person of God

The reason is as Paul is discussing salvation by grace alone through faith alone, the Jewish reader would say, “Wait a minute, what about God's covenant with the Jews?” That’s a fair question for them to ask and for us to ask too. It’s an important question we need to answer.

If God established a special covenant with his chosen people, Israel, who were supposed to enjoy all the blessings of God as a nation, and now they have been set aside, how secure are these blessings for those who are in Christ Jesus. In other words if the new covenant is true, the New Testament is true, and the message of Jesus Christ is true, Then why did not God's covenant people believe the message? Of all the people that should have adopted the new covenant, it should have been God's covenant people. Romans Chapters 9-11 answer these questions.

Israel’s Unbelief and the Person of God

Last week I told you that Paul Answers to these questions with four key points:

1. The unbelief of Israel is not inconsistent with God's promise,

2. The unbelief of Israel is not inconsistent with God's person,

3. The unbelief of Israel is not inconsistent with God's prophets

4. The unbelief of Israel is not inconsistent with God's prerequisite.

Israel’s Unbelief and the Person of God

And we saw last week, that God chose Abraham as the vessel to establish the covenant line with the nation of Israel. However, not every flesh of Abraham was included in that covenant, only a believing remnant. And Paul illustrates this in two ways: first, in verses 7 to 9 Paul shows how God chose Isaac over Ishmael. Secondly, we see how God chose Jacob over Esau. God did not choose both and God did not intend to choose both. And this was not a violation of God's covenant with Abraham. It was a sovereign choice of God.

Does that Mean that God is Unjust?

Now come at this begs the question, does this violate God's person? In other words, if God sovereignly selects and chooses who will be saved and who will not be saved, does that mean that God is unjust? Some would say this is unfair. And the answer to that is, “By no means!” No no no no no…. mi genito! (Verse 14).

To prove this Paul quotes 2 passages from the Old Testament.

Exodus 33:19 ESV

19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

God’s Sovereignty

In other words you can go all the way back to God's revealing himself to Moses and he is revealing his character then that he chooses who He will reveal himself to. He chooses the means of salvation. He chooses the people that will be saved. We have a merciful God who chooses whom he grants mercy. It is his character to be gracious. It is his character to be compassionate. It is his character to be merciful. It is his character to demonstrate loving kindness.

God’s Sovereignty

In fact, you could argue that God we'd be unjust to show someone mercy rather than to issue judgment. For the simple reason that for us to be counted as righteous as sinners, the requirement is death. If you want to talk about God being unfair or unjust, then you probably would be safer to accuse him of being unjust for saving anybody. But that's not the point. The argument being made here is that God has shown tremendous grace and mercy and compassion, and no one is deserving of His redemption.

The other illustration from the Old Testament that Paul uses, is regarding Pharaoh in verse 17. You see, God raised pharaoh as a means to demonstrate his redeeming power. In other words the only real pharaoh was in his position and did what he did was at the good pleasure of God.

Romans 9:18 ESV

18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

God’s Sovereignty

So Paul says there is no violation in God's righteous character at all through his sovereign choice. The reason is salvation does not belong to us, salvation belongs to the Lord as we quoted from Jonah earlier. So now in verse 19 Paul takes the argument even a step further. Romans 9:19 “You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”” In other words if God chooses whom he will save and whom he will harden then how can he find any fault in somebody? If we're nothing but puppets and the results of the bind choice, how can we be blamed for our sin and sent to eternal hell if we are the victims of Divine Sovereignty? This is the response of a carnal mind.

The Potter and the Clay

Look at the response to this question in Romans 9:20–21 “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?” 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?”

Now this answer may come as a bit of surprise to you. What Paul is saying is, “How dare you impugn the character of God.” At first when I'm studying this, I didn't like that response. The reason is because with our western minds we want logic and concrete answers. We want to connect all the dots. But there's no faith in that, is there? And so, Paul almost says this is a blasphemous question don't ask such a thing!

The Potter and the Clay

This is the same response God gave Job when Job cried out to God for answers regarding his pain and suffering. When God begins his personal response, he takes Job back to the very beginning.

Job 38:4 ESV

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

The Potter and the Clay

Now, here is where Paul picks up another Old Testament analogy, coming from is Isaiah 64:6-8 and Jeremiah 18:3-5. It's the picture of a Potter and the clay. The clay has no authority or ability to look up at the Potter and give definition to who the Potter makes them into. It's absurdity. The Potter makes the choices, and the clay has no part in it.

The Potter and the Clay

So, here is my unpacking of this. We have no remote comprehension there are tiny little brains to be able to comprehend the mind of God. Just because we can't figure out the entirety of God's character and ability does not make God unrighteous or unfair. We must stand in faith. And so, to question the sovereignty of God along with His compassion, mercy, grace and love is an affront to God. It's impossible for us to fully comprehend the truth and information of his infinite wisdom, knowledge, and righteousness using our tiny human mind.

I believe that God himself created hell for the devil and his angels. But God is not creating fallen creatures to damn them, but He does claim the right to deal with the sinful creatures as He wills. He pardons or punishes as He sees fit. He doesn't make men into sinners, but He does choose how to redeem the sinful.

James 1:13 ESV

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

The Potter and the Clay

God is God. We are not. That is sometimes hard to grasp Or accept. In our worldly context we see his sovereignty as sometimes unjust. However the Bible is clear that God is never unjust and that everything God does according to His sovereignty is holy and righteous.

Romans 9:22–24 ESV

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— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Does God Allow Sin?

People ask all the time, “Why does God allow sin? Why does God allow evil?” There are volumes of books and on this very topic. What we first have to understand is that good and evil have a point of reference. They are neither emotionally driven or pragmatically designed, but rather we know that God is the point of reference. G.K Chesterton Said, “when belief in God becomes difficult, the tendency is to turn away from him- but in heaven's name to what when Jesus asked the 12 disciples closest to him whether they would turn and desert him to, peter replied, “lord, to whom shall we go?” (John 6:68).

Is There A Gardener?

And a parable by Anthony Flew 2 explorers come up and find a well cleared area with beautiful flowers growing among thorns. A debate ensues as to whether or not there is a gardener who tends to this garden. One argues that there has to be a gardener or there is no way to explain the beauty and the arrangement of the well placed flowers. The other counters that there couldn't be a gardener or he wouldn't have pulled the weeds and the thorns that were in danger of choking the flowers.

So they wait and watch and see no one period the conclusion is drawn that they haven't seen a gardener so there could not be one. The garden just functions according to its own natural laws. This is the naturalist's answer to the question of God the presence of weeds and not seeing the gardener provides the definition that there is no God. But as Christians we understand that the presence of evil provides us a reference point to what is holy And the answers we're looking for are not inhumanity but in God becoming human. That is the answer Paul is leading us to here in these chapters.

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

There is a Gardener!

Through Jesus Christ, God understands why we weep and why we struggle. I remember being on a flight and during the ascent a Child was crying in pain during the descent. Clearly his ears were hurting with pain as I was also swallowing to help relieve the pressure in my own ears. I remember looking over at the dad Who had the child’s head buried in his chest. What was most remarkable with the scene was the tears that were running down his own face. He said to the child, just hold on when we get there the pain will go away.