A Declaration of Sovereign Mercy – Part 4

If God’s people would take Bibles
and turn back once again to the book of Romans. We’re wrapping up a large section
here. In the opening chapter of a section
that really is almost exclusively about the sovereignty of God.
You see, the sovereignty of God fully developed in chapters 9
through 11. But here in this opening chapter,
it is the sovereignty of God with regards to the exercise
of his mercy that has been in focus. And we come to the final
section where Paul is dealing with these matters in verses
22 through 29, where we’ll be this morning. Just by way of
a brief fly over and review. Paul is essentially standing
in the gap, vindicating God, vindicating God’s integrity.
When Paul opens that chapter by saying, I am telling the truth
in Christ, I am not lying, he is also vindicating himself.
Perhaps some had taken the position that Paul no longer cared about
the Jews, no longer cared for the nation of Israel. And it
turns his back on that nation. But Paul says, I’m telling the
truth in Christ, I am not lying. My conscience bearing the witness
in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief
in my heart. Not only was Paul not indifferent,
Paul was grieved over the state of the nation. Grieved to the
point of essentially saying that he wished that he could trade
places with them, that he would be accursed, cast, if possible,
into hell, if only the nation would be saved. Paul goes on
to point out that this was a nation that had enjoyed no few privileges. They had been given everything
pertaining to life and godliness. They had seen incredible signs.
They had been drawn into very careful agreements designed by
God covenants. They have been given the law
of God, not once, but twice, they have been given the temple
service, the ability to go in before a holy God and render
him worship. They have been given many countless
promises. And Paul says that they squandered
all of that and at that moment stood in absolute peril. Paul’s
heart is broken and Paul begins to stand in the gap, as I said,
before this nation and defend God. He first takes up the question
that perhaps this is unfair, perhaps God has blown his chance
to save Israel, that he has squandered that, that he’s had to scrap
his plan and make a new plan. And that’s what he takes up in
verse six. But it’s not as though the word of God has failed. That
essentially everything that is taking place is a fulfillment
of divine promise. God had planned it this way.
This wasn’t an alternate plan. Paul gives the argument of Israel.
They are not all Israel who are descended from Israel. There
were countless seasons where entire groups of people perished
in God’s judgment. swallowed up by the earth on
one occasion. They are not all Israel who are
Israel. He moves to the argument of Isaac
and then he moves to the argument of the promise. And we spent
time looking at those that God is narrowing that focus on whom
he will show his mercy. We come into the declaration
of sovereign mercy, where up to this point, these things have
been alluded to here in verse 14 and following. Paul makes
it absolutely explicit what he’s talking about. That God will
have mercy on whom he has mercy. That God is absolutely sovereign
in the exercise of his mercy. He owes it to none. We have that proclamation in
verse 14. There is no injustice with God. That’s the argument
that Paul’s taking up. Paul says let’s entertain this
question for about a half a second. May it never be. God is not unjust. The fact that God shows mercy
to anyone doesn’t make him unjust to all that he does not. Paul
applies his mercy in verses 16 and 17 that it doesn’t depend
on the man who wills. It doesn’t matter how bad you
want it. It doesn’t matter how how Excellently, you live. It doesn’t matter on the man
who runs. What ultimately comes into focus is the God who has
mercy. Paul defends that mercy in verses
18 through 21, and then in verses 22 through the end of the chapter,
Paul draws some implications of this mercy. He has already
said that he will have mercy on whom he has mercy. But the
question might arise, why doesn’t God just end it now? Why doesn’t
God just? Plus press fast forward. And
send all those to hell that he. Would send to hell and draw all
those to heaven that he would draw to heaven, why doesn’t God
just end it? And Paul takes that question
up. In verses 22 through 29. Read with me if you would. What
is God although willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power
known endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for
destruction. And he did so in order that he
might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy
which he had prepared beforehand for glory even us whom he also
called not from among the Jews only but also from among the
Gentiles. As he says also in Hosea I will
call those who were not my people my people and her who was not
beloved beloved and it shall be that in the place where it
was said to them you are not my people. There they shall 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. It is the remnant that will be
saved. For the Lord will execute his
word upon the earth thoroughly and quickly. And just as Isaiah
foretold. Except the Lord of Sabbath had
left us to us a posterity we would have become as Sodom. And
would it be it would have resembled Gomorrah. Now it’s always disconcerting
when the first. Commentary you pick up after
you do your trench work. Opens with this warning. Only
a few passages in Paul are more obscure than this one. We deal
with a very difficult passage. Well, I knew that it’s a difficult
subject matter, but I don’t find it to be obscure. In fact, they
find it to be very much in line with everything that Paul has
said from the beginning of verse one forward. Paul has been talking
about concepts, but now he lays to the people the implications
of this mercy. Not just as a concept, But as
Paul details in these verses, how this mercy will play out
to the end. There is the curiosity of why
God doesn’t just end it. We certainly look forward to
heaven and for us, that would be a glorious thing, but God
has his reasons. God has his reasons for exercising,
exercising patience, exercising long suffering, Not the least
of which is the drawing in of souls. God has his reasons and
he lays them out here as Paul begins to defend him. These several
verses answer a number of key questions. If God has determined
to whom he will show mercy, why doesn’t he just end it all, sending
some to hell and the rest to heaven? Why doesn’t he do it
immediately? Why wait? Paul gets into it immediately. Look at verse 22. And this is
such a compound sentence that if you know me, that’s this is
the simplest thing for me is to find a simple sentence and
the simple sentence is, what if God endured? Or if you want
to expand it, what if God endured? With vessels of wrath prepared
for destruction, what if? You know, the funny thing is
that question is never answered. I mean, it’s answered in a sense
as Paul goes through this, he gives us, but he never he never
really comes back and answers that question. Not pointedly.
What is? God endured. With vessels of
wrath prepared for destruction. Does that make God slothful? Does it make God careless? Does
it make God to be a cruel God? Not at all. Not at all. Paul says, what if God endured
with much patience? And that is that is one of the
attributes of God, isn’t it? Patience, long suffering, the
ability that only God has to not just tolerate people, but
to embrace them and endure them and to put up with them. For
mercy’s sake for long, long seasons. What if God endured with much
patience? Does that make him to be unjust?
The fact that God would wait and hold back his judgment season
after season. What if God continued to extend
mercy? The time after time, a nation
would relent and repent and return to God and say that they would
never do it again. Only to turn around and to offend
him with even greater sin. Greater in its quantity, greater
in its degree, greater in its crassness. What if? What if God endured with much
patience? Does that make God unjust? The fact that God allowed in
his sovereign will for mercy to run its course, does that
make God unjust? God proves himself not to be
hasty for us, it’s almost exasperating, isn’t it? Two thousand years
now or more since Christ was crucified and every day we consider
it and think of it as if Christ could come back tomorrow. And 2000 years later, we continue
to wait as his church. God is not hasty, and for us,
for us humans, that sometimes is nothing short of exasperating. But it doesn’t make God unjust
that he waits for eons. It doesn’t make God unjust for
he waits 100,000 years. If he continues to bear with The rebellion of this generation
and countless generations to come. The fact that God is perfectly
merciful and patient doesn’t make him unjust. God endures. God endures every day with unbelief
and rejection, rebellion. God endures with a sinful generation
that every day to believers is more shocking than the previous.
And every day for us becomes one more day that like the prophets,
where are you, God? Why are you not doing anything? Habakkuk asked that question.
And God promised him that he was at work. God is patient. God is exceedingly patient. And the fact that God is patient
and holding back from the punishment of sinners from exercising his
wrath and judgment does not make him unjust. Note the text, though. What if
God endured vessels of wrath? This is. It’s shocking, just
this shocking description. Shocking words to hear spoken
of anybody, but to think of someone as a vessel of wrath, not a vessel
that contains wrath, a vessel that is due nothing short of
the full fury of God’s wrath. One older translation creatively
described this as pots of destruction, pots not that contain some kind
of product called destruction as if it could be poured out.
God will pour out destruction and wrath. These are the pots
that will merely receive it. These are instruments, vessels,
if you will, whose only purpose now is to reap the full fury
of God’s wrath. That’s shocking language. They
are the objects of his wrath that are ultimately designed
for nothing more now than to be destroyed. These are unrepentant
sinners. These are those who will not
turn their back on sin. They will not turn to God. They love their sin. They love
their sin to the point. Of being willing. To perish in
it. These vessels of wrath. Literally
make themselves ready for this wrath for this. judgment of God
by rejecting him, by rejecting his salvation, by rejecting anything
to do with God, any kind of goodness, any part of his law. Everything
about them is rejection and everything they reap is wrath. It’s noteworthy here that when
Paul says, what if God endured with much patience? What if God
endured with much patience vessels of wrath, it’s noteworthy that
it doesn’t even have to say whose wrath it is. We know that it’s
God’s. We know through the course of this passage that it’s God’s
wrath that is being held back in the exercise of mercy. It’s God’s wrath that is prepared
to be poured out. But Paul offers a further descriptive
of these He says what if God endured vessels of wrath prepared
for destruction. Now you can hear it even in the. In the fact that it’s open ended
and not defined as to who does the preparing that there are
some that have. very errantly suggested here
that it’s God that prepares them for destruction. God made them
for destruction. That’s the only reason they were
created. God has now fully prepared them for destruction, and he
only has to destroy them. It is talking about ultimate
destruction, this is talking about ultimate destruction, total
ruin. But these vessels As one said,
these vessels of wrath are prepared for destruction, but he doesn’t
say how they became so fitted. If you look at the passage, it
doesn’t blame this on God. He goes on to say something that
the people fitted themselves, something God fitted them for
it. Some see Satan as responsible. We absolutely should not think
of God as doing this. Rather, the people did it themselves. They fitted themselves for destruction.
They prepared themselves for the wrath of God. Certainly,
Satan helped. The love of the world, the love
of this evil fallen system, Satan has done a good job in tripping
people up, but ultimately it is the people that have embraced
it. It is the people that have turned their backs on God to
love the things of this world. And if you note, the verb is
passive. God isn’t the subject here, God
isn’t the one that’s doing it. As we saw last week, God just
lets them go. God just lets them go to what
they love, they love sin, they love sin, and in letting them
go, God just lets them have more sin. We’re never told here in
this passage that it’s God that prepares vessels for wrath. As one said, they have become
so fit by their own neglect of what they would not know about
God. It’s not that they could not
know, they did not want to know. They were willfully blind, even
as Paul said from the inception of the book of Romans, they dulled
their minds to the things of God and they replaced him with
something else. And in so doing, God gave them
over. They become so fit by their own neglect of what they could
not and would not know of God, their present state as a result
of a course of preparation. This isn’t something that happens
in a moment. This is something that happens
over a lifetime. As those vessels of wrath become
fitted, well prepared, thoroughly prepared for destruction. But I want you to know one caveat. There are those that suggest
that maybe God is dragging his feet. He’s second guessing, you
know, this wrath thing, it’s just so heavy and so harsh. Maybe I got to rethink this wrath
thing. I got to redo the whole concept
of judgment and how that works. As if God is up there muddling
through plan C. This wrath is so heavy and so
overwhelming and will be so utterly destructive. Look at the passage, what if
God, although willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power
known, God isn’t holding back because he doesn’t have a plan
or because he doesn’t like the plan that he has or because he
thinks wrath is too heavy. He’s willing. And he’s been all
too willing throughout the centuries to make his wrath known. He’s
been perfectly willing at the right time, at God’s time, to
reveal his wrath. This little word willing, it
is a word that points to the sovereign and divine will of
God. It’s according to God’s divine
will. It’s according to his purposes. The God has set aside his wrath
for a season. We use the this word willing,
and it sounds like, you know, maybe God is just capriciously
holding back. This word really refers to a
purposedness. It is determined intent. God has made the decision on
his own for his own purpose to hold back, even though he’s perfectly
willing. He’s certainly capable. He could
exercise his power and judgment in an instant. And yet, for his
own purposes, he has held back for a time. This Revelation really is what
it is of God’s power and his character. You see it just as
much in wrath as you do in mercy. You see the character of God
play itself out, whether he is exercising judgment or granting
salvation. It’s God. It’s God being God. And as one pointed out, the wrath
of God towards sin is just as true an outcome of his loving
purpose for man as his pleasure in righteousness. God loves righteousness. But if one will not have righteousness,
God must love wrath as well. God must judge. That’s what sent
the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. God couldn’t just wipe
the slate clean. That would be unjust. God couldn’t
just wink at sin or ignore sin. That would be impure. God judged
the Lord Jesus Christ because he had your sin and my sin upon
him. And he judged the Lord Jesus
Christ mercilessly. He judged sin mercilessly, God
was perfectly willing to exercise his wrath and he will do so again. God is glorified in it. God is
glorified in it because it’s God being God, it’s God exercising
his deity. As one pastor said, it was exactly
God’s great patience with Pharaoh and his people. His delay in
pouring out upon them the full measure of the punishment that
they deserved. that provided the opportunity
to make known the riches of God’s glory. Do you remember that as
we course through those events in Pharaoh’s life? The whole
reason that he was holding back the whole reason that he was
measuring out his judgment piecemeal to Pharaoh was that his glory
might be displayed. It’s God being God, it’s God
declaring his glory as only God can. But note the passage Once
again, if you would. What if God, although willing
to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known, endured
with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
what if? And as I said, Paul never really
gets back to answering that question. He merely poses it and lays it
out there for the people to consider. Can we really conclude that God
is slothful or God is careless or God doesn’t know what God
is doing because he hasn’t exercised judgment yet. And Paul moves on. Paul moves on
to a completely different point. He’s still talking about mercy,
he’s still talking about God in his exercise of mercy. But
in verse 23, he begins to elaborate on this beautiful application
and implication of mercy. Look at verse 23. And he did
so that is God held back. God has not poured forth his
judgment completely. God has relented. God is currently
showing mercy. Why he did so in order that he
might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy. You see, when God pours out his
judgment. You may be sitting here this
morning once again. We’ve already migrated back into
a cerebral consideration of mercy, an academic exercise in the consideration
of mercy. We’re two weeks removed from
when we stood back and looked at Titus as to how this mercy
applied to us and how rich it is and how undeserved it is and
how vile we were and undeserving and judged and condemned. But God, Being rich in mercy. You see, when you see the wrath
of God poured out. And you are enjoying His mercy
in that moment. That you are not under the wrath
of God. That you are not experiencing
His poured out judgment. You’ll come to a very practical
enjoyment of mercy in that moment. In that moment when God’s wrath
is poured out, you will know mercy like you’ve never known
mercy. It will all come into focus in
that moment. And Paul says that he’s relenting
even now. He’s measuring out his judgment
even now. And the world is already under
judgment, make no mistake. But God measuring that out and
doling out his wrath in gentle measures for now is all for the
purpose, as Paul says, to make known the riches of his glory
upon vessels of mercy. That we would stand back and
see the glory of God in this incredibly detailed and incredibly
profound and incredibly. Divine exercise of wrath and
mercy. Look at the passage, he did so
in order that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels
of mercy. The whole purpose of the patience
of God here. Is to bring believers. Home to the understanding of
the wealth of God’s glory, the riches of his glory, the extent
of it in exercising mercy towards us. Because the bottom line is
go back to Titus. We deserved that wrath. And if
not for God’s mercy, we’re standing in the middle of that mighty
stream of God’s wrath. This little word riches points
out that there is absolutely nothing lacking in God’s glory,
it is the absolute effulgence as the older texts had it, the
effulgence of God’s glory. It is the fullness. It is overwhelming. It is the fullness of God being
fully manifest. The whole point of God’s mercy
here. Is to instruct those to whom
he has shown mercy. The glory of God in its fullness. The glory of God, ultimately,
we will see it. We’ll see it in full in heaven.
We’ll see it in full as God’s wrath is poured out and we will
enjoy it completely in heaven in mercy. One commentator summed it up
excellently when he said the showing of God’s wrath is necessary. In order that it may be manifest
to the vessels of mercy. In other words. We would have.
That’s the thing we would. We will continue to consider
the whole concept of mercy. We will continue to exercise
academic pursuit in understanding it until we see God’s wrath poured
out. That’s what he’s saying. We will
continue to have an idea, a concept. Yes, we’re thankful, but not
entirely. I mean, why didn’t we walk in
here? You know, we had to be prompted to worship. Why didn’t
we walk in here and fall on our face? Because God, being God,
showed mercy to me, to you. You didn’t deserve it. I know
I didn’t deserve it. He goes on, he says, the showing
of God’s wrath is necessary in order that may be manifested
to the vessels of mercy, that what was revealed in their case
is indeed the wealth of God’s glory. The glory of his boundless
mercy. And not any glory of their own
deserving, we don’t deserve it, we never do. But nobody refers. To those who have placed their
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that’s what I’ll tell you, that’s
what he’s referring to. Those are the only ones that
are ever going to enjoy any mercy are those that have placed their
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in him alone for salvation. He calls them vessels of mercy. In this sense, we are vessels
that are filled up, it’s overflowing, it is lavishing us, we are literally
bathing in God’s mercy. We were talking several weeks
ago at our home fellowships about this idea, this concept of mercy. And if you consider it, God takes
us from the lowest of low, abject sinfulness, utterly immersed
in it and deserving and already totally basking in the full judgment
of God. He takes us from that point quite
undeservedly. He takes us from that low, lowest
of low points, and he places us to the highest of high points
because of nothing in us. That’s mercy. But you won’t know it, you won’t
know it in its fullness until God’s wrath is poured out, but
he calls us vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand
for glory. Now, in this case, it is God.
It is God being God. It is God taking you and I. And
it is God reaching into our sin-sickened lives. And it is God breathing
life into us. It is God giving us faith. It
is God sanctifying us. It’s God that’s preparing us
for glory. It’s God and it’s only God. We’re
called alongside to exercise faith. We’re called alongside
to take Him at His Word. But in this case, it’s an active
verb. It’s God, the one that’s preparing
us. It’s God, the one that is working
out your salvation within you. Paul had told us in Romans that
order of salvation. That it’s God from eternity past
that set his electing love upon us. It’s God in time that called
us to himself. It’s God in time that sanctifies
us. And ultimately, it’s God who
will glorify us. It’s God. This incredible work
of preparing the vessels of mercy. It’s God’s work. It’s God’s work
in individuals. And look at it. He lays it home.
He lays it home so fully and naturally here in verse 24. Look
at verse 23 and leading up to it. He did so in order that he
might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy,
which he prepared beforehand for glory. Even us. You can note
the astonishment in Paul’s voice there, can’t you? Are you kidding
me? Even us. Even me. Paul says. Whom also he called. And when he mentions this word
call, he uses that classic word that Paul does over and over
again. It is referring to the call of God in our lives that
calls us to himself, calls us out of death, calls us to faith
and calls us to life and salvation. One described it, he said, it
is that operation of the Holy Spirit whereby he so applies
the gospel. to the minds and heart of sinners
that they become aware of their guilt. They begin to understand
their need of Christ and they embrace him as their Lord and
Savior. It’s God. And Paul says he called
us not just from among the Jews only, but also from among the
Gentiles. God has extended and expanded
his mercy. And Paul moves. to illustrate,
to drive home his point one final time, Paul cites as illustration
four Old Testament prophecies. And the key question that has
to be answered is, what is Paul illustrating? Now, it’s possible
that he could be illustrating that Essentially, that thought
communicated in verse twenty three that he made known his
glory upon vessels of mercy. It’s possible that he’s illustrating
that statement that is made almost in passing in verse twenty four
that he called us. And it’s possible that he’s emphasizing
and illustrating here that he Called us not only from among
the Jews, but from among the Gentiles. Let’s consider each possibility. It could be. That he’s pointing
back to the immediately preceding verse here with these illustrations,
these four Old Testament passages. It’s possible that he’s looking
immediately to the preceding verse, even to the immediately
preceding word Gentiles to highlight the truth that salvation had
come to them as well. But I would suggest to you these
verses don’t illustrate that. They don’t. It could be that
he’s referring back to that effectual call, which is such a favorite
subject for Paul, almost in every one of his epistles. That is
referring back to the effectual call there in verse 24, and that
argument does have merit. It’s possible because. The word
called appears in the very first illustration that he uses. But
I think there’s an even better reference, and that is to go
all the way back to verse 23, the God did what he did. He held back on his wrath. He exercised mercy in order that
he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of
mercy. Paul’s pointing back to the great subject of this entire
section. That if God the God purpose to
make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, that’s
Paul’s great design. Paul isn’t talking so much here
or not exclusively about nations, especially the wholesale salvation
of nations. He’s talking about God, God being
God, God doing what God does, God exercising his sovereign
mercy. And Paul highlights that sovereign
mercy with four illustrations, as I’ve said, two sets of two.
The first two highlight the element of God’s sovereign mercy. The second two highlight the
fact that this mercy will not be universally enjoyed. That’s the nature of mercy. First of all, consider verses
25 and 26, two illustrations, I said two sets of two. The first
one taken from Hosea 2.23. The second one taken from Hosea
110. And as I suggested, these first
two present to us the element of God’s sovereign mercy, God
holding back. God relenting, look at the first
illustration. As he says, also in Hosea, I
will call those who were not my people, my people and her
who was not beloved, beloved. I would have God’s people go
to that passage, if you would, if you can find the book of Hosea
and. Unfortunately, the clean part of our Bible, the minor
prophets. And to Hosea chapter one. And I’ll tell you, if this story
were coming on the news, you might, if the kids were in the
room, you might even mute the channel. I’ll try to be discreet
on how we approach this. Poor Hosea, man of God, called
to serve and God is going to use him for his glory in a profound
way. Look at verse one, the word of
the Lord, which came to Hosea, the son of Berai, during the
days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah,
and during the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel.
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea,
Go take to yourself a wife of harlotry. Now, once you get your
your mind wrapped just around that one, You’ll get to meet his family.
But take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of
harlotry. For the land commits flagrant
harlotry, forsaking the Lord. In other words, what he’s saying
is, Hosea, here’s your job assignment. I’m going to use you as a living
illustration everywhere you go. Everybody you see, everybody
who sees you is going to know it’s a it’s a living, breathing
illustration everywhere you go. Hosea, you ready? OK. So he went and took Gomer the
daughter of the blame and she conceived and bore him a son
and the Lord said to him name him Jezreel for yet a little
while and I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of
Jezreel and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of
Israel. God pronouncing judgment here. Now note this. Then she conceived
again and gave birth to a daughter. Oh, lovely, precious daughter. Of harlotry. She gave birth to a daughter
and the Lord said to him, said to him, name her low Ruhama,
for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel. If you
don’t pick up there, the name low Ruhama means no mercy. For I will no longer have compassion
on the house of Israel that I would ever forgive them. But I will
have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by
the Lord, their God, and will not deliver them by the bow,
sword, battle, horses or horsemen. This was his job to go to the
ten northern kingdoms and basically be a living, breathing illustration.
Greetings, this is my wife. Can I introduce you to my children?
No mercy. God’s not done. When she had
weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she gave birth to a son. Oh, precious little
boy. And God says, in verse 9, the
Lord said, Name him Lo-Ami. You are not my people. For you are not my people and
I am not your God. Yet the number of the sons of
Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured
or numbered And in the place where it is said to him, you
are not my people, it will be said to them, you are the sons
of the living God. Something happens. What happens
is God has mercy. God brings them back. God rescues
them out of their sinfulness and captivity. And as he says
in Hosea, chapter two, verse 23. I will call those who were
not my people, my people. There will be a time where I
show and exercise mercy to them. There will be a time where I
will welcome them back in. And to her who was not beloved,
you are my beloved. Verse 26 highlights that verse
that we just read in chapter 1, verse 10. It shall be said,
in that place, the same people where it was said to them, you
are not my people, then they would be called the sons of the
living God. It’s the same people who occupy
the same place. The Word of God comes to them.
They repent and God restores them out of his abundant mercy.
It is always God’s mercy. It’s always and only because
of God’s sovereign mercy. And Paul closes by driving this
point home. It is always by God’s sovereign
mercy, but not everyone will enjoy it. Look at verse 27. As I said, two illustrations
from Hosea and two illustrations that point to the element of
the remnant. Not the full measure of Israel. Not everyone gets to enjoy this,
which is precisely where he began in verse six. He comes full circle
and he says again, God is narrowing this program. God is limiting. God is sovereign in the exercise
and not all Israel who are Israel. Look at verse 27, Isaiah cries
out concerning Israel, Though the number of the sons of Israel
be as the sand of the sea. And they would recognize that
phrase immediately. That was the promise to Abraham.
The sand of the sea, they were going to be so plentiful, uncountable. Though the number of the sons
of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant. Only
a small portion. It is the remnant that will be
saved for the Lord will execute his word upon the earth. Everything
that Paul pointed to. So far. Essentially seeks to answer the
question. If the gospel is supposed to
come to the Jew first and also to the Greek and all these promises
were supposed to be poured out on Israel, why aren’t they all
coming to faith? As we look around, even as we
look around the church in Rome, how come there aren’t more Jews
here in this place? Paul points to the fact that
it’s the remnant. It’s always and only been the
remnant that would be saved. Paul points out this situation
where the great majority of the Jews were excluded. and that it was foretold in Scripture.
This wasn’t just happenstance. It wasn’t just something that
Paul was making up on the fly. This had been prophesied for
centuries. Look at verse 29. Even and just it for me and just
as Isaiah foretold, except the Lord of Sabbath had left to us
a posterity, we would have become as Sodom. We would have resembled
Gomorrah. If God had not exercised his
sovereign mercy in reaching out and saving a portion, a small
portion of that. It would have been utterly and
completely wiped out. Just like Sodom and Gomorrah.
We don’t have time to read the entirety of that episode, but
you know the sordid events of Chapter 19 and Genesis will get
there someday in Sunday school. But God pointed out there that
there was a judgment that was coming because of the vileness
of what was taking place. And it records that the sun had risen
over earth when law came to Zohar, then the Lord reigned on Sodom
and Gomorrah, brimstone and fire. That’s where it comes from. Brimstone
and fire from the Lord God out of heaven. And he overthrew those
cities and all the valley and all the inhabitants of those
cities and what grew on the ground. But his wife from behind him
looked back and she became a pillar of salt. And at the end. It says now, Abraham arose early
in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before
the Lord, and he looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah and
toward the valley And he saw behold smoke of the land ascended
like the smoke of a furnace. Here Isaiah says if God in his
sovereign mercy. Hadn’t reached down and rescued
a small remnant of any of us. We would still be smoldering.
There would be nothing left. The Justice Sodom and Gomorrah
were utterly destroyed. So to we. May God’s mercy. Become increasingly
practical to you. As you ponder not just the mercy
of God. But the wrath of God from which
we were saved. Let’s fall before him in prayer. Oh great merciful God. We humble
ourselves in your presence. And plead with you to make us
to know this mercy. If there are any in our midst
who have not placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that
is the only way to enjoy God’s mercy. Without that, we justly
will reap the full fury of God’s wrath. But if we are in Christ,
Christ has already taken God’s wrath on our behalf. For those
of us who have already placed our faith, we thank you from
the bottom of our heart. Knowing we did not deserve your
mercy. We thank you and we praise you
in Jesus name.