ROMANS 10:1-13 "EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED"

 

Becoming a Christian is at once the easiest thing and the hardest thing in the world. 

It is easy when you lay down your arms, repent from your waywardness and receive Jesus Christ as Saviour. 

It is hard when you want to have it your own way, or when you wish to decide the terms   on which you wish to be reconciled with your Creator.  

We are working our way through Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul’s intention is to help us understand how we become Christians (Rom. 1-11) and how we may continue  to live as Christians (Rom 12-16). Having outlined the problem of sin against a holy God, whose creation we are, he helps us to understand that there is only one solution to our dilemma, by which we may have peace with God - Jesus Christ, the Saviour.   Nowhere does he indicate that we may choose our own path to God. Quite the opposite- God chooses His Saviour and He chooses the method of salvation. It is when we bow our knee to Him that our salvation becomes most visible.  Tragically, the Jews in Paul’s day refused to bow the knee  to Jesus.

In Romans 9:30-33  Paul explains that Israel’s failure to embrace the gospel was directly related to their stumbling over Jesus Christ. They would not accept God’s solution for salvation.  Instead, Israel by and large was seeking salvation by law keeping, rather than by trusting in Jesus Christ alone.  And so, Jesus became that stumbling stone predicted by Isaiah (Isa. 8:14; 28:16 à cf. Rom. 9:32 see also 1 Cor. 1:23). Jesus became to them a stumbling stone,  when in fact He was their rock of salvation (Ps. 95:1). Unlike most of them  that godly Jewish old man Simeon saw the infant Jesus in the temple, 8 days after He was born, and  he rightly prophesied that this child was “appointed both for the fall and rising of many in Israel”(Lk. 2:34)  

OUTLINE:   ROMANS 10:1-13

1.       Ignorance of the righteousness of God (10:2-3)

2.       Jesus is the righteousness of God (10:4-7)

3.        Believe in Jesus (10:8-13)

In Rom. 9:1-5 we had seen  that this large rejection of their Messiah had deeply grieved Paul  and again he  expresses his heart for them  when he says in 10:1, “brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” So again, what is their problem?  And better still what is the solution?

  1.          Ignorance of the righteousness of God (10:2-3)

Again, Paul makes known the heart of Israel’s problem. It is not that they deny the existence of YAHWEH, the God of Israel. In fact, says Paul, “I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God … BUT not according to knowledge.   

What knowledge did they not possess?  

10:3 answers the question:  they were ignorant of the righteousness of God; they sought to establish their own (basis of) righteousness; they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  

That word, ‘righteousness’  is a key word in the letter to the Romans[1]. The Jews had been zealously seeking to establish their own righteousness through law keeping, but they failed to reach that standard (9:31,32). 

What should they do?  

• They should not be ignorant of the righteousness of God 
• they should submit to Gods righteousness
•  God's righteousness is expressed in Christ who is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.  

And here we find a massive lesson in understanding the nature of true biblical faith. 

Outward zeal (i.e. mere religious sincerity and earnestness) cannot save anybody!  It is not an infallible sign that someone is right with God. Passion without truth cannot save anyone.  This needs to be said loudly and boldly!  Many people, even sincere Christian people  are  frequently more  impressed by expressions of zeal rather than by  truth.  We easily make up our mind not by what people  actually say about their beliefs  but by what we feel about them.  Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones in a searching sermon on Romans 10:3  gives an illustration of this:

“On a visit to London some years ago, I went into a certain book room which was managed by an evangelical organization… To my astonishment, I found that they were selling there a second-hand book by a man who was notorious at that time. He was no longer alive, but he had written this well-known book about Christianity in which he virtually denied all the cardinal articles of the Christian faith. As I was looking round, the secretary of this society came to speak to me, so I called his attention to this book and expressed my amazement.

'Ah,' he said, 'wait a minute. You know, we must be very careful.'   'What do you mean?' I asked. He said, 'Have you ever met this man?' And when I told him I had not, he replied, 'Well, I have. I stayed with him a few months back. I was on deputation work and he entertained me for the night, and the next morning we went into a little chapel attached to his house where he took family prayers. And you know, I don't think I have ever been in such a spiritual atmosphere. It was a blessing to my soul to hear him taking family prayers on that occasion.'   'Yes, but my dear sir,' I said, 'what does he say in this book?' 'Oh, I know that,' he said, 'but you see, if you had heard him taking those prayers! I have never known a more devout man. I have never been in a more devotional atmosphere.' My reply was this: 'But I don't care what you felt. This is what the man says about the Lord Jesus Christ and His work and it is a denial of the Scriptures!' But I found it very difficult to persuade him. 

And so it is that we find that people are easily taken in with personalities, and particular with people of charisma and zeal, whose utterances about Jesus and His work would leave one gasping.  And yet people hang on to their lips! In my years as a pastor -preacher  I  have been in trouble at times with sincere Christians for calling out such people. They are listened to on the social media, their music are listened to and sung and their books are being read and sold in Christian bookshops, and it is thought that they must be right when, in truth, they would have been condemned as heretics by the early church councils – particularly the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) which confirmed that Jesus is equal to God the Father, rejecting Arianism. They would have been condemned at the First Council of Constantinople (381 AD) which confirmed the divinity of the Holy Spirit. 

We say it again and let each one examine themselves in this regard: we easily value our own experience or feeling over Scripture. We often value enthusiasm, zeal, presentation, eloquence, personality over biblical truth.  How can such a nice guy be wrong?

Our zeal must be directed by the whole counsel of the word of God. Our zeal must flow from a converted heart. Our zeal must be  directed  by the Holy Spirit, who is the Inspirer of the Word of God. Paul says that Israel by and large had not understood her own God inspired Scripture.  If they had read their Scriptures correctly[2], they would have known that any system that teaches that salvation is gained by self-righteousness cannot be right. Both, the OT and the NT teach that salvation is by God’s grace alone. 

The law (and the keeping of it) cannot make anyone righteous. This is the first thing that Paul points out.  

2.  JESUS CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS  (10: 4-7)

Here is the second great  truth. 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”. 

This is a powerful statement. Christ is the end of the law.  The Jews believed wholeheartedly that one was saved by law-keeping. This, says Paul, was never a true emphasis of the OT. And those that say that the OT is all about salvation by works, while the NT is all about salvation by grace are wrong!  That is playing the OT off against the NT. You cannot do that! There is one covenant, one law and it is completed in Christ! He is the end of the law.   There never have been two systems of salvation. There has always only been one way.   The law   of the OT has always been waiting for its fulfilment in Christ.

But the Jews could not see that.  Instead, they had progressively twisted the law of Moses   to become a legal system by which, they thought, righteousness could be obtained. There was no faith required, and so it became a system of works.  They were stuck in a system, and so, Christ, the Messiah, the end of the law, became a stumbling stone for them.  

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness! When Christ is the end of the law, it follows that we must look to Him!  The Buck stops there! We must take our righteousness from Him!  

10:5 It is true that the law of Moses commanded absolute obedience. But since no one kept the law perfectly, there were the laws of sacrifice illustrating that sin was serious  in God’s sight. By instituting the sacrificial system, sins were  atoned. However, does the blood of bulls and goats truly take away sin? No! (Hebr. 10:4 à cf. Psalm 40:6-8.   So,  the law foreshadowed the coming of the ultimate sacrifice – the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29,36 -à We find Him in Isaiah 53)

10:6 The righteousness based on faith does not look at our own performance of the law. We will always fail!  Therefore, the law makes us ultimately look to Christ.  He, the spotless Lamb has kept the law perfectly for us. He has born the penalty for those that trust in Him.   The price is paid once for all, and those that look to Him are radiant! (Psalm 34:5). 

But what about these strange words in 10:6,7?  "Do not say in your heart, who will ascend into Heaven to (that is to bring Christ down) or who shall descend into the abyss, (that is to bring Christ up) "?  Paul is simply saying this: In seeking to be saved God is not asking you to perform some monumental task by going up into heaven to look for it there, or by descending into the abyss to look for it there.  No! NO!  All you have to do is LISTEN and LOOK right HERE: The word is near you … that is the word of faith that we proclaim (10:8). LISTEN! LOOK!  BELIEVE!

3.       BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (10:9-13)

And so in 10:9 he says it as clear as clear can be, and that, in two ways: by way of an outward vocal confession of Jesus as Lord, and with an inward heart conviction.  

• You must confess[3] with your mouth Jesus as Lord 
•  You must (ii) believe in your heart[4] that God has raised Him from the dead. This thought is strengthened in 10:10  and   again in 10:11  with  quotes from the OT -  Isaiah 28:16,  and in 10:13 we find a quote from Joel  2:32

Paul emphasizes that the OT way of salvation is salvation by grace through faith; not in law-keeping. Christ is the end of the law.  His emphasis in 10:11-13 is of supreme importance:  

Look to Jesus! Look to Him, the righteous One. Receive His righteousness!

Look to Him as the One who was raised from the dead. Believe in Him. In His risen life is your life! 

10:12 In this regard there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. There is not one way of salvation for the Jews and another way for the Gentiles. The same Lord is Lord of all."  There is one way of salvation, and that one way of salvation is Jesus Christ  ALONE.  “

And so,  "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved".  No nation, no tribe  is excluded from this gospel call. 

Can this be said any clearer or plainer?  

Who is here who has not yet called upon the Lord Jesus?

 

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[1] Dikaiosune is mentioned 36 times

[2]  e.g.  Jesus said in Matt.  22:29  “You are wrong, because you know neither  the Scriptures nor the power of God”

[3] Homologeo -  to say the same thing as another, to agree, confess, or openly declare. It is an aorist active subjunctive verb, pointing to a decisive, whole-action acknowledgment.

[4] en tῇ kardia "In the heart," representing the core seat of human thought, will, and emotional conviction rather than mere surface intellect

Ephesians 4:1 - 16 - “Unity for Productivity“

 

From our text we learn that a united church will be a productive church.

The unity we are commanded to maintain will lead to equipping, building, and maturing of the saints for the work of ministry, working properly, making the church grow and built up in love (4:1-16).

As we survey the history of the church, we recognize that church unity has always been a challenge.  Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church in Acts 20:29,30 that fierce wolves would come in among them, speaking twisted things. Satan, the sworn enemy of the church is behind all this, causing division, and therefore we must fight Him in the full armour of God and with the only offensive weapon in our armoury - the Word of God (Eph. 6:10-18 cf. Lk. 4:1-13).

 Context

Ephesians 1-3 contain the doctrinal foundations of the letter to the Ephesians.

In Ephesians 1 we are taught how we become Christians.

In Ephesians 2&3 we learn that Christians are saved to belong to the church. The NT church consists of both, Jew and Gentile, and they are molded into one people. The church is built upon one foundation of which Jesus is the cornerstone - one Lord, who the Head of the church, which is His body (2:20).  

The unity of the church is undergirded by the unity of the Trinity – the three are one!

Ephesians 4-6 follow by way of by practical application. In Chapters 1-3 God says, “I have made you a Christian”, and in Chapters 4-6 he says, “Live like a Christian!” 

We learn much from Paul’s way of thinking and writing. He always lays down doctrinal foundations before he proceeds with practical application.  We cannot be practical unless we know how to be practical. The Bible helps us to be practical.  The Bible is to the church what the skeleton is to the human body.

Doctrine is fundamental. All of life illustrates this. You cannot be a doctor/nurse, a mechanic, a teacher etc. without the relevant doctrine or training which underlies each discipline. Pastors cannot be truly helpful in their preaching and counseling and pastoring without a solid knowledge of Scripture. Likewise, being an effective Christian requires a practical understanding of the Word of God, as it reforms and transforms our mind, leading to fruitful living.  Biblical doctrine does not divide; it unites.

 Chapter 4 begins with an appeal to unity.  

Here we find four important foundations for unity  which lead to productive Christianity:

1. The Grace of Unity (4:1-3)
2. The Ground of Unity (4:4-6)
3. The Gifts for Unity (4:7 -11)
4. The Goal of Unity (4:12-16)

1. THE GRACE OF UNITY (4:1-3)

Here we learn that unity is both, a gift (a grace) from God and a duty (a grace) to be maintained.

Ø  It is a gift from God. We do not create unity. By the grace of God our unity has been provided through the shed blood of Christ (2:13). It is the unity of the Spirit (4:3).  This is a genitive of source or origin—the unity produced or given by the Holy Spirit. It is not something manufactured by human organizational effort.   

Ø  It is a duty to be upheld: “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called “(4:1). From this follows the call “to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace “(4:3).  How do we do that?   4:2 provides the answer: “..with all humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love”. These are some of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Gal. 5:22,23.

This is the productive soil in which unity can flourish.

 2.  THE GROUND OF UNITY (4:4-6)

“There is one body and one Spirit -just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

The key word, “one” (implying unity), is used 7 times in 4:4-6. 

Church unity is  GROUNDED  in the work of the Tri-unity [the Holy Spirit (4:4); the Lord Jesus (4:5) and God our Father (4:6)]. The Trinity is foundational to the church’s existence and spiritual health.  The true church proceeds from God.  No true church exists apart  from the Trinity.

 Four  further  expressions of unity: one body, one hope, one faith, one baptism.

Ø  One body: The purpose of the saving work of Christ is to bring people together - assimilated as one body -the church!  The great picture given in Ephesians 2 is that   God has assimilated for Himself one people (Jews and Gentiles) from among all nations!  He unites! Satan by contrast, persecutes, scatters and divides. Our old nature tends towards divisiveness.  We have a duty to learn and to practice unity.  We learn to put off the old self and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God (see 4:22-24).

Ø  One hope (that belongs to your call): The Church shares one hope: gaining heaven.  In Ephesians 1:13-14 we learn that that the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of this great promise. A believer who has their focus on this ultimate goal is a promising candidate to be a peacemaker and not a troublemaker; a ‘unifier‘ and not a ‘divider’.

Ø  One Faith:  There is one settled body of truth given by Christ to His church. This is the ‘faith’ once entrusted/delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3).  We make it our aim to be of the same mind, the same faith. That produces unity. 

Ø   One Baptism:  The ‘church’ is those who have been “baptized in the Spirit“ (by the Holy Spirit who causes us to be ‘born again’ Jn. 3). From  there follows the practice of  believer’s  baptism - an outward testimony and a symbol of that which has taken place in us spiritually.  Only true believers can be united in the church.

 3.  THE GIFTS FOR UNITY (4:7-11)

Ø  Grace filled believers (4:7a): “But grace (Gr. charis) was given to each of us …”. Incidentally, that  ‘grace’ which is given to us  at conversion is the grace which we must give to each other in the body of Christ. It comes in the form of spiritual gifts.

Ø  Believers are gifted in differing degrees (4:7b) “according to the measure of Christ’s gift”[1]. This indicates that Christ gives each believer measured (Gk. ‘metron’) grace.  This is often not understood. All Christian people receive gifts, but all do not receive the same gifts, and neither do all receive them with the same intensity (see also Rom 12:3-6). Our different giftedness is due to an enablement by Christ.  Our Head knows what is good and what is needed to maintain unity in each body of believers.

Ø  Christ is the Giver of the gifts (4:8-10). This is substantiated by an interesting quotation from Ps 68:18. The Psalm is a call to God to come to the rescue of His people. David remembers how God went before His people after the Exodus (v.7) so that the earth quaked (v.8) and kings were scattered (vv. 11-14). Then the king who wanted Mt Zion as his residence (v.16), came from Sinai to his chosen holy place (His sanctuary) (v.17). As he ascended   towards Mt Zion as the conquering King, he led captives and the spoils of war in his entourage. Along the way he generously distributed the gifts (the spoils of war) to the residents of Jerusalem. Paul here applies this picture to Christ. Christ had descended to this sinful earth to die for our sins.  He rose from the grave, triumphing over the power of death, delivering His people, under Satan’s dominion, from spiritual exile.  Christ by His death plunders Satan’s kingdom, robbing him of many of his “sin slaves “, redeeming them to be His own people.  As He ascends   to His glorious throne - the spiritual Mt. Zion, with all His captives for His kingdom, he shares the spoils of that battle won against Satan, by dispensing these former ‘sin slaves’, as His gifts to this world. These gifts from God come to us in the form of people, whom the heavenly King uses to bless His church - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor- teachers.   Pentecost was the primary event when these gifts were given, when the ascended Jesus descended through His Spirit and gave such people to the church in the world.

Ø  Christ has given us foundational gifts to build up the church (4:11-12) This list represents the leading ministries (graces) for the church (the body): apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. I cannot say much about this now. However, since there is much controversy about apostles and prophets in our own day, we must briefly clarify this.  In Eph. 2:19,20 the offices of apostles and prophets are regarded as ‘foundational’ in the church. Foundations do not need to be built continually. We do not need new or more apostles and prophets any more than we need a new Lord Jesus. Their ministries  continue  as we read  and learn from their writings.

 4. THE GOAL OF UNITY (4:12-16)

 We are now coming to our concluding thought. Why does the church need this unity? Why does the church need spiritual gifts? The answer is given in 4:12-16: 

“…to equip the saints for the work for ministry, for building to build them up…”.

All these foundational ministries are very important to the church’s existence and unity, since through these ministries, God’s people  are prepared and perfected  and  equipped.

The word for “preparing /perfecting/ equipping“[2] means ‘fixing something that's broken’ (e.g. torn nets in Matt. 4:21). It can also mean ‘to supply something that is lacking’ (as in 1 Thess. 3:10, "We desire to supply, or equip, what is lacking in your faith").

The work of these foundational ministries is to repair what is broken and to supply what is lacking in and among the members of the church in every generation. 

The members of the church are in the final analysis called "for the work of ministry".  The fixing and supplying what is lacking is meant to make the saints into servants, and in this way the ministering saints contribute to the wholeness of the entire body.

This is unity for productivity. God wants His church to be a unified, healthy body so that His Name can be made known in all the earth.

The more the church understands that she is rooted in the work of the Holy Trinity (the supreme manifestation of Unity) and the more the church works to  understand and apply sound doctrine, enabled by foundational gifts, and the more unity  she  shows  among her members, the  more effective she will be  in her work on earth  as she  fights  this  spiritual war, taking  captives from Satan for Christ’s glory. 

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[1] See also Romans 12:6

[2]  Greek katartizo

ROMANS 9:19 - 33 - THE DIVINE POTTER AT WORK

 

What makes me a Christian?  Is it because I am human that I am automatically  a child of God?  Or is it by descent, the fact that I am born into a certain religious circle - a Christian home, having undergone Christian rites, and being a member of a Christian church? Romans 9 helps us to understand what it takes to become a member of God’s people.  The Divine Potter (9:21) has the last word on this matter.

To get to this conclusion, let us follow Paul’s logic.

 OUTLINE OF ROMANS 9                                  

9:1-5: Paul expresses deep sorrow and unceasing anguish over the rejection by his people of the Jewish Messiah. Despite their rich spiritual heritage and being the physical lineage of the Messiah, most have missed the gospel. This raises a huge question: Did God’s saving promises to Israel fail? The answer is NO! How so? Paul answers that not all who are descended from Israel belong to the (true) Israel. Not all are children of Abraham because they are his physical offspring.

9:6-29: Here Paul clarifies that being a physical descendant of Abraham does not make you a member of God’s people, God’s covenant family. Using Old Testament examples like Isaac and Jacob (over Ishmael and Esau), he shows that God chooses whom to show mercy, based on His own divine purposes, rather than human effort or birthright. Paul argues that as the Creator, God has the absolute right and sovereign freedom to show mercy to whoever He wills – from the Jews and from the Gentiles.

9:30-33 is a summary and here Paul shows that, while many Gentiles came to a saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, most of Israel stumbled over the person of Christ. Their system had degenerated into a legalistic framework. They rejected God’s way of saving people – by faith in Jesus. Jesus became a stumbling stone to them (Isa 28:16; Isa 8:14).   “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame” (9:33)

This is a general outline of Chapter 9. We have previously dealt with Romans 9:1-5, describing Paul’s own anguish over the unbelief of His people. We have also considered  9:6-18, the question of election, God’s sovereign choosing of some as His covenant children, saving them from the consequences of his wrath (cf. Romans 1:18ff)) whilst leaving others in their sin.

 ROMANS 9:19- 29

Many have objections to this doctrine on two grounds:

1.  The thought that a person is unable to bring themselves to God by self- effort.

2.  The thought that God chooses to elect some (e.g. Isaac and Jacob) and bypasses others (Ishmael and Esau).

On this account some have called God unfair or unjust (see 9:14).  

Others who read their bibles just glance over such passages and ignore  them as too difficult to understand, or perhaps pretending that this doctrine does not exist. That is not helpful at all. The Bible requires us to think, ponder, meditate, enquire, study, pray.

Still others try to explain this doctrine by saying that God’s election is based on His foreknowledge, in that He foreknew who was going to choose Him. This argument cannot be sustained because of Rom. 9:11. There we learn that God sovereignly reserves the right to choose or reject whomever He wills: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated “ (9:13). “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion (9:15). “So, then it does not depend on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy“(9:16). “He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills (Case Study: Pharaoh - 9:17,18).  

The Bible clearly teaches that people become Christians not because they choose, but because God chooses His people. [See also John 1:12,13]  

 OBJECTION

Once again Paul anticipates an objection (as in 9:14) : “You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who can resist his will?” (9:19). 

To this Paul answers: see 9:20-21.

Who are you to answer back to God? How dare you, a created being, made from the dust of the earth, an earthen vessel, a claypot, put the eternal, uncreated, self-sustaining, glorious, holy, righteous Creator of the Universe on trial?  God is the Great Unanswerable![1] Who are you to stand in judgement over the One who made you?  Paul puts it like this: He is the Potter, you are clay!  And as such He has the right to make from that clay whatever He chooses. Some vessels are made for honourable use; others for dishonourable use.  

9:22-24: “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, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 

Here is a sobering assessment: since the fall into sin all people have become marred clay pots (Rom. 3:23). There is only one thing a potter can do with a spoiled vessel. Throw it away! Every person (every lump of clay,  disfigured by sin) deserves to be thrown out on to the cosmic rubbish dump.

But no! This is not what the Divine Potter does. He endures these vessels with much patience.  How true!  How patient God is with this world!   

• How patient He was with Adam and Eve.  Following the fall they were   thrown out of the garden of Eden, but they were not consumed  by the fiery wrath of God. On the contrary,  God made a  covenant of grace with  them.
• Think also of  the Canaanites.  Abraham is told that his descendants are going to be in Egypt, away from the promised land of Canaan, for four hundred and thirty years. Why? Because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete (Gen. 15:16). The Amorites (Canaanites) were godless, child sacrificing pagans.  By rights God could have wiped them all out, and He would have been just in doing this. But He endured their sin for four hundred and thirty years that they might have the chance to turn to the one true God. His wrath did finally come upon them in the days of Joshua.
• Think also of  how Jesus dealt with Judas. Jesus knew the heart of Judas whom He chose to be His disciple. He lived with him for three years. He knew that he was going to be His betrayer and yet He knelt to wash his feet that He might open the gate of repentance to him. But of course Judas would not, because his natural unconverted inclination  would not lead him to do that.   But it illustrates the point God is very patient with sinners. This is a display of His grace and mercy.

And now in 9:23 we learn that God has determined that not all of these marred clay pots should end up on the cosmic rubbish dump: He is determined “to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory”

RECEIVING MERCY AND GRACE 

Mercy is not getting the punishment you do deserve, while grace is getting the blessings and favor you do not deserve. To illustrate: Imagine you are speeding and get pulled over by the traffic police. The officer has mercy on you by not issuing a ticket. That is mercy: the withholding of a deserved penalty.  Continuing the analogy:  Imagine that same traffic officer not only  has mercy on you by not issuing a ticket, but does so much more for you : he gives  you a gift voucher for a free dinner. That is grace: the granting of an unearned, generous blessing.

The point made here is mercy : God has mercy on you  by  not insisting  to pay the price for your sin. He forgives  you by  imputing Christ’s blood  to cover your sin, and then on top of that He blesses you, because you have become His beloved child.

This undeserved mercy, says Paul, is extended to all those elect, predestined people not only from the Jews, but also from the gentiles.

3 OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLES : GRACE SOVEREIGNLY EXTENDED

In 9:25 -29   Paul quotes three OT texts illustrating how God’s mercy is sovereignly extended on whom He wills- even the gentiles!

1.  9: 25,26.  See Hosea 2:23: “Those who were not my people, I will call my people”. God would do this through Paul’s ministry, because Paul became the great apostle to the gentiles.  Paul sees this text in Hosea as a fulfilment that God had  another people, other sheep not of the fold of Israel (see John 10:16).   These Gentiles were idolaters, they deserved judgment, and yet, like the Jewish people with their own idolatrous background, God in mercy chooses some of them to be His children. Now stop and think again!  Paul teaches us two great truths : a.  Judgment is always just. We get what we deserve. b.  God’s mercy is always undeserved.   So please, do not accuse God of being unfair! Rather be amazed that He has... a.   allowed sinners to live so long under His sun b.       that He has chosen from among these sinners to love an elect bunch of sinners in Christ, redeeming them by the death of His Son! 
2. 9:27,28: See Isaiah 10:22,23. This applies to Israel. Here Paul affirms that along with mercy shown to some gentiles there is also, by God’s mercy, a remnant of Israel   that will be saved!  And again, we affirm that the root of salvation is always the free undeserved mercy  of God. The root of condemnation is in ourselves. Apart from God’s mercy we are hard hearted sinners.The surprising thing then is that God is merciful to  a multitude that no man can number made up of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages  (Rev. 5:9; 7:9). Marvel  and stop being offended by the fact that God does not choose everybody.   Marvel that He has mercy at all!  Marvel that you are one of His beloved children !
3.  9:29 : see Isaiah 1:9  If God had not intervened,  we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah – total annihilation. So too, if  God had not sovereignly chosen to preserve a remnant among the Jews, they would have  not had any representatives before the throne. As it is, a remnant of Jews are being saved until this very day.

 APPLICATION

1. If we confess Romans 9  to be  an integral part of the inspired, holy Word of God,  this  will cause us to think deeply and more profoundly about the ways in which God thinks of this world,  and deals with this world.  
2. Following a proper  consideration of this doctrine , the primary response for a believer is worship.  We stand in awe of the severity and the mercy of God. He is not a tame Deity in our hands. God is the Sovereign God, not only as Creator - but also as Savior (Re-Creator).As such, believers look at their standing with God with profound thankfulness, realizing they are saved purely by unearned mercy.
3. The next proper response ought  to be  agony over our unconverted countrymen (see Rom 9:1-5). We are now approaching Romans 10 were the importance of preaching the gospel is highlighted. The doctrine of election does not mean that we can abandon evangelism.   Our example is Paul who ‘prayed without ceasing’ (I Thess. 5:17) and who laboured in evangelism ‘harder than any of the other apostles’ (I Cor. 15:10).
4. We will be moved to forsake all confidence in human efforts and cast ourselves in prayer upon God, preaching the gospel wherever we get an opportunity, knowing that in every generation and among all nations God has a people. Evangelism is not dependent on human persuasion alone but is empowered by God's capability to draw hearts.

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[1] Stuart Olyott:  Romans, “The Gospel as it really is”, Evangelical Press , p.88