We are a Chosen People

Have you ever applied for something—maybe a job, a team, or a scholarship—and not been chosen? It’s a hard feeling, isn’t it? Rejection can make us feel like we’re not enough. But imagine, instead, being chosen—not because you were the best, not because you earned it, but simply because someone loved you and had a purpose for you.

That’s what Romans 9 is all about. It’s not just theology—it’s identity. It’s not just about Israel or history—it’s about how God chooses, how God works, and how we respond to His mercy.

You see, God is not random. He is not careless. He is not unfair. He is sovereign. He is the Potter. He holds the whole picture in His hands—even when we only hold one small piece.

And here’s the good news: If you are in Christ today, you are not forgotten. You are not leftover. You are not an accident.

You are chosen.

So let’s dive into Romans 9 and see how God, in His justice and mercy, has always been at work—shaping people and history to reveal His grace, and to make something beautiful from broken pieces.

And if you’re wondering today whether your piece fits… let me assure you: it absolutely does.

1. God’s Sovereign Purpose in Election

Each of us are well aware of the United States election system. Every two years there is an election where we elect officials to govern both on the state and national level. Sometimes there are other elections that we can use our right as citizens to cast a vote for a candidate we like or an issue we may be for or against. We choose each candidate based on merit or action.

In Romans 9 Paul gives us a look into how God chooses those He has chosen. Look at verse 6.

Romans 9:6–13 NIV

6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” 10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Each of us has a value that has been placed upon us. God knew what each of us would do before we were born.

Paul gives us a great example of this. He points out that God’s choice of Jacob over Esau wasn’t based on merit or action, it was made before they were born, showing that election is based on divine purpose, not human performance. When you looked at the two brothers Esau was the one that you would think would be the choice that God made. But God had a different plan for the family. God knew that there was something special about Jacob.

There are some of you in this room that you haven’t reached your full potential for what God wants to do. God has been speaking to you to do something great for the kingdom. Your value in the Kingdom isn’t earned—it’s given. If you are saved, it’s because of God’s mercy and calling.

Imagine a couple walking into a crowded orphanage. The room is filled with children—some loud, some quiet, some trying to stand out, some hiding in the corner. Every child is longing for the same thing: to be seen… to be chosen… to belong.

The couple scans the room. Not because they’re looking for the smartest child, or the most talented, or the most well-behaved. They’re not basing their decision on achievements, potential, or performance.

Instead, their eyes fall on one child—maybe the one no one else noticed. They point. “That one. We choose that one.”

The child hadn’t earned it. The child didn’t even know what was happening. But from that moment forward, that child had a new name… a new identity… a new home.

It wasn’t a reward. It was love. It wasn’t a transaction. It was grace. It wasn’t about the child’s worth—it was about the parents’ heart.

And so it is with God’s election.

Romans 9 reminds us that God didn’t choose Jacob over Esau because Jacob was better. He didn’t save you because of what you could offer Him.

He chose you because of His mercy. He adopted you into His family—not because you were impressive, but because He is immeasurably loving.

And the beauty of that kind of love?

You don’t have to strive to keep it. You just have to receive it.

God’s Right to Display Mercy and Justice

Look at verse 14.

Romans 9:14–18 NIV

14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 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 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

Paul gives us an example of God’s free will. God can pick and choose whom He wants to display mercy and justice to.

He used Pharaoh as an example. When Moses was taking the people out of Egypt, God used Pharaoh to show His people what God can do when the enemy comes against them. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that God could receive the glory.

When we don’t understand God’s plan, we can still trust His heart. You don’t have to know everything that God has planned for you. You and I are not the potter, we are just a lump of clay.

Romans 9:21 NIV

21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

Jeremiah 18:6 NIV

6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

God is the one who molds us to be what He wants us to be. You and I don’t have the right to question it.

We may not understand it all, but God has a plan.

Each of you were given a puzzle piece when you came to church this morning. You don’t understand what this puzzle piece will become, but you know that it is a part of a plan. You don’t have to know the full picture. You just have to be obedient to the piece that God has given you to do.

God’s Global Redemption Plan

Paul quotes from Hosea and Isaiah in verses 25-29. He says…

Romans 9:25–29 NIV

25 As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” 26 and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ ” 27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. 28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.” 29 It is just as Isaiah said previously: “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.”

God predicted long ago that He would include the Gentiles in His covenant and preserve only a remnant of Israel.

You and I are now part of God’s chosen people, not by lineage but by grace through faith. Each and everyone of us have a purpose. We all have an identity. And each of you has a mission that must be fulfilled. You are a chosen people.

1 Peter 2:9 NIV

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

A street orphan, who came from nothing, when adopted by a king now has a crown, a name, and a mission. You have been adopted by King Jesus.

Look at the puzzle piece that you were given as you came in to service this morning. You are probably thinking, “this isn’t much. It’s just a funny looking shape. It doesn’t look like anything important.”

But what you’re holding is a piece of something much bigger. You see, on its own, it doesn’t make sense. But when it’s joined with the rest, it reveals something beautiful.

That is exactly what Paul is trying to teach us here in Romans 9. God sees the whole picture—He is the artist, the designer, the Sovereign Potter. You and I are pieces to His plan. You were chosen to be part of something eternal.

I have said this multiple times today. You don’t need to understand everything God is doing. You just need to trust that your piece matters. That you matter.

And when we try to live outside of God’s plan, it’s like holding onto a puzzle piece and refusing to let it be placed. but when we surrender, God puts us right where we belong.

And when we all take our place—when we live in unity, in calling, in obedience—the image of Christ is revealed through His Church.

Right now, you may feel insignificant, but you are chosen. You may not see the whole picture, but God does. And He’s placing you, He is shaping you, and He is using you—because without you, the masterpiece is incomplete.

So, what do we do with this? How do we respond to God’s sovereign grace?

Our Response to God’s Sovereign Grace

Look at verse 30.

Romans 9:30–33 NIV

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Deep in the heart of every person is a question:

“Have I done enough?”

It’s the voice that says, “Try harder. Do more. Be better.”

We work, we serve, we pray, we perform—all in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, we can prove we’re good enough to be loved… good enough to be saved… good enough to be accepted by God.

That’s what Israel did in Romans 9:31–32. Paul says they pursued a righteousness based on law—they chased God through human effort. But they stumbled over the one thing that could actually save them: Jesus.

And here’s the truth: Grace can’t be earned. If it could, it wouldn’t be grace.

You don’t work for a gift—you receive it.

Jesus didn’t come to give you a longer to-do list.

He came to fulfill the law for you.

He lived the perfect life you couldn’t live. He died the death you should’ve died. And now He offers you righteousness you didn’t achieve—but can receive by faith.

So stop striving to be worthy of grace—you never will be.

But start trusting in the One who was worthy for you.

Start trusting in Jesus, the One who did everything right, so He could call you righteous in Him.

You’ve held onto that puzzle piece for the last few minutes.

Maybe it hasn’t looked like much. Maybe it felt random, unclear, or disconnected.

But now you understand—it’s not just a piece, it’s a place. It has purpose. It belongs to a much bigger picture.

And the same is true of you.

God, in His sovereignty, has chosen to include you in His redemptive story—not because you earned it, not because you were the best piece in the box—but because He is rich in mercy.

The Potter has not made a mistake. The puzzle Designer is not confused. You were chosen, you were called, and you are placed by the hand of a loving, sovereign God.

The question is: will you surrender your piece to Him?

If you’re here today and you’ve been trying to force your life into your own picture, today is the day to stop striving and start surrendering.

Maybe you’ve questioned your value… your place… your purpose. But God brought you here to remind you:

“You are chosen. You are mine. You belong in My plan.”

So I’m inviting you now—whether you’ve never fully given your life to Jesus, or whether you’ve just been holding on to your piece in fear or pride—

—to come and surrender it to the One who sees the whole picture.

As we pray and worship, you’re welcome to come to the front, lay down your puzzle piece (physically or symbolically), and say:

“God, I trust Your plan. I give You my life. Mold me, place me, use me.”

This moment is not about pressure—it’s about purpose. And it begins with surrender.