Romans 9:14-29

Years ago, I was at a baseball game with two of my brothers. We were sitting in the bleachers and a foul ball was hit right in front of us. It didn’t leave the field, but the outfielder planned to throw the ball into the crowd. He’d fake throw it one direction and the crowd would get louder. He’d fake throw it in another direction and those fans would get louder. He ended up tossing the ball to the loudest fans because they worked the hardest to show they wanted a $4 baseball from Wrigley Field.

I’m so thankful the Lord doesn’t dispense mercy in the same way. We’re going to read in today’s passage that how or when we receive the Lord’s mercy has nothing to do with our efforts. It is a decision from the Lord to us that will reveal the Lord’s purposes. We’re also going to see a gentleness from the Lord because he is patient with all people, even unbelievers for a time. If he wasn’t, immediate death would be the result for every human being.

Let’s turn to Romans 9 as we learn three truths about the Lord’s mercy.

MAIN IDEA: The relentless love of the Lord displays itself through mercy so his purposes might be revealed in our life.

The Lord’s mercy reveals his power and glorifies his name.

Romans 9:14–18 ESV

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 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.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Let’s spend a few minutes with Moses and Pharaoh this morning. When I think of Moses and Pharoah, I think of the ten plagues and the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt. When we look back at Exodus 2, we can conclude that Moses and this Pharoah are likely family members from adoption. So, I want to do a comparison between Moses and Pharoah.

Moses was born into a slave family. His mother went against the law and Moses became an infant fugitive. He was found floating down a river, rescued, adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in Egyptian royalty. Acts 7:22 says, “Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.” It is possible that Moses was being groomed to become the next Pharaoh.

At the age of 40, his conscience led him to visit the Israelites. His anger overpowered his good intentions and he murdered a man and buried him in the sand. Pharaoh heard about what Moses did and Moses once again became a fugitive. He fled to another country where he lived for 40 years, got married, had a family, became a shepherd and lived a very different life than how he was raised.

At the age of 80, the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire that was burning a bush but was not consuming the bush. Moses was told about the mission God had for his life over the next 40 years. Moses made all sorts of excuses about his leadership abilities, his speaking abilities, and his decision-making abilities. He told God that he wasn’t adequate for the mission that he had been called into.

Moses was a Jew that had been living as a Gentile for decades and doubted the Lord’s mercy was capable of allowing him to be anything else.

As Moses surrendered his heart to the Lord’s mercy, he witnessed the power of the Lord time after time. He witnessed miracles of the Red Sea, manna, and quail. He was given many opportunities to glorify the Lord’s name. He was personally handed the ten commandments. He was allowed to see the presence of God. He was allowed to speak face-to-face with the Lord. He was an advocate for a nation that he originally did not want to rescue. To the Jews, Moses is one of the greatest patriarchs in their history.

We know much less about Pharaoh. It is likely that Pharaoh and Moses were raised in the same home and went to the same schools. Pharaoh was a harsh leader and not afraid to kill those who were in his way. His top priority was his own power and glory. According to Exodus 5, Pharaoh was very good at punishing Israel. He would not listen to Moses and Aaron about going into wilderness to make sacrifices. Pharaoh’s stubbornness ruled his decision-making and loyalties.

When the plagues came, he asked his magicians to perform the same tasks. Throughout the plagues, he was a liar. In the tenth plague, he lost his oldest child. Even then, he told Moses to get out his presence. It seems Pharaoh was concerned only about his own well-being.

As the Israelites were departed, Pharaoh changed his mind and sent an army to bring the Israelites back. Every Egyptians that chased Israel died in the Red Sea.

Pharaoh also witnessed miracles performed by the Lord. While he could have transferred personal glory to glorifying the Lord, he decided to remain stubborn.

The comparison is important because verse 16 says, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.”

In a few verses before this, Jacob and Esau grew up in the same home and had the same parents. Their lives took very different paths. Moses and Pharaoh likely were raised in the same home. The Lord revealed himself to each one of them. The Lord provided opportunities for each of them to give glory to the Lord. However, their lives took very different paths.

It is difficult for us to understand that sometimes God is glorified through the actions of an unbeliever. Certainly, it doesn’t feel that way in the moment. When we are hurt, abused, or another type of wrong is committed against, our first thought rarely is “how is God going to be glorified through this?” Sometimes, we don’t understand what God was doing for many years. Sometimes, we never understand.

Looking for the Lord’s power and glorifying his name is always better than living in pain as a victim. We see that as we consider an overview of Moses’ life.

Application:

In every situation, we have an opportunity to be stubborn as we seek our own glory or to be humble and surrender our hearts to the Lord’s mercy and proclaim his glory.

If you’re struggling with a stubborn heart vs a surrendered heart, I encourage you to get out some paper (or notes app) and begin writing down the areas of your life that stubbornness or your own glory might be winning. One by one, confess them to the Lord and surrender to his mercy.

A second application is that God uses all types of people. When our past is a declaration of the Lord’s mercy, we should not be embarrassed by it. We should share it for the purpose of glorifying the Lord and building his kingdom.

The Lord’s mercy is gentle and patient with unbeliever’s, but always displays His holiness.

Romans 9:19–24 ESV

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 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?” 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? 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, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Chris, how can you say the Lord is gentle and patient with unbelievers? Romans 6:23 says, “for the wages of sin is death.” If the Lord wasn’t gentle and patient, all of us would die after our first violation of God’s law.

Don’t miss the second half of the sentence, the Lord’s mercy will always display his holiness. There must be a time when holiness wins and sin is judged.

People have said to me, “If God is the potter and I am the clay, then my actions are God’s fault. He made me this way.” That is the question of verses 19-20.

I have three responses.

First - It is always better to proclaim the Lord’s mercy than trying to figure it out.

Martin Luther said, “Human reason can never comprehend how God is good and merciful; and therefore you make yourself a god of your own fancy, who hardens nobody, condemns nobody, and pities everybody. You cannot comprehend how a just God can condemn those who are born in sin, continue in sin, and remain children of wrath. The answer is, God is incomprehensible throughout, and therefore his justice, as well as his other attributes, must be incomprehensible.”

Second - The Lord does not cultivate a heart so that it surrenders to sin.

Third - Let Pharaoh be an example. Pharaoh saw the miracles. Pharaoh saw God’s hand at work. Pharaoh had an opportunity to glorify the Lord. He chose to remain stubborn and pursue his own glory. The Lord’s love relentlessly pursues each of us, for a time. Romans 1:28 says, “since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” When we shift blame for out actions to the Lord or to another person, we are pursuing our own glory. The Lord will judge that eventually.

The Lord’s mercy is evident during redemption, rejection and judgment

Romans 9:25–29 ESV

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.’ ” “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.’ ” 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, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”

The Lord pursues us so that we do not stay in our current condition and that we do not go backward. Ephesians 4 tells that we are to mature in our faith. There are unbelievers who will convert to believers. There are those who think they are authentic children of God who are not. There are those who are discovering the truths of Jesus in bite-size portions.

For every person, the relentless love of the Lord displays itself through mercy. Otherwise, as verse 29 says, “we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Where are you with Jesus this morning? Do you need to surrender your life to Jesus and accept him as your personal Savior? Is your walk with Jesus a little rusty? Are you thriving with Christ?

Always remember the Lord’s mercy is in our life and it chases us where ever go.

Present the path to salvation concisely and clearly!!! Today can be your day to know Jesus personally.