Sermon Tone Analysis

The Infinite Greatness of God - Part 2

The Book of Romans

Romans 9:6-24

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared February 25, 2021)

BACKGROUND

*Here in Romans 9, we are on the front end of Paul's 3-chapter discussion of the Jewish nation, but these Scriptures are not just about the Jews.

Here God speaks to us about the love we should have for those who haven't trusted in Jesus, about the promises of God, about the importance of faith in Christ, the supreme sovereignty of God, and much more.

*Last week, we started a 2-part focus on why our God is infinitely great.

Please think about God's greatness as we read vs. 6-24.

MESSAGE:

*There is no way for us to overestimate the greatness of Almighty God.

Last time, we saw God's greatness in the size of the universe He created.

Here's another measure of that greatness: Richard Wimer tells us that if you hold your thumb at arm's length toward the sky, your thumb nail is covering up more than 250,000 galaxies in space!

And every one of those galaxies holds 100 to 500 billion stars!

(1)

*But Isaiah 40:26 in the New Living Translation says, "Look up into the heavens.

Who created all the stars?

He brings them out one after another, calling each by its name.

And he counts them to see that none are lost or have strayed away."

Church: I forget people's names every other day, but God knows all of the stars by name!

And He made them all!

*Also think about the wonder of the bodies God's created for us.

In Psalm 139:14 David said this to the Lord, "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well."

We are "fearfully made."

That word means we should stand in awe at the complexity of our creation.

We are "wonderfully made."

That word means we are a marvelous creation of God.

*For example, think about our hearts.

The average heart beats 72 times a minute.

That's over 100,000 times a day, almost 38 million times a year, and about 3 billion times over an average lifespan.

(2)

*In many ways our bodies are physical miracles that can only be explained by the infinite greatness of God.

And tonight's Scripture gives us more evidence of His greatness.

1. NOTICE FIRST THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN HIS CHILDREN.

*Paul began to stress this truth in vs. 6-9, where he said:

6.

But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect.

For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,

7. nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called.''

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.

For this is the word of promise: "At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.''

*Last time in these verses we focused on the fact that God's Word and only God's Word has the power to save our souls.

God's Word has the power to save everyone who will believe the good news about Jesus Christ and receive Him as their Lord and Savior.

*We also were reminded that God will always keep His promises, just as He kept His promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son.

The LORD God kept that promise, even though it took a miracle to do it, because Sarah was way too old to have children.

But nothing is too hard for the LORD!

So, Isaac was born when Sarah was 90 years old, and Abraham was 100.

(3)

*But God has chosen His children.

Paul continued to stress this truth in vs. 10-13, where he said:

10.

And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac

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),

12. it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger.''

13.

As it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.''

*Well, this is hard for some people to accept, but just as he did in vs. 6-8, Paul pointed out the plain truth that all people are not going to be saved.

All people are not going to be children of God.

*Here in vs. 11, Paul talked about "the purpose of God according to election."

The original word here and its related words are found over 50 times in the New Testament.

All Old Testament believers and all Christians are part of God's "elect."

And this word simply means "picked out" or "chosen by God."

*So, in Matthew 22:14 Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are CHOSEN.''

And speaking about the end times in Mark 13:20 Jesus said, "Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the ELECT'S sake, whom He CHOSE, He shortened the days."

*Romans 8:33 says, "Who shall bring a charge against God's ELECT?

It is God who justifies."

And in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul told those Christians, "We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning CHOSE you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth."

*Christians, God chose us from the beginning for salvation, and He chose us to be God's children.

We see this truth in Ephesians 1:3-5.

There Paul said:

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

4. just as He CHOSE us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

5. having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

*God chose us to be adopted into the Family of God! Think about the kind of love on display when families choose to adopt children.

Kay Strom gave one of my favorite examples.

It's the story of an 11-year-old boy named Jeremy.

He had been abandoned by his birth mother when he was just a little baby.

*Jeremy had grown up in a series of foster homes.

The only times he ever saw his birth mother were the 3 times she had come to town for court hearings to block Jeremy from being adopted.

How cruel she must have been.

Finally, the judge was able to free Jeremy for adoption, but it took 11 long years.

*Rachel Carter was Jeremy's 4th grade teacher.

She was also the mother of three girls.

Rachel's heart had gone out to Jeremy on the very first day of school that year.

Mrs. Carter was specially moved when the little boy introduced himself by saying: "I'm Jeremy, and I don't have a family.

-- I never will because I'm too old for anybody to love me."

*That's what Jeremy thought.

But before the year was out, Rachel and her husband decided to adopt that little boy.

At the end of the school year the adoption was finalized, and Jeremy proudly told the principal, "When school started I was nobody.

-- Now I'm a Carter."

(4)

*That's a great story of adoptive love.

And of course, Jeremy's new parents knew they were going to adopt him before Jeremy did.

Christians: It's the same way with our adoption by God, but because He is infinitely great, in Ephesians 1:4 we find out that "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world!"

2. WE KNOW THAT GOD IS GREAT BECAUSE HE HAS CHOSEN HIS CHILDREN.

WE ALSO KNOW BECAUSE HIS WILL IS NEVER WRONG.

*God's will is never wrong.

This is the truth Paul stressed in vs. 14-22, where he asked:

14.

What shall we say then?

Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!

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.''

16.

So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

17.

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "Even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be declared in all the earth.''

18. Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

19.

You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault?

For who has resisted His will?''