A God of Mercy
Powerful faith in a fallen kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 51:01
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God of Just Mercy Full Manuscript
September 14th, 2025
Romans 9:14-29
Reverand Calvin Dorsey
Introduction: To the unbeliever, the hardest question that is still present is that in a world with so much pain and suffering, how can God be good and compassionate? Today.
I. Recap:
a. Chapters 1–4: The gospel shows that all humanity is sinners, falling short and deserving wrath, yet by faith in Jesus, God makes us righteous and one family.
b. Chapters 5–8 In Adam we inherit death; in Christ we gain peace, freedom, victory, and Spirit-empowered life as God’s new family.
c. In Chapter 8, Paul explains that in Christ, the promise of salvation is unbreakable. Christ’s church will not face condemnation, and nothing can separate them from the love of God.
II. Prerequisite:
a. Chapter 9 In Paul's longing for Israel to receive the salvation offered to all, he opens the door to predestination or election. (*If you’ve noticed, he didn’t really open the door here; it’s been throughout the entirety of Paul’s teaching.
1. In chapter Romans 8:29-30
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
2. Galatians 1:15
But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him
3.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
4. These are just a few, but there are hundreds of bible verses pointing to the fact that God has chosen some for salvation before the foundations of the cosmos.
None more convincing than Paul’s words in Romans 9:11-13
But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.” In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.”
b. What is predestination or election? I let 16th-century theologian John Calvin explain it. I’ve modernized the quote for understanding. “God, by His eternal decision, determined within Himself what the outcome of each person’s life would be. Therefore, since every person is created for one of two ends, we say they are predestined either for life or for death.
Simply put, before our declaration of faith, God chose some for salvation and not others.
In today's passage, I hope that we understand truth to its fullest, God’s character, and our human frailty. To this truth, Paul responds.
III. Exegesis
a. Romans 9:14-18
Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
A. Remember, salvation is not based on your works but faith alone. Yet if God says He shows grace to those wise enough to choose, that very faith becomes a work we could brag about. To give understanding to God’s plan of salvation in election and to demonstrate His consistency and fairness, Paul points to three traits of God’s character: He is just, merciful, and compassionate.
B. Often in Scripture, we see humanity on trial, but this is one of the few times in Scripture where God Himself is put on trial. Is God unfair or unjust? Paul’s response was firm, “Certainly not”.
What does it mean that God is just?
Justice in the Old Testament comes from two Hebrew words often translated as "justice" or "righteousness," meaning to judge rightly. The judges of Israel, like Samuel and Deborah, were frequently said to have sat misphat, which means to administer justice. In ancient culture, it is closely related to a concept called “right rain.” It is the precise amount of rain crops need to thrive. Too much rain causes them to die; too little also causes them to die. God’s justice is God’s right and precise judgment, which leads to human flourishing and God’s glory.
Deuteronomy 32:4 “4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
What Paul says here in chapter 9 is tied to what he said in chapters 1 & 3 about God’s righteousness. To call into question God’s sense of Justice also calls into question his righteousness. Paul is saying it’s not a question.
When we say God is righteous and just, we mean it is not simply an attribute—it’s His very definition. He sets the standard for right and wrong. That’s why trying to deliver justice apart from righteous truth is sinful—it always leads to more injustice. Human revenge, hate, bitterness, and unforgiveness are attempts at justice outside God’s rule, creating more pain and suffering. Because He is the standard, His nature requires Him to address every injustice with perfect retribution. As the Just One, He will administer justice to all humanity—whether in this life or the next.
Paul supports his claim of a just God by saying God is also compassionate and merciful. If God is just, then he must hold humanity accountable, but the fact that he offers grace and mercy shows his upright and fair nature.
C. What does it mean that God is compassionate & merciful?
1. Verse 15 is a quote from Exodus 33:19, where Moses is praying in intercession for the Israelites after they worshipped the false Golden calf. Moses prays for mercy, forgiveness, and that God’s presence would live among the people.
2. Mercy is a complex word with several Hebrew and Greek terms to define it. Mercy is God’s compassionate kindness and loving nature to forgive despite our guilt and actions deserving punishment. He rescued the Israelites from slavery, yet they worshiped another god and gave that false god credit for their deliverance.
a. When I think of my own sins and how many times my situation should be way worse. I thank God for his mercy. I’ve been miserable, but he was kind.
b. Mercy is closely connected to justice. God’s justice requires that He judge each person for their actions (Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6–8). This is the answer to the problem of evil. When we want God to judge others’ sins, we forget He cannot overlook ours. We demand justice for murderers, liars, thieves, and dictators, but resist it for our own lies, thefts, and sins. To be fair, God must judge everyone equally. Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and fallen short of His standard. Romans 6:23 declares, “The wages of sin is death.” As Romans 1 reveals, we are all deserving of wrath.
c. We all need a merciful God. Paul brings this all back home, stating God choosing to save some could never be seen as unjust because all have rejected Him, and in His compassion, He has still chosen to show mercy to some who have turned their backs on Him.
D. In verses Romans 9:17-18, he points to the example of Pharaoh, how God has some in creation that will be loved and honored, and some, like Pharaoh, who will be dishonored and rejected.
For the scripture says to Pharaoh: “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.
1. This passage often confuses people because it says, “God, hardened Pharaohs”. Then we say, How can God judge Pharaoh, and he turned his heart cold toward God and his people? Passages like this are why we need context and why the body of Christ needs teachers.
When we go back to the story of Exodus, we see in chapters 9:12, 16, 35; 10:27; and 11:10 that God clearly hardened Pharaoh's heart. However, we also see that it was not until Pharaoh had already hardened his own heart—see chapters 7:22; 8:15, 32—that God hardened his heart further based on a decision he had already made.
This is consistent with God’s nature. Looking back at Romans chapter 1, when people reject God and choose sin, part of God’s judgment is withdrawing His mercy and kindness, allowing a person to be taken away by their own wickedness. So, Pharaoh must still be held accountable.
E. God’s plan to save humanity through election is just, good, and righteous because all are guilty, and God has chosen, apart from each person's individual actions before they were born, to show mercy, redemption, and to make them holy.
1. A Timothy Keller story is very fitting. Five of your friends decide to rob a bank, and you try to plead with them not to. But they go ahead with the plan. As they walk into the bank, you run and tackle one of your friends, preventing him from entering. The other four friends enter the bank, engage in a shootout, and kill a guard. The cops arrive, and the four friends are arrested and sentenced to death. Your one friend deeply desired to rob that bank, but because of your intervention, he is spared and given mercy.
2. God has compassion and love for those who are lost, he desires all men to be saved, but because of humanity’s free choice, this is not possible, so he elects some for salvation.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
We don’t know who God has chosen for redemption, so we preach the gospel and pray for mercy and salvation. But as believers, knowing our choice was no, we should be beyond grateful that we obtained salvation.
b. Romans 9:19-21
Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?
Paul’s next point of argument for why we should accept God’s plan of salvation is that it is…
A. God’s sovereign Choice.
1. Paul anticipates the human response. Why are we held liable if you’re in control? His response is not based on reason or theological debate. He states two things: we are human beings, and God is our maker.
2. What does it mean to be human?
a. God’s wisdom and knowledge far surpass ours.
Isaiah 55:8-9
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
b. We are the created, not the creator.
This concept opposes our modern humanistic teachings. We as humans are not the center of the universe. We are fragile jars of clay.
c. We’re broken. Being human means we are flawed, born in sin, and shaped by iniquity. Our ability to discern right and wrong is corrupted. People never disagree with themselves. I once wore a shirt that said, “If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.” Because of self-centeredness, we always think we’re right.
3. God is the creator
a. Paul’s response is, “Who are you to question your Creator?” This echoes God’s conversation with Job. Though blameless, Job lost his family, fortune, and health. When he questioned God’s justice and goodness, God replied.
i. Job 38:2-4 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
“Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
This is one of the most sobering, humbling responses God could give.
b. To understand God’s sovereign election (plan of salvation), we must humble ourselves and realize that our plans, our judgment, and our compassion are not superior to God’s.
c. Romans 9:22-23
In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.
A. Again, he doesn’t attempt to present a logical conclusion to his plan of salvation; he simply emphasizes God’s nature. God is patient, and God is good.
1. He demonstrates His power and restraint even in delivering justice. God could destroy the wicked instantly, but He doesn’t—because He is merciful, allowing them to exist without immediate judgment.
EX 34:6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, (We see this in trials: after a person is found guilty, their prison report date is set later. This isn’t time to turn life around—it’s temporary freedom before consequences.)
a. God’s patience, as seen in Pharaoh’s story, allows disobedience and wrath to build, displaying His power over sin.
i. God is a God of justice, and although we may not enjoy exploring these parts of God’s word, it should be sobering. This is because God is a being who should be feared, both in a sense of awe and in terms of His might.
Matt 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
2. This wrath is to his people the goodness he has in store for them.
a. Often, when you show a diamond at a jewelry store, they place it behind a black cloth so it shines brightly and we can see its beauty. It is truly when we view mercy against the backdrop of wrath that we see its true beauty. Luke 7:47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”
When we see what God held back and the cost of our salvation, we know the gospel’s true beauty.
d. Romans 9:24-29 24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.25 Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea,“Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.”26 And,“Then, at the place where they were told,‘You are not my people,’there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’” 27 And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,“Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved.28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth quickly and with finality.”29 And Isaiah said the same thing in another place: “If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of our children, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.
And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles. Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, “Those who were not my people, I will now call my people.
And I will love those whom I did not love before.” And, “Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ ” And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out, “Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth quickly and with finality.” And Isaiah said the same thing in another place: “If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of our children, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.
A. In closing, Paul shifts his focus back to what led him—specifically, what about ethnic Israel, the blood descendants of Jacob. He quotes four Old Testament verses, two from Hosea and two from Isaiah.
1. Paul quotes Hosea 2:23 and 1:10 to show that God calls those who were not His people to become His people—those unloved to be loved. His mic-drop moment is that God kept His promise, but not as Israel expected. The gospel is not by lineage but by faith—not by blood ties, but by the blood of Christ. God always keeps His promises, though often in ways we don’t anticipate.
2. He quotes Isaiah 10:22-23 & I:10 regarding ethnic Israel. He says to them, Not all Israel will be saved, but God has a remnant. He has once again called some despite the rejection by many.
3. God is a God; He does what He says and always keeps His promises. His power, His mercy, and His sovereignty guarantee it. It may not happen the way we think or want, but God never fails.
IV. Conclusion
a. There is mystery in God’s election and predestination. Somehow, He allows free will and His effectual calling to work together for salvation. As 1 Peter 1:12 says, it was revealed that they were not serving themselves but you. These truths were announced through the gospel preached by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—truths even angels long to understand.
A. He says the prophets realized what they hoped for was not for them but for us. He adds, “Even angels long to look into these things.”
B. These ancient, higher beings observe humanity's salvation and seek to understand it. It was believed in ancient culture that even angels were unaware of God's mysteries. God’s plan for salvation remains a mystery because a just God chooses to save humanity, apart from their actions, while still allowing free will.
b. Though it is a hard truth to understand and maybe even swallow, it is not a reason for sadness or dejection. Its means
A. Our Salvation is secure. God ordained it before you were born and not based on your actions.
B. God is working everything for your good. He is sovereign, in control, and bringing creation into harmony for your good. When we follow Him, nothing can stop the good He has ordained.
C. Our salvation should humble us and lead us to thank God.
1. In sovereignty, predestination, what can get lost is God’s compassion, which is why Paul argues for it so much.
a. The word compassion comes from two Latin words meaning “to suffer with”. God’s plan to elect men wasn’t only predestined, but so was the plan for him to come to earth as a man and die on the cross for you.
b. His plan was always to suffer with all of humanity, so that some of humanity could be saved.
c. In this story, the friend doesn’t just tackle the friend; he goes to jail and pays for his crimes. “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
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