The Infinite Greatness of God - Part 2
The Book of Romans
Romans 9:6-24
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared February 25, 2021)
BACKGROUND
*Here in Romans 9, we are on the front end of Paul's 3-chapter discussion of the Jewish nation, but these Scriptures are not just about the Jews. Here God speaks to us about the love we should have for those who haven't trusted in Jesus, about the promises of God, about the importance of faith in Christ, the supreme sovereignty of God, and much more.
*Last week, we started a 2-part focus on why our God is infinitely great. Please think about God's greatness as we read vs. 6-24.
MESSAGE:
*There is no way for us to overestimate the greatness of Almighty God. Last time, we saw God's greatness in the size of the universe He created. Here's another measure of that greatness: Richard Wimer tells us that if you hold your thumb at arm's length toward the sky, your thumb nail is covering up more than 250,000 galaxies in space! And every one of those galaxies holds 100 to 500 billion stars! (1)
*But Isaiah 40:26 in the New Living Translation says, "Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out one after another, calling each by its name. And he counts them to see that none are lost or have strayed away." Church: I forget people's names every other day, but God knows all of the stars by name! And He made them all!
*Also think about the wonder of the bodies God's created for us. In Psalm 139:14 David said this to the Lord, "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." We are "fearfully made." That word means we should stand in awe at the complexity of our creation. We are "wonderfully made." That word means we are a marvelous creation of God.
*For example, think about our hearts. The average heart beats 72 times a minute. That's over 100,000 times a day, almost 38 million times a year, and about 3 billion times over an average lifespan. (2)
*In many ways our bodies are physical miracles that can only be explained by the infinite greatness of God. And tonight's Scripture gives us more evidence of His greatness.
1. NOTICE FIRST THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN HIS CHILDREN.
*Paul began to stress this truth in vs. 6-9, where he said:
6. But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,
7. nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called.''
8. That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
9. For this is the word of promise: "At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.''
*Last time in these verses we focused on the fact that God's Word and only God's Word has the power to save our souls. God's Word has the power to save everyone who will believe the good news about Jesus Christ and receive Him as their Lord and Savior.
*We also were reminded that God will always keep His promises, just as He kept His promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son. The LORD God kept that promise, even though it took a miracle to do it, because Sarah was way too old to have children. But nothing is too hard for the LORD! So, Isaac was born when Sarah was 90 years old, and Abraham was 100. (3)
*But God has chosen His children. Paul continued to stress this truth in vs. 10-13, where he said:
10. And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac
11. (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
12. it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger.''
13. As it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.''
*Well, this is hard for some people to accept, but just as he did in vs. 6-8, Paul pointed out the plain truth that all people are not going to be saved. All people are not going to be children of God.
*Here in vs. 11, Paul talked about "the purpose of God according to election." The original word here and its related words are found over 50 times in the New Testament. All Old Testament believers and all Christians are part of God's "elect." And this word simply means "picked out" or "chosen by God."
*So, in Matthew 22:14 Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are CHOSEN.'' And speaking about the end times in Mark 13:20 Jesus said, "Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the ELECT'S sake, whom He CHOSE, He shortened the days."
*Romans 8:33 says, "Who shall bring a charge against God's ELECT? It is God who justifies." And in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul told those Christians, "We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning CHOSE you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth."
*Christians, God chose us from the beginning for salvation, and He chose us to be God's children. We see this truth in Ephesians 1:3-5. There Paul said:
3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4. just as He CHOSE us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5. having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
*God chose us to be adopted into the Family of God! Think about the kind of love on display when families choose to adopt children. Kay Strom gave one of my favorite examples. It's the story of an 11-year-old boy named Jeremy. He had been abandoned by his birth mother when he was just a little baby.
*Jeremy had grown up in a series of foster homes. The only times he ever saw his birth mother were the 3 times she had come to town for court hearings to block Jeremy from being adopted. How cruel she must have been. Finally, the judge was able to free Jeremy for adoption, but it took 11 long years.
*Rachel Carter was Jeremy's 4th grade teacher. She was also the mother of three girls. Rachel's heart had gone out to Jeremy on the very first day of school that year. Mrs. Carter was specially moved when the little boy introduced himself by saying: "I'm Jeremy, and I don't have a family. -- I never will because I'm too old for anybody to love me."
*That's what Jeremy thought. But before the year was out, Rachel and her husband decided to adopt that little boy. At the end of the school year the adoption was finalized, and Jeremy proudly told the principal, "When school started I was nobody. -- Now I'm a Carter." (4)
*That's a great story of adoptive love. And of course, Jeremy's new parents knew they were going to adopt him before Jeremy did. Christians: It's the same way with our adoption by God, but because He is infinitely great, in Ephesians 1:4 we find out that "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world!"
2. WE KNOW THAT GOD IS GREAT BECAUSE HE HAS CHOSEN HIS CHILDREN. WE ALSO KNOW BECAUSE HIS WILL IS NEVER WRONG.
*God's will is never wrong. This is the truth Paul stressed in vs. 14-22, where he asked:
14. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
15. For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.''
16. So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "Even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be declared in all the earth.''
18. Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
19. You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?''
20. But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?''
21. Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22. What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
*Now, that may sound harsh to us at first. But remember that God is so great, He is bigger than time. The Lord God has always seen the end from the beginning. So, in Isaiah 46:9-10 He could say, "Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.'"
*God sees the end from the beginning, and from that point of view, Pharaoh never had a chance to be saved. But as he moved through life, at least for a while, God's salvation was still available to him.
*At the same time though, hard hearts tend to get more hardened. John Phillips called this "God's judicial hardening." And Phillips explained that unbridled unbelief breeds on itself. He mentioned Pharaoh "who continued to harden his heart until there came a time when God hardened it for him. And a time comes in the lives of those who will not repent when at last they cannot repent." (5)
*But God's will is never wrong, and He will always do the right thing. Our God is so great that He can do almost anything. He can do things we can't even begin to imagine. But as far as I know, there are only 3 things that God cannot do.
-2 Timothy 2:13 tells us that, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."
-Titus 1:1-2 says, "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which is according to godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began."
-And James 1:13 says "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone."
*God cannot deny Himself, He cannot lie, and He cannot be tempted by evil. In short: God cannot sin. He will never do the wrong thing because His will is always perfect.
*And remember what Jesus said about God the Father's will in Matthew 18:10-14:
10. "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
11. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
13. And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
14. EVEN SO IT IS NOT THE WILL OF YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN THAT ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES SHOULD PERISH."
*Are there things in this world that we don't understand? Plenty of them. Is life always fair? Clearly it is not. But one of the most wonderful truths about God is this: We don't ever have to wonder if God is going to do the right thing, because He always will.
3. WE KNOW THAT GOD IS GREAT BECAUSE HIS WILL IS NEVER WRONG. AND WE KNOW BECAUSE HIS MERCY IS MAGNIFICENT.
*God's mercy is magnificent. This is another great truth Paul stressed in vs. 15-18. Here the Apostle wrote:
15. For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.''
16. So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "Even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be declared in all the earth.''
18. Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
*One thing for sure in these verses is this: We are not getting into Heaven without the mercy of Almighty God. But thank God, 2 Corinthians 1:3 tells us that God is "the Father of mercies!"
*God's great mercy can be found all through His Word. Psalm 145:8-9 says, "The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works."
*Micah 7:18-19 asks, "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
*That's God's mercy, and we can see the greatness of His mercy in many other places like Ephesians 2:4-5. There Paul said, "God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)."
*Christians: Our God is "rich in mercy," and that's good, because I need a whole lot of His mercy. And Titus 3:4-5 tells Christians that "when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit."
*God has a rich treasure of tender mercy, kindness and compassion. And His abundant mercy is available to everyone who seeks it and is willing to receive it. King David was willing to seek for God's mercy. Please listen to part of his prayer from Psalm 25.
*In vs. 6-7, "Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O Lord."
*In vs. 10-11: "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name's sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great."
*And in vs. 16-18: "Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Oh, bring me out of my distresses! Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins."
*King David was willing to seek for God's mercy. And he was sure of God's mercy, so at the end of the 23rd Psalm David proclaimed, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever."
*Our God is merciful, kind and gracious, and He proved that forever through the cross of our risen Savior Jesus Christ! On that cross, Jesus the perfect Son of God took the punishment for all of our sins.
*It was just as Isaiah 53:4-6 prophesied 700 years before Christ was born:
4. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
4. CHURCH: WE KNOW THAT GOD IS GREAT BECAUSE HIS MERCY IS MAGNIFICENT, AND WE KNOW BECAUSE HIS GLORY IS GREAT.
*God's glory is infinitely great! And He wants us to know the riches of His glory, so in vs. 23-24, Paul tells Christians that God wants to "make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles"
*God's Word speaks of His glory about 300 times! About half are in the Old Testament, and half are in the New. The first time we see God's glory is in the Book of Exodus. And the last time we see His glory is in Revelation 21:23, where the new city of Jerusalem was described. There the Bible tells us that "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light."
*Almost from cover to cover God's Word speaks of His glory. But what is God's glory? The Old Testament word picture for "glory" is a weight, -- something heavy. And God's glory is something we should never take lightly. The New Testament word for "glory" is also used to describe the splendor and brightness of the sun, moon, and stars.
*John Piper said that God's glory "refers to His infinite and overflowing fullness of all that is good." Walter Kimbrough said God’s "Glory is best defined as the outward shining of God's inner-being." (6)
CONCLUSION:
*God's glory is infinitely great beyond our imagination! And He wants us to know the riches of His glory! Through the cross of Jesus Christ, God wants us to know more and more of His infinite greatness. Thank God for this as we go back to the Lord in prayer!
(1) KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION - ID Number: 34700 - SOURCE: Wit And Wisdom at http://www.witandwisdom.org by Richard G. Wimer - TITLE: Billions And Billions - DATE: 5/31/2007 - Source: Popular Science TV Program
(2) https://www.newhealthadvisor.org/How-Many-Times-Does-Your-Heart-Beat-a-Day.html
(3) GotQuestions.org - Question: "How long did Abraham and Sarah have to wait for Isaac?" - Recommended Resource: Abraham: One Nomad’s Amazing Journey of Faith by Charles Swindoll - https://www.gotquestions.org/Abraham-Sarah-Isaac.html
(4) Kay Marshall Strom, "Seeking Christ" - Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994 - pp. 106-107 - Source: Sermons.com sermon "Adopted!" by King Duncan - Ephesians 1:3-14
(5) Sources:
-EXPLORING ROMANS by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "He Cites History as an Example" - Romans 11:2-10
-Adapted from EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "Some Explanations of His Rejection" - John 12:37-50
(6) Piper definition from SermonCentral sermon "GOD CREATED US FOR HIS GLORY" by John Piper - Isaiah 43:1-7 - July 27, 1980 - Kimbrough definition from Sermons.com sermon "Revealed Glory" by WALTER L. KIMBROUGH - Exodus 16:1-36
