ROMANS 10:14-21 "FAITH COME FROM HEARING, AND HEARING THROUGH THE WORD OF CHRIST"

 

Our text is a profound commentary on the problem of selective hearing- or better still, a commentary on how sin affects our hearing of the truth. I will close with some application on this problem.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul has presented us with the clearest and fullest explanation of the Gospel. In the gospel humanity’s main problem is addressed and dealt with. Unless we are reconciled with God, saved from the wrath of God, we will not go the heaven. That is the bad news! The good news is that the gospel, the message of salvation, is a gift from God, that can be received through faith in Jesus Christ. It cannot be received by self-effort, and not by following religious laws. Just look to Jesus !

Last time we considered Romans 10:1-13. There Paul had stressed the absolute need for faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation. A review of 10:9-13 teaches that confessing, believing, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, are necessary for salvation.  “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved…”  (10:9).  

This is no new teaching. Paul finds it in the Old Testament. 

• In Rom. 10:11 Paul finds it in Isa. 10:11 “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”
• And in Rom. 10:13 Paul finds it in Joel 2:32 : “For everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved”.  

 The gospel is for everyone – the Jews first, and the gentiles (Rom.1:16)

If that is what the OT teaches, then we must ask, how did Israel, Paul’s countrymen, the most privileged nation upon the face of the earth (cf. 9:4-5) by and large not hear that? It is very clear that Paul is grieved by the overwhelming non-response of his Jewish countrymen   to the gospel (Rom. 9:1-5; 10:1-4).   This, incidentally, does not apply to Jews only. We see this kind of apathy also in our gentile world. 

Why will our world at large not hear the gospel? 

Why in fact does it reject the gospel?

We have already considered this problem by way of the teaching on election in Romans 9. That doctrine is God’s truth, and it explains the ultimate reason as to why some people   are saved at all. However, this knowledge of who is elect and who is not, belongs to God. Romans 9 relates to the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty, and the “why” of it He has not revealed to us.[1]

In Romans 10 we find the counterpart to that great doctrine – the doctrine of human responsibility. What must we do to help men and women to believe? The answer is this: We must preach the gospel to them! This is our clear God given responsibility. All people, Jew and Gentile, need to hear the gospel, confess the gospel, believe the gospel, by calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus!  Everyone may be saved by confessing, by believing, by calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus. (10:11,13). Our context is geared specifically to the Jews, but it can be applied to the rest of mankind.

But how is this to be done?  What we learn here is vital to our understanding, doctrine and practice of evangelism. It is also important to the expectations we may have of our evangelistic work. Follow the logic of the text with me…  

 1.        10:14-15   A CALL TO GOSPEL PROCLAMATION 

          4 Questions

(i)          How will they call on Him (Christ) if they have not believed in Him?

(ii)     How are they to believe in Him (Christ) if they have never heard (the gospel of Christ)?  

(iii)       How will they hear (the gospel of Christ) without someone preaching?

(iv)       How are they to preach (the gospel) unless they are sent?

Why these questions?  We need gospel clarity in order to believe!  In asking these four questions, Paul says that people need

(i)       help to call on Him in whom they have not believed   

(ii)     to hear a clear explanation of who Christ is  

(iii)   a preacher to explain the gospel of Jesus the Messiah 

(iv)   Preachers need to be sent. Churches do selection  and  the sending

This is a very direct and pointed command, rooted in the Great Commission (Matt.28: 18-20). Here in Rom. 10:14-15 we have the how to do it. We need authorized (called) preachers who help people to receive a clear explanation of who Jesus is: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news”- another quote from the OT – Isa. 52:7. Just that. Nothing more, nothing less.  

People need to hear the plain gospel, clearly explained. People need to hear how they may be saved from the consequences of their sin.  Sadly, the church is very tempted by the idea that the preaching of the  plain gospel is not enough. We are tempted to become more appealing to the culture; to focus more on not being offensive;  to focus on  contemporary worship; making a big fuss of people; making the church more user friendly; draw crowds by minimizing   the problem of sin; avoid talking about substitutionary atonement  and the cruel death of Christ on the cross; avoid talking directly about the need of repentance etc.  

We are not saying that we must not be welcoming, friendly and joyful – we have every reason to be, but we must not do this at the expense of watering down the gospel. 

THE POINT:  Above  all, the Gospel must be clearly heard!

 2.       10:16-21 THE GOSPEL IS NOT CLEARLY HEARD – THE PROBLEM OF SELECTIVE HEARING

Again, this problem is directly related to Israel in context but it also applies universally.

(i)            10:16-18 “But they have not all obeyed the gospel”. Some have, but most not. The problem is not that Israel did not have  gospel  preachers. They did. The OT proves it- see Isaiah 53:1: “Lord who has believed what he has heard from us?” and again in 10:18 which is a quote from Psalm 19:4. Psalm 19 deals with the two ways in which God has made Himself known to mankind: 

              1. General Revelation (19:1-6)- God’s revelation in nature and 

           2. Special Revelation (19:7-14).  God has made Himself known through His OT Word, and then very specifically through sending His Son into the World (Hebr. 1:1-3). He is the WORD.  The Jews had  the best  opportunity to hear the message and respond to it.  We will come back to 10:17 in a moment...

(ii)   10:18 -21   The Jews have heard the gospel, but did they understand?  Was the gospel explained sufficiently? Was it clear?  Paul says that the problem is not that Israel lacked understanding. They should have. Even the gentiles had understood it!  [Notice, 10:19 is a reference to Deut.:21 and 10:20 is a reference to Isaiah 65:1] Paul’s point is this:  If the gentiles understood the gospel (with all their deficient OT background) how could the Jews not have understood it? This is not an   intellectual problem and 10:21 gives the reason: "All day long I’ve stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people". (Isaiah 65:2). There is the problem! Never underestimate the impact of disobedience and contrariness.  Disobedience to the clear Word of God hardens our hearts to the gospel. This is what  the Jews were when Jesus appeared.  They had  hardened hearts. A reading of the gospels helps us to see this clearly.

 Romans 10:17

"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

The key to saving faith is to HEARING the Word of Christ by confessing Christ, by believing in Christ  and by calling upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, through His Word  and  the outpoured Holy Spirit continues to stretch out His hands to a disobedient and contrary people.

If faith comes by hearing, and that hearing is the hearing of the word of Christ, then  we need messages from our pulpit that are full of the gospel of Christ Jesus, because that is the only means by which saving faith is produced. 

Sadly, many churches don’t believe this anymore and that is why you hear motivational speakers rather than preachers. Motivational speakers preach about ‘Seven ways to Better Financial Planning’; ‘Eight Steps to Being a Better Parent or husband or wife’ ;  ‘How to Improve Your Love Life’. The Bible is used as a launching pad and is quickly left behind,  and the preacher basically becomes a pop psychologist. Christ is not heard. He is not the grand  subject  and solution to our problems. 

This  kind of proclamation cannot not sustain  the hungry impoverished soul.  

Systematic, Spirit filled, passionate  Bible exposition is key. When the Bible is properly preached, the Lord Jesus Christ and all His work for us is at the center of it all. And when Jesus is preached, He will draw people to Himself (John 12:32). As people  come to Him, and as they remain in Him (John 15) they will become better husbands, wives, children, employers, employees, better financial stewards etc. They will become more kind, loving, merciful, honest… they will grow daily in the grace and the knowledge of Christ.

Regular sitting under the Word is key. 

Israel sadly began to feed upon and listen to something else other than the word of God. She indulged in selective hearing. She became hardhearted, obstinate and unbelieving - and as a result she missed her Messiah, Jesus, the best gift that God has given to this world (2 Cor. 9:15)

 THE DANGER OF SELECTIVE HEARING  

The Bible frequently warns against the danger of selective hearing. 

The Israelites often fell into this trap, choosing to follow God's commands only when convenient. Jeremiah 6:10, laments, "To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it."

The Pharisees were notorious for their selective adherence to the Law. Jesus rebukes them in Matthew 23:23, saying, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness." Their focus on minor details while neglecting the core principles of the Law exemplifies the danger of selective hearing. And in the end, they were the one’s who could not bear to hear the words of Jesus.  

Selective hearing refers to hearing only those parts of God's Word that align with our desires while ignoring the rest.

Selective hearing poses significant spiritual danger.

•       It leads to a distorted understanding of God's will.
•       It hinders one's relationship with God.  
•    It leads to spiritual deafness. Jesus addresses this issue directly in Matthew 13:13-15: "This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.'" A hardened heart and selective hearing prevents people from truly understanding and accepting Jesus’ teachings.
•     It leads to lack of spiritual depth and authenticity. James 1:22-24 warns us, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like." Here we learn the importance of not only hearing God's Word but also acting upon it.
•     It makes us vulnerable to false teachings. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul cautions, "For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." If we engage in selective hearing  an stop relying on the good counsel of God’s Word,  false teachings become plausible.

 GUARDING AGAINST SELECTIVE HEARING

• Be receptive to all God's Word.
• Test all teachings against Scripture (e.g.  the Bereans in Acts 17:11). Read and study the Bible for yourself
• Seek the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit with prayer
• Keep your focus on the Lord Jesus. Look for Him in the Bible.
• Be obedient to God’s revealed will

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[1]  Deut.  29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the works of his law.”

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

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