Founders Baptist

Introduction: 
From the very first days of the church’s history, until this day, the people of God have been faced with an inescapable issue. How does the believer relate to the governing authorities of this world? 
That’s a question full of tension. The tension represented in that question is real and unavoidable because of several factors. 
 • The believer’s ultimate allegiance is to God. 
We have a dual citizenship, and our eternal citizenship is in God’s kingdom, not the kingdoms of this world. When faced with the choice, we obey God rather than men. 
Acts 5:27–29 (ESV) 
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 
 • The governments of this world are not godly. 
The standards of earthly governments (outside of OT Israel), when viewed from the perspective of God’s standards expressed in Scripture, are not God’s. The wisdom is not God’s, the motivations are not godly, and therefore the outcomes are often ungodly. 
 • The governments of this world often attack the church of Jesus Christ in specific ways. 
When we say “attack the church in specific ways” we want to be clear that the attacks are not always intentionally targeted, rather they are indifferently targeted. 
That is, we are brought into conflict with governing authorities because they are indifferent to what God commands of His people. 
For them there is a firm divide between the secular and the religious. 
The religious is private, not public. 
 The religious is personal, not collective. 
The religious is optional with respect to what is public and collective, even if one considers it essential with respect to what is private and personal. 
The thinking that inform secular governments, the morality that characterizes secular governments, the judgments that are expressed by secular governments, are not those of the Lord’s church. 
Yet 
 • The Word of the God to whom we owe our ultimate allegiance, commands us to obey our governing authorities while at the same time providing us with examples of instances when obedience to God makes obedience to men impossible. 
All these issues are not theoretical for the Lord’s church. We are living with these questions every day. There are believers suffering, all over this planet, at the hands of governing authorities for the very reason that they have obeyed the Bible instead of obeying the laws of men. 
Some have suffered for simply possessing the Bible. 
Some have suffered for professing faith in Christ. 
Some have suffered for sharing their faith in Christ. 
Some have suffered for gathering as the church, instead of limiting their gatherings by the command of their governing officials. 
WHAT IS MOST AMAZING, HOWEVER, WHEN THESE REALITIES ARE CONSIDERED, (ISSUES THAT WERE AS REAL IN PAUL’S DAY AS THEY ARE OUR OWN) IS THAT WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER ROMANS 13:1-7, YOU DO NOT MEET WITH A SINGLE WORD ABOUT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE. RATHER, EVERYTHING WE READ HERE CALLS THE CHRISTIAN TO SUBMISSION. 
I want us to begin there. Why does Paul not provide any caveats in verses 1-7? 
Why does he not emphasize or even acknowledge the exceptions that might exist when called upon to obey governing authorities?

Introduction:
From the very first days of the church’s history, until this day, the people of God have been faced with an inescapable issue. How does the believer relate to the governing authorities of this world?
That’s a question full of tension. The tension represented in that question is real and unavoidable because of several factors.
 • The believer’s ultimate allegiance is to God. 
We have a dual citizenship, and our eternal citizenship is in God’s kingdom, not the kingdoms of this world. When faced with the choice, we obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:27–29 (ESV) 
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 
 • The governments of this world are not godly. 
The standards of earth

The Christian’s Relationship To Governing Authorities | Romans 13:1-7

Introduction: 
The Christian can expect hostility from the unbelieving world. 
Fallen man is at enmity with God, is hostile in mind toward God, does not submit to the law of God and cannot submit to God’s law. 
The result is a world full of hostility, selfishness, hatred, sinful treatment of others, just in general terms. 
It is no wonder that in that hostile world there is a special kind of hostility toward those who represent Christ, the true God, and the truth of the word of God. 
The message of God’s word is intolerable to fallen man. The presence of God’s people, if they live out that word, if they live out their faith openly, will be equally unwelcome. 
That hostility, however, is never to be returned by the Christian. 
In response to hatred, the Christian loves. In response to evil, the Christian considers how to demonstrate what is good, what is beautiful in the sight of all people. 
That’s what we are examining in these verses. We are looking at how the love of God responds to the hostility of the world. 
Review: 
This morning we saw the Christian principle of non-retaliation. We saw that: 
 • LOVE RETURNS GOOD FOR EVIL (v.17) 
 • IN NO CASE DO WE PAY BACK EVIL FOR EVIL 
 • WE ARE TO CONSIDER WHAT IS A GOOD TESTIMONY 
Tonight, we see that principle expanded. 
 
 
 
Lesson: 
 • LOVE PURSUES PEACE WITH ALL PEOPLE (v.18) 
The reason for non-retaliation is not just love for God and love for people; it is a God taught desire for peace. 
God’s people are peacemakers. 
ESV Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9 ESV) 
ESV Romans 14:19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (Rom 14:19 ESV) 
God’s wisdom is characterized by peace. 
ESV James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (Jam 3:13 ESV) 
Earthly wisdom, demonic wisdom, bears the fruit of sinful conflict. 
It is the conflict motivated by selfishness. 
It is the conflict found in the realm of evil.

Introduction:
The Christian can expect hostility from the unbelieving world.  
Fallen man is at enmity with God, is hostile in mind toward God, does not submit to the law of God and cannot submit to God’s law.  
The result is a world full of hostility, selfishness, hatred, sinful treatment of others, just in general terms.  
It is no wonder that in that hostile world there is a special kind of hostility toward those who represent Christ, the true God, and the truth of the word of God.
The message of God’s word is intolerable to fallen man.  The presence of God’s people, if they live out that word, if they live out their faith openly, will be equally unwelcome.
That hostility, however, is never to be returned by the Christian.  
In response to hatred, the Christian loves.  In response to evil, the Christian considers how to demonstrate what is good, what is beautiful in the sight of all people.
That’s what we are examining in these verses.  We are looking at how the love of God responds

The Peaceful Love of God | Romans 12:18-21

Beware of Deception | Luke 11:33-35

The Believer's Obligations Regarding Sin | Luke 17:1-4

Ken Ramey: The Discerning Listener (1 Timothy 1:3–11) | Truth In Love 2021 | Session 3

Running To Win | 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Introduction: 
Every Christian is a member of the body of Christ. 
Every Christian is joined to Christ, and joined to one another, in that body, because we have all been baptized into that one body, we have all been made to drink of one Spirit (1 Cor 12). 
Every Christian is gifted for ministry. The Spirit of God has distributed Christ’s triumphant gifts to His people sovereignly. Each believer is especially outfitted for service in ministry, and that enablement is the manifestation of the Spirit, it is the manifestation of God’s varied grace. 
Every Christian has a strategic role to play in the work of the local church. By God’s saving work all over the world, He has supplied for the work of His church in every location. Christ has supplied for what He means for His church to do. What God has done in the case of every believer, through salvation, is then providentially put to work in each and every local congregation, so that each church is fully outfitted for faithfulness. 
Every Christian, then, has a stewardship that was created by these realities. Every Christian is to use the gift that they have been given for ministry. 
It that idea — that every Christian has a stewardship imparted by the reception of a spiritual gift, and that stewardship requires USING THE GIFT in a way that is faithful to God — that we focus on in our verses today. 
I. THE REASONABLE RESPONSE TO THE REALITY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS (vs.6) 
One of the interesting things about the verbal idea found in verse 6, is that it is left unexpressed in the Greek text. The translators are right to supply it. The verbal idea is necessary and unmistakable. But in terms of the expression of the idea in the text, it is assumed. 
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace of God — since God has distributed gifts that manifest his own grace that is many-colored, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THOSE GIFTS? 
The designer has distributed gifts with a design in mind, HOW THEN SHOULD THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SUCH GRACE, AND RECEIVED A PLACE IN THAT DESIGN, RESPOND? 
The reasonable response is that you fulfill your function. 
The reasonable response is that you use your gift. 
As the ESV says, “let us use them.” 
The NASB says, “each of us is to exercise them accordingly” 
And that, of course, is what Paul goes on to describe in the verses that follow. He describes the proper USE of the gifts God has given. 
What is unreasonable, what is not fitting, is that God would save us, join us to the body, impart to us a gift for service that expresses His grace, that he would impart to us a gift that when it functions manifests the presence and working of His Spirit —and then we would NOT USE IT. 
That makes no spiritual sense. 
SO, LET ME ASK, DOES YOUR LIFE MAKE SENSE RIGHT NOW? Are you a good steward of the grace of God given to you in the form of a spiritual gift? 
We sometimes encourage people to sanctification in a way that leaves the use of their spiritual gift outside the equation. And that is a mistake. 
“What should I do to grow in the Lord?” 
We say: “Take the Word of God into your life. Gather with the Lord’s people. Spend time in prayer. Obey what you learn in your personal life. Etc. etc. etc.” 
What we sometimes do not include is this: “Serve your brothers and sisters in Christ. Go to work for the cause of the kingdom of God. Fulfill the work of the Lord’s church.” 
Service is a non-negotiable part of living out the life of worship. 
Are you living your life in a spiritually reasonable fashion? 
Are you using your God given capacity for ministry?

Introduction:
Every Christian is a member of the body of Christ.
Every Christian is joined to Christ, and joined to one another, in that body, because we have all been baptized into that one body, we have all been made to drink of one Spirit (1 Cor 12).
Every Christian is gifted for ministry. The Spirit of God has distributed Christ’s triumphant gifts to His people sovereignly. Each believer is especially outfitted for service in ministry, and that enablement is the manifestation of the Spirit, it is the manifestation of God’s varied grace.
Every Christian has a strategic role to play in the work of the local church. By God’s saving work all over the world, He has supplied for the work of His church in every location. Christ has supplied for what He means for His church to do. What God has done in the case of every believer, through salvation, is then providentially put to work in each and every local congregation, so that each church is fully outfitted for faithfulness.
Every Christia

Using Spiritual Gifts | Expository Sermon | Romans 12:4-8

Introduction: 
The Bible describes the church of Jesus Christ by means of multiple metaphors. 
THE CHURCH IS A FLOCK 
THE CHURCH IS A TEMPLE 
THE CHURCH IS A FIELD 
THE CHURCH IS A FAMILY 
THE CHURCH IS A KINGDOM 
THE CHURCH IS AN ARMY (Matthew 16; 2 Cor 10:3-5; Ephesians 6) 
THE CHURCH IS A BRIDE 
And then there is the metaphor that we find here. 
The church is comparable to the human body. 
None of these comparisons are sufficient to capture everything that our God wants us to know about the church, which is why each one is important and necessary. 
This morning we think about the church as the body of Christ. 
AN ANALOGY FOR THE CHURCH (vs.4) 
The first point I will not spend a lot of time on because it should be obvious to us. I simply want to point out that we are, in fact, being given a comparison. Two words in verse 4, and two words in verse 5, make this crystal clear. 
“For as” (vs.4) 
“So we” (vs.5) 
For as in one body there are many members, and the members do not all have same function 
So we (the Lord’s people, the Lord’s church), though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 
As the human body exists and functions, so there is something comparable in the way that the Lord’s church exists and functions. 
 
 
 
THE APPLICATION TO THE CHURCH (vs.5) 
In verse 5, the metaphor is applied. 
A body is a unit. It is a unit that is characterized by diversity and yet interdependence. The body is one, and yet has many members. 
The church is a unit. Each individual member is uniquely gifted for service. Yet, we are each gifted in a way that we require each other, are benefited by each other, and are meant to employ our gifts together, in a unified fashion. What is especially emphasized IS OUR ONENESS. 
THIS TRUTH IS LARGER THAN ANY ONE LOCAL CHURCH. 
The church, in this case, is made up of every genuine believer, every regenerate person. It exists all over the world. 
BUT 
THIS TRUTH FOUND IN THE CHURCH AS A WHOLE IS LIVED OUT IN THE CONTEXT OF SPECIFIC LOCAL CHURCHES 
We need to recognize that our God has supplied for every local church’s ministry by the way that He has gifted ALL OF HIS PEOPLE. 
If we just stop to think about how this works out practically, that should be apparent to us. 
It is not like we receive a new gift each time we join a local church throughout our lives. 
Nor were we each assigned to one local church for a lifetime. 
God gifted us at salvation. We know this because the New Testament teaching regarding spiritual gifts treats EVERY CHRISTIAN as having already received a special grace for service. 
ESV 1 Corinthians 12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-- and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

Introduction:
The Bible describes the church of Jesus Christ by means of multiple metaphors.
THE CHURCH IS A FLOCK
THE CHURCH IS A TEMPLE
THE CHURCH IS A FIELD
THE CHURCH IS A FAMILY
THE CHURCH IS A KINGDOM
THE CHURCH IS AN ARMY (Matthew 16; 2 Cor 10:3-5; Ephesians 6)
THE CHURCH IS A BRIDE
And then there is the metaphor that we find here.
The church is comparable to the human body.
None of these comparisons are sufficient to capture everything that our God wants us to know about the church, which is why each one is important and necessary.
This morning we think about the church as the body of Christ.
AN ANALOGY FOR THE CHURCH (vs.4)
The first point I will not spend a lot of time on because it should be obvious to us. I simply want to point out that we are, in fact, being given a comparison. Two words in verse 4, and two words in verse 5, make this crystal clear.
“For as” (vs.4)
“So we” (vs.5)
For as in one body there are many members, and the members do not all have same function
So we

The Body of Christ | Romans 12:4-8 | Expository Sermon by Dr. Richard Caldwell

Introduction: 
Where does the life that is worthy of our calling begin to be embraced and lived out? 
When we talk about doctrine and devotion. 
When we talk about doxology and devotion. 
When we think about the Christian life as a thinking life — our lives beings transformed as our minds are renewed. 
What we are really talking about is living a life that is worthy of our calling. It is a life that takes the mercies of God and finds its motivation in those mercies, and its sense of responsibility in those mercies. 
It is a life that is lived in agreement with the great reality of salvation. 
IF THE FIRST 11 CHAPTERS OF ROMANS ARE TRUE, AND THEY ARE, HOW THEN MUST WE LIVE? 
That is what Paul concentrates on beginning with chapter 12. 
The life that is encouraged by the mercies of God, the life that represents a living sacrifice, is the life that embraces what is fitting for a people who have been delivered by God. 
ESV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 
ESV Colossians 1:10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 
ESV 1 Thessalonians 2:12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. 
Again, I ask, where does that life begin? 
In verses 1-2 we see where it begins. It begins by believing what God is worthy of. 
And now in verse 3, the first step beyond our view of God, is how we see ourselves. 
After that, he is going to talk about how we relate to the church. But it is instructive that our view of God and our view of ourselves precedes how we function together in the Lord’s church. 
The outcome of thinking that is submitted to truth is that we reject the mindset of the present evil age, and we embrace the mindset taught by God. By submission to truth, by constant application of truth, we grow in our ability to discern what God’s will is. 
AND THE FIRST PLACE WHERE OUR THINKING WILL DIFFER FROM THE WORLD AND WE WILL MANIFEST THE RENEWAL OF SALVATION (AFTER OUR VIEW OF GOD), IS HOW WE SEE OURSELVES. 
We are thinking today about the sober self-judgment that belongs to salvation. We are thinking about a right self-perspective that flows from the knowledge of and the experience of God’s mercies. 
I. THE EXPLANATION FOR A RIGHT SELF-PERSPECTIVE (vs.3a) 
The first thing that we find in our verses is the explanation for how ANYONE can have a right self-perspective. 
We were not born with one. 
The world around us does not think about mankind in a way that is accurate and sober. 
The natural man’s thoughts about God are idolatrous. 
The natural man’s thoughts about himself represents lying flattery. 
The only way that men think rightly about God, about themselves, about anything, is that they have met with the grace of God in Jesus Christ. 
IT IS BY GOD’S GRACE GIVEN TO PAUL THAT HE IS ABLE TO GIVE THIS INSTRUCTION TO THE CHURCH. 
Paul is a teacher of a right self-perspective, but his ability to be a teacher of this, is not explained by his own superior nature. 
In fact, Paul is modeling the very humility that he is about to call for. HE KNOWS how he has come to be a teacher to men and women about the life that is worthy of Christ. 
God has had mercy upon Paul. God has given GRACE to Paul. The grace that he likely has in mind is the grace of apostleship. He emphasizes the grace of God in that authoritative role often. 
ESV 1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 
But that grace points to the very grace of salvation. Paul is not an apostle without Christ saving him. 
GOD HAS PUT PAUL IN HIS RIGHT MIND. 
I think about this often when I think about the Garasene demoniac. 
 
ESV Luke 8:26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me." 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)

Introduction:
Where does the life that is worthy of our calling begin to be embraced and lived out?
When we talk about doctrine and devotion.
When we talk about doxology and devotion.
When we think about the Christian life as a thinking life — our lives beings transformed as our minds are renewed.
What we are really talking about is living a life that is worthy of our calling. It is a life that takes the mercies of God and finds its motivation in those mercies, and its sense of responsibility in those mercies.
It is a life that is lived in agreement with the great reality of salvation.
IF THE FIRST 11 CHAPTERS OF ROMANS ARE TRUE, AND THEY ARE, HOW THEN MUST WE LIVE?
That is what Paul concentrates on beginning with chapter 12. 
The life that is encouraged by the mercies of God, the life that represents a living sacrifice, is the life that embraces what is fitting for a people who have been delivered by God.
ESV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a ma

Sober Judgment | Romans 12:3

Introduction: 
We now come to the culmination of an explanation that Paul began offering back in the 9th chapter and the 6th verse. 
The question that his teaching addresses, as you will remember, is whether the unbelief of Israelites — the rejection of the Messiah by most of the people of Israel — represents a failure of God’s Word. 
Have God’s purposes somehow failed. Has God’s plan for the nation Israel, somehow come up short? 
His answer is a firm “no.” 
ESV Romans 9:6 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. 
From that point forward he has been walking us through the evidences that God’s purposes according to election will always stand. 
He has not only walked us through the evidence, but he has also demonstrated how this affects him personally, and how it should affect his primary audience —Gentile Christians. 
The two-fold affect that we saw last week was motivation and humility. 
The knowledge of God’s revealed purposes should motivate us for ministry, and should humble us in our walk with God, and in our ministry of the gospel. 
But now, He brings this all to a close in this final section of Romans 11. 
He nails down the idea that God’s Word has not failed, because God has revealed that He will pour out salvation upon Israel at the end of the age, and as He does this, He will fulfill all of His promises made to their fathers. There will be a believing nation of Israel and the promises and purposes of God will be upheld. 
That is the final nail in the argument that demonstrates the faithfulness of the Word of God. There are four parts to what we see in verses 25-32, but this morning we will look at the first three. We will come back next week and look at the 4th. 
 
 
 
A HUMBLING MYSTERY (vs.25a) 
The first thing we see is a humbling mystery. What Paul expresses can be organized into two parts. 
A DESIRE FOR THEIR KNOWLEDGE 
Paul does not want them to be ignorant of something that God has revealed. 
A mystery in the New Testament is not something hard to understand. It is not something hidden in the sense that the pagan mystery religions thought of mysteries. Rather, a mystery is something that cannot be known apart from God telling us, and it is about something that was unknown to us previously but now He has brought it to light. 
There are many of these mysteries spoken of in the New Testament. 
H.A. Ironside wrote a book that focused on those mysteries. He dealt with 7 of them. 
1. “The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 13:11) 
2. “The Mystery of the Olive Tree” (Romans 11:25) 
3. “The Great Mystery of Christ and the Church” (Ephesians 5:32) 
4. “The Mystery of Piety” (1 Timothy 3:16) 
5. “The Mystery of the Rapture of the Saints” (1 Corinthians 15:51) 
6. “The Mystery of Lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:7) 
7. “The Mystery of God Finished” (Revelation 10:7). 
 
The point of a mystery is that it is information that we would never arrive at on our own. 
 
It has to do with a set of facts, a particular bit of instruction, information about the future, that we could not access within ourselves, or by observance — God had to tell us. 
 
And what Paul is used by God to reveal in our text, he does not want his readers to miss. He does not want them unaware of these truths. 
 
But it is not just knowledge that Paul wants his readers to have. He tells us why he wants them to have that knowledge.

Introduction:
We now come to the culmination of an explanation that Paul began offering back in the 9th chapter and the 6th verse. 
The question that his teaching addresses, as you will remember, is whether the unbelief of Israelites — the rejection of the Messiah by most of the people of Israel — represents a failure of God’s Word. 
Have God’s purposes somehow failed. Has God’s plan for the nation Israel, somehow come up short? 
His answer is a firm “no.”
ESV Romans 9:6 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.
From that point forward he has been walking us through the evidences that God’s purposes according to election will always stand. 
He has not only wal

The Salvation of All Israel | Romans 11:25-32

Introduction: 
Good teachers use summaries along the way of their instruction. Good teachers work hard to make sure that their listeners or their readers stay on track. 
That is what Paul is doing in our verses. He is summing up what he has been teaching so far, and his summation reaches all the way back to the 9th chapter. 
The reason we say that he is summing up what he has taught all the way back to the 9th chapter is because he is talking about what Israel sought for but did not arrive at; didn’t obtain (failed to succeed at). 
And if we ask, “What was Israel seeking for?”, Paul already gave us the answer in his earlier teaching. 
ESV Romans 9:30 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. 
ESV Romans 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 
It is that VAIN SEARCH that Paul is referring to. 
But Paul is saying more, in this summary, than simply confirming that Israel has been found disobedient, obstinate, and foolish. He is once again explaining, not only what has happened with Israel, but what that means for the world. 
He is summarizing the fact that God’s purpose according to election has not wavered. What God determined to do from all eternity is EXACTLY what He is doing. 
So, we take his summary today as an opportunity to make sure that we are on track as we continue to receive his arguments. We continue to hear our God, through Paul, explain to us how to interpret and understand the unbelief found in Israel. 
And, as we do, there is something here that we dare not miss, and dare not underestimate. What we see is not only mercy for Gentiles, and for the remnant of believing Jews. What we see is judgment upon unbelieving Israel. And what we see in that judgment is GOD GIVING THEM OVER TO WHAT ALREADY BELONGED TO THEM BY NATURE. 
We see God judging them by allowing their sin to DEVOUR THEM. 
 
 
I. THE CALL FOR A CONCLUSION (vs.7a) 
This is language that introduces a summary, but at the same time it makes plain that Paul’s teaching adds up to something. 
What are we to understand because of what he has taught us? 
What is the conclusion that all his teaching brings us to? 
The teaching of God’s truth has a point. 
The end of all doctrine is that we would reach conclusions and make decisions and live our lives in response to those conclusions. 
And this goes beyond the immediate issue, this is a pattern we see throughout the Word of God, and it instructs about what we are to do with everything that we are taught in God’s Word. 
Bible teaching is not just for the accumulation of information. 
Bible teaching does not represent disconnected ideas that have no real relationship to each other. 
The Bible is the Word of God, and therefore, the logic of it is sound. There is organization to the thoughts given to us there. It all adds up to something. It all progresses toward something. 
QUESTION: 
Are you doing with the Word of God what God intends for you to do? 
Is it information that you receive: 
Gratefully 
Submissively 
Intently 
Eagerly 
And obediently? 
Is the Word of God that which shapes your worldview? 
Is the Word of God the final authority for your life? 
Are you acting on what you learn? 
In this case, what is being shaped is how we think about Israel, and as a result, how we understand the character of God. 
 
 
II. THE CONCLUSION ANNOUNCED (vs.7b) 
And there are three aspects of the conclusion that Paul announces. 
A. ISRAEL HAS NOT ARRIVED AT WHAT IT SEEKS 
What we have learned is that Israel, considered as a whole, has rejected the Messiah. What Israel seeks, with great energy, sincerity, effort, it never arrives at. It never arrives at what it seeks because the seeking is sinfully guided. 
What does Israel seek? 
The righteousness of God. 
Israel seeks a right standing with God, but on an entirely wrong basis. Israel is blind. Israel is proud. Israel is rebellious. 
God has revealed how His righteousness is received. 
It is received by faith. 
It is received based on the finished work of God Himself, a work accomplished by God’s Son. 
God has done everything necessary to make sinners right with Himself. He offers that righteousness that men need as a gift of His grace, and for men to receive that gift, they MUST RECEIVE IT AS GRACE.

Introduction:
Good teachers use summaries along the way of their instruction.  Good teachers work hard to make sure that their listeners or their readers stay on track. 
That is what Paul is doing in our verses.  He is summing up what he has been teaching so far, and his summation reaches all the way back to the 9th chapter.
The reason we say that he is summing up what he has taught all the way back to the 9th chapter is because he is talking about what Israel sought for but did not arrive at; didn’t obtain (failed to succeed at).
And if we ask, “What was Israel seeking for?”, Paul already gave us the answer in his earlier teaching.
ESV Romans 9:30 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.
ESV Romans 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, t

The Judgment of Confirmation | A Verse By Verse Exposition Of Romans 11:7-10

Devil & Elder Qualifications | 1 Timothy 3:6-7

Introduction: 
How did the Jewish people miss their promised Messiah? Why did they stumble over Him, and why do they stumble over Him to this day? 
Paul says that it is explained by a zealous ignorance. 
They are not lost for lack of sincerity. 
They are not lost for lack of passion. 
They are not lost for lack of effort. 
They are lost because of sinful ignorance. And by ignorance, he doesn’t mean lack of awareness of the contents of the law. What he means is an ignorance of the true nature of its teachings. 
IGNORANT OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD 
The righteousness God requires. 
The righteousness that only God can GIVE. 
The righteousness that depends on faith. 
AND AS A RESULT, IGNORANT OF THEIR INABILITY TO ACHIEVE THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS 
The sincerity, the passion, the effort, has all been centered on an entirely misguided VIEW of the law, and therefore a misguided APPROACH to the law. 
Instead of allowing the law to prepare them for, and point them to, the Savior, they took the law as a means by which they would save themselves. 
They embraced a religion of human achievement in the place of the gospel of divine accomplishment. 
And what this boiled down to, was a misunderstanding of the law that meant a misunderstanding of the Messiah Himself, and of His mission. 
Had they understood Christ properly —– had they submitted to God’s righteousness, had they BELIEVED in the one whom God sent to save them — it would have put an end to such an approach to the law of God. Why? Because Christ is Himself the “telos”, the goal, the aim, the end, of all the law’s teaching with respect to righteousness (vs.4). The law rightly understood is a tutor that leads a person to Christ Himself. Jesus is the goal toward which the entire OT revelation points. Believers see this. 
We can summarize all of this by saying it this way: 
Their current confusion, and error, is an ignorance concerning DISTINCTIONS. 
An ignorance that fails to recognize a distinction that exists, and an ignorance that makes a distinction where it does not exist. 
That is what we think about this morning. Distinction and No Distinction regarding gospel truths. And where error existed 2,000 years ago, it still exists today. 
THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF WORKS AND THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH (vs.5-10) 
This is a distinction that actually exists. And Paul’s point is that the law recognizes that distinction. 
Now, let me just say as we begin to walk through these verses, that while Paul’s basic point is clear in these verses, the way commentators understand Paul’s use of these OT texts to make that point, is all over the map. There is an unusual diversity among commentators about how to understand Paul’s use of the OT here. 
And, his use of these Old Testament texts, is meant to explain further the statement that he makes in verse 4. He says that Christ is the “telos,” the end, the aim, the goal, of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. When you trust in Christ, it is because you see that His finished work, to make us right with God, is what the law is pointing us to. The law, like a tutor, prepares us for and leads us to Christ. 
And then Paul says, “FOR Moses writes.” 
So, his goal is to show from the law itself that the righteousness that is given by God, the righteousness of justification, is received by faith in Christ, and not by works. 
ESV Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- 
HOW DO THESE OT TEXTS DEMONSTRATE THAT? 
*Some, who see that Christ is the goal, the aim, the end of the law for righteousness, understand Jesus to be THE MAN who LIVES as a result of obedience. He is the man who kept all of God’s commandments. He is the man, in whose obedience, we now live. So that the promise to live by the commandments was not a promise that we could ever arrive at, but HE DID. And now we have our perfect obedience in Him. 
*Some understand the conjunction in verse 6 not to be adversative but continuative. So that the obedience called for in verse 5 is a demonstration of the obedience of faith. Verse 6 simply takes it a step further and the two OT texts both demonstrate the same point. That true obedience to the Old Testaments is not achievable apart from faith, and that faith is a gift, and the result of that faith is the righteousness of justification, and that faith is demonstrated by obedience.

Introduction:
How did the Jewish people miss their promised Messiah? Why did they stumble over Him, and why do they stumble over Him to this day?
Paul says that it is explained by a zealous ignorance.
They are not lost for lack of sincerity.
They are not lost for lack of passion.
They are not lost for lack of effort.
They are lost because of sinful ignorance. And by ignorance, he doesn’t mean lack of awareness of the contents of the law. What he means is an ignorance of the true nature of its teachings.
IGNORANT OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
The righteousness God requires.
The righteousness that only God can GIVE.
The righteousness that depends on faith.
AND AS A RESULT, IGNORANT OF THEIR INABILITY TO ACHIEVE THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS
The sincerity, the passion, the effort, has all been centered on an entirely misguided VIEW of the law, and therefore a misguided APPROACH to the law.
Instead of allowing the law to prepare them for, and point them to, the Savior, they took the law as a means by w

Distinction & No Distinction | An Expository Sermon of Romans 10:5-13

Introduction: 
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Jew or Gentile —having had the law, or not having had the law. 
People are not justified by law keeping. People are justified by receiving, by believing in, the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He did to save sinners. Everyone who calls on His name will be saved. 
So, Paul finishes Romans 10, reemphasizing a point that he made earlier concerning Jewish unbelief and Gentile salvation. NONE OF THIS IS SURPRISING. 
None of this is without explanation. 
How will Jews and Gentiles be saved? What is God’s plan for saving His people from their sins? 
IT IS THE WORK OF HIS SON, RECEIVED BY FAITH ON THE PART OF MEN. 
This is not a plan that originated with men. 
The message of that plan did not originate with men. 
What God is doing through the announcement of that plan is not explained by men. 
God is working out His plan through the preaching of His message and producing what He alone has the ability to do. 
SALVATION RESULTS FROM THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL (vs.14-17) 
BY GOD’S DESIGN, there is no salvation without the preaching of the gospel. 
What is the gospel? It is the good news of salvation. 
It is an announcement, an explanation, a heralding, of what God has done to save sinners, and an exhortation, a command, for sinners to receive what God has done. 
The announcement, the heralding, the invitation, the command, is all NECESSARY if sinners are to be saved. 
What Paul gives us at the end of this chapter is simple. It’s clear. It’s not hard to understand. But it imparts a gravity, a dignity, and profound importance to the work of the Lord’s church. 
I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE INVOLVED WITH AS A CHURCH IS NOT SOMETHING INVENTED BY PEOPLE. 
I want you to understand that we do today in gathering together, in the aspects of worship that we participate together in, and in our mission to the world, we do because God revealed it. What we do didn’t all begin with westerners. It isn’t an American phenomenon. It isn’t human religion. 
NOW, THERE ARE DISTORTIONS OF IT THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY AMERICAN IN NATURE! 
But when we are involved with that which is biblically accurate, we are in the flow of something that is as old as the history of redemption. 
We are apart of something that comes from God, embraces all human history, embraces the whole world, and is the only true religion on the face of the planet. 
THE GOSPEL HAS COME FROM HEAVEN, AND OUR PREACHING OF IT IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN TO BE ANNOUNCED. 
And so, what Paul does is walk us through a process that is necessary for the salvation of ANY sinner. He has said that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But then, how does that happen, according to God’s design? 
THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL IS NECESSARY (vs.14-15) 
Notice the elements and the progression on display in what Paul writes. 
YOU CAN’T CALL ON SOMEONE IN WHOM YOU HAVE NOT BELIEVED (vs.14a) 
YOU CAN’T BELIEVE IN SOMEONE OF WHOM YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD (vs.14b) 
YOU CAN’T HEAR ABOUT THAT SOMEONE UNLESS SOMEONE DECLARES HIM TO YOU (This emphasizes the role of the herald). (vs.14c) 
κηρύσσω 
① to make an official announcement, announce, make known, by an official herald or one who functions as such (Maximus Tyr. 1, 6c κηρύττομαι=I am being announced by the herald) MPol 12:1 of the pro-consul, who announced three times that Pol. had confessed to being a Christian.—Rv 5:2. 
② to make public declarations, proclaim aloud 
HERALDS DON’T OPERATE ON THEIR OWN AUTHORITY (vs.15) 
Genuine heralds have not run out to the public with their own message, in their own time, with their own authority. They go representing someone who SENDS them. 
HERALDS BRINGING GOOD NEWS SHOULD BE APPRECIATED (vs.15b) 
This exclamation regarding the arrival of those who preach good news, is the only logical attitude to be held regarding the preachers of the gospel. Paul quotes from Isaiah 52:7, and the good news then would be the end of their exile in Babylon. Here it is the announcement of everlasting life in Christ. THE LOGICAL ATTITUDE TOWARD THAT KIND OF GOOD NEWS IS GREAT JOY! 
WHY? BECAUSE YOU ARE RECEIVING A MESSAGE THAT IS NECESSARY TO YOUR SALVATION. YOU CANNOT RECEIVE GOOD NEWS, YOU CANNOT BELIEVE GOOD NEWS, YOU CANNOT ENTER REALITY PROMISED IN THAT GOOD NEWS, IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE THAT GOOD NEWS. You can’t do this, if no one ever brings it to you. 
THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL DOES NOT GUARANTEE SALVATION (vs.16) 
But (and Paul sort of interrupts his thought in verse 16), simply hearing the good news does not guarantee salvation.

Introduction:
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Jew or Gentile —having had the law, or not having had the law. 
People are not justified by law keeping. People are justified by receiving, by believing in, the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He did to save sinners. Everyone who calls on His name will be saved.
So, Paul finishes Romans 10, reemphasizing a point that he made earlier concerning Jewish unbelief and Gentile salvation. NONE OF THIS IS SURPRISING.
None of this is without explanation.
How will Jews and Gentiles be saved? What is God’s plan for saving His people from their sins?
IT IS THE WORK OF HIS SON, RECEIVED BY FAITH ON THE PART OF MEN.
This is not a plan that originated with men.
The message of that plan did not originate with men.
What God is doing through the announcement of that plan is not explained by men.
God is working out His plan through the preaching of His message and producing what He alone has the ability to do.
SALVATION RESULTS FROM T

Not Surprised | An Expository Sermon On Romans 10:14-21

Introduction: 
Truth is not measured by passion. Truth is not measured by commitment. Truth is not measured by effort. 
That is a lesson that our current culture needs to learn. That is a lesson that an entire generation of young people need to learn. 
 
The Gentiles who have been saved have discovered something, arrived at something, received something, that they NEVER SOUGHT. 
What was that? As verse 3 of chapter 10 makes clear, not just any kind of righteousness, but THE VERY RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. 
The righteousness that is God’s own righteousness. 
The righteousness that God accepts. 
The righteousness that means fellowship God and receiving the glory of God. 
The RIGHTEOUSNESS GOD GIVES AS A GIFT, RECEIVED BY FAITH IN HIS SON. 
The Gentiles that are being saved are not now reconciled to God because this was their lifelong pursuit. GOD BROUGHT IT TO THEM, through the preaching of the gospel. They simply received it by faith in the stumbling stone (9:32-33). 
But when it came to the Jews, it was just the opposite. THEY HAVE BEEN SEEKING RIGHTEOUSNESS. But their seeking of righteousness was really a seeking after God’s law by an entirely wrong principle. 
They were seeking to keep God’s law as a means to ACHIEVE A RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THEIR OWN that God would accept. 
And in their case, that striving manifested a profound ignorance. 
An ignorance of the holiness of God. 
An ignorance of the standard required. 
An ignorance of their own sinfulness. 
An ignorance of the depth of their plight and what is necessary for their deliverance. 
And Paul KNOWS THIS ALL TOO WELL, BECAUSE THIS USED TO BE HIS OWN CONDITION. 
Harrison and Hagner – “Paul has spoken pointedly about Israel’s failure but not censoriously. He has empathy with his countrymen. He knows their plight because their condition was his own condition prior to his conversion.” 
How does Paul’s pity play out in his own life? 
HE LONGS FOR THEIR SALVATION 
HE PRAYS FOR THEIR SALVATION 
HE PREACHES FOR THEIR SALVATION 
Question: Do you have pity for poor lost sinners? Do you have pity for those held captive in zealous ignorance? 
Do you long to see them delivered? 
Do you pray for their deliverance? 
Do you speak the truth to them in love? 
ZEALOUS IGNORANCE IS SINCERE (vs.2) 
Paul does not question their zeal. 
There were, without question, heartless hypocrites represented among the unbelieving Jews of Paul’s time. There were people who were not in the truth that didn’t have any real care about the truth. But considering the whole of the Jewish people, Paul could describe an earnest zeal FOR GOD. 
It is possible to be sincere and to be wrong. It is possible to be deceived. It is possible to be sincerely misguided. It is possible to be blind. 
ESV Acts 23:1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, "Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day." 
The only thing that delivered Paul from his own zealous ignorance was the grace of God in Jesus Christ. 
ESV Galatians 1:11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 
 
 
ESV Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-- 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 
One reason why Paul felt such pity for his countryman was that he knew that many were sincere in their lostness.

Introduction:
Truth is not measured by passion. Truth is not measured by commitment. Truth is not measured by effort.
That is a lesson that our current culture needs to learn. That is a lesson that an entire generation of young people need to learn.

The Gentiles who have been saved have discovered something, arrived at something, received something, that they NEVER SOUGHT.
What was that? As verse 3 of chapter 10 makes clear, not just any kind of righteousness, but THE VERY RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.
The righteousness that is God’s own righteousness.
The righteousness that God accepts.
The righteousness that means fellowship God and receiving the glory of God.
The RIGHTEOUSNESS GOD GIVES AS A GIFT, RECEIVED BY FAITH IN HIS SON.
The Gentiles that are being saved are not now reconciled to God because this was their lifelong pursuit. GOD BROUGHT IT TO THEM, through the preaching of the gospel. They simply received it by faith in the stumbling stone (9:32-33).
But when it came to the Jews, it w

The Deadliness of Zealous Ignorance | An Expository Sermon Based on Romans 10:1-4

Introduction: 
The issue that Paul has been addressing, in the larger context, is the question of God’s ability to bring to pass what He has promised. The faithfulness of God to execute His own plans and purposes. 
To be precise, Paul is answering what he often heard from some who wondered how Paul’s gospel could be true, or, how the Christian’s security could be true, given the massive unbelief found in the people of Israel? 
The question he addresses could be asked by unbeliever and believer alike. 
The unbeliever might wonder how the Christian gospel could be true when most of the people whom God invested so much in, rejected Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah? 
The believer might be troubled, looking for answers, about how to understand Christian security based on the same seeming failure. Does Israel’s unbelief represent something gone wrong? 
Paul would answer both concerns the same way. 
His answer is the doctrine of election. His answer is that God’s purpose, according to election, is being fulfilled 100% of the time. It was never God’s plan to save every Israelite. But everyone whom the Lord foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ, and every one predestined, He calls, and every one He calls He justifies, and everyone He justifies is as good as glorified. 
God’s purposes regarding Israel have not failed. 
God’s purposes regarding the security of His people will not fail. 
IT IS THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION, THE DOCTRINE THAT ANSWERS THAT BIG PICTURE QUESTION, THAT NOW BECOMES THE ISSUE. 
The doctrine of election raises its own questions. 
Paul has already answered one. Is God choosing to show mercy to some and not to others, injustice? 
 He answers no, and he offers abundant Scriptural evidence. 
The second question is related to the first. If God has truly revealed Himself free to treat nations and individuals as He sees fit, if it is true that the destinies of people are determined by God, THEN HOW CAN JUDGMENT REPRESENT JUSTICE? 
 
“IF WE ALLOW THAT GOD’S CHOICES DETERMINE THE DESTINIES OF PEOPLE, IF WE GRANT YOU THAT, PAUL, DON’T WE STILL FIND OURSELVES WITH A CONUNDRUM?” 
HOW CAN GOD JUSTLY JUDGE MEN FOR WHAT HE HIMSELF DETERMINED? 
John Piper frames the objection well when he writes: “The objector reasons like this: If, as you say, a person’s hardness is owing ultimately to God’s will and not to a man’s “willing or running,” then it is unrighteous of God to condemn a man for that very hardness. In your view, Paul, nobody has ever successfully resisted the divine will, because even when they are resisting God’s commands (as Pharaoh did), they are still fulfilling God’s secret purposes. So God is wrong to find fault with men, since without the freedom of self-determination men cannot justly be condemned for their choices.” 
We began dealing with this question this morning and talked about man’s spiritual nature due to the fall. We talked about the idea that man has a will that only has freedom so far as its spiritual and moral capacities. We explained how God’s mercy is free, and yet man is still responsible. 
In the verses we look at tonight, we see the fulness of Paul’s answers to the question of verse 19. 
HOW DO YOU ANSWER WHEN MEN DISPUTE WITH GOD’S RIGHT TO BE SOVEREIGN? HOW DO YOU ANSWER WHEN MEN SAY THAT IF GOD IS SOVEREIGN, HE FORFEITS THE RIGHT TO JUDGE SINNERS? 
GOD’S REBUKE FOR IRREVERENT QUESTIONS (vs.20a) 
What Paul does, in verse 20, is most instructive. The true answers for genuine questions about God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility will ALWAYS REQUIRE HUMILITY to be received.

Introduction:
The issue that Paul has been addressing, in the larger context, is the question of God’s ability to bring to pass what He has promised. The faithfulness of God to execute His own plans and purposes. 
To be precise, Paul is answering what he often heard from some who wondered how Paul’s gospel could be true, or, how the Christian’s security could be true, given the massive unbelief found in the people of Israel? 
The question he addresses could be asked by unbeliever and believer alike. 
The unbeliever might wonder how the Christian gospel could be true when most of the people whom God invested so much in, rejected Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah?
The believer might be troubled, looking for answers, about how to understand Christian security based on the same seeming failure. Does Israel’s unbelief represent something gone wrong?
Paul would answer both concerns the same way.
His answer is the doctrine of election. His answer is that God’s purpose, according to election, i

God’s Rights | An Expository Sermon Based on Romans 9:19-23

Introduction: 
This morning’s sermon deals with an issue in the 19th verse that is incredibly important. 
Like almost any doctrine we might consider, the implications for the doctrine expressed in this verse are multiple. They are highly consequential. 
Remember how we come to this 19th verse. 
The question raised earlier is how God’s purpose can be the grounds for Christian security, when it appears that perhaps God’s purposes have failed regarding the nation Israel. If God keeps His promises, if His purposes prove effectual, then how does one explain the current lost condition of most Israelites? 
Paul’s explanation pointed us to God’s sovereignty over all things, but specifically over the matter of salvation. 
God is free. God has ALWAYS been free, and Israel has always demonstrated this. 
THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ISRAEL AMONG ISRAEL. 
The differences among men, among nations, among people of the same nation, when some receive privileges that others do not, or when some love God when others do not, ARE ULTIMATELY EXPLAINED BY GOD. 
He is free to show mercy to whomever He chooses, and He is free in the matter of reprobation also. 
THIS TEACHING LEADS PAUL TO GIVE A DEFENSE OF GOD. 
PAUL MEETS WITH COMMON OBJECTIONS WHEREVER THESE TRUTHS ARE TAUGHT, AND HE SEES THE NEED TO PREPARE GOD’S PEOPLE TO ANSWER THEM. 
Is it injustice for God to act like God? 
As I said last time, I’m not so sure that Paul’s envisioned objector believes that God is actually unjust, as much as he believes that Paul’s depiction of God would make God unjust. The real difference is Paul’s view of God, embodied in his explanation of Israel’s rejection, versus the belief system of his opponents. 
Which is why Paul answers the objection the way that he does. What does he do? He simply takes us to Scripture and proves that God has demonstrated His freedom in the matters of salvation’s blessings and reprobation FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE NATION. 
 
 
He did so with Abram. 
He did so in the case of Isaac and Ishmael. 
He did so in the case of Jacob and Esau. 
TO THIS PAUL’S OBJECTOR RAISES THE QUESTION OF FAIRNESS. 
To that question Paul gives straightforward statements from God proving that Paul’s interpretation of these events is spot on. 
GOD TOLD MOSES THAT IT WAS HIS GLORY TO BE FREE IN THE MATTER OF MERCY (vs.15) 
Paul applies that statement in verse 16. 
GOD ALSO TOLD PHARAOH THAT IT WAS HIS GLORY TO BE FREE IN THE MATTER OF REPROBATION AND JUDGMENT. (vs.17) 
Paul applies that statement in verse 18. 
SO, we can phrase what we’ve learned so far in the form of this question. “Is God acting with injustice when He acts like God?” 
Is it unjust for God to be completely sovereign, completely free, in the matters of salvation and reprobation? 
NO, IT IS NOT INJUSTICE. 
Man measuring God’s commitment to justice by what men think to be fair is a misevaluation. Justice, by God’s standard, is God being true to what is truly righteous. Justice is God being true to His name. 
It is not injustice for God to be free in the matter of mercy. 
BUT NOW WE SEE THAT THIS RAISES ANOTHER QUESTION. 
Even if we agree that God is free in the matter of salvation, and in the matter of reprobation, doesn’t this take away any meaningful judgment of sinners? 
Is it injustice for God to act like God? NO. 
But is it injustice for God to JUDGE after acting like God? 
Here is a charge, an objection, that you will hear again and again when God’s freedom is declared and insisted upon. “DOESN’T THIS AMOUNT TO MEN SIMPLY BEING PUPPETS?” 
If this is true, if this is what we preach, then haven’t we reduced men to a position where they have no freedom whatsoever, where they make no true choices, and therefore should have no real culpability, responsibility, fault, blame, for whatever way they live; for whatever choices they make. 
I. THE QUESTION PAUL MEETS WITH (vs.19) 
Why does God judge anything? Isn’t He, then, simply pronouncing judgments on what He Himself determined? 
Isn’t this an exercise in theatre? 
“Because, Paul, doesn’t your teaching mean that NO ONE REALLY RESISTS GOD’S WILL?” 
II. IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS FOUND IN THE QUESTION 
Now, Paul is going to answer this. We will dig into that answer more tonight. But before we dig into the details of his answer, I want us to observe some important issues raised by the question, some false assumptions identified in the question, and by the overall way that Paul chooses to answer it. 
A. PAUL’S TEACHING IS GOD’S TRUTH (vs.20) 
The objector may believe that he or she simply has a problem with “Paul’s teaching,” but in truth, they are wrestling with GOD on this issue. They are DISPUTING with God. 
ἀνταποκρίνομαι – “to answer in turn, to reply, to contend.” 
Anyone who has raised children understands what Paul is addressing here.

Introduction:
This morning’s sermon deals with an issue in the 19th verse that is incredibly important.
Like almost any doctrine we might consider, the implications for the doctrine expressed in this verse are multiple. They are highly consequential.
Remember how we come to this 19th verse.
The question raised earlier is how God’s purpose can be the grounds for Christian security, when it appears that perhaps God’s purposes have failed regarding the nation Israel. If God keeps His promises, if His purposes prove effectual, then how does one explain the current lost condition of most Israelites?
Paul’s explanation pointed us to God’s sovereignty over all things, but specifically over the matter of salvation.
God is free. God has ALWAYS been free, and Israel has always demonstrated this.
THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ISRAEL AMONG ISRAEL.
The differences among men, among nations, among people of the same nation, when some receive privileges that others do not, or when some love God when others

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