God’s Sovereign Choice
9:1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 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 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 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.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 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?” 21 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? 22 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, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 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.’”
26 “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.’”
27 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, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,
“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”
Israel’s Unbelief
30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (ESV)
This is a very exciting day for True North! We have the Brotherhood this morning, Girls Workshop at lunch, Teen Ministers in the afternoon and True North at night! Let’s be praying for the Lord to do great things in our ministry for His glory!
2I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
In these two verses we see Paul’s passion for the people of Israel. He has sorrow in his heart. He wished that he was cursed for their sake. Paul wanted these people to be saved! How passionate are we for the high school students of Orange County? Do we want them all to be saved? I am praying God will gives us a heart for the lost and we will see a great revival in our time!
wow what an interesting chapter! i didnt undedstand what Paul was sayin about the promise and isaac and all that if someonwants to help me out
thanks
31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.”
Many Israelites missed out on their salvation because they were too busy pursuing righteousness by works instead of by faith. Don’t we do the same thing sometimes? So often when I hear someone’s testimony she is basing her Christianity on the fact that she grew up in a Christian home, goes to church, is “better” than the other kids at her high school, reads her Bible, etc. God makes it clear to us over and over again in Scripture that our spiritual resumes get us nowhere in gaining salvation (think back to the sermon that Pastor Bobby gave at Revival ’08 on spiritual resumes). We must look closely at our testimony to be sure that we are not pursuing etertnal life by works. The only way to a right relationship with God is by responding to the gospel with repentance and faith!
31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.”
We got to make sure that we are pursuing being right with God through our faith, not works. We have faith in Christ, then the works will show, but we can’t just can’t be right through our works. It is by grace that we have been saved, not by works so there is no boasting except in Jesus Christ!
What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.”
These three verses are great ones. They show how the Isrealites were not able to attain the law of righteousness because they pursued it through works, not by faith. The same goes for people today. The only way to get to heaven is by faith. Not by good works as other religions explain. The Gentiles had faith in God and were able to attain the law of righteouness. The way to heaven is justification by faith!!!
16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy
What a great chapter taking about God’s choice or predestination! For me, as I read the beginning of the chapter it was wonderful to see how we as christians are basically adopted into God’s family because He pre-chose us! How cool that we are joint-heirs with Christ and other members of the body of Him!!!And just as Ephesians 2:8-10 says we have been saves by grace and not by ourselves. We are God’s workmanship created in Christ to do good which was prepared in advance by Him. How amazing that just these couple of verses show that we as humans did nothing to earn our salvation and God has already prepared good works for us to do in advance! Now that is so overwhelming to know that God handpicked me before time began….why He would chose such a wretched and sinful person like me to be His, I will probably never understand here on earth!
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 Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
I think this is a good example of how people should stop pursuing righteousness by their own works but instead by putting their faith and trust in Christ. We can’t do it on our own as some people would like to believe.
What does this text mean?
13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.”
Verse three Paul is saying that his sorrow for unbelievers is so bad that he would trade places with them. I’ve got a long way to go to be like Paul because I get frustrated when they don’t hear what the gospel is saying or worse are those that say they hear and don’t do anything about it.
Verse 32 is sad to me because they put their trust in works
5Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
This is a very clear statement of the deity of Christ that we can use to refute those who deny that the Bible teaches that Jesus is God. The exact same Greek word for God is also used in Matthew 3:9.
This verse goes hand in hand with verse 16.
16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
Because Jesus was and is God he was able to live a perfect life on our behalf. When we repent and have faith in Christ not only is our sin paid for but Christ’s perfect life gets credited to our account (2 Corin 5:21). If Jesus was not God (and say just a good man) then he couldn’t have lived an 100% perfect life to credit to our account, and the remaining sin (even if it was just 1-2%) would still separate us from God (Isaiah 59:2). Thus Christians can be confident that they can stand in the prescence of our perfectly Holy God one day, not because of what they have done or the good things they have done, but, because they are trusting fully in what Christ has done on their behalf. The deity of Christ makes all the difference in whether we are acceptable to God or unacceptable to God. Thus as Christians we need to defend Christ’s deity. The next time someone challenges it we need to say something and show them this verse.
16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
Here is a great verse that shows that it is by God’s mercy alone that we are saved. I think that we should spend lees time thinking and talking about the works and more time reveling in our GOD’S mercy!
Hey this was a pretty good verse but then again what verse isn’t its the bible so whats not good about it. I like verse 2. “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart…”
I shows how much sympathy and passion that Paul has for his people. And how sad he is for not know Christ!
20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ”
This verse is so true. We have no right to talk back to our creator because He is perfect and has reason for everything. So when someone says “Why did you make me like this?” to uor creator, we need to know that God a reason for making everybody the way He did.
21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
I love the analogy that God is the potter and we are the clay. It is the perfect image of how we need to not challenge or question the authority of God. Just as clay can never question the purposes of the potter, it is just as irrational for us to question the purposes of God – and in this specific passage, in His purpose for each person’s salvation.
20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ”
A lot of times people have problems in their lives and they say things like “why did God make me like this?” or “Why did God put me in this position?” and they get into a kind of “God doesn’t care about me” attitude. But that is SO dangerous! God knows everything, and people know next to nothing, so who are we to question what he does? He will work out EVERYTHING for His good purpose. It’s important to keep the mindset of how much greater God is than we are, and never get cocky in our view of him.
3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
This is, I think, one of the most amazing verses in Scripture. Paul loved the people of Israel so much that he wished that he was cut off from Christ so they could be saved. Wow. I don’t think any of us have ever felt like that. Instead, we sometimes don’t evangelize to people because we might feel awkward. This just shows me how much more we need to have a love for the lost and how we should be willing to give everything up to bring them the Gospel so they might be saved. We need to love like Christ loved us.
15For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
You can’t get to heaven by just doing good deeds, no matter how hard you try. And if you’re willing to go through all the effort trying to constantly be good you might as well have faith in God while you’re at it because He will just make it easier for you. I had a great time at brotherhood by the way we should totally do it again…
14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!
Today God is described as living, compassionate, and merciful, which He is. but everyone seems to forget His wrath. people think that God has forgotten their sin, or is just letting them go, when in reality He is not. Judgement Day and the End Times will be very hard and unpleasant for those who neglect and mock His wrath.
But, there are those who say that God is unmerciful, and is a killer and unfair. however, God CANNOT tolerate sin, because He is perfect and holy. ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is death; both in a spiritual and physical way (Romans 6:23). when we look at it, God is not hateful or a killer, He is perfect. In His perfect and just wrath, He cannot tolerate sin. when we look at it this way, God is so merciful that we have His Son Christ who died for our sins so that we dont have to die the spiritual death.
2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
I can realte to Pauls heart here. It hurts so much when people that i love will not accept Christ in order to have eternal life in Him. I would definately die for someone I loved , but Paul is offering up his eternity in Glory for an eternity of suffering. This makes me pause to consider Paul’s dedication. I am once again spurred on and inspired by this man’s passoin for Christ and for the lost.
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
Wow, do we have this kind of love for others? Paul is willing to give up his eternal salvation and rot in Hell for eternity so that others could come to Christ. Are we even evangelizing to our close friends? Could we have this love for others, that we are proactive in shouting aloud the good news in Jesus Christ? Lets step it up and show the merciful love of Jesus Christ to all those who at this moment are destined for destruction. Let us make disciples and truly care for the salvation of another person. Enough of this selfish living we must obey God. I pray that I myself could evangelize with ergency and compassionate love, and that all of us at True North could double and triple it up the amount of people that were lost and now are found.
20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ”
That was a MAGNIFICENT comment Alison!! This verse also just reminded me of body image. I know many of my fellow classmates are always complaining about their bodies; they’re supposedly “fat” or “ugly” but God made them in his image!! How can they speak such words?!?! Even though I am a twin, God has still made unique differences between us, though many cannot see them!! All of our lives are perfectly planned by our sovereign Lord, and we should be constantly praising him for EVERYTHING he has given us, including our bodies, minds, and health! :D
3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
WOW! What an amazing thing to wish that you are cut off from Christ so that other people could be saved! I know that I need to definitely step it up in evangelizing to my non-Christian friends. Let’s pray that we are as passionate as Paul in our evangelizing instead of being scared that we will be rejected by other for telling them the gospel. Matthew 28:19-20.
Wow, what has happened to our level of comments?? LAME!
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
this verse is intense. Paul cares so much for the salvation of his people that he would be willing to sacrifice his own salvation in order that they might be saved. As Christians, we know what horrible fate we have been saved from, but it is not hard to look around and find people we know who are still running toward the gates of Destruction without ever realizing what will one day happen to them. As we realize the punishment that will await them one day in Hell, our hearts should be so broken for them that we are willing to do whatever it takes, talk as long as we have to, and face whatever persecution comes our way to ensure that they hear the Gospel and have a chance to repent. If our hearts really are concerned for the damned, then we will not let a day go by where we keep our faith to ourselves, but we will be filled with a sense of urgency to tell everyone about what Christ has done for us and for them as well if they repent.
21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
This verse is great. It shows Paul’s life here basically and gives an example of MANY other people in the world. I (especially) have seen this happen with people i know/love very much and it is a verse that truley shows God’s control.
16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy
i liked this verse, its saying we can not depend on mans efforts and desires, but depend on gods mercy, we need to be trusting in him at all times no matter what!!! we cant do anything without him..
16 It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
We do not desire to be chosen by God. He chose us! We did not choose Him! By God’s mercy we are saved. As humans we do not deserve to be saved….but God is merciful and has chosen us to be His children.
Thankyou Lord.
16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
God chose us…from the begining of time he knew me by name! (: that is so exciting to think about. We are sinners, and do not deserve Gods grace. It is not through our own power but through His mercy that we are saved. We can’t try and do life on our own, it doesn’t work. We need to trust in God! I am so thankful that God has chosen me to be a child of God.
(:
16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
God chose us…from the begining of time he knew me by name! (: that is so exciting to think about. We are sinners, and do not deserve Gods grace. It is not through our own power but through His mercy that we are saved. We can’t try and do life on our own, it doesn’t work. We need to trust in God! I am so thankful that God has chosen me to be a child of God.
28For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”
We need to be prepared for God’s judgment and be living each day for God like it is our last opportunity to demonstrate our faith. we need to Put everything that we learn to practice, example: we talked about keeping each other accountable in the brotherhood. as Christians, we need to be living the life of a christian, like pastor bobby talked about tonight on how we know we are Christians because we are living without sin.
the number of people posting is getting lower still! we need to spur one another on in their daily reading, because we are not getting on SOTD as much as we used to.
my bad sorry
16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
This is yet another verse that states that it is not by works that you can get to heaven. I am now wondering how so many Catholics still believe this.
16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
For some reason all of us think that good works gets us into heaven (yep I was there too), but it’s by faith and God’s mercy. Thankfully our Lord is extremely patient and waits until we finally figure that out and fully trust in Him. Which will get us a spot in heaven and not hell:)
Matt, I am not sure what your questions specifically is about Isaac and the promise. But God had made a special promise to Abraham that he would have a son and through his family line would come about a great nation. Paul’s point here is that not all of Abraham’s descendants through Isaac are really children of God.
Noni A,
13Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
This verse is an example of the predestination that is referred to here. Even before they were born God chose Jacob over Esau for the birthright. God chooses people who will be his but some he leaves to their own undoing.
Hope those help! Let me know if you have more questions!
6It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
8In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
we are all Adam’s descendants, but not all of us are God’s Children. if we are Children or God, or Christians, we would be welcomed with open arms by God. If not, God will say to us: Depart from me, I never knew you.
the sermon this weekend was awesome!!!